HARDWOOD RECORD 



31 



ilieh., is running day and night in an en- 

 deavor to take care of its orders. The con- 

 cern employs about forty men, and with its 

 present equipment consumes about a million 

 feet of stock annually. 



* * * 



A large stock of logs has just been put in 

 by Hood & Wright at their Big Rapids vc- 

 ■ neer plant. 



J. F. Stengel of the Buffalo Veneer Works, 

 Buffalo, N. Y., reports business active. He 

 is cutting oak mostly at the present time. 

 This plant has entirely recovered from the 

 fire of last summer, and is now running in 

 fine shape. 



* i^ * 



The Batesville Lumber & Veneer Company 

 of Lawrenceburg, Ind., has increased its capi 

 tal stock to $70,000. 



s * * 



On March 19 fire damaged the plant of 

 the Cincinnati Veneer Company at West 

 Sixth and Front streets, Cincinnati. At 

 two 'eloel-c in the morning a blaze was dis- 

 covered in the glue room,' which spread rap- 

 idly, causing a loss of about $25,000 on the 

 stock and plant. This is fully covered by 

 insurance. The loss ou the building, whicli 

 was leased by the veneer company, is csti 

 mated at $5,00(1, also well covered by in 

 surance. George Unnewehr, president and 

 treasurer of the company, states that the 

 cause of the disaster is a mystery, as there 

 is no fire used in the glue room, and though 

 the plant is wired for electric lighting there 

 was no current in the wires at the time of 

 the blaze, as at that hour the power was 

 shut down and the dynamo not in operation. 

 The company manufactures veneers and 

 thin sawed and cigar box lumber and had 

 a well-equipped factory. 



* • ' * 



A new factory is being erected by the 



I Central Veneer Company at Winter avenue 



and the belt railroad tracks, Indianapolis, 



Ind. The company is also installing a new 



power plant. 



* * • 



Directors of the Plymouth Veneer Com 

 pany of Plymouth, Wis., recently elected the 

 following officers for that concern: Presi- 

 dent, H. G. Davis; vice-president, D. E. 

 Meyer; secretary and treasurer, E. E. East- 

 man. The company will soon begin the 

 erection of a new factnrv. 



* * • 



Charles E. Gregory, Mary H. Gregory, 

 Mary W. Mothei'shead and O. M. Mothers- 

 head have organized the Veneer Package 

 Companv at Indianapolis; capital stock. 

 $10,000." 



Leonard Bronson Active Against "Trust" 

 Howl 



-Managi-T Leonard Bronson of the National 

 Lumber Manufacturers' Association is entering 

 upon a campaign in behalf of the lumber trade. 

 Many of the hardships heretofore experienced 

 through adverse public sentiment could have 

 been readily avoided by putting before the people 

 a true statement of facts in contradiction of the 

 erroneous and unjust statements so willingly 

 published by the daily press. The following 

 article, written for the Chicago Record-Herald, 

 by Mr. Bronson, will be welcome to that think- 

 ing element who are fair enough to want to 

 hear both sides of the question before passing 

 judgment : 



You may have noticed that Mr. Gifford Pin- 

 chot. In his statement following his deposal from 

 the position of chief forester, spoke of the 

 especial danger of monopolistic control of water 

 powers and of coal lands now in government 

 ownership. He said : "The first great imme- 

 diate danger is that the water powers will be 

 lost ; the second, that the coal lands will be 

 lost." Did you notice that he failed to mention 

 the danger of monopoly of forest lands? 



The omission is significant of the fact that 



he is not in sympathy with those who cry "lum- 

 ber trust" and with those who delight in de- 

 nouncing the so-called "timber barons" or "tim- 

 ber monopolists." Mr. Pinchot is not apprehen- 

 sive on this score, because he Knows that there 

 are two factors protecting the public. One is 

 the law itself, by which it is impossible for tim- 

 ber lands to be "grabbed." The other is the 

 fact, of which no one is so well advised as he. 

 not only that timber owners and lumber oper- 

 ators themselves are the ones upon whom the 

 country must chiefly depend for a perpetuation 

 of its forest resources, but that they are in 

 sympathy with the conservation movement and 

 are cooperating with every public agency in an 

 attempt to devise practicable measures by which 

 this property, of value to them and of immense 

 importance to the welfare of the country, shall 

 be conserved and perpetuated. 



Mr. Pinchot knows that, while there are large 

 timber holdings in private hands, there is no 

 aionopoly nor prospect of monopoly. He knows 

 the financial, industrial and political diflSculties 

 that stand In the way of the management of tim- 

 ber holdings, according to forestry principles 

 and theories. He appreciates that timber prop- 

 erty must be handled like any other property, 

 with a view of at least a reasonable profit result- 

 ing from its ownership and operation. 



He knows that the timber owners and lumber 

 producers of the United States are at least as 

 patriotic as any other class of citizens and that, 

 as a class, they stand ready to do whatever can 

 reasonably be done toward the adoption of meth- 

 ods of management which will, without working 

 forfeiture or serious injury to private property, 

 promote the interest of the community at large. 

 He realizes that his most efficient assistance, 

 promising most definite beneficial results, has 

 come from tlie lumbermen themselves. 



