Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-08-12
Factors Which Add to Cost of
Beds and Bureaus
shortage Of Lumber. High wsges Of
Workmeu and Transportation Diff
ficulties All Add to Troubles Of
Makers ana Buyers
tBy Frederic J. Hsskin)


cannot supply fast enough the demand for
twin beds and floor lamps at prices sew
eral times the old rates But as we cut
deeper into our timber reserves, the
prices will rise still further, until we
reach point where even the most rashly
extravagant buyer will balk. Then there
VIII doubtless come a fad for simple
housekeeping, which we can only hope
will take more rational form than the
overall episode in the clothes reform.
Furniture dealers are getting stock Or
dered year or more ago, and the manu-
facturers have begun to recover from
their war difficulties with labor and en-
bargoes. The consumer derives no fnan-
cial gain from this lessenins of the ten
sion He profits only to the extent that
he can now spend his money If he likes
During the war. so far as furniture was
concerned, that privilege was limited by
the shortage Of stock. but now he is
led around to look at period" furniture
pieces which he Is told represent the
Chinese influence. and other exhibits pleas
ing to the eye and tagged with startling
prices. Furniture is skyrocketing with
speed that would surprise even persons
calloused to price shocks.
PRICE MULTIPLIES SIX TINES
A manufacturer entertained a conven-
ton recently by explaining that a dres-
sing table of cheap oak before the war
sold for around $3.aS. He said that last
year the same dresser brought $3.50, and
now it would be tagged at least $25. The
LBS dresser is gone, and there Is moth
Ing cheaper to take it's place. In fact,
even the s2' article is not plentiful A
number of manufacturers Of the so-called
cheap furniture-the straight oak bed
room and library sets-~have stopped maxi
ing this grade because at Its new price
level 1t is not popular.
| The man who sees a cheap grade bu-
reau marked $25 argues thus:
That's a good deal to put into an or
binary and not too wellmade piece of
goods. Guess I'd better pay $40 more and
get something that will look high-class
and last longer" At least, that Ia how
furniture dealers say customers reason
| The dealers hold that 1t is impossible to
sell very cheap furniture. that they have
| tried selling it at cost. and the public,
with its rising standards, refuses to give
| 1t a glance.
The demand now. they say. is for ma
hogany, with walnut as second choice
Mahogany requires careful usage and reg
ular ubbing and polishing, but its
wearing qualities coupled with it's aris-
tocratic appearance, cause 1t to be re-
garded as a good investment Banks use
it lavishly for woodwork and furnishings
in the offices of executives, and a good
deal Of the furniture for organizati tons
less pretentious than banks is also made
Of mahogany.
To be sure, when you look with awe
at a massive dark red desk you are prob
ably not feasting your eyes entirely on
imported wood. but on a combination Of
mahogany and gum. Until a few years
ago the red gum was regarded as a weed
tree. UNIT to be used for furniture ma.
terial because II wrapped and twisted. Then
a Arm found way of overcoming this
difficulty, and now every manufacturer
Of mahogany pieces knows some secret
process Of treating gum.
GUM SAVES MAHOGANY
Gum is used for legs and other parts OF
a piece where the grain Of the mahogany
would not show anyway. Gum takes
the same polish as the mahogany top, and
no one but connoisseur would detect the
difference Manufacturers claim that 10
make piece Of furniture of solid ma
hogany Is as great a waste Of able
wood as II was for the Cubans to lay
solid mahogany railroad ties. which they
did until the extravaganza of 1t was ex.
planned to them.
Mahogany is shipped to us in large
quantities from the tropics where 1t |.
apparently plentiful. Our domestic hard
woods. on the other hand-hickory
maple. walnut, ash and others are beins
turned into tables and sideboards so fas
that they arc rapidly reaching extinction
The Forest Service warns the countr,
that for every four feet Of timber cut
only one foot IL being replaced by new
growth.
Black walnut, for instance, has become
so scarce that the government had t.
advertise for II, and hunt out single
trees, when II ives needed for gun stock.
and airplane material. Even then 4
: could not be obtained in anything Xix,
sufficient amounts. A black walnut Ii
one Of the best woods for furniture. Their,
is a substantial fortune for the patien
investor who will plant a grove Of thes'
trees and wait forty years for them Il
grow large enough to be cut profitably
Planting more timber Is the only way Il
offset the huge inroads made yearly int,
the supply. Our virgin forests OF hard
wood have shrunk back from the coast
and lumber centers to inaccessible region
where the mills cannot follow. Trans
portatlon OF lumber is rapidly becoming
a large item In furniture prices.
Besides transportation. labor is anothe
bis factor In turning the $3as bureau int
a s25 article Employees at these factorie
claim that In the past they have beel
paid lower than workmen In other in
dustries. Since tho war. however. thei
wages have increased about 50 per cen
more than have the wages in any othe
industry, so that any discrepancy tina
existed has been practically removed
Wages Of men In the lumber mill
have advanced to a point where man,
, find It convenient to work a few day
and then knock off long enough to spen
their money in the nearest city, The de
mand for their services Is so great tina
they know there is no danger OF bein
out OF work when they want 1t.
DON'T BREAK YOUR MIRROR
: An item which affects only certain
J pieces Of furniture Ia the glass for mir
rors. piece of glass which used I
cost about a now brings 81. and tn
price is still rising. II seems that Their
have been six big manufacturers VIII
supplied the furniture trade with mir
; rors Recently they have been able L
handle only 30 per cent OF the demand
and now three Of the six companies hav
decided to make glass for automobile
be no room for doubt as to the bad lucl
Of breaking q mirror II you have to bu.
? a now one
, Any reader who expects - buy Q piec
Of furniture In the next few years will
be glad to know that there Is at leas
one thing that has a tendency to keep
ing down the price Of house furnishings
, This Is standa rdixation. You remembe
how the government got the shoe manu-