The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-08-10
Frederic Haslkin's Letter
The Rise in Furniture.
fa.,e1.a = n Asgasy.

" - Ao SAAS SoeuSy tuaI tur ovefV
four feet Ct timer cut, only ona i.
being replaced by new growth
Black walnut, for instance. =.
become 30 scarce that the goys,n2
ment had to advertise for il. m
hunt out single trees. when ii -
needed, for gun stocks and q,
plane material. Even then it co.la
not be obtained in anything ins
sufficient amounts. As black NJ
nut is one of the best woods n,
there is a substantial ~.
tune for the patient investor Ma
will plant grove of these trees
and wait 40 years for them to srnv
large enough to cut profitable
Planting more timber is the onl,
way to Offset the huge inroads
made yearly into the supply On,
virgin forests Of hardwood ,hays
shrunk back from the coasts arS
lumber centers to inaccessible rer,
ions where the mills cannot fol.
low. Transportation of lumber i
becoming a large item IN
furniture prices.
Besides transportation, labor n
another big factor in turning the
1898 bureau into a $25 article I'm.
ployes at these factories claim stn..
in the past they have been PAID
lower than workmen in other in-N
dustries. Since the war, however.
their wages have increased about
so per cent more than have the
wages in any other industry, so
that any discrepancy that existed
has been practically removed.
Wages of men in the lumber mills
have advanced to a point where
many find it convenient to work a
few days and then knock off long
enough to spend their money in the
nearest city. The demand for their
services is so great that they know
there is no danger of being out Of
work when they want it.
Don't Break Your Mirror.
An item which affects only GER
tain pieces of furniture is the glass
for mirrors. A piece Of glass
which used to cost about 81 now
brings $11, and the price is still
rising. It seems that there have
been six big manufacturers who
supplied the furniture trade witty
mirrors. Recently they have been
able to handle only so per cent Of
the demand, and now three Of the
six companies have decided to
make glass for automobiles instead
Of house Furnishings. There will be
no room for doubt as to the bad
luck of breaking a mirror if you
have to buy a new one.
Any reader who expects to buy
piece of furniture in the next
few years will be glad to know that
there is at least one thing that has
a tendency to keeping down the
price of house furnishings. This is
Standardization. You remember
how the government got the shoe
manufacturers to cut down the
number of styles they produced.
Well, the furniture makers decided
on a similar plan.
In the old times manufacturers
had to bid for contracts, and the
retailers had to bid for public ia
vor, by continually offering novel \
ties in furniture. The extremS
, styles which were the result OF this
system required extra planning and
extra labor, and then tho stock
could rarely be sold out before the
styles changed.
But when the lumber shortage
began to Be really felt, and labor
became scarce, not enough furni-
ture could be produced to meet the
demand. This turn in affairs prov
ed a charter of independence for
the furniture business, since it was
no longer necessary to cater to
caprice in order to drum up trade,
Instead of turning out a dozen
styles of beds or desks. all more
or less freaky, the manufacturers
agreed to simplify patterns and TO
cease striving for variety.
This has meant lull IN the
vogue in Chippendale chairs with
their complicated legs, and in the
other elaborate kinds of period fur
niture. In their stead makers Ia
vor such patterns as the Queen ann
style which is simple and still has
the desirable period effect. There
are so many different factories tnat
even with patterns cut down to one
fourth as many as before the war.
IAhere is still a great variety OF
stock on view in any large furnish
ing store.
It N predicted that our WOO iiess
future WIZ produce scme c; ptan o.
invention who will devise slnsie
piece of furniture that can be usea
for a bed, kitcheA table and VIC
trola, or some other combination on
the order OF q trick pockek E.iie.
1t may take us some time - ee1
used to super-simplicity in IN
home. snd comhpatinn furniture
| would be an intermediate STEP