April i;ri, 11)10 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



41 



has arranged with the War Departinont for extensive testa iliirin;; 

 the coming season of the plan to detect and comiiat wooiUand 

 blazes by means of an air patrol. 



Forest Laboratory Studies Door Making 



The department of agriculture has issued the following: 



Doors that sag in the middle like n hanunoek, doors that swell and 

 refuse to be closed, doors that emit loud shrieks or groans whenever they 

 are pulled or pushed, doors that provoke priifuiiity, will be largely elimi- 

 nated if work now going forward at tin- forest products laboratory of tile 

 Forest Service, at Madison, Wis., is fully successful and is fully followed 

 by manufacturers. 



The laboratory is studying improved methods of manufacturing doors 

 in coiiperntion with a wholesale association. Various makes of doors are 

 to be tested for strength and for the i'fl"cct of humidity in warping the 

 wood. 



Changes in Emergency Fleet Corporation 



Important changes in the iiersoniiel of the Knicr^iency Fleet (!or- 



poration wore announced by Edward N. Hurley, chairman of the 

 United States Shipping Board and president of the Emergency 

 Fleet Corjioration. 



Charles Piez, who aueceedcd Charles M. Schwab as director gen- 

 eral, tendered his resignation several weeks ago. Upon his retire- 

 ment on May 1, Naval Constructor J. L. Ackerson, who has been 

 one of the vice-presidents of the fleet corporation, will be placed 

 in full charge of ship construction. Another vice-president, yet 

 to be appointed, will be in charge of administration, finance, con- 

 tracts, a<ljustnient of cancell.'ititms and claims. 



Great Activity Promised in Highway Improvements 



(irosvenor B. Clarkson, direetor of the U. 8. Council of National 



Defense, announces a reorganization of the council's highways 

 transport committee. "With this reorganization close cooperation 

 with the executive departments most vitally interested in matters 

 of highways transportation will be brought about in such a way 

 that the committee will be a clearing liouse of action for all fed- 

 eral interests concerned. 



It is the policy of the council thrcuigli its committee to cooperate 

 with all transportation ag"neios with the view of determining for 

 the people how their transportation needs can bo served moat effi- 

 ciently, speedily and economically, and to aid in the promotion of 

 motor express lines through rural communities which now do not 

 have adequate transportation. 



The council will. Director Clarkson staled, coiiperate with the 

 TTnited States Railroad Administration in the study of the short 

 haul problem, and will also give specialized attention to the rela- 

 tion of the Rural Motor express to interurban electric lines and 

 waterways traffic, in the interest of all elements concerned. 



U. S. Chamber of Commerce Notes on Basis for Industrial 

 Relations 



.\ statement of principles of industrial relations, preparecl willi 



a view to furnishing a basis on wliicli American industry can build 

 (I national labor program, was submitted recently to a referendum 

 vote of the membership of the Chamber of Commerce of the United 

 States. The principles, thirteen in number, were prepared by a 

 special committee of the chamber after a long period of study of 

 the entire subject of industrial relations. They are given as 

 fellow's: 



1. Industrial enterprise, as a source of livelihood tor both employer 

 and employe, should be so conducted that iluo consideration Is given to 

 the situation of all persons dependent upon It. 



2. The public interest requires adjustment of iMilustrial relations by 

 peaceful methods. 



3. Regularity and continuity of cmi)lt»yinent should be sought to the 

 fullest extent possible and constitute a responsibility resting alike upon 

 employers, wage earners, and the public. 



•1. The right of workers to organize is as clearly recognized as that of 

 any other element or part of tlie comnuinlty. 



.'i. Industrial harmony and prosperity will be most effectually pro- 

 moted by adequate representation of the parties in interest. E.xlsting 

 forms of representation should be carefully studied and availed of in 

 so far as they may be found to have merit and are adaptable to the 

 peculiar conditions in the various industries. 



(i. Whenever agreements are made with respect to Industrial relations 

 they should be faithfully observed. 



7. Such agreements shoiild contain provision -for prompt and linal In- 

 terpretation In the event of controversy regarding meaning or applica- 

 tion. 



