36 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



April 25, 1921 



ency. Employers must do likewise in reducing the overhead bur- 

 dens to the lowest possible point. 



"It has never been the function of Association activity to 

 endeavor to dictate or standardize prices, but to establish a unifoini 

 practice in costing that will enable the various members to conduct 

 their own business on as fair a margin of profit as the times will 

 permit. 



•'COSTS: With Mr. Potter's (H. D. Potter, Cost Engineer) re- 

 port and submission of Section No. II of our cost instruction book, 

 we have approached one step closer to a comprehensive costing 

 method for plywood producers. Mr. Potter's future progress 

 toward the next section will be somewhat dependent on the resump- 

 tion of activity by our different factories, as the determination of the 

 facts necessary in the use of material and the resulting waste can 

 rarely be obtained from existing records and must be secured by 

 collected data and statistics of operation on a normal production 

 basis. 



"After the adoption of Mr. Potter's report as presented, we 

 should develop the best plan of procedure to bring the greatest 

 return for our cost engineer's time. He can then proceed to out- 

 line the next section relating to material, but would hardly feel 

 that he was justified in having this printed until the statistics are 

 accumulated and the problems attending the accumulation of these 

 statistics are in a position to be included in our printed Section No. 

 HI. 



"In the meantime, while this section is in process of preparation, 

 and Mr. Potter is completing the overhead tabulation for all of 

 our new members that will show the overhead on a 1920 basis for 

 all of our members, it would be possible to devote considerable 

 time to outlining cost systems in member plants, and said members 

 should be willing to share part of the expense. There are several 

 of our large plants which have expressed the desire to install cost- 

 ing systems. It will be much easier to make this installation while 

 business is at low ebb. and the use of so much of Mr. Potter's time 

 is an opportunity that such members probably cannot obtain after 

 business conditions improve. 



"GLUE STANDARDIZATION: Your President's immediate 

 contact with this problem has perhaps made him more aware of 

 the seriousness of this situation, and as his opinions are personal 

 rather than an expression of Association policy, it has seemed 

 better not to incorporate them in this report. It is obvious that 

 we are where a vigorous constructive policy is required to preserve 

 an open market on Cassava flour glue, for buyers and sellers alike. 

 The Association has stood so unitedly in other projects that your 

 President feels sure it will rise to meet this emergency." 



Publicity Report Features 



In conjunction with his highly instructive and important report 

 on the national publicity campaign, Mr. Worland exhibited panel 

 moulding, which represents a field for the expansion of demand 

 for panels. William Clendenin, an advertising man of Chicago, 

 made an extended exhibit of photographic reproductions of illus- 

 trations and references to veneers used in the ancient furniture 

 crafts, displaying evidence of the use of veneer as far back as 

 Egyptian and Babylonian periods. 



Commissioner Wulpi reported that twenty new members had 

 been added during the year and that forty-eight plants are now on 

 the roster of the Association, Thirty-three members attended the 

 second annual, w^hile at six mass meetings held during the year the 

 average attendance was thirty-eight men. 



Plea for Tariff Protection 



The following is a copy of the brief, minus exhibits, which the 

 Association placed before the Ways and Means Committee of Con- 

 gress, praying that the needs of the plyw^ood manufacturers be 

 considered in the revision of tariff schedules: 



"PLYWOOD MANUFACTURERS' ASS'N. 



"Grand Rapids, Mich., 

 "Feb. 25. 1921. 

 "Hon. Joseph W. Fordney. Chairman, and 

 Members of the Ways and Means Committee, 

 Washington, D. C. 

 "Gentlemen : 



"We appreciate the courtesy and attention shown to Mr. Thwing 

 (President of the Grand Rapids Veneer Works), representing the 

 Plywood Manufacturers' Association, and we beg leave to submit 

 in w^ritten form the essential points covered in his statements with 

 the thought that you may wish to quiz him further when the matter 

 has been taken up more in detail by your Committee. 



"First: The Plywood Manufacturers* Association comprises ap- 

 proximately fifty member plants (Exhibit A attached), and was 

 reorganized in March, 1919. The members of the Association, 

 w^ith an output for 1920 considerably in excess of $30,000,000, 

 employ capital of over $15,000,000 and give employment to 

 approximately 12,000 men. In addition to those represented by 

 our Association, there are perhaps half as many more manufac- 

 turers in various grades of plywood, increasing the above figures 

 by approximately 50 per cent. It is generally considered that our 

 Association represents two-thirds of the industry. 



"Second: While a few of the plywood plants have been in 

 {Coiitinni il on page )2^ 



C. B. Allen, First Vice-President 



F. B. Ward, Second Vice-President 



G. O. Woriand, Chairman of Publicity Committee 



