HARDWOOD RECORD 



»5 



Hardwood Record J\Iail Bag. 



[In this department it is proposed to reply 

 to such inquiries as reach this oflice from the 

 Hardwood Record clientage as will be of enough 

 general interest to warrant publication. Every 

 patron of the paper is invited to use this de- 

 partment to the fullest extent, and an attempt 

 will be made to answer queries pertaining to all 

 matters of interest to the hardwood trade, In 

 a succinct and intelligent manner.] 



On Branding Lumber. 



I'lTTSBURG, Nov. .".. — Editci' Hardwood ItKC- 

 ORD : I am very mucli interested in the matter 

 of uniform or universal hardwood grading, and 

 want to say a word about the system of grad- 

 ing and the grade symbols put in force by the 

 Hardwood Manufacturers' Association of the 

 United States, as a result of the recommenda- 

 tion of President Vansant at the annual meet- 

 ing in Nashville last January. 



This movement appears to be a step toward 

 the establishment of uniform grades, the lack 

 of which has always been a hone of contention 

 between buyers and sellers. ITie movement 

 appears to be the more commendable in that it 

 comes direct from the manufacturers them- 

 selves, and its complete adoption by them should 

 annihilate all possibility of manipulating grades, 

 as it will in gieat measure eliminate dislionesty 

 and carelessness on the part of inspectors at the 

 mills. No honest inspector is going to brand a 

 board with a certain grade unless his Judgment 

 tells him that it should go there, as the board 

 will show up at the buyer's end as testimony 

 against his carelessness and dishonesty. No 

 reputable manufacturer should allow his grades 

 to he tampered with or countenance any scheme 

 to defraud liis customers, as tlie damaging effect 

 to bis individual business and to the trade at 

 lai^e will more than ofifset any possible gain 

 he. may hope to derive from such pernicious 

 practices. 



We have recently received a copy of a letter 

 sent out to the consuming trade by the Hard- 

 wood Manufacturers' Association, explaining 

 the purpose and uses of grade symbols. The let- 

 ter states that these symbols are designed to 

 mutually protect the consumer and manufac- 

 turer, guaranteeing the consumer an even grade 

 and protecting the manufacturer against the 

 demoralizing practices of salting or manipulat- 

 ing grades after the lumbei- leaves his yard, 

 which practices the association comes out 

 squarely against, unless it be with the linowl- 

 edge and consent of the consumer. 



The stenciling or branding of export lumber 

 has long been an established practice, being 

 essential as a means of identifying on the otlier 

 side, but the marlving of domestic shipments 

 has never been practiced to any considerable 

 extent. 



As large buyers of hardwoods, we are very 

 much interested in the proposition of the Hard- 

 wood ^Manufacturers' Association, as we feel 

 that if the tenets of this organization are fully 

 lived up to, we will be able to secure even and 

 just grades in the future, and not buy one 

 grade of lumber and have it salted with twenty 

 to forty percent of a lower grade. 



Mfg. Co. 



The foregoing is Ijut one of several let- 

 ters received from prominent hardwood 

 consumers throughout the United States in 

 which there seems to be manifest a good 

 deal of interest in the rubber stamp sten- 

 ciling of grades as practiced by many mem- 

 bers of the Hardwood Manufacturers ' As- 

 sociation of the United States. The sub- 

 ject of the foolishness of tampering v\'ith 

 grades, which invariably lowers values, is 

 discussed editorially in this issue of the 

 Hardwood Becord. — Editor. 



Lion's Share to Jobber and Retailer. 



i'Lvsr \\ Ai.n.voFoKD, Vt., Nov. a. — lOditor Hard- 

 wood Record : Enclosed find check tor .$2 in 

 Iiayment for the ItECouD for one year. 



I am thoroughly in accord with your position 

 as to tlie hardwood dimension business and 

 heartily wish an organization miglit be formed 

 with every manufacturer of this class of lumber 

 a member. 



I have done c(insiderable in the line of small 

 dimension Ivmiber and hud prices altogether too 

 low to yield a fair protit. The manufacturer's 

 profits on almost all classes t»f goods are alto- 

 gether too small as compared with the profit of 

 those who handle his produ<ts. Take wooden 

 toys, for instance : the jobber, into whose hands 

 they almost invariably go from tire manufactur- 

 er, gets at least ten to twenty percent, and then 

 the retailer makes on many articles from one 

 hundred percent upward, even to two hundred 

 percent on some things. AH tiiis witli no trouble 

 except the small items attendant on buying and 

 selling ; while the manufacturer, the man who 

 has more to do and more to risk than all the 

 othei-s, gets the smallest protit, and often even 

 loses money in his anxiety to build up a trade 

 tliat will use up his smad waste. I have found, 

 and think others will agree with me, tliat it is 

 usually more profitable to throw anything below 

 the usual size, say for ordinai'.v chair stock, into 

 the woodpile, and use whole lumber for smaller 

 work. The extra time consumed in its manufac- 

 ture more tlian offsets the saving of lumber. 

 Speaking of jiggered chair stock, prices are too 

 low on that ; especially on seal and other kinds 

 of small work, and were it not that the board, 

 pattern and pencil are in hand to get out the 

 coarser work, it would almost be better to let 

 that also go into the woodpile, — W. H. TELSfE. 



Afraid of the Business. 



