THE HARDWOOD RECORD. 



IS 



The MaLi\ About Town. 



HISTORY OF THE CHICAGO HARD- 

 WOOD LUMBER EXCHANGE. 

 (CONCLUDED.) 



It wa.s with c/ousidfraljU" reluctance that 

 the hardwood lumbcnnen of the old Chi- 

 cago Lumbermen's Association withdrew 

 from that body. They knew they had a 

 serious undertaking before them. Tliere 

 had ncAcr been a distinctly hardwood or- 

 ganisation in Chicago, and the hardwood 

 men were, as a rule, not versed in asso- 

 ciation work. After thoroughly consider- 

 ing t!ie matter, however, they drew up the 

 following: 



AVheroas, Believing that the interests of 

 the hardwood trade of the Chicago mar- 

 ket can be more fully advanced by a sep- 

 arate and distinct orgauization within 

 itself, and 



Whereas, Although we appreciate the 

 advantage to be gained by being, as we 

 are, pleasantly associated with the white 

 iMne branch of the trade, under the lead 

 of the Lumbermen's Association of Chi- 

 cago, .vet, seeing, as we do, the growing 

 tendency toward direct competition be- 

 tween us, we feel that a dissolution of 

 the pine and hardwood interests is neces- 

 sary. Therefore, be it 



Resolved, That we, the hardwood 

 branch of the Lumbermen's .Vssociatiou 

 of Chicago, sever our connection with that 

 organization and form an organization of 

 our own. to be known as the Chicago 

 Hardwood Lumljer Exchange: and Ije it 

 furtjjer 



Itesolved, That we advise the Lund)er- 

 men's association of our intention before 

 the ending of the present tiscal year: and 

 be it further 



Itesolved. That we, the undersigned, do 

 hereby agree to support, foster aud pro- 

 tect the Chicago Hardwood Lumber Eix- 

 ehange, with offices, chief inspector and 

 other factors necessai^r to meet the de- 

 mands of the hardwood lumber trade of 

 Chicago, which this exchange represents, 

 in accordance with the b.v-laws and char- 

 ter, which shall be provided by a repre- 

 sentative committee, to be elected at a 

 joint meeting of the hardwood trade. 



The result was that nearly every hard- 

 wood lumberman to whom the paper was 

 presented signed it, and when, on May 3. 

 1890. the Lumbermen's association met at 

 tlie association rcoms, in its regular an- 

 nual meeting, Messrs. H. S. Hayden, E. F. 

 Dodge and M. A. Vinnedge A\ere present 

 and presented the resolution. 



In presenting the resolution, Mr. Dodge, 

 chairman of the hardwood committee, 

 stated that, while he entertained the kind- 

 est feeling to the old Lumbermen's asso- 

 ciation, of which he and his father had 

 been members for so many years, he felt 

 that the interests of the hardwood trade, 

 of which he was a member, could be bet- 

 ter advanced by a separate organization, 

 and for that reason he was withdrawing, 

 and for no other, 



Jlr. Paltzer, one of the prominent white 

 pine members of the association, said that 



BY C. D. STRODE. 



while he regretted that the hardwood iii- 

 terests sliould feel it necessary to with- 

 draw, yet, feeling as they did about it, he 

 saw nothin.g for it but to accept the resig- 

 nations of those whose names were signed 

 to the paper; and while he did it with 

 regret, he moved the resignations be ac- 

 cepted. 



Before the question was put to a vote. 

 Mr. D. S. Pate, one of the finest men in 

 the lumber trade, and one who, though a 

 pine dealer, had at that time and still has 

 the sincere and thorough regard and es- 

 teem of the hardwood trade, said he would 

 like to be certain that the reasons for with- 

 drawal set forth in the resolution were the 

 real and only rea.sons of the hardwood 

 lumbermen for withdrawing. He said he 

 felt and feared there were other aud m3re 

 serious reasons, and he would like to hear 

 from others. 