The public iias been aroused as to the neces- 

 sity of conserving the forests, among other nat- 

 ural resources, but has not yet realized its own 

 share in this work. It has been popular to 

 denounce the lumbermen without taking into 

 consideration the conditions under which they 

 have operated — conditions which largely have 

 resulted from public indifference, ignorance, or 

 even hostility. 



The people were indifferent to this subject 

 until the decreasing supply of timber resulted in 

 higher prices for certain classes of lumber and 

 then, ignorant of conditions, tbe people de- 

 nounced the lumbermen for methods of which 

 the people themselves were the chief beneficiaries. 



The lumber industry ha." <nade some mone>. 

 though by no means as much as the people sup- 

 pose, by supplying the demand for cheap nuiidiug 

 material. If fifty years ago forestry methods 

 had been adopted, the cost of lumber used in 

 the settlement of the West would have been fifty 

 to one hundred per cent more than it was, and 

 who shall say to what extent this might not 

 have retarded the development of the prairie 

 regions?' 



The lack of conservation methods is today 

 supplying the market with lumber at prrces 

 which barely cover the present cost of produc- 

 tion, much less the costs which would accrue if 

 forestry methods were adopted. Still the de- 

 mand goes up for "cheaper lumber." 



The hostility resulting from ignorance of con- 

 ditions has led to the adoption of public policies 

 which have hindered conservation, have made it 

 almost impossible to adopt forestry methods and 

 so have defeated themselves. 



I do not believe that the people wish to do 

 injustice to any class of their fallow citizens. 

 I do not believe that the farmer would, if he 

 understood the facts, consent to policies leading 

 to the confiscation of any private property hon- 

 estly acquired. He is too honest to take such a 

 position, and if he were not honest he would 

 feel that the title to his own property would 

 thereby be endangered. 



I think every lumber consumer who is capable 

 o£ thought would say that he wanted lumber 



cnly as cheaply as it could be furnished, with 

 a reasonable profit to everyone legitimately en- 

 gaged In its manufacture, transportation and 

 merchandising, together with due regard for the 

 future welfare of the country. 



I believe that the people are prepared now to 

 support and await the results of a careful, calm, 

 thorough investigation of the relation of the lum- 

 ber industry, as such, to the forest resources of 

 the country, as well as to their own present 

 welfare. 



The National Conservation Commission was, he- 

 ioi-e its activities were reported by Congress, 

 engaged in preparing for such a study of this 

 aud other related questions. The scope of such 

 an inquiry is wide. It involves the determina- 

 tion of what is practicable from the standpoint 

 of the constitutional rights of the individual 

 property owner ; it involves the duties of not 

 only the national government, but of the state 

 toward any industry. This involves taxation 

 and the whole subject of uniform state laws, as 

 well as the development of a sound and effective 

 state policy looking to the control of ignorant 

 or reckless lumber operators. 



Under Mr. Pinehofs regime in the Forest 

 Service co-operation between the government and 

 timber owners and lumber manufacturers made 

 great advance. Now the public should demand 

 that, in a matter of such importance as this, 

 co-operation between the people, represented in 

 the state and national governments, and the 

 holders of tour-fifths of the standing timber of 

 the United States should be continued and ad- 

 vanced, to the end that by the same procedure 

 public interests should be conserved and private 

 rights respected, and thus the highest degree of 

 general prosperity be fostered as well as the 

 future be assured. 



The people look to papers like the Record- 

 Herald for leadership in the public study and 

 discussion of such vital questions as this. They 

 expect sanity and fairness from them and look 

 to another class of journals tor denunciation and 

 appeals to prejudice and partisanship. 



You, in turn, must look for technical infor- 

 mation to agencies like the Forest Service, whose 

 duty it is to make special study and investiga- 

 tions along this particular line, but you can 

 guide the public in the direction of a sane and 

 reasonable attitude toward these questions and 

 all the great interests aft'ected by them. 



Out of such consideration as you are able to 

 give these subjects will come good to the people, 

 I'oth in the present and for the future, and the 

 foundation to be laid in right laws, and a correct 

 lublic sentiment, for a more abiding prosperity. 



Lee Wilson & Co. to Rebuild Plant 

 Fire recently heavily damaged the band mill, 

 resaw and veneer factory of Lee Wilson & Co. at 

 Wilson, Ark., and it Is stated that the firm will 

 take immediate steps to replace the plant with 

 a first-class operation on which will be expended 

 about $100,000. The fire destroyed the building 

 and machinery, but all of the material on the 

 yards, amounting to about 4,000,000 feet of logs 

 and 3,000,000 feet of lumber, was saved. The 

 company is under the necessity of cutting this 

 stock as quickly as possible, and for this reason 

 steps will be taken just .is soon as the losses on 

 the plant have been adjusted to get the new mill 

 into running shape. 



Lee Wilson i Co. have selling headquarters at 

 Memphis, Tenn., and a large mill at Armorel, 

 Ark., in addition to the one at Wilson. The Ar- 

 morel plant is working full time, but it Is such 

 a great distance from this mill to Wilson that 

 there is no possibility of working up the timber 

 at the latter place at the Armorel mill. The nev,- 

 plant will be equipped with automatic extin- 

 guishers, a new feature among country mills, 

 where as a general rule there is a lack of water 

 pressure. Lee Wilson & Co. have overcome this 

 difficulty by establishing their own artesian well 

 ■M this point. 



