HARDWOOD RECORt) 



ii 



lull ri'i-piiily inade a sale of rtUd.mm JVet of roi-k 

 ('III' iihink .11 its plant in rraiulmi which will 

 Im- ciil iiil" in;itiTial I'nr Ihi- I!<'ll T.-lMphone 

 Conipatiy. 



riuirh's Fish of Kli-ho and (.'hai'Ics U. .lohuson 

 (if (Jrand Ilapids. :\Iifh.. will Imild a mill iind 

 f-niipera^'i' plant in Elclio. 



As a sii initio of the diltit-nll y himlHM- liruis 

 li:iv(' in kci'pinjj laborers may l»i* ciletl the fol 

 lowing; : The W. H. Ivi>j;;i'rs LnmUer Company 

 nf XashviUe, Wis., recently found \ii»on Iool<ing 

 over its books that during: one month there was 

 ail enrollment of over (iOO names, and yet never 

 nt one time did they employ over lUO men. The 

 company owns 7.000 acres of hardwood lands 

 in Langlade County. 



Here is an instanee showin^i how hanUvcod 

 lands are advancing in Wisconsin : A. W. IJreit- 

 enstein of Stockton three years ago purchased a 

 tract for which he paid .1:1,700. A few days ago 

 lie sold it to Charles Gehoreck of the same town 

 for .$:^.oo(i. 



Isaac Stepheuson, Jr.. will return to Mari- 

 nette to live. He recently disposed of hi.s tim- 

 lier holdings in the South to the Long-Beil Com- 

 pany for $:i.ooo.ooo. 



The Kaukauna Lumber & Manufacturing 

 (Nmipany of Kaukauna has purchased and sawed 

 into Uintlter some black walnut trees which grew 

 from seed planted over fifty years ago. They 

 had attained a growth of from eight to ten 

 inches in diameter and were cut down to make 

 room for building purposes. 



'I'he I'aine Lumber ("ompany of Oshkosh. hav- 



ing placed the highest hid t'lr 

 of logs on the Keshemi Indian 

 Shawano, will be awarded the < 



was .^.'I'JIllKKI. 



17. Hint, (Hid fee! 

 ■eservation near 

 niracl. Its bid 



Toledo. 



Kolbnving the annonncmcnt of an investiga- 

 tion of local railroad conditions by Special Agent 

 Mackenzie of the Interstate Commerce Commis- 

 sion they seemed for a time to be somewhat im 

 proved. This, however, did not last long accord- 

 ing to most dealers, and while western shipments 

 are some better there is room for much improve- 

 ment. It is understood semi-officially that when 

 the grand jury convenes in June the government 

 will enter into the investigation from the grand 

 jury standpoint. 



There has not been very much change in tho 

 situation caused by the indictment of the lumber 

 dealers last month for violation of the Valentine 

 anti-trust law. All of them have givt-n bond for 

 appearance and it is expected that their case 

 will come up the latter part of the month. ThJ 

 defendants have indicated no line of defense, but 

 it is hinted strongly that they will open up a 

 few surprises before the end is reached. 



The hardwood lumber plant of C. A. Hunt & 

 Co. at Bancroft, near I't. Huron, was destroyc'd 

 by fire last week. The loss was total, as there 

 was no insurance. The owners announce they 

 will rebui'.d the plant. 



Thomas A. Buckley of Fostoria. a well known 

 lumber bnyei-, died suddenly at Upper Sandusky 

 last week. 



Hardwood Market. 



(By HABDWOOD BECOBD 



Chicago. 



While many local wholesalers claim that they 

 are as busy as ever, others admit that trade 

 is slackening a little. It is certain that there 

 is no particular buoyancy in the market, and. 

 wliile prices remain firm, sales are being urged 

 in a good many instances. The furniture man- 

 ufar-turing trade, which furni.shes a consider- 

 able element of the local demand, is not par- 

 ticularly active : in fact it is not up to expecta- 

 tions, while stocks in the yards of factories are 

 ciunparatively light ; buyers are hesitating aliout 

 placing many orders for advance shipments. 

 The entire woodworking industry still remains 

 active, and there is a good demand from this 

 class of trade for oak, birch and some of the 

 other woods. Local flooring people are busy 

 and are still strong buyers of maple and oak 

 when they are offered at reasonable terms. On 

 the whole, the situation may be regarded as 

 healthy, and m.any of the dealers are glad to 

 see an evidence of slackening demand so that 

 they can catch up with their business. 



Exclusive market Reporters.) 



ing, with prices tending toward a higher 

 rather than a lower level. Whitewood has 

 developed a great deal of strength during 

 the past two months. No shipper is willing to 

 make concessions, and where prompt delivery 

 is wanted values are very firm. Cypress is 

 well held, but demand is not of large volume 

 ,iust now. Black walnut is in good demand; 

 prices are strong. 



Boston. 



The market for hardwoods is very firm, but 

 trading is less active than it was. Nearly all 

 dealers did a good business during March and 

 April, but this month so far has produced 

 small orders. A leading dealer gives as a 

 reason for this that sellers notified the re- 

 tailers that prices were advancing and ad- 

 vised them to place orders previous to the 

 mark-up with the result that the majority of 

 buyers have unusually large stocks or are pro- 

 tected by orders placed. Some buyers believe 

 present high prices cannot continue and that 

 holding out of the market will result in the 

 market becoming easier. 



