The Hardwood Record 



VOL. XIV. 



Saturday, September 20, 1902. 



No. 12 



The Hardwood Record. 



PUBLISHED 



EVERY OTHER SATURDAY 



BY 



C. V. KIMBALL, 



134 MONROE STREET, - CHICAGO, ILL. 



ENTERED AT CHICAGO POST OFFICE A3 

 SECOND-CLASS MATTER. 



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THE WISCONSIN ASSOCIATION. 



The meeting of the Wisconsin Hard- 

 wood" Lumbermen's -Association, Ijeld at 

 Milwaukee on Sei)teml>er IG, was of vast 

 importance to the Tiardwood lumber trade 

 and its effect will be felt for many years 

 to come. The attendance was not large, 

 but the character of the men yiresent, the 

 standing of the firms represented, and the 

 unanimity of sentiment among those pres- 

 ent are a guarantee that the meeting was 

 a thoroughly representative one and that 

 it retiected almost unanimously the senti- 

 ment of the hardwood lumbermen of Wis- 

 consin. 



A full and detailed report of this meet- 

 ing will be found in another department of 

 this paper, and we trust that our readers 

 will carefully consider each line of it. 



The Wisconsin Association has held 

 some very important meetings and has 

 done more, probably, than any other hard- 

 wood lumber association in shaping the 

 history of the hardwood lumber trade dur- 

 ing the past ten years, when practically 

 the entire history of the trade has been 

 made. 



The Wis':>onsin Hardwood Lumbermen's 

 Association is the oldest association of 

 hardwood producers in the United States. 

 It is two vears older than the Cliicago 



Hardwood Lumber Exchange and four 

 years older than the National Hardwood 

 Lumber Association. It was the flrst as- 

 sociation to call a conference on the sub- 

 ject of inspection rules, it having invited 

 Chicago and Minneapolis to meet with the 

 AVisconsin association at Marshlield tor 

 such a conference early in 1896, more than 

 two years before the National association 

 was organized. At that conference the 

 Wisconsin association submitted a set of 

 inspection rules, almost identical with the 

 inspection rules which were adopted at St. 

 Louis in 1902, more than six years later, 

 and which are considered a finality. 



At its annual meeting in Milwaukee on 

 last Tuesday, the National Hardwood Lum- 

 ber Association, having, after much hard 

 work, brought the entire trade to a point 

 which AVisconsin had reached six years 

 earlier, the Wisconsin association adopted 

 the National Hardwood Lumber Associa- 

 tion's rules and approved of the plan of 

 the inspection bureau. 



There is no doubt but that the senti- 

 ment in favor of uniformity which re- 

 ceived its start at Marshfield in 1S96, re- 

 sulted in the organization of the National 

 Hardwood Lumber Association two years 

 later; there is no doubt but that tlie ad- 

 vanced position taken by the Wisconsin as- 

 sociation at that first meeting in present- 

 ing inspection rules based absolutely upon 

 the prevailing custom and practices of the 

 trade, had tremendous influence in bring- 

 ing the National association to the same 

 sensible point; but the Wisconsin associa- 

 tion has never done the hardwood trade 

 a greater service than it did at its last 

 meeting, in putting its foot, in such a 

 thoroughgoing manner, upon the neck of 

 a determined effort that was being made 

 to overthrow all that has been accom- 

 Xilished in securing uniform inspection, in 

 which the Wisconsin association has played 

 so important a part. And it was not a 

 light or gentle foot such as the poet has 

 in mind when he speaks of its ability to 

 rush about over the spring flowers with- 

 out brushing the dew away. It was a 

 heavy and substantial pedal exti-emity, ap- 

 plied vigorously. The thing which sur- 

 prises us is that those who were pushing 

 the antagonistic movement had not greater 

 wit than to take their wares to so un- 

 promising a market. It would seem that 

 a very slight knowledge of the history of 

 that conservative and yet progressive or- 

 ganization would have taught them bet- 

 ter. They lacked wit or knowledge, how- 



ever, and suffered the consequences. The 

 members of the Wisconsin association are 

 able and progressive people, with a great 

 pride in their association and its history, 

 and it is the last association which we 

 would expect to lend its influence to a 

 retrogressive movement. 



The only semblance of friction at the 

 Milwaukee meeting arose from the un- 

 easiness on the part of certain members 

 that, by pursuing certain policies, the Wis- 

 consin association might lose some of its 

 identity. Too much cannot be said in ap- 

 proval of such a spirit in any association. 

 It is the backbone of the association and 

 is like a man's pride in his community 

 or his country. We believe, however, that 

 those who thought that their association 

 might sacrifice some of its identity by a 

 thorough affiliation with the National as- 

 sociation, in matters of common intere.st, 

 were mistaken. The Wisconsin associa- 

 tion will strengthen the National associa- 

 tion, but no less will the National asso- 

 ciation strengthen the Wisconsin associa- 

 tiiin. Such, at least, has been the history 

 of other organizations which have joined 

 with the National association. The asso- 

 ciations of Michigan, Indiana, Chicago, 

 Cincinnati and other sections are stronger 

 and greater for their connection with the 

 National association, and we are certain 

 that the same result will follow the offi- 

 cial alliance of the Wisconsin associatiou 

 with the National association. 



It has always been the policy of the 

 National association to sti-engthen and en- 

 courage state associations to the full ex- 

 tent of its ability. There are many things 

 of local importance which local associa- 

 tions can handle to the benefit of their 

 members which the National association 

 could not handle. There has always been 

 a strong controlling element in the Na- 

 tional association which has hindered it 

 from wandering into local affairs of any 

 section of the trade. It has always held 

 a clear and consistent view that its only 

 province was to act for the local associa- 

 tions in national matters. 



Practically all of the members of the 

 Wisconsin association are members of the 

 National association, and the membership 

 of both in the state of Wisconsin should 

 be doubled within another year. 



The Wisconsin association comes into 

 the National association with dignity. It 

 adopted the National association's rules, 

 but flrst the National association adopted 

 its rules. 



