HARDWOOD RECORD 



Eleventh Annual National HardWood Lumber Assn. 



The elcveutli annual convention of the 

 National Hardwood Lumber Association 

 with a large attendance opened with a re- 

 ception of members and guests in Stephen- 

 son Hall, Milwaukee, at 9:30 A. M. on 

 Thursday, June 11. 



The opening session of the regular meet- 

 ing took place at 10:30 A. M., when an ad- 

 dress of welcome was delivered by Mayor 

 Rose, of Milwaukee. 



President W. H. Eusse presided, and F. F. 

 Fish, secretary, recorded. 



The morning session was largely occupied 

 by the reports of officers as follows: 

 President's Address. 



Gentlemen and Members of the National Hard- 

 wood Lumber Association: It is not necessary 

 for me to state how greatly I feel honored in 

 calling to order this, the greatest hardwood 

 lumber organization of the trade. I am also 

 proud to be able to state that in point of mem- 

 bership we are stronger than we were a year 

 ago, that we have no debts, and money in the 

 treasury. When we stop and consider the trials 

 and tribulations the business world has had to 

 contend with during the last eight or ten months, 

 and the fact that our revenues depend very 

 largely upon the fees derived from the inspec- 

 tion of lumber, and that the large corps of in- 

 spectors we have employed upon a stated salary 

 must be kept busy and the service kept up to 

 the standard established during the fat years, 

 and now demanded by our membership, I believe 

 you will all agree with me, after hearing the 

 reports of your officers, that this association has 

 the past year not only extended its influence 

 but has become a vital factor in the trade. There 

 has been some dissatisfaction in regard to the 

 inspection rules adopted at Atlantic City, but 

 I can say, without fear of contradiction, there 

 was more dissatisfaction over the rules adopted 

 in Buffalo, taking effect in 1905. As you all 

 know and realize, in making national rules it is 

 necessary to consider every section of the coun- 

 try and do away with all sectional feeling, to 

 accomplish the best results for the trade. Your 

 inspection committee, composed of members from 

 East and West, North and South, realizes more 

 than any one else how hard it is to get tbeir 

 ideas together in their endeavor to satisfy 

 Michigan, Indiana, Buffalo, New York, Cincin- 

 nati, Memphis, Boston, New Orleans, Chatta- 

 nooga and a score of other places that want 

 some change to suit their particular product. 

 I stated a moment ago that there was more dis- 

 satisfaction over the 1905 or Buffalo rules than 

 over the 1007 or Atlantic City rules. Our 

 eastern friends probably have not realized this, 

 for while the Buffalo rules did not meet with 

 the approval of the entire East, and the promi- 

 nent New York markets would not adopt them, 

 the West and South, particularly Michigan, 

 Wisconsin and Indiana were clamoring for 

 changes, and it was feared at that time national 

 inspection would never be realized, but be noth- 



ing 



than 



had predicted — a beautiful 



too impracticable to satisfy the entire 



producing and distributing trade. At first it 

 looked like an impossibility to get all these sec- 

 tions to come to an understanding with each 

 other, as their views were 



t variance. How- 

 was held, and. 



ever, meeting after meeting 

 finally realizing that they must eliminate their 

 own interests and for the good of the trade 

 must take a broad view of the entire situation, 

 they sent committees to Chicago to meet with 

 your in.spection committee, and the result was 

 the rules adopted at Atlantic City. These rules 

 went into effect December 1, 1907, as provided 

 by the report of the Inspection Rules Committee, 

 which was adopted at that meeting. 



Prior to the date when the changes in rules 

 became effective, the board of managers received 

 requests from two or more markets to hold in 

 abeyance the enacting clause of the report until 

 this meeting, but after a careful consideration 

 of the matter by the entire board it was unani- 

 mously decided that there was no warrant, under 

 the constitution, for such action. Owing partly 

 to prejudice and partly tp the unfavorable con- 

 dition of the lumber market prevailing since the 

 rules became effective, the new rules have not 

 been received in all markets with that degree of 

 popularity with which they should have been. 



It is only fair to state, however, that the 

 greatest objections have come from those mar- 

 kets where the new rules have been practically 

 untried, while, on the other hand, in those mar- 

 kets where they have been adopted as the exist- 

 ing standard of inspection, little or no objec- 

 tion has been urged against them. It therefore 

 becomes apparent that the objection to them is 

 founded more in misunderstandiUL; :iii'l in in^ ju- 

 dice than upon any actual hail i: ;. - i^ 

 either to buyer or seller from tli' '; - i 



The forefront of opposition to ".i. im u :ul>- 

 was liir-il\ lo. :ii.(l among the dealers in the 

 East. ]i;i, ' . ii: I' I i;i N'-w York city. Early in 



Novemli. r a iiii\- iii was set on foot by the 



New Y"il. I unii.. , 1 lade Association for the pro- 

 mulgation ainl ailo|,ii,,ii of a set Of inspection 

 rules wliirii will/ -iUi'd the Northeastern rules 

 and wUioli w. ri. i.iartically verbatim copies of 

 the 1005 rules of this association. 



