HARDWOOD RECORD 



35 



locomotives, cars, diggers, dredges and all the 

 equipment marked "U. S., " where the com- 

 missaries and camps are run by the govern- 

 ment, and the railroad operated by the gov- 

 ernment, and where the sanitary conditions 

 could not be better, makes a man proud of 

 his country. The work is so big and so well 

 conducted that when it is finished, if not al- 

 ready, we will appreciate it and associate the 

 names of those in charge with the greatest 

 successfully completed task of our generation. 

 The effect of the opening of this great ave- 



nue of commerce upon the shipping of the 

 world is a subject too great for me to under- 

 lako to talk about, but Congress should, in my 

 opiniou, decide at an early date what the tolls 

 shall be. If individuals were building a 

 great railroad they would advertise for trade 

 long before its completion; they would estab- 

 lish their rates, so that industries could safely 

 build on their line of road, and the rates 

 sliould be established for the canal, in order 

 that commerce may have an opportunity to 

 ■•idjust itself to its new conditions. 



Phases of Handle JManufacture 



BY H. B. ALEXANDER 



SANITARY CONDITIONS OF HANDLE 

 PLANTS 



If over you have the opporliuiity to go 

 through any of the first-class factories of 

 the metal industries, it will profit you to 

 take particular note of the sanitary equip- 

 ment and conveniences for employes. On 

 the other hand, did you ever see anything of 

 this kind connected with a handle factory? 

 That has never been the writer's privilege, 

 and he has visited and heard descriptions of 

 a. great many. Is there any reason why our 

 employes do not deserve as many comforts 

 as workers in other lines? It seems to the 

 writer that in the end attention of this sort 

 would help pay a dividend on investments. 

 There are several things which have ap- 

 peared to the writer to be of particular im- 

 portance, not only as pertaining to the com- 

 fort of the workers themselves, but as far 

 as actual efficiency of effort and high-class 

 production are concerned. For instance, 

 when a man who has been working around 

 greasy machinery gets his hands covered 

 with grease, which he is given no oppor- 

 tunity to remove, he will soon smear up a 

 good many handles in a way which will 

 prohibit their being cleaned. This is a di- 

 rect loss to the business. 



Of still further importance is the matter 

 of heating and ventilation. Where a man 

 has to start work in the morning in a half- 

 frozen condition and must then spend the 

 greater part of the time in thawing himself 

 out, not to mention keeping oil and other 

 stuff in a useable condition, it certainly 

 seems that the companj' is losing through 

 actual loss of efliciency of that man a con- 

 siderable item in dollars and cents. On the 

 other hand, when a man comes to work to 

 a, warm, well ventilated and pleasant shop 

 he not only starts out in a physically con- 

 tented condition, but he is also conscious of 

 a sense of gratitude to his employers and is 

 more than willing to give them the very 

 best that is in him. 



While this spirit of co-operation with em- 

 ployes for mutual benefit is evident in most 

 industries of importance, the handle manu- 

 facturing plants seem sadly lacking in any 

 indication of such an idea. Most of them 

 are as open as it is possible to make them, 

 and stoves are tabooed as being dangerous. 



'L'lie owners sit coutentedly in their offices, 

 oasing their consciences by assuring them- 

 selves that if the men work fast enough 

 they will be able to keep warm. The fact 

 is tliat a man who is tending to business 

 can't keep moving around all the time to 

 prevent himself from freezing. If ho works 

 at a saw, lathe sander or inspecting he has 

 to stay in one place much of the time in 

 order to get anything done, and it is against 

 human nature to allow himself to become 

 excessively uncomfortable for the sake of 

 the paltry sum which he receives as his 

 week's remittance. 



Just try making your shop as tight as pos- 

 sible; give plenty of light from clean win- 

 dows, put in steam heat if you can and if 

 not stoves on a brick or cement bed ar- 

 ranged every ten feet or so, with a boy to 

 keep them going, will work wonders with 

 your men. Get heat of some kind and 

 plenty of it. Don 't compel your men to try 

 to work in overcoats and gloves. You will 

 be the gainer in the long run and it won't 

 be veiy long before you will see satisfac- 

 tory returns on your investment. 

