THE HARDWOOD RECORD. 



13 



no opportunity to assail the National asso- 

 ciation, and AVf fail to see wlierein sucl\ 

 a cour.se is justified. We believe it would 

 have been better for tlieir association had 

 they let the National association alone. If 

 ever there was a lumber association con- 

 ducted on liberal, unselfish and progi'es- 

 sive line's, it is the National association. 

 It has never in any way antagonized any 

 other association, but rather has encour- 

 aged them, having but one object in view, 

 the establishment of a uniform set of in- 

 spection rules and a uniform application 

 thereof, and it has done more for the 

 manufacturers of the country than any 

 association which preceded it. and, we 

 doubt not, of any association that will 

 come after. Not only has it brought the 

 buyers of the country to accept tlie man- 

 ufacturers' rules, but all the trouble and 

 expense of establishing the inspection 

 bureau has been almost entirely in the 

 manufacturers' interests. Any hardwood 

 manufacturer of standing in the United 

 States can have his own inspector licensed 

 and his inspection will be final between 

 buyer and seller. 



The worli of the National association, as 

 we have stated, has been an unselfish 

 work, but there are those who have come 

 before that association with an ambition 

 to revolutionize the inspection rules and 

 secure the adoption of a set of rules at 

 variance with the National rules, in form 

 more than in substance, and their efforts 

 had the appearance, we must say, of being 

 in the direction of securing the adoption 

 of a set of rules with which the name of 

 the promoter would be identified rather 

 than in the direction of benefiting the 

 lumber trade. • 



We state the foregoing because w'e sin- 

 cerely regret that the Manufacturers' As- 

 sociation has not proceeded on lines calcu- 

 lated to bring harmony. There is a great 

 amount of good which a manufacturers' 

 association miglit do its members, but that 

 they should start out in the way they 

 have will handicap them to a great ex- 

 tent. When the entire trade was engaged, 

 and had been for years, in an attempt to 

 bring the country to a basis of uniformity 

 in inspection ,it is to be regretted that the 

 manufacturers, of all others, sliould start 

 their as.soeialion in antagonism to this 

 movement, and appears to us to indicate 

 that the promoters of that association are 

 not actuated by motives that will tend to 

 bring the association to a prosperous 

 future. The inspection rules of the Na- 

 tional association as adopted at St. Louis 

 are, it seems to us. as liberal as it is wise 

 to make them if we wish to have them 

 adopted and approved in the large mar- 

 kets east and west, but if the manufac- 

 turers believed they were not sufficiently 

 liberal it would have been the part of wis- 

 dom to bring their claims before the Na- 

 tional association. As an evidence of how 

 far the National association has brought 

 the trade, we refer you to the historv of 



the National association published else- 

 where in this issue, in which it is shown 

 tliat tile rules the Wi.seomsin Assuciation 

 adfiptetl some years ago and wliich 

 tlie Chicago and Minneapolis mar- 

 kets would not even consider, have been 

 reached by the National association and 

 even passed, the rules of the National as- 

 sociation as adopted at St. Louis being 

 even more liberal than the old Wisconsin 

 rules. Not only has the National associa- 

 tion made such a set of rules, but it has 

 brought the buyers all over the country to 

 accept them, and however much excited 

 talk there may be at a manufacturers' 

 meeting, the fact remains that it takes two 

 parties to make a contract. 



We trust the Manufacturers' Association 

 will get into line with the balance of the 

 trade. If it does there is no reason wliy 

 it should not succeed. 



THE LUMBERMEN'S VIE"W ON LUM- 

 BER FREIGHTS. 



The lollowiug is an able reply from Mr. 

 F. ^^'. A'etter of the Empire Lumber Com- 

 pany of Buffalo, N. Y., and Arkansas, to 

 the statement in last issue of the freight 

 rates on lumber from the railroad man's 

 standiJoint. Mr. \'etter is a very large 

 shijjper and he undoubtedly expresses the 

 views of mufcit lumbermen on this impor- 

 tant question. So convinced are the lum- 

 bermen that they are right in their con- 

 tention that the committee of the National 

 asociation, upon the establishment of a 

 freight bureau, has gone to the extent of 

 making arrangements for opening an office 

 for the freight bureau in Chicago, with 

 one 01 the most competent freight men 

 of the United States in charge. Following 

 is Mr. ^'etter's letter, and if our friend in 

 the railroad business has anything further 

 to say, the Record will be pleased to give 

 liis' communication space: 



Buffalo, N. Y., June 5, lOOli: 

 The Chicago Hardwood Record, Chicago, 



111. 



