Pickering Interests Take New Name

Kansas City, Mo., May lst.-Pickering Lumber Company is the name by which all of the Pickering enterprises are to be known, effective immediately according to W. A. Pickering, President of the company.

"The company has been formed to consolidate into one concern the W. R. Pickering Lumber Company; Pickering Land and Timber Company and Standard Lumber Company with their subsidiaries." said Mr. Pickeririg, when seen at the company's general offices here today.

"Except for the substitution of one company in lieu of the several as operated heretofore, no change in the business and ownership has occurred."

The W. R. Pickering Lumber Company was organized by W. R. and W. A. Pickering, father and son respectively, in 1894, with a paid in capital of less than $6O,000. The first saw mill was established at Pickering, Louisiana, follrrwed later by others that were built in the neighboring southern pine region . In lX)7, the Pickering Land and Timber Company was formed to own and manufacture into lumber that body of pine timber which was the basis of the saw mill operation at Cravens, Louisiana-recently cut out.

Among the first of the prominent southern operators to look to the West as a field for enlarged operations, the Pickering Land and Timber Company in 1919 purchased a billion and a quarter feet of California White Pine timber located in the northern part of that state.

"This was our first western purchase and since it was made, we have added greatly to our holdings in that region by subsequent purchases," said Mr. Pickering.

In L9fr the stock of the Standard Lumber Company, a California corporation was acquired including eight million feet of California White and Sugar Pine timber in eastern California with large lumber and millwork operations at Sonora and Standard, California. Still further augmenting these hoidings, the West Side Lumber Company immedi-ately adjoining the Standard properties was purchased last year, increasing the Pickering holdings by more than a billion feet of White and Sugar Pine timber as well as a lumber manufacturing plant at Tttolumne, California.

The W. R. Pickering Lumber Company or,vns and operates fifty-one retail lumber yards in the states of Kansas,

Oklahoma and Texas. "The purpose of the consolidation is to put all the properties in one company and conduct the business in the name of one company," said Mr. Pickerirg. "This will greatly simplify the conduct of the business from every standpoint."

Pickering Lirmber Company, as a result of the consolidation, will have lumber manufacturing plants at Pickering, Louisiana; Ilaslam, Texas , and at Standard, Macdoel and Tuolumne, California. It will own upwards of 350 million feet of Southern yellow pine, three and one-half billion feet of California white and sugar pine, have a capacity of 1,@O,000 feet lumber a day and of 4O0,000 doors a year, It will have a capital and surplus of more than $2L,987,789.72.

Mr. Pickering said that the officers and directors of the new company will be the same as of the old except to the directors they are adding some of the officers of the organization. The officers will be W. R. Pickering, Chairman of the Board; .W. A. Pickering, President; T. M. Barham, Vice-President and Secretary; Walter Robison, VicePresident in charge of Sales; D. H. Steinmetz, Vice-President in charge of Western Operations; J. W. Deal, VicePresident in charge of Retail Department; Jesse Andrews, General Counsel ; P. M. Neyhart, Comptroller; and W. R. McKee, Auditor. The directors will be W. R. Pickering W. A. Pickering, T. M. Barham, Walter Robison, D. H. Steinmetz, J. W. Deal, Jesse Andrews, and Russell C. Pickering, Son of W. A. Pickering.

When asked whether the fact that so large a part of the Company's holdings were in the West would have any ef. fect upon the location of the Company's offices in this city. Mr. Pickering said: "Decidedly not. We think Kansas City is the logical place for the headquarters of a business such as ours which requires a large sales organization with representatives located in the principal consuming sections of the country directed from a central office. We are building on the corner of 1lth and Central Streets in this city a modern office building, in the construction of which we have taken a great deal of pride, which is to be a permanent home of the Company. It will cost approximately $400,000, will be ready for'occupancy about September 1st, this vear. and will be used exclusively for the offices of the Company."

YELLOW FIR

Vertical Gr?lr Flooring

Steppins " t' Finish tt tt ShoP

Random Gr.?n Ceiling

Flooring " " Drop Siding " tt Shop

Mouldingp Caring Bare fimberr

SITKA SPRUCE

Bevel Siding

Bungalow Siding

Finilh

Factory Lunber

Box Lumber

Ladder Stock

Drain Boardr

WESTERN HEMLOCK

Uppers

Our Lumber is not Cbeap, neither is our Quality or Serrrice

National Meeting at Washin€,ton

Washington, Ap.. 27.-Recommendations covering simplified trade practices benefiting consumers, producers and distributors of lumber were adopted here today at the sixth general lumber conference held in the Department of Commerce.

More than 150 representatives of the national lumber industry, manufacturers, distributors, architects, engineers and other technical experts accepted recommendations dealing with suggested additions and amendments to the American Lumber Standards as submitted by the Central Committee on Lumber Standards. Tohn H. Kirbv of Houston, Texas, presided.

A more detailed technical study of the problem of the shipping weight and moisture content of lumber was voted after representatives of the engineers and railroads, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the architects and others had opposed a resolution by the Central Committee to the effect that it was not practicable or possible to guarantee any given moisture content or shipping weight at the point of shipment, at the point of delivery or at the point of consumption. This recommendation was amended and the matter referred to a sub-committee for further consideration.

A resolution of the Central Committee urging that everything possible be done to discourage the manufacture and sale of sub-standard lumber and to encourage the specifying and using of American standard lumber, was approved. Recommendations providing for several changes in the American standard widths of lumber, were also approved.

Adolph Pfund, secretary of the National Retail Lumber Dealers' Association, submitted an amendment dealing with length lumber which was adopted and which provided that marketing practice covering lengths of yard lumber shall permit buyers to secure specified lengths or specified assortments of lengths.