40 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



of the cause of the present high prices prevail- 

 ing in certain lines of hardwoods. Mr. Sander- 

 son stated that owing to the immense amount 

 of competition in purchasing logs the prices have 

 been advanced remarkably, and that this coupled 

 with the fact that low grades do not sell in 

 accordance with other values, make it necessary 

 to get the difference out of the uppers. He was 

 not very optimistic as far as any lessening In 

 prices in the immediate future is concerned. 



E. L. Muse, a representative of the South 

 from Gould, Ark., spoke emphatically regarding 

 the usual lack of reciprocity between hardwood 

 manufacturers and the dealers to whom they 

 sell. He was very earnest in his appeal for a 

 mutual understanding for the best interests of 

 both, and expressed himself as regretting the 

 fact that in many markets Jf a manufacturer 

 ships a car which does not entirely come up to 

 specifications, he is usually called upon to either 

 forfeit the entire sale or make a special trip to 

 adjust the difliculty. His suggestion that the 

 dealers utilize what stock they could and return 

 the remainder was well received by the exchange, 

 and President Brown replied by stating that the 

 speaker had exactly touched the chord which 

 sounds the true policy of the Chicago Exchange. 



Following a discussion of the merits and de- 

 merits of the suggestion advanced at the last 

 meeting, to Endeavor to bring the next annual 

 meeting of the National Hardwood Lumber Asso- 

 ciation to this city. President Brown opened up 

 the credit question, which was the cause of an 

 extended discussion among the members in gen- 

 eral, and brought forth some very pointed and 

 meritorious remarks. 



The last business before the exchange, prior 

 to adjournment, was the suggestion from B. B. 

 Skeele of the Board of Managers, who reminded 

 the association of the action of that body in 

 deciding that future meetings would be held on 

 Fridays instead of Saturdays, as heretofore, in 

 view of the many diversions of the summer sea- 

 son, which are liable to cause a meagre attend- 

 ance. Adjournment followed immediately. 



The attendants were as follows : 

 O. O. Agler, Upham & Agler. 



F. M. Baker, Hardwood Mills Lumber Com- 

 pany. 



John S. Benedict. 



S. C. Bennett, Hardwood Mills Lumber Com- 

 pany. 



Horace W. Black, Fred W. Black Lumber Com- 

 pany. 



Frederick L. Brown, Crandall & Brown. 



W. R. Carney, Lumber World. 



C. L. Cross. 



H. B. Darlington, American Lumberman. 



Wm. A. Eager. 



Colt L. Farnsworth, F. S. Hendrlckson Lumber 

 Company. 



Frank F. Fish, National Hardwood Lumber 

 Association. 



H. R. Foster, F. S. Hendrickson Lumber Com- 

 pany. 



J. J. Fink, Flnk-Heidler Company. 



Q. Y. Hamilton, Lumber Shippers Storage & 

 Commission Company. 



J. B. O. Haver, Kerns-TJtley Lumber Company. 



S. P. C. Hostler, American Forest Company. 



R. S. Huddleston, Huddleston-Marsh Lumber 

 Company. 



T. G. La Blanc, Southern Lumberman. 



J. L. Lane, J. L. Lane & Co. 



E. .T. Leech, Paepcke-Leicht Lumber Company. 



G. D. Larson, Flnk-Heidler Company. 



F. B. McMullen, FuUerton-Powell Hardwood 

 Lumber Company. 



Robt. Maisey, Maisey & Dion. 



E. W. Meeker, Hardwood Record. 



R. L. Muse, R. L. Muse & Co., Gould, Ark. 



G. C. Pratt, G. C. Pratt Lumber & Tie Co. 



A. M. Richardson, Vollmar & Below Company. 



Thomas B. Roy, Theo. Fathauer Company. 



A. H. Ruth. G. W. Jones Lumber Company. 



Wm. C. Schreiber, Herman H. Hettler Lumber 

 Company. 



Paul Schmechel. 



S. B. Sanderson, Republic Lumber Company. 



Edw. E. Skeele, Estabrook-Skeele Lumber Com- 

 pany. 



Fred D. Smith. 



Louis A. Smith, FuUerton-Powell Hardwood 

 Lumber Company. 



J. S. Trainer, Trainer Bros. Lumber Company. 



F. C. Van Norstrand, Cotton Belt Lumber Com- 

 pany. 



Chas. Westcott, Hayden & Westcott Lumber 

 Company. 



