H A R DWOQD _RE C O R D 



43 



H. C. Creith of H. C. Creith & Co. has 

 returned from a visit to the markets In northern 

 Ohio and Michigan recently. 



.1. A. Ford of the Imperial Lumber Company 

 reports a good demand for all grades of hard- 

 woods. He says stocks are scarce and that the 

 <ar shortage is having a serious effect. Sir. Ford 

 lannot see any hope for improvement In the fu- 

 ture supply of cars. 



M. A. Haywarrt of II. A. Ilayward & Son says 

 londitions in the hardwood trade are better 

 than cTcr. Stocks are pretty . scarce and oak 

 flooring especially is in good demand. There is 

 a good sale of all varieties and grades of hard- 

 woods and prices are ruling high. 



W. L. Whittacre of the Whittacre Lumber Com- 

 pany was called out of tnnn early in October on 

 .-< business trip. 



L. B. Schneider, sales manager of John R. 

 Oobey & Co., reports unchanged conditions In the 

 liardwood trade. He says prices are ruling high 

 and dry stocks are scarce in every locality. The 

 worst feature of the trade is the lack of ears. 



F. B. Pryor of the W. Jf. Kitter Lumber Com- 

 pany says trade in hardwoods is very good in 

 rvory locality. The car situation is unchanged 

 and there is little hope for improvement. The 

 worst situation is on the C. & O. Lines, where 

 lars are very scarce and the lower grades are 

 moving good. There is no accumulation of 

 stocks in any of the grades. Retailers are In- 

 sisting on prompt deliverance if possible. The 

 manufacturing people are buying better, especially 

 those engaged in the automobile, implement and 

 vehicle business. 



W. M. Ritter of the W. M. Ritter Lumber Com- 

 pany has returned from a ten days' inspection 

 trip to the markets in Xorth and South Carolina. 



.1. W. Mayhew of the W. M. liitter Lumber 

 Company left for a two weeks' vacation trip 

 about the first of October to his old home in Coal 

 Grove, Ohio. 



A. C. Davis of the A. C. Davis Lumber Com- 

 pany reports better foreign conditions In hard- 

 woods with a good demand for all varieties. He 

 says stocks are scarce in every location. 



Sales Manager Buskirk of the General Lumber 

 Company says trade in hardwoods is ver.v strong 

 and factories are buying more liberally. The 

 company sells almost exclusively to the factory 

 trade. Mr. Buskirk says prices are ruling firm 

 in every grade. 



The Powell & Rowe Lumber Company reports 

 a good demand in hardwoods from every portion 

 of the territory covered by that concern. 



INDIANAPOLIS 



W. W. Knight of the Long-Knight Lumber 

 Company, has returned from New York. 



Assets of the Planett Lumber t& Manufac- 

 turing Company, Laporte, will be sold on 

 Oct. 15 by the Security Trust Company, 

 trustee, Indianapolis. 



The sawmill, planing mill and other prop- 

 erty of the Beatty & Doan Company at 

 Ossian, was destroyed by fire on Oct. 3, with 

 a loss of $25,000, on which there was $11,000 

 insurance. 



Building permits issued in the city during 

 September amounted to $1,000,540, as com- 

 pared with $750,280 in the corresponding 

 month of 1911. 



Harry B. Daugherty. Thompson B. Ashby 

 and Fred F. Ashby have organized the Wsl- 

 basli Veneer Company in this city, which 

 has been incorporated with an authorized 

 capitalization of $30,000. A new plant is be- 

 ing erected by the company at Massachu- 

 setts avenue and Adams street. 



The Eaglesfield-Stewart Company, which 

 manufactures parquetry and hardwood floor- 

 ing, has occupied its new three-story brick 

 plant, 80 by 235 feet, at 920 Dorman street. 

 It has sold its old plant at Dorman and 

 Pratt streets. 



"With an authorized capitalization of $5,000 

 the Sanders Cabinet Company has been or- 

 ganized and incorporated in this city to manu- 

 facture ofhce furniture and fixtures. Those 

 interested in the company are E. W. Zaiser. 

 P. E. Brown and T. Sanders. 



Miss Helen Miriam Talge, daughter of Mr. 

 and Mrs. John H. Talge, and Paul Owen 

 Brown were married at the home of the 

 bride's parents in Morton place on the eve- 

 ning of Oct. 3. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have 

 gone away on a wedding trip. They will 

 make their home in Chicago. 



Local lumbermen gave a dinner at the 

 Columbia Club on the evening of Oct. 4 in 

 honor of Capt. John B. White, a lumberman 

 of Kansas City, and the retiring president 

 of the National Conservation Congress. The 

 guests included lumbermen and foresters who 

 attended the congress and lumbermen of the 

 city and state. Joseph G. Brannum of this 

 city was toastmaster. There were informal 

 speeches by Captain White. C. H. Barnaby of 

 Greencastle. president of the National Hard- 

 wood Lumber Association; E. G. Griggs. 

 Tacoma. Wash., president of the National 

 Lumber Manufacturers' Association; E. T. 

 Allen, Portland, Ore., forester of the Western 

 Forestry and Conservation Association; Dr. 

 Herman von Schrenk of St. Louis, and John 

 M. Woods of Snmerville, Mas.=. 



MEMPHIS 



Business conditions here are very wliolesom.'. 

