THE HARDWOOD RECORD. 



IS 



wood trade had made such progress toward 

 getting together on a set of rules within 

 six months. 



As soon as the Cincinnati meeting ad- 

 journed the National rules were adopted by 

 the Chicago market and the Cincinnati 

 market, and there the matter of adopting 

 those rules stopped for a while. St. Louis 

 refused to adopt them, so did JXinneapolis 

 and Memphis was indifferent. 



The cause of this action on the part of 

 some of the markets was due, I believe, 

 largel.v to the fact that the National asso- 

 ciation was generally understood, at that 

 time, to be unpopular with the producers of 

 lumber. The National rules, as then in 

 force, were fully as good and equitable as 

 the St. Louis rules, or any other rules in 

 force in the central markets, but the Na- 

 tional association was looked upon largely 

 as a "Chicago scheme" and other markets 

 feared that they might become too closely 

 identified with Chicago in the mind of the 

 trade by having the same set of rules, and 

 no doubt believed that they would stand 

 better with the producers by holding aloof 

 from the National rules. 



In the meantime many influences were 

 working against the National association. 

 It needed standing. The bitter feeling ex- 

 isting among the various sections and frac- 

 tions in the hardwood lumber trade pre- 

 vented any enthusiasm over the National 

 a.ssociation and it is not to be wondered at. 

 It miglit be possible for a few of the more 

 progressive in the trade to get together and 

 agi-ee on a set of rules, but it was to take 

 longer than six months to bring the trade 

 at large into such a frame of mind as 

 would bring the National association rules 

 into universal favor. As before stated they 

 were probably as fair and reasonable a set 

 of rules as any other in force in any cen- 

 tral markets, but all the rules at that time 

 were moi-e severe than the general cus- 

 tom of the country. The manufacturers 

 generally condemned the National rules 

 along with all other rules and only trans- 

 acted business upon those rules when com- 

 pelled to do so. 



The first great 'boost," if you will per- 

 mit the word, which the National associa- 

 tion received in the matter of securing in- 

 dorsement, was the adoption of its rules 

 of inspection by the National Wholesale 

 Lumber Dealers" Association in March, 

 1899. 



That association contained in its mem- 

 bership a very large percentage of the 

 wholesale dealers of the eastern states and 

 was and is one of the most powerful lum- 

 ber organizations in the United States. 

 So when it indorsed the rules of the Na- 

 tional Hardwood Lumber Association it 

 gave those rules a standing in the trade 

 which secured them respectful considera- 

 tion. 



* * * 

 The history of how those rules came to 

 be adopted by the wholesalers' association 

 is interesting. At a meeting of the board 



New Departmervt a,nd a. New Head 



W. D. HURLBUT. 

 Tiiitfii' M:iuager of the National Associatiou. 



A.s announced in our last issue, the trafiic 

 department of the National Hardwood 

 Lumber Association has been organized 

 and is now in good working order. The ' 

 committee in charge have selected Mr. "W. 

 D. Hurlbut, whose likeness we are pleased 

 to present herewith, as manager of this de- 

 partment. 



Mr. Hurlbut was born in Ogdensburg, 

 N. Y., in 1861, and has been connected with 



railroad traflic work since 187.5, lieginning 

 as a clerk in the Illinois Central roalroad's 

 general freight ofiices in this city at that 

 time. In 1899 he was made chief clerk 

 in the same oflices and a year later be- 

 came assistant general freight agent. In 

 August. 1892. he was transferred to Mem- 

 phis, Tenn., where he was assistant geueral 

 freight agent of both the Illinois Central 

 and the Y. »t M. V. R. R. In 1896 he 

 became general freight agent at Louis- 

 ville, Ky., for the same roads, in charge 

 of all the freight traffic south of the 

 Ohio river, and in 1899 he was made gen- 

 eral coal agent at Chicago for both roads, 

 in charge of the coal and coke traflic, these 

 two commodities constituting over .33 per 

 cent of the total freight tonnage carried 

 liy these roads. 



When it comes to matters of tariffs, traf- 

 lic and transportation, Mr. Hurlbut's edu- 

 cation is complete. He was the unanimous 

 choice of the traffic committee of the Na- 

 tional association, he had the indorsement 

 of many of the important railroad officials, 

 and those who know him personally are 

 all of one opinion — that he is the best 

 freight traffic man in the United States. 



He is a man of wide and valuable ex- 

 perience in freight matters, and will liring 

 to the work in hand a thorough knowledge 

 of the subject as well as ability to handle 

 it. 



The headquarters of this new depart- 

 ment is at 670 Old Colony building, Chi- 



of managers of the National Hardwood 

 Lumber Association, held in Memphis, in 

 December, 1898, Messrs. F. H. Smith, W. 

 M. Weston and myself were appointed a 

 committee to attend the meeting of the Na- 

 tional Wholesale Dealers' Association, to 

 be held at Boston in March. 



When the time for the meeting came, Mr. 

 F. H. Smith was unable to attend, but I 

 wish to state that that is the only commit- 

 tee meeting Mr. Smith ever failed to at- 

 tend, where he was a member of the com- 

 mittee. Mr. Weston lived in Boston, so his 

 attendance was counted upon. Messrs. 

 Bennett and Vinnedge said that I must 

 certainly attend, so after receiving the ad- 

 vice and suggestion of Mr. Vinnedge in 

 Chicago I went through Cincinnati and 

 "Uncle Billy" Bennett patted me on the 

 back and told me to go in. 



I hadn't much idea that I could secure 

 the adoption of the inspection rules, neither 

 did ilr. Bennett or Mr. Vinnedge, and I 

 could not have succeeded except for the 

 assistance rendered by Mr. JI. M. Wall. 



Mr. Wall was not at that time a member 

 of the National Hardwood Lumber Asso- 

 ciation and had never attended any of its 

 meetings, the movement having not as yet 

 reached Buffalo. He had been watching 

 the progi'ess of the association, however, 

 and approved of the work it bad done. 



He was at that time, and still is. chair- 

 man of the committee on hardwood inspec- 

 tion for the wholesalers' association, and it 

 was largely due to his splendid work at 

 the Boston meeting that the inspection 

 rules of the National Hardwood Lumber 

 Associatiou were adopted by the National 

 Wholesale Lumber Dealers' Association, at 

 that time, and still, one of the most in- 

 fluential organizations in the United Staties. 

 * * * 

 It was during my eastern trip that the 

 matter of establishing an inspection 

 bureau was first seriously undertaken. 

 Like most shippers who cater to the east- 

 ern markets, Mr. Wall was very much dis- 

 satisfied with conditions existing in the 

 New York City hardwood market and his 

 interest in the National Hardwood Associa- 

 tion was largely due to a desire for a more 

 efficient protection to western shippers in 

 that and other eastern markets, so when 

 he left Boston to return to Bul3:alo he re- 

 quested me, knowing that I was going to 

 be in New York for a week, to see what 

 the prospects were of securing the adop- 

 tion of the National Hardwood Lumber As- 

 sociation inspection rules by the New York 

 Lumber Trade Association. 



I spent a week in New York City lookmg 

 after the business interests of the Hard- 

 wood Record, and incidentally seeing what 



