42 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



■cspecialh nt of having your meetings 



in the liao,. .liiii iha pleasure last year of your 

 annual meeting being field at my own home city, 

 Cincinnati. 



Now I hope I have covered as plainly as pos- 

 siljle the attitude or our organization as an 

 .association, and X want to say that personally 

 I ha\"e taken a groat deal of ph'asuri' in coming 

 to your former meetings, and esp(;cially this one. 

 Being raised a lumberman in Philadelphia, and 

 to be here to address you gives me the pleasure 

 ■of meeting you again, some of whom I have 

 had the honor of knowing in the younger days 

 of my life at the time my father was in the 

 same line of business. That was when I first 

 learned the business, and the nucleus of my 

 lumber life began in the East. At that time. 

 or shortly thereafter, owing to the location of 

 ■certain banking interests in the sawmill country. 

 I had the opportunity of studying the sawmill 

 situation and the m.any peculiarities of grading 

 by moving south. Since becoming the secretary 

 ■of the Hardwood Manufacturers' Association, I 

 have had the opportunity to visit the entire 

 southern field of prcjjuetion, from the Pennsyl- 

 vania line to the stale of Texas. That has 

 given me the opportunity to study conditions 

 existing, not only in the membership, but of 

 individuals representing a coterie of opinions. 

 I have had the opportunity of discussing condi- 

 tions with men at their homes (and there is no 

 ■better place to discuss lumber than at such a 

 place), and the special theme of conversation 

 has been the universal system of grading hard- 

 wood. I know every man in the South is for 

 that one system ; I know he is going to do 

 ■everything in his power to briug it about. When 

 talked at their homes, at their tables — so much, 

 lit fact, that their wives have become inter- 

 ested in the subject of hardwood grading. At 

 certain places 1 have been ordered to stop the 

 discussion, by the women ; at other places 1 

 have found women becoming so interested in 

 this universal system of grading, especially so 

 when they believe, if it is ever put through, 

 their husbands will never need to go to any 

 more lumber conventions. 



Tile relation as a hardwood manufacturing 

 -organization to the wholesale element of the 

 trade has been closely allied. The membership 

 of our organization represents a great many peo- 

 ple who are operators as well as wholesalers ; 

 there are men who operate more and wholesale 

 less, and a great many who wholesale more and 

 operate less. The times and conditions often 

 vary such interests. We, as a manufacturing 

 industry of the South, realize the necessity of 

 a wholesale industry. There are a number of 

 ■operating firms who cannot sell direct, but need 

 the wholesaler and the wholesale element to 

 sell their product for them. The interchange 

 ■of lumber business in our own organization gives 

 me the opportunity to study such conditions. We 

 have a main office in Cincinnati, which is the 

 roost local point, and a point where the most 

 hardwood passes through, and a price basis 

 point from the southern standpoint, between 

 the South and the North. Then we have our 

 eastern office in New York. In our main oliicc 

 we disseminate the information which becomes 

 necessary to the vast amount of inquiries which 

 we receive from all over the United States and 

 European points. We gladly give information : 

 we are not a close confined organization. Our 

 conventions are always open ; everyone is in- 

 vited; the discussions are important, and for 

 the good and the uplift of the organization 

 and the trade at large. Discussions concerning 

 the manufacturer, the wholesaler and the con- 

 sumer are gladly taken up and the manufac- 

 turer, the wholesaler and the consumer are 

 taken into conference when it becomes necessary 

 to make laws and regulations. At this time I 

 want to invite the membership here to feel that 

 we are striving to keep in closer relation with 

 you. The information which we give you is 

 ■open ; our books are open ; everything is open 

 to you ; we have nothing to conceal, and our 

 main hope and desire is to bring the different 

 ■classes of the industry into closer touch with 

 each other. We have a hard problem in the 

 South of operating and we want the help of 

 the other sections of the country, because we 

 need It. 



With regard to the question of universal in- 

 spection. I think you have gone along excellent 

 lines with the work you accomplished yesterday. 

