HARDWOOD RECORD 



35 



settlement, inspection, etc. It is recognized by 

 our subscribers that the expressions of opinion 

 tlius formulated contain information which is 

 Just what a lumberman needs in determining his 

 credits. 



The pink tracer sheets, as revised in form two 

 years ago, and again amended this year, are 

 fully accomplishing their purpose. An oppor- 

 tunity is given to all subscribers to thoroughly 

 acquaint the bureau with renewals, protested 

 paper, unjust claims, cancelling orders without 

 cause, or settlements not in accordance with 

 agreed-upon terms, by simply inserting the 

 names and addresses and checking the proper 

 column. This information is carefully tabu- 

 lated immediately upon receipt and used in 

 keeping our reports up to date. Unquestion- 

 ably, general trade conditions have necessitated 

 a more extended use of the plan the past year, 

 but the fact that the sheets are given such 

 close attention indicates their desirability as a 

 prompt and elEcacious method of reporting in- 

 formation which you believe should be filed 

 with the bureau. 



The tracer system enables the bureau to cover 

 a broad territory in the ordinary revision of 

 reports, at the same time reaching every sub- 

 scriber, and through this means it is possible 

 to transmit a complete and comprehensive re- 

 vised report in two days from the time an in- 

 quiry arrives, and which liad already been re- 

 plied to by sending the information then avail- 

 able. These new reports contain anywhere from 

 a half dozen to fifteen or twenty trade opinions, 

 varying according to volume of business trans- 

 acted by the party inquired for. The pink sheets 



W. W. KNIGHT, INDIANAPOLIS, IND., 

 TRUSTEE 



and tracers are supplementary to the regular 

 forms of inquiry used in revising reports. There 

 are so many instances when more than the per- 

 functory reply is essential, and from three to 

 five hundred "special inquiries are sent out each 

 week. 



The questions enumerated are themselves easily 

 replied to, but nearly every mail brings some spe- 

 cial information on the back of a tracer blank, 

 which very often opens up a new avenue of in- 

 vestigation. Occasionally a member, contemplat- 

 ing a deal somewhaL out of the ordinary, and 

 desiring the experiences of others practically up 

 to the minute, requests us to "trace" some con- 

 cern, and such requests are gladly complied 

 with. It seems advisable to reiterate that plac- 

 ing a name on the tracer in no way reflects on 

 the party's standing or responsibility, but that 

 method of revision is frequently all that is re- 

 quired to bring a report up to date. 



This is not the case, however, when names 

 appear on either list A or B. Those lists are 

 used to impart essential facts received by the 

 bureau during the week ; it may be only an in- 

 corporation, change in business ownership, or a 

 fire ; but it may also indicate a suit or judg- 

 ment, or something worse, and unless the key 

 used with the lists clearly translates the listing, 

 it is advisable for subscribers to communicate 

 with us and obtain the report, unless we have 

 reason to know you are interested, either by 

 previously requesting report on the party in 

 question or through the list of customers record, 

 when we will, of course, promptly forward such 

 report as is issued. It sometimes happens that 

 information arriving just at the time the list is 

 being printed can be as fully and comprehens- 



ively transmitted by publishing on the list as 

 through a special report, and that method is 

 occasionally resorted to. It enables a material 

 saving in time, not only in the office but in get- 

 ting the report to you. 



The importance of keeping your list of cus- 

 tomers record with us up to date cannot be over- 

 estimated. Many subscril^ers annually compare 

 their ledger with their previous customers record 

 and send the new names to the bureau. As- 

 suredly, this enables an ideal system of credit 

 reporting, but occasionally an instance comes to 

 our notice where, because of failure to furnish 

 a revised list of customers, a subscriber is not 

 notified of an important fact, thereby restricting 

 his full bureau privileges. 



The Collection Department 

 The 710 new claims received during the year 

 amounted to $262,257.62, together with the $116,- 

 006.42 on hand March 1, IfilO. making a total 

 of $378,-574.04 in claims handled, as compared 

 with a total of $304,403.67 last year. Claims 

 amounting to $243,574.53 have been collected and 

 disposed of, leaving $134,999.51 on hand today. 

 Four thousand dollars in fees have been turned 

 over to the association treasury, in addition to 

 which the department paid $374 for the little 

 books. "Lumber Legal Opinions." making a total 

 of $4,374, compared with $3,500 last year. 

 These flgures indicate the average charge made 

 for collections is really only nominal, but the 

 total much more than offsets the cost of main- 

 taining the department, besides which there is 

 the most important feature of immediately trans- 

 mitting invaluable information to the bureau and 

 Belping other subscribers just at a time when 

 such co-operation is most desirable. 



It is the aim of the bureau in handling Its 

 claims to occupy a dual position : B'irst, to col- 

 lect your claim promptly, and second, having 

 done that, to discriminately use the information 

 and experience in such a way that it may assist 

 in guarding others from incurring an unprofitable 

 account. We say the information is used dis- 

 criminately, for handling more than 2.700 claims 

 during the past six years teaches that because a 

 customer may be slow and compel you to place 

 an account for collection, it does not necessary 

 follow that he is not entitled to credit at that 

 particular time. But if the experiences of those 

 wlio have resorted to such methods of collec- 

 tion are heeded, they serve a valuable means of 

 warning. Investigation started in one instance 

 last year on the first slow pay account enabled 

 the bureau to caution other subscribers, and 

 within two months a partner of the debtor firm 

 left for parts unknown, as well as a tangled 

 financial situation, and this in a territory where 

 some hesitating prospective subscribers are of 

 the opinion the bureau covers only in a limited 

 way. We have seen slow pay claims followed by 

 protested notes, then judgments and finally bank- 

 ruptcy. This is mentioned not to reflect upon 

 •any present instance, but to illustrate the value 

 of heeding the experiences of those who have 

 had to resort to some aggressive means of secur- 

 ing their account. 



