THE HARDWOOD RECORD. 



17 



the old tiles of the Recorcl without ad- 

 miration for the way in which it set about 

 that task. It had the entire lumber trade 

 of the country laughing at Defebaugh and 

 Juflson, at their littleness, hypocrisy and 

 insincerity, and having thus disarmed its 

 enemies it instilled into the mind of the 

 trade the necessity for organization; the 

 necessity for the trade to get together and 

 eradicate some of the evil practices. The 

 good which the Hardwood Record did at 

 that critical stage cannot be overestimated 

 and should not be forgotten. 



* * * 



Things progressed so favorably the sec- 

 ond year that at the second annual meet- 

 ing of the association the battle was 

 loolved upon as vron. 



The Exchange had removed its head- 

 iinarters from 101 Randolph street to the 

 Bedford building, corner of Dearborn and 

 Adams sti'eets. to smaller, cheaper but 100 

 per cent better quarters, and by cutting 

 down expenses in various wa.vs, together 

 with an increase of revenues from en- 

 larged membership, and increased revenue 

 from other sources, the Exchange was at 

 last upon a paying basis: and that gallant 

 little coterie of members that had carried 

 the movement to a triumphant conclusion 

 could breathe freely and congratulate one 

 another. ' 



At this meeting Mr. H. S. Hayden laid 

 down the burden of the presidency and 

 was succeeded by M"r. R. T, WHbeclc. of 

 Heath. Witheck & Co.. and Mr. Starlf was 

 succeeded l>y Theodore Fathauer in the 

 office of secretary. Ty. B. T.esh was elected 

 vice-president and A. R. Vinnedege, treas- 

 urer. ^'^ 



The board of managers consisted of 

 F. W. TTphani. H. S. Hayden. Max Sond- 

 heimer. H. S. Gerhardt. .T. M. Schoen and 

 S. W. Benbow. 



.\t this meeting Mr. Hayden read com- 

 munications from the lumber exchanges of 

 Cairo and Minneapolis relative to a meet- 

 ing to confer upon the matter of uni- 

 formity of inspection. The matter was 

 referred to a committee composed of Max 

 Sondlieimer. Fred "W. TTpham and Theo- 

 dore Fathauer. with insti'uctions to call a 



meeting. 



* * * 



I am dwelling upon this meeting for the 

 i-eason 'that it was there that the Ex- 

 change emerged from the difficulties which 

 liad beset it and became a pronounced 

 success. 



Wlien. a month later, the call for a 

 conference on the rule question resulted 

 in the organization of the National Hard- 

 wood Lumber Association, and proved so 

 unexpectedly successful, the future of the 

 Hardwood Exchange of Chicago was as- 

 sured. 



Mr. Witt)eclv was elected president in 

 1898 and re-elected, with all the officers 

 a« above stated, in 1899 and 1900. During 

 that period the National at^sociatiou had 

 been organized and put upon its feet, and 



the work of organizing the hardwood trade 

 was pretty nearly completed. Following 

 the organization of the Chicago market, 

 Cincinnati and Memphis. Indiana and 

 Michigan had organized, and these asso- 

 ciations, taken in connection with the or- 

 ganizations of St. I/Onis. Cairo. Minne- 

 apolis and Wisconsin, and the National 

 association uniting all. put the hardwood 

 trade in good shape so far as organiza- 

 tion was concerned. 



Hard times had also drawn her raiment 

 about her bony legs and gone her way. 

 Business was good, lumbermen were pros- 

 pering, the Hardwood Exchange had suc- 

 ceeded in all its undertakings, and it 

 seemed to the old management that they 

 had served their time .and should step 

 aside and give the new blood a show. 



The dues had been reduced by the end 

 of Mr. Witbeck's second term to .«30 a 

 .vear. and a large gain in membership had 

 resulted. A number nf young men who 

 had had no part in the past work of the 

 Exchange were membei-s and the old man- 

 agement decided it best to step down and 

 out. 



.\nd to my mind this was a wise- deci- 

 sion. I don't care how honest, earnest 

 or efficient those at the head of such an 

 organization mav be. the time comes when 

 a change is popular. The member.s are 

 certain that there are others .lust as 

 honest, earnest and capable, and want 

 them to have a .show. 