 In my study of the work, the men 'who will 

 make uniform inspection are Uie practicable 

 men who will look at the conditions, not from a 

 consuming standpoint of a local lerritorv, but 

 from the standpoint of the entire United States, 

 North, East, South and West, and our export 

 trade. They must look at the producing and 

 not as a hardwood operating point in the north- 

 eastern part of the United States, in New York, 

 New Hampshire or Vermont, nor only points of 

 hardwood production, Michigan, Wisconsin and 

 Minnesota, nor even the vast southern produc- 

 tion 1 represent, but the entire operating points 

 which take in the eastern part of the Unifml 

 States east of the Mississippi river. Witli 

 that in mind and the idea that thev will treat 

 each and every individual point " fairly and 

 squarely, I believe this inspection matter can 

 be brought about, and I can faithtullv promise. 



representing the association as I do, every line 

 of help that can be given to bring such a condi- 

 tion about. I thank you. [Applause. J 



Following this address, the president intro- 

 duced F. A. Digging, president of the Na- 

 tional Hardvrood Lumber Assoeaitiou, who ad- 

 dressed the convention as follows: 



Mr, Diggins' Talk 



President Higbie and members of the Na- 

 tional Wholesale Lumber Dealers' Association; 

 On behalf of the National Hardwood Lumber 

 Association I desire to tliank you, sir, and 

 members of your association for the kind in- 

 vitation to attend this meeting. I assure you 

 that I have enjoyed myself thoroughly and 

 that I have listened with profit to the very 

 able papers that have lieen read here and to 

 the comprehensive committee reports that 

 have been made. 



I notice in looking over the delegates to 

 this convention tliat I see many familiar 

 faces. I see men in this assembly liere who 

 are members of my own cabinet. I see a great 

 many members upon whom I rely for council 

 and support in the administration of the affairs 

 of tile National Hardwood Luml^er Associa- 

 tion. That convinces me that our interests 

 are. to a certain extent at least, common in- 

 terests, and I desire to compliment you upon 

 the quality of your membership. 'This, Mr. 

 Chairman, is as far perhaps as I would have 

 gone had I not had the pleasure of being 

 present yesterday afternoon. My friend JMr. 

 Babcock in making his report as chairman 

 of the Committee on Inspection Rules saw fit 

 to refer to the two hardwood associations, or 

 at least to compare them to two women who 

 were in a scrap. He -went a little farther 

 than that and said, I believe, a street car 

 was not a good conveyance to move lumber 

 on. Another gentleman, whose acquaintunce 

 I have not tlie honor of having:, likened the 

 association to the corpse of an Irishman v/liose 

 widow had prepared him to go to neaven, at 

 quite an expense, and then said he looked as 

 if he wasn't fit to go to liell. Then the un- 

 kindest cut of all came from my friend Uncle 

 John Woods when he likened it to the boy 

 who said that if he had a million dollars he 

 wouldn't do a thing but lay down in the road. 

 I enjoyed tliose things immensely. In fact, 

 I don't know but what we are entitled to 

 them. [Laughter.] At any rate, I appreciate 

 them and I assure you that I take no offense 

 whatever. I am very glad I heard this be- 

 fore I was ckUed upon to address you. 



Now I am willing to go a little further 

 in the direction of uniform Jnspection than my 

 friend Mr. Doster. I stale upon oath I will 

 surrender my job to bring about that, most 

 hoped-for condition. [Applause.] Mr. Dos- 

 ter didn't say that, but I am sure he would 

 do it. 



The National Hardwood Lumber Associa- 

 tion, as some of you know perhaps, is one 

 of the oldest national lumber associations in 

 the country; not the oldest, but one of the 

 oldest. We are now in our fifteenth year. I 

 think that I can state without fear of suc- 

 cessful contradiction that it is the largest na- 

 tional lumber association in the United States. 

 I don't mean to compare it with associations 

 that have affiliated membership, but I mean 

 direct, positive membership. We have a mem- 

 bership of 740. We have taken in since the 

 10th of last June— a little less than nine 

 months — lO^l members. I admit that that is 

 a pretty good sized association. The associa- 

 tion from its inception has been composed of 

 manufacturers and wholesalers, and I say to 

 you now, gentlemen, that we have more man- 

 ufacturers of hardwood lumber in our asso- 

 ciation than there are in any other association 

 in the United States. The chief function of 

 tlie National Hardwood Lumber Association — 

 and I don't know but what I could say the 

 sole function — has been the promulgation and 

 interpretation of rules of inspection for hard- 

 wood lumber. We have in our employ today 

 twenty-two salaried inspectors, none of whom 

 receive a salary of less than $1,'200 a year; 

 and in addition to those we have from thirtv- 

 five to forty that we term "fee men." These 

 men .are located largely on the Great Lakes, 

 and those of you who are familiar with cargo 

 shipments know there are times when vou are 

 rushed and need eight or ten men to' load a 

 vessel and then they have to wait a week for 

 another. Consequently we do not find it con- 

 venient to employ salaried men at those 

 points, but we do employ the fee men. Our 

 association is a most democratic association; 

 it covers thirty-two states or we have mem- 

 bers in thirty-two states of the Union. If any 

 other association has members in any states 

 that we have not I have never been acquainted 

 with the fact. We have some members in 

 Canada, half a dozen or more, and you will 

 notice, Mr. Chairman, that in this respect we 

 have been practicing a limited reciprocity 

 with Canada for some time without detri- 

 ment to either side so far as I Isnow, [Ap- 

 plause.] 



