December 10, 191C 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



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{Continued from page 21) 



than simply talking to tbem or leaving a descriptive catalogue price-list. 



Tbere is something beautiful about wood properly finisbed and it affords 

 an introduction. By showing up the beauty of birch is one way in 

 which you can get people to realize its possibilities. It is best to let 

 them see it physically instead of talking about it. 



You have probably seen the pamphlet issued by the National Lumber 

 Manufacturers" Association called "Opportunity Number Four," in which 

 it strongly urges the idea of the retail lumber dealer installing a Service 

 Room, illustrating the equipment they are able to furnish, which includes 

 a variety of finishes showing the possibilities in interior work on real 

 house trim — and these we are frequently installing in co-operation with 

 the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association. Wherever they have 

 been installed they have made a hit. 1 know of no exceptions. 



It, therefore, seems to me that in connection with birch wood the 

 main idea is not to bother you with details on just how certain finishes 

 are obtained, but to show the architect, contractor and home builder 

 that birch can be finished in a variety of beiiutiful effects, and that birch 

 should not always be finished in imitation of something else. As this 

 service department idea grows birch will naturally he put on display in a 

 wider variety of effects, so that when you get in touch with a party who 

 wants to use birch he will be able to see real physical birch finished in all 

 the latest effects. And, therefore, the main idea it seems to me is to 

 talk up this service Idea to the retail lumber dealer, and then see to it 

 that he is equipped with a good variety of panels showing just what it is 

 possible to do with birch. 



Your association has arranged for the 191 T campaign to send out a 

 quantity of house trim and small panels of birch, and in this connection 

 it seems to me that all the representatives selling the retail lumber dealer 

 should have a set of these samples from the association, so you can show 

 them not only to the architect, builder and property owner but to the 

 retail lumber dealer as well. 



The idea I will leave with you is the idea of showing the architect. 

 l)uilder and property owner the wonderful possibilities of birch. Do not 

 simply teli them about it. Show them. Further, develop the service 

 idea with the retail lumber dealers. There is no question that through 

 this service the sale of lumber can be greatly increased. 



Otto J. Lay, retail lumberman of Kewaskum, Wis., read a strong 

 paper on ' ' The Relationship of the Retailer to the Manufacturer. ' ' 

 Mr. Lay handled his subject vrithout gloves, laying all his cards on 

 the table and calling a spade a spade. Undoubtedly the manufac- 

 turers present I'eceived a new viewpoint. 



Prof. Arthur Peabody, state architect for Wisconsin, gave a short 

 outline on the work done by the architectural board of the state, 

 dwelling specially on the standardizing of state construction and 

 what materials are best fitted for the different work. 



Mr. Moody of the Wisconsin Conservation Commission in a few 

 remarks told of the work being done for the preservation of the 

 forests, fish and game, laying emphasis along the work of fire protec- 

 tion lines. 



Sidney J. Williams of the Wisconsin Industrial Commission then 

 fjave an interesting talk on "Safe and Unsafe Uses of Wood in 

 Huildings, ' ' taking as his theme the fact that salesmanship rests on 

 tlie knowledge of what one has to sell. He emphasized that safety 

 is the first requisite in building, but made it plain that durability 

 must also be considered. He spoke of the fire hazards in wooden 

 liuUding, bringing out the point that these might be greatly reduced 

 liy requiring "fire stops" of concrete or brick, or even of two-inch 

 wood tightly fitted so that drafts might be shut off. Lumbermen, 

 lie said, in order to best serve themselves and to serve the public, 

 must recognize the fact that there are certain limitations to the use 

 of lumber. 



J. C. Knox, secretary of the Michigan Hardwood Manufacturers' 

 Association, CadUlac, was called on and in apt remarks brought the 

 greetings from his association, speaking with force on co-operation 

 of the individual and of associations. 



