20 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



.In-p in. 1021 



Taylor Warns Against New Endeavors 



Tlic annual aildrcss of Horai-c F. Taylor, president of the National 

 Hardwood Lumber Association, which was delivered immediately 

 after the opening of the first session on the morning of June 9, 

 contained a warning to the members to view with canny eye any 

 suggestion that tlic association depart from the primary purpose of 

 its creation and existence (universal inspection rules for hardwood 

 lumber) and enter upon new and untried fields of endeavor. "The 

 invitation is frequent to deviate from our prescribed path," he 

 said, "and the temptation constant and alluring to explore new 

 fields of effort, and I deem it a matter of vital concern that we 

 consider such ventures in the light of the proven course which for 

 us has been one of marked success." 



Mr. Taylor said the entire success and growth of the association 

 was primarily due to its concentrated devotion to the business of 

 inspecting hardwood lumber according to its universal inspection 

 rules. He declared that he did not "hesitate to assert that the 

 universal hardwood insjioctiou ]ilan of this association is the most 

 constructive and within legal limits the most profitable contribution 

 ever made to the orderly conduct of the lumber business." 



The full te.\t of President Taylor's address follows: 



It is a very jrroat pleasure to welcome this splendid fratherinfr of mem- 

 bers and friends of the N.itional Hardwood Lnnibor .Association to tlie 

 Twenty-fourth .\nnua] Mootinfr of our orKuniz.Ttion, Nfit only to you whom 

 wc rccopnize as veterans In tlic Wfirl^ of our .Vssociation do I offer hearty 

 greetings, but on lielialf of jin order in whicli good-fellowship holds sway. 

 I extend the right liand of friendship to our new brothers who have come 

 into the Associntion in such gratifying numl>ers during the past year. 



These annual meetings are l\v no means held in mere formal compliance 

 witli our l>y-liiws, and I am very happy at the outset to forecast that this 

 gathering like its predecessors will talte its place as a typical expression 

 (if our Association life, affording not only the opportunity for an intimate 

 eschjinge <if business counsels for the good of the (irder, but what is quite 

 as important, serving most pleasantly to promote that traditional acquaint- 

 anceship among our members which has become an influential factor in 

 our progress and success. 



It is for definite purposes, therefore, that we have met again this year. 

 We are to review the-worli of the past twelve months, take stock of our 

 present resources as an association and seek in the light of experience the 

 means by which our future usefulness may be enlarged. But al)ove all and 

 surrounding the definite features of onr program structure we may con- 

 tidently expect to en.io>', as on former occasions, an atmosphere tempered by 

 the sunshine of good fellowship. Pup in large part, no doubt, to the influ- 

 ences of the war. we find ourselves today in a world suffused with the 

 poison of suspicion and doubt, finding its expression in the attitude ot 

 nations. In the attitude of all classes of society and as well in the attitude 

 of the individual mind. We shall hardly witness progress toward better 

 things until this unfortunate state of affairs gives place to a renewed 

 conlidence on tlte part of man towards his fellows ; and surely no agency 

 can be more effectual to this end than occasions for constructive intercourse 

 such as that in wliich we are now engaging. 



Passing of the "Soft Times" 



It is a difticult matter to allude to the history of the past twelve months 

 wittiout remarking briefly at least upon the phenomenal change that has 

 taken place in our industry since last we met. In .Tune ot 1920 we had 

 reached a mountain peak of business activity unattained in any previous 

 experience, and were faced with a demand for hardwood lumlier in volume 

 so unparalleled as quite to outdistance the facilities for its production, 

 with resulting luml>er values which no one of us could have anticipated. 

 Our suUseciucnt .ind recent course has been a descent so rapid and precipi- 

 tous as to result in pliysieal collapse liad it not been for the robust business 

 constitution witli which most of us are blessed. We all know, however, 

 that the depths of the valley are marked by limits as certain as those of 

 the mountain heights, and we shall do well to "carry on" with resolution, 

 confident that this relaxation may itself give us pause in which to prepare 

 ourselves for a new and early experience upon levels more conducive to a 

 sustained business comfort and health. Under our recent experience we 

 shall do well to reconcile ourselves with the view of a philosopher who has 

 said that what we have Just seen is "not a case of hard times coming in — 

 but a case of soft times going out." 



To recount the history of our work during the past year Is indeed a 

 pleasant task requiring few words, and one in which you will share my 

 enthusiasm, for surely there is every reason why you should join with me 

 in a keen Interest in the character and achievements of our great Associa- 

 tion. Thanks to the sound principle ui'on which It Is estal>!ished and the 

 tried »Md orderly processes of its work, it has functionc<i well and served 



with a satisfaction so complete as to be all liut universal. The tremen- 

 dous change in the circumstances of our industry during the past year has 

 offered a test which could have been successfully met by no organization 

 of iincertain strength and character, and we have met that test unscathed 

 and with flags flying. 



