PERIODICAL LITERATURE 381 



At the annual meeting of the Hardwood 

 Hardwood Manufacturers' Association of the United States, 



Manufacturers' which opened January 30, 1917, there was adopted 

 Competition a plan for open competition among hardwood 

 manufacturers. This plan is rather unique in 

 association activities, but its ultimate aim, however, is similar to plans 

 used in other associations which have attempted to provide their mem- 

 bers with trade information. 



"The purpose of the plan is to disseminate among members accu- 

 rate knowledge of production and market conditions so that each 

 member may gauge the market intelligently instead of guessing at it; 

 to make competition open and aboveboard instead of secret and con- 

 cealed ; to substitute in estimating market conditions, frank and full 

 statements of our competitors for the frequently misleading and colored 

 statements of the buyer." 



The plan covers all hardwoods, but it is to be applied only to oak 

 at the outset and as members become familiar with the method it will 

 be applied to all other hardwoods. The plan calls for reports on the 

 following from each member: Production, sales, shipments, stock on 

 hand, price lists, inspection. 



. The scheme as outlined deals with past prices and performances 



and does not aim at fixing in any way future hardwood lumber prices. 



The success of the venture will depend on the attitude the various 



members assume toward furnishing the data provided for in this plan. 



Hardwood Record, Feb. 10, 1917. 



The difficulty of securing mine timber in 

 Price Relation (^reat Britain and the rise in wood prices has 

 of Coal and created the belief that the latter had a promi- 

 Mitie Timber net influence on coal prices. Coal, which in Sep- 

 tember, 1914, cost $5 per ton, by June, 1916, 

 had risen 50 per cent, to $7.50. A simple calculation shows that the 

 rise in wood prices is responsible for only a little over 4 per cent. It is 

 stated that in the average 6 to 8 linear feet of all classes of mine timber 

 are needed to mine one ton of coal, hence an increase of 25 cents per 

 100 linear feet is equal to an increase of 1.7 cents per ton of coal. The 

 calculation of the influence is made as follows, under the assumption 

 that only short mine props are used : 



