22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



been thoroughly Umkod after ou the Pacific coast, and a campaign 

 has been and is still being waged, notably in Portland, where the 

 public is finding out that eastern oak can be found and furnished, 

 and is beginning to realize the great difference in value between the 

 American product and the cheap Japanese substitute. 



The writer notes that nearly four billion feet of oak lumber is 

 produced in America annually from American forests, and the coun- 

 try is heavily exporting oak to Great Britain and the Continent, 

 while probably not over ten to twelve million feet of Japanese oak 

 is brought into the country annually. It has been found by archi- 

 tects and competent builders that the oriental oak fails as a substi- 

 tute for American varieties, as it will not stand up under any 

 reasonable test. It is coarse-grained, brash and softer than native 

 oak, and has a great propensity to cup when made into flooring; 

 and furthermore lacks the rich tone and fine texture of eastern oak. 



As a matter of fact discriminating buyers will pay ten to fifteen 

 dollars more for American oak than for the Japanese competitive 

 wood. The more Siberian oak flooring is put into use, the harder 

 it is to sell similar flooring to the same man for another house. 



The writer believes these statements, which apply largely to the 

 Portland district, to be equally true of Los Angeles and San Fran- 

 cisco. He thinks all will verify the statement that this eastern oak 

 is in great preference, especially for flooring use, over the Siberian 

 oak, and that the latter is steadily losing ground, notwithstanding that 

 it is sold at cut-throat prices. 



The writer continues that eastern oak and oak flooring manu- 

 facturers can disabuse their minds that Japanese oak flooring is in 

 any danger of displacing American oak. 



Forthcoming Lumber Association Meetings 



The Nashville Lumbermen's Club will have its annual meeting 

 and a dinner to sundry guests on Tuesday evening, January 1(5. 



The Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen's Association will hold its 

 annual meefing at Evansville on Thursday, January 18. This is 

 the annual home-coming of every loyal Indiana hardwood man, and 

 will doubtless be well attended. 



The National Lumber Kxjiorters ' Association will hold its an- 

 nual meeting at Washington. D. C, Thursday and Friday, January 

 2.5 and 26. 



The Hardwood Maiiutacturers ' Association of the United States 

 ■will hold its annual meeting at the Sinton hotel, Cincinnati, O., on 

 Tuesday and Wednesday, January 30 and 31. Secretary Doster 

 promises a program that will make every hardwood lumberman "sit 

 up and take notice."' 



The Yellow Pine Manufacturers' Association will hold its an- 

 nual meeting at New Orleans on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thurs- 

 day, February 6-8. 



The annual meeting of the Lumber Sales Managers' Association 

 wiU be held at the Auditorium hotel, Chicago, on Thursday and 

 Friday, February 1.5 and 16. Secretary Klann and the committee 

 having the program in charge promise a function that no lumber 

 sales manager can afford to miss. 



The National Wholesale Lumber Dealers' Association will lii>ld 

 its annual meeting in M;irch, at a ])lace yet to bo designated. 



The Wisdom of Knowing Where You Stand 



The cartoon in tlii.s is-siic ul ll.\i;ij'A <m,1) 1;i.( (jkd I'orcctullv eMijilLa- 

 sizes not only the desirability, but the absolute necessity of every 

 man in business, of which the lumber manufacturer or remanufac- 

 turer is no exception, of knowing "where he is at'' commercially, 

 at least once a year. This is the time for an annual appraisement 

 of all property, the listing of assets ami liabilities, and the striking 

 of a balance. This is the only way the wise business man keeps 

 cases on himself. 



Today it is not safe to figure on exaggerated values in making 

 appraisements, but every item should be scaled down to cash value. 

 This is notably true of sawmill, planing mill and general wood- 

 working equipment, while timber will still stand a good \ ;iliiiit ion. 



Keeping Salesmen Posted 



Too MKiny lunduMiiuMi have tiicii on the voad who they 

 evidently think are mind readers, because they rarely give them 

 but few suggestions about many things pertaining to the calling 

 in which they are engaged, ou which they should be advised. 

