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HARDWOOD RECORD 



Handle Manufacturers J\Ieet. 



A special meeting of the Haiulle .Manufac- 

 turers' Association of Ameriea took place at 

 the Claypool Hotel, Indianapolis, on Tuesday, 

 January 14. While not large in point of 

 numbers, a goodly proportion of the entire 

 handle output of the country in ditreront 

 lines was repre.seiited and plans made for tlic 

 vigorous continuation of the work already so 

 well begun by the officers of the a.ssociation. 

 In order that the various branches of the as- 

 sociation may be accommodated, meetings of 

 the entire organization will not be held so 

 close together in future, but the ash men, the 

 maple men and the hickoiy men will meet 

 separately at the call of their respective vice 

 presidents at some point centrally located 

 with regard to the jiroduction of their specific 

 line. 



The presence of two delegates from the 

 Canadian Handle Association added not a lit- 

 tle to the interest of the business session and 

 the pleasure of the dinner, which was served 

 the association and its guests in the evening. 

 MOKNING SESSION. 



The first session was called to order at 10 

 a. m. by President Clendinen, who spoke as 

 follows : 



President's Address. 



Mr. Clendinen : I would like to appoint a 

 doorkeeper to shut the door and lock it, for 

 when I get through I don't want to be left 

 entirel.v alone. I endeavored in the last two 

 weeks to jot down in some kind of form a little 

 address to be made before this association at 

 this time, but hardl.v think I will present it 

 unless I should hand it to the jobbers of the 

 handle trade and the Hardwood Recoko, to be 

 printed. 



There are a few things I wish to touch upon 

 which are not in this address of mine. The 

 first is in reference to the association — that it 

 seems to be the impression of a number of the 

 manufacturers of other kinds of handles that 

 the hickory division is too strong, and it is 

 their intention to try to control these meetings. 

 I will say on behalf of the hickory members of 

 this association that that is the farthest from 

 their intentions ! We feel that all handle mak 

 ers need some assistance. Manufacturers are 

 learning more and more ever.v day that each 

 is dependent upon the other — that none of us 

 can stand without some assistance from our 

 neighbors. One of the prime objects in divid- 

 ing this association into the three divisions — 

 ash, hickory and maple — was that each division 

 might control its own line exclusively. The 

 allied associations would then inspire strength 

 and enthusiasm and we could put on an in- 

 finitely better front when we went out on the 

 market to dispose of our product. Now it is 

 true that a number of these divisions have other 

 associations. I doubt whether they have any 

 larger attendance than the hickory handle as- 

 sociation did when it was in existence, but it 

 devolved upon a few to attend these meetings, 

 do the work, and a number of outside manufac- 

 turers would stay at home, keep their money, 

 and reap as much benefit as those who spent it 

 for the furtherance of the industry. Now it is 

 simply impossible for any business man to thrive 

 or get benefits from an association unless all 

 the members — not a half dozen or a dozen, 

 but all — attend the meetings. They must give 

 their support. They must also relieve them- 

 selves of a dollar occasionally for the support 

 of the association. We can't run it on wind 

 any more than we can run our handle factories 

 on wind. 



Now 'there is another thing I wish to speak 

 upon, and that is In reference to prices. A 

 good many manufacturers deem it advisable to 

 stay out of an association on account of estab- 

 lished prices. Yoij all know thai in these times 

 it would be impossible for any association to 

 organize and endeavor to control prices abso- 

 lutely, lint there are other lines which can 

 be brought out which will advance the cause of 

 the manufacturer of handles. There is a hard 

 proposition for manufacturers along these lines 

 to work out, which is to discover the actual and 

 absolute cost of their product. We all think we 

 know what our stuff costs, and we are satisfied 

 witli oiu'selves. But at the same time, meeting 

 where we can talk with one another and find out 

 different ideas, get acquainted, create a more 

 sociable .spirit — in that way we can all get in- 

 formation and at every meeting learn something 

 that will he of benefit to us at our own plant, 



I have been in the handle business only about 

 six years. Two years after I entered it the 

 entire management was thrown on my shoulders. 

 While 1 have not made a great success of it, 

 the greatest part of my success in handling it 



T. It. CLENDINEN, ATCHISON, KAN., 

 PRE.SIDENT. 



has been through coming in contact with success- 

 ful people in the handle business and getting 

 ideas from membership in the old hickory asso- 

 ciation. I am satisfied that 75 per cent of my 

 own advancement has been gathered through 

 that and nothing else. It was not due to what 

 I learned the two years I was with my partner 

 or by my own capabilities, but gathering the 

 ideas of the different manufacturers and putting 

 them together that has allowed me to be alive 

 as long as I have been in the handle business. 

