THE CALIFOR}.IIA LUMBERMERCHANT JackDionne,fultxlru How Lumber Looks

Due largely to purchases in anticipation of t{re minimum prices going into efiect, lumbet orders received at the mills iuring-the-week ended November 18, 19t3, as well as those of the preceding week were the heaviest booked since 1930' this w€ekts tu"otd surpassing any week since October, 1930, and the preceding week, since May, i930, according to reports to the National Lumber Manufacturers Association.

. The reports made by 11772 Aneican mills for the week ended Novimber 18 gave production as l82r522rOOO feet, ship' rtrents 164,610,000 feet' and orders 27315491000 f.eet. The pre' vious weekts orders w*e 3l5r 884rO0O feet, with a production af 178,783,000 feet. Production of 22 British Columbia mills also reported by the Vest Coast Lumber'tnents Association for the same week was t4'2O5rOOO feet; shipments 9ro13r000 feet; orders 20,792,OOO ft.

!F :&. rF rir

' New business reported by 48 mills to the Vest Coast Lum' Berments Association for the week ended Novernber 18 was l2gr853r6t4 feet against a production of 93 8!2,421 feet and shipments of 77r)891848 feet; Shipmene were under produc' tion by l7.5flor and current sales were over production by 38.aVo. The o,rders booked for the week by this group of mills were under the preceding week by 6014001000 feetr or 3l.7Vo. This report t.f..tt the first week following the estab' lishment of minimum or cost return prices fot Douglas fir and Vest Coast hemlock.

The California Redwood Association for the week ended

November 16 reported production from 21 mills as +rg'SlrOOO feet, shipments 64061000 feet, and new business 9r207rOO0 feet. Production of 18 mills was 40 per cent of normal production. Eleven identical mills reported production 25 pet cent greater and new business 151 pet cent greater than the same week last Yeef ' * {. {< !r

The Western Pine AssociStion for the same week reported new business for 135 mills as 69'200'000 feet, shipments t6'; 6001000 feet, and production tgrtgzr000 feet. Orders wete 76 per cent above production and 89 per cetrt above shipments. Shipments were 7 per*cent *below production.

648 hardwood mills gave new business as 671179ro00 feet' or 117 per cent above production, for the week ended Novern' ber 18 and shipments is 26r466r0fi) feet, or 14 per cent below production. Production was 3019201000 feet. i

Since the rush in buying prior to the establishment of the minimum cost protection prices, the volune of buyrng Uy 4a retail trade in the California market has been very light. Un' sold stocks on the public docks at.Los Angeles hatbor total{ 4fi2rOOO feet on N6vember 20. Cargo artivals at the port of Los Angeles for the week ended November 20 totaled 5r295rOOO feet, which included 12 cargoes of Fir with 510701000 feet, and one cargo of Redwood carrying 225roOO f,eet. 57 vessels were operating in the coastwise lumber service on Novembet lli 48 vessels were laid up.

War Department Rejects Bids Under Minimum Cost Protection Prices

(Telegram to The California Lumber Merchant)

Washington, D.C., November 27.-Ihe War Department has definitely instructed the military authorities of the Thirp Corps Area to disregard all offers to furnish lumber at prices under the minimum cost-protection levels recently established by the Lunibcr Code Autholity, it became knolr'n today. Similar instructions r,vill be sent to other corps areas.

This action .came about in connection r,vith the contemplated purchase of more than 4,00O,000 feet of lumber for 185 CCC camps in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Over eighty bids, received in response to the Department's circular proposal of November 10, were opened at the headquarters of the Third Corps Area in Baltimore, November 2o, and it was found that some of these reflected prices below established legal minima' Communication with Washington resulted in an order to withhold arvards until the departrnent had ascertained just rvhat thc lowest legal priccs lvere, and to throw out all proposals unclcr that figure. Each carnp requires 22,173 f.eet of lumber. The camps are widely scattered over the three states, many of them requiring delivery at points little known. Rate experts have figured the amount of freight to each destination and added this sum to the base price of the lumber, thereby establishing the lowest permissible price at the railroad delivery point for each'camp' This information is being forwarded to Baltimore to enable the Thircl Corps Area to eliminate the bids reflecting illegal prices.

Santa Fe Lumber Co. Opens Los Angeles Office

Announcement is made by the Santa Fe Lumber Co., San Fran'cisco, that they are opening an office in Los Angeles De,cember 1. They will do a rail and 'cargo business and will handle California White and Sugar Pine.

Robt. "Bob" Forgie will be in charge. Mr, Forgie is very well known in Los Angeles and Southern California, having been for several years Southern California representative of Bloedel-Donovan Lumber Mills, and prior to that was associated lvith the Baxter & Iordan interests. with whom he started back in 1915.

Arthur Bevan in Charge o[

Lumber Production Control

Arthur Bevan, secretary of the Red Cedar Shingle Bureau at Seattle, Wash., for the past several years, has been appointed Chief of the Production Control Section, Lumber Code Authority, Washington, D. C. He will have charge of the Production Control of all kinds of lumber, and will work directly under C. Arthur Bruce, executive secretary of the l-umber Code Authority.

Mr. Bevan was associated with the shingle industry in the Northwest for many years. He joined the Red Cedar Shingle Bureau in 1920, was made assistant manager in 1925, and was appointed manager of the Bureau in 19D.

Mrs. Lillu M. Miller

Mrs. Lillie M. Miller, wife of Oscar H. Miller ,manager of the Knox Lumber Company, Sa'cramento, passed away in Sacramento on Sunday, November 12. She is also survived by a son,.Walter F. Miller, and a brother, William F. Klewe of Colusa.

S. M. Law Appointed Secretary

S. M. Law has been appointed secretary of the United Sash and Door Dealers of Lod Angeles county with headquarters in the Association's office in the Fay Building, Los Angeles, succeeding Lester G. Sterett, who resigned to take over the position as secretary of the Tri-State Woodwork Association, the regional administrative agency for the states of Arizona, California and Nevada, for the Special Woodwork Subdivision of the Woodwork Division of the Lumber and Timber Products Code. Mr. Laws was formerly with Southern Door & Millwork, fnc., of Lomita, Calif.

Executive Back From Northwest

Guy E. Smith, general sales manager, Chas. R. McCormi,ck Lumber Co., San Francis,co, returned to his desk November 2O irom a two weeks' trip to the Northwest. While there Mr. Smith attended Minimum Price and Trade Practice meetings in Seattle, and also spent some time at the company's sawmill at Port Gamble.