March 25, 1917 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



21 



been intormed that the new insurance rate on logging in the state of N tLW 



York has been increased to 51S on every. $100 of payroll in that industry. 

 We also understand that the same rates are applicable to the sawmill. 

 Appointment of Committees 

 After anuouucement by F. K. Babcock of the elaborate plans for 



entertainment, President Knight appointed the following three 

 committees: Special committee to confer with retailers on terms 

 of sale, trade ethics, etc.; resolutions committee; nominations com- 

 mittee. 



The special committee was composed of F. S. Uuderliill, chair- 

 man, M. E. Preiseh, C. H. Hershle y, Charles Hill, J. W. McClure and 

 Horace Taylor. 



The nominating committee was as follows: F. K. Babcock, Guy 

 I. Buell, T. M. Brown, Gerard Powers, F. E. Dudley, Hugh McLean, 

 George W. Stevens, "W. E. Litchfield and C. H. Barnaby. 



The meeting then adjourned until 2:30. 



WEDNESDAY ATTERNOON SESSION 



The session of Wednesday afternoon was in reality not a part 

 of the meeting — the association lent its auspices to a general con- 

 ference on the traffic question, specifically on the matter of the 

 grave troubles resulting from present shipping difficulties. 



L. Germain, Jr., of Pittsburgh, occupied the chair and the only 

 formal business, the report of traffic manager W. S. Phippen, was 

 quickly disposed of by the motion that it be accepted without read- 

 ing and printed for distribution. Then the six hundred or more 

 men — lumbermen and important railroad officials — settled down 

 for what had promised to be an extremely fruitful session. 



Chairman Germain pointed that as the one big traffic matter 

 before the trade now is the impossibility of moving lumber, the 

 conference would be given over to consideration of that phase 

 to the exclusion of rate matters, reconsignments and other im- 

 portant matters. 



There is no question but tliat the chairman's pronouncement of a 

 sincere desire that frankness rule in all discussions was the senti- 

 ment of every lumberman present. The obvious deduction is that 

 the railroad people also were sincere in their desire to get some- 

 where else they would not have accepted the invitation to the 

 conference. However, it soon became evident that in spite of 

 the earnest sincerity of the lumbermen, they were groping in the 

 dark; they came with too great expectations of the result-producing 

 possibilities of the conference — too great a willingness to tl'ust to 

 some magic blending of ideas that would turn out a well defined 

 course of action along lines that would point the solution with cer- 

 tainty. They seemed to grope, as it were, for a sort of composite 

 picture of the plans of everybody which, when thrown out on the 

 screen in proper relief, would automatically indicate the solution. 

 Neerless to say there was considerable disappointment that notliing 

 more specific resulted than the final decision to appoint a committee 

 to co-ordinate the efforts of lumber shippers and co-oi)erate with the 

 railroads in every way possible, and continue to co-operate until 

 something specifically remedial had been accomplished. A factor 

 which imdoubtedly helped to minimize results was the apparent un- 

 willingness of the railroads to squarely face an issue — dodging was 

 the favorite method of answer. 



It must not be inferred from the above that the conference was 

 a failure — to the contrary, it was a huge success, and probably 

 one of the most fruitful from the standpoint of awakening a reali- 

 zation of the true and general > gravity of the situation. But as 

 far as the hope to there and then work out a cure-all for the pres- 

 ent conditions was concerned, that hope was fated from the be- 

 ginning to be blasted. 



Some of tlie main points brought out were that the roads are 

 without doubt discriminating agaiust lumber in almost all regions; 

 the roads are not making a sincere and general effort to play fair 

 with the lumbermen and help them to the utmost — as indicated 

 primarily by the lack of consistency between their statements and 

 their practices and policies; that the lumber trade is not tlie only 

 industry ' ' up against it ' ' as the carriers are probably as hard hit 

 as anybod}-; that the problem is fundamental and to be worked 

 out not over night, but only by diligent application; that the new 



ea^r service rules are already helping some but can be made im- 

 mensely more effective by a more general study and understanding 

 of these rules by both the shipper and the personnel of the rail- 

 road systems; that one of the primary causes of continued chaos is 

 lack of loyalty among minor railroad employees — lack of sincere 

 regard for the immense responsibility to the nation which, rests 

 on their shoulders. 



