Published Irv the Interest of Ha^rdwood Lvimber, Anr\ericB.n H&rdwood Forests, Wood Verveer Industry. H&rdwood Flooring, 

 Haij-dwood Interior FIrvlsh, Wood CHerT\lca.Is, Sai.w Mill a.nd Woodworking MoLChinery. 



Vol. XXX. 



CHICAGO, JULY 10, 1910. 



No. 6. 



Published on the lOlh and 25lh of each month by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



HENRY H. GIBSON. President 



LOUIS L. JACQUES, Sec'y and Treas. 



Sixth Floor, Ellsworth Bldg., 355 Dearborn Street. Chicago, III. 



Telephones Harrison 8086-8087-8088 



Eastern Territory ■ 

 Norttiern Territory 

 Southern Territory 



REPRESENTATIVES 



Jacob Holtzman. 5254 Larchwood Ave., Philadelphia. Pa. 



C. F. Dedekam. 355 Dearborn St.. Chicaeo 



H. C. Haner. Gayoso Hotel. Memphis, Tenn 



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Entered as second-class matter May 26, 1902, at the Posloffice at Chi- 

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General Market Conditions 



Sundry editorials in this issue of the Record treating of various 

 phases of the eomniercial situation epitomize the reasons for the 

 marked slowness in lumber transactions during the last fort- 

 night. The lumber business is unmistakably quiet. A good many 

 people, who have logically held that by making purchases during 

 the midsummer period of dullness they could take advantage of the 

 necessities of sellers and buy cheaph', are not to any extent ex- 

 hibiting their old-time habit just now. Even the man who has 

 heretofore been ' ' always in the market ' ' is buying very sparing!}- 

 at present. To be sure items that are known to be in short supply 

 are moving with some freedom, such as plain oak and the good 

 end of poplar, cottonwood, red gum, maple, birch, etc., but the 

 aggregate of these sales does not have any marked effect on the 

 general accumulation of both hardwoods and soft woods that is 

 being amassed by manufacturers. 



Railroad and other corporations are buying just as sparingly as 

 they can to keep their physical property in usable form. Trade 

 has not ceased by any means, but it is from passable to slow all 

 along the line. 



While there is a heavy cut in yellow pine prices reported from 

 some sources, hardwood values are still being held with remark- 

 able firmness, and there are very few "snaps" being offered. 



It is firmly believed that there is a certainty of a fair fall 

 trade, which will absorb surpluses in all lines of hardwoods. 



The Business Situation and the Stock Market 



Generally speaking railroads and industrial stock values are 

 slumping. Six months ago the stock market was a place where, 

 if a storm broke, the lightning had to strike. There were no 

 storms, but under clear skies Wall street began in January to 



liquidate, to the intense disappointment of speculators who wanted 

 a January rise, and the liquidation has continued pretty steadily 

 ever since. Right now the stock market is not a place where the 

 lightning would have to strike. 



The upturn of things that began somewhat late in 190S and 

 continued during 1909, was mistaken for a flood tide, whereas it 

 was naturally a recovery from the sudden and abnormal slump that 

 took place in 1907. The trouble in 1907 was that the country had 

 used up its available capital. The collapse released a great deal 

 of money from the channels of commerce and industry, and this 

 money was mistaken for available capital which could be converted 

 into fixed forms, whereas, as a matter of fact, it largely repre- 

 sented the country's working capital temporarily out of employ- 

 ment, but which would be needed again as working capital just 

 as soon as a recovery in business took place. As money accumu- 

 lated in Wall street a lot of it went into speculation. Then the 

 bond market developed and considerable sums went into bonds, 

 that is was converted into fixed forms. Very little new capital 

 was actually saved during 1908 and 1909, and when business 

 started up again it was but a short time before Wall street began 

 to complain that there was no market for new securities. Hence, 

 there was a check upon new work. 



The country is building all the time and as it builds business 

 roars, but it takes capital to build and when the country runs 

 out of capital, building is suspended. When the country gets 

 through building, and is no longer under the necessity of tearing 

 down a thing as soon as it is done in order to build it bigger, then 

 these violent starts and stops will not recur. 



There will be no satisfactory market for bonds as long as the 

 majority of people spend as much of their incomes for mere sub- 

 sistence or in extravagance as they have recently. There is but 

 one source of new capital and that is saving. Just as soon as 

 people save more and spend less there will be a market for 

 securities, and as soon as there is a market for bonds things will 

 go ahead again. It is automatic. 



At the present time there is no inducement to borrow capital to 

 finance new work. These lean times affect the capitalist to a 

 greater extent than they do the wage earner. 



During the years 1894 to 1900 people saved so much new capital 

 that when once the dam burst there was no resisting the flood. 

 Enough energy represented by accumulated money was stored up 

 by saving to carry business on at flood tide, and conditions in all 

 respects was propitious for ten years. 



That Wall street is thoroughly liquidated today can not be af- 

 firmed. This depends upon how much further the necessity for 

 liquidation will run. With good crops it would run little further. 

 With poor crops it may run indefinitely. The slowing up in busi- 

 ness generally is a normal development; it is a kind of liquidation. 



Cash reserves, notably in the West, have significantly fallen. 

 Eight now the man who produces a thing before he sells it must 

 produce it with costs higher than they have ever been before in 

 this generation, whereas the future price of the thing he will have 

 to sell is uncertain. It should be remembered that the causes of 

 the high cost of living long preceded the demand for legislation. 

 It is doubtful if recent legislation will develop into any miraculous 

 remedy. Economj- is about the only panacea in sight. 



