July 



1922 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



19 



into a new proposition of grading of liardwood ; and I say for your con- 

 sideration, gentlemen, that liardwood should be eliminated from this sub- 

 ject, because we have a standard that is recognized by everybody in the 

 industry, and we don't need a Moses or anybody at this time to lead us 

 into the land of Canaan or the "Promised Land." We have practical 

 and satisfactory grading rules. Why change them? In last night's Chi- 

 cago Daily Journal (Thursday, July 20, 1922, 10th Final Edition) ap- 

 peared an article from which I will read briefly. 



(Mr. McCreight thereupon read the article to which he referred, which, 

 however, was only an incident of the situation that was developing and 

 need not be quoted here. — Editor's Note.) 



Mr. McCreight : I am a distributer of lumber and I resent such an 

 article. (The article had said that "Lumber manufacturers meet here to 

 end fraud in resale of products." — Editor.) I would like this body to go 

 on record and go before the editors of that iiaper and have that state- 

 ment corrected. We are not a pack of crooks and we don't propose to be 

 put up before the public or the people of this country as that kind of 

 gentlemen. I thank you. (Applause.) 



Bissell Supports Young's Motion 



Mr. S. B. Bissell ( Wausau Southern Lumber Company, Wausau, Wis.) : 

 Mr. Chairman, I want to endorse in a modest way the remarks of the 

 gentleman, particularly with reference to hardwoods. I came here 

 representing the softwood manufacturers and 1 did not understand that 

 the word hardirood was to be injected into this conference at all, espe- 

 cially after we determined at the Washington conference that we were not 

 prepared to take up hardwood grades and classification at this time, and 

 I will say further I don't believe there is a representative attendance of 

 hardwood manufacturers in this meeting. It would be a crime to attempt 

 to put anything across here which would tend to modify or change the 

 grades of hardwood lumber, without the question being submitted most 

 exhaustively to the hardwood manufacturers and afford them a chance tor 

 discussion. I would second Mr. Young's motion. 



The Chairman : The Chair, Mr. Bissell, can add nothing to the clarity 

 of understanding of the duties of this conference other than to recite the 

 resolution under which this conference has been called ; that the confer- 

 ence in Washington did take action in respect to both hardwoods and soft- 

 woods, and that in the action taken at that time, so far as it aflfected the 

 arrangement of this conference, there is nothing which offers a guide on 

 the particular point that you have raised. So far as the resolutions them- 

 selves are concerned, they appear to apply to lumber generally, softwood 

 and hardwood. That has been the chair's understanding, and that has 

 been the understanding upon which the arrangements tor this conference 

 have been made. That is, however, a point over which the chair has no 

 jurisdiction. It can only recite the facts. It refrains from expression of 

 opinion upon the interpretation of action taken in the proceedings of the 

 Washington conference. This is a general conference. As such it may 

 determine its own procedure. 



The National Hardwood Lumber Association has been invited to be 

 represcnte<l at this meeting by official delegates. The record does not indi- 

 cate the presence here of official representatives of that association. Mr. 

 Young, is the National Hardwood Lumber Association, as an association, 

 represented here, so far as you know"; 



Mr. Young ; They are not represented here so far as I know. 



The Chairman : This record is simply the one that has been handed to 

 the chair, which is not certain as to its completeness or accuracy. 



Retail Dealer Seconds Young's Motion 



Mr. W. S. riickason (Southwestern Lumbermen's Association, Kansas 

 City, Mo I.: Mr. Chairman, I want to second that motion of Mr. Young's 

 as a retail dealer. We have no interest whatever in hardwoods. There is 

 no reason why we should come here and spend our time over matters that 

 are of interest only to manufacturers — manufacturers of chairs and other 

 articles made from hardwoods. We are interested only in the softwood 

 class, the sizes and uniformity of grades and nomenclature. 



The Chairman : Mr. Young's motion is before the assembly. It has been 

 seconded by Mr. Saunders. The question that is involved is as to whether 

 this procedure and this discussion may include hardwoods, or will relate 

 to softwoods only. 