Many speakers took part in the discussions, many questions were 

 propounded bj- shippers and their answers attempted by the car- 

 riers. 



The keynote speech was made by W. H. Mauss, assistant to 

 the vice-president in charge of commercial development of the 

 Baltimore & Ohio system. Mr. Mauss spoke in the absence of 

 Vice-President Thompson, who had expected to come but who was 

 held in conference with federal officials on traffic matters. 



Mr. Mauss was supposed to handle the matter from the railroad 

 standpoint without gloves, and announced his intention of so do- 

 ing — and he fulfilled his promise to the extent of giving a great 

 deal of interesting information bearing on the fundamental fea- 

 tures of the present economic and industrial situation. He did 

 not, however, appear so gloveless in his handling of the specific 

 attitude of the roads toward the present difficulties. In fact his 

 very able talk did not touch that question in an intimate way. 

 Undoubtedly, though, his course was wisely taken, for a failure to 

 grasp the basic reasons for industrial changes is one of the weak 

 points of American business life. It was Mr. Mauss who first pro- 

 pounded the theory that lack of lovalty among the thousands of 

 minor employes of any railroad system has an immensely 

 detrimental effect upon the efficiency of that system. He pointed to 

 an equally serious influence, cause d by the reflection of the public 

 distrust and dislike for the railroad, upon the employe who is 

 bound to feel the same antagonism and to give of his work grudg- 

 ingly- 



Mr. Mauss, in fact, indicated that he considers the present 

 troubles as resulting as much from the attitude, scarcity and grow- 

 ing inefficiency of labor as to the scarcity of cars and motive 

 power. 



Mr.. Mauss maintained that the present startling conditions in 

 the national life are due to two fundamental and unchangeable 

 conditions — the undeviating tendency to balance supply and de- 

 mand and the basic law that increasing the gold reserve of the 

 country inversely affects the purchasing power of the dollar. He 

 said that the dollar today wiU buy what thirty cents would have 

 purchased fifteen years ago. 



On the question of supply and demand Mr. Mauss made the fol- 

 lowing statements, the significance of which are self evident: 



Population has increased in the decade up to 1910 by 21% ; 



The food cereal production of the country increased by only 1.7 per cent 

 while the production of meat producing animals decreased by 10% ; 



The wool production decreased by 28 per cent ; 



The wheat production in 1916 was 699,000,000 bu.— 386,000,000 bu. less 

 than 1915 ; 



The production this year will be about 600,000,000 bu. ; 



The export oJ wheat in 1916 was 24 per cent of the total ; 



Tbe wheat consumption in this country per capita was 6.6 bu. in 1910 

 and 4.7 hn. in 1916 ; 



Australian wheat production for 1917 shows 25% less than 1916; 



Argentine Republic will produce only enough wheat to fill its own needs ; 



France showed 26% decrease in wheat in 1916 from 1915 figures; the 

 prospect this year is poor; 



The production of potatoes in the U. S. shoj'ed a decrease in 1916 of 

 30 per cent from 1915 ; and where we imported 8,000,000 bus^hels per year 

 before the war we now import none. 



Speaking of the monetary situation Mr. Mauss went into details 

 regarding the bearing of gold reserve on purchasing power, with 

 conclusions already noted. He said: that since the war started 

 the gold reserve of France has increased by. $157,000,000; Germany's 

 has increased by $529,000,000; Holland's has increased by $122,- 

 000,000 in one and one-half years, and England's has been de- 

 creased by $76,000,000. Nine hundred and sixty millions in golrl 

 have come to this country since the war started. 



Speaking of the effects of wars on costs of staples lie said, that 

 during the Mexican war food and clothing went up 8 per cent; 



