34 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



with enclose their certificate of audit, certifying 

 to the accuracy of the association's accounts. 

 Eespectfuily submitted, 



Heney Cape, Chairman. 



Frank E, 'WiUson, iii tlie absence of Chair- 

 man Frost, read the report of the Board of 

 JFanagers of the Bureau of Information, 

 Avhich follows: 



Report of Board of Managers of Bureau of 

 Information 



.\s we review the work of the Bureau of In- 

 formation for the year just closing and. by care- 

 ful comparison with the work of several pre- 

 ceding years, your committee sees plainly the 

 increased assistance and value of the bureau to 

 its subscribers during the past year. Not that 

 any particular changes in the plan or scope of 

 the system has been attempted by cither the 

 Board of Managers or the superintendents, 

 neither has the work been better handled than 

 in former years. The careful and painstaking 

 managers and superintendents during the whole 

 eighteen vears' existence of the bureau, we be- 

 lieve, shows a constant intelligent progressive 

 development in the whole undertaking, of credit 

 reporting, until today the system of our Bureau 

 of Information stands among the best credit 

 specializing agencies in existence, but we feel 

 that the comparison of figures shows increased 

 benefits to our members in consequence of in- 

 creased calls upon the bureau during a year 



\V. A. GILCHRIST, MEMPHIS, TENN., 

 TRUSTEE 



such as we have passed through when the mat- 

 ter of credits has needed the best thought and 

 judgment of business men ; the increased demand 

 for reports and the apparent necessity for the 

 most thorough and exhaustive information ob- 

 tainable, lias naturally broadened our field of 

 work and brought into our files more valuable 

 information for present and future use of our 

 members than other years have done. In this 

 report we will not incorporate statistical de- 

 tails more than to note that one year ago the 

 bureau subscribers numbered 20.S ; new sub- 

 scribers during the year, 14 ; withdrawals by 

 reason of changes, going out of business, etc.. 

 11, bringing our present metnbL'rship to 211. 

 There are in our files at the present time over 

 28.000 reports, being a gain of practically 2.000 

 during the year ; insurance carried on tliese re- 

 ports remains as formerly, $18,000. Mr. Schup- 

 ner, manager of the department, reports in- 

 creasing numbers of financial statements being 

 received from and others when asked for, which 

 your committee regards as most encouraging, as 

 it shows a growing willingness on the part of 

 business concerns to properly and, usually, cor- 

 rectly slate conditions, thus making the reports 

 more dependable and, consequently, more valu- 

 able. We wish to compliment our members and 

 others for their usually prompt and careful 

 response to the bureau's request for information 

 and opinions, for on these replies so much de- 

 pends in the making up of reports. 



We commend to you Mr. Schupner's report of 

 the collection and legal departments, operated 

 in connection with the Bureau of Information. 

 This department Is accomplishing most excellent 

 jgsults, as is evidenced by the continued growth 



and volume of business received and collected. 

 There were received during the year 710 claims, 

 an increase over the preceding year of 4.3 per 

 cent, the same aggregating considerably over a 

 quarter of a million dollars, and 04 per cent of 

 this amount has been disposed of. which shows 

 something of the importance of this department 

 as a collection agency. 



Regarding the matter of the published volume 

 entitled "Lumber Legal Opinions." which all 

 subscribers have received gratuitously, and of 

 which extra copies may still be obtained at cost 

 of publication, your committee might here state 

 that the valuable information contained in this 

 volume has been accumulating for five or six 

 vears past, a portion of which was previously is- 

 sued in pamphlet form ; some of the material sub- 

 mitted by our subscribers from their own attor- 

 neys, on questions of lumber law, added much 

 to the value of the book. The collecting, pro- 

 perly publishing and indexing this volume, under- 

 taken and accomplished so successfully by our 

 superintendent and department manager, de- 

 serves most favorable comment, which this 

 committee freely accords. Considerable corre- 

 spondence has resulted from the publication of 

 this book and the many letters on file testify to 

 its value to the members. 



It is the impression of this committee, despite 

 the fact that the collection department has been 

 quite prominently before the members of the 

 association for some time past, there is a lack 

 of familiarity and knowledge of its workings 

 among quite a percentage of the members, and 

 to such we would suggest a trial in way of a 

 claim to be collected or a legal point to be de- 

 cided : we feel sure that the results obtained 

 would be highly satisfactory, as our bureau is 

 in position to furnish the best expert legal ad- 

 vice in lumber cases and less cost for the service 

 than is usually demanded by lawyers and other 

 agencies. The feature of this department that 

 we wish to emphasize is the peculiar advantage 

 it possesses in accomplishing settlements in so 

 many cases merely by well directed, consistent 

 effort through correspondence and otherwise, and 

 in all cases resorting to suit only when such 

 eiforts have failed. 



We cannot too highly approve and sanction 

 the admirable work of Superintendent Perry and 

 the Department Manager, Mr. Schupner. whose 

 efforts have so largely brought our Bureau and 

 all its departments to" its present high standard 

 of efBciency. 



Respectfully submitte;!, 



William G. Frost, Chairman. 



