HARDWOOD RECORD 



35 



grades and caused them to move very slowly at the beginning 

 of this past year. Tlie last part of 1909 the lower grades have 

 Iwen moving "more freely and although the prices have not been 

 advancing in proportion to the increased demand there has been 

 a marked strength in the market and the stocks in hand now are 

 more in normal condition with respect to the proportion of the 

 different grades. 



ITiere is nothing in sight confronting the lumbermen that indicates 

 anything but flattering trade conditions. The panic being over, 

 every class of consumption resuming their buying to practically 

 their old condition, together with the fact that the production is 

 only fair, brings every lumberman who has stock for sale into a 

 condition that is not only satisfactory at the present time, but with 

 a future before him that is more than satisfactory. The lumber- 

 men with hardwood interests can be congratulated on the conditions 

 which are appearing for the year 1910; it is predicted by one of 

 the most conservative that by the month of April the values 

 of all commodities, lumber especially, will be in line with a plane 

 that will produce satisfactory returns. This is a condition that 

 has been long looked for by the lumbermen in the past as a great 

 many losses have been sustained during the last few years when 

 the prices obtained were not in line with the costs of production. 

 Bureau of Commercial Reports 



This department of our general Information Bureau is perhaps 

 second only to our Bureau of Grades, and it has been handled in 

 the past along the same general lines as we have endeavored to 

 carry out in the inception of this system, and find the large num- 

 ber of members who constantly use this system of inquiring to all 

 members, and return reports covering their actual business dealings 

 with parties inquired for. We believe that it is of great benefit 

 to all our members, perhaps more especially to those who are in 

 less active and close touch with their customers. In the long 

 period of time that we have been issuing these confidential reports, 

 our members should have very complete records regarding the same. 

 Publicity, Berlin Exposition 



We have received communication from the Executive Secretary 

 of the American Exposition to be lield in Berlin, 1910, enclosing 

 a prospectus of the same, from which we are advised that this 

 will be an Ail-American Exposition held in a foreign country, and 

 the first of its kind. The exposition opens in June and continues 

 for three months. 



The Executive Secretary, jMr. Vieweber, also calls our attention 

 to the fact that the Board of Governors of the National Lumber 

 Manufacturers' Association adopted resolution at their last meeting 

 to bring this matter to the attention of the various association 

 of lumbermen, outlining the desirability of their placing an exhibit 

 at that exposition. Mr. Edward Hines, the president of the Na- 

 tional Lumber Manufacturers' Association, is a member of the 

 Advisory Committee for this exposition, and we have, therefore, 

 been requested to bring this matter up for your consideration, as 

 to whether or not we, as an organization, or individual lumbermen, 

 would desire to make an exhibit at such time. 



We have also been approached during the past year by the forest 

 service by Mr. McGarvey Cline, in behalf of their laboratory at 

 Madison, Wis., to furnish them with a certain number of logs 

 of given specifications for testing purposes, which communication 

 we have submitted to our members through the "Bulletin Service." 



We have just in the past few days received a communication 

 from the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station, advising that they 

 are anxious to put in a good display of finished woods that would 

 show the commercial uses of the different species, and that they 

 would like very much to have the sample pieces of such woods 

 in oak, beech, birch and maple, showing the varied uses of the 

 woods, as well as views of hardwood logging and milling operations 

 for the same purpose. Any of our members wishing to place exhibits 

 with the above should communicate with Mr. C. A. Scott, forester, 

 Ames, Iowa, for full details of what is desired. 



Exporting Red Gum 



It has been brought to our attention that the Italian government 

 is discriminating against the manufacturers of red gum. Tne 

 Italian customs tariff provides, as we understand, for two classes 

 of wood, namely, common and cabinet makers. The former class 

 is admitted to that country free of duty, while against the latter 

 there is assessed a duty of from three to four lire per quintal, or 

 from 20 cents to 2.5 cents for about 225 pounds. Heretofore gum 

 has been classed as common luml>er in connection with such woods 

 as maple, oak, chestnut, cherry and cedar, but recently has been 

 placed in the class with ebony, mahogany and similar woods of 

 great weight and value as cabinet woods, and the classification 

 covers all varieties of gum, red gum, sap gum, tupelo, etc. This 

 duty on gum is approximately .$10.00 per 1000 feet. 



