46 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



though the meeting was called explicitly for 

 the purpose of considefing rates ou eottou 

 exports. 



At a recent meeting of the Lumhermen's Club 

 of Memphis President W. H. Russe, of the 

 National Hardwood Lumber Association, called 

 the attention of the membership to the fact 

 that the semi-annual meeting of that organi- 

 zation would be held in Cincinnati Oct. 2o-2G 

 and urged that there be a good representation 

 from the local club, which now seems assured. 

 Three new members were received, W. C. Talmer, 

 of the Wiborg & Hanna Company, a branch of 

 the Cincinnati firm of the same name ; A. L. 

 Foster, of the J. W. Thompson Lumber Coin- 

 pany, and W. A. Stark, of James E. Stark & 

 Company. The committee which had charge of 

 the minimum weight contest with the Missouri 

 Pacific system, consisting of George C. Ehe- 

 mann, chairman, E. E. Goodlander, James E. 

 Stark, S. C. Major and J. W. McClure, was 

 given a vote of thanks for the able manner 

 in which it had performed its duties and dis- 

 charged. 



Rapid progress is reported on the grading 

 of the Memphis, Paris & Gulf Railroad which 

 was incorporated some time ago for the pur- 

 pose of building a line from Nashville to Ash- 

 down, both Arkansas points, a distance of 28 

 miles. Nine miles have been completed and 

 rail laying has begun, while the remainder 

 of the grading is under contract. The road 

 runs through a splendid timber section and will 

 prove a factor in the development of it. 



The Illinois Central has given notice to ship- 

 pers that it will not accept shipments in its 

 cars for points which are not reached by its 

 own lines. The only exceptions are the Balti- 

 more & Ohio and the Pennsylvania system, 

 exclusive of the Vandalia lines of the latter. 

 This move Is made because the Illinois Central 

 fears a decided shortage of cars and desires 

 to conserve its own rolling stock as far as 

 possible, but lumber shippers are very much 

 handicapped by this action and there is some 

 discussion of taking the matter before the 

 ■interstate commerce commission. Lumbermen 

 fear that other roads will follow the course 

 of the Illinois Central and in that event it 

 would be almost impossible to make shipments 

 of lumber at all. 



Harold Petri, of Quinot & Petri, Antwerp, 

 r.elgium, who was located in Memphis for sev- 

 eral years, has opened headquarters at the 

 Hotel Gayoso for a while. He has come over 

 to this country to buy lumber and says he will 

 remain until he has secured his requirements. 

 He has been south of Memphis during the past 

 few days. 



Stockholders in the Merchant's Trust Com- 

 pany, which closed its doors here during Christ- 

 mas week last year, have been officially notified 

 by the receiver of that institution that he is 

 ready to declare a dividend of between 40 and 

 30 cents on the dollar in their favor. This is 

 a rather better showing than anticipated some 

 time ago. A number of lumbermen held stock 

 in the bank and were also large depositors. All 

 deposits were fully met a few months ago. 



Max Sondhcimer, president and general man- 

 ager of the E. Sondheimer Company, has re- 

 turned from an extended eastern trip. He also 

 passed through Chicago. While he was away 

 Rudolf Sondheimer looked after the interests 

 of the company here. Mr. Sondheimer reports 

 an excellent demand for hardwood lumber and 

 predicts the greatest shortage in the supply 

 of southern hardwoods for the late winter and 

 early spring trade witnessed in recent years. 



Clay & Elliott, of Henderson, Ky., have pur- 

 chased the hardwood timber holdings of Russell 

 Gardner, of the Banner Buggy Company of St. 

 Louis, in Saline, Cleveland, Dallas and adjoining 

 counties in southeastern Arkansas. The price 

 is not known. The purchasers propose to put 

 in a large spoke factory and band saw mill 

 at Rison. Ark., a few miles from Pine Bluff. 

 Ark. 