As it has been the established policy of this 

 association to promote harmony in the ranks of 

 the hardwood trade, and to establish and main- 

 tain a system of universal inspection of hard- 

 wood lumber, it was the belief of the board of 

 managers that little good could come to the 

 trade by injecting another set of rules into the 

 situation; therefore a committee was appointed 

 to confer with representatives of the New York 

 Trade Association and of other eastern associa- 

 tions. The conference was held in New York 

 in January and was largely attended by dele- 

 gates from eastern associations. After con- 

 sidering the subject for three days, and agreeing 

 upon inany material points, the conference struck 

 a snag and it was impossible to make further 

 progress, so it adjourned. A subsequent meeting 

 of the eastern delegates was held in Philadelphia 

 in March and a synopsis of the result of that 

 meeting has been published in the trade jour- 

 nals, and with which, no doubt, many of this 

 membershiu are familiar. 



At the New York conference a sub-committee, 

 consisting of delegates from the eastern associa- 

 tions and from the National Hardwood Lumber 

 Association, was appointed to continue the ne- 

 gotiations, but this sub-committee has never had 

 a meeting. 



Early last month the Inspection Rules Com- 

 mittee, the Executive Committee and the New 

 York Conference Committee met in Chicago and 

 considered the question of inspection rules from 

 all points of view, and as a result of that meet- 

 ing a report will be submitted to this meeting 

 by the proper committee, suggesting such 

 changes and modifications in the existing rules 

 as will, in the judgment of those who have been 

 engaged in the work, be entirely satisfactory to 

 the entire membership, and which, I trust, will 

 eliminate any further discussion of inspection 

 rules of this association for some time to come. 

 I further wish to assure our eastern members 

 that the rules committee has taken up their sug- 

 gestions and complaints, has given them every 

 consideration, and that if they will look at the 

 ■ question as a national one and not a sectional 

 one. they will go home from this meeting, satis- 

 fled, and with a feeling that national inspection 

 is not only going to be national in name, but 

 will be an accomplished fact. The financial 

 panic coming prior to the new rules going into 



effect established a buyer's market, and brought 

 about a situation that will not continue. Busi- 

 ness depressions do not last forever, and should 

 not be a reason why the inspection of lumber 

 should be changed. Prices naturally depend 

 on supply and demand, and all of you no doubt 

 have been obliged to take less for your product 

 than you anticipated. The conditions that ex- 

 isted, making it necessary to change the rules 

 at Atlantic City, have not been affected by the 

 panic, and I sincerely hope that with the excep- 

 tion of the corrections and changes as recom- 

 mended by your inspection committee the rules 

 will remain as adopted last year. 



When this report is submitted I trust that it 

 will receive the earnest consideration of this 

 membership, and I unhesitatingly recommend its 

 unanimous adoption. 



Some of our members have seen fit to criticise 

 the action of the Board of Managers in instruct- 

 ing the, inspectors not to apply the 1905 rules 

 except on contracts made prior to December 1, 

 1907. You must hear in mind that the Board 

 of Managers' duties are executive, and that they 

 cannot take any action contrary to the decision 

 taken at an annual meeting. At Atlantic City 

 you adopted the present rules to take elfect 

 December 1, 1907. Your Board of Managers 

 could not have taken any action that would 

 have conflicted with your decision, and if they 

 had, criticism would have been justified. Again, 

 you must admit that it is a very difficult matter 

 to train a large force of inspectors to the uni- 

 form inspection of one set of rules, and that 

 all sorts of complications would result were we 

 to permit inspectors to work under two sets of 

 rules and endeavor to carry both the 1905 and 

 1907 rules in their heads. Uniform inspection 

 rules, without uniform application, are value- 

 less. It would be altogether inconsistent and 

 place any organization whose primary object is 

 uniform inspection in a ridiculous light were 

 they to recognize more than one set of rules. 



Authority to apply the 1905 rules on unfin- 

 ished contracts was altogether within the lines 

 of correct business and we could have done noth- 

 ing else, as lumber purchased prior to Decem- 

 ber 1, 1907, must of necessity be taken up on 

 rules in effect at the time the contract was 

 made unless otherwise stated in the contract. 



Criticising the Board of Managers for doing 

 as they were instructed by the association is so 

 uncalled for that further comment is unneces- 

 sary. 



Last year when we had our annual meeting at 

 Atlantic City business was in a very prosperous 

 condition, everybody was happy and all felt 

 that our assets were increasing daily. Since 

 then we have passed through a financial panic 

 that we will all remember. The changed condi- 

 tions added additional responsibility to your 

 oBicers and directors, and in this connection 1 

 wish to call your attention to the treasurer's 

 report at Atlantic City. This showed that the 

 association had paid out on reinspections 

 $1,927.72 during the year which ended May 23, 

 1907, and notwithstanding the rather critical 

 attitude of many buyers, owing to financial 

 conditions, the total amount paid out this year 

 is less than $100 more than the year previous, 

 and the net cost to the association for the tei n\ 

 ending June 11. 190S, is less than §1,200, the 

 exact amount being $1,193.24. These figures fur- 

 nish conclusive proof that substantial progress 

 has been made toward getting more uniform 

 application of the rules by the inspectors and 

 the fact that National inspection is Dually es- 

 tablished in all the leading wholesale and pro- 

 ducing markets is further evidenced by the fact 

 that the salaried inspectors' reports tor the 

 year closing with this meeting show an increase 

 of feet inspected by nearly 25 per cent. I con 

 sider these figures furnish proof, if indeed an\ 

 is lacking, that our present system has tin 