W. W. Schupner, department manager of 

 the Bureau of Information, made a report on 

 Iclialf of that bureau, as follows: 



Eeport of Superintendent of Bureau of 

 Information 



A review of this department's work the past 

 year would largely reiterate former reports, be- 

 cause the bureau, in its efforts to progress and 

 meet changed conditions, has continued along the 

 lines and principles laid down by its founders 

 when the bureau was first established. Each 

 year seems to bring with it, however, some con- 

 dition which necessitates more activity than a 

 previous period, and the year just closed was no 

 exception — we have not only added to our sub- 

 tcribers, but have received more inquiries, re- 

 vised more reports, collected more money, netted 

 more fees and been of greater service to sub- 

 seriliers than during any other year. 



The report of the Board of Managers of the 

 Bureau of Information has given sorne statistics 

 and figures, but a little further information cov- 

 ering the character and scope of a year's work 

 iu the bureau will, while imparting nothing new, 

 refresli the memory of present subscribers and 

 may possibly awaken an interest among those 

 non-subscribers wUio, for reasons known to them- 

 selves, fail to secure the most important co- 

 operative privilege of the association. 



Every lumberman knows of the changing trade 

 cimditions through which we have passed, and 

 there never has been a period in the bureau's 

 history when requests for special reports and 

 investigations were so frequent or urgent. While 

 the volume of your busmess may show slighi 

 decreases as compared with more prosperous 

 years, the very conditions which create that fall 

 ing off account for the greater activity in the 

 Bureau of Information. When trade "is boom- 

 ing and i>rices on the upward swing, your cus- 

 tomers are eorresnondingly prosperous and com- 

 plaints regarding .slowness, unjust deductions 

 and turning down shipments without cause are 

 less frequent ; but with normal or less satis- 

 factory financial conditions come unfavorable re- 

 ports along those several lines, and force the 

 bureau in the position of rendering the maxi- 

 mum service to its subscribers. There can be 

 no doubt that the bureau has accomplished its 

 purpose in this respect, but in doing so. while 

 adhering to its old established principles, has 

 necessarily adapted itself to changing conditions 

 and broadened its sphere of activity. 



The question of signed statements of assets 

 and lialjilities has been a paramount one and 



required more than usual attention last year. 

 For good reasons you have required more fig- 

 ures and details in' the reports asked tor, arii 

 where previously credit has unhesitatingly beeu 

 given to some concerns who refused to furnish 

 a signed statement, there was plainly evident, 

 last year, more reluctance about extending the 

 usual credit favors to those who would not make 

 a showing. The bureau has worked hard to 

 get these essential facts and the results have been 

 gratifying and statements were received from 

 concerns who have been as persistent in refus- 

 ing them as we have in asking for them : but, 

 as they became more fully acquainted with the 

 scope "and character of the Bureau of Informa- 

 tion, they more readily responded to requests for 

 figures and details necessary for a complete and 

 comprehensive report. 



In very many instances an aggressive cam- 

 paign of education, extending over a long period, 

 has been required to finally bring a satisfactory 

 reply, but we are still contending with a number 

 who stubbornly decline any facts, even refus- 

 ing their bank reference. We meet the buyer 

 who responds by saying. "I do not ask for 

 credit," notwithstanding he gets it by taking all 

 the extra time he can before discounting his 

 bills ; or the one who claims to pay cash but 

 takes sixty days open account. The customer 

 may wait to discount, pay cash, or settle by note 

 — lie gets the lumber and the credit, whether he 

 discounts or not. 



One example will illustrate : Within a few 

 weeks wo received information of a protested 

 note and reported accordingly to several in- 

 terested subscribers, and immediately started our 



GEO. F. CUAIG. PHILADELPHIA, PA., 

 TRUSTEE 



machine for quick revision, because the concern 

 in question was generally regarded in fair 

 credit. Within a few days other information 

 arrived indicating unsatisfactory settlements ami 

 a renewal on the protested note, and an early 

 mail also brought a reply from the customer, 

 declining the statement, saying, "We are not 

 asking tor any credit." Sometimes we believe 

 credit is entirely too cheap, and it surely is 

 when obtained without much effort on the part 

 of the buyer, or his neglect to repose the same 

 confidence in his creditor as does the latter in 

 him. During the past year the bureau has fre- 

 ipienlly explained that a signed statement not 

 only has a reciprocal value between debtor and 

 creditor, but that it saves much annoyance to 

 the buyer himself by supplying the bureau with 

 information which a half dozen or more shippers 

 misrht ask for individually. 



It is interesting to study the new statements 

 arriving since the first of the year, for it is 

 hardly expected they will show the same propor- 

 tionate increases as during the several- previous 

 al-inormally good years. They have to be care- 

 fully scrutinized, but we have found a tendency 

 to eliminate doubtful assets in the way of ques- 

 tionable book accounts, etc., and strike "rock 

 bottom." These investigations necessitate con- 

 siderable special correspondence in order to ascer- 

 tain exact conditions, and if you compare more 

 recent reports with older ones, you will find' 

 they include more signed statements of assets 

 and liabilities, with a larger proportion of de- 

 tail. 



Too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the 

 importance and value of the opinions which re- 

 late your trade experiences as to manner of 



