44 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



sary to increase their capital stock from $500,- 

 000 to .fl.OOO.OOO. 



William P. Shearer of Samuel H. Shearer & 

 Bon, has recently returned from a selling trip 

 through eastern Pennsylvania. He reports a 

 vigorous improvement in trading ; the volume 

 much ahead of last year and prices steady. 



President Herbert P. Robinson of the Lumber- 

 men's Exchange of Philadelphia has appointed 

 Kamuel B. Vroomnu, Robert C. Lippincott, Frank- 

 Un Smedlcy, Frederick S. Underbill and Frank 

 U. Gillingham delegates to represent the ex- 

 thange at the sixth convention of the Rivers and 

 Harbors Congress, which will be held at the 

 New Willard hotel, Washington, D. C, on De- 

 •ember 8, 9 and 10. 



An elm tree was recently cut down in the 

 Paradise settlement, Winslow township, Jefferson 

 •;ounty. Pa., the height of which was 140 feet, 

 spread of limbs 72 feet, distance to first limb 36 

 feet. It was five feet through and seven feet 

 from ground. Reckoned by annual rings, it was 

 between 320 and 325 years old. 



The sawmill of George Craig & Sons, Inc., of 

 Philadelphia at Winterburn, W. Va., was de- 

 stroyed by fire on November 9. The loss is esti- 

 mated at $30,000 ; well insured. 



The Atlantic Automobile & Supply Company 

 obtained charter under New Jersey laws Novem- 

 ber 15 ; capital, $125,000. 



The Washington Casket Company, Washington, 

 D. C, was incorporated under New Jersey laws 

 November 15, with a capital stock of .$8,000. 



The Berkebile Lumber Company, Somerset, 

 Pa., obtained a charter under Delaware laws, 

 November 9. The capital stock is .$100,000. 



The Whiting Timber Company, to buy and sell 

 all kinds of timber, was incorporated November 

 10. The capital is $1,000,000 and the incorpo- 

 rators are W. C. Taylor, A. L. Bair, William B. 

 MacDonald. 



pirrsBURO 



W. R. Cornelius, one of the hustling young 

 hardwood wholesalers of Pittsburg, made a flying 

 trip through West Virginia last week in search 

 of stocks. Mr. Cornelius was highly favored 

 lately, having acted as best man at the weddings 

 of two of his bachelor friends. 



An indication of general business in the Pitts- 

 burg district is found In the refusal of the Jones 

 & Laughlin Steel Company to take any more 

 orders at its plants for the present. The com- 

 pany has orders booked to keep it running at 

 full capacity for some time. Other steel plants 

 in the Pittsburg district are in the same condi- 

 tion. Many of them are preparing to relieve 

 this situation by making extensive improvements 

 or building large additions this winter. 



J. C. Parsons of the Meyers-Parsons Lumber 

 Company, was down in West Virginia this week 

 taking up some good stocks. This concern re- 

 ports the best business last week of any week 

 in its history, which shows that it is a "comer" 

 for a young firm. 



The American Lumber & Manufacturing Com- 

 pany is keeping its hardwood interests under 

 strong headway and has its face toward higher 

 prices. President Johnston has believed for the 

 past eighteen months that hardwood was selling 

 at less than any wholesaler was justified in let- 

 ling it go and he is going to be correspondingly 

 lirm in his quotations from this time forward. 



The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, although 

 it has planted a very large number of young oak 

 trees for cress tie purposes, has not enough to 

 supply its current needs and so is making its 

 first use of its new pitch pine ties. These have 

 been treated at the Mount Union, Pa., creosoting 

 plant and the Pennsylvania officials will watch 

 the result of this experiment with great interest. 



President J. B. Flint of the Flint, Irving & 

 Stoner Company is taking an enforced vacation 

 of a few days on account of sickness. His com- 

 pany is doing a rushing business at Its new 



hardwood operation near Dunlevie, W. Va., and 

 looks for some big records to be made during the 

 next few months. 



President Baker of the Empire Lumber Com- 

 pany returned from an eastern trip a few days 

 ago much impressed with the cheerful tone of 

 the market in that section and the increase in 

 demand for all kinds of lumber. He sees no 

 reason to doubt that prosperity in the East has 

 come to stay a long while. 



The Berkebile Lumber Company, capital $100,- 

 000, has been formed at Somerset, I'a., forty 

 miles east of Pittsburg, by Adam G. and Ralph 

 L. Berkebile and Isaac H. Jones, all of Somer- 

 set. The company will engage in a general 

 retail and wholesale business in that town. 



Forest fires have been very prevalent in Penn- 

 sylvania and West Virginia the past two weeks 

 and some serious losses have resulted. Nearly a 

 dozen counties in central and eastern Pennsyl- 

 vania have had considerable areas burned. In 

 some of them were located the forest reserves of 

 the state, which suffered more than in any pre- 

 vious fires. 



The Linehan Lumber Company is feeling better 

 on account of the improvement in general hard- 

 wood conditions, although it sees no boom on 

 hand as yet. Its trade in flooring is improving, 

 however, which shows that building is beginning 

 to revive in all sections. 



President Freck of the Pennsylvania Lumber 

 Company dropped off in Pittsburg for a day or 

 two recently to talk over business with his local 

 manager, J. W. Hulse. The company's plant at 

 .Sheflield, Pa., is one of the largest in the state. 

 Likewise, Mr. Freck is one of the most nervy 

 manufacturers In eastern Pennsylvania and, look- 

 ing ahead a few months, recently boosted his 

 quotations and is standing hard by the wheel in 

 the face of pretty hard competition just now over 

 price-cutting competitors. 



