The HARDWOOD INDUSTRY orr. the Pacific Coast

By LeRoy H. Stanton, E. J. Stanton & Son

While the hardwood business on the Pacific Coast dates back at least half a century and some of the best known firms in the business today have almost that many years to their credit, the real growth and development have practically taken place within the last fifteen to twenty years. ' There were several reasons why, in the earlier years, hardwoods were not extensively used. For one thing, the standard of beauty and luxury in home building wal not high. The general level of salaries and wages was low, bnd the popular taste had not been educated to demand or ixpect beauty of finish either in homes, stores, office buildlngs or even apartment buildings and hotels. Most people fuere perfectly satisfied to use the cheaper soft woods native to the Pacific Coast.

Ev\n had the majority of people desired the beauty of 'hardwood finish, th6 general belief that it was extrerirely high priced would have militated against its extensive use. '''In fact, Eastern hardwoods were high priced. The railfoads, having no water competition, maintained extremely high freight rates on lumber from the East to the West, so that hardwoods really were beyond the means of all but the most prosperous. The lack oI hardwoods native to the Pacific Coast practically forced most people to use only the soft woods which grow here in abundance, or, to a limited extent, the hardwoods which were shipped in from the Orient.

The last dozen years or so have been a period of substantial growth in the use of hardwoods on the Pacific Coast, which has been brought about by a number of fdctors.

Perhaps first in importance was the opening of the Panama Canal in 1915. The establishment of steamship lines from ports on the Gulf of Mexico through the Panama Canal to Pacific ports enabled the Southern manufacturers of hardwoods to get their products to the Pacific Coast at a cost much less than had been possible by rail. This made it possible for dealers to supply hardwoods for interior finish, furniture manufacturing, cabinet work and industrial purposes at prices which the trade could afford to pay. Furthermore, the competition of the steamship companies forced the railroads to reduce their rates, so that even the mills situated too far from the Gulf to use the Panama Canal were able to ship to the Coast by rail on a reasonable basis.

_ Anoth,er great source of supply was opened up for the Pacific Coast in about 19lQ when American capiial began the comrnercial exploitation of the vast hardwood forests of the Philippine Islands. With the introduction of modern machinery and labor saving methods these hardwoods were made available for the American trade,.particularly on the Pacific Coast, at very reasonable prices.

The Philippine hardwoods are of numerous varieties, suitable for many purposes. Red and White Lauan, Tanguile and Almon, which are marketed in the United States under the name of Philippine Mahogany, have come to be used extensively for interior trim, cabinet work and furniture manufacturing. These .woods have the distinctive mahogany grain and ribbon figure, and when finished resemble the costly imported Mahogany so closely that only expert lumbermen can distinguish the difference. Other Philippine woods which have proved to be cornmercially practical in this country are Apitong and Guijo. They are very strong and tough, and can be used for the same purposes as Oak and Hickory in construction work, for shipbuilding, auto bodies, mining timbers, oil well machinery, etc. Philippine hardwoods, because they are produced in our own possessions, are not subject to duty and can be sold on the Pacific Coast at prices so little above the native soft woods that they have proven a means of largely extending the use of hardwoods for interior trim in homes, hotels, office buildings and apartments, as well as for all other industrial purposes.

The great growth of population and industry on the Pacific Coast in the last twelve years or so has also had a marked effect on the hardwood business. The establishment of furniture manufacturing plants, the tremendous amount of building, the greater prosperity, and the great advance in aesthetic standards, have all contributed to this development.

The increased use of hardwoods for interior trim has also been brought about by the efforts of the dealers to educate the public in regard to them. It was found that most people believed hardwood finish to be entirely beyond their means. The price of hardwoods, when quoted by the thousand feet, was so much greater than that of softwoods, that it sounded prohibitive, and they did not realize that the actual difference for the small amount used in the average room amounted to comparatively little. The planing mills could sell softwoods just as profitably as hardwoodi and so took no interest in pushing the latter. The dealers realized that they themselves would have to educate architects, builders and home owners in order to overcome these

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