i6 



THE HARDWOOD RECORD. 



taken up in detail and acted upon by the 



association as it tliinks best. 



W. J. WAGSTAFP, 

 Chairman of Committee. 

 T'lwn motion of Mr. Cliapman, the com- 

 mittee's report was approved. 



Mr. B. F. iMcMiilan obtained the floor 

 and made a supplementary verbal report, 

 slating that the committee had been very 

 liiu.lly received at St. lyouis, that their sug- 

 jre.stiims and recommendations had received 

 the fullest and fairest consideration, and 

 that the rules, as finally adopted by the Na- 

 tional association, were satisfactory to 

 the coniuiittee. and he thought that the 

 Wisconsin association should adopt the 

 rules of the National Hardwowl Lumber 

 Association, not only upon northern woods, 

 but upon all woods. 



lie said: "There is no hardwood lumber 

 which grows in the United States that is 

 not used in Wisconsin; and even if we 

 had no direct or personal Interest in the 

 matter, it is our duty to endorse all the 

 rules of the National association. We only 

 want one set of rules in this counti-y and 

 If we do not hold to this line of policy 

 there may spring up another association in 

 Bomc other section which will refuse to 

 endorse the uniform rules in which we are 

 Interested. 



"I regret tlie small attendance here to- 

 day, but the members of this association 

 are very busy at the present time and there 

 Is but little (loulit in my mind but that they 

 are all of one opinion in this matter. The 

 small attendance only increases the re- 

 sponsibility placed upon those present, and 

 I think it is of vast importance for all 

 our members wlio have not already joined 

 to become members of the National Hard- 

 wood I.umber Association. 



"This association is making and saving 

 us money every day, and It is our duty, 

 as business men who wish to fulfil their 

 obligations, to join this National associa- 

 tion and bear their proportion of the work 

 and expense. 



"Some meml)ers may fear that the Na- 

 tional association will absorb the Wiscon- 

 sin association, but that Is a mistake. It 

 win make the Wisconsin association 

 stronger than ever. This association is the 

 father of uniform inspection and it will ex- 

 ist. I hoiie and believe, as long as there is a 

 hardwood tree in the state of Wisconsin. 

 But we will lend the National association 

 strength and they will lend us strength 

 and wo should, so far as possible, work 

 together to common ends." 



At the close of Mr. McMillan's report 

 It was moved that the thanks of the asso- 

 ciation be given those who attended the 

 St. I.ouls meeting for their earnest efforts. 

 Motion carried. 



The president then called for the report 

 of the committee on price list, but the 

 committee asked for further time. 



Mr. B. F. McMillan introduced the fol- 

 lowing resolution: 



Resolved, That we herebv endorse and 

 adopt the rules of inspection of the Na- 



tional Hardwood Lumber Association as 

 our standard of inspection. 



Mr. Ellingson moved the adoption of the 

 '•esolution, seconded by Mr. Colby. There 

 was some discussion of the question before 

 it was submitted to a vote, but that dis- 

 cussion consisted entirely of the members 

 expressing approval of uniform inspection 

 and of the adoption of the National rules. 

 Mr. C. P. Crosby called the attention of 

 the meeting to the fact that he had been 

 advocating the adoption of the National 

 rules for some time and was certainly 

 strongly in favor of doing so at this time. 

 Mr. Reitbrook was strongly in favor of 

 adopting the rules and urged upon the 

 members to use them to the full extent of 

 their ability, as it was the use of the rules 

 more than the adoption which would for- 

 ward the work of uniform inspection, in 

 which the entire lumber trade was so much 

 interested. 



Several othei- members had something to 

 say, all along the same line. Then the 

 motion for the adoption of the resolution 

 was put and carried without a dissenting 

 vote. 



Mr. McMillan then introduced the fol- 

 lowing resolution: 



Resolved, That we approve and endorse 

 the plan of the inspection bureau of the 

 National Hardwood Lumber As.soclatlon. 

 and moved its adoption. Mr. McMillan 

 said: 



"In moving the adoption of this re.solu- 

 tion, my desire is to have this association 

 lend its support and endorsement to one 

 of the ablest, if not the ablest, department 

 or bureau of any lumber organization in 

 the United States." 