.\nother thing is that in the course of 

 a term or two. an executive officer gives 

 an association all he can give it. His 

 orisrinality becomes exhausted and a 

 change is refreshing. For a secretary or 

 officer who merely does clerical work a 

 chanc-e is not to be desired: but tlie man 

 who furnishes the ideas and brains ought 

 to be changed once in a while for the 

 good of the organization. The old man- 

 agement had controlled for five years and 

 had done a great work, but it was wise 

 in changing. 



So when it came time for the election 

 in 1901 R. T. Witbeck. the retiring presi- 

 dent. George Thamer and George Stone- 

 man were put on a committee to report 

 nominations, and the result was: 



President. O. O. Agler. of the Fred W. 

 ITpham Lumber Company. 



Vice-president, W. O. King, of W. O. 

 King & Co. 



Secretary, H. M. Nixon, of the H. M. 

 Nixon Lumber Company. 



Ti'easurer. Max Sondlieimer. of the E. 

 Sondheimer Company. 



And the new officers jnstifled the faith 

 that had been put in them. The old offi- 

 cers had put the Exchange in tlie van 

 and later had moved it to the Fort Dear- 

 born building, at the corner of Clark and 

 Moni-oe streets, where it still is and where, 

 by the grace and favor of the officers and 

 members, I have the use of a desk^. 



The new officers took hold with vim 

 and enthusiasm; new members were se- 



cured and the greatest meeting the Na- 

 tional association has yet held was taken 

 care of In a handsome manner. The Chi- 

 {■ago Exchange flourished as never before, 

 because the new blood being put in the 

 saddle and the old timers lending the same 

 loyal support as heretofore, everybody was 

 pulling. 



In March, 1902. the same officers were 

 unanimously re-elected. and I per- 

 sonally know that President Agler had out- 

 lined a campaign of vigorous and pro- 

 gressive work, when, to the deep regret 

 of everybody, he was taken seriously ill 

 and is only now getting on his feet again. 



So that through the summer the work 

 of the Exchange has languished some- 

 wliat. but it is probably .iust as well. 

 Tlie hardwood trade of Chicago has been 

 on a strain in the matter of organization 

 for a number of years, and a little rest 

 won't hurt them. The Exchange is on 

 Easy street; the memliers are all pros- 

 iiering. there are several hundred dollars 

 in the treasury and the surplus is in- 

 creasing. 



The inspection of Chicaaro is now turned 

 over to the National association, and \i 

 running along smoothlv anil nrospernuslv. 

 entailing no won-y. respimsibility or ex- 

 jiense upon the Exchange. 



As the weather becomes conlci- it wiH 

 be well to stir up thinsrs a bit. but in th-^ 

 incnntime all is well with the Exchange. 

 Its handsome quarters are open all dav 

 and every day. to its members and friends, 

 ind it i-arely has less tl'an two or three 

 lumbermen making use of its conveniences 

 —from that to a dozen. 



,\nd as I sit here in the larsfe and hand- 

 somely fitted assemblv room looking out 

 over Lake Michigan and think of all that 

 the Exchange has c:one through and all it 

 has accomplislied. I am nleased— but T am 

 slad it is over. T wish to sav. however, 

 to the members of the Exchange to the 

 members of the National association and 

 to the hardwood tnide genernllv. that 

 "eternal vigilance is the price of libertv." 

 The influences which have opposed the 

 organization of the hardwood trade are 

 still actively at work. 



* * ♦ 



Of the three lumber papers which were 

 in Chicasro when the Exchanse was or- 

 ganized, all have passed nwav. Hardwood 

 was merged with the Hardwooi Record 

 several years ago. and the Northwestern 

 Lumberman and the Timberman. after 

 losing their grip on the situation, were 

 forced to consolidate into the American 

 Lumberman. This paper has been con- 

 ducting itself pretty decently so far as 

 surface indications go. but it is well to 

 remember that the new paper inherited 

 from the old. along with other matters, a 

 hatred to the Chicago Exchange, the Na- 

 tional association and all that is inde- 

 pendent and progressive in the hardwood 

 trade. All It lacks of carrying things with 

 the same high hand as of old is the power 



