The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-13
Yellow Pine Supply Exceed ed Demand and Prices
 Were Too Low
WAS NO ATTEMPT
 TO CONTROL PRICES
President of Long, Bell Lumber Com pany Says Lumber Men Are Be-
 ing Persecuted-Large Operators in South

 controls thousands of acres of timber land. curtailed it's yellow pine output as 1-s per cent during six months of 1904.
 So testified R A. Long. president of the company. at a hearing of the states custer suit against the alleged lumber trust here today. This curtailment was not effected to raise the prices of lumber but to avoid losses by depreciation and need less insurance and old expenses said the witness. At that time. said MT. Long, there was an over-supply of yell low pine.
 MT. Long also admitted the associa- tion appointed a price list committee and adopted it's reports at en annual and a semi-annual meeting. The use of this price list by dealers was not mandatory, averred Mr.cLong, but was for the guidance In making sales.
 Incidentally MT. Long asserted if the public would cease it's prosecution and persecution of the lumber trade aqd permits it's dealers to act g 2 ; m. twenty per cent of the timber that now goes to waste would be saved.
 All of Mir Long's testimony was taken today He may be recalled, how ever. It is believed the hearing here will be closed in a few days. Charles Kemp. president of the Central Coal and Coke company. was the only other witness today. He covered practically the same ground as did Mir. Long.
 
 conducted the inquiry for the state.
 MT. Long, the first witness, said his company was a member of the Southern Lumber Manufacturers" association. and that he had been president of the ssso- citation during 1904 and 1905. He said the name of the association had been changed to. inc gellov E'ihe 1aptfat'@,ess' A7s@ cistion st meeting 1vld at New Or leans in 1906.
 The output Of yellow pine is very larg' in the states in which the association op erates-Texas, Louisiana. Arkansas. Mis- sissippL Alabama, Florida. Georgia and tc an extent in Missouri. according to Mir Long.
 were you chairman of the price list committee when the convention met in Memphis in January 1902" asked Attor- ney Atkinson.
 q do not remember"
 "Dld you attend the meeting of the as- sociation in St Louis in 1904. when the subject of curtailment was discussed?'
 "I did.s
 fIhe demand was not as great as the supply at that time, and it was recom- mended that the output of yellow pine be curtailed SS Ia per cent. Is that not true?"
 "Yes"
 This curtailment was to last for 90 daysg'
 "It was.'
 Output Curtailed
 Did the Long-Bell Lumber company and others of the Southern Lumber Man. ufacturers' association curtail the output in accordance with the recommends. tion?"
 "our company did; I cannot say as to the others
 ''TIow long did your company curtail its output of yellow pine?"
 About six months"
 Returning to the question of price list committee in the association. MT Long admitted there had been such 2 committee.
 '1s there such committee now in eX istence" asked Attorney Atkinson.
 'No; it was abolished some time ago, was the reply. "Explain why the production of lumber was curtailed 8 1-3 per cent in 1904, Mir Long was told by one Of the attorneys for the lumber dealers when 1t came 10 cross-examination.
 ..The lumber trade was found to be m A demoralized condition" he replied. "The nroduction was far in excess of the con- s,mntjop and as natural result there was a slow demand for a fast accumuat- inc surplus of product. The way to cor reef that condition was to lessen the pro- duction. That was what any sensible dealer would have done. There was no use continuing the bling up of lumber for which there was no market"
 "The market price was down, was it not?"
 "Yes.n
 "was the production of lumber cur tailed then to control and raise the prices?'
 There were many reasons for eurtail- ing the production, especially of yellow pine, which our companies produce. It meant the pillng up of lumber that we could not sell and putting into 1t the cost of labor which was about s7 10 $ per thousand feet. That investment natur- ally would lie idle. It would mean the increase of taxes and insurance in amount of from s1o,0co to sl5,0oo a year for each mill.
 yellow pine timber depreciates rapidly when it remains in piles for long time. Good business demands that yellow pine lumber be not produced faster than it can he marketed It was not to control or advance prices that we curtailed the production. It was to avoid heavy loss hv depreciation and needless insurance and ther expenses.
 ,,ncerning National Resources
 And if I may be permitted. I may say something about the lumber business generally that will coincide with the pres ent public agitation in favor of conserv- ing our natural resources. By reason of so much public clamor, and I might say. prosecution or persecution of the lumber trade, the dealers are denied the priv ilege of cooperating to save much of the forests. If the manufacturers Of lumber dared to act together they could produce conditions that would conserve about 20 per cent of the forests that is now go- Ing r waste. :.
 CONTINUED ON PAGE 0l