The Fir Merger-and Some More Timber Talk

The latest and best news concerning the proposed Fir merger in the Pacific Northwest is that the number of interested mills has now dropped down to 26, and that there is every possible indication that these mills are going to form a single corporation and merge their interests. They are all mills particularly well equipped and situated as to economy of operation, modest liabilities, etc.

In this form it will hardly be a "merger," but will really be the forming of a large operating and holding company created by the grouping of the assets of these twenty-six big mills.

Naturally, the Fir situation is being talked wherever lumbermen group together. Everyone knows that 1926 was a bad year for the Fir mills, and that 1927 is acting much better. Everyone knows that the Fir mills have got to get a better price for their materials, and realize a better profit on their sales, or there will be much trouble in the Pacific Northwest.

It is not a question of volume, at all. Plenty of lumber is being sold. They sold a little more lumber than they cut last year, yet the year ended in troublous times and reduced price markets. Plenty of lumber will be sold this year. It's all a question of getting a price that leaves a profit. ALL lumbermen are weak.in that direction. The FIR men so far have been particularly so.

And yet-and now we hark back to that same line of thought that we have worked over frequently before-it DOES seern that the Fir man has his "out" of the predicament always before him, always probable, and-so it looks to the layman-always possible. His "out" of his painful predicament lies in the direction of getting a price for his TIMBERS.

We all know and admit that in shipping his yard stock and his shed stock, his boxes and his door stock, etc., into competitive territory where he meets the products of other species on shorter rates, etc., he has hard digging to get a price. He has to beat the price of the better known woods he is trying to replace. Meeting it won't do the trick. And so, when he sells dimension, and flooring, and ceiling, and siding, and finish, and shiplap, etc., there is little likelihood of his getting any fat price against the short. rate competition, because there are still plenty of other woods that can make plenty of those same items, and that meet him hilt to hilt in delivered competition.

But there is one place where, practically speaking, he has no competition, and that is in the T'IMBER market. In making big and long timbers, there is no one to compete with him at ANY price. In ordinary timbers, there is no one to compete with him at any thing like the price he can afford to make, and still leave himself a wide margin of profit. So HERE is his chance to make a profit that -will spread over his entire operation. GET

A PRICE FOR HIS TIMBERS.

And yet, it is HERE, at this point where he might make a fine profit and meet no other woods in competition whatever, that MAKES HIS LOWEST PRICES. Fact ! His non-competitive business is his smallest price business.

He will come into the South and make a price on timbers fifteen dollars a thousand less than the nearest Southern Pine timber price. He could get ten dollars a thousand more for the stock and still be worried not at all by Southern Pine competition. But he sells that non-competitive business (non-competitive as far as any other species of wood is concerned, understand) at as close a price as he sells his shed and yard stock, where he meets close price competition.

It looks as though if the Fir people would only ask the price that they are able to get for their timbers, they could continue to sell their yard and shed stocks at present clgse competitive prices, and still make a good profit on their operations, because their timber runs heavy to timber cutting.

Of course, their business is NOT non-competiiive. There is always the worst of competition to meet-FIR COMPETITION. It is the FIR mills that keeps the FIR mills from making any profit on timbers.

In Southern Pine, every inch you add to the size of the timbers you want, adds dollars to the price, because it takes bigger, and better, and scarcer logs to make the timbers. In FIR, the bigger the timbers, the easier they get them out, and the less it costs to manufacture, on account of the nature of their large, long timber. It costs them less to make big timbers. So they sell for less. It costs Pine mills more to make big timbers, so they sell for more.

If the Fir mills could adopt for twelve months the Pine plan of fixing.timber values, the future of the Fir industry would be safe. If. I2xl6-16 is worth $20 a thousand,24x24 --60 ought to be worth three or four times that much. It IS worth it. But they don't ask it. They sell it cheap because it's easier to make. And in so doing they throw away their non-competitive profit-making opportunity.

They could. But they won't. But wouldn't it be fine for them, and fine for all the other makers of timbers and of lumber, and fine for the lumber industry generally, if they only would?

Any other group of industrial men on earth would take quick advantage of this apparently large opportunity that confronts their industry.

But the Fir men probably won't. They remind me of a fellow who was strolling up Hollywood Boulevard. "'What are you doing?" asked a friend.

"Just looking and wishing," he replied.

They're 8ru"8 Grqiltr Yeltonr

Kiln.Dried Fir wins the good will of dealers' customers. There's "Satisfac. tion in every food' of our Old Growth Yellow Frr lumber because it is thor. oughly kiln.dried and dressed after seasoning to Ameri. can Standard si:es. All degrades are taken out at the mill.

gutr Fo lub6r Co. g9? Protfto Elcatrlo Bldg. Lor Argo16s, Callf. Ccntlcrcns ul. reoontly r.o.lv.d lhlt[cnt ot ilz AL, & Bat. tinbcrs ol ver!,ar !ltc! up to ald tBludlng 10 r 10 -40 frE thc Vomonla, OFgil Dlut of thc Crntral Coal & Cokc Co. Tllla mtshl r$ vcry ftn. o1d Orilth Yollot Fl! of aroallant tcxturo and perfcct tmufsotw. lir:rthcDom, tho oder ra! tlllcd cxaot. thtch lr not ulurlly th6 calc rlth oargo or{e!t.

V6qr trulJr ydrra.

IARCf,HOFP.CI'ZER III.L E LI'IE8I CO.

CUZNER of Lor Angeler, Calif. writer mentioning -dePenda. bility

Watchtheseads and read what others say about this dependable lumber.

SeNrn FE LUMBER CovrpANy

(A. J. "Gus" Russell)

Distributors in California and Arizono

Genetal Offces: So. Calitornia Ofrcet San Francisco, California Los Angeles, California St. Cla-ir Building 397 Pacific Electric Building 16 California Street Brucc L Burlinganc, Agcot

'sudden Seruice'

CENTRAL COAL & COKE COIIPA}'{Y

General Offces: Kansas City, Missouri (Oregon-American Lumber Co., Vernonia, Ore.)