38 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



else — it's the silly bugbear of uphill, of the time and trouble it 

 takes to introduce new ideas and methods. It is the only way one 

 oan find a logii-al explanation for lots of the backwardness about new 

 ideas. 



' ' Why, only the other day I was visiting at a plant that makes table 

 slides. Here they were using log-run lumber, and cutting all of it 

 up into small dimensions. I didn't measure the stock, but you can 

 easily imagine the dimensions used for table slides. And that lum- 

 ber had come in on a freight rate of twenty-one cents; uhieh is not so 

 bad as if it liad been forty cents, but it was enough to make quite an 

 item in the cost, when one considers that perhaps half the weight 

 was cut out in reducing it to dimensions. Why might this not just 

 as well have been done at the sawmill? It would have saved in the 

 cost to the slide man, would have given the millman a chance to work 

 in other material going to waste around the mill, and it would have 

 required fewer cars for shipping so that it would have helped out at 

 the car shortage end, too. 



"Immediately afterward I was in a furniture factory where they 

 were cutting gum lumber into dimensions. Some of it was thick 

 stock in wide boards and was being cut into bedstead posts. There 

 was an excuse for part of it, because it was being shaped on a band 

 saw. But with a pattern of the bandsawed shape in the hands of the 

 millman and a list of the other dimensions used regularly, quite a lot 

 of this furniture stock could have been supplied in dimension form 

 with the same elements of economy as attached to the table slide stock. 



"I could go on for hours telling you of things of this kind, but 

 what's the use? It's not here that you need the logic and arguing. 

 What you need is to get rid of that silly bugbear of the 'uphill tug.' 

 In the modern scheme of salesmanship things of this kind should be 

 considered great sport, and they should be gone after with the same 

 zest that the boys used in going up the hill to coast down — all but 

 lazy Ned. Tell the folks that, and maybe they will see things in a 

 new light — see how these innovations can help business instead of 

 making it harder." J. C. T. 



^ i^ ' 'Z<zEa''j^i>iM; TO;TOS-fa)^i^»*w»;ifci.H;)it5aw!it^^ 



Chicago Lumbermen s Meeting 



The Lumbermen "s Association of Chicago, which to outside appear- 

 ances has been dormant during the summer and early fall months, 

 sprang into renewed and increased activity on November 19, when it 

 held its first monthly luncheon at the Hotel Sherman. About 200 

 members of the local trade, representing every branch of the lumber 

 business, were present at the luncheon and the meeting which followed. 



No comment is necessary on the character of the entertainment 

 furnished by the entertainment committee. The excellent luncheon 

 which it provided was followed immediately by an active business 

 meeting, presided over by President F. L. Brown. 



Mr. Brown opened the meeting by briefly outlining the growth of 

 the association, telling of the expansion which had been made pos- 

 sible by the amalgamation of the various lumber interests in the 

 city. He stated that the object of all association work should be 

 along the lines of improvement and economies in the operation of the 

 lumber business and in the extension of opportunities. 



The first important question before the meeting was that of pro- 

 posed increases in freight rates on hardwood from southern territory. 

 All lines east and west of the river have already cheeked in advances 

 to Ohio river crossings and western territory. The first petition of 

 the roads will be to replace the special rate on box material of cotton- 

 wood and gum, as they claim that these woods should not enjoy a 

 lower rate than the ordinary run of hardwoods. An advance placing 

 them on a level with ordinary hardwood rates would mean an increase 

 of two cents. It is further proposed to equalize the rates on hardwoods 

 with the rates prevailing on pine from the southern territory. This 

 would mean that the average advance on hardwood rates would be one 

 cent; therefore this would necessarily be added to the other increase 

 of two cents on box material, resulting in an increase of three cents 

 on that grade of stuff. The railroads make their usual plea of insufii- 

 cient funds and they have already definitely stated that they will check 

 in these advances and let the Interstate Commerce Commission decide 

 the question. 



Elmer H. Adams of Chicago reviewed the broad question of freight 

 rates on lumber which has been so directly before the lumber trade 

 of late. He expressed as his opinion that the immediate object of the 

 railroads is to bring hardwood rates on an equal basis with pine rates, 

 but that this is but the first step toward a general advance on all 

 lumber rates. He stated that he believed that after a reasonable 

 period the old argument would be advanced by the railroads that 

 pine necessarily should carry a greater rate than hardwood on account 

 of its different character and that this increase would in the course of 

 a short time be demanded and the whole movement would result in 

 an increase on all lumber commodities in keeping with the propor- 

 tions which are now maintained. 



Mr. Adams referred specifically to the recent tap-line decisions of 



the Interstate Commerce Commission. As he expressed it, the condi- 

 tion which brought this to a final decision was the practice of divi- 

 sion of rates between the common carriers and the tap lines. Under 

 this arrangement the owner of any kind of an apology for a rail- 

 road — which in some instances were positively not common carriers 

 in any sense of the word — ^could secure what really amounted to a 

 rebate on shipments from their points for through shipment. In 

 other words, the tap-line owner secured from the railroads a cer- 

 tain division of the rate, differing under various conditions, merely 

 because he happened to own a few lines of possibly rusty trackage. 

 He would not even have to haul the material himself as the through 

 line usually did the h&uling for him. This practice has been stopped 

 by decision of the Interstate Commerce Commission, although it is 

 still under consideration by the commerce court. No decision has 

 been handed down. The point Mr. Adams desired to bring out, how- 

 ever, was that with this practice stopped the railroads would secure 

 the entire freightage and would not be compelled to make a division 

 with the tap lines. It seemed obvious, according to the speaker, 

 that if the roads have been operating successfully under this divi- 

 sion arrangement, they could certainly continue to operate success- 

 fully without the division of revenues and were not necessarily in 

 any need of freight advances. He expressed himself as of the 

 opinion that unless emphatic protest is entered against the advances 

 they will become effective at the time specified. 



Mr. Adams also asserted that it was his opinion that all lumber- 

 men owning freight bills which came under the old revision methods 

 were entitled to reparation on such shipments during the last two 

 years to the extent of the division to the tap line. He stated further 

 that inasmuch as Chicago uses a great deal of low-grade lumber, the 

 Chicago market should not be further handicapped by an increase 

 in freight rates which would tend to place the actual cost of placing 

 this low-grade material on the market so near to the level of value 

 received that it would not be worth while to take it from the woods. 



After considerable discussion, the matter of rate advances was 

 referred to the board of directors, who will consider the advisability 

 of protesting against their going into effect. 



Harvey S. Hayden then spoke for E. A. Thornton regarding milling 

 in transit privileges on shipments from the Northwest, particularly 

 on shingles. The most pertinent condition pointed out by Mr. Hayden 

 was that under the present ruling shipments must necessarily take 

 two local rates rather than a through rate and that in order to 

 secure a through rate it is necessary to designate final terminal 

 point. The agitation for change in this milling in transit arrange- 

 ment will apply only to shingles. 



President Brown introduced J. S. Kemper, manager of the recently 

 organized Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Company. This company 

 has been organized entirely by Chicago lumbermen and as a result of 



