18 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



May 25, 191!) 



The factory which receives it must either store it until the slow 

 process of air drying has made the lumb'>r fit, or must pass it 

 through another kiln. 



Thus, the same lumber may have two journeys through kilns, 

 the first at the mill to reduce weight, the second at the factory to 

 make the wood ready for use. That looks like a waste of energy 

 and time. It means two handlings where, possibly, one would do 

 all that is needed. If the mill which saws the lumber could com- 

 pletely dry it, the factory might not need a kiln and could save 

 some time and be rid of some expense, and perhaps have more 

 satisfactory stock. 



Kiln-drying lumber is not a haphazard matter, though too many 

 people make it so. It is a scientific process. Chance and luck 

 should have no part in it. Men thoroughly competent should havs 

 charge, and the larger the operation, the better can the services of 



experts be afforded. This is why 

 it might be economical for large 

 mills to attend to the kiln dry- 

 ing from start to finish, dis- 

 tribute the lumber to the fac- 

 tories which need it, and add the 

 cost of drying to tlie price of the 

 stock. The mill could dry for 

 twenty or fifty factories, and 

 do it more cheaply than twenty 

 or fifty factories could do it for 

 themselves; and it could be done 

 better, because the mill with a 

 large bank of kUns could afford 

 to keep the most efficient and ex- 

 perienced kUn operators; Imt 

 each separate shop cannot afford 

 to do this. 



Skillful and competent men 

 would reduce spoiled lumber to 

 a minimum. Men with the sole 

 duty of watching the kUu would 

 do it better than men who divide 

 their time between running ma- 

 chines in a factory and running 

 the kiln in the back yard. It 

 cannot be doubted that many 

 a factory would be glad to buy its 

 stock ready for use, and leave the 

 seasoning troubles to the mill that 

 saws the lumber. 



Some difficulties might be in 

 the way of making the change. 

 Very large kilns would increase 

 in number, and those of small 

 or medium size would decrease; 

 but that would result in better 

 standardization of kiln-drying. 



An obstacle might develop in 

 the fact that dry lumber will not 



stay dry if long exposed to weather. It would be necessary to keep it 

 covered; but well-regulated lumber yards, and the stock sheds of fac- 

 tories would not find that very difficult. The factory that could buy 

 lumljer of a guaranteed state of dryness would not fiml much trouble in 

 keeping it dry within the limits set by ordinary atmospheric humidity. 



Movement Toward Closer Utilization 



THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE HAS ISSUED A REPORT 

 to the effect that collections of waste made this spring by 

 junk dealers and others engaged in handling that material as a 

 business, are smaller than in years past. The report proceeds to 

 analyze the cause for it, and some interesting conclusions are 

 reached. 



The people are utilizing more closely than ever before, not 

 because they have less to buy with than in the past, but because 



PLANS FOR NATIONAL HARDWOOD CONVENTION 



There is every evidence that the coming twenty-second annual con- 

 vention of the National Hardwood Lumber Association, to be held 3* the 

 Congress hotel, Chicago, June 19 and 20. will be the biegest lumber con- 

 vention in history. It is anticipated that 1100 to 1200 lumbermen will 

 attend. 



The outstanding features of the program are the strongest ever pre- 

 sented. The program is as follows: 



PROGRAM OF BUSINESS 



Thursday, June 19 

 9 :30 a. m. Registration of members and siiests at entrance to Con- 

 vention hall (Gold Room), Mezzanine floor. Congress Hotel 

 10 ;30 a. m. Convention called to order. 

 Officers and committee's reports : 



President's address, Chas. A. Goodman. 

 Report of the secretary-treasurer. Frank F. Pish. 

 The Chamber ot Commerce of tlic TJ. S. A., Earl Palmer, National 

 councillor. 

 12 :3fl p. m. Intermission for lunch. 

 2 ;0n p. m. Address, Harry A. Wheeler, president Chamber of Com- 

 merce of U. S. A.. Washington, D. C. ; vice-president Union 

 Tru.st Co.. Chicago, 111. 

 Address, Hon. James E. Watson. U. S. Senator from Indiana. 



Friday, June 20 

 10:00 a.m. Convention called to order. 