S. Wages should be adjusted with due regard to the purchasing power 

 of the wage and to the right of every man to an opportunity to earn a 

 living at fair wages, to reasonable hours of work anil working conditions, 

 to n decent home, and to the enjoyment of proper social conditions. 



9. Fixing of a basic day as n devbe for Increasing compensation is a 

 subterfuge that should be condemned. 



10. lOIhcient production in conjunction wiih aileiniale wages is essential 

 to successful industry, .\rbllrary reslrlclion on output below reasonable 

 standards Is hnrnirul l.i the Interests of wage earners, employers, and tiie 

 public and should not be permitted. Industry, ellicli'ncy and initiative, 

 wherever found, sluuild be encouraged and adequately rewarded, while 

 Indolence and IndllTerence should be condemned. 



11. Consideration of reduction in wages should not be reached until 

 lioKsibility of reduction of costs in all otlier directions has been ex- 

 hausted. 



12. .\ilniinistration of employment an<l management of labor should 

 be recognized as a distinct and important function of management and 

 accorded its proper responsibility in administrative organization. 



13. A system of national employnuuit otiices, with due provision for 

 cooperation with e.vlsting state and nuudcl|)al systems, can be made, under 

 efHclent management and it conducted with due regard to the equal Inter- 

 ests of employers and employes In Its proper ailmlnistration, a most help- 

 ful agency, but only if all appointments are made strictly subject to the 

 Civil Service law and rules. Policies governing the conduct of a national 

 system of employment otiices should lie determined in conjunction with 

 advisory boards- -national, stale and loeal--equally representative of- 

 employers and employes. 



Assorted Paragraphs 



Regulations are being framed in the Treasury Department for 

 enforcing the excise and sales tax provisions of the new revenue 

 law that apply to pianos, organs, phonographs, musical instruments, 

 picture franie.s, auf imiobiles, trucks and certain other soealled 

 luxuries. 



The government surplus lumber is re])orted to be moving through 

 J. L. Philiiis and Mr. Stevens. It is announced that 1,00(1 Liberty 

 airplane motors, brand new, ordered before the armistice and not 

 now needed, will be sold; a fact of interest to airplane builders. 



Although it is estimated IIkiI when the army disbands tlicrc will 

 be on hand $.300,000,000 worth of motor trucks, automobiles, ambu- 

 lances and the like, officials calculate that the requirements of 

 various government branches will absorb practically all this sur- 

 |ilus. The needs of the government and of the states for trueka 

 will lie very great in connection with llic great highway construe- 

 lion jirogram that is being embarked upon. 



investigation will bo made by the incoming congress of the eon- 

 Iraets canceled, terminated and adjusted since the signing of the 

 ••irmistice. Complaints have come to members of congress that the 

 departments acted too quickly to achieve the best terms for the 

 government, whiU- on the other hand, contractors who have not 

 yet settled arc anxious to have their cases speeded up. 



Pennsylvania is deferring more building operations than any 

 other state, according to inriirniation received by the Department 

 of Labor. 



The National League of Building and Loan Associations at a 

 meeting of representatives in Washington decided that the pro- 

 ])osed administration bill for a, system of federal home loan banks 

 shoidd not bo ajiproved until after the annual convention of the 

 league in Detroit next July. 



Modify Railroads' Prohibition of Agents' Fees 



Stateinout has been issued by Walker D. Hines, direetor general 

 of railroail.s, announcing that the covenant inserted in purchase 



tracts prohibiting tlic payment to agents of fees contingent 



upon the procuring of contracts with the government railroad sys- 

 tem has been modified. 



Since the prohibitory order was promulgated there has been a 

 great deal of agitation and comjilaint from legitimate agencies 

 selling supplies and products to the railroads, stating that the order 

 has worked a serious and unjust hardship and that the government 

 itself has been losing the benefits of a system that has served 

 economically and .satisfactorily in every particular in the past. 

 From now on the prohibitory clause will not affect contracts made 

 between the railroad administration and supply houses which prev- 

 ious to government control carried on their business through bona 

 tide selling agencies. 



