HARDWOOD RECORD 



February 10, 1917 



Outlike of Repobts to Be Made 



1. Production reports. 



2. Sales Reports, this means orders taken. 



3. Shipping reports. 



4. Stock reports. 



5. Price lists. 



0. Inspection reports. 



Production Reports bt Members 

 Production reports are to be made to the secretary monthly by each mem- 

 ber with the grades and thicknesses classified as above set out. The 

 monthly report Is to be made out whether there is any production or not 

 so that the secretary's record will be complete and he may know at all 

 times whether or not he has full data from each member. Forms will be 

 furnished by the secretary as soon as they can be prepared, but in the 

 meantime members are requested to send the information without the 

 lorms. Report must be mailed by members not later than the eighth of 

 each month. 



Production Reports bt Secretary to Members 

 The secretary will send once a month to each member of the association, 

 a summary of the production for the previous month of all the members, 

 sub-divided as to grade, kind, thickness, etc.. this report to be mailed to 

 the members not later than the fifteenth of each month and to cover the 

 preceding calendar month. Production of each member is not to be shown 

 separately. 



Sales Report 

 The sales report shall be made daily and show all sales and cancellations 

 made that day. The report is to be made daily whether any sales or can- 

 cellations are made or not in order to make the secretary's record com- 

 plete. These reports are to be exact copies of orders taken and to include 

 all sales, large or small, and to include all special agreements of every kind 

 In reference to price, grade or terms, whether the agreement is written or 

 verbal. 



The members making sales to themselves or allied companies for flooring 

 plant or other manufacturing purposes should report this to the secre- 

 tary, but it will not be included in the report to members, the purpose being 

 to enable the secretary to keep balances correctly. 



Stock made from offal, such as slabs and edgings, is not to be reported. 

 B'or the purijose of the sales report a carload shall be considered as con- 

 taining 15,000 feet of rough lumber, 12,000 feet of bill stock or 20,000 

 feet of surfaced lumber. 



In reporting to the members the secretary will divide the customers 

 Into two classes known as class A and class B. Class A shall include all 

 wholesalers, retail yards and all others who resell excepting exporters, and 

 may include those put in class A by unanimous consent of the members. 

 Class B shall include all consumers who do not resell the stock as lum- 

 ber. It shall also include exporters. 



Class A reports to the members shall show the -quantity, grade, kind 

 and thickness, giving the name of the member selling, the name of the cus- 

 tomer, the price, the place shipped and f. o. b. what point price is made. 

 If price is not f. o. b. destination the secretary's office will adjust the price 

 in reporting so that the report will show the price f. o. b. destination. 



The reports of class B shall be the same as class A with the following 

 exceptions ; The name of the shipper, the name of the customer and the 

 place shipped is not to be shown on the secretary's reports or to be known 

 to the members without the consent of the shipper. In place of the actual 

 destination the prices will be figured back to a Cincinnati basis and the re- 

 ports will show into what territory the lumber is shipped. The secretary 

 shall, however, give to each reporting member the price at which other 

 members are selling any consumer, without giving the name of seller unless 

 by consent of the seller. A member may write the secretary of his desire 

 to disclose the name of a customer he is selling, to others selling this cus- 

 tomer without giving any names and after getting replies, the secretary 

 shall make disclosure of the name of the customer among those willing to 

 have their names given to others selling this customer. 

 ' Class A and B reports are both to be made weekly and mailed by secre- 

 tary not later than S'aturday of each week and to include figures up to 

 Tuesday night of the same week. 



Sales to members for direct shipment are to be reported to the secretary 

 but are not to be reported by the secretary to the members. The reason 

 for dividing the customers into two classes are first that the grade basis 

 upon which lumber is sold to wholesalers and yards is more nearly standard 

 and therefore the prices offer a better basis of comparison. Furthermore 

 the wholesalers and retail yards buy in the open market, are known to 

 practically all the members and it was thought where there might be ob- 

 jection to giving the names of all customers at first, there would be no 

 objection to giving the names of those included under class .\. The pro- 

 vision that any buyer can be placed under Class A by unanimous consent 

 is expected to result in a gradual enlargement of class A as time goes on 

 and the plan opens up more fully by actual operation. 



A number of members will object to immediately gi%'ing full information 

 on those under class B for the reason that many consumers use special 

 grades and a good many manufacturers would feel that they were giving 

 away trade secrets by disclosing this information. It ,is believed by the 

 committee that this objection will gradually disappear. 