The services which the bureau renders to both 

 debtor and creditor places it in a position where, 

 in the handling of claims, it is more than a col- 

 lection agency. The past year has tested many 

 weak financial spots and collecting money for 

 our members is, of course, the important feature ; 

 but with an organization of this kind, where 

 your customers regard the bureau as a special 

 confidential bureau above the ordinary collec- 

 tion agency, they expect us, in exercising our 

 duties to you to also consider their relation to 

 us and the frankness of their statements cover- 

 ing their difflculties of meeting their obligations 

 as they mature. This relation and confidence 

 has frequently, and usually, resulted in promptly 

 making the collections without suit and saving 

 the debtor's business and assist In getting him 

 "on his feet." 



We "have probably kept a dozen concerns from 

 receivership or bankruptcy by getting In per- 

 sonal touch with their affairs and working out 

 claims on a partial payment basis. It has hap- 

 pened in some instances, of course, that after 

 we have succeeded in collecting claims pressure 

 was exerted from some other source which the 

 debtor could not stand and was forced under; 

 in other cases where we felt bankruptcy was 

 inevitable we have succeeded in helping our 

 members obtaining payments on account before 

 the inevitable occurred. Sometimes a member 

 may have become impatient at what seemed a 

 delay, but the information available indicated 

 that any one suit would precipitate similar 

 action bv other creditors, and for that reason, 

 after advising with the member interested, the 

 partial payment method was continued. 



There have been times when, it seemed wise to 

 institute bankruptcy proceedings in order to 

 make certain examinations and Investigations, 

 but when a plan is fairly under way for assist- 

 ing a weak concern, and which is approved by 

 practically all the creditors, we do not believe 

 it is right to solicit claims for the express pur- 

 pose of putting the business in bankruptcy, and 

 securing a substantial fee by controlling the 

 trustee or receiver. This association has always 

 fostered fair dealing and it has been the aim of 

 the bureau, through its collection department, 

 not to destroy, but to construct and conserve. 



LuMBKK Legal Opinions 

 The report of the Board of Managers called 

 attention to the recently issued book "Lumber 

 Legal Opinions," and communications received 

 lead to the conclusion that it is thoroughly ap- 

 preciated by the members. In collating the opin- 

 ions it was intended to include questions of 

 ordinary business occurrence in the trade and 

 those which most frequently lead to confusion. 

 A broad range of subjects has been covered, 

 thoroughly cross indexed for easy reference, but 

 occasionally a member will ask for more informa- 

 tion concerning a published opinion and where 

 possible such requests are complied with. Fre- 

 quently an opinion will refer to an extreme 

 technical case, but it is the extreme case which 

 makes necessary any opinion at all. During the 

 year the bureau has, in a number of instances, 

 been called upon to express its opinion as to 

 course of procedure or in explaining the appli- 

 cation of established trade customs. Much of 

 this information is in the published book, but 

 lliere are times when because of some circum- 

 stances it may be advisable to seek further 

 light. This we try to do based upon our own 

 experience and failing then we have resoarce 

 to our attorneys. That all this is appreciated 

 by our members is evidenced by the increasing 

 frequency of such communications. 



As will readily be appreciated there Is a vast 

 amount of detail required to keep the bureau 

 and its Collection department in proper shape 

 for immediate reference. Any one of the 28,772 

 reports on file must be instantly located, to- 

 gether with the material or original records, or 

 a claim must be given attention on a certain 



LEWIS DILL, BALTIMORE, MD., TRUSTEE 



day, and to accomplish this and keep In close 

 personal touch with the varied changes and con- 

 ditions, the systems in effect must be the best 

 it Is possible to make them. 



The information on lists A and B, tracer In- 

 quiries, special letters to members and many of 

 our office forms are printed in the office not only 

 for the purpose of saving money, which Is read- 

 ily accomplished, but largely with a view of sav- 

 ing time to and from the printer and getting 

 important information in your hands with the 

 least possible delay. 



Your Bureau of Information is an Ideal sys- 

 tem of co-operation and will always be what you 

 make it, and the results indicate beyond a doubt 

 how high it is esteemed by the subscribers. "In 

 co-operation there is strength." Does this apply 

 more substantially than in the compilation of 

 trade credit reports where each individual sub- 

 scriber imparts his experiences for the welfare 

 of the one bureau? Who is better able to deter- 

 mine what kind of information a lumberman 

 wants than a brother wholesaler? With service 

 of this character what argument could be ad- 

 vanced for saying that one hundred reports are 

 not worth the additional cost of fifty dollars 

 per year. 



Respectfully submitted, 



W. W, ScHUPNEB, Department Manager 



W. E. Butler, acting chairman, made a re- 

 port of the special Membership Committee, as 

 follows: 

 Report of Special Membership Committee 



The following Is a statement of membership 

 to date : 



