June 2:.. 1922 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



ville meeting, conditions in the trade, Und need of standardization 

 and unity. Mr. Dulweber 's address was as follows: 



There has been gradual betterment of oou<litious for the hardwood saw- 

 mill operator, but this improvement has been pitiably slow. We have 

 been in bondage. We have been unable to accomplish for ourselves, or for 

 those who use our products, what we would like. At last, thanks to the 

 full awakening of the industry, the realization to our plight by our fellow 

 manufacturers of other kinds of lumber and the honest and sincere 

 co-operation, that I am sure will result from this meeting, the day of our 

 deliverance is at hand. 



I am on the program as submitting a report on behalf of the committee 

 representing the hardwood lumber manufacturers at the conference of the 

 lumber interests with Secretary of Commerce Hoover in Washington, 

 May 22 to 2G. I am so impressed with the glorious opportunities that are 

 before us as a result of this conference, and the great constructive devel- 

 opment that I am sure will accrue therefrom, that I hardly know where to 

 begin, and it is with difficulty that I give voice to my thoughts. The 

 conference, while preliminary in character, constitutes the greatest con- 

 structive step that has ever been taken in the industry, and the ultimate 

 outcome will be greater stability in our own business and better service 

 and lower costs to the consumer and the public. This will not be accom- 

 plished in a day, but its coming is as certain as death and taxes, and it 

 can best be speeded on its way by every one putting his shoulder to the 

 wheel and pushing for all he is worth. 



There are little details that require adjusting in the other lines of lum- 

 ber manufacture, but these are insignificant in character, and while there 

 still exists some slight difference of opinion on certain questions, I predict 

 that before we have proceeded far these differences will be completely 

 harmonized. While this conference will result in much good to other 

 branches of lumber manufacture, to hardwoods it is as a "gift from 

 heaven." and through its medium, for the first time, we will have real 

 standardization. 



The Mark Set by Hoover 



Secretary Hoover expressed the belief that the industry, including all 

 kinds of lumber, should strive for 



1. The construction of grades and specifications to best serve the public 

 and standardization of nomenclature as nearly as possible. 



2. The grade branding of lumber at the mill and guarantee to the public 

 that it will obtain the grade that it buys. 



3. The simplification and standardization of sizes as will make for 

 greater economy in transportation, production, distribution, etc. 



Mr. Hoover also expressed the view that there should be created by the 

 industry itself a national instrumentality of an entirely independent 

 character that would be free from suspicion and enjoy the confidence of 

 the public for the administration of inspection rules on all kinds of lumber 

 in cases of disputes between buyer and seller, the service of this organi- 

 zation to extend to foreign markets. 



Your committee voted in favor of all of these propositions, and they met 

 with the almost unanimous approval of the delegates in attendance. 



The opinion prevails that unless the industry itself brings about a bet- 

 terment of conditions, that governmental control and regulations was the 

 alternative. 



This view is absolutely correct, but I think it is agreed that such inter- 

 vention would be ill-advised and would not accomplish the same beneficial 

 results which we ourselves are capable of bringing about. 



Join "Because It Is Right!" 



I am not appealing to you, my friends, however, to join in and support 

 this movement because of fear of governmental intervention, for to my 

 mind, ''he who refrains from crime because of the fear of punishment is 

 no better than the criminal himself." I am appealing to you to join in 

 this great forward movement because it is right, and being right it must 

 eventually result to the material good and profit of yourselves and of those 

 you are seeking to serve. 



That the specifications covering the inspection rules of hardwoods are 

 inadequate and are not scientifically constructed has long been realized 

 by everyone who had given the subject serious thought. In the beginning 

 hardwoods were used almost exclusively by furniture manufacturers, and 

 this class of manufacturers at that time instead of specializing in the 

 manufacture of certain articles produced a large variety of different pieces 

 of furniture so that a great variety of sizes of cuttings and different 

 qualities could be utilized. 



It must also be borne in mind that at that time the price of hardwood 

 was materially lower than it is today, and that the average quality was 

 very much higher, so that the question of waste and economical utilization 

 was not the important problem that it has since become. The result was 

 that at that time practically all hardwood was sold log run. After a time 

 it became evident that the term "log run*' meant nothing and that there 

 ■was a -wide difference in the intrinsic value of different lots of log run lum- 

 ber, and for the purpose purely of having some measure by which the 

 value of the log run product could be determined, hardwood inspection 

 rules were originally devised. Even after the advent of these rules the 

 consumers continued buying the full product of the log. but instead of 

 buying it at a fixed average price, it was bought at different prices for the 

 various grades which had been fixed by the inspection rules adopted. 



Old Rules Inadequate 

 Today the situation as regards consumption of hardwoods is entirely 

 different and the same vehicle that may have satisfactorily met the 



situation in the beginning is at this time wholly inadequate. The price 

 of hardwoods, due to the greatly diminished supply of timber, is very 

 materially higher, and for the same cause the average quality is lower. 

