22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



August 25, 1922 



ing fact for the mouient is, this report shows tl:at on the average, these 

 six industries are being operated with a w-aste of 40 per cent. Forty 

 per cent of the capital, material, labor, mental effort just thrown 

 away with nothing to show for it ! Of course, it 's an engineer 's re- 

 port and some of you may want to discount the technical man's 

 findings, but surely you'll admit these engineers are at least half 

 right and that would mean a waste of 20 per cent — $1.00 out of every 

 $5.00 destroyed. Assuming that something similar apjplies in your 

 special field, this means an absolut" wast^ of at least $1,000,000,000.00 

 and very probably much more inlmnber last year. At least a half 

 billion dollars wasted already this year, even allowing for decreased 

 production! 



Those of you who lack interest in cmiservation because of its futur- 

 ity will possibly find a billion-dollar annual loss of sufficient immedi- 

 ateness to be worthy of attention. 



Of course, the factors in such total wastes are various. Some, in- 

 deed, are peculiar to particular industries and it would require many 

 men many hours adequately to present them all. One source of waste, 

 however, is found in every industry and is everywhere of major im- 

 portance. This is lack of standardization or, stated positively, the 

 imiversnl prevalence of enormously excessive varieties. 



The "Cult Diversification" 



I wonder if you reali;:c how far this cult diversification has gone — 

 the cult whose creed seems to be "give the buyer what he wants" — 

 "change the style eveiy three months" — "save the freight through 

 under-size ' ' — ' ' alter the dimensions, but don 't improve the product. ' ' 



As an example, take shot gun 'shells — consider the variations in 

 calibre and all the variations in powder and shot — make a special 

 .shell for every birdie and beastie native to our land and then a special 

 one to name for each mighty hunter — and you picture a considerable 

 variety — but I hardly tliink you will reach the truth. Some six months 

 ago the National Hardware Association found that there were l>eing 

 merchandized in this land of the free initiative 7,.'i62 varieties of 

 shells. 



As a further example, in American flags there are twelve standard 

 sizes worked out by Government Departments. Analyzing a catalog of 

 a large flag manufacturer the other day, we found 289 varieties, nut 

 one agreeing with any of the twelve standards. 



An ax manufacturer carries through all his canl rccord.s, his shop 

 accounts, his salesmen's equipment and every detail of his business, 

 varieties, sizes, brands and finishes, jiresenting axes to the careful 

 buyer in the number of 6,964. 



In boots and shoes, though the survey figures are not yet available, 

 the best authorities agree that the kinds, styles and sizes now offered 

 the discriminating man, and more particularly the discriminating 

 damsel, runs well over a million. 



Compared with such totals, you may feel that lumber is beyond 

 criticism in its simplicity, but if you will extend lumber to its a])]>li- 

 cations, you too, may be in the million variety class. The combined 

 efforts of state and nuinicipal engineers have succeeded in developing 

 260 different building codes. The sizes of sash and doors are prob- 

 ably well into the thousands and in furniture varieties have run riot. 

 Even for a tree you gentlemen have, I understand, thirty odd names 

 for the same old pine and at least fifteen sets of dimensions for a 

 2x4, while when it comes to the grade of a board, you all agree at 

 least, that opinions differ. 



This wild orgy of diversifications thus has its humorous side, but 

 more important, it is a very real and widely spread source of enor- 

 mous waste and with the concurrence of leaders in many instances. 

 Secretary Hoover has established our Division of Simplified Practice 

 to aid any group requesting its service in the simplification of prod- 

 uct, of process or of management. 



Advantages of Simplification 



Simplified practice in any field, will, we believe, secure some, or all, 

 of the following advantages; it will decrease production costs, stocks, 

 selling expense, misunderstandings and all costs to the user; simul- 

 taneously. Simplified Practice will increase turn-over, stability of em- 

 ployment, promjitness of delivery, foreign commerce, quality of picul- 

 uct and sweetest of all, profit to producer, distributor and user. 



In lumber, we feel certain that the standardizations and simplifica- 

 tions you have under consideration will secure these advantages, and 

 in addition, so elevate you in public confidence as to remove any pres- 

 ent criticisms and firmly establish you on the highest ethical plane. 



The Department of Commerce stands ready to serve you as it is be- 

 ginning to serve some ninety other businesses, as it hojies to serve 

 all industry and business. Our service consists not at all in working 

 out the standards or simplifications for you, or even in suggesting 

 what these shall be. Neither can we function in rendering decisions. 

 Rather our service is to helj] you bring together all groups; to give 

 you, as far as possible, the National and International viewpoint; to 

 keej) you informed of related work in other industries and, especially, 

 to give your findings the full support of the Department by publication 

 when, through mutual consent, producers, distributors and users of 

 lumber shall have arrived at substantial agreement on standards. 



Working thus together we believe that this undertaking will result 

 in large National benefit, and that means benefit to every interest, to 

 producers just as much as to users — to distributors just as much as to 

 cither. 



But beside these immediate Ijcnefits, and I believe in Secretary 

 Hoover's mind, even more basically important, this working out of 

 standards together will result in an integration of lumber groups, in 

 a closer understanding of the position and possible service of lumber 

 in our Nation which shall develop a true self government of the lumber 

 industry by the lumber industry. Yes, which shall go the whole way, 

 if you please (since only in the |)rosperity of our great industries can 

 our Nation prosper), which shall go the whole way and develop that 

 government for the lumber industry, using such far vision and high 

 principles in the development that restrictive legislation or other 

 Government interference shall be shut without the bounds of possi- 

 bility. 



Ill the end, we of the Department of Coniiiicrce, shall gauge our 

 ser^•icc to you largely by the degree in which we have been able to 

 aid in your permanent establishment of this far-sighted. Nationally 

 con.scious and conscientious self-government. 



Strikes Cause Sharp Slump in Building Projects 



Fear of car shortage for building materials, slow down and cost 

 raising of production on account of coal scarcity have operated to 

 lessen projected planning for construction activity. 



It is unfortunate that the construction industry, wliicli brings 

 employment to about eleven million men, and which by its great 

 activity so far this year in producing sorely needed shelter, has 

 brought all business out of the doldrums and onto a firm solid basis, 

 should have received such a body blow. But what otherwise could 

 be expected as a result of a coal strike allowed to hang on and on 

 throughout the spring and summer, and a rail strike which has 

 added confusion to already confused rail conditions brought about 

 by an eight-year period of insufficient buying of rolling stock to 

 make up for ordinary depletion. 



The official returns from 19.5 cities to The American Contractor 

 show that during July .56,332 permits were issued w'liose valuation 

 was $212,314,292. Eeturns from the same number of cities for 

 June gave a total estimated valuation of $2.51, 639,839; and from the 

 same number of cities for May gave a total of $247,192,158. Thus 

 is shown a marked slump in July plans for building. 



From tabulation of cities whose average monthly valuation has 

 exceeded one million dollars, or w'hoso July valuation is over one 

 million dollars it is learned that New York City undergoes a big 

 drop in e-xpected valuation of projected activity, the valuation be- 

 ing $.58,217,171 in June and $3.5,133,017 in July. 



Chicago drops from $26,576,850 to $16,214,300. Chicago's May 

 valuation was $27,029,650. The end of building of speculative type 

 is seen in these figures and industrial building has not come for- 

 ward in sufficient volume to fill the gap. 



Los Angeles, Detroit, San Francisco, Boston, I'hiladelphi.i, Mil- 

 waukee, Kansas City and Pittsburgh are among the cities showing 

 slow down. 