Howard Weiss of the Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wis., 

 delighted the manufacturers and salesmen on the subject of "Com- 

 petitive Materials, ' ' enlivening with wit and himior what might 

 otherwise have been a very dry subject. Mr. Weiss, who had been 

 asked to take Mr. Eolf Thelen "s place on the program characterized 

 himself as a "Mother Hubbard speaker," which he said is one who 

 covers everything and touches nothing. He made it very plain that 

 a completed survey of wood markets showed that twenty per cent 

 of the business that could be held by wood is being held by substi- 

 tutes. He said that while ordinarily a substitute is cheaper, those 

 substitutes that are used for wood are more expensive. He stated 



that an encouraging feature is shown in the fact that an accurate 

 knowledge of wood "s defects is turning out products that will supplant 

 many of these substitutes by removing some of the fire hazards. He 

 said that most criticism should be leveled against the manner in which 

 wood is used rather than against the wood itself, and that the market 

 for wood can be held only by learning and teaching its proper 

 handling. 



The last paper on the program, which closed the Saturday 's session, 

 was read by Roger E. Simmons, assistant secretary of the Northern 

 Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers' Association, on "Competitive 

 Markets — "Use of Wood." After citing statistics on the manu- 

 facture and consimiption of woods showing that there are fifty-five 

 classes of factory consumers and that fifty-four per cent of all of the 

 lumber worked up in factories goes into interior finish and trim, Mr. 

 Simmons spoke of building operations from the standpoint of trade 

 promotion, bringing out clearly the thought that this should elicit 

 salesman co-operation. It was his idea that we will undoubtedly see 

 an era of trade competition after the war even greater than that be- 

 ing enjoyed at the present time, and that salesmen and members of 

 the Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers' Association 

 should co-operate with the promotion bureau so that the use of hem- 

 lock and northern hardwoods might be increased as much as possible. 



Saturday evening was devoted to impromptu vaudeville, the head- 

 liners being A. H. Stange, MerrUl, M. J. Fox, Von Platen Lumber 

 Company, Iron Mountain, Mich., E. M. Holland, Carier-HoUand Lum- 

 ber Company, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Mr. 'Brien of the Goodman 

 Lumber Company, Goodman, Wis., Mr. Stange enacting the role of 

 buyer for the Merrill Furniture Company, while the other gentlemen 

 were visiting salesmen. In this Mr. O'Brien succeeded in putting 

 it over the others by appreciating "What sort of a grade his cus- 

 tomer used. ' ' This skit wotdd have been a splendid lesson for many 

 present-day buyers of hardwood. 



SUNDAY'S SESSION 



Sunday proved a fitting culmination to this salesmen 's conference. 

 Many of the visitors left on an early train for the Heineman Lumber 

 Company's plant at Heineman, where Mr. McDonald, chief inspector 

 of the Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers' Association, 

 gave a grade demonstration. 



At noon the entire party, personally conducted by A. H. Stange, 

 who by this time was known to all as " August, ' ' went by special train 

 to the camps of the Union Land Company, fifteen mUes from town. 

 After inspecting the shanties and general layout, an old-fashioneil 

 camp dinner was served in the cook's shanty, after which E. M. 

 Barrett, secretary of the World's Salesmanship Congress, spoke on 

 ' ' Salesmanship in Its Broadest Sense. ' ' The committee in charge 

 is to be congratulated on being able to get Mr. Barrett, and HARDWOor* 

 Record regrets that it can not give Mr. Barrett's talk in full, as it 

 would be an inspiration not only to salesmen but to every man who 

 works either with his hands or with his head. 



Mr. Barrett made it clear that life rests squarely on salesmanship ; 

 that persistency means not only hard work, but hard worlc at the same 

 thing. He brought out the necessity for rubbing elbows in the same 

 line of endeavor, and the value of laying particular stress on the value 

 of self -development ; that a man should be thoroughly imbued with 

 the idea of being more than an employe ; that he be a doer, not merely 

 a talker or a good listener; that unless the men who attended this 

 convention and any other convention went away so enthused that 

 they would put this enthusiasm to work, a gathering of this kiml 

 would be useless. 



Mr. Barrett closed with the statement that ' ' A man who does only 

 what can be done, can be done without. The man who does the impos- 

 sible is THE MAN." 



At the conclusion of Mr. Barrett's address Mr. Stange conducted 

 the party out into the cuttings, where a demonstration of tree felling 

 was given for its benefit. This completed the three days' program, 

 the visitors leaving Merrill Sunday evening. 



To put your mill and yard in such shape as to reduce the insur- 

 ance rate is one good way to save money — and to get better sleep 

 at night. 



