HARDWOOD RECORD 



29 



will try it ajmin for another year. [Applause.] 



rresldent Harnaby — I would liltp, however, to 

 pruvp tliat Mr. .*!waln was out of order. 1 will 

 say that I appreciate in my lieart the great 

 honor, for it Is an honor to be president of this 

 orgiinization. for it is one that Is recognized by 

 the National organization. 



Mr. Swain— Who said it was not V 



rn^sident Barnaby — I want you to know of 

 the importance of this thing, and I would lilie 

 very much to have some of the lionor passed 

 around, and let someone else have It for a 

 while; two years is enough. I'nle.ss-- 



.Mr liuriiholder — When this organization has 

 a good thing it knows It : they tried it on me. 

 and now they have started off on you. 



Mr. Shepard — Charlie, if you are not careful, 

 someone will make it two years more. 



President Barnaby — All right. The next thing 

 in order is for the goo<l and welfare of the or- 

 ganization. We expected to have with us this 

 Jtfternoon some eminent linancial man to tell us 

 what is the matter with our countrj'. We 

 finally decided that we would have enough men 

 In this room to tell us that, and now for the 

 good of the organization we would like to have 

 a little discussion on this subject from our visit- 

 ors as well as members. In order to get this 

 thin:; started I will ask Mr. Stimson to make a 

 few remarks upon the financial conditions. 



S»'cretary I'rilchard — I would like to make an 

 announcement. Tonight there will be a banquet 

 iu this hotel. Do not forget to be present at 

 "•..'111. We have a registration bureau out in 

 the lobby and want dues paid at the close of this 

 meeting. You must sta.v for the banquet to- 

 night. 



I'resident Barnaby — Gentlemen, this will not 

 last long, for we will be as brief as possible, 

 and when it is over we will go down into tlie 

 lobby and have .something on the new president. 

 We want everyone to stay for tlie banquet to- 

 night for there is where we have fun. 



An Interesting Speech. 



.Mr. Stimson — ! believe 1 would rather go down 

 stairs and take one on tlie new president than 

 take one here. Mr. President, if there is any- 

 thing in the world that 1 do not know much 

 about it Is finances, or what is the matter with 

 tiie financial situation, and I think Ijy the time 

 1 have linished .vou will agree with me. 



I had thought to refer to the lumber situation 

 in the beginning and I sliall do so though I 

 shall not talk more than live minutes. There 

 is some discussion as lo the lumber situation in 

 general. We arc all thinking (|uite seriously 

 aiwut It. Perhaps not so much so as thirty 

 days ago. The lightning struck us at the close 

 of the year, and we laid all the dullness to the 

 financial situation. We forget we have had 

 *Iull periods without financial flurries. As usual 

 Inml>er is very i^uiet for tliirty days along about 

 the holidays when tlie large proportion of the 

 furniture factories of the country are taking 

 slock and It is also the beginning of the show 

 season — January and July arc the show months. 

 Now the ne.\t thought is the condition of the 

 priie of lumber in connecliou with the lumber 

 market. I would like to preface any statement 

 that may follow with the question, "Are there 

 an.v lumbermen here who know where they can 

 replace their present stocks of lumber at less 

 price than those stocks can lay In the pile? Is 

 (here a manufacturer in the country wlio be- 

 lieves he can replace the stocks of lumber on his 

 yard, of the same quality — at less j)rlcc than 

 what his pile there has cost hImV" Now, If you 

 cant do it. ought not the present prices on lum- 

 l>er prevail? It seems to me that every lumber- 

 man in the country should consider himself 

 seriously. The secretary remarked that we 

 shouhl not consider ourselves seriously, but I 

 "lout think he meant it in this sense. We 

 ■ihuuld consider our business seriously l>efore we 

 make any radical reduction in price and united 

 thougiitful action along tills line will enable us 

 to maintain the price we think, we have piled 



- up In those lumber piles, add nothing else will 

 do It. Another thing we were discussing a few 

 minutes ago was the forestry situation. Low 

 priced luml)er will have a tendency to deplete 

 the forests more than anything else, because 

 high priced lumber will enable men to put in 

 other things as sulistitutes. They are doing It 

 totiay and the period when the buildings of this 

 country are made more largely out of other ma- 

 terial than lumber will help the forests because 

 the demands on the forests won't be so great. 

 There isn"t a Inmberman. dealer or manufacturer. 

 In the country who favors low-priced lumber. 

 There is no question about that. Now as to this 

 linancial situation, the cow has been slightly 

 sick, but I don't know exactly what has been 

 the matter with it. We all believe and know 

 that we had good business. The business was In 

 good condition and it was active and proHtable, 

 and I dare say that the large number of the 

 lumbermen present can count good prices for 

 last yea I" — as good as any year prior to 1007 — 

 as good prices as lumber ever brought. Business 

 was good to the lirst day of November. It was 

 good until the banks said that we could not get 

 out $."iO or more a day on our account. So, 

 gentlemen, it is certainly a l)ankers' panic and 

 not a businessmen's panic. It was not in the 

 beginning. We got the brunt of the burden as 

 the thing went along. It always falls on the 

 fellow who is doing the hustling. It caused us 

 to take notice and think of things, but no doubt 

 you recognize that in a general way we miist 

 reacli these periods from lime to time and the.v 

 do the country good. We get to going at too 

 rapid a rate. We must stop and consider our- 

 selves and our liusiness. Something must bring 

 us to a halt. This thing has done it and other 

 periods have done likewise in the past. I do not 

 know — I am sure 1 would not be able to suggest 

 the linancial measure, the financial step that 

 would prevent the countr.v from getting into 

 trouble In the future. I do not know one thing 

 about wi»at is needed along such lines. Some 

 man says let the federal government guarantee 

 deposits in the national banks. Another fellow 

 says you can't do that because it would work a 

 hardship on the other institutions not national 

 banks. Not necessarily so. Mr. Forgan came 

 out the other day and said, "No, no, that won't 

 do because it would not be treating the banker 

 who has been conservative and has the confi- 

 dence of the people, fairly." That is not the 

 thing to be considered most seriously, gentle- 

 men — it is tlie mass of the people and not this 

 individual bankei', nor this individual lumber- 

 man. As lumbermen this association has endeav- 

 ored to be broad and fair and not to consider 

 my gain or your gain. It has considered what 

 It honestly 1 bought was the greatest good to 

 the greatest number, and that should be the only 

 lioint consldcrt'd in banking anrl legislation. 1 

 am nol a ln\vy«-r. and th:tl might not be constlfu- 

 lional. but it would be good common horse sense. 