Marinette. Wis.. Nnv. D. — ICditor IIauhwikid 

 Record : Replying to your letter of the 1st inst., 

 in regard to proposed consideration of prices for 

 liardwood dimension stock, would say that it 

 looks to us as though this meeting would fill a 

 long felt want. There seems to lie enough new 

 people starting in the liardwood manufacturing 

 business every year to keep tlu^ dimension stock 

 people from running out of a supply of fresh 

 victims. We suppose the idea of this meeting 

 would be to establish some sort of basis of prices 

 which in the general opinion would be adequate 

 to cover the cost to the manufacturer with a 

 reasonable profit. This would be a great help 

 to manufacturers in making iirices on this class 

 of stock, as they would make the attempt at 

 least to get somewhere near the list. 



We will not be represented at the meeting, as 

 we do not make any dimension stock. ^\Tietlier 

 we make any or not depends upon prices. At 

 present we are like a great many others — the 

 ofiFtrs made us do not look profitable, and we do 

 not know what prices to make in return because 

 we do not know what the market is. Would be 

 glad to have you advise us the result of the 

 meeting. — Sawver-Ooodjian (.'ompaxy. 



Appreciative. 

 Grand Rapids, Mich., Oct. 30. — Editor Hard- 

 wood Record ; In the September 25th number 

 of your valuable paper there was a poem by 

 Idali McGlone Gibson, under the caption of 

 "The Prophecy of the Tree," It is a gem and 

 I want to know if you will allow me to use the 

 poem, with credit to the author, upon a brochure 

 that the Michigan Forestry Commission will 

 issue between now and the 1st of January. We 

 issue between our regular reports to the state 

 a little pamphlet, giving a record of progress, 

 ,';nd it has occasionally in it something along 

 the line of sentiment. 



I am not a poet nor a critic, but that little 

 l.iM'in just touched the forestry pari of my heart 

 and I want to immortalize it in Michigan by 

 putting it into one of our publications, if you 

 have no objection, I shall be very grateful for 

 the privilege. — Chas. W. Garfield. 



Praise from Sir Hubert is praise indeed. 

 Mr. Garfield is the distinguished president of 

 the Michigan Forestry Commission, and is en- 

 gaged in a great work for the future welfare 

 of the Wolverine state. — Editor. 



The Trouble with the Dimension Business. 



New I'ALESTI.XE, IND., Nov. 3. — Editor Hard- 

 wood Record : In reply to your request to 

 attend the meeting of dimension stock manu- 

 facturers, cannot state just now whether or not 

 1 will be able to attend. This line has been my 

 specialty for seven years or more, and I intend 

 to keep at it. In my opinion, tlie great trouble 

 with some manufacturers of dimension has been 

 not knowing tlie cost of same, and often deliver- 

 ing any old thing and expecting it to pass in- 

 spection. I never figure my products from waste 

 or cull logs, but on a basis of making stock 'of a 

 liigher grade than firsts and seconds, and always 

 aim to deliver what I promise or speciQcations 

 call for. If manufacturers would follow these 

 last two rules, hardly think there would be so 

 much fault found in the manufacture of dimen- 

 sion stock. Will be on hand if possible. — Geo. 

 M. Waters. 



■Wants Ked Gum Dimension Stock. 



Phii..\dei.piiia, Nov. 1. — Editor Hardwood 

 Record : We are users of red gum dimension 

 stock and would be pleased to have you give us 

 a list of concerns producing this material, with 

 whom we may communicate. — . Com- 

 pany. 



The writer of the foregoing is one of tlie 

 foremost retail and wholesale lumber eon- 

 •erns of the Quaker City. Producers of red 

 gum dimension stock who would like to enter 

 into correspondence with this house are re- 

 quested to send their addresses to the Record. 

 — Editor. 



A Believer in Organization. 



Detroit, Mich., Nov. 6. — Editor Hardwood 

 Record : Yours of the 4th is at liand. While 

 we are not interested in the manufacture of 

 dimension stock, we wish to call the attention 

 of the gentlemen who ai'e interested in this 

 material not only to the advisability but the 

 absolute necessity of association in matters 

 of prices and grades before they will ever 

 otitain any ^satisfactory results. "You are 

 well aware that our industry — maple floor- 

 ing — has tried the "wide open" policy with 

 disastrous results for many years, and this 

 >'ear we are getting a fair price for our ma- 

 terial. We wish to congratulate you on your 

 undertaking in this matter. — Thomas Forman 



CoJIPAXY. 



Advice to Dimension Stock Makers. 



SpctT. Texx., Nov. 4. — Editi.>r Hardwood Rec- 

 ord : — Referring to your call, will say that 

 we, like many others, liave lost interest in 

 dimension stock. Have tried time and again 

 to convert much of cur stumpage into dimen- 

 sion, but the best prices obtainable for it 

 were so much lower than for other lines of 

 production that we dropped the proposition. 

 We believe that if the dimension stock pro- 

 ducers succeed in establishing: a safe and 

 just standard of prices, which will be reason- 

 ably constant, and make uniformity of manu- 

 facture and grade the watchword, a fair 

 margin of profit will accrue to wise and in- 

 dustrious management. Stumpage is woe- 

 fully scarce in regions where freight rates 

 are reasonable, ^but plentiful in sections that 

 could contribute largely to stock deficits 