 « # « 



Broom handle manufacturers have ad- 

 vanced the price of all grades and styles of 

 handles from one to two dollars, and the 

 outlook is for still further increases. The 

 broom men are expecting it and it is a 

 notable fact that many who usually confine 

 their purchases to small lots are now taking 

 carloads and are seeking to contract as far 

 ahead as possible. The writer has in mind 

 one firm which has contracted for 1,000,000 

 handles to be delivered as needed. It is my 

 personal opinion that the handle manufac- 

 tui-er made a sad mistake in this case, as he 

 undoubtedly had to accept the price lower 

 than the prevailing one and has shut him- 

 self off from the enjoyment of prospective 

 advances. Contracts of this kind are de- 

 cidedly in favor of the broom manufacturer 

 as against the handle man. Everybody con- 

 nected with the handle business knows that 

 there will not be a decrease in handle prices 

 and, judging from present knowledge of 

 the last crop of broom corn, there will be 

 no trouble like last year — namely, not 

 enough corn, or two high a price. Due to 

 last vear's shortage, there was a scarcity of 



brooms in the country, which it will take a 

 few years to overcome. Although there are 

 a great many new handle factories starting 

 up with the intention of sharing the manu- 

 facturers' profit, still the experienced han- 

 dle man ought to reap a good harvest before 

 the market is again in a uniform condition. 

 In the majority of cases broom manufac- 

 turers do not experiment with the credit 

 and character of new handle concerns, but 

 confine their purchases to their old friends 

 in the trade. They know just what firms 

 turn out the kind of handles that they want 

 and are buying there, paying the price will- 

 ingly. The firm which the writer is con- 

 nected with is now accepting orders only 

 for delayed shipment, as it finds it impossi- 

 ble to keep pace with its trade. Most of 

 this trade is from firms that have been us- 

 ing its handles for several years, but a good 

 bit of new business has also been received. 

 While this rush of orders is not expected to 

 continue for any great length of time, still 



it ought to hold up to the next harvest. 



* » * 



Factory trucks are almost as necessary in 

 a handle plant as the rip-saw, and the manu- 

 facturer who is trying to get along without 

 them is standing in the way of his own 

 progress, as is he who is trying to get along 

 with too few. While it is impossible to give 

 any hard and fast rule as to the number of 

 trucks required for certain size shops, it is 

 the policy of the writer to purchase as 

 many new trucks as he feels that he can 

 afford. Our firm purchases at least one 

 truck every week, and while some of our 

 friends have said sarcastically that we 

 would soon have to build a store house to 

 keep them in, still we find that there are 

 seldom any trucks not in use. There is al- 

 ways something in the line of material 

 which has to be piled somewhere, and it is 

 much cheaper and more satisfactory to have 

 it stored on trucks, immediately available, 

 occupying just a little floor space and being 

 just as much out of the way as if it were 

 piled on the floor. Then, too, it keeps in a 

 better condition, as it is removed from the 

 possibility' of being walked over and of ac- 

 cumulating dirt and dust from the floor. 



Company Buys Yard 



Tlie C. D. Uendrickson Lumber Company, with 

 oflices in the Randolpli building, Memphis, Tcnn., 

 recently puichased of the Banks Lumber Com- 

 pany Its Memphis yard and stock of lumber. The 

 Hanks company has been conducted by the heirs 

 of the late George Banks since the latter's death, 

 but was disposed of In order to allow them more 

 time to devote to their plant.ition interests in 

 Mississippi. 



The newly acquired yard of the C. D. Hen- 

 drlckson Lumber Company Is located on the 

 Illinois Central railroad and has a spur track 

 its full length. The yard has a clearing capacity 

 of more than three million feet and will greatly 

 fncllitate the handling of stock by the Hen- 

 (Irlckson company, who will carry a complete 

 stock of oak, ash, poplar, gum and cottonwood 

 lumber. 



The C. D. Hendrlckson Lumber Company Is 

 one of the most favorably known lumber con- 

 cerns located in Memphis, having been engaged 

 in business there for several years. 



