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Show LUMBER PRICES NOT EXCESSIVE, DEALER, HOLDS Competition r-orbids Uontrol of Price and Output, Business Men Hear. .fIIAVAl' IvER. W.. Jan. 2 It would be practically an impowilblllt v for the National Lumber Manufacturers' Manufac-turers' association or r.nv other or-gflnlz-itinn to control either the output out-put or the prices of lumber if they should attempt tb do so." according to O. T. Swan. Oshkotch, wis . secretary secre-tary of the Northern Hemlock anil Hnrdwnoil Manufacturers' association whh h will hold Its annual convention In Milwaukee, January 27 In replj to ,' a query from the convention division, Milwaukee association of commerce-1 commerce-1 HOI S W DS OF Mil l s. There are some 40.000 mills in the ! 1'nited States," Bald Mr Swan "Thej I are in active competition The soulh-j soulh-j ern states and north ml. bile states ar: I In competition with the west. Lumber ! from the south. wet nnci north all me. t. in active competition in this re- K'ion. It is understood that the data coin- plied by the federal trade romnsl.)-! romnsl.)-! sion was secured about a year agu ;ind it is based upon a period when : lumber In common with ever.- other oxnmodity was on a consul ntly ln-j ln-j creasing upward grade. Relative sup-i sup-i ply and demand did It. PRICES TAKE Tl MB! l "This fact may have given rise I to the thought that the price move-i move-i ment was due to artificial control I That It was purely an economic ad-I ad-I justn.ent Is amply proved by the fact ' that lumber was the fl.st of the great 1 commodities to fall In value along 1 with farm products to the price levels of several years ago. j "Lumber has declined during the ! past few months from forty to sixty per cent under the alues prevailing last spring Mill work and interior finish for houses "have shown the same decline, i?o that today no one need hesitate about building a home on account of the lumber and mill work." oo |