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HARDWOOD RECORD 



verbial contempt for sucli waste. In other words, the outsider coming 

 in from time to time could more fully appreciate the enormity of such 

 waste than the manufacturer who is constantly in touch with it. The 

 speaker pointed out that while efforts are being made to insure closer 

 utilization still there is an enormous amount of unnecessary waste of 

 forest products, which can be prevented only by a general adoption 

 of such methods as will insure closer cutting of material to meet re- 

 quirements, and also the adoption of the manufacture of certain 

 articles to utilize further the smaller cuttings resulting from the 

 manufacture of ordinary lumber. 



Mr. Smith instanced his own experience showing that until he 

 analyzed closely the question of mill waste he made very little money, 

 but that now he is utilizing everything. He says that he makes one 

 hundred doors a day, and that they are all made from firewood; 

 namely, pieces as small as one inch thick by one-and-a-half inches 

 wide, and as small as three inches long. He did not elucidate as to 

 the exact process of getting at this result. 



Secretary Doster then read a letter from W. S. Whiting of Ashe- 

 ville, N. C. Mr. "Whiting said that having been convinced for some 

 time that a great loss is being incurred by turning out hardwood stock 

 that does not go into lath, his company determined to construct a mill 

 at which it could utilize the waste at a reasonable cost. The plans 

 as finally drafted involved the following features: 



The mill was built to make a run on chestnut logs a half day at a 

 time. Chestnut hog-dust is delivered to the carrier containing the 

 chestnut sawdust, and thus the entire product of the chestnut log 

 outside of the lumber is delivered into a car without handling ami 

 sold to an extract plant. About four cars of this refuse is made by a 

 60,000 feet capacity mill in ten hours' work. The chestnut shavings 

 were sold in the sam* way by having individual pipes put into the 

 planing mill to deliver the shavings into the car. 



The third suggestion involved the following units employed in the 

 dimension room: One long sorting chain in back of the slab slasher; 

 one long delivery chain parallel with the slab chain; one lath mill 

 outfit and hog in each end of the room, and in the center: one slab 

 resaw; one boxboard edger; one band ripsaw; two cut-off saws. The 

 letter stated that in one month when the lumber cut was 1,800,000 feet 

 the mill turned out approximately 200,000 feet of dimension stock 

 made up of lath, inch oak 1x3 — 12 and 48 inches long; inch poplar, 

 basswood and chestnut shorts of any width and 12 to 48 inches long. 



The letter stated that the company employed a man conversant 

 with the dimension manufacture and market to look after this end 

 of the business, but that it soon found it was making stock that was 

 hard to market. It was further found that it was accepting orders 

 that it could not fill because of accepting too many of one kind. 



This difficulty suggested the idea of enlarging the field and going 

 at it a little differently. 



Secretary Doster, according to the letter, suggested that the asso- 

 ciation might co-operate, with a view to securing a better knowledge 

 of the dimension market; more miUs to cut out the stock, and an in- 

 structor or superintendent to oversee and check up the entire field. 

 This suggested, according to the letter, a department of the association 

 to carry out the following work: 



To investigate the dimension market and secure schedules of ma- 

 terial used by different manufacturers; to line up the manufacturing 

 members and ascertain those who would come in on a plan to stand 

 behind the department in its efforts to solve the question ; to distribute 

 the orders among the different members and let the department act 

 as a sales department, and to employ one or two good men acquainted 

 with the dimension business to supervise the work at the different 

 mills; keep a line on stock, manufacturing methods, etc. 



In order to arrive at this result it would be necessary to secure 

 knowledge of what the product of the dimension mills is best adapted 

 to; where to market it, and at what price; also to provide adequate 

 means to get out stock to meet the demands. 



Such a plan carried out by the association would be instrumental 

 in standardizing a large percentage of the dimension material cut, 

 and in that way the mills could be working on dimension stock that 

 already had a sale. 



A further advantage would be the fact that a considerable number 

 of mills could work to better advantage than a few, because under 

 present conditions erders can not be accepted at times because of 

 limited capacity. 



The letter strongly recommended that the association take up this 

 proposition in a serious way as a step that would materially improve 

 conditions among the manufacturers making up its membership. 



J. K. Williams of the Williams Lumber Company, Fayetteville, 

 Tenn., read a paper, entitled "The Co-operative Spirit." This paper 

 appears without comment in another part of this issue of Hardwood 

 Record. 



J. E. Rhodes, recently^lected secretary and manager of the National 

 Lumber Manufacturers' Association, addressed the convention. Mr. 

 Rhodes told of the work being done by the Blue Book published by 

 the National Lumber Manufacturers' Credit Corporation, with head- 

 quarters at St. Louis. This is a corporation subsidiary to Mr. Rhodes ' 

 association. The speaker said that while the Blue Book is approxi- 

 mately on a revenue-producing basis, it needs the support of the entire 

 manufacturing element of the country in order to put it on a proper 

 footing. He asked that members of the association be not backward 

 in giving information to the Blue Book authorities as to credits. The 

 terms of the book involve two issues yearly and sixty special reports, 

 which cost a total of fifty dollars. He said further that he has been 

 authorized to make the offer to subscribers of ten dollars for every 

 new subscription turned in. 



In speaking of the proposed advertising campaign to be carried on 

 by the National association, Mr. Rhodes said that up-to-date insufln- 

 cient contributions have been received to inaugurate the campaign 

 on the proper basis, but he added that there was every reason to be- 

 lieve that in the not-far-distant future a sufficient sum will have been 

 obtained to carry on the work, and that it would eventually be made 

 the chief feature of the association's efforts. 



Mr. Rhodes said that in considering the proposed forest products 

 exposition, it has occurred to him that it would be a good idea to have 

 such an exposition on a permanent basis to be moved from city to 

 city. The exposition could be carried on along the same lines sug- 

 gested originally. He stated further that such an endeavor could un- 

 doubtedly be financed more easily than the general advertising cam- 

 paign proposed, and that with it as a starter would undoubtedly 

 eventually come the general advertising of lumber. 



Mr. Rhodes told of the field of effort for the National association, 

 and said that in no way would it conflict with the thirteen affiliated 

 organizations. His association can only take up questions of a general 

 character. He said that he is in hopes of securing from the affiliated 

 organizations regular statistical reports on cut and shipments of each. 

 In speaking of lumber classification and freight rates Mr. Rhodes 

 reviewed the Los Angeles hearing, which he said brought out a vast 

 amount of evidence on tlie part of the railroads, who are distinctly 

 aligned with the lumbermen before the Interstate Commerce Commis- 

 sion in an effort to secure a better classification for goods packed in 

 wood containers than for goods packed in fiber containers. The case 

 has been scheduled to come up in Chicago on February 27. 



Mr. Rhodes stated that with the gradual decrease in the amount 

 of standing timber and corresponding increase in stumpage values, it 

 is absolutely imperative that lumbermen turn their attention to mat- 

 ters of conservation. He said that the nation-wide clamor of con- 

 servation of National resources will ultimately redound to the detri- 

 ment of the stumpage owner in the matter of legislation forced by 

 public sentiment, if such owner does not himself inauguarte some plan 

 of providing for a perpetual source of supply for woods products. 



The speaker then made observations on the sentiment he had en- 

 countered during the last three months on his various trips carrying 

 him in all parts of the country. He said that everywhere he en- 

 countered the most satisfactory reports on present trade and prospects 

 that he had ever heard. In closing he pleaded for co-operation on the 

 part of the Hardwood Manufacturers' Association with his organiza- 

 tion. 



President DeLaney then appointed the various standing committees, 

 and the session adjourned for the day. 



