42 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Jnne 25. 1922 



Donald R. Brewster 



Expert Consultant 

 OPERATION OF LUMBER DRY KILNS 



28 Blymer Building, Cincinnati. Oliio 



TRAINING OF KILN OPERATORS A SPECIALTY 



dauger does not come from the outside. Dislo.valty. gentlemen — and that 

 does not come from the outside. It comes from the inside. 



The National Hardwood Lumber Association is worth saving, it is 

 worth maintaining, it is worth boosting. Membership in the National 

 Hardwood Lumber Association is an honor. As the secretary told you in 

 his report, when anybod.v is talking about the National Hardwood Lumber 

 Association he is talking about something that belongs to you, and it is 

 your dut.y and should be your pi-ivilege and pleasure to protect the honor 

 and integrity of this association, as your directors and officials have done, 

 and I don't doubt they will continue so to do as long as they serve you. 

 I thank you. (Applause.) 



which there was only one delegate from the American Hardwood Manu- 

 facturers' Association. We started in at 10 o'clock, stayed until noon 

 came back at 1 o'clock ; worked until six, then started in again at S 

 o'clock and worked until three in the morning. Ninety-nine per cent of 

 that time was occupied in an argument between the North Carolina Pine 

 Association and the West Coast Lumbermen as to what the dressed sizes 

 of flr should be. The only point that came out on which we agreed was 

 that maple flooring should be finished 2% inches wide for three-inch floor- 

 ing. They asked us if we would agree to change that, but we would 

 not do it. That is the only hardwood subject there was in those two 

 days' discussion. One of the softwood people, when they adjourned to go 

 into the committee, said he didn't want to get into a rdoin where there 

 were all hardwood people ; that he didn't know what would happen to 

 him. 



When the convention ended there was the biggest row I have ever seen 

 among the softwood people. I can't see where they got into any agree- 

 ment at all. Hardwood is the only lumber that goes on the market full 

 widths and thicknesses. Some of them thought five-eighths was enough 

 for an inch. A yellow pine man who was one of the spokesmen for the 

 Yellow Pine Association was asked by the president of the Retailers' 

 Association this question : He said, "Why is it that you can't make your 

 dimension more than 1% thick?" "Well." he said, "we can't make it 

 more than 1%-inch thick because the size to which we saw our lumber 

 green doesn't allow us to dress it more than 1% thick." Another repre- 

 sentative thought that over a while, and said. "Well, why don't vou 

 saw your lumber thicker in the first place?" His answer was "Well we 

 don't have to saw it any thicker in the first place, if we are only going to 

 dress it 1%." (Laughter.) 



Now, after the softwood, really, on the sizes, it got down finally to argu- 

 ment whether the proper way to saw a log and the proper consideration 

 to be given fir was whether lumber should be full thickness when green 

 or whether it should be full thickness when dry. That really summed up' 

 the fir people's position. 



There was a minority report brought in against the majority report 

 The whole convention went along on that basis. I was not one of your 

 delegates but represented another association. My observation of' the 

 way the proposition worked out there was this: that on the very first 

 day, in the forenoon, when your delegates requested that the hardwood 

 be referred to separate committees, that if the people representing the 

 American Hardwood Association had agreed to that method, hardwood 

 would immediately have been taken out of the discussion, out of the whole 

 and entire conference. There might have been three committees on hard- 

 wood appointed. Possibly that would have resulted in a majority and 

 minority report by each committee, but in any event the whole facts of 

 the hardwood situation would have been presented in a comprehensive re 

 port back to the conference. They had three committees sitting there 

 looking out the windows at flying machines while the softwood people 

 were talking. They could have gotten up a comprehensive report which 

 would have covered the entire situation from the National Hardwood 

 Lumber Association's point of view: if the other people representing an- 

 other hardwood association had made their report, that would have been 

 a separate report and would have expressed their statement, and both 

 of them would have gone before the conference and would have saved all 

 of the wrangling and discussion and the softwood people could have gone 

 ahead. We heard the representative of the Secretary of Commerce Thurs- 

 day, and also the secretary himself stated that this conference was not 

 under the authority of the government : that the secretary was not 

 responsible for it in any way, except to invite us to hold our conference 

 in the Department of Commerce building: that this conference would be 

 followed by another conference, and after the lumbermen had agreed 

 among themselves that then the report would be referred to the Depart- 

 ment of Commerce, and that they would then give it their sanction or 

 disapproval. 



Palmer Sums TJp the Evidence 



Mr. Earl Palmer: Mr. chairnum, 1 feel sure that vou are simply 

 asking this of me out of courtesy to me because the matter has been 

 covered with extreme fidelity by both Mr. McCIure and Mr. Goodman. 



It is difficult to present all the things that happened at Washington to 

 a meeting of this nature. We lived through them for two days and were 

 quite busy all that time. If we had had a moving picture of what hap- 

 pened, it would have been more infonuative than what we can tell .vou. 

