HowLumber Looks

Lunber market conditionr in Californil, You might ray, are all a-tremble.

rtockr, or even to place what the millr in other timec might consider attractive orden.

raarkctr were'more rmcertain.

The two mort important of thorc factdrr-the weather and the railroad thikeloubtle* will refolve themrelvec into certaintier before the end of another few daye. .Ae a

There neyer wa3 a time when facton tha! make and break matter of fact, it began raining arormd last wc€k.

California buyerr are nrnning ttemrclver ragged up around the Northwect tryhg to get thcir orderc fillcd. There har been a regular procecion of California whole. ralers and lineyard buyerr up through the Willamette vdley and ar far ac Puget Sound and Britich Colurnbia, and the woid that they send back ir not at all promieing for a plentiful rupply. Pricer are rtiffening about the rame mort reriour of What will be

Suppore the railroad rtriFe ir rettled t{mc a good roaking rain putr an end to the forert firer in Orcgon and Warhi the cffcct on tte Cdifornia lumber market ' lV"[, one will jurt about offret the , but continued rains probably would weeken the market. of the rtrike would hduce the Eartern trade to buy lumber it ir gorng to buy, and end of the forect would enable nills now down to rtart up again.

Reporte from tAe fir producinc milb eho{ that thc North' wert ir cutting more lumber right now thaniit b relling, and bar been ever dnce the fint part of JuIy. ]With more millr nrnning thir rurplur production obviously lvould be accentueted, rnler, of coune, the Eartern trade ficked up.

And there ir good rGaaon to believe that t[e Eartern trade ir due to pick up. Southern Pine reportr{nd California buyerr murt reurember ttat while they pur$hare pralcticdly no Sout'hern Pine, they are directly affe"tep by conditionr in the Southern Pine market-there South$rn Pine reportr rhow the millr to be rclling clightly more rhfm they are cutting. Thic condition h'r prevailed for the fart few weeka; and ttir in rpite of the coal and railroa{ rtriker, which *riker afiect the Souttern Pine raler more {irectly trhan the 6r ratcs, ar Soutrhenr Pine ir clorer to the reaf of the trouble.

The one thing that thir wquld indicate ir that the Eart ir hungry for lurnber and ir willing to face thd adverre conditionr of two nasty rtrikec to get it.

But getting back to the Califomia narkbt-and that is what we are mort intererted in-the ritultion prerentr a rtrange paradox.

With the fir milb cutting more ttan they lre relling, it ir tte hardert thing in the world to get goodlaieortrnentr of

This situation appliea to rail ar well ar to cargo rhipmentr. And right here ir ar good a place ar any to iniect the infonnation that regardlesr of what developr, we are duc for a nk:e little, tight little, car rhortage thir fall. It dready is being felt in the South. When the fruit and grain begin to move out of Oregon and Warhington it will make ibelf fett in the Northwert.

Shinsler are riding along at the top of the tight market. They have advanced an average of about four bits a thousand, or squane, rince the fint of the month. Thir ir due ar much to forert 6rer and diminished log eupply as anything; but alro to the keen demand on the part of tbe public for rhingler.

Lath are tcarce and growing tcarcer, ryith a market--to match thir rituation.

The hardwood rupply ir no more plentiful thair it war two and four weekr ago. A car rhortage will make itrelf felt here, but there is no danger of a fa'rri-e in this channel, yet.

STR.II([: STILL UNSETTLED

Railroad strike conditions are growing more serious, hourly.

While NO IMMEDIATE settlement is in sight, the strike may end., through the federal government's action, within the next few d.ays. President Ilarding still hopes to bring the opposing elements together.

Service on the Santa Fe, with the exception of the San Diego line, is completely tiecl up.

The Southern Pacific is tied up north of Roseville, but is open south and east; the 'Western Pacific is dow:r, and the Union Pacific, 1es Angeles to Salt Lake City, is tied up. Rail shipments of lumber from Oregon are subjeet to strike delays.