THE HARDWOOD RECORD. 



13 



Pretty nearly anybody can take a lot of 

 money autl accomplish a great deal, but it 

 takes ability of the highest order to accom- 

 plish what the inspection bureau has ac- 

 complished out of no resources at all. 

 The strength and popularity of the Na- 

 tional Hardwood Association rests largely 

 upon the fact that it makes but little de- 

 mand for financial support upon its mem- 

 bers. It is up to tlie freiglit bureau com- 

 mittee to make its department self-sustain- 

 ing. With that understanding we doubt 

 not tJie association will, as in the case of 

 the iUiS-pection bureau committee, bid them 

 Godspeed. 



A notable occurrence at the St. Louis 

 meeting was the organization of the I\Ianu- 

 acturers' Association. There is much 

 good that an organization of manufactur- 

 ers may do its meniliers on lines which the 

 National association cannot, because of its 

 general character, lu'oceed. We will re- 

 gret, however, if they should seek to an- 

 tagonize the movement for uniform inspec- 

 tion. We believe, though, that that an- 

 tagonism will evaporate as has the antag- 

 ouism between the National as.s'ociation 

 and the Michigan Association, the Wiscon- 

 sin Association au<l the Indiana Associa- 

 tion. 



Tlie National association doe^' not 

 seek to antagonize or interfere with any 

 local or sectional organization, but rather 

 to supplement their efforts in correcting the 

 evils of the trade and in promoting the in- 

 terests of all liardwood lumbermen. Tlie 

 manufacturers of Wisconsin have their or- 

 ganization and its members derive great 

 l)enetit therefrom: so have the manufactur- 

 ers of Michigan and Indiana, aud the deal- 

 ers of Chicago. St. Louis, Cincinnati and 

 other markets. Each works within itself 

 to its peculiar ends, but all work together 

 in the National association for the gootl nf 

 all. We wish the new organization suc- 

 cess aud are confident that the broad- 

 minded men in its membership will soun 

 liring it into complete accord with the Na- 

 tional association. 



The National association interferes with 

 the workings of no minor organization. 

 Each organization which is a component 

 l)art of the National association has within 

 its own territory the most perfect freedom 

 of action and j'o has each individual mem- 

 ber. .\o one is required to use the inspec- 

 tion lules or tlie inspection bureau unless 

 he sees fit and sees that it is to his advan- 

 tage to do so. He is not called on for 

 money to s\ipix>i"t. any scheme, and, in fact, 

 is expected to run his own busiuess in his 

 own way, the National association only 

 offering him some conveniences which he 

 may use if he sees fit. 



The St. Louis meeting was a great and 

 notalile meeting, in that it witnessed a com- 

 plete fusing of all the elements of the 

 trade into one harmonious body. 



J. D. Young of Waverly, Tenn., whose 

 saw mill was recently destroyed by fire, 

 has rebuilt. 



FREIGHT CLASSIFICATION OF LUM- 

 BER. 



In view of the fact that the National as- 

 sociation contemplates beginning a cam- 

 paign, through its freight bureau commit- 

 tee, for a reclassification of lumber, we re- 

 ijuested a well-posted railroad man, promi- 

 nently identified with the lumber trade, 

 to give us the railroads' side of the qnes- 

 tion, stating their reasons for the present 

 apparent discrimination against lumber. 

 He replied as follows, but asked us to 

 withhold his name for obvious reasons: 

 Hardwood Record: — 



Uentlemen:— Your request for some ma- 

 terial from which to give your readers an 

 article on the clas.sification and freight 

 rates on lumber received, and I am pleased 

 to give you some information, from which 

 you may get some ideas you can use. 



In the making of a classification for car- 

 load freight there are many things to con- 

 sider, in part as follows: 



The weight of the commodity which can 

 be loaded into the e(iuii3ment which must 

 be used to carry it. 



The expense of placing the empty cars 

 to be loaded, the loads for unloading, and 

 the time consumed in loading and unload- 

 ing. 



The liability to damage. 



The promptness and certainty with 

 v\-hich the freight can be collected. 



The volume of business. 



Taking the first consideration and com- 

 paring lumber with grain, coal, iron or 

 other freight which is moved iu large vol- 

 ume, and the argument is all against lum- 

 ber. In any of the otlier articles named 

 our strongest equipment can be loaded ti> 

 its utmost capacity every time. In fact, 

 we will not move it unless it is so loaded 

 except at the full capacitj- rate. 



In lumber it is not so. Even in your 

 heaviest wood. oak. we do not get the full 

 cai>acity, and iu the lighter woods we fall 

 far short. 



In the second consideration also the ar- 

 gument is against lumber. The expense 

 of placing cars at the initial receiving 

 point is about the same in grain as iu lum- 

 ber, but much less in the matter of coal, 

 iron, etc. In placing cars for loading lum- 

 ber, and especially for hardwood lumber, 

 it is usuall.v a matter of placing one or half 

 a dozen cars in some out-of-the-way place. 

