HARDWOOD RECORD 



95 



situation is quiet at this time, a condition whiclj 

 is causing some comment is the slowness of col- 

 lections. While money is not tight in the 

 ordinary sense of the word, the moyement of 

 currency is less free than it has been, those in 

 consuming lines apparently having decided upon 

 a policy of caution. This relative difficulty ot 

 making collections is not likely to have a serious 

 effect here, at least, however. 



"The log's the thing" was the consensus of 

 opinion developed at a recent meeting of the 

 Hardwood Club when the discussion got on the 

 subject of logs, and that topic was handled in 

 all its phases by the log buyers and sawmill ex- 

 perts present. One of the propositions laid 

 down was that it is unwise to purchase logs at 

 a price which will necessitate the lumber in 

 the log being sold on a basis of No. 1 and No. 2 

 grades, because it is very seldom that the log 

 manufactures that well. The timberman, it was 

 al^o learned, has things about as he wants them 

 just now, on account ot the Keen competition in 

 the purchase of trees, so that usually it is im- 

 possible to buy a bunch of timber without tak- 

 ing all in the tract, whether the lumberman 

 wants it or not. For instance, a buyer of white 

 oak timber will have to purchase red oak that 

 bappens to be in the buncli in order to get what 

 he is after and pay the same price for the whole 

 lot. The high price of logs, which applies now 

 to those transported by water as well as to 

 those brought to the mill by rail, has resulted 

 in many of the river mills changing their poli- 

 cies and beginning to make purchases on land. 

 Just what effect this will ultimately have on the 

 trade is hard to say. 



Information has been received by local hard- 

 wood men which seems to indicate that the fur- 

 niture factories are not likely to be abnormally 

 heavy buyers this fall. Their recent exhibits 

 and sales, which were expected to indicate the 

 volume of trade for the next six months, did 

 not pan out as well as had been anticipated. 

 Some of the furniture factories, judging by re- 

 ports received here, are loaded with surplus 

 stocks, and as long as these remain unsold the 

 factories arc not likely to run at a very rapid 

 rate. 



The Hardwood Club was talking a little while 

 ago about getting up a baseball team, owing to 

 the fact that the Louisville Colonels have per- 

 formed so poorly on the diamond this year, but 

 the project fell through because it was thought 

 the season had advanced too far. It may be 

 stated with assurance, however, that the Hard- 

 wood Club will be represented on the green next 

 year. 



Fishing parties and camping trips are the 

 order of the day just now, Edward L. Davis of 

 the Edw. L. Davis Lumber Company and Edward 

 Shippen of the Louisville Point Lumber Company 

 having been in Canada as the guests of Hugh 

 McLean, the Buffalo lumberman. They fished 

 and camped out and had a big time. William 

 McLean of the Wood-Mosaic Company, across 

 the river from Louisville, took a party of friends 

 10 a Canada camp where he usually spends the 

 summer. 



D. E. Kline of the Louisville Veneer Mills says 

 the situation is fess active than it had been. He 

 attributes it to the natural dullness at this time 

 of the year and believes that things will pick 

 up by the time the fall months arrive. His mill 

 is running steadily. 



W. N. Hess of the North Vernon Lumber Com- 

 pany has been attending meetings of the Hard- 

 wood Club recently and is taking hold of the 

 work of the organization enthusiastically. He is 

 regarded as one of the best posted sawmill men 

 in the state. 



H. J. Gates of the Louisville Point Lumber 

 Company reported business rather quiet, but lots 

 of logs coming in and the mill running a fast 

 clip. 



T. M. Brown of the W. P. Brown & Sons 

 Lumber Company said that, while the demand is 

 not as active as it has been, trade is good and 

 his firm is shipping out a lot of orders. Charles 



E. Lee. the company's New York representative, 

 was in the city last week. He reported condi- 

 tions In the East good. The new mill at Dick- 

 son will start operations by September 1. The 

 mill at Madisonville is running to capacity. 



R. F. Smith of the Ohio River Saw Mill Com- 

 pany said that business was fair. His company 

 is busy handling stock which has been coming 

 in from its river mills. 



C. C. Mengel & Bro. Co. has closed its mill for 

 a short time for repairs. The company is get- 

 ting ready for its heaviest importations of ma- 

 hogany logs of the year, having made arrange- 

 ments for the handling of three cargoes of ap- 

 proximately 1,000.000 feet each from Axim, 

 Africa, and two others from British Honduras. 

 E. B. Norman & Co. recently received a hand- 

 some lot of poplar and oak logs from a southern 

 point. None of the logs were under 30 inches 

 in thickness. 



J. E. Davis, who looks after the Barren 

 county mill of the Edward L. Davis Lumber 

 Company, was in town last week and attended 

 the meeting of the Louisville Hardwood Club. 

 Tlie Louisville mill of the company was recently 

 ■ gone over and a lot of new machinery put in. 

 Tlie Kentenia Corporation, composed ot Ea.st- 

 ern capitalists and having a capital stock of 

 $10,000,000. has perfected its title to 70.000 

 acres of Kentucky timber and coal lands, located 

 In Harlan and Bell counties, and is preparing 

 to begin operations on a large scale. The tim- 

 ber end of its work will be supervised by E. C. 

 Brant, formerly of the V. S. Forest Service. W. 

 W. Duffleld. secretary and treasurer of the com- 

 pany, is resident manager with headquarters at 

 Harlan. The setticmenb of the titles involved 

 much litigation, the claims being founded on 

 surveys made before the war. 



The Lexington & Eastern Railroad is spending 

 iflOO.OOO in extending its line from Jackson east- 

 ward, opening up important timber tracts. The 

 Kentucky River Hardwood Company, a $400,000 

 corporation, is one of those principally inter- 

 ested and will set up several additional band 

 mills as soon as the extension is completed. 



