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HARDWOOD RECORD 



October 10, 1919 



tie way of really merchandising lumber to give a specialized manu- 

 facturer just the kind of stuff he wants. However, according to 

 Mr. Blixberg the practice of manipulating grades as a means of 

 deception and subterfuge is detestable and one which all should 

 fight against. 



He then warned the millman that his shutting his eyes to such 

 practices where he loads out lumber in cases where he knows grade 

 manipulation is contemplated is a wrong way to go about the mat- 

 ter of correcting the condition. This millman, according to the 

 speaker, is just as much a party to the transaction as is the dis- 

 tributor who buys the lumber from him. 



Mr. Blixberg then said the lumber manufacturers are making a 

 big mistake in not endeavoring to get together with the consumer 

 and working out constructive means of helping the consumer 

 before necessity compels such action. 



Mr. Blixberg then recommended a much closer co-operation with 

 the consumers in general, saying that the lumber manufacturer is 

 too prone to put himself in the position of the tail wagging the 

 dog. In other words, the millman maintains that lumber should 

 be cut into the boards that the log best produces regardless of the 

 demand. He admitted finding himself in much that same frame 

 of mind on account of his sawmill training, but earnestly recom- 

 mended a closer co-operation. This co-operation, however, must 

 extend beyond the customer and include the competing firm as in 

 the long run justice and consideration to his competitor as well as 

 to his customer will get everybody much further. 



W. W. Brown, formerly buyer for the Hamilton Manufacturing 

 Company of Two Rivers, Wis., now in the lumber business for him- 

 self, delivered an extemporaneous address in response to the sub- 

 ject, "The Industrial Consumer of Wood." Mr. Brown was called 

 upon in the absence of the regular speaker and delivered a most 

 creditable talk, telling of the experiences that he has had and 

 the methods he employed to intelligently handle the work he had 

 to undertake. 



W. H. Hill, sales manager for the Brown Land & Lumber Com- 

 pany of Rhinelander, Wis., delivered a striking address entitled, 

 "Progress of the Sales Department." Mr. Sill has passed through 

 the development of lumbering in the North from the early days 

 and has a lively conception of the changes that have been brought 

 about in lumber sales. Mr. Sill said that the changes in the dis- 

 position of lumber have come about more through conditions under 

 which the product has been made and fitted for the market than 

 through actual changes in salesmanship itself. The two most 

 important changes which a review of the past points to are the 

 transformation in the manufacture of lumber and the development 

 of co-operation and better relationship between competing firms. 

 In the early days practically all hardwood was cut on the small 

 portable mill, which with its old-fashioned rotary saw made very 

 questionable quality. Mr. Sill said that the change in manufacture 

 ;Was brought about by the contact the salesman had with the con- 

 sumer and by his persistent and consistent efforts to get his manu- 

 facturing house to produce a better quality of goods for him to sell. 



Formerly also, uniform grades were unknown. Each local asso- 

 ciation had its ovfn rules and the origination of National inspection 

 was the biggest boon to the hardwood man that has ever taken 

 place. In the old days co-operation and good fellowship were 

 unknown. Jealousy and constant fighting for markets then marked 

 the salesman's work. Gradually, however, the change came and 

 with the seed of good fellowship sown, fruit soon began to mature. 



Nor in those days was there co-operation between employers and 

 the salesmen. The salesman was expected to produce 100 per cent 

 mostly without co-operation from his house. He was not given 

 information as to quality and cost of production. 



Looking into the future Mr. Sill said that while the salesman's 

 lot has improved many times over what it was in the past years, 

 there are still many things that confront him which must be 'over- 

 come before he can reach the highest mark. What is needed today 

 more than anything else is stability. Mr. Sill pleaded for honest 

 representation of goods in shipping exactly what is sold, saying 



that success can never be assured unless the confidence of the trade 

 is fairly won. To this end the employer 's co-operation is absolutely 

 essential. The employer who is not giving the salesmen and sales 

 manager full information on his financial condition and on costs of 

 manufacturing is limiting the productivity of the salesman, dwarf- 

 ing his initiative and in that way hurting himself. The employer 

 must take the salesman and sales manager into his confidence, and 

 if he does so the results will be soon apparent. In closing Mr. Sill 

 said : 



Luinl)er is generall.v made good in these days. Equipment is practically 

 all that is desired. One accepted standard of inspection our land over, a 

 spirit and element of co-operation of our interests, as never before. "We 

 need two things more — a still closer toiu'li with the consumers, especially 

 to study their needs, and give them our best judgment on their problems. 

 Pt>s.siltly we know more about lumber than many of them do and can assist 

 them very materially and thus help them ourselves by giving them our very 

 best co-operation. 



And then get next to the boss as never before and the coming years will 

 bring not only financial success and commercial growth but added to these, 

 it will bring that highly essential and satisfactory feeling of having done 

 our very best for the betterment of our calling and help pave a better way 

 for those who are to follow in our footsteps. 



This concluded Saturday morning's session. 



SATURDAY AFTERNOON SESSION 



Dr. Wilson Compton, secretary-manager of the National Lumber 

 Manufacturers' Association, delivered the opening talk entitled, 

 "The Value of the Lumber Dollar." Dr. Compton said that the 

 lumber price level may sag, but it is unlikely that it will drop. 

 Generally speaking, lumber prices today are twice as high as before 

 the war, according to the speaker, and superficial causes of present 

 prices may quickly vanish but there are other basic causes which are 

 permanent. The average price for all softwoods at the signing of 

 the armistice was 85 per cent highe* than it had been for the twelve 

 months before the outbreak of the war, oak 38 per cent higher, 

 hard maple 46 per cent higher, birch 38 per cent higher, poplar 61 

 per cent higher, basswood 69 per cent higher, and all lumber aver- 

 aged together 65 per cent higher than during the twelve months 

 ending June 30, 1914. This was a considerable less increase than 

 that shown for almost any other important building material. Fur- 

 ther, between the first nine months of 1907 and the date of the 

 armistice in 1918, the net increase in average prices of lumber 

 including all major hardwoods and softwoods was 56 per cent. 

 During the same period other building materials in,creased up to 

 over twice that amount, none being lower than one-half above that 

 percentage. Thus at the end of the period the dollar had a greater 

 relative purchase power over lumber than over any of the other 

 groups of necessities. Dr. Compton then traced the reasons for 

 and effects of the price fixing policy prevailing up to the end of the 

 war. He said he did not believe that prices fixed were ever 

 intended to give a reasonable profit to the bulk of the sawmills of 

 the country. The result was a reduction in output of a little more 

 than half of the normal production. As this war-time price basis 

 was arbitrarily fixed and not the result of economic causes, it was 

 but the natural tendency of lumber prices to immediately seek a 

 level comparable to other commodities when artificial restrictions 

 were removed at the end of the war. This brought an immediate 

 rapid advance which has been erroneously taken in some quarters 

 as out of proportion to other materials. As a matter of faet, 

 lumber is today still equal to or lower than competing materials in 

 the same line. Dr. Compton pointed out also that lumber buyers in 

 general have themselves to thank in a large measure for the exces- 

 sively rapid increase in lumber prices, as for several months follow- 

 ing the armistice they had the opportunity of buying at low prices 

 and refrained only to come into the market' all at once with the 

 perfectly natural result as seen. Dr. Compton pointed out that 

 following the war the industrial board of the Department of Com- 

 merce at Washington urged the lumber industry to helc revive 

 industrial activity by agreeing to a voluntary reduction in lumber 

 prices which were then but little above cost in many regions and 

 considerable below cost in others. This request was based on an 

 (Continued on page 41) 



