22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



llarch 25, i917 



during tlie Crimean war, 14 per cent; during the Civil war, from 

 1861 to 1862, food increased 10 jier cent and clothing 24 per cent, 

 and in 1865 the increase had become 116 per cent for food and 

 199 per cent for clothing. He made the observation that prices 

 never get back to ante-bellum levels. 



As showing the economic effect of the war, he said that with 

 16,000,000 men under arms and three workers being needed to sup- 

 jiort one soldier, there are in Europe 64,000,000 people who have 

 been turned from constructive effort to destructive effort. 



Mr. Mauss made the startling statement that present turbulent 

 conditions must continue until 1928, basing his deduction on the 

 following conditions: 



Industrial war must follow the present war until a permanent alignment 

 of the commerce of the various nations has been reached. 



The warring countries are already making vast preparations for thf 

 new war which consists in part of the preparations of plans to induce 

 active workers to return from this country to their old homes and the 

 prevention of emigation of producers to this country. 



The result will be immigration mainly of cripples and women and hence 

 until the new generation becomes of productive age here in 1028 labor will 

 control the market and the conclusion is obvious. 



Mr. Mauss' talk was followed by the general discussion which 

 culminated in the resolution, after which the meeting adjourned 

 until Thursday. 



THURSDAY MORNING SESSION 

 The second day of the big convention was marked by two of 

 the best addresses ever heard by luhibermen anywhere. J. Rogers 

 Plannery led off in the morning with a discussion on foreign trade. 

 He is chairman of the Foreign Trade Commission of Pittsburgh, 

 and for the past two years has made an exhaustive study of the 

 possibilities of increasing business over the sea. Mr. Flannery told 

 the lumbermen that whereas the capacity of the lumber mills in 

 this country is now 170,000,000,000 fe(ft per year, the entire pro- 

 duction was only 42,000,000,000 feet in 1916. "Foreign trade 

 markets, ' ' he said, ' ' offer a pana cea for the two diflBculties which 

 now beset lumber manufacturers in the United States, namely, 

 over production and the constant and rai>id increase in the cost of 

 making lumber and of shipping it." Mr. Flannery argued that 

 the reason why lumbermen have not taken up tliis phase of the 

 world's market before was because our foreign trade amounted to 

 $49 per capita before the war, while our domestic trade last year 

 amounted to $400 per capita. This domestic market has held back 

 the development of foreign trade in his opinion. He reviewed 

 briefly the measmres now being taken by the ITnited States govei'n- 

 ment to help manufacturers, especially lumbermen, get into the 

 foreign market successfully • and urged every manufacturer and 

 wholesaler of lumber to give this matter the most careful study. 

 Modem Salesmanship 



Edward A. Woods, manager of the Edward A. Woods Agency of 

 the Equitable Life Assurance Society, brought home to several 

 hundred lumbermen a wonderfully broad vision of the possibilities 

 of salesmanship. "As the world gets larger," Mr. Woods said, 

 "the matter of distribution gets more important. The world's 

 greatest rewards are now going to salesmen. These men must 

 have a knowledge of their product and their customers. They are 

 not born salesmen. They mu.st possess the four qualities of con- 

 vincingness, good appearance, steady work and initiative." Mr. 

 Woods made a hit with his hearers by saying tliat the modern 

 idea of salesmanship is the satisfaction of both buyer and seller. 

 He spoke of the closer approach to real ethical and religious 

 motives and methods in salesmanship and reviewed briefly the 

 field of education along the, line of instruction in salesmanship. 



J. C. Donges, president of the J. C. Donges Lumber Company of 

 Pittsburgh, read an interesting report as a delegate to the National 

 Foreign Trade Council which met in Pittsburgh in January. 



A feature of the meeting was the address of Colvin Brown, 

 chief of the organization bureau of the United States Chamber of 

 Commerce. Mr. Brown' gave the delegates some splendid informa- 

 tion about how the government is prepared to help business men, 

 and especially about how this bureau is trying to find the point of 

 contact with the 855 commercial organizations of this country. 



This is being done, he said, along certain special and well defined 

 lines, including agriculture, fire hazard, paint-up and elean-up 

 campaigns, credit bureaus and courts of business arbitration. The 

 purpose is to get commercial associations to think and act more 

 intelligently along community association and development lines. 



