Philippine Mahogany Embargo Still On-Other Cabinet Woods Cutting In Strongly As Replacement

The embargo against shipping Philippine llahogany or other lumber olrt of the Philippines, still prevails, and nobody has any knowledge concerning its possible termination. Reports from the Islands shorv that no effort is apparently being .made to rehabilitate the larger sawmills, and the only things cutting lumber are a lot of circular mills that the army put into operation when the Japs fell. This is a comparatively small production. All the production is being consumed in the Islands. The cost of lumber is very high on account of greatly increased manufacturing costs. For instance, they are paying about five dollars a day for common labor that cost fifty cents a day before the war, and other costs are in line with those. Unless the inflation subsides Philippine lumber will be much higher when it finally reaches the United States than it ever was before, which will change its marketing situation very considerably. In the old days there was little competition between Philippine and genuine mahogany because of price differenqe, but that difference is very likely to be eliminated by the increased cost of the Philippine u'oods.

In the meantime there are many fine hardrvoods from Central and South America cutting into what was formerly the Philippine trade. They come from all of Central America, but mostly from Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and from both the East and West Coasts of South America. The big hardwood yards of Los Angeles and San Francisco are heaped high with a variety of new and highly useful harclwoods from the West Coast of South America, while the Central American woods are slowly coming in. Great improvement is being made in the production of these woods. For instance, there are now six modern band mills operating in. Costa Rica, and several band and many circular mills in Nicaragua. They are sending in useful and attractive woods. So, of course, are the West Coast of South American mills. Much lumber is coming into this country that even the best informed hardwood men have difficulty in telling from varioug Philippine woods, and some of them seem of even finer texture than the ordinary 'Philippine

Mahogahy species. They corne in all colors and shapes, plain, ribbon grain, etc. These u'oods at first were very high, but their prices have been dropping as the cost of production dropped, and will probably continue to do so.

On the East Coast of South America there are tremendous hardwood forests, authorities say some of the biggest in the rvorld. It is freely estimated that there are today more available commercial hardwoods grorving in Central and South America than in the entire Philippine group, which is saying a lot. It is reported that one lumber finl on the East Coast of South America has t'wo modern mills cutting into a hardrvood forest that is five hundred square miles in size, and so flat that the logging is comparatively easy. It is safe to say that the next very ferv years will see tremendous development of the hardwood forests of the territories mentioned. It is reported that Panama has some huge undeveloped forest territories r'r''aiting for the approach of the logger. Some of these days the loggers rrill be there. rvithout doubt.

15th Annual Reveille To Be Held April 25

Ed I-a Franchi, chairman of the Reveille general committee, announces that the 15th annual Reveille u'iil be held at the Hotel Claremont, Berkeley, on Friday, April 25.

The annual Reveille golf tournament I'vill be held during the morning and afternoon, and the banquet and entertainment in the evening.

Wilh Lcwrence-Philips Lumber Co.

Rex Oxford who has been wih San Pedro Lumber Co., Los Angeles, since his return from tlar service, has resigned to go with Lawrence-Philips Lumber Co. as salesman. Rex rvas three years in the infantry, half of the time overseas. He rvas arvarded two Purple Hearts, having been twice lvounded in combat. While in college he u'as a lnember of the UCLA football team.