18 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



July 10. 1922 



o£ rules and regulatioDS, because the purpose of that sales code — which 

 will be considered at our general meeting — will be the standardization 

 of a method of buying and selling hardwood lumber, eliminating uncer- 

 tainties as to terms, and as to practice. We are not attempting to foist 

 something new upon the industry, but simply to codify the practices which 

 are now approved. 



I might say just a word about the matter of grade marliing of hard- 

 wood lumber. If grade marking of hardwood lumber is a thing to be done, 

 I have no doubt it will be adopted by the hardwood lumber producers. I 

 think it is a serious question, however, whether it is practicable in connec- 

 tion with hardwoods, as it might be in connection with softwoods. I believe 

 we go further, Mr. Chairman, than the mere marking of grades on each 

 piece of lumber, in the fact that when it is inspected and the certificates 

 issued it bears the guaranty of the association, that, within reasonable 

 limits, the inspection will always hold out. It is a simpler process, a more 

 practicable process, and meets with no objection from any branch of the 

 industry. 



I do not know that I have anything further to suggest in connection with 

 the hardwood branch of the trade. Relatively the volume is not anything 

 like that of the softwoods, but the relative value of the hardwood business 

 is large. I believe Mr. Sherrill and Mr. Saunders have already indicated 

 to you the fact that the single standard of rules to be followed in shipments 

 is a long step in advance, and if we can make our experience in the estab- 

 lishment of that situation of value to any of the rest of the industry we 

 are at your command. 



Then followed reports from other softwood delegates, during 

 which there was considerable discussion in the matter of grade 

 marking, A. C. Dixon representing the West Coast Lumbermen's 

 Association, stating that his organization has discussed the possi- 

 bilities of grade marking from several angles. In this connection 

 he said: 



I think those that do not come into the plan for any other reason will 

 be brought in by the picture of this department of the government with an 

 outspread wing and some other departments of the government with cloven 

 hoofs and forked tails. And if nothing else brings us in, we will welcome 

 the opportunity for once in our history to be apparently in accord, in our 

 own minds, and in the minds of the public, with the government depart- 

 ments. 



There is the fear on the part of some, who I think have been studying 

 the situation carefully, that this is another move to get more government 

 in business. For that reason I was very glad for the way in which the 

 secretary this morning voiced his desire with respect to that idea, and I 

 think the carrying home to our members of his very plain expression on 

 that line will make the situation with us practically unanimous. 



Full Conference Suggested 



After Mr. Dixon's talk the president introduced consideration of 

 further methods of procedure, Edward Hines, of Chicago, making 

 the following observation: 



Mr. Chairman, I feel that right after lunch we should go into a session 

 of the full conference of the lumber industry as a whole and see if we 

 can not agree upon certain principles, and then divide »ip the hardwood 

 and the softwood interests, and each industry work out the details. I 

 think the industry as a whole ought to try to go on record as a body first 

 as in favor of trying to accomplish something along certain principles. 



I offer that as a resolution, it it is in order, that immediately after lunch 

 the lumber manufacturers that compose this body go into a session of the 

 full conference for the purpose of trying to work up certain principles, as 

 suggested by the secretary. 



Opposition to General Meeting 



There was considerable discussion on Mr. Hines' resolution, A. W. 

 Cooper of the West Coast making the observation that it would "ex- 

 pedite matters if we can have these committees meet first and put 

 something tangible before the general meeting." 



To which Mr. Hines rejoined that "I do not thing we have dis- 

 cussed the question sufficiently. We have only called upon pos- 

 sibly one-half the association and they must not have felt as free 

 to discuss this matter of consolidation with the members of other 

 associations as they would with the opportunity for more ex- 

 tended discussion. 



"I still think there are certain fine principles that this industry 

 owes to the public. * * * If we can adopt and agree on certain 

 principles, all the associations, the hardwood manufacturers may 

 have some details that will differ from the pine association. I 

 think as a body of lumber manufacturers we can agree, after some 

 discussion * * * on certain principles. ' ' . 



Mr. Hines mentioned that he was really in a peculiar position as 

 his manufacturing operations include northern pine and hemlock, 

 southern yellow pine, hardwoods, wholesale interests and exten- 

 sive retail interests. 



Palmer Wants Separate Committee 



On the president's calling for further remarks, Earl Palmer 

 of Memphis, Tenn., representing the National Hardwood Lumber 

 Association, said: 



Mr. Chairman, it seems we are all busy people. Our time is probably 

 needed at home, and to just come together and give pledges to each other 

 of our extreme honesty and fairness of purpose would hardly be conserving 

 our valuable time. 



