HA K-D-W O OD RECORD 



34c 



lirginiana). The frood is hard, tough, rather difScult to split and 

 about as heavy as blacli locust. The pores are comparatively few, 

 very small to minute, those in the springwood in irregular groups 

 which appear to the unaided eye as white dots, much the same as in 

 Ostrya. The most characteristic feature of the wood is the large 

 rays which are grouped and instead of running straight out from 

 the pith, often curve to one side. This arrangement of the rays is 

 believed to be responsible for the peculiar fluted or ribbed character 

 of the trunk. They also interfere seriously with the process of sea- 

 soning, causing the wood to warp out of shape and to check. With 

 care, however, it may be possible to make good shuttles out of it. 



One of the most promising foreign woods for shuttles is the white 

 quebracho (Aspidospenna quchra-clw-blanco) which is being imported 

 in considerable quantities for various purposes. The tree is common 

 in northern Argentina and other portions of South America. It is an 

 evergreen hardwood, reaching a height of from sixty to one hundred 

 feet and a diameter of from one to three feet. It is remarkable for 

 its erect stem and wide-spreading crown. The wood is strong, close- 

 grained, hard and very heavy, the weight of thoroughly dry material 

 varying from fifty-five to sixty-three pounds per cubic foot. The 

 color is yellowish white with a pinkish or rosy tint. The dense, 

 uniform texture makes this wood suitable as a substitute for box- 

 wood in certain uses and there is good reason to believe that it would 

 make excellent shuttles at about the present cost of dogwood and 

 persimmon. 



The western dogwood (Cornus nuttallii), which is quite common in 

 the redwood forests of the Pacific coast, has often been mentioned 

 as a possible shuttle wood because of its close relationship to the 

 dogwood of the East {Cornus florida). The tree is small, though 

 averaging larger and of better form than the eastern form. The 

 wood, however, is considerably lighter in weight and less dense. So 

 far as known to the writer it has never been used for shuttles and 

 deserves a trial. The great distance from the cotton and woolen 

 mills would prove a handicap, though not too great to be overcome 

 if there should be no other objection. 



Mesquite {Prosopis jnliflora) of the arid Southwest has been sug- 

 gested, but it is usually of such poor form that perfect shuttle blocks 

 would be very difficult to get. The wood is quite brittle, and if made 

 into a shuttle would probably go to pieces in a short time. More- 

 over, the local demand for mesquite is already great enough to con- 

 sume all that is grown. 



If it should be found that there are no satisfactory substitutes for 

 dogwood and persimmon, the sooner it is known the 'better in order 

 that provision may be made for preventing the exhaustion of these 

 woods. There seems no reason why both species could not be arti- 

 ficially propagated. The growth under favorable conditions is fairly 

 rapid and the trees would become merchantable as soon as a stump 

 diameter of seven inches is attained. The matter seems important 

 enough to warrant a careful and thorough canvass of the whole 

 situation. 



MJ«i^ 



v'T;v^v)>jVJAa^l^ilv;iTOat WXim 



3!^r 



The Co-Operative Spirit 



Editor's Note 

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



The followinix article was read by J. — _- ... 



the Hardwood Manufacturers' Association of the United States in convention at Cincinnati 



before 

 February 4 and 5. 



Six years ago, at our meeting in Louisville, I was assigned the 

 reading of a paper on a subject very similar to this. It was therein 

 pointed out that from no uuanimit.y of purpose nor concert of 

 action amongst the mills the}- were absolutely at the mercy of the 

 buyers, trudging along without rudder or compass; selling in the 

 different markets under their respective rules and all of them made 

 in the interest of the dealer (for one rarely sol-d a consumer then), 

 so that greater profits were to be had in the manipulation of 

 grades than from added prices; but that as a result of four 

 years of association work, after consulting the wants of the con- 

 suming element, we had established rules of inspection, alike just 

 to both sides, besides achieving many other things of the greatest 

 benefit to the manufacturer. But, gentlemen, while we have accom- 

 plished much since then, have we reached the goal? 



It is needless to use your time in the enumeration of all the ills 

 that are daily met with. "Kicks" of every kind, charges of 

 unfairness and partiality by our inspectors to our members; 

 charges even that our organization is dominated by and run 

 solely in the interest of certain big mills and, in fact, every 

 disparaging thing that can be said is drawn from the plethoric vocabu- 

 lary of the selfish element which is fighting us, and hurled at us. 



Is it not evident then that there is this conflict of interest — 

 this warfare of which I have spoken? Human nature is all pow- 

 erful, and selfishness, condemned as the chief sin of Holy Writ, 

 is so closely related to self interest— self preservation, universally 

 recognized as the first law of nature— that it must be governed 

 and held under tight rein that justice may follow. Therefore, 

 while excusing the other side for their human proclivities, it is 

 equally natural for the manufacturers to defend themselves and 

 to contend for their natural rights, and the chief of these is the 

 right to make their own rules of inspectiou. 



It is rank folly to say that I cannot do as I please with what 

 is my own. Why, then, cannot we manufacturers who own the 

 lumber absolutely dictate the grades and terms of sale in the 

 disposal of it? True it is that there are two sides to every ques- 

 tion and equally true that it requires two to make a bargain; but 



not necessarily more than two, and the two in this case are 

 logically the manufacturer and the consumer. It is simply a 

 question of horse trading. We, the sawmills, have our barns full 

 of a great variety of animals and Mr. Consumer comes along and 

 wants one. He knows his requirements and, being shown through, 

 selects this one or that one in accordance therewith and strikes a 

 bargain or goes elsewhere, conditioned upon the price and terms. 

 The two only are concerned in the deal and if they can agree, 

 what right has any outsider to interfere? 



I contend, therefore, that the manufacturers are clearly within 

 their moral and legal rights in making and promulgating through 

 their organization their own grading rules, sales code and other 

 policies for the marketing of their products, and I for one am 

 opposed to any further efforts toward compromise. Policy may 

 dictate that we should consult the consumer in an effort to please 

 him and learn all we can of his requirements. That is merely 

 good business, but not necessarily that he or any one else should 

 dictate our grading rules and so far as my information goes he 

 does not want to do so. He is satisfied when he gets the grado 

 best suited to his line of manufacture, cheerfully pays for it and 

 calls for more of the same kind. 



I have no fight to make on the wholesalers as a class. They 

 are as a rule substantial, high minded business men. I am argu- 

 ing in the abstract for a principle, an unquestionable right o( 

 the manufacturer and am against only that considerable element 

 amongst the wholesalers— those whose greatest profits result from 

 grade stuffing. Those of us with mills of moderate output %fhose 

 business will not justify regularly keeping traveling salesmen in 

 the field must necessarily sell through the wholesaler who can 

 and does make the personal canvass for trade and we find his 

 legitimate profits to be much less, as a rule, than the cost of such 

 salesmen. I do contend, however, that they have no rights in 

 the making of grades for our lumber and that their proper func- 

 tion is the buying and selling of same, under established rules, on 

 the legitimate profit of the diflference between the cost and selling 

 price ;''and I maintain further that if the upright ones amongst 