The property of tlie C. B. Kelly Lumber 

 Company of Homan, Ark., which passed into 

 the hands of a receiver some time ago, con- 

 sisting of timber land holdings, a hardwood mill 

 and a tram-i'oad. has been sold, under order of 

 the federal court for the western district of 

 Arkansas, to William F. Wood, of Chicago, for 

 .$40,000. The estimated value of the holdings 

 at the time of the failure was $150,000. The 

 failure of the lumber company resulted in the 

 suspension of the Bank of Newport at Newport, 

 Ark., this firm being the largest creditor of that 

 institution. 



The Fee-Creightou Company of Newark, O.. 

 has decided to establish a hardwood specialty 

 manufacturing plant at Newport, Ark., which 

 is to have a monthly payroll of between $5,000 

 and $10,000. A representative of the company 

 has been south for some time looking over the 

 lield and was so impressed with Newport and 

 its facilities that he made a proposition to 

 locate there in the event business men donated 

 a site. This was immediately accepted, fifteen 

 acres being given the Arm. Work on the plant 

 is to be begun at once. Mr. Creighton, a mem- 

 ber of the firm, will make his permanent resi- 

 dence at Newport and will be in charge of the 

 plant. 



Eastern capitalists have sent agents into the 

 Mississippi valley for the purpose of investigat- 

 ing and making an exhaustive report on the 

 gum forests of that section. These gentlemen 

 are connected with the lumber industry and 

 the statement is made that if the investigation 

 proves satisfactory they will establish plants 

 for the manufacture of gum lumber and various 

 products made therefrom. Their plans are said 

 10 contemplate also the erection of vulcanizing 

 and creosoting plants for the treatment of gum 

 to be used as cross ties, the claim being made 

 that their process will give gum ties as long 

 life as those made of oak. 



A meeting of the Lumbermen's Club was held 

 at the Hotel Gayoso Oct. 6. A communication 

 from the Lumber Exchange of St. Louis, asking 

 the local organization to join with that body in 

 a protest to the railroads against the enforce- 

 ment of the reconsigniug charge of $5 per car, 

 was brought to the attention of the meeting. 

 There was considerable discussion of the matter, 

 and a committee consisting of James E. Stark, 

 chairman, A. L. Foster and George C. Ehemann. 

 was appointed to investigate the bearing of the 

 charge on the lumber Industry of Memphis 

 and to confer with the committee appointed 

 by the Lumber Exchange of St. Louis. 



Secretary E. M. Terry of the National Lum- 

 bi.r Exporters' Association attended this meet- 

 ing and was called upon for a talk on the 

 subject. It was resolved that the Lumbermen's 

 Club put itself ou record as in favor of the 

 restoration of the basis which prevailed before 

 the new rate law became effective, and the 

 president was authorized to appoint a com- 

 mittee to go to Washington on Oct. 10 to at- 

 tend the hearing of the interstate commerce 

 commission. 



It was also decided to extend an invitation 

 to the National Lumber Exporters' Association 

 to hold its next annual meeting here in Jan- 

 uary, 1907, as the guest of this body. 



Besides Secretary Terry there were two other 

 visitors present, Harold Petri, of Quinet & 

 Petri, Antwerp, Belgium, and W. A. Bennett, 

 of Bennett & Witte, Cincinnati. 



It. J. Darnell of R. J. Darnell, Inc., has 

 just returned from an extended business trip 

 lo Europe. 



The National Lumber Exporters' As.sociation, 

 owing to the short notice it had in reference 

 to the meeting of the interstate commerce com- 

 mission and the consequent difficulty of com- 

 municating with its widely scattered member- 

 ship, decided to present its case regarding 

 the equalization of lumber export rates before 

 The commission through a written statement 

 iustead of through personal representation. 

