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HARDWOOD RECORD 



Clingman's Dome 



THE C'OVKK PICTUKE of this isMic of Hardwood Kecord 

 represents an imposing mountain scene in eastern Tennessee, 

 near the North Carolina border. It is known as Clingman's Dome 

 and is one of the splendid summits which crown the heights of 

 the Great Smoky range. Its summit is bare of trees, and having 

 a good soil, it affords fine pasturage for cattle and other stock. 

 The open area is surrounded bj' a stunted growth of beech, birch, 

 buckeye, and other hardwoods. The scenery among the lofty 

 mountains compares favorably with the finest in this country. 

 Distant valleys and ranges of mountains lie in view at all points 

 of the compass, while the cloud effects are frequently unsurpassed. 



Good Business Versus Good Morals 



IT IS AN OPEN SECRET that at a recent conference of leading 

 manufacturers of both building woods and hardwoods, there came 

 up the discussion of the policy of the lumber trade press in its de- 

 voting both editorial and advertising space to the exploitation of 

 wood substitutes. It is the consensus of opinion that while it might 

 be good business on the part of the lumber newspapers to advertise 

 wood 'substitutes, it was far from good morals on their part to do 

 so inasmuch as the lumber trade furnished the "sinews of war" for 

 the publication of these papers, and lumbermen should not be asked 

 to support mediums that assisted in exploiting lines detrimental to 

 their interest. 



Hardwood Eecord for the past ten years has maintained the 

 opinion expressed at this conference on this subject, and has invari- 

 ably refused to sell advertising space or give editorial exploitation 

 to steel, concrete, composition, or other materials that entered into 

 competition with lumber. This position it will maintain until such 

 time as manufacturers of substitute materials produce a substitute 

 that shall be better than wood for any given purpose. When this is 

 accomplished it is possible that Hardwood Kecord may consider the 

 exploitation of these substitutes. 



The Box Controversy in New Light 



THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION will shortly 

 be iu receipt of a complaint filed by the National Classification 

 Committee of Lumber, Wooden Box and Allied Interests, whicii 

 committee, as is well known, represents the leading manufacturers 

 of box lumber and wooden boxes in the United States and carried 

 the recent Pridham hearings at Los Angeles and Chicago to the 

 satisfactory state at which they arrived recently. The object 

 in filing the new. complaint is the belief on the part of the 

 wooden box interests that to allow the Pridham hearing to come- 

 to a definite settlement after the submittal of argument in the 

 fall would be to localize the question which is essentially a nation 

 wide problem and must not be solved with any one section of the 

 country as a basis. The Pridham case, as will be remembered, 

 has a bearing merely on east-bound shipments from western 

 territory and if settled on this basis would not affect shipments 

 in other parts of the country and in fact the various other classi- 

 fication territories woffld then necessarily have to open up the 

 question again, covering the same field of argument. The object 

 is now to incorporate with the arguments in favor of the wooden 

 box interests iu the Pridham case specifically the general argu- 

 ments which would put the railroads all over the country oil 

 the defensive where they haul goods packed in fibre container," 

 on the same rates as they do goods packed in wooden containers. 

 The result of the successful decision of such a complaint would 

 be the establishment of a distinct differential in favor of the 

 wooden bo.x and against the substitute container generally through- 

 out the country. The importance of this cannot be overestimated. 

 The report is current as coming from the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission that that body will probably accept the evidence 

 submitted in the Pridham ease in favor of the wooden package 

 as opposed to the fibre package in deciding whether or not it will 

 pass on the general complaint about to be filed. Those in charge 

 of the wooden box side of the Pridham controversy did their 

 work so thoroughly and covered the field throughout the country 



so well that the arguments submitted do not bear aloue on east- 

 bound shipments from western territory, but cover the whole of 

 the country and tend to prove on a general basis rather than on 

 a local basis the superiority of the wooden container. It is to 

 be hoped, and with a reasonable expectation of having the hope 

 realized, that the lumber and wooden box interests will be 

 successful in this, their largest fight. 



Forest Products Exposition on Definite Footing 



THE NATIONAL LUMBER MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIA- 

 TION is preparing to offer within a few days a prospectus of 

 the definite plans which have been worked out by that association 

 in conformity with the resolution passed at its last annual meeting 

 having to do with the establishment of a permanent forest prod- 

 ucts exposition. Secretary J. E. Rhodes announces that such an 

 exposition will take place in several cities throughout the country 

 iu the early part of 1914. The enterprise is backed entirely by 

 the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association and will be an 

 incorporation with capital stock of $23,000, fully paid in. The 

 more intricate details of the plan are still in process of evolution 

 and it will probably be some little time before they are worked 

 out definitely. 



It is planned to hold the exposition at the Coliseum in Chicago 

 some time in Januarj-, and under the direction of the same cor- 

 poration various other large cities will have the same exhibit 

 shortly after that. 



The main arguments in favor of a forest products exposition 

 have been too fully covered in the lumber trade press during recent 

 years to need reiteration. It can be said, however, that the actual 

 working out of the long-talked-of plan will have an all-important 

 bearing on the lumber business, particularly as a medium between 

 that much misunderstood branch of American industry and the 

 people who buy products of the forest. A vast amount of mis- 

 information has been given out by manufacturers and advocates 

 of wood substitutes, which is all designed to prove to the public 

 that timber is getting scarce anyway and it can not long count 

 on lumber for lu.me and furniture building, and further, that it is 

 dangerous in many places and also offers a very expensive item in 

 home construction. Lumbermen have proved to and among them- 

 selves that these insinuations are absolutely false and the exposi- 

 tion will now offer an opportunity of proving it to the people who 

 buy lumber. 



In addition to the general exhibit there will be exhibition of all 

 kinds of machinery entering into lumber manufacture. The Forest 

 Service will also have a generous exhibit which will show the 

 various phases of conservation of the forests as applied to per- 

 petuation of supply and the more practical working of forestry 

 methods in connection with actual lumbering operations. 



It is announced by the National association that a certain amount 

 of stock will be available for those wishing to subscribe ami, aside 

 from the fact that this exposition will ultimately be a mighty good 

 business proposition fr<)n\ a showman 's standlioint, it surely seems 

 that it should liave evei y atom of moral and financial su]iport that 

 the lumber trade can give it. 



The Steel Car Craze 



1'N THE MINDS OF Till-; UXI.XFOHMEU tlicro is :i l)elief that the 

 use of steel passenger and sleeping cars constitutes added safety 

 in the transportation of passengers. This form of construction, 

 originally fostered by the steel trust when it became owner of the 

 majority of the stock of the Pullman Company, and became largely 

 interested in the Pennsylvania Company's affairs, is hard to down. 

 On its face it would look as though a solid steel car presented 

 advantages of safety over a steel underframe with wooden upper 

 works and wood interioi- finish, but the history of railroad wrecks 

 during the last few years presents i)rima facie evidence that the steel 

 underframe and wooden car is much the safer vehicle. 



Again, the steel passenger car is a veritable hot-box in hot weather 

 and cannot be kept cool, and it is almost impossible to keep it warm 

 in cold weather. In both extremes of weather it has contributed to 

 serious illness and much discomfort. 



