THE CALIFOR}.IIA LUMBERMERCHANT

JackDiorne,fubldhu

W. T. BI.ACtr

Subrcription

LOS ANGELES, CAL, NOVEMBER I5. I94I

How Lumber Looks

Lumber production during the week ended October 25, 1941, was 3 per cent less than the previous week; shipments were 4 per cent less; new business 4 per cent less, according to reports to the National Lumber Manufacturers Association from regional associations covering the operations of representative hardn'ood and softrvood mills. Shipments were .4 per cent above production; new orders 12 per cent below production. Compared with the corresponding week of 194O production was 7 per ce4t greater, shipments 5 per cent less, and new business 20 per cent less. The industry stood at 123 per cent of the average of production in the corresponding rveek of 1935-39 and 126 per cent of average 1935-39 shipments in the same week.

Reported production for the 43 rveeks of l94l to date was 13 per cent above corresponding weeks of 1940; shipments were 13 per cent above the shipments, and nerv orders 9 per cent above the orders of the 1940 period.

During the week ended October 25, 47I mills produced 263,783,W feet of hardwoods and softwoods combined, shipped 2&,931,W0 feet, and booked orders of 231,390,000 feet.

Lumber orders reported for the week by 393 softrvood mills totaled, 221,992,m feet, shipments \,\'ere 251,683,000 feet, and production was 252,X)4,000 feet. 92 hardwood mills for the week gave new business as 9,398,000 feet, shipments 13,248,000 feet, and production 10,879,000 feet.

The Western Pine November 1, 93 mills

Association for the reporting, gave orders week ended as 76,599,000 f,dvertiting R<rter on Application feet, shipments 85,506,000 feet, and production 79,2N,W feet. Orders on hand at the end of the rveek totaled 289,794.0ffi feet.

The Southern Pine Association for the week ended November I, ll7 mills reporting, gave orders as 25,593,000 feet, shipments 31,060,000 feet, and production 28,684,000 feet. Orders on hand at the end of the week totaled 117,704.000 feet.

Lumber cargo receipts at Los Angeles Harbor for the week ended November 8 totaled 16,876,000 feet as compared to 16,014,000 feet the previous week.

New Los Angeles Buildins Code

The Building and Safety Commission of the City of Los Angeles announces that on November lO, 1941, ten copies of the new Building Code will be available for inspection in the office of the Secretary, room 216, City Hall. These copies will be available from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. until December 10. and there will be one of the Code Writers in attendance at all times. The public is invited to peruse this new Building Code.

On December 10, 1941, the Board of Building and Safety Commissioners will hold its first public hearing on the Building Code at 10:00 a.m. in room 214, City Hall. At this time interested persons may present such argunent or criticism as they deem necessary and fitting.

"IJncover when the fag goes by, boys, 'Tis freedom's starry banner that you greet; Flag famed in song and storyLong may she wave-Old GloryThe flag that has never known defeat."

*:3*

Toward the close of the First World War Theodore Roosevelt, himself no mean literary performer, wrote a very beautiful tribute to France; words that bear repeating now in light of the horrifying predicament in which the once great France at present finds herself, an object of pity to the entire world. Teddy wrote:

"France embodies att oi tol"tl"." and of valor. Beauty is her hand-maiden, and strength her shield-bearer, the shining courage of her daughters has matched the dauntless courage of her sons. For three and a half terrible years she has walked high of heart through the valley of the shadow. Her body is in torture, but her forehead is alight with the beauty of the morning. Never in history has there been such a steadfast loyalty in the doing of dangerous duty, such devotion to country, such splendor of service and of sacrifice, and great shall be her reward FOR SHE HAS SAVED THE SOUL OF THE WORLD.''