 Shipping Reports 

 Shipping reports are to be made daily by members in the same manner 

 and under the same provisions as govern reports of sales, to include exact 



copy of the invoice, all special agreements as to terms, grade, etc. Cus- 

 tomers having several mills may consolidate their reports as if they rep- 

 resented one plant. The shipping report should show the order number. 

 The secretary shall make reports of shipment to all members, classifying 

 them under A and B exactly as provided for under the heading of sales, 

 this report to be mailed by Tuesday of each week and to include report up 

 to Thursday night of the previous week. 



Stock Reports 

 Each member shall report monthly to the secretary showing the amount 

 of stock in each grade, kind and thickness on hand the first of the month. 

 This report is to be made in three columns. The first two columns are to 

 show the total stock on hand both sold and unsold divided into green and 

 dry. The third column is to show the total stock of each kind, grade and 

 thickness sold. In figuring carload orders the standard footage stipulated 

 for each car shall be used in arriving at the number of feet sold. The 

 division of lumber into green and dry shall be made according to the stan- 

 dards adopted by the firm reporting as to whether stock is green or dry 

 enough for shipment. These reports are to be made as soon after the first 

 of the month as is possible and should reach the secretary's office not later 

 than the fifth of the month. 



The secretary will compile all reports into one report showing the indi- 

 vidual stock of each member as reported and also a summary of all stocks 

 green and dry sold and unsold. 



Price Lists 



Price lists are to be filed by each member with the secretary at the be- 

 ginning of each month at the same time of filing the stock reports, either 

 as a separate list or by putting the prices on the stock list. Prices are to 

 be made f. o. b. shipping point and this shipping point is to be given in the 

 report or prices may be made on same basis as members usually make their 

 price lists. Changes of prices are to he filed with the association currently 

 as soon as they are made. It is not compulsory for any member to follow 

 the price list or the changes which he reports to the association. 



Not later than the tenth of each month the secretary will send out a 

 summary of these price lists showing the prices asked by each member and 

 as soon as any changes are reported by any member this information shall 

 be immediately transmitted by the secretary to all members. 



Each member shall furnish the secretary freight rates to following points 

 from basing point in his price list: 



Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Boston, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, 

 Buffalo, New York and Columbus. 



Inspection Reports 



An inspection service is to be established for the purpose of checking up 

 grades as hereafter detailed : 



1. The chief inspector and sufficient assistants to do the work properly 

 shall be employed by the association to take care of mill and market inspec- 

 tion. It is estimated that it will require perhaps one inspector per 50,000,- 

 000 feet of mill production to take care of the mill end at the beginning ; 

 it will perhaps require a smaller number of Inspectors later. 



2. The purpose of the mill inspection service shall be as follows : 



(a To check up the green graders and make a report showing a direct 

 comparison between the mill grading and the association grades on the 

 same stock. 



(b) To get a check on grades and measurements of each mill on ship- 

 ments to customers under class A. The inspector shall make a reiwrt to 

 the secretary showing the grading of the mill on these shipments and also 

 showing the association inspector's grading on the same shipment. This 

 report to go to all members. 



(c) The association inspectors shall check up grades and measurements 

 on shipments to customers under class B when requested by any member 

 and agreed to by the member shipping. 



3. The inspectors are to attend to the usual inspection duties as now 

 carried on and to be rotated between different mills and market inspection 

 work. They arc also to be cliecked up by the chief inspector at frequent 

 intervals and the chief inspector shall get them together at least once in 

 60 days for instructions. Members are to be advised of these meetings in 

 advance and shall have a right to be present themselves or to send their in- 

 spectors. Upon special requests of members individual association Inspec- 

 tors shall be made the subject of special checks under such restrictions as 

 the grading committee of the association may deem advisable. 



4. The inspection work is to he at the expense of the association and 

 any extra expense caused by rehandling the stock is to be paid for by the 

 association. 



5. Special rulings by the grading committee on any points are to be sent 

 to members promptly. 



6. Members are not to employ association inspectors without the con- 

 sent of the grading committee. 



7. It is not the purpose of the inspection to change any member's grad- 

 ing, or to instruct the member's inspectors to grade in any other manner 

 than that desired by the member. The purpose is to furnish each member 

 a basis upon which he can compare his prices with those of other members, 

 thereby making the price reports more intelligible and accurate. It is of 

 course intended that member's inspectors shall be fully instructed in the 

 association grades when desired by the members. 



Miscellaneous Provisions in Regard to Reports 

 The following basis of weights is to be used by the secretary in figur- 

 ing freights : 