We practically agree with everything that the secretary was kind enough 

 to tell us today. There was no dissenting voice, and to call the whole 

 membership of the conference together agaiii just for the purpose of agree- 

 ing to it does not appeal to me as being logical. 



If we can get these committees arranged and get down to the work of 

 the conference we will certainly make better time than by getting together 

 and promising ourselves how honest we are going to be in the future. 



A. C. Dixon rejoined as follows: 



Mr. Chairman, we have almost got to come together in a general meeting 

 in order to appoint these committees in the first place. Certainly we can 

 not sit here and appoint them. 



I do not want to start an argument with the gentleman who just spoke, 

 hut there are a lot of things to be done besides getting together in a 

 mutual admiration society and making promises to each other. On the 

 matter of standardization alone we have a tremendous lot of work to do 

 to harmonize the difference in sizes, and. if possible, eliminate some of the 

 unnecessao' sizes. That thing alone will take a lot of time of this body 

 ratht'F than of tue committees. I am very strongly in favor of that motion. 



After considerable discussion J. C. Wickliffe, apparently un- 

 attached, observed that there are certain subjects of interest to 

 the softwood men in which the hardwood men would take no part 

 and vice versa, and observed: "I think the best progress will 

 be made if the meeting divides into two sections, one softwood 

 and one hardwood, to select the committees suggested and pro- 

 ceed along the lines indicated." 



This was offered as an amendment to the resolutions, follow- 

 ing which D. N. Winton, of Minneapolis, made the following ob- 

 servation: 



Mr. Chairman, I feel we are making history here today, and before we 

 start we ought to get together around the table and talk it over. I think 

 we ought to have one meeting of the hardwood men and the softwood men, 

 of the lumber industry as a whole. For that reason I think it is a mis- 

 take to split up this body at this particular time. I am opposed to it ; I 

 think it is wrong. 



The amendment was briefly discussed further and being put be- 

 fore the body was declared lost, while the vote on the original 

 motion was duly put and carried. 



The meeting thereupon adjourned for luncheon, reconvening in 

 the afternoon in the New Willard Hotel, It subsequently trans- 

 pired that adjournment to the hotel was the result of a misunder- 

 standing, readjustment being taken shortly after the afternoon 

 meeting convened to repair back to the Department of Commerce 

 building. 



Durgin Opens Afternoon Meeting 



Mr. Durgin, chief of division of simplified practice of the De- 

 partment of Commerce, reoutlined the three proposals made by Sec- 

 retary Hoover looking towards simplified practice in lumber as 

 involving: 



(1) Nomenclatures; (2) Grading and quantity; (3) Dimensions. 



He stated that following the practice in similar efforts in the 

 same groups, the idea is to bring in a broad representative body 

 for preliminary effort, from which it is expected to get a small com- 

 mittee to carry the full weight of the group behind it to carry on. 

 He expressed the belief that the industry had undoubtedly studied 

 all three divisions to a considerable extent and already accumulated 

 substantial data and he offered the best offices of the department 

 in assisting in further carrying on that movement. 



He offered for the government such functions as seeing that the 

 report of such committee as might be appointed be considered 

 by every group interested in the subject, and to call together a 

 second conference for consideration of any given report where 

 "any American group that has any right to be heard shall have a 

 full voice." 



Government Will Back Program 



"If your survey has been so thoroughly made ; if your arguments are 

 so cogently presented that you can convince such a conference that the 

 report covers matters definitely to the personal advantage to the individual 

 as well as to the advantage of the country, you will then get a unanimous 

 recommendation that the practice be adopted. 



".\nd it is only In event of such unanimous recommendation that the 

 Department of Commerce can accept your action as its own. We will be 

 very glad to accept a unanimous recommendation from the lumber industry 

 on any one of these points, to publish it as our recommendation, listing the 

 names of the men who unite in making the recommendation to us. 



"After that recommendation has been accepted by the Department of 

 Commerce we will be very glad to follow it up, and we will write to every 

 individual concern, asking a letter of acceptance of this as standard practice. 

 And after an interval of six months or a year we will ask them to tell us 

 what percentage of their consumption has been according to the practice, 

 and why it was necessary to depart from it as to such percentage of their 

 consumption as may not have been according to that practice." 



At this juncture the matter of reconvening in the Department of 

 Commerce building came up, and this movement was duly made 

 after which the roll call was taken, at which the following repre- 

 sentatives of the respective associations were shown to be present: 



W. L. Saunders, representing the Michigan Hardwood Manufac- 

 turers' Association; Charles A. Goodman, Edward Hines, repre- 