Ceutlemen:— I read with a great deal 

 of interest in your issue of May 31 the 

 comments of a well-posted railroad man 

 regarding the discrimination in freight 

 rates on lumber, and to say the least, in 

 my estimatiuu, I tlilnk the gentleman is 

 giving the lumber trade the worst of it, 

 and the fact that he wished his name 

 withheld, leads me to believe that he is 

 some line agent, wlio is afraid of losing 

 business if his name was known. To 

 take up his suggestions, each item sepa- 

 rately, I am forced to disagree with the 

 majority of them. 



If the gentleman is as well versed in 

 the grain buh'iness as he seems to be in 

 the lurjber business, he will admit the 

 fact that the railroads had to force tlie 

 grain men to a minimum of 40.<MIO pounds', 

 for the reason that they would oftener 

 load less than above that. We can show 

 by our records here that 90 per cent of our 

 cars of hardwood handled by us during 

 tlie year exceed in weight 50.0(X) pounds, 

 and there is no other freight, admitted 

 even by railroad men themselves, which 

 is so profltal>le as lumber, with the possi- 

 ble exception of coal and iron. 



In his second suggestion as to the dif- 

 ference of cost in placing cars for lum- 



ber and grain, he compares the saw mill 

 m the country with the city elevator. If 

 he will go West and SouUi about Septem- 

 ber he will nud one or two or three cars 

 placed at almost every sidetrack in tue 

 grain producing part of this country for 

 the purpose of loading grain, and why this' 

 should be less expensive than placing cars 

 at saw mills which are on an average fif- 

 teen or twenty miles ai>art, is beyond my 

 coiupiehenbion. Of course it is far less 

 e.vpensi\-e to load grain at a city elevator, 

 because, as a rule, a whole trainload is 

 loaded at a time. However, the railroad 

 lurnishey the engine and crew to do the 

 switching. Furthermore, they spend hun- 

 dreds of thousands of dollars each year 

 tor grain doors, either iwiyiug extra when 

 the cars are built or buying the lumiier 

 to fit cars up purixisely for grain, and 

 their carpenter does the work free of ex- 

 pense to the shipper. Since the Car Serv- 

 ice Association was formed we think the 

 railroads have no complaint to make that 

 their lumber cars are not expeditiously 

 loaded and unloaded. 



I would like to ask the gentleman in 

 question how many cars of lumber per 

 year his road has to sell at a loss in order 

 to get freight where cars are refused'.' I 

 venture to say that no road in the country 

 can show up ten such cars, consequently 

 this claim fur damage should not be enter- 

 tained. I will not believe that the quan- 

 tity of grain handled, or rather the amount 

 of freiglit derived from grain, as com- 

 pared with lumber, is more than the 

 freight on luniljer. unless I see authoriz(xl 

 statistics to this effect. It luts always been 

 the custom of railroads to minimize the 

 importance of the lumber business, for the 

 reason Jihat it is so scattered and is not 

 moved in the bulk that grain is. 



Now, as to the value of equipment of 

 grain oars and lumber cars, there is' abso- 

 lutely no comparison. The cars that carry 

 grain must 1k» in perfect coudition. as 

 everyone knows, from the wheels to the 

 top of the roof, wliile the poor lumber- 

 man is glad to load lumber in anything 

 that he can get. from a flat car to an 

 old broken-down box ear. Were the rail- 

 roads to use the same equipment for grain 

 that they do for lumber, the claims for 

 damages would not begin to pay 'the 

 freight. 



I appreciate that the gentleman in ques- 

 tion has dnne the l>est he could to 'be f;iir, 

 but has given his side of the question the 

 benefit of the doubt in every case, and 

 has only admitted indisputalile facts grudg- 

 ingly. If he has any intelligent answer 

 to make to the aliove I would like to hear 

 from him again. Tlie above facts wore 

 admitted to me by good railroad men from 

 time to time and I have stored them up ■ 

 for emergencies like this. 



I beg to differ with his statement that 

 the railroads will not entertain a proposi- 

 tion to reduce the tariff on lumber if prop- 

 erly approached. Intelligent and united 

 action will bring us surprising results, I 

 am sure. This is the first time that I have 

 ever taken up a newspaper discussion and 

 I only do this to bring the matter before 

 the members of the National Hardwood 

 Lumber Association. It will give theiu 

 something to think about and some others 

 may have a goud many other points in 

 favor of the reduction of tariff not here 

 named, which, in duty bound to all the 

 members, they should express in such a 

 way that we can all give the matter thor- 

 ough study. I am sure it will be of great 

 help to the railroad committee. 



Trusting you will find space in your 

 valuable paper for the above, I am 

 I'ours very truly, 



F. W. VETTER. 



