The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-29


 money will be saved wherever a ma chine, costing not more than $500, can be substituted for one negro. That machine will cost less than the negro, and 1t will always be on hand on Monday morning, and 1t will never be ticed' away from you by neighboring mill man"
 Labor conditions were discussed some- what at the meeting of the association in this city on the 10th and it was gen. erally conceded that conditions were as bad as they could be. The subject would have been considered more fully if the general opinion had not been expressed that no relief was possible. and that time devoted to the subject would be altogether wasted.
 Results Are Not Evident.
 The meeting of the South Mississippi Lumbermen's association held here early in the month was not productive of any results, other than to demonstrate that the association, if 1t would accomplish much good toward the betterment of the condition of the interests of the lumber men, must strengthen Its ranks by secur- ing a larger membership and by imbuing the members with a more positive ap- preciation of the value of cooperative effort Although the session was called by President J. F. Wilder and Secre- tary w. C. Rogers. in response to what was conceived to be a general demand for action to improve the conditions of the market, the attendance was the smallest the association has ever had. those present were mostly wholesale dealers, and the few mill men who were present were not disposed to unload their burden of grlefs upon the association. In response to the request of President Wilder. a few of the mill men spoke on the general condition of the trade. but none of them could be induced to confess that there was anything wrong with con ditlons as they found them. They did complain some of labor troubles, but such troubles the mill men have with them always They also allowed that the car service might be improved, though the supply of rolling stock, they confessed. might be much worse. But when 1t came to discussing price conditions, they were as close as clans They dismissed the subject as a joke. One gentleman admitted that he was selling dimension stuff anywhere from $S to SIS per thou sand, and everybody including the mar rator, laughed as though it was market condition calculated to arouse the great est delight in the breast of the mill men.
 Finding that the spirit of the meeting was not directed toward the developing of any substantial project for the im- provement of market conditions, ad- journment was taken for one month, when conditions may have shaped themselves in such a way that the association may see it's way to grapple with them.
 In the meantime efforts will be made to increase the influence of the associa- ton by adding to its membership. The aucnpiafiaD includes n Sn cent of the mills in this territory With anything like a full representa- tion, the association could exert a powerful in- fluence for good. especially in all mat ters relating to car and railroad mate rial It Is also probable that as a means of adding to the interest of the member ship the association will arrange to hold monthly sessions hereafter. It is found, after years of experimentation, in this association and in like organizations in other states, that when the sessions are held only once a year or every six months, the members are inclined to forget that such an organization exists; and if they do remember that 1t exists, they do not regard 1t as having any potency as an agency for the benefit of the trade
 President Wilder deserves a great deal of credit for the efforts he has made con- tinuously for the building up of the as- soclaton. He has never lost faith in it's ultimate success and has been amenable to every suggestion for the advancement of the association Interests.
 No Mill Man Is Losing.
 Although much has been said about the ruinous prices that have prevailed of late for certain classes of lumber. dili- gent inquiry among the mill men of the Hattiesburg section fall to discover that single one of them has been losing on the season. It Is found that not q single mill has closed down on account of inability to make expenses, and some margin over. It cannot even be learned that any of the mills have been closing down flor repairs to machinery" They are all working as near full time as their facilities will permit. The larger mills have never failed to make the run through night as well as day whenever their laborers would show up for work, and while isolated sales have been made, perhaps, at little more than cost of pro- duetion, they must have been made in cases where the mllman had neglected the ordinary precautions of informing himself of the market conditions before closing the trade, or in cases where the mill man was In such dire need of the ready money that he was willing to grasp at the first offer made.
 The situation Is now somewhat re- lieved, and buyers report a somewhat more solid demand for building material, while the mill men find that this im- proved demand is reflected in slightly better prices and it is possible for mill men to look back and analyze the con ditions that caused the furry of the summer It is found that while there has been sackening of the demand, and there has been no call for the full output of all the mills running fullhanded night and day, there has never been a moment when there was not some de- mand for the material, with buyers will ing to pay price that would afford the manufacturer margin of profit. But the mill men during recent months nave grown accustomed to having the buyers