.Vddress, Hon. W. H. Taft. ex-President of the United States. 

 Report of committee on officers' reports. 



Report of inspection rules committee, John W. McClure, chairman. 

 Discussion of proposefl inspection rules additions. 

 12:30 p.m. Intermis-sion for lunch. 

 1 :30 p. m. Resumption of discussion of proposed inspection rules 

 additions. 

 Unfinished business. 

 Report of committee on resolutions. 

 New business. 



Election of president and three vice-president.s to serve one year. 

 Election of eight directors to serve three years. 



PROGRAM OF ENTERTAINMENT 



Thursday. June 10 

 Gtd<l Room, Congress Hotel, at S O'clock 

 Complimentary banquet tendered by the National Hardwood Lum- 

 ber Association to members and invited guests. Secure tickets 

 at registration desk. 



Friday, June 20 

 Gold Room, Congress Hotel, at 7 O'clock 

 Supper and smoker. Music and vaudeville. Secure tickets at 

 ri'gistration desk. 

 Notice. — Owing to the amount of important business which the 

 present convention has to deal with, and the large attendance expected 

 of those directly interested therein, no provision has been made this 

 year for the entertainment of ladies. 



Chicago hotels are overcrowded. Make your reservations early. 

 Hardwood RErnitp will be glad to give everj- co'iperation in securing 

 advanc-f acicimnicidations. F.ut ilon't delay '. 



the economies made necessary by the war, have taught them that 

 what can be made useful should be used, and that scrap piles 

 should be reduced to a minimum. The first result has been seen 

 in the diminished quantities of old clothes, metal, and utensils 

 going to junk dealers; but the tendency has not stopped there. 

 It is general. 



Will it have any effect on the lumber business, and if so, what 

 effect? It is not improbable that results will be noticeable, a little 

 later if not immediately. Low grade lumber has long constituted 

 the worst leak in the lumber manufacturer's business. Much low 

 grade stuff must be produced in order to turn out what is high 

 grade; and the inferior product has always been slow sale. There 

 has been too much of it for the market. Users have not interested 

 themselves much in finding places where it can be used. The result 

 has been that the poorer classes of sawmill output have been a 



drug on the market and a loss to 

 the sawmill operator. 



The educational movement, 

 now gaining momentum, which 

 is bringing results in the way of 

 better utilization of waste, must, 

 of necessity, reach the millions of 

 users of lumber in this country 

 and set them thinking. If the 

 employment of what was formerly 

 a waste in other lines has been 

 found practicable and profitable, 

 why cannot the same result be at- 

 tained with lumlier? The move- 

 ment is as wide as the nation, and 

 ita signs are hopeful and promis- 

 ing. 



Regarding Low Grades 



IT HAS BKKX UXFORTU- 

 XATE that in past years there 

 existed a condition in the rela- 

 tionship between lumbermen and 

 lumber buvers that has made im- 

 possible a frank exchange of 

 views on the adaiitability of cer- 

 tain lumber for certain places. 

 Many a lumberman has felt that 

 he could be of real service to his 

 customers were he given a 

 greater opportunity to analyze 

 the customers' jieculiar needs 

 and sell him just the class of 

 lumber that best fitted those 

 needs and made possible closer 

 utilization at less cost for the 

 clear lumber derived from the 

 cutting up operations. 



It can not be said that the 

 same barriers exist today that 

 existed five or ten years ago, as the attitude that many buyers had 

 toward such service by lumbermen has changed materially in recent 

 years. However, there still exists a considerable suspicion of the 

 lumbermen who show too great a desire to get into the factory 

 man's cutting up room, and this is deplorable from many stand- 

 points. 



As the situation exists today the buying trade is confronted with 

 a real shortage of many species of lumber, and it will behoove them 

 to adopt all means of utilizing existing materials to the best ad- 

 vantage. It is probable that under present conditions a good deal 

 of progress will be made in overcoming the attitude of those buyers 

 who have not been receptive to the modern merchandising service 

 idea of aggressive lumbermen who have been sincerely desirous of 

 saving money and increasing utility of raw material bought by the 

 purchasing agent. 