May the chair be indulged to state that it the understanding of the 

 National Lumber Manufacturers' Association concerning the responsibility 

 upon it with respect to arranging further consideration of the matters 

 acted upon at the Washington conference is correct, it would seem to be 



appropriate for this body to take some action on the entire field of prob- 

 lems now before it, which, in the understanding of that Association, has 

 included all lumber, both soft and hard. Such action as you may take in 

 disposing of these items should be taken, it would seem, in that light and 

 for that purpose, so that some report of progress may be made in behalf 

 ot this conference on all of the subjects that are properly before it from 

 the Washington conference. 

 Is there further question? 



Bissell Seeks Enlightenment 



Mr. Bissell: Mr. Chairman, may I ask a question? I am probably 

 densely ignorant, but I would like to know from what point this movement 

 to change or standardize the hardwood grades originated. We have the 

 hardwood manufacturers, whom I am sure are not in favor of changing 

 their grades. The retail lumber dealers have just expressed themselves 

 as not in favor of changing hardwood grades and the wholesale lumber 

 dealers have expressed themselves on this floor as opposed to this propo- 

 sition. Now, who is in favor of it? Who wants it? 



The Chairman : If you are addressing that question to the chair, the 

 chair is. of course, unable to answer it. 



Mr. Bissell : Is anybody on the floor able to answer it ? 



The Chairman : If the question is the reason for this matter being 

 before this particular conference, the chair can answer that question in 

 this way, and in this respect — (the question was called for). May the 

 chair have a moment please. The question of all lumber standards was 

 made the subject of discussion at the conference in Washington. Certain 

 action and certain recommendations were made on that broad field at that 

 time. With respect to further consideration of the problems before the 

 Washington conference, arrangements were directed to be made through 

 the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association in organizing this con- 

 ference, which was assumed to be, perhaps, more widely representative 

 than the one in Washington, to take further action in respect to the sub- 

 ject matter before the conference in Washington. The same matters 

 therefore would appear to be before this conference as were before the 

 Washington conference. Unless there is objection, it will be necessary, 

 then, I assume, to read the resolutions under which this conference has 

 been assembled. This conference will then put its own interpretation upon 

 the scope of the problems which were intended by the Washington confer- 

 ence to have been submitted to it. That, of course, does not involve the 

 merits of the motion now before you, which, however, clearly cannot be 

 intelligently acted upon in the absence of a definite understanding of the 

 duties of this conference. 



Bell Regards Motion Out of Order 



Mr. Landon C Bell (Hardwood Manufacturers' Institute, Columbus, 

 Ohio) : 1 would like to make the point, if 1 may. that the motion is not in 

 order. The resolutions of the standardization conference at Washington, 

 adopted by that conference, very clearly contemplated both hardwoods and 

 softwoods, and this conference here, as I interpret the call for it, explicitly 

 embraces both woods, as the chair has pointed out, and gentlemen have 

 been invited here representing hardwoods as exclusively as some of the 

 gentlemen who have spoken represent exclusively softwoods. To entertain 

 a motion in the face of the call, and the procedure leading up to this con- 

 ference now. that would confine the discussion to softwood only, would 

 be to deny the very organization and call of the meeting and would deny 

 to these gentlemen who have been invited here any opportunity to con- 

 structively participate in this conference. 



I do not care to enter into any discussion with the gentlemen who have 

 assumed to speak in regard to the matter of representation of manufac- 

 turers here, except to say that it is a perfectly well known fact that the 

 manufacturers of hardwood lumber do not agree with the sentiments that 

 have been expressed. It may be true that there are some who do. but we 

 do not conceive that it is proper for the people who are avowedly repre- 

 senting another phase of the industry to undertake to speak for manufac- 

 turers of hardwood. I insist on the point — the motion is out of order. 



Young Speaks as Hardwood Mlllman 



Mr. Young : I would like to correct an impression as to my statement. 

 I said that I siieak as a southern pine manufacturer. We manufacture 

 about 100 million feet of southern pine a year. We also have a hardwood 

 plant that manufactures exclusively hardwood lumber to the amount of 

 25 million feet of hardwood. We do not job nor wholesale. So I speak 

 as a manufacturer on both sides. 



Mr. Dickason : It seems to me that you are complicating matters by 



Dr. Wilson Compton, Chairman 

 Manufacturers' and General Conference 



Dwight Hinckley, Representative 

 of Wholesalers on Central Committee 



C. H. Sherrill, Head of Hardwood 

 Manufacturers' Institute Delegation 