 Now it is necessary, as I said before, that every 

 member, in order to make this association a 

 grand success — for that is what we are going 

 into this work for, paid our money for — shall 

 do his part, and attend these meetings. 



Another thing to be considered is the present 

 condition of the market. My knowledge of the 

 handle markets outside of the hickory end of it 

 is very limited, but there are other representa- 

 tives here in different lines who know the con- 

 ditions in their own special line. Today the 

 hickory handle manufacturers are up against 

 a very serious proposition, principally on ac- 

 count of the recent financial flurry. As you all 

 know, our financial stringency was not caused 

 from any real reason. It was a speculators' 

 panic — a Wall street p.anic — and as soon as the 

 speculators found that they could adjust things 



sailsfaclorily. tilings began to readjust them- 

 selves. Many of the banks have been reorgan- 

 ized, and real sound business men were put at 

 the head of them. I'hysical conditions of the 

 country never were better. There is plenty of 

 mone,v In circulation today. The cotton, corn 

 and wheat crops are all splendid. There were 

 .$GoO. 000. Otto worth more products produced in 

 ]i)07 than in 100(>. These figures are according 

 to the last report of the secretary of agriculture. 

 Now prices, of course, should be maintained. It 

 would not do us any good to go out on the 

 market today and force the sale of our goods at 

 a lower luice. We are not helping conditions 

 a particle by so doing. We are making them 

 worse, and the only way I see is to go up 

 against this proposition with a good bold front, 

 and maintain your prices. Your goods are in 

 demand, people are going to buy them, and 

 you will find a market at good living prices if 

 you hold them up. But if we chop them to 

 pieces we are only demoralizing our interests 

 and at the same time losing our prestige with 

 the trade, and there is no call for any discount 

 in price of any manufactured product today, 



I didn't intend to talk so long — you will wish 

 I hadn't said anything, so will turn over the 

 floor now to some of my friends who represent 

 the maple and ash divisions. Would like to 

 hear from \'ice Presidents Alexander and Sperry. 



Mr, Alexander : As far as I can learn the 

 broom handle trade is now about as brisk as 

 could be expected. We have sold all the handles 

 we can make and have demands we are unable 

 to fill. I find brother members also who have 

 not been able to fill them. Dowels are prac- 

 tically a dead letter. Have not sold one for 

 two months and have not had an order. 



Mr. Sperry : In regard to the ash handle 

 trade, I think our association in the finished 

 trade is standing right up, although we are 

 not getting in orders to ship for immediate 

 delivery. The .iobbers are holding off, thinking 

 they will be able to break the price, and we are 

 letting the goods lie right in the warehouses, 

 and it remains to be seen who has the longest 

 wind. They will have to be furnishing their 

 trade in the next forty da.vs, however. The 

 largest jobbers always take in in January, but 

 we find quite a good many holding over a fair 

 supply, which is enabling them to hold out to 

 get a better price. The unfinished ash trade is 

 in the worst condition, and we feel they ought 

 to be gathered into an organization before any- 

 thing can be done to benefit it. I have person- 

 ally written a number of them. Some promised 

 to be here, but very few came. They don't 

 know the benefits they would receive if they 

 would spend a few dollars for experimental pur- 

 poses. I thought perhaps I would take a trip 

 next month and talk matters over face to face, 

 and see If we could not gather them in in that 

 way, for 1 feel organization is the only way 

 we can get a fair living profit on the goods, and 

 it will take lots of hammering away at them to 

 get them in. 



Mr. Clendinen i On account of o\u- Canadian 

 brethren, who probably would like to hear a 

 lot of this "dope" just as well as the balance 

 of us, we will transact what other business we 

 have before luncheon, and wait for our friends 

 from Canada, -ifter that we want you all to 

 return for a general discussion of the condi- 

 tions, etc., that are now governing our several 

 lines. We will listen to the secretary's report. 



Secretary's Report. 



Mr. Gibson : 1 don't want you gentlemen to 

 get discouraged by any means through what 

 you may think is a pretty slow start. With my 

 experience I believe this is the best start an 

 association ever had. I think by constant plug- 

 ging such as we are trying to do we are going 

 to get all the divisions in the organization as 

 enthusiastic as the hickory men, and make a 



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