0. H. Wolfe, Heath-Witbeck Company. 

 A. W. Wylie. 



Reflections of a Handle Producer 



By H. B. ALEXANDER 



This is the season when most makers of 

 handles have the large bulk of their season's 

 supply of timber bought, and in most cases 

 in their yards where it should be. To get 

 the best results from lumber of any kind 

 for handle manufacture, it is always wise to 

 fell the trees in winter while the sap is down, 

 as it seems that then the lumber will dry in 

 a much shorter time than if the trees are cut 

 later. This is especially true of hard maple, 

 as all handle manufacturers, who have delayed 

 their cutting until sugar-making time, have 

 learned to their sorrow. The efficiency of the 

 modern dry-kiln or kettles being granted, 

 there is nothing that will compare to open-air 

 drying for the proper preparation of stock 

 for the manufacture of handles, and what 

 time of the year is better for seasoning than 

 the month of March, with its dry winds? 



I have tried all ways of getting my 

 handles on the market in the quickest and 

 shortest possible time after felling the tree, 

 and have come to the conclusion, after years 

 of experience and observation, that the most 

 satisfactory article both to the producer, 

 from a financial point of view and to the 

 broom manufacturer, from the consideration 

 of durability and stability, is the handle made 

 from lumber which has been on sticks from 

 sixty to ninety days. 



It seems that there is a substance of some 

 kind in the cells of the wood which, when 

 the sap is evaporated gradually as in slow 

 drying, forms a kind of glue and serves to 

 bind the cells tightly together. On the other 

 hand, when the sap is driven out rapidly by 

 extreme heat this substance is still held in 

 solution and carried off. Consequently there 

 is nothing left but the shell, and it is evident 

 that a mere shell will not stand anything like 

 the amount of service that the more solid ar- 

 ticle produced by slow drying would. While 

 many manufacturers contend that the handles 

 will outlast the broom in any case, they do 

 not consider the fact that some handles are 

 so poorly manufactured, and are of such a 

 poor grade of wood that it is most difficult 

 to attach the broom and to ship any quantity 

 of handles without considerable breakage. A 

 shipment of brooms recently loaded on a 

 freight car showed clearly the result of this 

 kind of manufacture, as a large percentage 

 of the handles were broken as the bundles 

 were tossed into the car. It might be said that 

 the fault lies with the men who are trying to 

 do a large business with small capital; hav- 

 ing but little available assets it is necessary 

 for them to turn their stock into money as 

 quickly as possible, in order to buy suflScient 

 timber to keep their mills running. The only 



way this can be accomplished is to dry the 

 lumber as quickly as possible. 



An instance was recently brought to my 

 attention of two men who were so poorly in- 

 formed on this line of manufacture that they 

 actually did not know the kind of lumber 

 handles are made from. They planned to 

 manufacture all types, and as far as I can see 

 they will not be in business more than a few 

 months. One of the partners recently ad- 

 dressed a letter to me asking for information 

 about sand belts, glue and various other 

 things, in fact seeking information on all 

 lines, which I have acquired after years of 

 experience. This is just by way of showing 

 the type of men with whom we have to deal. 



It is a fact that only about one handle fac- 

 tory in twenty has anything more than a dirt 

 floor, and probably only about one in five can 

 boast of factory trucks. The initial cost of a 

 plain cement floor and a sufficient quantity 

 of trucks is so small that it could be paid for 

 in a short time, and after that the profits, 

 which could be traced directly to these im- 

 provements would more than warrant the or- 

 iginal outlay. In addition, the saving in the 

 case of lost parts, which without a board or 

 cement floor get mixed with sawdust and shav- 

 ings, would amount to more in the course of 

 a year than one might imagine. 



In view of the fact that both the cost of 

 raw material, such as hard maple, and the cost 

 of manufacture, under which will come labor 

 and supplies, have advanced materially in the 

 last few years, it seems that an organization 

 among the manufacturers of handles would 

 be both beneficial to themselves and to con- 

 sumers of this article. Not only is the price 

 of hard maple considerably above that of even 

 last year, but it is hard to get at any figure. 

 The handle manufacturers, as a rule, buy from 

 the small country mills, who owing to their 

 limited finances and timber holdings, cannot 

 afford to hold their stock suflSciently long to 

 insure a thorough drying, hence the handle 

 manufacturers usually have to be content with 

 green stock. The flooring manufacturers con- 

 sume the largest part of the output of the big 

 mills, which are in a position to have on hand 

 constantly, stock which is well manufactured 

 and absolutely dry. 



There is no question but that broom handles 

 are now selling too low, considering the cost 

 of manufacture. It is a well known fact 

 that there will be an immense corn crop pro- 

 duced this year, which will result in much 

 cheaper material for the broom manufacturer. 

 These people will> without doubt, hold their 

 prices at the present figures in order to 

 realize increased profit. With a proper or- 

 ganization among the handle men, this branch 

 of the industry could readily have a share 

 in this advance; handles of aU grades should 

 have a straight advance of $5 a thousand. 

 This would amount to only a quarter of a cent 

 per handle, and while, of course, the broom 

 men would object, this action could be put 

 through with the proper unity of action 

 among the handle manufacturers. 



