18 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Further reason for the issuing of the new order, according to 

 the opinion, is for the purpose of establishing in the minds of 

 railroads and of shippers taking advantage of the milling-in-transit 

 privileges, the proper relation of tariffs and practices to the law. 

 It stated that tariffs named their privileges in such a manner as 

 to compel their real application and careful inspection showed 

 that rates were not being enforced in accordance with the pub- 

 lished tariffs at milling points. 



The report pointed out that as a result of the investigations and 

 previous orders, the atmosphere has been cleared and conditions 

 understood and recognized more completely. 



The newly issued order closes the case which has been before 

 the commission and commanded a great part of its time during the 

 past year. 



Will Arbitrate Firemen's Strike Question 



THE SUCCESSFUL CULMIXATIOX of the efforts to refer to 

 arbitration the differences between the various railroads east 

 of the Mississippi and the firemen employed on their lines at least 

 postpones for a considerable period the hardship which would be 

 experienced by the shipping and traveling pubbc due to the 

 threatened general strike of the firemen's organization. The dis- 

 putes have been referre'd to arbitration under the Erdman act, 

 which provides that each factor in the controvers)- shall appoint 

 a representative. These two men shall get together in an effort 

 to arrive at a common ground of settlement. In the event of their 

 inability to arrive at any satisfactory arrangement, they shall 

 call in a third neutral party upon whom will rest the responsibility 

 for the ultimate settlement. 



While there is more or less satisfaction in the immediate post- 

 ponement of the difficulty, the reference to the provision for com- 

 promise under the Erdman act calls attention to the inadequacy 

 of at least one provision of that act providing for an arbitration 

 committee of two or three. It is hardly reasonable to suppose that 

 the two representatives can alone arrive at a satisfactory arrange- 

 ment, and hence it can usually be expected under such conditions 

 that the full responsil)ility of the solution of the problem will rest 

 upon the third party. The enormity of this responsibility is hard 

 to comprehend, but some understanding of it can be obtained from 

 I he statement of the fact that the demands on the part of the 

 firemen apply to fifty-four roads, and would affect millions of 

 people throughout the country. The immediate effect upon com- 

 merce and industry, and hence general business conditions, is fairly 

 incomprehensible. The act which provides that such responsibility 

 shall be shouldered by one man is manifestly weak. 



It is to be hoped that the question will be settled amicably, but 

 it is further to be hoped that time will see a change in the present 

 provision for arbitration. However, the main thing is the fact that 

 the strike has been averted, and that this menace will not lend 

 its support to the natural conditions constantly operating as a 

 hazard to the forward march of business prosperity. 



Coming National Wholesalers' Meeting 



THE SELECTION OF ATLANTIC CITY as the meeting place 

 for the annual meeting of the National Wholesale Lumber 

 Dealers' Association March 6 and 7, as noted more in detail in 

 another part of this issue, is certainly a bit of wise policy on 

 the part of the trustees of the association. This is the first time 

 that the national wholesalers have ever held an annual meeting 

 at Atlantic City. In view of the fact that these meetings have 

 always been marked by strong social features, and further con- 

 sidering that New Jersey's popular resort is now in the height of 

 its active season, the decision should result in an attendance un- 

 I>recedented in the history of the association. 



It has been suggested that the officers and secretaries of the 

 twenty-five affiliated associations invited to the meeting remain 

 over on March 8 for a general and informal discussion of lumber 

 problems. It is hoped that if such a plan goes through the discus- 

 sions will result in the acquisition of a great deal of useful infor- 

 mation by the various officers and secretaries in attendance. It is 



planned to talk over such topics as the "Necessity of National 

 Lumber Associations,'" "Functions of State Eetail Associations;"' 

 "The Free Interchange of Business Information;"' "The Desir- 

 ability of Uniform State Laws," etc. 



Condition of Shipments in Fiber vs. Wooden 

 Packages 



WITH A VIEW OF ASCEETAINING the adaptability of the 

 wooden and fiber container for freight shipments, the Santa 

 Fe Railroad has instituted a careful and comprehensive investiga- 

 tion of this question by means of a record covering a ten-day 

 period in January. A record was kept and compiled in the general 

 freight offices of the Santa Fe System, and showed the condition 

 of every package of freight handled packed in either the fiber or the 

 wooden container. The result showed a total of 91, 899 packages 

 handled contained in wooden packages. Of these 1,029 or 1.12 per 

 cent were in bad condition. On the other hand, 11,080 parcels 

 of goods packed in pulp or fiber packages were shipped, and of 

 these 4,723 or 42.62 per cent were in bad order. 



This should prove an overwhelming argument in favor of a just 

 classification as applied to goods packed in fiber vs. those packed 

 in wooden containers. These statistics cover both outbound and 

 inbound shijjments in both classes of packages. 



In the wooden packages the outbound shipments show 1.29 per 

 cent to be in bad condition, and the inbound shipments had .73 

 per cent damaged goods. From this it can be seen that, generally 

 speaking, the damage to goods packed in wooden containers is not 

 the fault of the container, but rather of faulty packing. On the 

 other hand, consider the same figures as applied to the fiber con- 

 tainer. Outbound shipments showed damage to the extent of 23.88 

 per cent of the total number, while inbound shipments showed 

 80.70 per cent damage. Considering that the inbound shipment has 

 traveled farther than the outbound shipment, it is a reasonable 

 supposition that the damage resulted not from poor packing, but 

 rather from the inadequate character of the material of the 

 container to meet the demands placed upon it by long shipment. 



Final Hearing on Car Weights 



ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY' 26, the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission will hold in Chicago what is expected to be the 

 last of a long series of hearings on weighing practices by rail- 

 roads. Ward Prouty, examiner of the commission, will preside and 

 the government will be represented by John C. Marshand. 



This will be the concluding hearing of a series that have 

 embraced proceedings at Boston, New Y'ork, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, 

 Salt Lake City and San Francisco. Thousands of pages of testi- 

 mony are embraced in the records. Shippers contend that rail- 

 roads have pursued faulty practices in weighing cars and that 

 many injustices have resulted. The testimony so far submitted 

 would certainly tend to prove the genuintness of such contention. 



The commission is seeking to formulate a rule which will be fair 

 to both shippers and carriers. No matter what the final ruling is, 

 it will insure the inauguration of rules and regulations that will 

 at least put the car weighing practices of the railroads on a more 

 just basis in so far as the interests of the shippers are concerned. 



Fully Digested 



THIS OFFICE is in receipt of a verj- brief communication from 

 the Fireproof Digest — that was — of New Y'ork, an alleged 

 magazine presuming to exploit fireproof construction, and various 

 materials entering into this type of building. 



The communication referred to reads: 



"The publication of Fireproof Digest has been discontinued." 



Sad to relate the letter does not advise whether the production 

 of stovepipe steel hollow doors, stuffed with cork shavings has 

 been discontinued or not, but as this was the house organ of that 

 enterprise, it is to be hoped such is the case. 



Sheet steel doors when exploited as fireproof are in the same 

 class with steel furniture and other like plunder that has been 

 foisted on the public under false pretenses for some years. 