The National Lumber Exporters' Association have taken up this 

 matter with the association, and in view of the fact that a large 

 number of the members of our association are vitally interested 

 in the manufacture of gum. and a considerable number are eng.aged 

 in exporting the same to Italy and other countries, we place this 



matter before you, as it has been placed in our hands, for con- 

 sideration. 



American Lumber Trades Congress 

 This association, at its last annual meeting, adopted a Code 

 of Ethics that had been put into shape by the American Lumber 

 Trades Congress at their meeting in July, 1908. This congress, 

 which is composed of delegates from a large number of lumber 

 trade organizations, representing practically all lines of the industry, 

 at the meeting in Chicago, June 7 and 8, 1909, revised its Code 

 of Ethics, and you will find distributed throughout the hall a copy 

 of this new code, which the president has already referred to and 

 which has had the careful consideration of our committee on a 

 selling code for the past year, and as the result of such considera- 

 tion they will no doubt have something to propose for your adoption 

 in lieu thereof. 



The members of this association who attended this last meeting 

 of the American Lumber Trades Congress, were as follows: R. M. 

 Carrier, president, Sardis, Miss., Thos. W. Fry, C. F. Luehrmann 

 Hardwood Lumber Co., St. Louis, Mo., and Lewis Doster, secretary, 

 Cincinnati, Ohio. 



Stock Sheets 

 This department of our general information bureau we have 

 endeavored to carry along the lines that would be of greatest 

 benefit to our producing, our wholesale, and our consuming members, 

 and have had a great number of requests all through the year for 

 copies of the same from parties who desire to get in quick touch 

 with stocks for rush shipments. 



The wholesale as well as the consuming members have been using 

 this system very freely the past year with good results to them 

 and to the producing members We shall take advantage of every 

 opportunity in the future to improve this feature along any lines 

 where such can be discovered. 



Corporation Tax 

 As you are doubtless aware, and as suggested by President Carrier 

 in his annual address, the tariff" law passed by Congress in 1909 

 under Section 38, provided for an income tax on corporations. 



We have received correspondence from dift'erent organizations 

 during the year in regard to the constitutionality of this law, such 

 as the St. Paul Manufacturers' Association, and the Illinois Manu- 

 facturers' Association. 



Through the courtesy of the former we are able to present to 

 you in printed form the report of the committee appointed by 

 that association, including opinions of prominent members of the 

 New York Bar. These pamphlets have been distributed for your 

 information, in view of the fact that this matter may no doubt be 

 taken up and some action decided upon at this meeting, or a 

 committee arranged for to instruct the work for the future. 

 Telegraph Code 

 The Western Union and Postal Telegraph Companies the past 

 .year amended the tariff on land line telegrams covering code mes- 

 sages, reducing the group of letters theretofore considered as one 

 word from ten letters to five, thereby in some cases practically 

 doubling the cost of such code messages. 



We took the matter up with both telegraph companies, and 

 neither of them would consent to any change in their rules, except 

 as to what they designate as their rule 4, and under which rule 4, 

 they will allow all dictionary words from the eight most prominent 

 languages, regardless of the length of the word, to be counted as 

 one word, and that the arbitrary counting of five leters as one 

 word only refers to such code words as are not found in any dic- 

 tionary of any of the eight languages specified, or are arbitrary 

 combinations of letters which the telegraph companies consider 

 unpronouncable. We feel that we have done all we could in our 

 endeavors to have them amend the same, but if not, will be 

 guided by any action that is taken at this convention regarding 

 the same. 



Government Price List 

 At our last annual meeting we were honored by having with 

 us Mr. McGarvey Cline. representing the forest service, who at 

 that time outlined to us the purpose of the department in pub- 

 lishing a price list, and since that time they have changed their 

 jjlan of issuing the list each month, so that now the United States 

 government through the Forest .Service of the Department of Agri- 

 culture, publish quarterly what is called "Wholesale Prices of 

 Lumber," 



There are also publications being made by private organizations, 

 and although there is considerable variation in prices shown by 

 the different publications from the actual conditions, in view of 

 the fact that none are binding, nor recognized authority nor widely 

 circulated, they are not considered a detriment to the business, 

 but as a matter of record. 



The value of any of these publications defjends practically upon 

 the class of people from whom the information is derived. The 

 secretary's office has not participated in the making of any of these 

 lists. 



Government Investigation 

 We have been called upon in the past by the Department of 

 Commerce and Labor to go into the, affairs of our association 