This brought Mr. H. S, Hayden to his 

 feet, and he assured Mr. Pate and the 

 other gentlemen present that all the rea- 

 sons for withdrawal were contained within 

 the resolution. M. A. Vinnedge made the 

 same statement, and there was nothing 

 left to do except to accept the resigna- 

 tions.- 



It is all over and done now, and forgot- 

 ten. I had forgotten aliout the matters 

 set forth above until I found the reiK)rt in 

 the old files of the Record, but there were 

 other reasons, as Mr. Pate feared, and as 

 almost everyone present knew, reasons of 

 which the hardwood lumbermen could not 

 speak. The white pine men knew what 

 they were and might have brought the 

 matters up, but the hardwood men could 

 not. 



It is all over and forgotten now, how- 

 ever, and the Chicago Hardwood Lumber 

 Exchange is the peer of the Lumbermen's 

 Association, or any other lumber organiza- 

 tion in the United States, in power, stand- 

 ing and influence; so let it go. 



i i * 



On the evening of "March i, 1890. a 

 called meeting of the hardwood trade was 

 held at the Sherman Hou.se, and H. S. 

 H.iyden was elected president; R, T. Wit- 

 beck, vice-president; I. Witkowsld. secre- 

 tary, and M. A. Vinnedge, treasurer. Di- 

 rectors: Max Sondheimer, A. R. Vinnedge, 

 Geo. Stoneman and E. F. Dodge, and the 

 Exchange was ready for business. 



The Chicago Hardwood Ltimber Ex- 

 change started on its career with a pretty 

 heavy handicap. All the lumber papers 

 of Chicago, with the exception of the 

 Hardwood Record, were opposed to it. with 

 Defebaugh's paper, the Timberman, mak- 

 ing active, bitter war upon it; and imder 

 such circumstances it is not to be won- 

 dered at that it got no support from the 



trade at large. If the old Chicago lum- 

 ber papers would not sa,v anything in 

 favor of the Chicago Ilartrwood Lumber 

 Exchange, how could the trade papers out- 

 side of Chicago be expected to say any- 

 thing, or the outside trade be brought to 

 have any confidence in its effiirts to bet- 

 ter conditions? 



.Vnother thing was tliat tlie .-itlitiide of 

 the lumber papers of Chicago kept the 

 Chicago trade divided. I know that the 

 lumbermen of other markets will not un- 

 derstand how the lumber papers of Chi- 

 cago could have such a commanding in- 

 fluence. They look upon the papers of 

 their own markets, conducted decentl.v and 

 soberly, occupying tlieir proper position in 

 tlie trade, and they are inclined to doubt 

 the statements that the Chicago news- 

 papers had established a reign of terror 

 in Chicago at that time; that Defebaugh 

 would come into a meeting of the lumber 

 trade and dictate this and that; but you 

 may take my word for it that it was so. 

 And for that reason the Chicago Hard- 

 wood Lumlier Exchange passed a rule at 

 the outset excluding newspapers from its 

 meetings. 



As befcre stated, the attitude of the lum- 

 ber papers kept the hardwoolll ti-ade di- 

 vided. All had withdrawn from the old 

 association but a few. but mider the fos- 

 tering care of the Timberman the inspec- 

 tion of the Lumbermen's Association was 

 maintained, and the Timberman even 

 faced about and said some good words 

 for it. It was maintained, not becau.so 

 the hardwood trade remaining in the old 

 association wanted it maintained, or 

 wanted to use it, nor because the white 

 pine trade had any interest in it. It was, 

 it seems to me, maintained chiefly because 

 Defebaugh wanted it and thought it would 

 annoy and retard the new exchange. 



The position of the Timberman in fos- 

 tering and advocating the old system of 

 inspection was so ridiculous, however, and 

 the new Exchange was so evidently the 

 party of progi'ess, that after keeping the 

 matter alive for a number of months, the 

 old association abandoned its hardwood 

 inspection and turned it all over to the 

 exchange— a thing it might well have done 

 with more courtesy at the beginning. 

 * * * 



Besides being handicapped by the op- 

 position of the trade papers and the lack 

 of sympathy on the part of the trade at 

 large in the work they had undertaken, the 

 Exchange had, as I thought and still thinii, 

 unwisely burdened itself with a heavy ex- 

 pense. As the inspection was arranged, 

 it had to have a chief inspector and he 

 had to have a salary. They had aban- 

 doned the fee system aud didn't inteud to 