Association's Growth 



Growth in membership is, of course, by no means the only Index of 

 progress, but as you will be told in definite figures, the past twelve months 

 has shown an accessifm not only large numerically but of equal ^■;^lue as 

 regards lite character and standing of those who have joined our ranks, 

 and we niay certainl.v take clear satisfaction in the knowledge that we 

 stand today the largest lumber organization in the Ignited States, if not 

 in the world. When we take into account the conditions of the past few 

 months, so clearly unfavorable to interesting business men in new affilia- 

 tions. I think we may again regard the increase as an index of the universal 

 regard In which this organization is held by the hardwood lumber fraternity. 



My temptation is great to emplo.v actual figures by way of illustration, 

 but I do not purpose to encroach upon what is clearly the itrovince of our 

 efficient secretary, by referring in more specific terms to the growth as 

 well as to the current accomplishments of the Association. You will all 

 understand h(*w under the pleasing circumstances of a sustained success 

 in our work the task of your president has not only been a simple one but 

 has consisted in the main of looking on with you while "the wheels go 

 "round." and there can. therefore, be no immodesty in my taking occasion 

 to point with pride to the movement of this nicely adjusted machinery, the 

 credit for wliose successful operation rests first with you, our loyal mem- 

 Iwrs more than 1.400 in number, and upon the masterly work of our secre- 

 tary-treasurer, and in no measure upon the person wlio has chanced during 

 the past year to enjoy the title of president. 



Thanks to the excellent suggestion made last year by President Goodman, 

 our Executive Committee has eniar.ged to seven meml>ers. Five of the 

 seven are representative sawmill operators ; the other two are qualified by 

 experience to take a sympathetic view of the problems of the manufacturer. 

 Our Inspection Rules Committee with seventeen members includes at least 

 eleven or twelve manufacturers, or a clear majority of two-thirds. The 

 Board of Managers, out of a membership of twent.v-eight, includes fifteen 

 out-and-out lumber manufacturers, many of the remaining members being 

 also indirectly interested in the producing side of the business. 



Producers Predominate 



I make a point of this preponderance of representative hardwood pro- 

 ducers among our councils for the purpose of indicating how ill-founded is 

 the occasional and ofttimes plainly malicious charge that our organization 

 is controlled in the interests of other classes of fuir membership. It is a 

 fact beyond successful controversy that the National Hardwood Lumber 

 Association is operated in the mutual interest of all its members and that 

 in no sense or measure whatever does it discriminate in favor of one class 

 as against another. Any fair analysis of our Association activities will 

 readily confirm the truth of this statement ; its accuracy need not rest upon 

 an individual assertion. 



No organization or individual who persistently stands for something 

 worth while can hope to avoid occasional criticism : such criticism, on the 

 other hand, becomes an inevitable and complimentary tribute to character. 

 With a inemliership in excess of 1.400 drawn not only from all the hard- 

 wood pr(Kiueing states, but from well l>eyond those limits, employing a 

 numerous staff of active representatives in regions not only separated 

 geographically but representing a wide divergence of business relationship 

 and called upon to correctly grade and measure annually between two hun- 

 dred and two hundred and fifty million feet of twenty-five or more varieties 

 of woods, it is no less than natural that errors of judgment will sometimes 

 creep into our distinctly human machine. Obviously, the person who fool- 

 ishly elects to rate our association's success upon the exceptional error 

 instead of tipon its ruling success, declares his own limitations and not 

 those of this association. In all claims of error ftiunded upon fact, your 

 officers are prompt in meeting the responsibility of the Association by the 

 prompt effort to treat the difficulty fairly and upon Its merits. 



I will not make the unkind charge that there are some lumbermen wbose 

 Idea of an association is that of a convenient device which will enable them 

 to accomplish an improper or selfish purpose : odd as it may seem, however, 

 wc are sometimes forced to believe there are still individuals whose dis- 

 appointment at the refusal of our Association to lean their way, would 

 seem to qualify them for the rolls of this unfortunate but limited class. 



Inspection Nearly Perfect 

 The ruling accuracy of our inspection work is a matter which to me 

 seems to have had too little emphasis. In this connection there was 

 recent occasion to analyze results of the measurement and inspection in 

 normal course of 175,000,000 feet. Of this total an average of only one 

 ear out of SO formed the basis of a claim justified or unjustified; the en- 

 suing reinspection showed that one car only out of 226 cars on the average 

 substantiated a claim of sufficient amount to involve recourse to the guar- 

 anty of the .Association. In other words, of this total — 175.000,000 feet — 



