HARDTVOODS FOR HOMES

Navy to Spend $250,000,000 Salomon-Mills On Pacific Coast

Projected Navy expenditures on the Pacific Coast of about $250,000,000 hint at the great activity in store for San Francisco and the West Coast when the "big push" starts in the Pacific.

Specific items mentioned for the San Francisco area include: allotments for naval air stations at Alameda $9,000,000, Mills Field $1,000,000, Santa Rosa $1,000,000, Crow's l-anding $4,500,000; fleet and cargo piers in San Fancisco, $1,500,000: a provision cargo assemblv pier at Oakland Supply Depot, $4,000,000; six temporary warehouses at Oakland, $2,100,000;an oftshore material reception center in the East Bay $1,000,000, and an additional temporary warehouse for the aviation supply annex $4,000,000; and construction of a magazine and ammunition depot at Port Chicago, Contra Costa County, $6,830,000. Other naval developments in the Bay Area recently announced included plans for construction of four floating drydocks and conversion of three Kaiser yard basins at a cost of $20,000,000, and supporting facilities for the drydocks $8,000,000; improvements to the Navy personnel depot at Tanforan, San l\{ateo County, $4,170,000. Other large amounts are being expended in connection with the Naval l-anding Force F,quipment Depot at Albany where hundreds of barges are being repaired and serviced, and which serves at the sbrne time as a .center for the training of naval personnel in repair of landing craft.

Masonite Corporction Reports kofit For Six Months

Chicago, March 16- The Masonite Corporation today reported for the second quarter of three months ended February 29, 1944, net profits of $227,164.21, after all charges, including income taxes subject to final audit.

For the six months ended February 29, 1944, net profits, subject to final audit, were $509,719.19 or 72 cents a share on the basis of present outstanding 600,000 shares- of common stock after provision for preferred dividends. Profits before federal and state income taxes and contingent reserve were $2,221,991.19, out of which provision was made for contingent reserve of $219,000 and income taxes of $1,493,272.00 including excess profits tax of $987,000.00. Sales amounted to $8,763.&5.00.

Jerome L. ("Jerry") Salomon, Lieutenant, junior grade,:. United States Naval Reserve, eldest son of Mel Salomon,. j-i.; widelv known San Francisco lumberman. was married to Miss Sylvia Mills of San Francisco on April 2. Miss Mills is the ll; daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Mills.

Both the young people are graduates of the University of :i, California, and are well known in the Bay area.

Mengel Plcns Redemption

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The Mengel Co. has filed a registration statement with SEC :rl in contemplation of the issuance of $2.5 million of l5-year !i sinking fund debentures for the purpose of redeeming out-'!;i standing first mortgage bonds which mature Mar,ch l,l947i' tp and to provide additional funds. New bonds will not bdr'i convertible.

Ilerman J. Baumann has been appointed resident mana- u, ger of the Sage Land & Improvement Company's Redwood - '.; sawmill at Willitts, Calif. He succeeds John Ross, Jr., who.l .:, has resigned. ,.,i

Cuts 195,000,000 Feet in 1943

Pope & Talbot's St. Helen's, Oregon, sawmill cut a total of ..::l .''] 195,000,000 feet of lumber in 1943, Hillman Lueddeman, "*-'',.if1 ecutive vice-president of the company, reported recently. Thi*.ii id the largest production reporred by any Oregon mill for last;:i year.

Jcck Dcrnt in

Ncrvy

, Jack R. Dant has taken leave of absence from Dant &..' Russsell, Inc., Portland, to enter the Navy. He has the rank it,;.i. of Lieutenant (j.S.), and is now in training at Tucson, Ariz; $ He'is the son of Charles E. Dant, president of the widely 1,t1 known Portland concern. i!. ,so,'

On Overseas Duty

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First Lieutenant Clarence Dame, Army Air Corps, who has :.'i been stationed for some time at the Reno Air Base, has been ;., assigned to overseas duty. He was formerly with Strable i Hardwood Company, Oakland.

Estimcrted Lumber Production .rf;

Estimated lum,ber production in January was 2,489,479,000 ,., board feet, of which 1,879,423,000 board feet were softwoods."'.r and 610,056,000 board feet were hardwoods, the WPB estim-".:l'i f r.+

FHA Applications Gain Momentum

In the first three months oL 1944, over 38 million dollars of insured-loan applications, covering more than 7,000 cases, for privately-constructed dwellings, were received for processing by the Federal Housing Administration, Southern California District offices. This volume is an increase of more than 200 per cent over the same period of last year, John E. McGovern, director, Southern California District, FHA, announced.

FHA's first quarterlv report for 1944 shows that private lending institutions filed applications r,r'ith Southern California District offices for insurance of mortgages totaling $38,059,322 coveting 7,360 mortgages. This volume compares with $12,130,000 in applications for the insurance of 2,647 Ioans for the same period of.1943.

ThiS volume arises largely through Title VI operations which reached a volume of 6,'506 mortgages for $33,348,300. Title VI is the FHA's medium for facilitating new war-housing, practically all of which housing continues to be geared directly to war production and the needs of specific plants for manpower, Mr. McGovern said.

'' Balance of the volume is represented by Title II applications received from private lending institutions for a volume of over $4t{mittion. Title II applications pertain largely to 'refinancing of loans on existing home properties wh€re transfers of ownership occur. Title II, insured loans continue available in the present-day market up to 80/o, and sometimes 90/o, of. FHA-appraised v-alue of the property, for terms up to 20 years, Mr. McGovern concluded.

L-290 Amended--Deliveries of \(/estern

Lumber from Sawmill Stock

Limitation Order L-290 as amended which became effective March 27, 1944, eliminates from the definition of the lumber covered-shingles, lath, slabs, railroad cross ties or switch ties, mine ties, edgings, trims and off-fall less than three inches wide or less than four feet long, and used lumber.

The definition of "Producer" has been changed to cover only sawmills and the order regulates only the transfer or delivery of "sawmill stock" by producers. Excluded from the definition of a producer are both retail and wholesale distribution yards even though such yards process more than 25/o of the volume of lumber received for the servicing of specibl orders from customers.

The certificate for requirements of War Agencies requires the prime contract or purchase order number, the name of the War Agency; Contractor or Sub.contractor who will use the lumber.

A new paragraph (g) has been added restricting inventories , to a 90-day supply, except lumber released on Form WPB-2720 or a specific directive WPB.

Ncmed Ycrd Mcncrgrer

John Strickland, who for a number of years was manager of the Patten-Blinn I umber ,Company at Fullerton, has taken over the management of Ward & Harrington Lumber Company at LaHabra. Mr. Strickland lras been a resident of Fullerton for more than twentv vears.

R. cisco,