HARDWOOD RECORD 



57 



Operations in- Grayling and vicinity are active. 

 The Sailing-Hanson Company is operating its 

 plants to full capacity and cutting about 22,000,- 

 000 feet a year. The Johannesburg Manufac- 

 turing Company has moved a lot of maple to 

 Detroit, and is having a good business. This 

 concern has stock for a number of years' run 

 yet. The new mill of R. Hanson & Sons, a mile 

 north of Grayling, is running steadily. The 

 N. Michelson Company is operating extensively 

 at Michelson, on Houghton Lake. It ships out 

 its product over a branch of the Grand Rapids 

 & Indiana railroad. 



The new box factory devoted largely to the 

 manufacture of box stuff from low-grade hard- 

 wood lumber, is nearly ready for business at 

 Bay City. The Mershon-Bacon Company has 

 erected it and it is equipped throughout with 

 new and up-to-date machinery. The company 

 Is now equipped to do a much larger business 

 than ever before. 



F. L. Richardson of Alpena, his Arm operating 

 saw mills at Bay City and Alpena, went to New 

 Orleans last week to attend the meeting of the 

 National Lumber Manufacturers' Association. 



Walter D. Young is planning a business trip to 

 Europe in a few weeks. This firm is doing a 

 heavy export business in flooring. 



CADILLAC 



F. J. Cobbs of Cobbs & Mitchell, Inc., and wife 

 have returned from a two months' trip to Los 

 Angeles, Cal., and the West. 



Fred A. Diggins of Murphy & Diggins and 

 A. F. Anderson, prominent Cadillac lumbermen, 

 are in Seattle, Wash., and will visit other west- 

 ern points before returning home. 



John S. Weidman of Mt. Pleasant has closed 

 his mill at Weidman and with his son is contem- 

 plating starting a new operation near Waters- 

 meet. 



Carroll F. Sweet of the Fuller & Rice Lumber 

 & Manufacturing Company, Fred I. Nichols of 

 Nichols & Cox Lumber Company. Chas. H. 

 Phelps of the Hackley-Fhelps-Bonnell Company 

 and A. Gibbs of Gibbs, Hall & Allen Company, 

 all of Grand Rapids, and Tom Denton of Saginaw 

 visited lumbermen here this week. 



W. W. Mitchell, president of Cobbs & Mitchell, 

 Inc., and the Mitchell Brothers Company, and 

 wife have returned from a six weeks' eastern 

 trip, visiting at Atlantic City, N. J. ; Philadel- 

 phia, New York, Washington and other points of 

 Interest. 



Up to Saturday night no rain had fallen in 

 this vicinity for several weeks, the ground was 

 very dry and forest fires had started in the 

 vicinity of Cadillac and Traverse City, making 

 It necessary to place extra gangs of men and 

 even to call on the Are department to put out 

 the fires just outside of city limits. 



By the breaking of a tightener pulley in the 

 saw mill of A. J. White on the North Manitou 

 Island the mill was badly damaged and put out 

 of commission for two weeks, every pulley of 

 the main shaft being broken, though no one was 

 injured. The White mill is cutting under con- 

 tract for the Smith & Hull Company, Traverse 

 City. 



The tracks of the Mitchell Brothers Comp'any 

 In Kalkaska county are being extended to 

 Spencer. Other grading is being done and in all 

 fifteen miles of grading and track will be 

 finished this summer. The country through 

 which the road will run is covered with heavy 

 stands of hardwood and hemlock timber. 



Friday, .\pril 29, has been designated by 

 Governor Warner as Arbor Day in Michigan, the 

 proclamation reading as follows : 



The Increasing importance of this day and its 

 observance is urged upon our citizens. "Plant a 

 Tree" should be the watchword of everyone for- 

 tunate enough to own a portion of Michigan's 

 fertile soil. The homes and farms, the parks 

 and the highways of our state should bear evi- 

 dence in the vears to come that their future 

 beauty and utility were kept in mind by those 



In whom their stewardship has been placed. 



We owe this to posterity, but we will not have 

 to wait beyond our own time for the reward. A 

 love for nature, for the shrubs, flowers and trees 

 shoiild be inculcated in the youtli of our land. 



Those in authority in our cities and villages 

 may well call the attention of the people to the 

 day and the sentiment that first brought about 

 its observance. Better care of the parks and 

 playgrounds, improved conditions surrounding 

 the public places, will be the result of organized 

 eft'ort and no more valuable service can be ren- 

 dered the people than impressing upon them the 

 fact that this day means much to them and 

 theirs. 



The largest class in forestry that ever grad- 

 uated from the Michigan Agricultural College 

 will pass from that institution this year. Twelve 

 of the class will take the civil service examina- 

 tion for technical positions with the Forest 

 Service of the United States. If successful in 

 passing this examination, the foresters will enter 

 the United States service as forestry assistants 

 at the salary of ?1,200 per year. 



The Michigan Railroad Commission obtained a 

 decision against the railroads of Michigan before 

 Judge Donovan in the circuit court of Detroit, 

 which sustained its contention that the Michigan 

 demurrage rules shall be applied in Michigan. 

 It Is, however, the intention of the railroads to 

 carry the suit to the supreme court of Michigan 

 and it is possible the subject will finally land 

 in the supreme court of the United States. 



The oflice, sheds, contents and adjoining lum- 

 ber of the Mancelona Lumber Company, Man- 

 celona, Mich., burned April IS. The loss is 

 estimated at about $5,000, with no insurance. 



The employees of the W. H. White Company 

 and the Boyne City Lumber Company of Boyne 

 City were made happy by an increase In wages 

 of from five to eight per cent. This increase 

 came unsolicited and was a direct cause of 

 President W. H. White's study of the high cost 

 of living. 