Lumber and veneer men in Louisville learned 

 with keen regret of the death of A. M. Mc- 

 Cracken. president of the Ohio Valley Tie Com- 

 pany and former superintendent of the Hender 

 son Route. He was a brother of H. M. Mc- 

 cracken, head of the Kentucky Veneer Works of 

 this city. 



G. Bittner's Sons, cabinet makers of this city 

 and large consumers of hardwoods, are erecting 

 a three-story brick factory and will increase 

 their output considerably. 



The Currier Lumber Company, which is inter- 

 ested in large operations on the border between 

 Virginia and Kentucky, having sawmills and 

 stavemills at Glamorgan. Va.. has decided to 

 extend the Indian Creek & Pound River rail- 

 road, which it is now constructing, ten miles 

 further up Laurel Fork, on the Kentucky side, 

 thus opening np additional large timber tracts 

 which it controls. The company has recently in- 

 stalled a- 100.000-foot capacity bandmill at 

 Glamorgan, where it will begin operations 

 shortly. 



Floyd Day. the well-known Jackson. Ky.. lum- 

 berman, who is largely interested in the timber 

 developments of eastern Kentucky, has secured 

 an interest in the Bluegrass Lumber Company 

 of Louisville and has been elected to the presi- 

 dency. He succeeds M. W. Burd. who has be- 

 come connected with a large business house in 

 New York. 



The Richland-Parrish Lumber Company has 

 begun operations at its Rayville. la., mill and is 

 cutting 1,000,000 feet of quartered oak a month. 

 George B. Del Vecchio Is manager of tlie Ray- 

 ville plant, which is one of the most modern in 

 the country. It is built of reinforced concrete 

 and steel, and special attention has been paid to 

 arrangements for handling the lumber, which 

 will be piled so as to require but one handling. 

 C. C. Mengel, of Louisville, is president of the 

 concern. 



Lumbermen are interested in the annual con- 

 vention of the Ohio Valley Improvement Asso- 

 ciation, which will meet in Cincinnati during 

 the Ohio Valley Exposition. President Taft is 

 expected to be one of the speakers. 



The Corbin-Somerset-Cumberland River Con- 

 struction Company has been formed for the pur- 

 po.se of surveying a route for the proposed line 

 between the points named. It is intended to 

 build it through a section of southern Kentucky 

 which is rich in timber. 



Louisville & Nashville earnings for July were 

 $4,1.S2.985. a gain over the same month of 1009 

 ot $294,142. The road has announced plans for 

 the erection of additional shops at Decatur. Ala. 



The Cincinnati. Hamilton & Dayton Railroad, 

 according to a well-defined report which is cur- 

 rent here, will build an extensiou from Ashland, 

 Ky., opposite its present southern terminal, to 

 Pike county, a distance of 147 miles. The cost 

 ot the extension will be $14,000,000. It will 

 pass through heavily timbered sections and will 

 also enable largo coal properties to be opened up. 



ASHLAND 



Vansant. Kitchen & Co. are satisflefl with gen- 

 eral business conditions. Collections are show- 

 ing a decided improvement and present prospects 

 are encouraging. 



The Nigh Lumber Company, Ironton, 0., is 

 exceptionally busy for this time of the year. 

 Stocks are moving out much better than had 

 been anticipated. The low stage ot water has 

 tied up a good amount of timber at the mouth 

 of the Sandy, but there is considerable timber in 

 the harbors which will enaljle the mills to oper- 

 ate for some time. 



The W. H. Dawkins Lumber Company is tak- 

 ing advantage of the lull in business by accumu- 

 lating stock which has become badly broken. It ' 

 Is anticipating a good business this fall. 



The Whisler & Scearcy Company, Ironton, O., 

 is moving out quite a lot of dry stock. Its Iron- 

 ton mill is about sawed out, as its timber comes 

 from above Parkersburg, W. Va.. and the pres- 

 ent stage of water interferes with getting it 

 out. The Farmers mill, however, is operating 

 steadily, having a supply on hand which will 

 insure a several months' run. 



The Wright-Kitchen Lumber Company's mill 

 is running steadily, the low water not having 

 interfered with the getting out of the logs out 

 of its harbor. The company is optimistic regard- 

 ing fall trade. 



W. A. Cool of the W. A. Cool & Son Lumber 

 Company. Cleveland. O. : J. S. Forsythe of Wash- 

 ington, Pa., and J. W. ^Taylor of Columbus, O., 

 were recent visitors in Ashland. 



Charles Kitchen. Sr.. president of A'ansant, 

 Kitchen & Co.. is back home from a vacation 

 spent at Pence Springs, W. Va. 



ST. LOUIS 



A mass meeting has been called by the Ameri- 

 can Lumberman of Chicago to meet in St. Louis, 

 Wednesday. August 24. to protest against the 

 recent action of the railroad trunk lines in this 

 territory, through the Southwestern Freight Traf- 

 fic Committee, in cancelling rate divisions on lum- 

 ber on all tap-line connections. The call, to which 

 600 lumber manufacturers of the South and 

 Southwest have been invited, covers all branches 

 of the trade, including hardwood and yellow pine 

 and all others affected. The lumbermen claim 

 the new- rule will work a great hardship uiten 

 them, raising the rates on lumber from l.j to 2.5 

 per cent and thereby increasing its cost to the 

 consumer. 



Quite a number of the St. Louis lumbermen are 

 taking advantage of the dull season by going on 

 vacations. W. L. Boeckeler, president of the 

 Boeckeler Lumber Company, is out at Yellow 

 Stone Park. Julius Seidel. president of the 

 Julius Seidel Lumber Company, is up at Detroit, 



