March 25, 1017 



M. E. PREISCH, NORTH TONA WANDA, N. 1. 

 PRESIDENT 



\V. W. KNKillT. INDIANAPOLIS, IND., 

 RETIRING PRESIDENT 



H. F. TAYLOR, BUFFALO, N. Y. 

 FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT 



X!BWSWiOi^^^STOi^;:>^OTW>t^)toiTOil^^ 



Enthusiasm and the recounting of unusual accomplishment of 

 rapidly developing importance and increasing consideration of the 

 bearing of modern methods in many other industries on lumbering, 

 marked the twenty-fifth annual meeting of the National Wholesale 

 Lumber Dealers ' Association held at the William Penn Hotel 

 Pittsburgh, Pa., on Wednesday and Thuusday, March 21 and 22. 



That the association is following in its lines of progress the most 

 advanced and modern methods was proven in reports on all phases 

 of the work; and the report of Secretary Perry, in departing from 

 the usual recounting of routine work, was devoted rather to a care- 

 ful analysis of the industry in so far as the wholesalers' organiza- 

 tion has a bearing on it, and a definition of the currents which 

 future work and plans must follow in order to most speedily bring 

 the work up to the highest possible standard of productive influence. 



Too much praise cannot be given to the members of the Pitts- 

 burgh Wholesale Lumber Dealers' Association which proved that its 

 reputation for accomplishment, and the promise extended to pros- 

 pective visitors of a thoroughly enjoj'able time while in the city 

 ■were altogether justified. 



WEDNESDAY MORNING SESSION 



President W. W. Knight called the meeting to order promptly 

 ■with the introduction of E. V. Babcock, who spoke as the direct 

 representative of the mayor. No one can more accurately convey a 

 feeling of genuine hospitality and appreciation of the privilege of 

 acting as host than can Mr. Babcock. No one can put on paper 

 the spirit of his utterances but the real cordiality of the Pitts- 

 burgh hosts indicated so generously in the material sense before was 

 proven in its spirit by Mir. Babcock 's talk. 



He was followed by acknowledgment in behalf of the visitors 

 by ML E. Preisch, first vice-president. Mr. Preisch praised the 

 many remarkable institutions of Pittsburgh and the personnel of the 

 Pittsburgh association, which had already been so clearly proven. 

 He left no doubt that the evidence of unusual welcome was 

 thoroughly appreciated by th.^ association. 



Col. J. M. Schoonmaker, of Pittsburgh, vice-president of the 

 Pennsylvania & Lake Erie Railroad, claimed that the backbone had 

 been taken from a speech which he had prepared by the taking unto 

 himself by Mr. Babcock of a story which Mr. Schoonmaker had 

 planned to build his talk on. So he talked informally, primarily 

 on the diflBculty of either the shipper or the carrier being able to 

 appreciate the viewpoint of the other. He expressed himself as 



—18— 



believing tliat the modern trend toward cooperation in all indus- 

 tries and between all branc^ies of each industry would ultimately 

 do much to effect a greater degree of understanding that would 

 make for the benefit of each. He linked his talk with lumbering 

 by describing the bra^e deed of a member of one of the regiments 

 which served under him in the Civil War, the hero being an 

 Alleghany river lumber jack. Colonel Schoonmaker himself having 

 been born in Pittsburgh when the rivers were bringing in to Pitts- 

 burgh thousands of logs from the richly timbered regions of Pennsyl- 

 vania. 



On motion, the roll call and minutes of previous meeting were 

 dispensed with and President Knight delivered his address, a sum- 

 mary of which follows: 



President Knight's Address 



I am very much ple.isoil t<i report that notwithstanilins the ilifflcultlps 

 in securing new nieiiibers, we have a larger membership than at any other 

 time in the history of the association, with possibly one exception when 

 an extraordinary eOFort was made for new memliers. many of whom later 

 dropped out tor sufficient reasons. During the year thirty applications for 

 membership have been received, and the usual ooiiimittees appointed, 

 "while the withdrawals have been only about half the usual number. 



I should like to call attention to the very excellent work being done 

 by the bureau of information. The very commendatory letters we receive 

 from those who are really benefiting from this work, lead me to urge those 

 who are not members of the bureau to become members, and get the results 

 obtained, by those using the service. In my opinion there should not he 

 any division of membership. ,\11 members of the association should be 

 uiembers of the bureau. The bureau files contain approximately SJj.OOO 

 reports, which are revised regularly and kept up to date, and are of ex- 

 treme value to the association, and are Insured in the sum of $2.5,000. 



The collection department is another of our most important depart- 

 ments, and is constantly increasing the work of the ofBce, to say nothing 

 of the many instances when through advance information, we have been 

 able to advise our members, and save them hundreds, and in some in- 

 stances, thousands of dollars. 



Not the least important work of your association is that conducted by 

 the railroad and transportation department. The work is of the modest 

 or retiring kind, because such a large amount of the work is not heard of 

 or seen, but our membership may realize to a slight degree the work en- 

 tailed by perusing carefully the many embargo notices which have been 

 sent out from our offices. These notices must all be edited and revised 

 most carefully, and the labor of getting them out is an endless task, but 

 I might add that in many instances these notices are In the hands of our 

 members hours and sometimes days before the local agents of the rail- 

 roads hear of them. 



During the year approximately 700,000 "Build with Lumber" posters 

 have been distributed, mostly to the retail dealers, and the repeat orders 

 indicate that they are producing results satisfactory to those using them. 