Charles H. Prescott, counsellor of the lumbermen in the Chamber 



of Commerce of the United States, made an interesting report of 



that body's convention at Washington, and methods being taken to 



help along national trade development. The report follows in part: 



Report on U. S. Chamber of Commerce 



Thi» National Chamlior went into its convention at Washington, D. C. 

 January 31, 1917, with an organization membership of 870, from 48 

 states and our insular possessions, the American chambers of commerce in 

 Paris. Berlin, Milan, Naples, Constantinople, Shanghai, Eio de Janeiro 

 and Buenos Aires, and with an individual membership of 5,000, the limit 

 provided by the by-laws, with 300 on the waiting list — In all, an under- 

 lying membership of 383,058 and was really the most representative gath- 

 ering of its kind ever convened in America, there being in attendance over 

 600 national councillors, and over 1,200 delegates, representing all sec- 

 tions of the country, and all branches of commerce and industry. 



President Khett's opening address indicated in broad views and clear 

 conception of the commercial and industrial conditions of this country, 

 and the need of constant study, close co-operation and united action 

 through some such medium to insure due consideration of important sub- 

 jects vitally affecting our national problems by both administrative and 

 legislative branches of our government. 



Other able speakers addressed the convention on topics of great im- 

 portance, including "The Railroad Situation," "National Defense," "In- 

 ilustrial Relation," "Conditions After the War," "The International High 

 Commission" au'l "Education for Foreign Trade." 



Forestry Committee's Report 



The report of the forestry' committee was made by J. R. Williams, 

 chairman. It alluded to the general need of forestry to provide for 

 the needs of the future, and pointed out that a forest policy cannot 

 be carried out with success unless it is supported by public senti- 

 ment. In the past the activities of the people have been devoted to 

 cutting timber and selling it, and little thought was given to the 

 problems of providing for the future. A radical change is taking 

 place. Efforts are being made to provide lumber for the generation 

 which shall follow us. These commendable efforts vary grealty in 

 different regions. In some places they amount to little, in others 

 considerable progress has been made. Pennsylvania was cited as a 

 state that has become a leader in forestry work. 



. THURSDAY AFTERNOON SESSION 



The afternoon was taken up largely with reports of committees 

 and the election of officers. 



The committee on transportation reported in part as follows: 



Report on Transportation 



The serious freight congestion resulting in car shortage and nunuMMUis 

 embargoes has played havoc with the lumber industry. It has been dllH- 

 cult for mills to get cars to move more than a small percentage of their 

 normal output and when cars have been obtained, embargoes have, in many 

 instances, prohibited the movement of shipments to the desired destina- 

 tions. 



We have been deluged with requests for permits and requests to locate 

 and effect delivery of shipments delayed en route. Recently I appcart-d 

 before the Car Service Commission in Washington and emphasized the 

 necessity for action on the part of the carriers to permit the freer move- 

 ment of lumber and I was assured that the nuitter would receive special 

 consideration. While a decided improvement might reasonably bo ex- 

 pected with the advi'iit of spring and better weather coniliticuis, other fac- 

 tors have aris™ which certainly do not tend to l)righten the situation. It 

 is. however, my opinion that the carriers are not accepting and transpo)-t- 

 ing a fair share of lumber in proportion to the total tonnagi' of all com- 

 modities which is being handled and it appears to me that this point 

 would be well worthy of your consideration. 



At the annual meeting In Philadelphia March 15-10, a resolution was 

 adopted endorsing Bill II. R. (551, known as the Keating bill. The object 

 of this bill was to stop the practice, which seems to be more or less preva- 

 lent among carriers, of rendering undercharge bills long after shipments 

 have been delivered and demanding settlement on pain of suit. This prac- 

 tice has caused much annoyance and financial loss, especially to whole- 

 salers, who. after having made settlement with the mills, have in many 

 instances been forced to pay undercharges with no opportunity of obtain- 

 ing redress. This bill provides in substance that 11 shall he the duly of 

 carriers to demand of the party legally liable (lu'refor, payment of all of 

 the charges for any service in the transportation of property within ninety 

 days from the time of the delivery of the shipment and provides a penalty 

 for failure so to do. It also provides that all suits by common carriers 

 for the recovery of charges for any service in the transportation of prop- 