 This action was taken in response to a 



telegram received by .Secretary Terry, inform- 

 ing him that the as.sociation could take 

 up the matter either through personal appear 

 a nee before that body or through a statement 

 tiled with it. If the statement is not effective. 

 it is highly probable that all the lumber organi- 

 zations will get together and make a strong 

 effort to obtain the equalization of export rates 

 vn lumber because they realize that, unless there 

 is equalization, all the business from this ter- 

 ritory will have to go through New Orleans, 

 I bus causing congestion which will prove ex- 

 ceedingly costly to the exporters of lumber. 



\'isitiug lumbermen to Memphis recently in- 

 cluded : W. E. Douglass, of Douglass & Walk- 

 ley of Columbus, O. ; Allen Vinnedge. of A. R. 

 Vinnedge & Company, Chicago; H. S. 'Janes, 

 "f the Empire Lumber Company, Buffalo, N. Y. ; 

 V. F. Fish, secretary of the National Hardwood 

 Lumber Association, Chicago : C. F. Korn, of the 

 1 arrln-Korn Lumber Company. Cincinnati; W. 

 A.Bennett, of Bennett & Witte, Cincinnati; W. 

 Dixon Smith, of Parkersburg, W. Va., repre- 

 senting Alfred Dobell & Co. of London, Eng. : 

 M. Neely, of McDonald Brothers, Helena, Ark. 



F. E. Gary, vice-president and general man- 

 ager of the Baker Lumber Company, has gone 

 lo Chicago to look after plans connected with 

 the rebuilding of its big baud sawmill at Turrell. 

 Ark., which was destroyed by fire Sept. 30. The 

 loss is estimated at about $50,000, covered by 

 insurance. There were about 6,000,000 feet of 

 lumber on the yards which was saved through 

 tiie heroic efforts of the employees. 



J. W. McClure of Thomp.son & McClure has 

 returned to Memiihis from an extended business 

 trip "down Fast." He came back via Chi- 

 cago. 



New Orleans. 



The timber interests in Louisiana and Missis- 

 sippi suffered lieavy losses in the hurricane which 

 swept over Mobile, Pensacola and other places in 

 this territory last Wednesday and Thursday. 

 The yellow pine operators in Mississippi were 

 the heaviest losers, the damage to hardwoods 

 throughout that state and Louisiana being com- 

 paratively slight. In some sections of Alabama 

 and Florida the destruction of hardwoods was 

 considerable. In most cases lumbermen are erect- 

 ing small portable sawmills on the devastated 

 property to cut the fallen timber. 



With the charge tliat the action of the Illi- 

 nois Central Railroad in deciding to use its cars 

 on its own lines and there only was unfair, lum- 

 ber manufacturers of Mississippi recently met 

 and resolved to take steps to have the railroad 

 company set aside this order. Probably fifty 

 manufacturers were present at the meeting, 

 which was held in Hattiesburg, and these de- 

 nounced the action of the railroad company. 

 The car shortage problem was discussed, and it 

 was generally agreed that the lumbermen of 

 the South were facing a serious situation. It 

 was finally resolved to protest to the traffic 

 manager of the Illinois Central and to call upon 

 him for aid in the matter. 



One of the largest timber deals consummated 

 in Louisiana in some time was closed at Monroe, 

 La., Oct. 1. when the Standard Lumber Com- 

 pany in Catahoula parish sold its C0,000-foot 

 capacity sawmill, 52.000 acres of land and six 

 miles of railroad to the Louisiana Central Lum- 

 ber Company of Clarks, receiving something over 

 $1,000,000 for its properties. It is understood 

 that the Louisiana Lumber Company at Rochelle 

 is interested in the deal to the extent of one- 

 fourtli of the purchase price. The timber is in 

 one of the hardwood sections of the state, though 

 there is considerable shortleaf pine on the prop- 

 erty. The purchasers will eularge the plant to 

 double its capacity. 



Advices from Meridiau, Miss., state that a 

 $100,000 furniture manufacturing company will 

 probably succeed the Meridian Coffin Factory. 

 Among those interested in the movement are 

 B. V. White, W. Meeds, E. Cahn, S. A. Gray, 

 F. J. Burke, Sam Greenwald and W. A. Gough. 