 On the side of consumption we find the furniture manufacturer specializ- 

 ing in the production of certain articles of furniture, instead of manu- 

 facturing general lines, thus restricting the character of lumber that can 

 be advantageously used in the various individual plants. In addition, we 

 find entirely new uses for hardwoods, such as hardwood flooring, interior 

 trim, automobile bodies, etc., each presenting its own peculiar problem. 



It will be seen, therefore, that the inspection rules for hardwoods orig- 

 inally came into existence, not for the purpose of creating grades that could 

 be most advantageously used for certain manufacturing or consuming 

 needs, but constituted purely an arbitrary basis, having for its purpose the 

 determination of the average value of the log run product, and despite the 

 gr^vth of the hardwood industry and the greater varietj- of uses to which 

 hardwoods are now put, we have continued to dc business on this anti- 

 quated, costly and wasteful basis of grading. 



Caused of Arrested Development 

 The lack of development in this important feature of our business I feel 

 is due to the following causes : 



1. We have lacked effective organization of the hardwood manufac- 

 turers. We have had at different times sectional organizations of manu- 

 facturers that have accomplished much good, but we have never had all 

 hardwood manufacturers from all parts of the country united into one 

 body and all working together for the development and welfare of the 

 industry. 



2. Because of the lack of co-operation on the part of the manufacturer, 

 the unscrupulous intermediate dealer has been able to inject himself into 

 the situation, and largely through his efforts the present unscientific basis 

 of lumber inspection has been continued, his interest in the matter being 

 the profits derived through grade manipulation and substitution, which this 

 system encourages and makes possible. 



3. The lack of interest on the part of the consumer. It is surprising 

 what little thought the average consumer has given to lumber. Most 

 manufacturing plants using lumber also use other materials, and we find 

 them employing consulting chemists, engineers and seeking other competent 

 advice as regards other material entering into their work, but practically 

 no thought has been given to lumber, and the tremendous waste that has 

 resulted in its utilization has been looked upon as a necessary and unavoid- 

 able evil. Only one consuming industry, the wagon and implement busi- 

 ness, has given any thought to this important subject, and as a result of 

 their efforts there have been established grades covering their consumption, 

 such as. for instance, box boards, that are truly scientific and that reduce 

 waste and utilization cost to the minimum. 



Experts Call Old Rules Outworn « 



That the present hardw^ood rules are wholly inadequate and wasteful in 

 the extreme is an opinion that is shared by competent engineers and 

 experts who have had occasion to study the problem. This seems clear 

 from a passage which I encountered only a few days ago in a pamphlet 

 on '"Wood Waste Problems," issued by the Forest Products Laboratory at 

 Madison, Wis., and written by Arthur T. Upson. This passage reads as 

 follows : 



These rules are in most instances the outgrowth of early conditions 

 when the use of lumber was not refined as it is today. The result is that 

 the lumber grades not only do not fully meet the requirements of use in 

 most cases but they are so complex and misleading that the average con- 

 sumer has no assurance that he is getting material best suited for his 

 needs. 



We must not delude ourselves in the belief that waste and cost in the 

 utilization of our product is no concern of ours. I am sure that every think- 

 ing man realizes that every dollar's worth of unnecessary waste or cost in 

 utilization is a direct tax on this industry, and never was it so important 

 as now that such unnecessary waste and cost be eliminated. The com- 

 petition from now on with metals, fiber products and other wood sub- 

 stitutes will be extremely keen, and we cannot carry the handicap of 

 excessive cost of utilization and successfully meet this competition. 



Now the question arises, how are we to construct such a set of rules 

 as will enable our product to better meet the needs of the consumer and 

 minimize waste and cost of utilization? Broadly speaking, every grade of 

 lumber that is made should have for its purpose the meeting of some par- 

 ticular manufacturing need as closely as it is possible, and in conformity 

 with the timber that is available and economical production practices. 

 Tli« question then arises, how is this to he done? 



I have for several years served as chairman of the inspection rules 

 committee of the American Hardwood Manufacturers' Association, and I 

 yield to no man in the knowledge of inspection rules, either in their written 

 specifications, or in their actual application, nor in the practical uses to 

 which our product is put. but I do not mind admitting to you frankly 

 that I am wholly "incapable of. within anything like a reasonable time, 

 suggesting specifications that will properly meet this situation. Nor could 

 any committee that you might select satisfactorily accomplish this work. 



Engineers Must Study Problem 



The only way in which this problem can properly be solved is to employ 

 competent engineers to make a careful study and survey of the situation, 

 taking into account the different uses to which our product is put and 

 the natural restrictions under which we are laboring, the character of 

 timber we have available and our manufacturing limitations. The interest 



