March 10, 1917 



The Lumhermans Round Table 



Selling Lumber Abroad 



If the Webb bill, authorizing combinations for foreign selling opera- 

 tions, is finally converted into law, as seems likely, in spite of its 

 failure of enactment by the Sixty-fourth Congress, liunber manufac- 

 turers, and hardwood operators particularly, will have an opportunity 

 to bring about a much needed improvement in the methods of handling 

 export business. 



The weakness and inadequacy of the consignment plan were pretty 

 thoroughly demonstrated before the beginning of the European war; 

 and the statement was heard more than once at that time that direct 

 representation would be the cue thereafter. In fact, one instance 

 is known where a big hardwood manufacturer was in New York, 

 with passage for Europe engaged, when the powers began to take 

 pot-shots at each other: whereupon the reservation was canceled, and 

 he came back home. 



The larger houses maintained their own salaried representatives in 

 the leading English and German markets, having found out that to 

 ship on consignment, trusting their lumber or logs to the fluctuations 

 of the market and the altruism of the brokers, was too risky for com- 

 fort. They may be expected to continue this policy after the war 

 is over, whereas the smaller operators alone can obviously not finance 

 a foreign sales organization. But a number of operators could. 



The Webb bill wUl make it possible for co-operation along this line 

 to be put into effect, and for foreign sales to be handled in a manner 

 just as businesslike and just as effective from the standpoint of the 

 manufacturer as those that are made for domestic delivery. 



Possibilities in South America 



The most obvious export markets for American hardwoods up to this 

 time have been Great Britain, Germany, Scandinavia and other Euro- 

 pean countries. South America is now in the limelight as a buyer 

 of many United States products, and there is no reason why the 

 lumber business should not be expanded in that direction. 



Here, too, the operations of the Webb law, anticipating its final 

 enactment and approval, promise to make it easier to open up this 

 field. It would be easily possible for a group of non-competuig manu- 

 facturers to co-operate in the employment of a representative there, 

 who would not only arrange for sales, but could investigate consuming 

 and credit conditions. A sales ofiice of this type could represent 

 manufacturers of different kinds of hardwood liunber, veneers, panels, 

 etc., and even woodworking machinery. The larger the volume of 

 sales, the smaller, of course, would be the selling expense. 



The Webb law promises to be especially helpful to the smaller 

 operator, who heretofore has been denied independent sales repre- 

 sentation, and has been forced either to neglect export markets or 

 sell on consignment. It would be a good idea to consider this plan 

 now, so that when it becomes available, it will be easy to put it into 

 operation. 



Hospital for Lumber Mill 



Because of the larger scale on which their operations are handled, 

 as a rule, yellow pine mills have had up to this time almost exclusive 

 claim to important welfare activities, such as the establishment of 

 hospitals for their employes. The hardwood trade, however, will soon 

 be able to ' ' point with pride ' ' in this way, as arrangements have 

 been completed for the erection and equipment of a hospital at 

 Charleston, Miss., by the Lamb-Fish Lumber Company. 



W. B. Burke, general manager of the company, reported the letting 

 of the building contract about a month ago, and it is expected that 

 the equipment will be purchased about AprU 1, so that the hospital 

 should be ready for use in thirty days thereafter. The hospital will 

 be up-to-date in all respects, and will be used not only for injured 

 employes, but for those of their families who become ill and need 

 the services of physicians and nurses. 



The big industry in an isolated community is expected in this 

 twentieth century to exercise the same sort of general supervision over 

 the welfare of its people as did the nobility in the days of vassalage. 

 The modern manufacturer, in other words, must not only give employ- 



ment, but must protect the health and well-being of his employes and 

 their families. His hospital is a community asset, instead of merely 

 a feature of plant equipment. 



Maple for Auto Frames 



Conditions in consuming industries are constantly changing, which 

 is one reason why lumbermen must be on the alert to note these 

 changes and their probable effect on the demand. This feature has 

 been commented on heretofore in this department, and it is again 

 illustrated by the contracts which are being let by automobile manu- 

 facturers for material with which to build the frames of their cars. 



Last year ash was the principal material used, especially by those 

 makino- high-priced cars, though it was reported later in the season 

 that some elm and gum were being put to use in this way. Detroit 

 manufacturers have recently been contracting for maple for frame 

 construction, substituting this material for ash. And the change was 

 not made on account of any difficulty of getting ash or because the 

 price was considered excessive, though maple may be had at smaller 

 cost than the other wood. ^ 



The reason, as explained by a leading hardwood manufacturer who 

 supplied ash for the construction of a famous car last year and has 

 just contracted to furnish maple during 1917, is that steel has to be 

 substituted for aliuninum in the construction of bodies. The scarcity 

 of aluminum, which is another war material, has made it impossible 

 to continue its use ; and as the steel is to be 'worked over the wood 

 frame, a harder material than ash had to be used. Aluminum, having 

 more elasticity than steel, could be worked with ash to good advantage, 

 but the engineers of the company did not consider this wood suitable 

 when steel had to be used in combination with it. 



Conversation as Sales Ammunition 



Some salesmen approach a buyer with a definite line of argument, 

 intended to convince him that he should buy their lumber. Others 

 merely converse, hoping that some time or other there will come an 

 opportunity to get through the guard of their adversary for a 

 knockout. 



These conversational artists use up a lot of their own time, and 

 as much of the other fellows' as the latter will permit. Some of 

 them make good, their conversational skUl being developed to such 

 an extent that a buyer is overwhelmed or enmeshed in it. But the 

 chances which a salesman of this type gets to exercise his marathon 

 conversational proclivities are distinctly limited, and buyers who 

 learn their methods are slow to give them appointments. 



The fact of the matter is that common sense in selling works 

 just as common sense in other lines does. The salesman who knows 

 what he has to offer, in relation to the needs of the buyer, and who' 

 offers it without frUls or furbelows, is going to get action, anyway; 

 it won't take long for him to find out where he stands. If he isn't 

 going to get business at one place, he proceeds promptly to the next; 

 and thus he makes more calls and has more chances to do business than 

 the long-distance talker, who ' ' sticks around, ' ' hoping that the 

 buyer wUl relent aud hand him an order. 



The latter type of salesmen grow fat and lazy, and get to the point 

 where serious exertion in the matter of ground-covering is decidedly 

 distasteful to them. When they have reached that stage, they would 

 rather sit in a hotel lobby and discuss ' ' conditions"' ' with other sales- 

 men than get out and hustle for business. 



The man whose report consists chiefly of analyses of the business 

 situation, rather than orders, is getting into the political economist 

 class, and his value as a producer of business is reaching the minimum. 

 Such a man, if he has good personality and has made friends as he 

 went along, will continue to get some business from these old standbys; 

 but he won't put on many new accounts. The value of the latter to a 

 business that hopes to grow is incalculable, and the contributions of 

 salesmen to the permanent prosperity of the house may almost be 

 measured in their ability to create new business. 



And conversation, even though 99.44 per cent pure, won't turn 

 the trick. 