 I would like to hear a further discussion of 

 mailers that might be for the good of the order 

 ami I don't care to lake any more of your time. 

 I thank you for this much. 



Discussion. 



.Mr. Crauc, of I'incinuati — 1 ilo not regard the 

 situation as siuious. We are still doing a goml 

 business, although we are not doing any sollclling 

 whatever. 1 do ur>t think this state of affairs will 

 last long. I lliluk that the man that has (he 

 lumber the llrst of .luly will be able lo sell all 

 that he has. There Is still plenty of money In 

 the country The l>anks are loaded with It. 1 

 do not want what I have said to lnfluen<'e any- 

 one here as to what they will do or not do, i>ut 

 I will say again that I think that Ihe man that 

 has the lumber even williln the next ninety 

 ilays can dispose of It. 



Mr. James— The lumbermen of Indiana are all 

 walling lo sec where they are. That Is Just 

 what we are going to do. This Is not a picnic. 

 1( seems to me that this is not going to hurt us 

 lo a great extent. It is only a question of a 



few days when prices will be someihing like 

 they were before. We don't want them to go 

 up by leaps and bounds as they did the last 

 twelve months. 1 believe lumbermen of Indiana 

 arc all sensible enough to lie still and wait and 

 sec where they are. We are not trying to sell 

 lumber. 



Mr. Shepard — If this panic hadn't come I 

 W(Mild'nt have got acquainted with my wife and 

 baby. I had nothing to do before but talk boards 

 and planks. Since the llrst of November I have 

 sold four cars and before that I sold a car a 

 day. All 1 was thinking of was making money. 

 1 don't know what cause«l this (lurry and have 

 no suggestions ti> offer. I don't know whether 

 this Is going to be over in ninety days or three 

 years. But I know we all have the same chance 

 to scramble for whatever trade there is. I be- 

 lieve in standing pat on prices, so I Just stay 

 home and play with the baby till about 10 

 o'clock in the morning, go down and work a 

 little, and bowl a little In the evening, and en- 

 joy myself generally. I don't know how much 

 lumber Is going to be worth. There isn't very 

 much in the country. It everybody will Just sit 

 still they will either sell or jou won't sell. Even 

 if we know what Is the matter with this panic 

 we cannot stop It. I think the fellow that lays 

 low and takes It easy Is alt right. If only a 

 few were In this fix we miglit worry but we are 

 all there. 



-Mr. I'arrin — II Is very kind of your president 

 to call on me, but 1 think you have everything 

 pretty well lixe<l. My friend says there Is no 

 change in prices. .Another says there was no 

 panic. Another says if tliere was one it doesn't 

 make an.v <lifference — so i don't see what I cay 

 say to help matters. 



Mr. Woods — I want to buy a few cars and if 

 I talked as you do it would cost me something. 

 [Laughter.] 



Mr. Kline — Mr. President, I appreciate being 

 called upon, but what can I say'; I think just 

 as .Mr. Karrin does — the ground Is covered. We 

 may theorize alt we want to about this condi- 

 tion but it is not going to do any good, but I 

 don't think tlie way to fix it is to cut prices. 



Mr. tireer — I have nothing more to offer ex- 

 cept that this is somewhat of a mutual Jollying 

 organization. I don't believe it Is going to do 

 any good to say there has not been any trouble 

 and Is not going to be, because that is not the 

 exact situation. I confess I am slightly pes- 

 simistic, but I don't believe the situation Is a 

 bad one or that it Is going to last very long. I 

 do know when I quote prices that the orders 

 don't come back but letters do, saying our prices 

 are too high. We can buy lumber cheaper some- 

 where else. I think there Is a remedy for this 

 situation, and that remedy is not to make lum- 

 ber. It Is easy to say just go on and make It 

 and the man that has It will llnd a market. 

 While my experience is limited I don't see how 

 any rational man can take that view of it. There 

 Is a lot of lumb<'r In the South, and a lot of fel- 

 lows would like lo sell It and get the money. 

 They can do that It they will just keep the mills 

 <-losed long enough. If we all say this doesn't 

 .'imount lo anything and will soon blow over 

 we may get a lot of fellows to start up their 

 mills, and they will he sorry, and we will be 

 sorry. It seems to me this kind of talk will 

 start up a good many of them, and I don't be- 

 lieve It Is to the Interest of manufacturers to 

 have then) started up. 1 think If the mills would 

 close down uutil the llrst of July it would be 

 the wisest thing they ever did. There are sev- 

 eral views oC tills situation 1 think ought to be 

 considered. The fact is that the furniture man- 

 ufacturers have been running strong for years, 

 making a lot of furniture, l^verybody has been 

 buying It. Hut lately the furniture raanufactur- 

 i>rs have been having a lot of orders cancelled, 

 and I do not believe the demand Is going to be 

 excellent for hardwood lumber. People don't 

 have lo buy furniture when they are hard up 

 and they are not going to do It. If the mills of 



