HARDWOOD RECORD 



31 



countries of Europe, and after discussing the 

 cost of living here and abroad in a general 

 way, retired in favor of E. W. Benjamin, 

 who read a paper on "Costs and Cost Ac- 

 counting in the Manufacture of Panels. ' ' 

 This paper contained a good deal of valu- 

 able information and suggestions, and will 

 be printed in the nest issue of the Hard- 

 wood Record, as it was impossible to obtain 

 it in time for publication now. 



D. E. Kline submitted the following in- 

 teresting paper on "Arbitration": 



When our esteemed president and his secre- 

 taries advised me that they expected me to 

 prepare a paper on '■Arbitration," they said at 

 the same time th.it no excuse would be consid- 

 <?red ; therefore, il: you lind what I say an in- 

 fliction, place llie blame where it properly be- 

 longs. Also remember the tale of the piano 

 player in the dance hall of the western mining 

 camp, who had a sign printed in very large 

 letters above bim. which read, "Do not shoot 

 the piano player : he is doing the best he can." 



My first act was to write to one of my young 

 friends, a journalist, telling him of my predica- 

 ment and asking him for advice and assistance. 

 He kindly quoted Webster's definition of the 

 word arbitration and then added that he would 

 be here, and that no matter how bad my paper 



E. W. BENJAMIN, CADILLAC, MICH., 

 DIRECTOR. 



might be. he. among the auditors in the gal- 

 lery, would greet it with loud and enthusiastic 

 applause. I will, therefore, be very skeptical 

 of the sincerity of applause. 



There are several varieties of arbitration. One 

 is like this : Two gentlemen registered at a 

 hotel ; the hotel was crowded and rooms scarce. 

 The clerk suggested that they take a room to- 

 gether which contained two beds ; as they were 

 friends, they agreed to this plan and were shown 

 to the room. Upon inspection it was discov- 

 ered that there was a wide bed and a narrow 

 one. The elder gentleman said : "Well, George, 

 here are two beds, a wide one and a narrow 

 one; which one will you take?" And without 

 giving George an opportunity to reply, contin- 

 ued : "I will take the wide one," to which 

 proposition George, of course, assented and the 

 nucstion was amicably adjusted. 



Then there Is the case of the man and wife 

 who were discussing their marital disagreements. 

 Said the wife : "Our troubles can all be set- 

 tled bv arbitration." "Yes," said the husband, 

 "but who will arbitrate them?" "I will," said 

 the wife, and that settled it. 



I find that this subject has been and is be- 

 ing discussed by many prominent men of our 

 <ountrv and other countries. These discussions 

 apply "not only to disputes that arise in busi- 

 ness, but to international, labor and other dis- 

 agreements. Each and every writer and speaker 

 (with one exception) whose utterances I have 

 read, expresses the opinion that arbitration is 

 the best and easiest solution of the disputes that 

 arise. 



The exception I have mentioned claims from 

 his viewpoint that the man who consents to ar- 

 liitration wants "some one else to run his busi- 



ness is Incompetent, that he should turn his 

 business over to a conservator or have a ro- 

 ceiver appointed; that he Is surrendering his 

 constitutlona rights and that arbitration is 

 the otbcr lellow's game. He .says: "Can it be 

 possible that the men who propose it think thev 

 cannot get justice in our courts and before 

 the juries of the country? It so, why do thev 



know that, before court and Jury, thev innst 

 have right and equity on their side; they know 

 they must come into court with clean hands • 

 they know they cannot enforce their claims un- 

 ess thoy are founded on a contract and thev 

 know lurther that that contract will be con- 

 strued luirly and plainly." 



mind, some weight. A verdict by an' inteTfi'- 

 sent, disinterested, fair-minded arbitrator or ar- 

 bitrators, versed in the particular line in ques- 

 tion, is to my mind, a much safer chance for 

 both sides. To have arbitration in its true 

 sense or perfect form it is necessary that those 

 interested should have the utmost confidence In 

 the fairness of the arbitrators, and one writer 

 goes so far as to say that "where these arbitra- 

 tors are in the form of a committee, thev should 

 not be appointive, hut be elective, and that the 

 men tliem.solves who ari' likely to ask for their 

 services, should have a voice in their selection " 

 This writer is no doubt correct In his (irst 

 statement as to the necessity for confidence in 

 the fairness of the arbitrators, as otherwise^ 

 their work would be of no avail. It would be 

 preferable if both sides could have a voice in 

 the selection of arbitrators, but 1 think this 

 plan would be practically impossible in nianv 

 instances, as disputes frequently arise betweeii 

 the members of associations (such as ours) and 

 lueir customers who are not members and, there- 

 lore, can have no voice in the selection of 

 aibitrators. I take it that in disputes of this 

 character the outsider (so to speak) Is always 

 ;idvised as to who the arbitrators will be and 

 <an consent to their service or object to it, 

 as he sees fit, and no doubt in case of objec- 

 tion to any or all members of an association 

 committee of arbitration, others would be .select- 

 ed that would be satisfactory to both sides. 

 But some men are so constituted that they will 

 concede nothing, and these men, unfortunately, 

 are the very ones who. when the question of 

 arbitration comes up. insist that there is noth- 

 ing to arbitrate. These men could not be In- 

 duced to submit to arbitration the question "Is 

 there anything to arbitrate?" 