Consumers of hardwoods are busy. Fur- 

 niture manufacturers are doing a good 

 business. 



Export inquiry is not large, and until there 

 is a material decline small orders only will 

 be received from abroad. Plain oak is firmly 

 h< Id and ciuartered oak is strong. White and 

 brown ash are in comparatively small offer- 



New York. 



The hardwood trade in New York city proper 

 has eased off slightly of late in certain lines. 

 but the volume of buying in the outlying sec- 

 tions seems strong. Trade as a whole is not 

 abnormally large, but supplies are small, and 

 taking all branches of the trade into considera- 

 tion there is a fair consumption, particularly 

 among manufacturers of furniture, pianos, trim, 

 mouldings, etc., with oak, ash and poplar in the 

 most active call. There is an exceedingly brisk 

 trade in low-grade rough stuff and rough car 

 and ship lumber and specialties of that natm-e, 

 hut as a matter of fact there has not been as 

 good a demand for this class of material for 

 many years as there is at the present time, and 

 the mills and wholesale houses in a position to 

 furnish this class of material are reaping a 

 profitable trade. Hardwoods in the better grades 

 are by no means plentiful, although in certain 

 directions there seems to be a slight increase in 

 supplies. In some sections the supply of cars 

 is a little more plentiful, hut as a whole the 

 situation seems to -row pretty generally worse, 

 and large handlers of stock are urging buyers to 

 place orders for their summer W'ants at once in 

 order to get shipments when wanted, as it is 

 generally believed that delayed purchases will 

 prevent buyers from securing their supplies as 

 the season progresses. 



The price situation continues strong, biit while 

 hardwood values as a whole are today on a 

 higher level than was ever known before the 

 margin of profit is by no means commensurate 

 with what it appears to the average manufac- 

 turer. It is true that the manufacturer who 

 holds timber purchased years ago is reaping good 



profits, bill the iiperatots who linve gotten into 

 the game in recent years ;ind luive purchased 

 tlieir tiiiibi-r holdings at recent prices and have 

 jn-^taHed up-to-date plants must of necessity 

 realize tlu'se high prices in order to receive 

 ;iny profitable returns. Of course, this increased 

 operation will eventually increase supplies, but 

 any material rasing off in values will result in 

 a suspension of newer operations in many sec- 

 tions. 



As a whole, the general outlook for the bal- 

 ance of the spring and summer trade is very 

 fair and there is every indication that values 

 will be maintained for some months to come, 

 and especially so if the supplies do noi nuite- 

 riallv increase. 



Philadelphia. 



The good efl'ert of the spring-like weather, 

 which has put in a tardy appearance, is very 

 perceptible in the lumber business and a reaction 

 is felt all along the line. It is unfortunate, 

 however, that a strike is on in building circles, 

 which naturally will call a halt to free buying 

 among those who handle building material. The 

 trouble is a complicated one and concerns 

 neither the question of wages nor hours, but has 

 grown out of a dispute as to whose work it is 

 to set the cut stone in the body of a building. 

 For years the granite cutter has been doing this, 

 but now the stone-mason, who does the lighter 

 work, insists that the heavier stone should be 

 set by him. and as the stone-masons' association 

 is allied with that of the bricklayers, the latter 

 naturally back the first named in the stand it 

 has taken. It is understood that the brick- 

 layers, however, are not unanimously in favor 

 of this move, and the master bricklayers tried to 

 force a settling of the dispute upon the brick- 

 layers by notifying them that all building would 

 stop short on the evening of ^lay '2 unless the 

 three organizations came to satisfactory terms. 

 This warning has been ignored and the strike is 

 now on. It is believed, however, that pressure 

 will he brought to bear upon the stone masons 

 and that they will yield. 



The various woodworking industries are luisy. 

 wMth no perceptible sign of abatement. Hard- 

 wood dealers are anticipating a good season and 

 many houses claim they have any number of 

 good orders coming in. but are unable to get the 

 goods on account of the railroad service and 

 the unfavorable weather conditions at the mill 

 districts. Among the hardwoods, chestnut, ash 

 and basswood keep the top notchers, but con- 

 tinue scarce. Oak is apparently regaining old 

 status, but opinions do not all coincide, it 

 seems, on poplar. Some say it is not so stiff 

 as heretofore, while others contend it is showing 

 up strong. Quartered white oak is looking up. 

 and gum holds steady. Maple flooring keeps in 

 good call. The cedar and veneer market is 

 active, but the high grades are scarce, with 

 prices up. On account of this scarcity and high 

 price of cedar and veneer, some dealers have 

 made a trial of African and Brazilian mahogany 

 as a substitute, hut it did not work, so some 

 of the cigar-box makers are using veneered 

 instead. Yard stocks of hardwood are normal, 

 but seasoned material is scarce, both here and 

 at the mills. 



Baltimore. 



The hardwood trade of this section is holding 

 up remarkably well. Stocks continue to be in 

 good demand and the mills are unable to supply 

 lumber fast enough. Values are firmly main- 

 tained, and dealers admit that they are getting 

 the highest prices ever paid for stocks : an 

 excellent feeling prevails in the trade and no 

 uneasiness is felt over the outlook. Manufac- 

 turers as well as dealers reason that as the 

 railroads cannot now handle all the freight that 

 is offered, because of the scarcity of rolling 

 stock, they must continue to make large addi- 

 tions to the equipment, whether they w^aut to or 

 not. it is the general belief that the demand 