The S. W. Means Lumber Company has re- 

 ceived final settlement on all its insurance claims 

 and is preparing to reestablish its big yard in 

 the East End, where its plant was recently 

 burned. The United Planing Mill Company, 

 whose plant was also burned, will not continue 

 in business for the present. 



Hanie Clark & Son of Waterford, Pa., have 

 bought eighty-five acres of the finest oak timber 

 in that part of Pennsylvania and are starting 

 work on a big sawmill. The plant will be con- 

 venient for shipping to the I'ittsburg and also 

 to lake points. 



Oflicers of the Kendall Lumber Company say 

 it Is much oversold on some lines of hardwood. 

 Its big business with the B. & O. and the mining 

 companies has been largely responsible for this 

 exceptionally good demand. In spite of hard 

 efforts to keep its mills up in stocks, the com- 

 pany is not able to make any gain. J. L. Ken- 

 dall, president of this company, has recently 

 returned from a trip through the West. 



The Emporium Lumber Company, Emporium, 

 Pa., has bought about 120,000 acres of hardwood 

 Umber in New York and Vermont, much of it 

 being in the Adirondacks. The two tracts pur- 

 ■ hased will cut at least 1,000,000 feet of birch 

 nlone. The company will not begin operations 

 light away, but will finally establish a very large 

 plant to cut off the timber. 



The Warren Handle Works, Warren, O., has 

 secured the contract from the United States 

 Steel Foundry Company to furnish its entire 

 supply of handles for two years. This is one of 

 the best orders ever booked by a Western Re- 

 serve firm and will take a large amount of hard- 

 wood to fill it. 



B. F. Perry, secretary of the National Whole- 

 sale Lumber Dealers' Association and also of the 

 Lumber Underwriters' Insurance Company of New 

 I'ork, made a short stay In Pittsburg recently. 

 Another visitor to the city last week was Morris 

 W. Wiley of the Wiley-Homer Lumber Company 

 of Baltimore. 



The Railroad & Car Material Company is mak- 

 ing first-class headway in its hardwood depart- 



ment. Railroad orders are much more encour- 

 aging and the demand for oak is sufficient to 

 keep the company busy a good share of the time. 



The car shortage, chiefly in West Virginia, is 

 looking quite serious. On the B. & O. and the 

 Western Maryland it is reported that at many 

 points shipments have to wait a week or more 

 for cars ; even then some wholesalers announce 

 that they have to use cattle cars for shipping 

 good lumber. If this condition becomes more 

 aggravated, as it is likely to do, its effect upon 

 the hardwood market cannot fail to stiffen pr.'ces. 



The work of getting Pittsburg's big bond issue 

 in sliape lo spend is already started. Ordinances 

 will be introduced in city council shortly to get 

 in definite form the bond issue, and it is likely 

 that the bonds will be placed and actual work 

 or. the improvements started early In January. 

 Mayor William A. Magee has been in frequent 

 consultation with the State Railway Commission 

 at Harrisburg in reference to immense improve- 

 aients to the trolley system of this city. His 

 efforts are likely to avail much and trolley con- 

 struction work is pretty sure to be announced by 

 1910 on a mammoth scale. It Is evident to all 

 observers that Pittsburg is booked for a splendid 

 era of municipal and corporation improvements, 

 aud Pittsburg wholesalers are already beginning 

 to count their sales of lumber which will be 

 needed for these improvements. 



The annual convention of the Pennsylvania 

 lumber retailers will be held at the Mononga- 

 hola house in I'ittsburg, January 27 and 28. 

 Last week the Pittsburg Retail Lumber Dealers' 

 Association appointed A. G. Breitwieser of the 

 A. G. Breitwieser Company, George M. Glass of 

 the Keystone Lumber Company and A. C. RIghter, 

 secretary of the local association, a committee 

 to get up the program for the convention and 

 make all preliminary arrangements. The annual 

 convention is a much more important gathering 

 than the midsummer meeting of the Pennsylva- 

 nia retailers, which is more a social gathering, 

 and at the coming convention several matters of 

 much importance to the state retail lumber In- 

 terests are to be discussed. 



BOSTON 



George B. Jobson, secretary and sales manager 

 of the A. C. Davis Lumber Company, Columbus, 

 Ohio, was a recent visitor in the Boston market, 

 as was also F. C. Zupke, second vice-president 

 of the Darnell-Taenzer Lumber Company, manu- 

 facturers of and dealers in hardwood lumber, 

 Memphis, Tenn. 



Furber, Stockford & Co., wholesale dealers, 

 have removed their offices to the Fisk building, 

 89 State street, Boston. 



Frank H. Taylor, one of the best known lum- 

 bermen in Maine, died November 9 at his home 

 in Bangor. He had been associated with the 

 James Walker Company for forty-two years. 



The Mapleton Lumber Company has been 

 organized at Presque Isle, Me., with a capital 

 slock of $30,000 to deal in timber lands. 



The Berkshire Lumber Company, PIttsfleld, 

 Mass., is planning to make improvements at its 

 yard. A new shed will be erected. 



William E. Litchfield has returned from a 

 trip to Washington and New York. 



Eliot P. Livermore. who has conducted a lum- 

 ber business in Bridgeport, Conn., under the 

 name of the Livermore Lumber Company, has 

 disposed of all of his lumber to the Frank 

 Miller Lumber Company and has retired from 

 the lumber business. 



An attempt was recently made to set fire to 

 the large plant occupied by the Simonds Manu- 

 facturing Company, saw manufacturers. For- 

 tunately the fire was discovered by the watch- 

 man before it had made any headway. 



The Palmer & Palmer Company, Boston, is 

 classed as one of the pioneers in the manufac- 

 ture of veneers in this country, "rhe business 

 was established in 1832 by Harrison Parker be- 



