12 



THE HARDWOOD RECORD. 



and tile hardwood trade may continue to 

 rely vipon it to do its best in the interest 

 ot tliat tra<le. 



THE ST. LOUIS MEETING. 



Preparation for tlie annual meeting of 

 the Xational Hardwood Lumber Associa- 

 tion, to be held in St. Louis. May 15 and 

 ID, are progressing and indications are 

 multiplying that it will be by far the most 

 largely attended and most important of 

 the meetings yet held. 



The people in the hardwood lumber trade 

 have reached a point where they take the 

 Xational association seriously. Hereto- 

 fore, many of them have attended the an- 

 nual meetings merely to meet the other 

 lumbermen and form acquaintances that 

 might be advantageous in a business way. 

 They didn't consider that the work of 

 the convention amounted to anything in 

 particular. It is now realized, however, 

 that the work of the National association 

 vitally affects every hardwood lumber- 

 man's business, and Secretary Vinnedge 

 reports that there is a tone to the corre- 

 spondence at his office different from that 

 of former years. It is more earnest and 

 more combative and the St. Louis meeting 

 promises to be a most interesting one. 

 The members from the various sections 

 and markets are coming well organized, 

 knowing what they want and prepared to 

 fight for it. 



History is going to be made in St. Louis. 

 From Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana, 

 from Cincinnati, Chicago, Nashville. Mem- 

 phis and Buffalo, strong, well organized 

 and well equipped delegations are coming. 

 Already they are writing to secure head- 

 quarters, and' there will be as much pol- 

 itics at St. Louis as there is at a state 

 convention of a political party. No hard- 

 wood lumberman in the country can afford 

 to miss this meeting. 



The headquarters will be at tlje Southern 

 Hotel, the best convention hotel in the 

 country. It is big and ro<jmy. covering an 

 entire block, and can take care of the con- 

 vention witliin itself, business meetings, 

 banquet and ail. 



President F. H. Smith of St. Louis, while 

 in Chicago recently, expressed the belief 

 that the members would, at St. Louis, cast 

 all precedents aside and reorganize the 

 hardwood trade on a new basis. What the 

 outcome of it all will be is difficult to fore- 

 tell. For the first time the trade is thor- 

 oughly aroused, and we are inclined to 

 believe that the real and permanent work 

 of the National association will date from 

 the St Louis meeting. For the first time 

 every section nnd faction of the trade will 

 be strongly represented, and there is no 

 way of getting a clew as to what the out- 

 come will be. It will be a convention of 

 able, brainy men, and no man or set of 

 men will be able to control or dictate to it. 

 Every preparation is being made to 

 facilitate the transaction of business, for 

 it will be hard to crowd all that will be 

 done into two days. 



Secretary Vinnedge is doing the same ex- 

 cellent work by which the association has 

 been made a success. If there is a hard- 

 wood lumberman in the country who fails 

 to attend the convention it will not be be- 

 cause Secretary Vinnedge has been derelict 

 in his duty. Among other matter he is 

 sending the members of the association 

 the following stirring .letter: 



Chicago, 111., April 4, 1902. 

 The meeting at St. Louis is one in which 

 every hardwood lumberman is vitally in- 

 terested, and it is earnestly hoped "that 

 every branch and section of the trade may 

 be strongly represented. "SVe ^^■ant to get 

 together at St. Louis and thrash out our 

 differences. We want to build a platform 

 on which all good hardwood lumbermen 

 may stand, and adopt policies to which all 

 may lend hearty support. 



You should be there, and you should 

 see that your neighbors come also. To this 

 end we send you herewith a few applica- 

 tion blanks, which you may be able to 

 make use of, and if we can be of any assist- 

 ance at this office, and you will send us a 

 list of names of those you know who are 

 not members, but should be, we will take 

 up the matter with them by mail. 



Whatever you do, try to make arrange- 

 ments to be present at St. Louis, and bring 

 as many of your friends as possible. 

 Bring tlieni as members, if you can, but 

 bring tlicm anyway. Do not look upon 

 this as a waste of time. It is a business 

 matter, and you should be present with all 

 the friends that you can muster. 



Vi'e come to you thus frankly and freely, 

 because you are as much interested in the 

 meeting as anyone. 