Our inspectors inspected last year and issued 

 certificates for 116,000,000 feet. 1 want to 

 state right here, gentlemen, that I haven't 

 made a statement to you this morning with 

 reference to our memljership, with reference 

 to its location, with reference to the number 

 of inspectors and amount of feet inspected by 

 our body tliat I will not swear to here and 

 now. Some of you, I think, know me well 

 enough to accept my statement: if you do not, 

 I will prepare and make an affidavit for you 

 now. 



We believe, gentlemen, standing as we do 

 .as the largest and oldest hardwood associa- 

 tion in the United States, larger by double 

 than any other, liaving a fully equipped bu- 

 reau for the purpose of inspecting lumber and 

 meeting the demand promptly, of meeting not 

 only our members, but our patrons, that we 

 are the logical association to carry on the 

 hardwood inspection business of this country. 

 Nevertheless we are willing and anxious to do 

 anything that we can to get this association 

 business into the hands of one bureau; one 

 bureau witli one set of rules, one yard stick. 

 Kverybody knows, if they will only stop and 

 consider for one moment, that you cannot leg- 

 islate value into a piece of lumber because 

 someone will call a one by five-eighths a stand- 

 ard with a defect in it a second, and that piece 

 of lumber is not worth any more to the ulti- 

 mate consumer than if you call it a No. 1 

 common. Now there are little differences like 

 that in the different associations that can be 

 reconciled and should he reconciled and we 

 should have but one set of rules and one in- 

 spection board in the United States. Our 

 friends. I understand, have made it impos- 

 sible for us to reach this result within five 

 years from the first day of last June because 

 everyone knows that rules which will be uni- 

 form must of necessity be compromise rules: 

 the bad must be eliminated from each set 

 and the good features brought together in one 

 good whole. Now, then, if our friends won't 

 do anything in five years we are prevented 

 from reaching the ultimate universal inspec- 

 tion. 



Gentlemen. I have made these few remarks 

 in good faith and I tliank you sincerely for 

 your kind attention, and I thank you, Mr. 

 Cliairman. for giving nie the opportunity to 

 speak to you. [Applause.] 



C. E. Pettis, superintendent of forests of 

 the state of New York, was then introduced. 

 He delivered an address on the sub.iect of 

 forestry reserves and the work which is being 

 done by the empire state in the protection to 

 Uie ]and=i owned by the state in the Adiron- 

 uaoks and Catskills. 



At this moment Gifford Pinehot, ex-chief 

 forester of tlie United States, entered the 

 room and, owing to the acclaim with which 

 he was received, the president was unable to 

 make a formal introduction. Mr, Pinehot 

 spoke as follows concerning the attempt being 

 made to foist disastrous legislation inimical 

 to forest service that is at present prevailing 

 in Congress, His address follows: 



IMr. Pinehot 's Address 



Gentlemen, one of the luckiest things that has 

 happened to mo in a long time is the fact that 

 you are here in session this morning. I sent 

 down to ask if I could speak because I have 

 something that I want to say to you. Just this 

 morning it was discovered while the agricultural 

 bill was before the Senate and while the usual 

 attack made year after year on the appropriation 

 for the forest service by Senator Heyburn and 

 a few of his friends was going on, an attack, 

 whicli as a rule has been one of the best assets 

 the service has had, because men are known by 

 their enemies as well as their friends [applause], 

 the following amendment was adopted : 



"Provided that all land upon which there is 

 growing less than 4,000 feet of merchantable 

 timber, board measure, per acre, shall be excluded 

 from the forest reservations, and no part of any 

 appropriation herein made shall be extended 

 upon any of the lands thus excluded." 



Now this amendment if adopted will destroy 

 the national forest system just about as effec- 

 tively as if all the forests were thrown back at 

 one blow into the public domain, and I make 

 this statement carefully and in all seriousness. 

 Y'ou gentlemen know that to count out of any 

 timber land every quarter section that does not 

 conform to a special requirement of this bind, 

 is substantially to make it impossible to handle 

 the thing. Furthermore, this provision would 

 exclude from the national forests every tract 

 upon which trees are being planted, every tract 

 from which the old timber has been burned 

 away and young growth coming on, every tract 

 of reproduction of every kind ; substantially 



