ftaFawoi Recift^ 



Publishsd in the Interest of HaLrdwood Lvimber, ArT\etlc&.n Hakrdwood Forests, Wood Veneer Intlvistry. HoLrdwood Flooring, 

 HcLrdwood Interior Finish, Wood CI\emlcs.Is, Sa^w Mill a^nd Woodworking Machinery. 



Vol. XXX. 



CHICAGO, OCTOBER 10, 1910. 



No. 12. 



PublisKed on the lOlh and 25lh of each month by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



HENRY H. GIBSON, President LOUIS L. JACQUES, Sec'j and Treas. 



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



Telephones Harrison 8086-8087-8088 



REPRESENTATIVES 



Eastern Territory 

 Northern Territory 

 Southern Territory 



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



E. \V. Meeker, 355 Dearborn St.. Chicaeo. Ill, 



H. C. Haner, 173 High St.. Memphis, Tcnn. 



TERMS OF ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION 

 In the United States, Canada, Philippine Islands and Mexico , $2.00 

 In all other countries in Universal Postal Union .... 3.00 



Subscriptions are payable in advance, and in default of written orders to 

 the contrary are continued at our option. 



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

 cago, 111., under act of March 3, 1879. 



Advertising copy must be received five days in advance of 

 publication date. Advertising rates on application. 



General Market Conditions 



111 aggregate volume, tlie liardwood business of the country is 

 larger than it was a month ago. There are a multitude of small 

 ship-quick orders being placed, but the big industrial companies 

 and the railroads, on whom producers depend for large orders, 

 are placing very little business. There is a tendency on the part 

 of the important buyers to delay making heav.y and much needed 

 purchases of lumber supplies. 



Prices generally are well maintained, although there is a weak- 

 ening in the East in quavter-sawed oak and perhaps a slight de- 

 cline in the price of plain oak. This observation refers to Firsts 

 and Seconds and No. 1 Common. Prices are far from strong on 

 No. 2 and No. 3. 



The trade generally is hopeful that business will increase as the 

 season advances, but there is nothing particularly promising in 

 the outlook at present. As a matter of fact, there is very little 

 desirable stock in first hands or owned by jobbers at the present 

 time. Even the present moderate demand will consume every foot 

 of dry lumber there is in the market. On the whole, the situation 

 is better than it was a fortnight ago, but there is still a feeling of 

 hesitancy about purchases of any sort. 



Collections are undeniably slow in all lines of trade. The vol- 

 ume of banking business is showing a decline from a year ago. 

 Balances are low. Loans at banks are deprecated or denied. 

 The general volume of the currency is sufficient to care for all 

 business needs, but the situation is' not inspiring for investment 

 or for incurring obligations for future merchandise requirements. 



The Only Real Hardwood Problem 



The paramount difficulty confronting hardwood manufacturers 

 today is how to realize a profit or even to cover cost of production 

 in disposing of low-grade stock. The average hardwood man 



regrets the decadence in the demand for box and crating material 

 following the use of fiber and paper boxes, which are rapidly 

 replacing wooden containers. This was a line of consumption 

 which for a long time took large quantities of low-grade lumber 

 at prices which netted manufacturers cost or nearly cost of this 

 stock. With the decline in demand from this source low grades in 

 many sections of the country are piling up. This is particularly 

 true in hardwood producing territory far remote from points of 

 consumption. 



It may be possible that a decline in the use of hardwoods for 

 boxes and crates or even its entire elimination will prove a 

 blessing in disguise for the hardwood industry. When a quantity 

 of box shocks is carefully inspected, it is surprising to note the 

 large percentage of lumber they contain which is altogether too 

 valuable for box making purposes and is actually suitable for uses 

 where the lumber would be two, three or even four times as val- 

 uable as in boxes. 



Undoubtedly the time is coming when hardwood manufacturers 

 will get together on a scheme to group their low-grade product, 

 kiln-dry it near points of production and cut it into clear dimen- 

 sion material, allowing the waste to rot or burning it, and not 

 paying heavy freight on useless stock. This is the logical evolu- 

 tion of the hardwood lumber business and until such a method of 

 utilizing low-grade stock is put into practical effect, hardwood 

 manufacturers will continue to operate at a very low level of 

 profit in a large part of the hardwood producing section of the 

 country. In spite of all that has been said to the contrary, hard- 

 wood lumbermen are making little progress toward effective forest 

 conservation or economic utilization of their product. To make 

 even a reasonable profit today manufacturers must strip their 

 forests of the finest timber, leaving the remainder to the ravages 

 of decay and fire. Should they attempt to cut their forests clean 

 the percentage of low-grade stock resulting would be so heavy as 

 to preclude the possibility of any profit. 



In the opinion of the Eecord, the solving of the low-grade 

 problem is of more importance to the hardwood trade of the coun- 

 try today than any other feature that might be mentioned. Surely 

 men of such keen minds, of such ingenuity and resourcefulness 

 as the hardwood lumbermen of the country with the ample capital 

 they have at their command ought to be able to work out this 

 problem to a satisfactory termination. 



The Never-Ending Inspection Difficulty 



A few days ago the Record received from a prominent Ohio 

 jobber copies of a number of original invoices on a half dozen 

 onvs of oak lumber, a set of the inspection certificates and a third 

 scries of reinspection certificates. It was noted that the invoices 

 :uid the two inspections failed to correspond within ten per cent 

 in quantity, and in some instances differed forty per cent on 

 (grades. It was noted that the inspection was based on the 1905 

 rules of the National Hardwood Lumber Association. 



The editor of the Kecord took occasion to suggest to the jobber 

 tliat in his opinion it was absolutely a mistake to "monkey" 