 We can tell you in words what a man said, but we can't tell vou with 

 whom he consorted or with whom he counseled, or his attitude through- 

 out a meeting. We can't tell you that. You will simply have to take 

 that from your own notion about things. I am not going to burden you 

 about what happened at Washington, except to tell vou that you dele- 

 gates down there, the members of vour Executive Committee' handled 

 that situation just exactly as they would have handled it had it been 

 their own personal affair. (Applause.) It would have been possible out 

 of an exaggerated respect, possibly for the Department of Commerce, for 

 us to have gone in without question and listened to this softwood chatter 

 for hours, Imt we did not elect to do so. We did not believe that we 

 would be discharging the obligations that we owed to this National 

 Hardwood Lumber Association and to the general hardwood trade by doing 

 it that way. so we did it our way. It might have been a mistake. It 

 may be that future results will show that it was a grievous mistake. 

 I don't know about that, but we certainly did act honestly, and, as far 

 as we have gone, we do not believe that any msitakes were made by the 

 committee in Washington. Mr. Currie asked one question that the other 

 gentlemen did not refer to. and that is what effect all of this excitement 

 is going to have upon the National Hardwood Lumber Association. I will 

 tell you one effect that it has already had. It has brought the biggest 

 numbers of men to a meeting of the National Hardwood Lumber Associa- 

 tion that ever assembled in Chicago. (Applause.) It has also had the 

 effect of uniting all of you gentlemen just a little bit closer together than 

 you ever were, because when there is a danger that threatens from with- 

 out, any organization, whether it is of men or a herd, or anything else, 

 get a little bit closer together on account of it; and that is the way we 

 get. (Applause.) 



There is only one danger that threatens this association, and that 



{Continued from page 38) 

 the specific date or dates of shipment should be stated in the order, thus 

 making the time of shipment a material stipulation of the contract. 



ARTICLE VIII. 



COXTIXGEXCIES 



Section 1. Deliveries and acceptances of shipments under this code 

 are subject to the following contingencies ; Fires, floods, strikes, delays 

 of carriers, or acts of God, or other conditions beyond the control of either 

 contracting party. 



Sec. 2. A claim for relief arising from the operation of the foregoing 

 Cfuitingency clause, b.v either party, must be made in good faith, and must 

 be supported by satisfactory evidence that the failure to discharge con- 

 tractual obligations is due, and only due, to the operation of the con- 

 tingency upon which the claim is based or other conditions beyond the 

 control of the contracting parties. 



ARTICLE IX. 



FREItillT CHARGES 



Section 1. The term "F. O. B. destination" or "Freight allowed to 

 destination," includes only the lawful line haul charge in effect on date 

 of quotation. 



Sec. 2. Unless otherwise stipulated, all switching charges, demurrage 

 and other tenninal charges, and all tax on freight shall be paid by buyer 

 unless any of these charges result from negligence on the part of the 

 seller in not conforming to the shipping instructions contained in order, 

 in which event the seller shall assume payment of charges that have 

 accrued by reason of his neglect. 



Sec. 3. When price delivered at destination is agreed upon, the seller 

 assumes all liability for any increase in freight rates, and receives the 

 benefit arising from any reduction in freight rate. When price at ship- 

 ping point is agreed upon, the buyer assumes all liability for any increase 

 in freight rate and receives the benefit arising from any reduction in 

 freight rate. 



ARTICLE X. 



INSPECTION 



Section 1. Lumber sold under this code is subject to the current grad- 

 ing rules of the National Hardwood Lumber Association : subject to such 

 exception to these rules as may be mutually agreed upon. 



When the order provides for official National Inspection, the lumber is 

 subject to inspection under the regulations which govern the Inspection 

 Department of the National Hardwood Lumber Association. 



Sec. 2. When a shipment is received under an order which does not 

 stipulate National Inspection, the buyer shall pay the freight charged 

 against the shipment and unload the shipment unless it be plainly obvious 

 that the contents do not substantially conform to the requirements of the 

 order, or unless the carrying charges are in excess of the value of the 

 shipment, and buyer assumes responsibility for his judgment. 



In the event of either of these contingencies, the buyer shall immediately 

 wire the seller that the shipment is subject to the disposition of the latter, 

 stating conditions fully. Where these contingencies do not exist the 

 buyer shall cause shipment to I)e inspected and measured, and if an un- 

 satisfactory difference exists between the amount of seller's invoice cover- 

 ing the shipment and the value of the shipment computed from buyer's 

 measurement and inspection, the buyer shall hold the entire shipment 

 intact, unless buyer and seller agree otherwise, and immediatel.y report 

 this difference with piece tally to the seller. 



Sec. 3. If it be impossible to adjust such difference by compromise, an 

 inspector of the National Hardwood Lumber Association shall be called 

 to inspect the stock under dispute. 



Sec. 4. Should this original official inspection result in not more than 

 four per cent deductible difference in money value from the invoice, the 

 buyer is to pay all expense of the inspection. If the deductible difference 

 be more than four per cent money value, the seller is to pay for the 

 inspection. 



Sec. 5. If the result of the inspection determines that there has been a 

 substantial performance of the contract the buyer shall retain and pay 

 for all of the stock that is up to grades ordered at the prices named in 

 the order. The stock not up to grade shall remain the property of the 

 shipper, and shall he subject to his disposition. 



Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this article shall be construed to 

 abrogate the right of re-inspection of either buyer or seller. 



SUBSTANTIAL PERFOGMANCII 



(Note: The term "substantial performance" of a contract referred to 



in this code, is defined as being such performance that fulfills reasonably 



well all of the material and essential stipulations, though it may be 



deficient in respect to minor details of manner, depending upon difference 



{Continued on page 44) 



