The Shingle Men's Bitter End
Washington's powerful shingle manufacturers consider dissolving their association after being undercut by 'scalpers' and Eastern jobbers.
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The largest and wealthiest shingle manufacturers on the Sound are becoming tired of the bad faith exhibited by some members of the association in cutting prices. A meeting of the association was held in Tacoma to devise ways to meet the secret contracts made by those undercutting association prices. The manufacturers face the 'upper and nether millstones' of high production costs and low prices in Eastern markets. The association claims that the 'scalpers' and Eastern wholesalers are exploiting the manufacturers, with over thirty mills going under last year. A final meeting is summoned for March 1st in Tacoma to decide whether the association will continue, as many manufacturers feel they can no longer support the 'outsiders' who benefit from the price floors the association creates but refuse to join.
“As there are spots on the sun, so there are clouds in the sky of the red cedar shingle manufacturers.”
This struggle over 'scalpers' and the volatility of an Eastern-dependent market for Washington timber prefigures the cycles of boom and bust that have characterized the regional economy for over a century. It reflects the evergreen tension between local industry and the remote market forces that dictate their survival.
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