Again, twenty-thre" ,"lrr*r"ir, ,.her body is again in torture," and this time, so is her soul. Verdun, it seems, was fought in vain. Beautiful and inspired words, those words of the first Roosevelt. "Great shall be her reward," he prophesied, and never was man more wrong than in that prediction. For her reward for courage and valor unsurtrlassed in history, is slavery to the pitiless Hun. And the shame and humiliation that has come to France rivals that of the angels who were driven from Fleaven in Milton's immortal story. France "saved the soul of the urorld" it seemed at the time. How fearful that the saving should have been so temporary.

Remember the great British statesman, Lord Beaconsfield, and the reply he once made in parliament when another member twitted him about being a Jew? He said: "Yes, I am a Jew. And in by-gone ages when your fathers' fathers were living in caves, clad in the skins of wild beasts, eating raw meat, and knowing no God, my fathers' fathers were living in the palaces of kings, clad in the royal purple, and giving thanks to the most high God on Mount Moriah."

***

The man who says to another-"Believe as I do or I will condemn you," will next be saying-"Believe as I do or I will MAKE you." 'Twas ever thus.

*f,*

The Captain of a regiment of green troops is reported to have heard the top sergeant say to his men: ..Follow the officer! Maybe he knows something! Or maybe he kno'rrrrs somebody that knows something! But, anyway-follow the officer!"

We hear and read *"Jn Jt Jrr. a.r,g., of inflation. A speaker the other day was telling how inflation gets started. He told of a certain town in Oregon where the Indians on a near-by reservation make a living during the hucldeberry season by picking the berries and selling them from house to house in town. They pick the berries on Indian land and other public land, and of course, do the picking themselves. The fixed and accepted price for huckleberries all fall has been twenty-five cents a guart. All at once the copper-colored venders of huckleberries raised the price to fifty cents a quart.

A thrifty housewife fr"iainJrr"* price and wanted to find out from the ragged buck just how come. She said, "Aren't huclrleberries just as plentiful as usual?" He said they were. "Well, are they any harder to pick than they used to be?" He said they were about the same. "And it

Port Orford Cedar

doesn't cost you any more to raise them than it ever did; you get them free, don't you?" He admitted that such was the case. "Then," said the housewife, who felt she had him cornered, "Why do you want twice as much for your berries?t' "Because," said the Indian buck, "heap damn big war in Europe." And that explains lots of inflation besides that of huckleberries.

***

Mr. Ickes could have saved himself a lot of trouble if, when he imposed gasoline restrictions on the Eastern territory and the folks demanded to know why, he had simply quoted the words of the Oregon Indian, and replied: "I{eap damn big war in Europe."

*s*

The lumber industry and its customersparticularly that biggest recent buyer, the Government- have much reason to be thankful for the transportation situation that has prevailed during the past year while the emergency has been on. During the First World War the industry was continually plagued by the difficulty of transporting lumber to point of use, due chiefy to the fact that all transportation was rail, and there was a tremendous car shortage. This time the rail situation is much better than it svas then, and in addition there have been literally tens of thousands of trucks hauling lumber from mill to market. There is not only more transportation, but it is so much faster. Rail transportation of lumber is three times as fast today as it was during 1917 and 1918, and truck transportation is like lightning. The Government builders of army camps and other great wooden units have found themselves enabled within not more than a few hours time in worlds of instances to get delivery of immediately needed lumber. Many a job has been able to proceed in twelve hours that would not have had the lumber supplies in less than two or three weeks during the First World War. And it has sure helped the building contractors. They don't have to be as far-sighted as they used to be, since they can get their fill-ins in little more than no time at all. ***

And there is likewise the ability to get dry lumber quickly because of the dry kilning situation today. At least double the percentage of mill products are kiln dried today, as were kiln dried in 1917 and 1918. In the South practically all lumber today is kiln dried. And in the West kiln drying has climbed from the lowest possible percentage, to a point where the large majority of all rail shipped lumber goes through the dry kilns first. So lumber that formerly had to stand in the pile from two to six months to season, now goes through the kilns in from one to three days, and is ready for nailing up. Speed is the answer.