THE CALIFOR}.IIA LUMBERMERCHANT

JackDionne,prblislw

Managa

Subecription Price, $2.00 pcr Year Singlc Copier, 25

CAL., DECEMBER I,

How Lumber Looks

During the u'eek endecl November 12, 526 mills produced 182,278,0@ feet of softrvoocls an.d hardrvoods combined, shipped 176,135,0C0 feet, and booked orders of 190,815,000 feet, according to reports to the National Lumber Manufacturers Association frorn regional associations covering the operations of important softrvoo,cl ancl hardrvood rnills.

Lumber orclers reported for the n'eek rnills totaled 181,0O1,000 feet, shipments feet, and production u'as 174,343,000 feet.

106 hardrvoocl mills for the week gave 9,814,000 feet, shipments 9,353,000 feet, 7.935.000 feet.

by 438 softwood

rvere 166,728,000 business as production new ancl

A total of 151 down and operating mills in \\:ashington and Oregon tvhich reported to the West Coast Lumbermen's Association for the week ended November 12, procluced 77,8n,979 feet, shipments were 73,967,649 feet, and nerv business rvas 80.180.519 feet. The unfilled order file at these mills stoocl at 246.360.818 feet.

The same number of mills reporting for the rveek endecl November 19, produced 88,143,064 feet, shipped 81,273,923 feet, and nerv business was 97,589,547 feet. Unfilled orders totaled 255.517.632 feet.

Details of orders an,d shipments for the week of November 19, as reported by the 151 mills, are:

Orders-Ri i|, 31,7 iO,W f eet ; Dom estic Cargo, 45,021,616 feet ; Export, 6,852,623 feet; Local, 7,995,547.feet.

Shipments-Rail. 31..521.369 feet; Domestic Cargo. 38,476,465 feet; Iixport, 3,280,048 feet; I.ocal 7,995,547 feet.

The Western Pine Association, 125 mills reporting. for the week encled November 19, gave orders as 76,383,000 feet, shipments 61,147.000 feet, and production 58.710,000 feet. Increase in orders accepted as comDared with the prer.iotts 'rveek's report r,vas Orclers on hand at tl.re end feet.

10,498,000 feet, or 15.9 per cer-rt. of the week totaled 174,483,000

The California Redrvoo,d Association for the week endecl November 12 reported production of 13 mills as 7,488.000 feet, shipments 5,647,000 feet, and new business 6,059,00O feet. Week-end orders on hand were 26,273,00O feet. The 13 identical mills reported production 4 per cent less ancl new business 14 per cent greater than the same 'week last year.

The Southern Pine Association for the week ended Novemlrer 19, ln mills reporting, gave orders as 29,616,000 feet, shiprnents 31,695,0o0 feet, an,d production 28,84O,00O feet. Orders on hand at the end of the rveek totalecl 69.459.@O feet.

Residential construction in Southern California continues active.

Base<l on four persons to the average family, according to W. G. Bingham, Los Angeles, district director of the Federal Housing Administration, more than 33,00O residents of Southern California already have been or are about to be housed in newly constructed homes since April l, 1938.

The report of first inspections shows construction ol 8,270 new homes has been started since that date in this clistrict.

As of November 18, in the Southern California FHA district, neu.-construction mortgages accepted for insurance totaled 2A,78O, with valuation of $91,427,480; mortgages, relating to existing construction, approved for insurance, \,vere 21]96, amounting to $83,088,704. a total of $174,516,18,1 for both classes.

Mcrnulcrctured byOTYMPIA VENEER CO.Pioneer Plywood MIrs.

Distributed Exclusively Since l92l by

The moving finger writes-and having writ Moves on: nor all your piety or wit, Shall lure it back to capture half a line, Nor all your tears wash o,ut a word of it.

-Omar. ***

Yes, Sir. The sports world says: "They never come back." An old ballad went: "Backward, turn backward, Oh time in your fight," but no one ever discovered the combination, so far as known. And the old Greeks had a saying along that line, too: "A man can never bathe in the same river twice." Same spot, maybe, but not the same river.

Business men nowad"; ;":'got to keep up on their TOES to keep the HEELS from getting them.

"One picture," said Cl"fl"iJr, "is worth a thousand arguments." Anyway, I heard it was the old Chinaman who said it. And likewise, one well told tale has a thousand interviews beat. Old John Garner, the V.P. of these here United States, never gives out a political interview. But he tells a story now and then that is more potent than a dozen interviews. Right now there is one going the rounds that is reported to have made the left-wingers in Washington bite their nails. That's about all they can do about it. Even fckes, the name-caller, won't lash out at "the David Harum of Uvalde." Here's the story Garner is alleged to have told when someone asked him about Governmental things.

A man went into . "ol""*"rrlp, drank a cup of coffee, Iaid down a fifty cent piece, and started out. The waiter stopped him. "Coffee is only a nickel, Mister, and you left fifty cents," he said. "That's all right," said the customer. "Keep it. I always pay fifty cents for coffee. I'M A BIG TIPPER.' That's the trouble in Washington today. Too many big tippers. ***

Heard a famous old Professor of Economics talk the other day about our present day economics, and our efrort to spend our way out of depression. He used a lot of stories and allegories to illustrate his opinion of the folly of Brain Trust economics. In his allegories a fictitious character known as "Two Gun Charlie" represented the Government. Here is a sample of his stories:

"Two Gun Charlie" walked into a clothing store and held up the proprietor, taking a hundred dollars from the cash box. Then he noticed an overcoat hanging near by. "That's a nice coat. I can use that," said "Two Gun Charlie." So he took the overcoat, and handed the proprietor back his hundred dollars. "You see," said "Two Gun Charlie," "that I'm a great public benefactor. I put money in circulation, and I create business." "How do you figure that?" asked the proprietor. "Simple enough," said "Two Gun Charlie." "That hundred dollars changed hands twice in the last five minutes, and you sold an overcoat."

***

In his allegories he called American business "John Enterpriser." He contended that instead of shorter hours and less work and less production of everything, what this country needs is more and more men producing more and more necessities for more and more people at lower and lower costs; and more and more owners of capital willing and unafraid to start something new in which to employ our citizens in gainful occupations. Today, he said, the Government says to "John.Enterpriser," "!l/hy don't you start something that will employ men? If you will only do so, I will agree to harass and tax and threaten you continually. Then if you fail, the loss is all yours. But if you succeed, I will divide the profits with you."

***

Wages, he said, depend entirely upon the law of supply and demand. When there are more men than jobs, wages will be low. When there are more jobs than men, wages will be high. Unemployment cannot materially decrease until industry expands. Industry will expand much more rapidly under a friendly than under an unfriendly Government. That fact is self proving. We have an ideal situation in this country. We have all the elements of abiding prosperity. We have a land overfowing with milk and honey; a land as fruitful as the Garden of the Gods, yielding in abundance everything necessary for the comfort of mankind. Yet we have a tremendous unemployment problem which we are doing very little to solve, even though we have spent countless billions of dollars trying to prime the pump until it flows freely of itself. We have the three great fundamentals in abundance-land, men, and money.

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