The .\lpena Chamber of Commerce, at the 

 largest meeting ever held by that body, accepted 

 the proposition of Thomas E. Ahern of Detroit 

 to build an automobile factory in Alpena. The 

 citizens agreed to furnish a ten-acre site and 

 cash bonus of .|.=)0,000. Mr. Ahern agreed to 

 furnish the company with $150,000 cash capital. 

 The proposition was approved by F. W. Gilchrist, 

 Ex-Mayor O'Brien and others. 



The arbutus crop in Michigan this year comes 

 much earlier and large quantities are being 

 shipped from Traverse City, Walton and vicinity 

 all over the state of Michigan and even reaching 

 so far south as Florida, west to California and 

 east to Boston and New York. 



Supervisor Higgins of the United States 

 Forest Service has set out 18,000 Norway cut- 

 tings, 2S,000 Norway poplar cuttings and 30 

 acres of white pine cuttings on the Michigan 

 forest reserve near Oscoda. 



The Gardner Artificial Lumber Company has 

 recently been organized at Lansing with a cap- 

 ital of $200,000. The lumber to be manufac- 

 tured is made from straw and will appear just 

 the same as the natural wood. It is made into 

 any thickness and width, these boards are not 

 affected by the atmosphere and will not shrink, 

 warp or swell, and can be manufactured cheaply. 

 The straw used in its composition is obtained 

 from the western wheat fields. 



A bill has been introduced in the House of 

 Representatives at Washington making Muskegon 

 a sub-port of entry, and an endeavor Is also 

 being made to enlarge the Federal building at 

 Traverse City, an appropriation of $50,000 asked 

 for. 



companies having dockage are expecting steam- 

 ers and vessels with the first loads. 



The Dwlgbt Lumber Company reports the big- 

 gest business in the history of the company. 

 The company's factories are rushed to the limit 

 and the special Dwight brand of thin flooring 

 is in great demand. Orders are pouring into 

 the factory in large volume and the company 

 is kept on the job filling them promptly. 



William Brownlee of the firm of Brownlee, 

 Kelly & Co. was laid up with an attack of the 

 grip last week but is now able to be back to his 

 desk in the Telegraph building. Mr. Kelly of 

 the firm says that the company has enjoyed an 

 excellent business and that there is no present 

 prospect of a slump in the trade. 



John J. Schmidt of the Hardwood Lumber 

 Company of Cincinnati was a Detroit visitor this 

 week. Mr. Schmidt was here on a business trip 

 and remained several days. 



Mr. Sprinkle of the Crescent Lumber Com- 

 pany of Marietta, Ohio, was In Detroit on 

 business last week. 



"Trade has a very rosy tint just now," is the 

 report from the E. W. Leech Lumber Com- 

 pany. "Business has kept up very well indeed, 

 although a few days of inclement weather held 

 hack spring building operations somewhat. 

 Everything is coming fine now." 



During the past week building permits were 

 issued for 110 new structures and 23 additions 

 to cost $331,500. 



The Ionia Wagon Works is to be changed Into 

 an auto body factory to be used by the Hayes 

 Auto Company. The concern at first intended 

 to build a new factory but saw an opportunity 

 to secure possession of the wagon works plant 

 which was in the hands of a receiver. A car- 

 load of material used in making bodies for 

 automobiles is already on hand at the plant and 

 many more shipments are expected. 



The C. W. Kotcher Company reports a strong 

 demand for its line of interior finish. The 

 Kotcher factories are very busy Just now and 

 much improvement in business is reported. 



DETROIT 



GRAND RAPIDS 



The first boatload of hardwood lumber to 

 reach Detroit this season arrived at the docks 

 of the Thomas Forman Company this week. The 

 steamer Holland brought 300.000 feet of fine 

 maple lumber from Harbor Springs and from 

 now on great quantities of lumber will pour Into 

 Detroit by vessel. All the big local lumber 



The Lumbermen's Club will hold its monthly 

 business meeting on April 26. 



"We are getting business, but have to go after 

 it," said Chas. Dregge of the Dregge-Grover 

 Lumber Company in discussing the situation In 

 the lumber trade. "The fellows who sit back 

 and complain will not get business until the 

 time comes when the fellows who hustle cannot 

 take care of the trade. I never could see where 

 it pays to grumble and talk hard times. The 

 car situation is improving, In fact has not been 

 bad at all except in the upper peninsula." 



The Dake-.\merican Steam Turbine Company 

 of this city has changed its name to the R. G. 

 Peters Manufacturing Company. R. G. Peters, 

 the Manistee lumberman. Is largely interested In 

 the company. 



G. A. Swanson of Tustin has bought a piece of 

 timber in Lake county which will require three 

 years for lumbering off. 



The mills at Frankfort are starting. The 

 Kelley Company has a cut of 10,000,000 feet. 

 Bellows Brothers also have a large cut of lumber 

 and shingles and are employing seventy-five 

 hands. 



"Prices on the higher grades of hardwood are 

 holding up well," says N. J. G. Van Keulen ot 

 the Van Keulen & Wilkinson Lumber Company. 

 "Low-grade stock Is not going so well. The 

 scarcity of timber means closer cutting opera- 

 tions and more culls. Manufacturers seem will- 

 ing to pay the difference and get select stock 

 which guarantees them little waste. I think 

 that business with the furniture manufacturers 

 is more quiet than in other lines. We are 

 having a good demand for basswood, elm, white 

 ash and poplar from the automobile people and 

 they want only high-grade stock." 



Otis A. Felger. secretary of the Hackley- 



