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Wooden Bed Logically Superior 



111 the issue of Eardwood Kecord dated March 10. 1912, under a 

 general article covering the various phases of the question of substi- 

 tutes for woods, a paragraph touching on the supposed claims of 

 metal bed advocates was inserted. In that paragraph, the fallacy of 

 the claims of tha metaj bed manufacturers as to the overwhelming 

 popularity of their production was established. It was shown that 

 there has been a considerable falling off in the sales of metal beds 

 and while no attempt was made to go into the question in detail, the 

 trend of the argument v.as that the wooden bed is increasing rather 

 than decreasing in popularity, 



This is unquestionably a fact. Granting it as such, it is interesting 

 to review possible reasons for this condition in the face of the 

 extravagant claims of the brass bed people. 



The question must necessarily, to arrive at any satisfactory and 

 sane conclusion, be considered on a broad basis, — that is, wooden beds 

 and brass beds as general classes of products must be taken into 

 account rather than any one type of either. The high grade, conse- 

 quently high-priced lines in both makes certainly enjoy advantages 

 which might reasonably be advanced to prove the supremacy of either 

 line; but taken as a class, there are certain features which, consider- 

 ing the modern type of construction, are about on a parity. 



Without considering the varying quality of articles manufactured 

 from either kind of raw material by individual tirms, it is undoubtedly 

 a fact that the modern bed is a pretty sanitary article. Furthermore, 

 by eliminating useless parts, its weight has been so reduced and dis- 

 tributed that as an article of furniture it does not offer the disagree- 

 able features of the old style cumbersome wood or metal bed. Another 

 quality which is analogous in both types of manufacture is the fact 

 that both the wooden and the brass or iron bedstead liave been reduced 

 in actual size so that they now appear as but an article of furniture 

 rather than, as formerly, occupying practically the entire bed chamber. 

 Thus eliminating these claims of superiority which have been ad- 

 vanced by the advocates of both types of beds, in order to establish 

 the superiority of either class, it is necessary to look for further fea- 

 tures. It is claimed by the manufacturers of the brass bedstead that 

 there is not a sufficient quantity of high-grade cabinet woods left to 

 enable the wooden bed manufacturer to turn out a product sufficiently 

 inexpensive to be within the means of the average purchaser. That 

 this is unquestionably not true can easily be proven by investigation 

 of prevailing market prices of wooden beds as compared to brass beds 

 ,pf an equally high character, or if one is familiar with market condi- 

 tions in hardvFOod lumber going into bed manufacture it can be seen 

 that the cost of the raw material going into the manufacture of the 

 bed will .amount to very little as compared with the labor cost and 

 other factors which go in to make up the final cost to the consumer. 

 But by far the greatest advantage which the wooden bed has over 

 any other type of manufacture is its beauty. It must be admitted by 

 the most partisan that the old style wooden bed was so entirely ugly, 

 unwieldy and unsanitary in every way that no just claims could be 

 made as to the sanity of using it, let alone any advantage it might 

 have over a metal article. But this condition has been entirely elimi- 

 nated. The objection to the old type of bedstead probably was 

 directly responsible for the introduction of the modern metal bed. 

 The old fashioned wooden article was so unsanitary and cumbersome 

 that a change was absolutely necessary. With the successful intro- 

 duction of the metal substitute, the growth in its popularity, probably 

 as much because of the fact that it was a new thought as because 

 of anything else, was remarkable. But the metal bed manufacturers 

 have been their own worst enemies. They had absolutely no room for 

 originality and beauty of design and seemingly exercised their entire 

 scope of operation in this line by introducing the most grotesque 

 twists and turns in the piping of the bed, thus not only creating 

 ridiculous designs but eliminating from the advantages of the metal 

 frame the claim of increased hygiene. This condition has gradually 

 been improved, but in the meantime other causes have grown up 

 which would tend to make the metal bed anything but a successful 

 substitute for the modern wooden one. In fact, this very condition 

 —26— 



limiting the possible designs and improvements in the brass bed 

 created the condition which has meant a great deal for the wooden 

 bed manufacturers. It seems that it is absolutely impossible for a 

 concern turning out a high-grade article to sell to any advantage in- 

 asmuch as necessary simplicity of design made it possible for every 

 buyer to ascertain definitely exactly what was in the bed and to make 

 comparison of size of tubing, etc. Thus the different manufacturers 

 were put on an absolute price competition and the process of handling 

 their business ever since has been based on this condition. They have 

 seemingly endeavored only to reduce their goods to the cheapest pos- 

 sible character and to sell on as narrow a margin of profit as possible. 

 In fact, very few metal bed manufacturers turn out beds of quality 

 and the few who have have in most cases been compelled to meet 

 the fierce price competition or go out of business. In other words, 

 because they did not have quality, they have not been able to adver- 

 tise this feature of their production or at least if they have adver- 

 tised it they have been unable to maintain it. 



Public taste . for house furnishings has been so wonderfully ex- 

 panded in every line that the buyer nowadays demands first, style 

 and at least seeming quality and then price in keeping with his 

 pocket. Thus it is absolutely necessary for a concern to successfully 

 operate a manufacturing business turning out any article of house- 

 hold furniture to offer something extremely attractive which he can 

 put out at a reasonable figure. Experience has shown and it is being 

 constantly now demonstrated that a medium priced brass bed cannot 

 possibly meet these requirements. The decreased sales have demon- 

 strated this condition. On the other hand, manufacturers of wooden 

 beds have the broadest fields for variety in design, materials and fin- 

 ish. New ideas in keeping with different periods of furniture design 

 are constantly being offered to the discriminating buyer. He is not 

 compelled to merely select a bed of a certain size and either of a 

 dull or shiny finish ; but he has a myriad of designs, colors and styles 

 in any kind of wood or combination of woods which he requires. A 

 dignity in design involving graceful curves and massiveness, together 

 with lightness and simplicity, can be acquired in wooden bed manu- 

 facture which is absolutely unthought of in the manufacture of any 

 substitute article, and the beauty of it all is that that process of con- 

 struction has been so reduced to a scientific basis that the labor cost 

 (is at a minimum. As to the claim that cabinet woods are too high 

 priced to be within the jiopular reach, there are various kinds of 

 wood coming in constantly which have beauty of figure and color and 

 that offer to the buyer of a medium grade of furniture beauty and 

 elegance. While these facts are . but opinions, although based on 

 actual conditions, one needs only to investigate conditions in the 

 plants of the wooden bed manufacturers, or, if he does not care to 

 take their word for the growth of their business, he needs only to 

 visit some large furniture sales room in which are grouped all kinds 

 and types of furniture. The astonishing variety and beauty of the 

 modern wooden beds which have developed as the fallacy of substi- 

 tuting metal in this line of construction made itself evident, will cer- 

 tainly convince him that the wooden bed has come back to stay. 



Wood Used for Polishing Watches 



An interesting use of rotten wood is in the polishing of the fine 

 parts of the highest grade Swiss and French watches. Formerly 

 this material was more extensively employed than at present, being 

 largely supplanted by machinery and benzine. The escape parts and 

 small screws are st.ill in large part polished by hand and rotten wood. 

 The value of the rotten wood used annually in Switzerland for this 

 purpose is about four thousand dollars, the best quality bringing a 

 price of one dollar per pound. What is wanted is a yellowish-white 

 silky material, soft and spongy, brittle and very light, and in which 

 the growth rings are still visible. Such is produced by certain fungi 

 growing in the stumps and roots of beech, maple, ash, aspen and 

 willow. It is not easily found, being mostly confined to southern 

 exposures in dry, shallow, stony soils in the mountains regions. 



