June 25, 1919 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



27 



C. II. UARN'ABY, (iKEENCASTLE, 

 DIRECTOR 



IXLI.. 



M. J. yUlNLAN, SOl'ERTOX, WIS., 

 DIRECTOR 



PAYSON SMITH, MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., 

 DIRECTOR 



cussion, that resolution was rejected by the meeting. Another motion was 

 then introduced known as the "Babcock resolution," which was adopted 

 without a dissenting vote. The purpose of the latter resolution was to 

 reach the same end lis that arrived at by the Brown resolution, namely, to 

 bring about a single .standard of hardwood inspection and to encompass a 

 condition of unity and harmony in the hardwood trade. The terms of the 

 Babcock resolution had been carefully considered by representatives of 

 both the National Hardwood Lumber Association and the Hardwood 

 Manufacturers' Assoclatiou of the United States prior to its presentation 

 to the meeting ; and an agreement had been entered into between these 

 representatives to the effect that if s.aid resolution were adopted by the 

 National Hardwood Luml>er Association, and if the Hardwood Manu- 

 facturers' Association of the United States were accorded representation 

 upon the board of directors and upon the executive committee of the 

 National Hardwood Lumber Association, that the representatives present 

 from the Hardwood Manufacturers' Association of the United States 

 would present the resolution to their board of directors and recommend 

 the discontinuance of their inspection rules, and the adoption of the 

 inspection rules of the National Hardwood Lumber Association ; and that 

 they would urge their members, as individuals, to Join the National Hard- 

 wood Lumber Association, thus bringing about a complete unification of 

 all hardwood Interests. 



As stated above, the Babcock resolution was adopted and E. O. Robin- 

 son, then president of the Hardwood Manufacturers' Association of the 

 United States, was elected to the directory of the National Hardwood 

 Lumber Association and was, Iramediately following his election, appointed 

 as a member of the executive committee. In this manner the National 

 Hardwood Lumber Association promptly and completely discharged its 

 obligation in accordance with the terms of the agreement above set forth. 

 But immediately after appointment on the executive committee Mr. Robin- 

 son declined to ser\'e, and a little later resigned from the boaril of 

 directors, and reported that the Babcock resolution had not been sub- 

 mitted to the board of the Hardwood Manufacturcr.s' .\ssociation of the 

 United States, as agreed. Three months later the subject was reopened 

 at a conference held in this city between the duly authorized representa- 

 tives of both associations. The conference continued for two days, but 

 owing to the unreasonable and impossible demands made by representa- 

 tives of the Hardwood Manufacturers' Association, demands which, if 

 acceded to, by the representatives of the National Hardwood Lumber 

 Association, would have destroyed that organization, the conference came 

 to an end without redemption on the part of the Hardwood Manufacturers' 

 Association of the United States of the pledges made by its representatives 

 three months before. 



Later a meeting convened in Louisville for the purpose of grafting the 

 rapidly withering branches of a decadent organization upon the trunk of 

 a comparatively youthful and vigorou.s organization, with the hope that 

 the more virile circulation thus obtained might impart new life to those 

 branches and induce them to blossom once again in potent opposition to the 

 National Hardwoml Lumber Association. The Hardwood Manufacturers' 

 Association of the United States gave up its name and its inspection rules 

 and in return for these assets of rather doubtful value its leaders took over 

 the control of the .\merican Hardwood JIanufacturers' Association. Owing 

 to the fact that the inspection rules of the Hardwood Manufacturers' 

 Association were thrown into the discard, thus leaving only the National 

 Hardwood Lumber Association standards, an attempt was made at that 

 meeting to perpetuate this most desirable condition and to prevent the 

 introduction of a new set of inspection rules by the amalgamated organiza- 



tion ; but notwithstanding the fact that the time was most propitious for 

 such action, as there were then no other rules for the inspection of hard- 

 wood lumber in effect, the proposition was rejected and a committee was 

 appointed to draft a new set of inspection rules. The only objection urged 

 at that meeting against the rules of the National Hardwood Lumber Asso- 

 ciation was that the wholesaler had taken active part in writing them. 

 Later it was intimated that the National rules were not scientific. 



In due time the committee then appointed presented a set of inspection 

 rules, which were adopted and which are now in print. It is understood 

 that no opportunity was afforded the membership of the American Hard- 

 wood Manufacturers' Association to vote upon these rules, and the only 

 evidence of scientific treatment which this set of rules received from its 

 authors is the evident effort to evade the copyright protection afforded 

 to the National Hardwood Lumber Association, without In any measure 

 changing the description or the values of the grades expressed by those 

 rules. Except for a few glaring errors, this dual effort was fairly suc- 

 cessful, and the rules of the American Hardwood Manufacturers' Associa- 

 tion, as they stand today, are practically a reproduction of the rules of 

 the National Hardwood Lumber Association. But I inquire, with all possi- 

 ble candor, would not the interests of the hardwood trade at large have 

 been better served by the frank adoption of the rules of this association, 

 thus dLsposing of the question of differing standards, rather than by 

 appropriating those rules under another name and continuing the fiction 

 that there is any standard other than National inspection to govern trans- 

 actions in hardwood lumber? 



There still remains in the hardwood trade a startling lack of unity, and 

 the responsibility for this condition must rest upon a small minority who 

 have persistently opposed the will of the great majority of hardwood lum- 

 bermen expressed through the me<liumship of the National Hardwood 

 Lumber Association. The opposition existing today is the same that began 

 more than fifteen years ago ; it differs only in name. I take this oppor- 

 tunity to submit to this membership my sincere conviction that the time 

 is not far distant when the interests of the hardwood trade and the 

 interests of this association will demand that the line of cleavage be abso- 

 lutely defined between those who are for National inspection and those 

 who are opposed to it. If there is sufiicient demand on the part of this 

 membership for the establishment of a new branch or department of the 

 association for the purpose of securing reliable data on market condi- 

 tions, such a department can be added at comparatively small additional 

 expense, and through the active cooperation of the producers and dis- 

 tributers in all sections of the country, as well as our neighbors in Canada, 

 we should be able to produce results much more thorough and comprehen- 

 sive than anything thus far offered the hardwood trade. 



It is also my sincere conviction that interlocking directorates, or any 

 portion of interlocking directorates, existing between the National Hard- 

 wood Lumber Association and the American Hardwood Manufacturers' 

 Association, present a condition that renders the proper administration 

 of the affairs of this association more diflicult. It is my belief, and should 

 now be apparent to every member, that the effort made in recent years to 

 harmonize all interests by an interlocking of directors, has been a failure. 

 The suggestion is therefore submitted that in the future, and beginning 

 with the election of officers and directors to be held tomorrow, it should 

 be the policy of this membership to elect men solely on account of their 

 service and absolute loyalty to the National Hardwood Lumber Association. 



The guiding principle of the National Hardwood Lumber Association is 

 service. That the inspection rules books have been the most potent educa- 

 tional force ever exerted in print in the hardwood trade cannot he sue- 



