Northup Urges Caution in Restricting Building

The National Retail Lumber Dealers Association urged NPA Administrator Harrison to make certain that housing and other essential building is not curtailed to a greater extent than other civilian production in the drive to conserve material for the rearmament program.

In a letter to the head of the control agency, H. R. Northup, executive vice president of NRLDA, said that there is no sound basis for expecting construction to give up an undue share of the supply of steel, copper, aluminum, and other strategic materials.

"To date there are strong indications that credit restrictions and other limitations already announced will cut back housing by 50 per cent or more, whereas no comparable reduction has even been suggested in other fields, many of which are far less essential than shelter," IUr. Northup said.

"Despite the large dollar expenditures for construction in the last five years, there has been no real boom in the physical volume of new building. Indeed, the amount of private construction, when measured in terms of 1939 dollars, has been below the level reached in the 1920's when our population was considerably smaller.

"A very considerable amount of nerv industrial, commercial, and farm construction is still required to maintain a sound economy. While our housing supplv is in better condition than at any past time, there are at least five million older homes rvhich should be replaced as rapidly as the defense program rvill permit, and additional homes must be provided for newly formed families if rve are to sustain our standard of living.

"The building industry recognizes that it must accept its full share of the sacrifices required to build up our defenses, but rre also contend that there is no sound reason for asking an industry which meets such essential needs to cut back further than others."

West Oregon Office Moved to Scm Frcmcisco

The Northern California office of the West Oregon Lumber Co. has been moved from Sausalito to the Fife Building, I Drumm Street, San Francisco. The telephone number is YUkon 2-5103.

Malarkey Heads M and M

Thomas B. Malarkey has been elected president of Nf and NI \\rood Working Company, of Portland, Oregon. [Ie was previouslv executive vice president of the corporation, and has served as chief executive of the plyrvood and door firm since the retirement of Herbert Malarkey last April. The nerr'president is 49 vears of age.

We are pleased to take advanta,ge of this opportutoity to wish our friend,s in the lumber industry

E. B. Birmingham Looks Forward

(E. B. Birmingham is vice president and general manager of the great Hammond Lumber Company, which is just rounding out its fiftieth year of Redwood manufacturing in Humboldt County, California. In a recent issue of the "Redra'ood Log," which is a bright little magazine published by the Redwood division of Hammond at Samoa, California, appeared the following very interesting little article over the signature of Mr. Birmingham:)

"LOOKING FORWARD. This year marks the completion of a half century of lumber operations in Humboldt County by the Hammond Lumber Company. While there are many firms that have been in business for 50 years or longer, there are relatively ferv lumber companies iir existence that have been able to equal that record. The lumber industry has had its ups and downs during the past fifty years with probably more dorvns than ups, that have left many casualties along the rvay. Through good times and bad Hammond Lumber Company has been able to carry on rvith practically continuous operations, although there lvere many times when the management was not too sure just rvhere the money was coming from to meet the next payroll. Through all the adversities that perplexed the lumber industry over the years, Mr. A. B. Hammond irever lost faith in Humboldt County and the Redwood industry and as a result Hammond Lumber Companl' has grown from a modest production in l90O io otte of thr' major producers of Redwood lumber in the world today.

"Preliminary figures from a study of Company owned virgin timber and cutover land that is now being made by our foresters, indicate a very definite possibility that Hammond Lumber Company rvill be manufacturing Redwood lumber fifty years from norv. With constantly improving logging methods, improved utilization, and better forestry practices coupled rvith sound management plan for our cutover lands, the outlook is promising for a long life for Hammond Lumber Company-Humboldt operations."

(Signed) E. B. Birmingham.

Anccortes Announces New Product

As the first of three nerv products to be manufactured by Anacortes Veneer, Inc., the company now olTers extra long plywood produced by scarfjointing standard length panels of Exterior Douglas fir plyrvood.

Other products, soon to be introduced to provide customers additional sales-building panel materials, are plasticsurfaced plywood and an entirely new hardboard for construction and industrial uses.

According to an announcement from the progressive 12year-old, worker-orvned firm, output of the three new products is made possible by a $1,000,000 expansion program now nearing completion. Volume production of all new products and national distribution to supply end-uses in construction and industry are included in the expansion of the firm which already produces 70,000,0m square feet of plywood annually.