 In placing the cars for unloailing the com- 

 parison is worse, as all luml)ermen will un- 

 derstand. Where grain is lo.-ided from ele- 

 lators we will get a train of fifty cars 

 loaded in less time than a car of lumber, 

 and the expen.se of placing the flftj- cars 

 f<ir I adiiig is not greater than the expense 

 of placing the single car. The satne situa- 

 tion liolds true in unloading. 



.\s to the liability to damage, that is 

 comparatively a very small consideration 

 in grain, coal, lumber or any of our heav.v 

 freight. The liability to damage to gi-ain 

 may be slightly greater than iu the case 

 ol lumber, but the difference iu the liabil- 

 it.v is so small as to be iufluitesimal. 



In the matter of the certainty and 

 promptness with which the freight may be 

 <ollecte<l. lumber as compared with grain 

 again has the worst of it. If for any rea- 

 scm a carload of grain Is refused, it wiU 

 bring the market price anywhere, while 

 lumlier must often— in fact, must always — 

 be sold at a sacrifice, and often will not 

 bring enough to pay the freight. Often a 

 oar load of inferior lumber will be loaded 

 at some remote point, and when it reaches 

 the market be refused by the consignee 

 b.ecause it is not worth the freight: or even 

 ix it be worth the freight, and is, for any 



reason, refused, the probabilities are that 

 the railroad will not lie able to get the 

 amount out of it. 



When it comes to the volume of business, 

 lunilier again has tlie worst of it. The vol- 

 ume ( f business is large, it is true, but it 

 consists of a car picked up here and a car 

 there, and delivered in the same way. It 

 is "local." usually, at liuth ends of the 

 h;,ul. Tliis is not true of gi-aiii, coal, iron 

 or any other class of freight which moves 

 in large volume. 



Iu the matter of the value of the equip- 

 iient used in tiansporting the freight, lum- 

 ber has sliglitly the better of grain. It 

 takes somewhat better equipment to move 

 grain than to move lumber, Init not a great 

 d-'al, and that difference is largely offset 

 by the fact that the wear and tear ou 

 e(|uipment is gi-eater iu hauling lumber 

 than in hauling grain. 



In the foregoing I ha\e endeavoretl to be 

 i.bsolutely fair, and the case is, I believe. 

 as I liave stated it. am' that is why the 

 pound rate on lumber is higlier than the 

 pound rate on grain. 



The railroads figure on these things 

 pretty closely, and. in fact, have them fig- 

 ured do-\\ n to a scientific basis. It may be 

 that your freight bureau, which you in- 

 form nie .vour National association is or- 

 ganizing, may be able to induce the rail- 

 roads to alter their figures, but I donltt it. 



( >f course when it conies to cutting rates 

 on either lumber or gi-ain. that is another 

 matter and is aside of the argument. 



REMOVAL ANNOUNCEMENT. 



As successors to the I'uited Typewriter 

 & Supplies Company in the handling <if 

 the Ne«- Century Type«-riter. we wisli to 

 announce tlie removal of the sales head- 

 quarters of that machine fruin US .Monroe 

 Street to 172 La Salle Street, near the lor- 

 ner of Monroe. If in need of anything in 

 the line of t.rpewriters or typewriter sup- 

 plies, or if in want of a competent stenog- 

 ropher or operator, our services are at your 

 disposal. Call us up. THE A.MEKICAN 

 WIiITIN(; MACHINE CO. (H. A. Anineut, 

 JIanageri, Chicago Sales Ottice. 172 La Salle 

 Street. Tel. Central 1(12:3. We rent type- 

 writers. 



"MICHIGAN IN SUMMER." 

 The Grand Rapids & Indiana Railway, 

 the "Fishing Line," has jiublished a 48- 

 page book about the resorts ou its line, and 

 will send it to any address on receipt of a 

 two-cent stamp for postage. Contains 280 

 pictures, rates of all hotels and boarding 

 houses, and information about Petoske.v, 

 Ba.v View, Harbor Point, Wequetou.sing, 

 Oden, Walloon Lake, Mackinac Island, 

 Traverse City, Omena, Neahtawanta, 

 Northixirt, etc. 



"Where to go Fishing." two cents, will 

 interest fishermen. 



Summer sche<Uile with through sleeping 

 car service goes into effect June 22. New 

 time folders sent on application. 



C. L. LOCKWOOD, G. P. & T. A., 

 0.5 So. Ionia St.. Grand Rapids, Mich. 



The A. Rudd Lumber Company was in- 

 corporated recently, to do a lumber busi- 

 ness at Danville. Ind. They will succeed 

 to the business formerly conducted by Sir. 

 A. Rudd. 



