History of Saginaw county, Michigan; together with ... portraits ... and biographies ... History of Michigan ...

402

HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.

$30, with a few sales of small dimension stuff as low as $7 and
$8, the market quotations being fairly, at from $5, $10 and
$30 to $5.50, $12 and $33, although extra nice lots were
occasionally as high as the old figures of $6, $12 and $35. This
state of things continued to the close of navigation, to the discouragement of the producers, of whom it is safe to say that on the
average the debit side of the profit and loss account was the largest
for the season's business.
" The evils of the credit system which had been inaugurated were
not slow to manifest themselves in the shape of dishonored paper,
of which it is estimated that fully a quarter of a million dollars
were thrown back upon the hands of those, in the Saginaw Valley
alone, who had looked upon promises to pay as better than stock
on hand. Notwithstanding all the discouragements of trade, which
marked the entire season, few failures were noted among operators,
and those in the main have been caused by misfortunes outside
of the usual channels of trade, such as the crippling effects of
heavy losses by fire, in the destruction of mill property, in several
cases causing disaster, which, combined with the depressed state of
trade, could not be overcome. As a class the mill men stood up
under the disastrous condition of trade incident to the panic and
following years of stagnation in a manner entitling them to the
appellation of ' solid' to a degree exceeded by no class of men in
any branch of industry.
" The stagnation incident to the hard times was felt through the
season of 1876. The prices of lumber ranged from $4.50, $9 and
$28, to $6, $12 and $30. An average through the season was
$5.25, $11.50 and $30. A large quantity was sold during the
season, the shipments aggregating over 500,000,000 feet. Despite
the hard times the season made a better showing as regards lumber
moved than any previous one.
" The evils characteristic of an extended credit system of two or
three previous dull years were in a measure remedied during 1877,
and there were no financial reverses of magnitude; the product
showed an increase over the previous year, and the season in shipments was an active one. The market showed very little fluctuation during the season, the range being $5, $9 and $25, to $6, $12
and $28. For exceptional lots in some instances an advance on
these figures was obtained.
" The lumber market in the spring of 1878, stimulated by an
open winter and a consequent shortage in the log crop, opened
strong at $6, $12 and $28, and $6.50, $13 and $28 to $30, while
for exceptional lots higher prices were realized. These conditions
were maintained and prices ruled firm until about the first of September, when quite unexpectedly tle demand for lumber stocks
dropped off, prices declined, and the market ruled weak to the
close. Prices closed from $1 to $1.50 per M lower than the opening of the season, the nominal quotations being $5 to $5.50 for culls,
$10 to $11 for common, and $26 to $27 for uppers. The cause of