Lumber IS/lanufacturers Meet 



The fifteenth annual meeting of the National Lumber Manufac. 

 turers' Association was held in Chicago April 4 and 5 Much of 

 the time was taken up with a plan for the reorganizatiou of the 

 association. In addition, there were a number of reports by officers 

 concerning special lines of work, or the general activities of the 



association. . „ ,, ■ ^ ti,„ „„f:,. 



The report of Secretary E. S. Kellogg went fully into the activ- 

 ities of the association during the past year, and was distributed 

 in printed form, convenient for the preservation of the valuable 

 statistics which it contained. The fact was emphasized that the 

 day of organized industry is at hand and that means must be 

 found for taking full advantage of the situation. 

 Reorganization Work 

 The new board of directors, which was named at an early ses- 

 sion at the Hotel La Salle, was made up as follows: 



A L Paine, Hoquiam, Wash.; E. B. Hazen, Portland, Ore.; J. H. 

 Bloedel, Seattle, Wash.; B. G. Griggs, Tacoma, Wash.; E. D. Kings- 

 ley, Portland, Ore.; E. A. Selfridge, Jr., San Francisco, Cal.; B^H. 

 Hornby Dover, Idaho; D. C. Eccles, Ogden, Utah; J. W. Embree, Chi- 

 cago; Charles S. Keith. Kansas City, Mo.; W. H. Sullivan, Bogalusa 

 La • J H. Kirby, Houston, Tex.; F. G. Wisner, Laurel, Miss.; Edward 

 Hin'es, Chicago; H. C. Hornby, Cloquet, Minn.; B. B. Burns, Hun- 

 tington W Va.; W. Frazier Jones, Jacksonville, Fla.; R. H. Down- 

 man, New Orleans, La.; E. G. Swartz, Burton, La.; A. R. Turnbull, 

 Norfolk Va.; D. O. Anderson, Marion, S. C; R. B. Goodman. Good- 

 man Wis • C H Worcester, Chicago; W. C. Hull, Traverse City. 

 Mich.; J. W. Blodgett, Grand Rapids, Mich.; W. E. DeLaney. Lex- 

 ington, Ky.; and W. A. Gilchrist, New York, N. T. 



Three vacancies on the board were left open, to be filled if new 

 associations become members. 



A committee to take up a reorganization plan was named at 

 the LaSalle meeting, consisting of E. A. Selfridge, Willets, Cal., 

 chairman; B. B. Allen, Seattle, Wash.; A. W. Cooper, Spokane, 

 Wash.; E. T. Allen, Portland, Ore.; A. E. Turnbull, Norfolk, Va., 

 and C. S. Keith, Kansas City, Mo. 



At an executive session consisting of the presidents and secre- 

 traies of the affiliated associations, held later, a committee was 

 appointed to make a report on the reorganization plan, and this 

 committee consisted of E. D. Kingsley and E. T. Allen, Portland, 

 Ore.; W. B. Eoper, Norfolk, Va.; H. B. Heeves, Jeanerette, La.; 

 J. E.' Ehodes, New Orleans, La.; T. J. Humbird, Sand Point, Idaho; 

 P. E. Gadd, Cincinnati, and W. H. Sullivan, Bogalusa, La. 



This committee took up the work of reorganization and later 

 submitted a report in which the outline of a plan was sketched, 

 but the committee stated it was impossible in such a report to 

 take up all the activities which should be undertaken by the 

 National Association. The general statement was made that all 

 the work should be nation-wide in character and purely local mat- 

 ters should form no part of the work. 



Duplication of work by the national and. the affiliated associa- 

 tions was one thing that should be avoided under the new plan. 

 Conferences between the secretaries of the National and of the 

 affiliated associations should be held for the purpose of so planning 

 the work that depulcation of efforts would be reduced to a mini- 

 mum. 



Close track should be kept of national legislation affecting lum- 

 ber interests as a whole. All departments of the association should 

 be in one city, and it is recommended that the credit corporation 

 be moved from St. Louis to Chicago. 



An assessment of three-quarters of a cent per one thousand feet 

 of lumber produced was one of the recommendations of the new 

 plan. The present plan provides about $60,000 a year revenue, while 

 the suggested plan will yield $130,000 annually. 



It is recommended that organizations of timber owners which 

 may be directly benefited by the work to be done become affiliated 

 with the national association upon som« basis to be worked out, 

 and when they become so affiliated they should have equitable 

 representation on the board of directors. 



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For the purpose of carrying out the work and thoroughly co-or- 

 dinating the various departments, it was recommended that a man- 

 ager be appointed for the National Lumber Manufacturers' Asso- 

 ciation. He should be a man of wide experience, with good execu- 

 tive ability, and should have general charge of all activities of 

 the association, including the credit corporation and insurance ex- 

 change, subject to the president and board of directors. 



The further consideration of this plan was postponed until Junfr 

 20 and meanwhile the work will continue as in the past. 

 The Extension Department 

 A concise report of the activities of the extension department 

 was made by the manager, E A. Sterling. The principal point 

 V)rought out was that the work cannot be further expanded until 

 an increase in available funds has been made. There is plenty of 

 work to do and calls come for enlarged activities, but no proper 

 response can be made for want of funds. The appropriation has 

 been $50,000 a year, and Mr. Stirling was confident that twice- 

 that sum would be needed to take care of all the work that ought 

 to be done. 



One of the pressing needs is for means to look after building 

 codes in cities. New codes are being adopted and old ones re- 

 vised, and unless some one takes an active interest to see that 

 wood construction is not discriminated against, there is danger 

 that wood will lose in many cties. 



The credit corporation work was covered by a report from W. 

 F. Biedeman, superintendent. The Blue Book is being published 

 at a greatly increased expense, due to the greater cost of paper. 

 The collecting work of the department is making progress and is 

 meeting demands made upon it. 



The Hardwood Association 

 A report was made by F. E. Gadd dealing with the work being 

 done in the Hardwood Manufacturers' Association of the United 

 States, and referring particularly to the new plan adopted by that 

 association by which members are kept posted on the actual con- 

 ditions in the market. He went into somewhat minute details as 

 to what the association stands for and what it has undertaken to 

 accomplish. 



Correct grading of lumber is one of the primary purposes of 

 the Hardwood Manufacturers' Association, and it maintains a 

 force of inspectors competent to interpret and apply the grading 

 rules. Mill instruction and reinspection service are furnished. 



Statistics showing stocks and sales are gathered, and a system 

 of commercial reports is maintained. This consists of an exchange 

 of ledger experiences among members. From time to time a bulle- 

 tin is issued containing matters of interest to members; and a 

 weekly market letter is sent out, reflecting the market conditions 

 throughout the entire field. 



The open price competition plan was inaugurated last year. The 

 purpose of this plan is to disseminate among members accurate 

 Isnowledge of production and market conditions so that each mem- 

 ber may gage the market intelligently instead of guessing at it; 

 to make competition open and above board instead of secret and 

 concealed; to substitute, in estimating market conditions, frank and 

 full statements of our competitors for the frequently misleading 

 and colored statements of the buyer. 



This is an innovation, but times are changing and with the 

 times business methods. Secrecy is yielding to publicity and men 

 are coming out into the open and dealing more fairly with one 

 another. The basis of the old competition was secrecy. The 

 strength of the new is knowledge. Only broadminded and far- 

 sighted men have the patience to follow a plan of this kind and 

 wait for results. 



The advantage of this plan as a matter of public policy must 

 be self-evident. The advantage of a stable market to both the 

 buyer and the seller is well known. A large part of the time wasted 

 ill arguing over prices and the various maneuvering on the part 



