April 25, 1919 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



21 



prices. Mr. Hines expressed his belief that no further discussion 

 would shake the steel interests in their position, nor did he believe 

 that any further discussion was going to change his views that the 

 level is so low as to carry conviction to the general ])uhlic that the 

 bottom has been reached. He added: 



The railroad administration is going ahead to buy what it needs, and by 

 aegrees that will develop in such a way as to be an evidence of what the 

 railroad administration is actually doing. I think the situation will 

 gradually right itself, notwithstanding the unfortunate confusion which 

 was created by the pursuing on the part of the industrial board of a 

 policy which, it seemed to me, was entirely wrong, and put up to me an 

 endorsement which I could not make. I feel satisfied that this thing will 

 work itself out ; the dam will not break down all at once. No one act 

 will do that, but there will be a general movement. 



Mr. Kirbt's Suggestion 



Mr. Kirby, chairman of the meeting, brought the discussion to 

 a close by suggesting a concrete line of action on the part of the 

 railroad administration. He said: 



I want to assure you, Mr. Hines, that you hold a position in the respect 

 and confidence of the entire lumber fraternity. We are talking to you 

 now as citizens to a citizen who has submitted himself for a time to our 

 service. We are not only talking to you from that viewpoint, but we are 

 talking to .vou as customers of the railroads, patrons of the railroads, 

 shippers over the railroads, and supply men for the useful things that 

 the railroads must have in their operation.s. The railroads of this country, 

 temporarily in the hands of the government, are the principal buyers of 



the product of labor. Whatever the attitude, in a purchasing sense, ot 

 the railroads of this country in that capacity, is likewise the attitude ot 

 the republic, of all industry and all business in the republic. If that 

 attitude is one that closes the door to hope, there is darkness in every 

 life and stagnation in every community. The railroads of this country 

 consume such a volume of the products of labor, that you give employment 

 directly to more men than are directly upon your payrolls. Everything 

 you use is the product of labor. 



Heretofore the railroads of this country, at this season of the yeir,- when 

 business was slack, when tonnage was light upon their rails, bought their 

 supplies and laid them away for future consumption ; so that in the 

 summertime, in the autumn when the han^est period was on and there 

 was a great tonnage that had to be moved for the accommodation of the 

 people, the tonnage of the railroads, in the form of their own supplies, 

 would not obstruct the movement of commercial tonnage at a time when 

 otherwise there would be congestion. 



You are not doing that now. We want you to do it. 



We are taxpayers and we have as much interest in this problem as any 

 other citizen. Speaking entirely in our individual capacity, speaking col- 

 lectively, we make you more tonnage than any other industry in this 

 republic, except the coal mines. We want you, as our representative, 

 we want you as the representative of all the people, to say to the American 

 people, as far as your voice extends, in this hour when we are seeking i 

 transition from a war basis to a peace basis, in this hour when industry 

 1:5 halting, in this hour when labor is afraid, in this hour w'hen the minds 

 of business men are confused, that you say to, them, the biggest buyer In 

 this country is going to start the wheels of progress ; and if you will say 

 that today, the wheels will start tomorrow. 



Lumbermen in Four-Day Meeting 



Lumbermen from all sections of the United States held a four- 

 day series of meetings at the Congress hotel, Chicago, beginning 

 April 14 and concluding April 17. Two bodies made up the series 

 of meetings, the American Lumber Congress and the National 

 Lumber Manufacturers' Association; but the two organizations 

 did not hold concurrent or joint sessions, and practically the same 

 delegates attended both meetings. In most things the programs 

 were separate, but in much of the proceedings, all showed common 

 interest. 



A number of important topics were discussed by experts and 

 specialists, among such subjects being advertising lumber; methods 

 and practice of selling; trade extension, including the home and 

 foreign fields; building codes; timber treating problems, and mis- 

 cellaneous business matters of special concern to the National Lum- 

 ber Manufacturers' Association. Transportation and other rail- 

 road matters occupied a large share of the attention of the dele- 

 gates. Almost every matter called up for discussion was in some 

 way related to the problems of peace which have followed the war. 

 Every speaker made it clear that he approached his problem with 

 full appreciation of the changes which have been brought about in 

 recent months. The special campaign on home building which is 

 being carried on practically everywhere in the country was linked 

 up with the various topics brought up for consideration, and the 

 dominant idea everywhere was related to constructive work. 



The Advertising Campaign 



Systematic and scientific advertising, as it should be applied to 

 the sale of lumber, was discussed at considerable length by several 

 speakers, among whom were L. B. Putnam of New Orleans; B. J. 

 Boorman of Great Falls, Mont.; Wilbur D. Nesbit of Chicago, and 

 D. J. Fair of Sterling, Kans., and J. T>. Moorehead, Kansas City. 



Mr. Putnam is director of advertising and trade extension of the 

 Southern Pine Association, and he took as his text "Advertising 

 That Sells Lumber." He put forward the basic idea that the cost 

 of distribution of lumber is lowered by proper advertising, because 

 it lessens the effort necessary to sell the product, and he suggested 

 that the way to test this out would be for each retailer to set aside 

 a certain sum each month for advertising. If this were only one 

 dollar for each retailer, and 10,000 retailers would join in the 

 teamwork, the results would soon become apparent. 



B. J. Boorman, who operates a line of retail yards, and is vice- 



president of the Western Retail Lumbermen 's Association, drew 

 largely upon his own experience and observation to reach his con- 

 clusion that no one should expect advertising to dispense with 

 ijalesmanship, but its function is to prepare the way. He put for- 

 ward the same idea as that suggested by Mr. Putnam, that all re- 

 tailers should do advertising. He believed that they should make 

 up this fund by Setting aside each month a certain percentage of 

 sales. He had tried, in iis own business, an advertising fund of 

 two per cent of his sales and had found it satisfactory. The speaker 

 went somewhat into details as to the manner in which the lumber 

 retailer could most profitably expand his advertising fund. It 

 would depend largely upon the location of the retailer. 



Wilbur T>. Nesbit pointed out the range and the limitations of 

 advertising, or, as he expressed it, ' ' what it will do and will not 

 do." He is vice-president of the William H. Eankin Company, 

 Chicago. He made a strong point of the value of newspaper ad- 

 vertising in distinction from the many other sorts which seek to 

 catch the public eye and ear. He warned his hearers that even 

 the best advertising will make only the first sale, and succeeding 

 sales will depend upon the satisfaction which the first purchaser 

 feels. He criticized the government's advertising policy with re- 

 gard to the liberty loans. He thought it would have paid better 

 to have spent more with newspapers and less in other miscellaneous 

 ways. 



Discussing Selling Problems 



The selling end of the lumber business is so closely identified with 

 the advertising that the two often seem to be the same, or at least, 

 they appear to run side by side. But the lumbermen in their meet- 

 ing recognized certain differences and they provided speakers who 

 discussed selling as a separate line. Among those who discussed 

 different phases of the problems of selling were J. A. Mahlstedt, 

 New Eochellc, N. Y., vice-president of the Retail Lumber Dealers' 

 Association of the state of New York; A. L. Porter, Spokane, Wash., 

 secretary of the Western Retail Lumbermen's Association; F. M. 

 Torrence, Xenia, Ohio, secretary of the Ohio Association of Retail 

 Lumber Dealers; J. J. Rockwell, New York, connected with an 

 advertising agency; Murray Springer, Crosby Advertising Agency, 

 Chicago, and H. R. Isherwood, manager of the trade extension de- 

 partment of the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association. 



Mr. Mahlstedt took as his text the necessity of coordination 



