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An Association Worth While 



In view of the fact that the National 

 Wholesale Lumber- Dealers ' Association will 

 hold its twentieth annual meeting this year 

 in the Middle West, at Louisville, which 

 now is of the Middle West, in spite of its 

 southern predilection, it is deemed timely Ut 

 say a few things about this sterling organ- 

 ization, with especial reference to its his- 

 tory, its policy and its attainments. 



The organization is in its twenty-first year 

 and has a large and distinguished member- 

 ship made up of lumber manufacturers and 

 wholesalers of all varieties of lumber, with 

 I>erhaps the predominant faction in the 

 merchandising end of the business. 



During all these years it has had a clean 

 and honorable history, backed by a corps of 

 officers that has stood for all that was best 

 in commercial morals. It has been fortunate 

 in its selection of executives in securing 

 individuals who are willing to sacrifice of 

 their time and money not for individual 

 aggrandizement, but for the benefit of the 

 totality of the trade; but perhaps particu- 

 larly fortunate it has been in holding for 

 many years as secretary — practically the business manager of the 

 institution — a man of the very highest acumen, an indefatigable 

 worker and an intelligent interpreter of what constitutes not only 

 the best, but the fairest policy in handling the multitudinous 

 affairs that have come before the organization. This man is 

 Eugene F. Perry, who has achieved the universal respect and confi- 

 dence of every man allied not only with the National Wholesale 

 Lumber Dealers' Association, but with the lumber trade the 

 country over. To be sure, Mr. Perry has been supported in his 

 work by fair-minded men who have contributed much to his 

 success, but to him is largely due the standing of the association. 



The primary objects and purposes of this association have been 

 and are to protect the members against unbusinesslike methods in 

 the wholesale and retail lumber trades; to foster such trade and 

 commerce; to reform abuses in the trade; to secure freedom from 

 unjust and unlawful exactions; to diffuse accurate information 

 among its members as to the standing of merchants and others 

 by and with whom business is conducted; to produce uniformity 

 and certainty in the customs and usages of the trade and those 

 engaged therein; to settle business differences between its mem- 

 bers; and to promote a larger and more friendly intercourse 

 between them. These objects constitute a broad and alluring 

 field for lumber association work, and the outline named scarcely 

 reveals the immense amount of work involved in carrying them 

 into successful execution, but these are the objects and the only 

 objects that have inspired the oflScers, trustees and management 

 of this association, and which it is carrying out to such a 

 successful issue. The continued and substantial growth of the 

 association, since its inception, indicates the success with which 

 it has met, and the steadfastness with which its purposes have 

 been adhered to. 



The association stands for fair dealing in the lumber trade, 

 and the details of the work undertaken are handled through the 

 board of trustees and the standing committees of the association, 

 together with the counsel of the organization 's secretary. 



One of the most important active departments of the association 

 is its bureau of information, in whicTi it has more than thirty 

 thousand credit reports. This bureau makes a specialty of secur- 

 ing commercial reports on lumber buyers and users from authentic 

 sources, and therefore furnishes more complete and reliable infor- 

 mation as to the moral standing and business methods of those 

 reported on than can possibly be secured by any general or special 

 agency. As the information is secured only for the use of the 



V. I'ERKY. SECRKTAItY NATIONAL 

 WHOLESALE LUMBER DEALERS' 

 ASSOCIATION. 



members of the association, it enables it to 

 obtain a great deal of special confidential 

 data bearing not only on the financial re- 

 sponsibility of concerns, but also on the 

 question of unjust claims, unfair deductions, 

 etc. Thf information thus disseminated by 

 this bureau saves its members hundreds of 

 thousands of dollars annually. 



The organization also maintains a collec- 

 tion department, which is a very important 

 feature of the bureau of information, and 

 through this medium during the past year, 

 it has handled nearly half a million dollars ' 

 worth of business. 



The association 's railroad and transporta- 

 tion committee, which involves another de- 

 partment, under a competent head, is doing 

 a great deal of good work is connection with 

 transportation matters. The association 

 through this bureau stands well with the 

 railroads from the fact that it asks of them 

 only what is just. In detail it takes up mat- 

 ters of minimum weight on car shipments, 

 stoppage and transit privileges, estimated 

 weights on lumber, discriminations in 

 weights, etc., and has accomplished a vast deal of good. The 

 results attained through this bureau are of benefit not only to the 

 members of the association but to the trade in general. 



The National Wholesale Lumber Dealers' Association stands 

 very strongly for the principle of arbitration, and every effort is 

 made to handle disputes between members on this basis. Fre- 

 quently the arbitration committee has been used in handling dis- 

 putes involving large matters between lumbermen where both 

 parties have not been members of the association. While this is 

 rather unusual, the principle involved has been important. The 

 satisfactory results and the economy in this sort of adjustment of 

 disputes is manifest. 



The association also stands for a single standard of inspection 

 on all varieties of lumber, and is strongly urging the unification 

 of hardwood inspection into a single standard. Largely through 

 its efforts, the two leading hardwood associations of the country 

 have already been brought into a better understanding with each 

 other, and it is fair to presume that before its efforts cease, it will 

 induce the various hardwood interests to agree on a single 

 system. 



The fire insurance committee of the association has performed 

 a most valuable service to the lumber industry since it has been 

 in existence, and the work of this department has been instru- 

 mental in securing a considerable reduction in insurance rates on 

 sawmills, planing mills, wood-working plants and lumber. This 

 committee extends its aid to the various competent lumber mutual 

 fire Insurance companies and others specializing in lumber in- 

 surance. 



The association also is an advocate of forestry and forest con- 

 servation, and is in close touch with the broad principles involved 

 in this most laudable endeavor. It is also allied with the Ameri- 

 can Forestry Association. 



The National Wholesale Lumber Dealers' Association's field of 

 work lies very largely in the regions of the United States where 

 large quantities of lumber are consumed in building and remanu- 

 facturing work, and this short and inadequate review of the 

 organization is especially made at this time for the analysis of 

 readers of Hardwood Eecobd in the belief that if they will 

 acquaint themselves with the character and value of the work that 

 is being carried on by the organization, they will in very 

 large numbers attend the forthcoming convention of the associa- 

 tion, which will be held at the Seelbaeh hotel, Louisville, Ky., 

 on Wednesday and Thursday, March 6 and 7. This meeting, while 



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