Before the vote was taken. Mr. M. M. 

 Wall, surveyor-general of the National as- 

 sociation, was called upon to explain the 

 workings of his bureau. This Jlr. AVall 

 did in a manner beyond criticism. He 

 said in part: 



"Gentlemen, I thank you for your in- 

 vitation to be present at this meeting, to 

 meet with your association and confer 

 upon the matter of inspection. 



"The first object of the National Hard- 

 wood Lumber Association, in which we 

 have all been working so faithfully, w-as 

 to secure the adoption of a set of inspec- 

 tion rules which might be generally satis- 

 factory to the trade of the entire country. 

 After two or three years of effort in this 

 direction, the association succeeded, in a 

 measure, and then came the second ques- 

 tion of almost equal importance, regarding 

 the uniform interpretation and application 

 of the uniform rules. This Is a matter of 

 vast importance to the hardwood lumber 

 trade. Uniform rules are a good thing, 

 but their value is increased many fold if 

 the lumbermen may secure uniform appli- 

 cation of these rules, so that a car of lum- 

 ber loaded in Wisconsin will pass in New 

 York or Boston or any other part of this 

 eouuti-y. A shipper in Wisconsin may 

 load a car of lumber on his interpretation 

 of the National rules, and when the lum- 



ber arrives at some distant market the 

 buyer may, by placing his iaterpretatioa 

 upon the rules, show almost as great a 

 difference in value as is shown under the 

 old system of each section having a sepa- 

 rate set of rules. What the inspection 

 bureau was organized for and what it is 

 gi-adually succeeding in doing, is to make 

 uniform application of our imiform rules 

 throughout all sections of the country. 



"Under the workings of this bureau a 

 lumber contract is good for its face value. 

 That contract is being used almost entirely 

 in the state of Michigan, and it consti- 

 tutes the only really good hardwood lumber 

 contract I knew of. At present, of course, 

 the shippers of lumber are having but lit- 

 tle difficulty in having the buyers fulfil 

 their contracts, but the time will come, 

 maybe ia the near future, when the shoe 

 will fit the other foot and if your contracts 

 are made based ou National inspection, no 

 buyer can use the old plan of breaking a 

 contract by disagreeing with you on in- 

 spection. 



"I came here to-day to consult and ad- 

 vise with you, gentlemen, regarding the or- 

 ganization of the Inspection bureau in your 

 state, and I wish to impress upon you the 

 fact that there is no desire on the part of 

 the National association to take the con- 

 trol of your inspection away. I want the 

 assistance of your association and of the 

 Wisconsin lumbermen generally. I want 

 you to advise me and to recommend good 

 men for appointment and will assure you 

 that no man distasteful to this association, 

 or to tlie members of the National associa- 

 tion in this state, will be appointed as an 

 inspector of the National association. Con- 

 ditions vary greatly in the hardwood trade 

 in different sections of the country, and 

 the people engaged in the lumber business 

 in Wisconsin know better how that busi- 

 ness should be handled than anyone else, 

 and I am here to advise with you as ta 

 how the work of this state may best be 

 made successful. It is the policy of the 

 inspection bureau to encourage local con- 

 trol of inspection in so far as it may be 

 done without interfering with the fairness, 

 justice and reliability of the work of ths 

 bureau. The first oljject of the inspection 

 bureau is, of course, to have the wofk 

 done by its inspector fair, just and uniform 

 tliroughout the country. That is the prime 

 consideration, of course, but the lumber- 

 men in each loealit.v who are members of 

 the National association know more of 

 needs and conditions than it is possible for 

 mo to know, so that it is the policy of this 

 bureau, that so far as it may be done 

 without interfering with the intention of 

 this bureau, that its work shall be right 

 and just, I depend upon the lumbermen 

 of the various localities for assistance and 

 bold them responsible for results. 



"Our work is progressing favorably, al- 

 though it may appear slowly to some who- 

 do not know what is being done. 

 "Starting with seven inspectors for the 