 There is something more to do for a lumber salesman than to turn 

 him loose ou the road with a stock list, a price list and fifty dol- 

 lars of expense money. One live-wire hardwood wholesale house 

 has a system of sending out on perforated slips, to be inserted in 

 a loose-leaf stock list and price list book, a monthly digest of the 

 lumber situation as it sees it. 



Hardwood Kecord has been accorded nccess to a set of these slips, 

 which of themselves are not only worth reading, but as suggestions 

 to lumbermen as a basis for information to be sent traveling men 

 is invaluable. 



This is the gist of the information for December 15: 

 Poplar: Supply fair; demand good in mill culls; be careful on No. 3 

 common, as it will advance. 



Quartered White oak: Supply h\g in iiU grades: demand small in 



all grades : sell all grades : can suijply Ohio and Indiana stock if required. 



Plain White Oak : Supply low : demand good : all grades. 5/4, 6/4 



and 8/4 scarce; sell Xo. ;; and :! common in 4,4: be can'fiil on 5/4, 



6/4 and S/4. 



Plain Red Oak: Supply fair excepting 5/4 and 6/4; demand good; 

 sell all grades, but do not oversell on short items. 



Bt'CKEYE : Supply fair: demand fair; sell log run: mill culls sold up. 

 Beech : Low supply and fair demand : soutbcrn stock only can be 

 handled satisfactorily in log run : can get full list in northern Ohio and 

 in Michigan. 



Hickory: Supply fair: demand good: sell some il 4 and s 4 common 

 and better by grade : Indiana and Ohio stock. 



Chestnut : Supply common and better low : demand good : sound 

 wormy supply still large : demand fair : push sound wormy and mill culls. 

 Ash : Supply 4/4 good : No. 1 common poor, probably an overstock ; 

 demand fair ; supply of .5/4 and 6/4 fair with a fair demand : supply S/4 

 poor and demand big; supply l(t/4, 12/4 and 16,4 fair with fair demand; 

 in this should sell not more than two-tbirds llrsts and seconds and one- 

 third or more No. 1 common ; especially tough stock from Ohio and 

 Indiana field. 



Black Walnx't : Supiily low on high grades : (ieni:ind unod : sell only 

 log run and common and better. 



Basswood : Northern stock in over-supply and moving slowly : southern 

 stock in fair supply and moving fairly in grades, log run and better ; 

 No. .3 common northern supply is in fair supply, and demand big, bringing 

 a premium of one to two dollars over any price since 1007; southern 

 supply of No. 3 common low. 



Birch: Northern supply fair; demand good; southern supply low; 

 demand good ; 5/4 and thicker scarce at all points of supply ; sell all 

 grades in moderate quantity. 



Hard Maple: Both supply and demand fair, sonlhein supply low with 

 fair demand: sell 6/4 and 8/4 firsts and seconds extra good nnrtbirn 

 stock, and some 10/4, 12/4 and 16/4 southern log run stock. 



The luml)er salesman gets a lot of cussing for both inefficiency 

 and for loafing on his job, but the average man is not endowed 

 with prescience, and it often hapjicns that he is very illy sup- 

 ported by the man he represents. However, perhaps the redoubt- 

 able Peter Kuntz' definition of a successful lumberman is worth 

 quoting. Peter observes he is the man who can continually work 

 three average lumber salesmen for five years without going into 

 bankruptcy. This is ;i severe analysis, but there usually is not 

 enough "team work" between manufacturing .-uul wholesaling 

 lumbermen .and their sales force. 



The success of many lumber concerns is .jeopardized by bad sales 

 methods, for which tlo' IuuiImt s;ili'sui:iii is not ])articularly to 

 blame, unless he has some one b:icU of liini to give' him the right 

 kind of instructions. The leaving of low prices iu order to secure 

 a possible order from some buyer who thinks he may want a car 

 in the future is a woefully bad habit: :ind it is to lie regretted 

 that many salesmen do not put eiKuigh thoughtful :ind honest 

 cH'ort in their work to successfully overcome the complicated de- 

 tails of correct salesmanship. Many a sales maii.-iger devotes half 

 his time iu cleaning up transactions that his lieutenants on the 

 road should have done for themselves. 



No lumber house has reached the maxinuim of ellicii'iicy until all 

 its sales employes have so mastered their work th;it tiny ;ue 

 diplomats in their (filing. 



