October 10, 1922 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



15 



proven through individual practices long in operation that this 

 matter of merchandising according to consuming requirements 

 ■will work in a practical way. This new program is merely an at- 

 tempt, first, to coordinate consuming requirements, and second, with 

 that a-s a basis, to apply the principle behind individual correct mer- 

 chandising to the industry at large so that production and markets 

 may be stabilized, the economically unsound basis involving a wide- 

 spread difference between grade values may be eliminated and 

 waste, which at present is alarming, may be vastly reduced. 



Hardwood Record is not concerned with the controversial phase 

 of the matter and regrets the necessity of having to record such 

 views so as will recognize the existence of that controversy. It has 

 though from the beginning of this program, and for a long while 

 before the program of unifying effort was promulgated, believed la 

 the principles defined. Now that those principles are beclouded 

 through the interjection of a purely controversial phase, it deems 

 it necessary to contribute what it can to setting the real issue be- 

 fore the industry. 



It is not and never has been proposed in this program to arbi- 

 trarily set up new standards for the single purpose of disturbing 

 old and efficient agencies, nor has it been contemplated to arbi- 

 trarily make new classifications merely for the purpose of having 

 something different. It is proposed, though, to determine how far it 

 is practicable to go in the matter of co-ordinating consuming re- 

 quirements and then of classifying the lumber products according 

 to those requirements in order to make production and sales more 

 efficient and to minimize waste. It has never been remotely con- 

 templated that there shall be any government supervision or 

 authority either in supervising the application of such new grad- 

 ing as may result or in the promulgation of such grades. Nor is 

 this movement merely an underhanded and poorly disguised at- 

 tack on the distributor, i. e., the wholesaler. In fact, the wholesaler 

 at large played an important part in and contributed greatly to the 

 original conference at which this effort was launched. 



It is unfair and unwise to say that merely because the application 

 of this program to the hardwood industry meets with the opposition 

 of an agency within that branch of the lumber business, those ele- 

 ments within the hardwood branch who are responsible for the at- 

 tempt to introduce it are actuated solely by sinister and dishon- 

 orable motives and are using this simply as a cloak. It is in- 

 conceivable that big men, willing to apply their natural intelligence 

 to this program as they do to their other problems, could long 

 countenance the belief that this movement, acclaimed and whole- 

 heartedly endorsed by every other single agency in lumbering, 

 should be wrong in principle only in its application to hardwoods 

 and merely because there exists within the hardwood industry a 

 powerful inspection agency. Inspection is not the point of contro- 

 versy. Proper classification — proper specification — in short, proper 

 grading is the objective, and it is immaterial as affecting the trade 

 itself what agency has sponsored the program of applying proper 

 grading to the hardwood industry. The fact that a considerable 

 group of important and intelligent consumers have expressed sat- 

 isfaction with current methods and agencies of inspection, has not 

 the remotest bearing on the principles of proper specifications, i. e., 

 grade, as now advocated. The fact that the same consumers quite 

 naturally expressed themselves as against the slightest govern- 

 mental supervision of the making or administering of grades, 

 similarly does not bear even remotely on this program, as such in- 

 ference even in the most indirect and closely guarded manner has 

 never been so much as contemplated, not to say, suggested. 



Hardwood Eecord believes that the theory of this program is cor- 

 rect, and further that it is so correct as to make certain that even 

 though this movement had never been started as an unified effort, 

 such changes would have ultimately come merely as a matter of 

 natural evolution. It believes that conditions are so ripe for the 

 classification and sale of lumber in conformity to the principal 

 enunciated, that regardless of what agency may have been behind 

 the movement it would within a reasonable period have met with 

 general approbation. Consequently, it believes that the project as 

 sponsored by that element now behind it, the Hardwood Manufac- 



turers' Institute will through conscientious effort meet in due time 

 with general recognition and adoption. It believes this not because 

 it thinks that element any more capable than any other of putting 

 the plan into effect, but merely because that element has undertaken 

 the job in a spirit of earnestness and sincerity that must make its 

 impression on any unprejudiced mind. Hardwood Record will, be- 

 cause it believes in the principles, contribute what it can to en- 

 lighten the industry and the consumer of hardwood products as to 

 the facts of standardized and scientific specifications built on a foun- 

 dation of utility value and not log value. 



General Market Conditions 



THERE IS VERY LITTLE CHANGE in the conditions obtaining 

 at the time our last issue was published. According to the 

 best information the shortage of cars has continued with no inter- 

 ruption, and the trade has pretty much accepted the situation as 

 inevitable for the time being, realizing that this difficult situation 

 will likely continue for a few weeks longer. In the meantime, 

 though, it is seriously interfering with lumber shipments, and as 

 well is retarding production still further on account of interference 

 with log shipments. 



In the matter of demand, the situation seems to be brightening 

 considerably right along, and is showing reflection in the market 

 price. The concern of both the shipper and the consumer today is 

 shipments, and that feature will continue to occupy the limelight 

 until the cotton and grain movement is completed and bad order 

 cars which accumulated during the recent strike have been put into 

 repair. 



Northern Operators Will Canvass Thoroughly 

 Input Possibilities of Coming Winter 



A thorough canvass of the logging possibilities for the coming 

 winter will be made by the Northern Hemlock & Hardwood Manu- 

 facturers' Association at the regular quarterly meeting, which will 

 be held at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wis., on Thursday, Oc- 

 tober 12. O. T. Swan, secretary-manager, announces that in order 

 that the survey may be most comprehensive the members of the 

 Northern Logging Congress and the Northern Pine Association 

 have been invited to participate in the meeting. 



The outlook now is for the biggest log input in many years in 

 the Lake States, if men are available. But this is a problem which 

 the meeting will have to consider. Wages of labor rose consid- 

 erably in Wisconsin during the summer and at present there is a 

 shortage of men for woods work. The Wisconsin Industrial Com- 

 mission estimates that about 10,000 men in that state will leave 

 seasonal kinds of employment this fall, but they also say that, 

 presumably, many of them vrill not leave the general localities in 

 which they are now working. Thus it appears that the attempt to 

 secure a very heavy log input in the North this winter may be 

 defeated by the lack of men. It has been suggested that some form 

 competition for men, thus greatly increasing production costs this 

 of advertising might be worked out to induce classes of workers 

 to come to the woods who have heretofore avoided woods work. 

 The situation is somewhat critical in another way in that a short- 

 age of men means that wages may continue to go up through the 

 winter. The operator thus has to guess at market conditions next 

 year to figure out the maximum cost he can stand at the present 

 time. 



In order that the situation may be examined on a basis of under- 

 standing, the association has just completed a compOation of fairly 

 accurate statisticTs on log input during the past seven or eight 

 winters and estimates on the probable input in the ensuing winter 

 have been made. All this will be presented at the meeting in 

 Milwaukee. 



One of the members, presumably A. L. Osborn, will present a 

 paper on "Present Cost of Production" in detail. 



The association will also participate in a discussion of the market 

 outlook for 1923, that is, whether the demand for lumber will be 

 relatively the same as at present or better or worse in the light of 

 the present and future general industrial situation. 