Again, there is the man who, by reason of 

 membership in an association, expects that the 

 decision of an arbitration committee of his as- 

 .sociatlon shall he — right or wrong — in his favor. 

 I quote from another writer : "There is one 

 thing certain, this matter of dispute will never 

 be eliminated. From the very earliest day con- 

 troversies have arisen and they will continue to 

 arise in the future. We bring them on our- 

 selves, so we must settle tliem. I'rom time ini- 

 niemorial, as soon as two parties got into con- 

 troversy, the first thing thought of was to re- 

 sort to law. The court decides the case, leav- 

 ing one party to the controversy dissatisfied. 

 In my opinion, a great many cases go to court 

 that could be settled without legal interference, 

 expense or delay. This would be a friendly 

 .settlement handled expeditiously and inexpen- 

 sively." But right there must enter in the 

 spirit of confidence, as otherwise arbitrators' 

 decisions would be no more satisfactory to the 

 losing side than the decisions of the courts. 



Says another writer : "Arbitration is a sys- 

 tem that has grown up among traders, largely 

 since the association has taken hold of prac- 

 tically every branch of trade." This is undoubt- 

 edly true. In our own association we found in 

 its earlier days that there were no grading 

 rules. Every manufacturer was a rule unto him- 

 self, and I may say, so was every buyer. One 

 of the first works of the association was the 

 establishment of inspection and grading rules, 

 crude perhaps at first, hut they have by per- 

 sistent work gradually assumed a form that is 

 satisfactory to the manufacturer and also to the 

 buyer, whether he be dealer or consumer, and 

 the best feature is. they are recognized and 

 respected. Under the old chaotic plan there was 

 no basis for the settlement of the disputes that 

 were constantly arising. Under the present 

 grading rules there is a positive basis and if 

 manufacturer and buyer both regard these rules 

 in their dealings, there should be no disputes. 

 But as man is fallible, disputes continue to arise. 

 Therefore, we find that with the oflicial grad- 

 ing rules as a basis, arbitration is possible and 

 at times effective. 



I find in my experience as a member of the 

 arbitration committee of this association that 

 there have been instances when the mere sug- 

 gestion of referring disputes to the committee 

 has had the instant effect of having objections 

 withdrawn by the complainant, and proper set- 

 tlements have been effected. Would this be the 

 case if the complainant was ready to go into 

 court with the "clean hands" previously referred 



to? The fight under any circumstances would 

 be in his home court — evidence easily procurable, 

 the jury made up of his friends or acquaint- 

 ances, familiar with the fact that this was a 

 fight between home folks and a foreigner. Un- 

 der such circumstances what result could be ex- 

 pected? How many of us have tried It and 

 been sorry for It afterward? 



I cannot conceive why the parties to any 

 transaction, where there is a dispute, who are 

 simply honest, can have any objection to ar- 

 bitration, provided they know and have confi- 

 dence In the arbitrators. I do not think that 

 arbitration forced by associations under their 

 lules, where either side may not object to one 

 or more of the arbitrators and have others sub- 

 stituted, can be successful or satisfactory. We 

 have, as yet, much to learn and diaicultles to 

 overcome before arbitration will be a perfect 

 success, but I believe that the time will come, 

 and that it is rapidly approaching, when all 

 such troubles will be adjusted by the means 

 of arbitration. I seriously regret that my time 

 has been so much occupied otherwise, that It 

 lias not been possible for me to give this sub- 

 ject more thought and to have, therefore, pre- 

 pared a paper worthy of your consideration. I 

 have quoted largely from others, to whom I owe 

 t lianks, and have perhaps not even touched all 

 the "high spots." I sincerely hope there may 

 be some food for thought in what I have said. 



The following applications for member- 

 ship were then submitted by M. C. Dow, 

 chairman of the Membership Committee. 



ALEX LENDKUM, KA.\SA.S CITY, .MO., 

 DIRECTOR. 



.\11 were favorably acted upon by the asso- 

 ciation; 



.Moose River Lumber Company, McKeever, N. Y. 

 Gerry Veneer & Lumber Company, Sinclalr- 

 ville, N. Y. 



Kimberlee, Wing & Co., Xeenah. Wis. 



Setter Brothers Company. Cattaraugus, N. Y. 



T. H. Thompson, Milan, Ind. 



I'arma Manufacturing Company. Parma, Mo. 



.Vuderson Veneer & Sawmills, Louisville, Ky. 



The report of the Nominating Committee, 

 C. T. .Jarrell, chairman, recommended the 

 following oflScers and directors for the en- 

 suing year: 



President — P. B. Raymond, Indianapolis, Ind. 



First A'ice-President — C. T. Jarrell, Humboldt, 

 Tenn. 



Second Vice-President — W. C. Calhoun, Sheboy- 

 gan, Wis. 



Third Vice-President — N. M. Willson, James- 

 town, N. Y. 



Secretary-Treasurer — E. H. Defebaugh, Chi- 

 cago, III. 



Assistant Secretary — H. S. Young, Indianapo- 

 lis. Ind. 



Directors— R. C. Dayton, E. W. Benjamin, A. 

 E. Gorham, M. W. Perry, .\lex. Lcndrum, J. C. 

 Hill and H. J. Barnard. 



Three of these directors, J. C. Hill, A]ex 

 Lendrum and H. J. Barnard, were held over 

 from last year. 