 Write us what you think about it. 



Your.'* tnily. 

 National Hardwood Lumber Association, 

 A. R. Vinnedge, Secretary. 



AN ASSURED SUCCESS. 



The man who would go out and- sow a 

 crop of oats to-day, and then go out next 

 week and raise the veiT old Harry because 

 the crop was not ready for the sickle, 

 would not be accounted a mental heavy- 

 weight in well-educated circles. Y'ou've 

 got to prepare the ground, sow the seed 

 and then wait a time before you get any 

 returns. It has been the same with the 

 Inspection Bureau. 



In the first place, it was a new thing, 

 a strange and unusual kind of a vegetable, 

 and people hadn't much faith in it. Then 

 those engaged in producing the old-fash- 

 ioned sort of vegetables said the new vege- 

 table would not gi-ow and wouldn't be fit 

 for anything if it did, and they laughed 

 dei-isively or sneered scornfully. There 

 were those, however, who had faith in 

 it and who prepared the ground, sowed 

 tlie seed, and are now harvesting the crop. 

 .\nd you'd be surprised to know what the 

 yield is. 



When the Inspection Bureau was first 

 proposed we believed that ninety -nine lum- 

 bermen out of every hundred thought the 

 scheme impracticable, A majority of them 

 were willing to concede it would be a good 

 thing if it could be made to work, but 

 they didn't believe it could be made to 

 do so. It was probably just as well that 

 such an impression i)revailed, for there 



was a strong minority in the trade, which, 

 had its members believed it could be made 

 to work, would have opposed it. As it was, 

 they just jollied it along and let it go. So 

 that tliose enthusiasts who believed a Na- 

 tional Lumber Inspection Bureau could be 

 established and made a success were al- 

 lowed to go ahead in the name of the Na- 

 tional Hardwood Lumber Association, with 

 the understanding, however, that it was 

 not to cost the National association any 

 money. They were to entail "no financial 

 obligation upon the National association." 



It looked to the average lumberman like 

 a pretty large undertaking to attempt to 

 establish an Inspection Bureau in the face 

 of almost universal skepticism, no money 

 and no opportunity for private gain for 

 the promoters. But the enthusiasts never 

 hesitated. No difficulty daunted them, and 

 no obstacle made them afraid, and the 

 fact that the Inspection Bureau stands to- 

 day an assured success, created from noth- 

 ing in so few years, is a monument to the 

 shrewdness, enterprise and business ca- 

 pacity of its promoters. As an exhibition 

 of public spirit it is without parallel in 

 the lumber trade. 



For the Inspection Bureau is an assured 

 success. It has been amply demonstrated 

 that with the present plan it is only a 

 que-stion of securing the services of com- 

 petent inspectors for national inspectors. 

 In many localities such men have been se- 

 cured, and the Inspection Bureau is work- 

 ing like a charm. 



The chief difficulty has been to secure 

 competent men for inspectors. Such men 

 as the National association must have— 

 men of character and practical ability are 

 usually employed at good salaries, and 

 having no money to pay them with, it has 

 been uphill work to secure them. It would 

 seem impossible, but a number of them 

 have been secured; most of them are do- 

 ing well and will do better. 



Another serious obstacle has been that 

 In some kinds of woods the inspection 

 I'bles are not satisfactory to the trade. 

 That is a handicap which should be re- 

 moved, if possible, and as soon as pos- 

 sible. It is a difficulty which the Inspec- 

 tion Bureau committee cannot overcome, 

 as it has nothing to do with making the 

 rules. 



In spite of all difficulties and handicaps, 

 however, the work of the Inspection Bu- 

 reau is increasing at a rate which taxes 

 its present capacity to handle. Last year's 

 business was a flattering increase over that 

 of the year before, and this year promises 

 to be four or five hundred per cent better 

 than last. At anything like the present 

 rate of growth the Inspection Bureau will 

 soon be handling a large percentage of the 

 hardwood lumber of the counti-y. 



One curious development of recent 

 months is that some fault is being found 

 with Mr. AVall that he hasn't inspectors 

 located all over the country. Some con- 

 cern down East will write that it wants 

 to buy on national inspection, thus avoid- 



