HARD WOOD R E C O R D 



21 



the ignoring of its interests by tlie railroads as under present con- 

 ditions. The lumber trade could very justly base its plea upon the 

 question of public interest as instanced by the suit just going into 

 effect in which a Memphis concern is seeking to prevent escessiTe 

 rates from the Memphis territory. The point in this case is that such 

 excessive rates prohibit the movement of lumber, which would be used 

 for building purposes, and further absolutely prevent the opening up 

 of these territories for agricultural purposes, inasmuch as they prevent 

 a clearing of the land of standing timber. Concentrated interest is 

 all that is necessary to carry conviction based on just claims. This 

 sentiment of unity is copstantly making itself more strongly manifest 

 in connection with the lumber business, and it is to be hoped that it 

 will not be long before the entire lumber trade can put up a solid 

 front on any question having any direct bearing on the interest of 

 that business. 



It 



Why Is a Trade Paper? 



is always gratifying to have sufficient confidence in one's own 



good work and in one 's relations toward mankind to be able to sit 

 quietly and undisturbedly by while the next door neighbors on either 

 side are throwing verbal mud across the back fences. A situation of 

 this kind cannot fail to give one a warm glow of satisfaction in the 

 belief that his efforts at least are appreciated to the extent that he is 

 not considered a fit subject for 



vituperation and sarcastic com- 

 ment of various types. Instance, 

 — an undignified and purposeless 

 wrangle which is being carried 

 on by certain of our esteemed 

 contemporaries. The disputes in 

 question carrying no direct refer- 

 ence to any question which should 

 have any bearing upon the good 

 or ill of the lumber trade, natu- 

 rally cause wonder at the evi- 

 dent conception in the minds of 

 these contemporaries of the duty 

 of the trade journal to the trade 

 it represents. It has always 

 seemed that the reason for the 

 existence of a trade paper is that 

 through it the trade is furnished 

 with an efBeient and accurate 

 spokesman, an organ which will 

 act as a sort of mirror for the 

 ideas and opinions of the trade 

 and will put its best efforts into 

 an exposition of such things as 

 would react to the benefit of the 

 trade it represents. Seemingly, 

 however, this idea is rather old- 

 fashioned. There is an evident opinion among certain prominent 

 journalists connected with lumber journalism that the field of use- 

 fulness of a trade paper, while incidentally in the interests of the 

 trade it is sponsor for, is more directly to afford a means by which 

 personal quarrels and petty jealousies can be exploited for the benefit 

 of no one but the writers concerned. What possible benefit to the 

 lumber trade can come from criticism, either straightforward or sar- 

 castic, of the m'ethods of a competitor? It has always been our 

 belief that a trade paper edited and published in such a manner that 

 it would stand absolutely on its own merits, winning subscribers, 

 readers and business because of the fact that its attractiveness and 

 usefulness made it indispensable, would need to pay no attention to 

 vituperant outpourings of any other medium of a similar nature. 

 Every red-blooded man likes a good scrap, but nobody who has 

 attained his majority has any particular fondness for tongue-lashing 

 and hairpulling tactics when employed by grown men. If the lumber 

 trade feels that the discussions referred to have any particular bearing 

 on the lumber business, there is nothing further to say, but it does 

 not seem that it will view it in that light. 



UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL 



Broader Than Dollars and Cents 



The public at large is apt to take a rather narrow view of the 

 broad question confronting the railways involving on one hand 

 advances in freight rates and on the other hand advance in the cost 

 of maintenance and operation. Notwithstanding extremely favor- 

 able reports on gross and net earnings coming from the roads since 

 trade situation has been manifestly improving, the common carriers 

 must necessarily look at the question not entirely with a view of meet- 

 ing immediate necessity, but rather considering the situation as it will 

 have a direct bearing in the future. 



The absolute power enjoyed by the unions of railway employes 

 is undoubtedly not a matter of public knowledge, at least the average 

 citizen has probably not taken the time to reason the thing out to 

 an ultimate conclusion. Does he realize that the entire industrial 

 and business structure of the country and also the social structure 

 embodying the sustenance of the family, its physical comfort as 

 affected by coal supply, is absolutely controlled by conditions exist- 

 ing with our means of transportation, — namely, the railroads? Does 

 he realize further that the organizations of railway employes are the 

 most powerful and efficient of any labor organization in the world 

 and that in the event of discontinuance of employment by reason of 

 strike or other cause on the part of the organization, it would be next 



to impossible to fill their places 



€, B>, Proton 



Snat aitU Snrk (limbrrB, il^arJiutnob an& 



^fUmw Jlinr Eitmbrr, 



QlimbrrB. ©tea anh |!tlhig 



Huntington, W. Va., Nov. 27, 1912. 

 Hardwood Record, 



Chicago, III. 

 Dear Sirs: — 



I have received such satisfactory results from your 

 bulletin service that I wish to express to you my sincere 

 thanks for bringing the proposition to my notice. 



From the firms I selected from your list, I received very 

 courteous replies to at least seventy-five per cent of my 

 requests for an opportunity to quote them and added out 

 of this list several new customers. 



On the whole I think of no service that is more effective 

 to obtain the desired result than this. 



Yours very truly, 



C. S. BROWN. 



with any degree whatever of sat- 

 isfaction? Any general strike 

 on the part of railway employes 

 means absolute discontinuance of 

 business and industrial effort. 

 The tremendous power of the 

 railroad employes' unions there- 

 fore can be readily seen. What 

 they will do with this power de- 

 pends entirely upon the personnel 

 of those organizations. They 

 have, if they wish, power to de- 

 mand siich increases in wages as 

 will ultimately narrow the mar- 

 gin of profit to the railways 

 to the vanishing point. It is 

 not reasonable to suppose they 

 would employ these narrow- 

 minded methods, but nevertheless 

 the menace is constantly before 

 the officials of the big systems of 

 the country. 



It is possible that this feeling, 

 which i© some quarters very 

 likely is one of unconscious ap- 

 prehension, in a degree retards 

 investment ' in railway property, 

 which in turn results in insufficient investment to effect improvements 

 and expansion and in the same line ultimately retards development 

 of the country. 



An article in this issue of Habdwood Eecord suggests the possible 

 means for governing advances in freight rates on an amicable and 

 equitable basis. Would it not be a feasible proposition to employ 

 the same kind of a scheme to adjust the relations between railway 

 employers and employes? The personnel of the unions is undoubtedly 

 of high character. The men are all citizens of good standing. If 

 the baleful influence of certain organizations fcstensibly in the inter- 

 ests of the labor unions but really of socialistic and anarchistic nature 

 can be eliminated, it is reasonable to suppose that the time will come 

 when all questions involving wages of raOway employes will be settled 

 not .by strike or argument, but through some unbiased meeting which 

 wiU absolutely guarantee equitable adjustment. 



It is inconceivable that any body of intelligent men such as is found 

 in the raUroads' employ would willingly take an arbitrary stand if 

 they could be brought to a constant realization of the grave possi- 

 bility of such action checking the advancement of the country. 