 This fact finds striking reflection in the bank 

 clearings for September, which were more than 

 .$3,000,000 in excess of the corresponding month 

 last year, which up to that time held the record 

 lor that particular month. All lines of business 

 made substantial contributions to this splendid 

 showing. The lumbermen in particular helped 

 along, as they did a larger business than they 

 had done for the corresponding month for sev- 

 eral years. 



Weather conditions in this section recently 

 have been well nigh perfect for logging work, 

 which has made very satisfactory progress. The 

 amount of timber gotten out during the past 

 four or five months has been unusually large 

 and there is a plentiful supply in the woods. It 

 is pointed out by some members of the trade 

 that the log supply is above normal. Although 

 this may be true, the fact remains, however, 

 that the cut of southern hardwoods from Jan. 1 

 to the present time has been below rather than 

 above normal. This is due in a large measure 

 to the interruption growing out of the excessive 

 rains during the spring and the overflow of the 

 Mississippi river. Logging operations were prac- 

 tically suspended for about three or four months 

 and the amount of hardwood lumber produced 

 during that time was exceedingly small. 



There is a rather full supply of southern 

 hardwoods on hand at the moment, but no ex- 

 cess. Most members of the trade here are able 

 to sell what they have to offer, and are finding 

 very good prices therefor. The statement has 

 been made by some interests that they were ex- 

 pecting lower prices on the theory of adequate 

 timber supply and rather larger stocks in the 

 hands of consumers and distributors. This view, 

 however, is not shared generally by manufac- 

 turers for the reason that they do not lay any 

 particular emphasis upon the large amount of 

 timber brought out and for the additional rea- 

 son that they expect a large demand for lumber. 

 The experience of southern manufacturers dur- 

 ing the past few years has been that the cut of 

 hardwood lumber during the winter months has 

 not been heavy and it is pointed out that if his- 

 tory should repeat Itself this season, the pres- 

 ent rather full supply of southern hardwoods 

 might be changed to somewhat restricted oJCer- 

 Ings. There is no disposition whatever on the 

 part of hardwood lumbermen here to shade prices 



m order to move lumber. On the contrary, prcttv 

 full values are demanded for what Is sold The 

 transportation problem in its various phases Is 

 givmg lumbermen a great deal of trouble. The 

 railroads are not able to furnish anvthin.' like 

 the number of cars needed for the prompt han- 

 dlmg of lumber shipments. The scarcity of cars 

 IS also affecting the movement of logs to thi* 

 centre and may prove a rather .serious factor in 

 the direction of curtailing production. Members 

 of the trade here have been finding increasin- 

 difliculty In securing cars during the past fort- 

 night and indications are that conditions will 

 become rather worse than better In this respect 

 The movement of cotton is just beginning to get 

 under way and every day means an Increase in 

 the amount of equipment needed to handle cot- 

 ton shipments. The railroads have always 

 whether Intentionally or not, given cotton ship- 

 pers the preference over shippers of lumber and 

 logs, and the situation this season promises an 

 unusual amount of trouble. Even where empty 

 cars are furnished it is difllcult to get these 

 moved after they have been loaded, and quite as 

 diflicult to get them through to destination as 

 to get them moved at all. The lumbermen are 

 holding conferences with the representatives of 

 the traffic departments of the various railroads 

 every day in the hope of being able to secure 

 enough equipment to partially handle the busi- 

 ness. Conditions arc a great deal wor.se at out- 

 lying points where there Is no competition than 

 at Memphis proper. 



Exporters are having all sorts of trouble this 

 season. They are confronted with the probable 

 withdrawal of through bills of lading on export 

 shipments on the part of the eastern roads The 

 western roads have announced their intention of 

 withdrawing such bills of lading by Oct 15 it 

 was thought at one time that the exporter^, 

 through their committee appointed for that pur- 

 pose, would appeal to the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission against this withdrawal of through 

 bills of lading. It is pointed out, however bv 

 a prominent oflJcial of the Lumbermen's Club 

 that the Interstate Commerce Commission has 

 never required the railroads to file anv tariffs 

 on export shipments, with the result that if the 

 present regime ;s suspended there will be no 

 tariff governing the movement of export traflic 

 The exporters have, therefore, come to the con- 

 clusion that about the only thing they can do 

 IS to appeal to the Interstate Commerce Com- 

 mission on the ground of alleged discrimination 

 in favor of cotton and other c-sports as against 

 themselves. Through bills of lading are issued 

 on cotton shipments and the exporters do not 

 see why it would be just for the railroads to 

 withdraw through bills on lumber and allow a 

 continuance of such bills on cotton and other 

 ireight. The withdrawal of such bills will make 

 the handling of export shipments of lumber a 

 very serious matter and will embarrass some 

 (u-ms in the financing of their business because 

 of making it impossible for them to realize on 

 the face of drafts on export shipments until 

 such shipments have been placed on board the 

 steamships and a "master's bill" is held there- 

 for. 



Another feature of the export situation is to 

 be found in the requirements on the part of the 

 railroads that exporters name the date of the 

 sailing of vessels by which shipment is to be 

 made to Europe or other foreign countries. This 

 is an entirely new requirement and is one which 

 is giving lumber exporters here considerable 

 trouble. A prominent exporter said recently that, 

 owing to his inability to name the date of sail- 

 ing of the vessel which he intended to use. It 

 had been necessary for him to unload several 

 cars of stock which had been prepared for ex- 

 port. The exporters are protesting against this 

 condition and one of the forwarding agents at 

 New Orleans, representing exporters here and 

 elsewhere in the South, has written to the Illi- 

 nois Central Railroad Company, stating that, in 

 the event of losses growing out of the delays 



