HARDWOOD RECORD 



and night letlers, such a message has an atmosphere of impor- 

 tance from which the recipient can hardly escape. The most blase 

 grain dealer looks at his wired message with more interest than 

 he does those which he gets by mail, and to those whose business 

 is not immediately dependent upon market quotations, and who 

 therefore use the telegraph to a much smaller extent than those 

 in the grain trade, the telegram comes with special force. 



As for the telephone, it is even more advantageous. When the 

 party at the other end is informed by exchange that a long dis- 

 tance call awaits him, he steps to the phone with interest which 

 no amount of local wire conversations would have developed. 

 ' ' Long distance ' ' spells importance, emergency, hurry-up methods. 

 When he takes the receiver off the hook, he knows that he will 

 probably be called on to make a quick decision. Therefore he is 

 ready, and usually makes it. 



All of this may not have been figured out by the hardwood man: 

 but he has found that he gets action when he uses these methods, 

 whereas quotations submitted by mail, or propositions put for- 

 ward in the usual way, may never bring even a nibble. It has 

 even been discovered that a telephone or telegraph call is often 

 more effective than the personal proposition of a salesman. In 

 fact, the crack salesman of one of the biggest producers of oak 

 lumber in the South, recently pulled off a deal with a fumittiie 

 manufacturer involving the sale of about 200,000 feet of plain 

 oak, just in that way. 



He had been talking to the buyer for the factory for some time 

 without being able to get more than an expression of int-erest. 

 The house wasn't through getting in touch with its dealers: fac- 

 tory operations for the year hadn't been outlined altogether: 

 they didn't know whether they would continue strong on oak. 

 or specialize more in mahogany than heretofore: besides, they had 

 a fair stock on the yard, and thought they could get what they 

 needed most any time. 



' ' Tou may be able to, ' ' said the salesman, ' ' but just between 

 us, dry lumber, ready to ship, isn't as plentiful as most people 

 think. As a matter of fact, I have 200,000 feet of plain oak in 

 that condition, and that's alL If I sell it. 111 be out of the 

 market: and anybody will tell yon that plain oak is the scarcest 

 item in the field today." 



■'What's your price on that lot, f. o. b. this station!" inquired 

 the buyer, not showing much interest, but evidently doing a little 

 figuring. 



The salesman told him, but the factory man shook his head. 



"Too high for that big a lot," he commented. 



They talked a little while, and the lumberman left for his next 

 customer. Late that afternoon, as he was pulling into a station 

 a few miles from the furniture factory, he had an idea. He got 

 on the long-distance phone, called up the buyer and said: 



' ' This is Smith of the Blank Hardwood Company. If you can 

 use that lot it plain oak we were talking about. I've got a propo- 

 sition for you. ' ' 



"All right, what is it?" the reply came back. 



"If you can take it in sixty days, 111 sell it to you for fifty 

 cents a tho isand less than I quoted you. But I can give you but 

 150,000 feet. I've sold two cars since I talked with you this 

 morning, and got a little better price than I asked yon." 



There was a long pause at the other end of the wire. 



"Ill take the whole 200,000 at the figure you just named," the 

 buyer finally said, "or none. We can use that much, but we want 

 to buy it in a bunch." 



"I don't see how I can do that," the salesman bluffed. "My 

 customers expect immediate shipment of the cars I "ve just sold. 

 Suppose we call it 1-50,000." 



' ' "So, the whole lot or none. ' ' 



"All right, then," agreed the salesman, half -reluctantly. "Two 

 hundred thousand at the price, shipment in sixty days, inspection 

 certificate attached. Ill wire the house right away, and you can 

 send in a memorandum confirming it tonight- Well start on that 

 order right away. Much obliged." 



"Goodby." 



The deal was a good one aU around. The furniture man got 

 something he wanted, although he ordered more than he would 

 have bought under ordinary- conditions. The suggestion that the 

 price was going up, that others were buying, and that he had to 

 act immediately, all of which were conveyed by the telephone talk, 

 resulted in the order being landed. On the other hand, the lum- 

 berman disposed of a big block of oak at a good price, and as he 

 was to ship immediately he was protected in the event of a rise 

 in price later on, such as he actually expected. So the business 

 was straight and clean from every standpoint, and favorable to 

 both parties; but it took a little hurry-np, act-quick system to get 

 it closed. 



If a buyer is hanging fire on a big order, and you think you 

 have the lumber and the right price, try a little long-distance 

 telephone conversation and see how it works. G. D. C. 



Trunks and Seonple Csises 



The tmnt and sample case manxifacturiDg industry may be num- 

 bered among the oldest of the various sources of hardwood consump- 

 tion. It dates, in fact, almost from the time that traveling itself 

 began. It developed co-ordinately with the development in means of 

 cross-cotmtry transportation. The invention of steam ears was the 

 most substantial boost that trunk manufacruring ever had, since it 

 afforded a readier means for the carriage of large-size trunks than 

 was offered by the old-fashioned stage coach and people began to 

 demand more and larger boxes in which they might carry their bag- 

 gage. Then again the development of railroading made possible the 

 systematizing of commercial solicitation: the traveling sal^man for 

 the first time came into prominence, and augmented the demand for 

 trunks and sample eases. Thus the industry developed. 



Trunks in the early days were far l«s attractive and accident 

 proof than they now are. In fact scarcely a quarter of a century 

 has passed since the present era of modem trunk building began. 

 TTp to about twenty years ago aD trunks were covered with rawhide. 

 tanned and pressed thin. This type trunk may still be seen through- 

 out Mexico and South American countries. In warm dry climates, 

 where the altitude is high, this trunk was a fairly satisfactory article, 

 but in the North it was found that unle^ the hides were cured, an 

 expensive process, they had a marked tendency to rot. In addition, 

 rawhide shrinks perceptibly in a moist climate, with the result that it 

 was soon torn from the nails holding it. These objections were the 

 real cause of modem trunk building. 



Careful investigation shows the considerable use of seven woods in 



Trunk manufacture, at an average cost per thousand feet of S30.01. 



Statistics compiled by the Forest Service, under the direction of 



H. S. Sackett, of the ofSce of Wood Utilization, show the following 



amount of lumber, board measure, consumed yearly by this industrv 



in Illinois alone: 



Basswood 1,999,000 feet 



WMte pine 521,000 feet 



White elm 250,000 feet 



Hictorv 20.000 feet 



White ash 15,000 feet 



Rock elm 10,000 feet 



Sugar maple 2,000 feet 



Total 2.517,000 feet 



Such figures in the case of an industry that is growing stronger 

 every day are very significant to the lumbermen. Of the foregoing 

 woods, white elm, hickory, white ash and slippery elm are used in 

 the manufacture of slats and the other woods in the construction of 

 the trunk box and trays. Both solid lumber and built-up panels are 

 used in trunk construction. Only the better grades of stock are 

 taken, firsts and seconds being used entirely, except in the cases of 

 basswood and white pine, Xo. 1 common basswood being preferred. 

 The lumber is bought in 12- to 16-feet lengths, 6 inches and up wide. 

 Quartered three-ply panel stock is tised in tray construetion, and 

 three-eighths to five-eighths stuff in the trunk box^. These panels 

 are usually botight in dimensions of 72x72 inches. In the cases of 

 wardrobe rmnks and large sample trunks, of course the dimensions 

 are larger, but concerted protests by the railroads and the levying of 

 an additional charge on trunks over -54 inches in height, have done 

 T- "'minate this type of ease. 



