\(/est Coast Prices Considered in Line

Washington, May 25.-Pertinent to the many discussions of the advancing lumber prices the West Coast Lumbermen's Association's recent report says, "The wholesale price of lumber is not out of line with other building materials. The difference in the case of lumber is that it dropped during the depression nearly trvice as much as any other major material; hence, its comeback to a normal price represents a greatel percentage advance from the depression low than is true of building materials generally. To illustrate: Taktng 1926 as l@-during the past four years lumber has advanced from 55 to 1OO;cement f.rom 77 to 95;brick from 75 to 9l; steel from 80 to 105; and all building materials from 70 to 95. Our product is not out of line, it has simply had to come back a greater distance to get into line.

"A most important fact rarely understood by critics of West Coast lumber prices is the tremendous part of the advances in recent years required to absorb higher labor cost.

"The average wage in West Coast logging camps and sawmills in 1932 was not over 43 cents per hour. In the great bulk of our industry today, following the increase of .075 per hour in March, the average wage is approximately 77 cents per hour. It takes 16 hours of logging and mill labor to produce an average thousand feet of west coast lumber. Ifence, the increase in direct labor cost during the past five years has been approximately $5.44 per thousand board feet. When other costs for unemployment and old-age insurance, increasing prices of fuel oil and almost everything used by the industry are taken into account, the higher prices have left a very small margin of profit.

"Present lumber prices have of course simply followed supply and demand. It is to the business interest of the industry to protect its market from price advances which would seriously curtail consumption, but the West Coast, with its labor history of the past five years, has abundant iustification for the advances which have been made."

Lumbermen's Hi-Jinks June 18

The annual Hi-Jinks, sponsored by Lumbermen's Post, No.403, American Legion, will be held at the new Adway Hotel, formerly the Army and Navy Club, 1106 South Broadway, Los Angeles, Friday evening, June 18.

These parties are very popular rvith the luml>er fraternity ancl a big crowd is expected to attend.

Calling On Retail Yards

Locklin Dernier, E. M. Dernier Service Bureau, Los Angeles, has been spending a few weeks calling on the retail dealers in the Northern part of the state.