16 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



.September 10, 1921 



We have not yet heKun any spcclllc prosecutions, liut plans have been 

 made along several lini'S for lliat purpose, the most Important of which 

 are of course the spc-ilIU: complaints anil cases InvoIvlnK Interstate com- 

 merce, which we win lUc with the Feileral Trade Commission. In the 

 ileolslon of those cases liy the Federal Trade Commission we hope to be 

 able to get them to announce Just what is meant when furniture is 

 described as walnut or mahocaiiy- Whether a piece of stained birch or 

 gum wltli a small amount of real wood can be designated mahogany or 

 walnut "finish" and Just when (be words "iiiiltatlon" or "combination" 

 can be used, etc., etc. 



I cannot In n brief letter lay before you all the various laws un<ler which 

 we could bring prosecutions, but I will Just refer to a few. For Instance, 

 the Advertising Law of Kentucky. I have It In the form of House Hill 40. 

 .\iso Orilinance 271, Series 11)1 -1, of Ihe city of Louisville, Ky., being an 

 ordinance to prevent tiaudulcut, deceptive and misleading advertising. 

 .\lso advertising laws under the rcniil Code of the United States, section 

 44H and section 210. etc., etc. 



Following this, Mr. Hawke remarks that ho has had "a number 

 of interesting interviews with furniture men and lawyers who have 

 come to see me since tlie inauguration of this campaign." 



Labeling Law Suggested 



As a remedy for the misrciiroscntation against which he is cam- 

 paigning Mr. Hawke advises that a labeling law, such as suggested 

 by "a Minnesota manufacturer of dining room furniture," has 

 received wide and .-ilmost unanimous endorsement. Scores of let- 

 rers sent to furniture manufacturers liavc elicited favoralilo replies, 

 he says. 



This Minnesota manufacturer suggested that a label be placed 

 on each article of furniture by the manufacturers, "setting forth 

 the material used, and a law fixing a punishment for the removal 

 of such label before the final sale to the customer." 



Mr. Hawke concludes his letter with this statement: 



Now I have tried to answer your letter as briefly as possil]le. and will 

 be glad to answer any furtlier questions which you may have, if it Is in my 

 power to do so. We feel th.ir we need your assistance as well as the 

 assistance of all other honest l)Usliioss men who intend to succeed along 

 honest lines. This misrepresentation, as you are well aware, works a 

 serious hardship upon the honest dealer and we wish you could see the 

 hundreds of commendatory letters which we have and we would be glad 

 to show them to your representatives if you can at any tnne favor us 

 with a call. 



Methods Not Aims Resented 



There seems to lie no quarrel with Mr. Hawke on the score of the 

 desirability of stopping the misrepresentation of woods in furniture. 

 All of those who have had occasion to disclaim him or to indulge 

 in controversy with him agree that there is nothing that any 

 strictly moral-minded person can say for misrepresentation of any 

 product. "What they do object to, and this most seriously, is the 

 resort to anonymous "warnings," the apparent effort in all com- 

 munications to dealers and manufacturers to intimidate them by 

 a veiled threat of prosecution, the steady refusal to disclose the 

 identity of the backers of the campaign, and the actual misrepre- 

 sentation that has appeared in some of the correspondence, namely, 

 in one of the Seoggin letters. In this case Mr. Scoggin stated that 

 "there is no genuine mahogany that comes out of the Philippine 

 Islands. There is a very good substitute, the U. S. Government 

 says, for mahogany coming from the Philippines. There is one 

 manufacturer I have in mind who is putting out solid mahogany 

 furniture and he is making it out of the Philippine substitute, and 

 ho is calling it genuine solid mahogany and is shipping it inter- 

 state, and trouble may overtake him before he realizes it, as the 

 Government has requested information along these lines and the 

 Government is liable to get that information." 



Some of the users of Philippine mahogany who read this state- 

 ment were greatly distressed by it. The Indiana Quartered Oak 

 Company of Long Island City, N. Y., importers of Philippine 

 mahogany, write that they have told their "customers that as far 

 as Philippine mahogany is concerned they could set their minds 

 at rest, as the Forestry Bureau, for many years, has classed 

 African and Philippine mahoganj' together as commercial mahogany 

 in their official bulletins and reports on mahogany imports. We 

 liavo also called their attention to the fact that neither African 

 nor Philippine mahogany are true mahogany botanically, the only 

 true mahogany botanically being 'swietenia mahogani,' which 



grows only in the West Indies and parts of Mexico, Florida, and to 

 a small extent in the northern part of South America." 



.All mahoganies are sold with the prefi.v, showing where they are cut 

 and Ihe character of the wood, viz.: Cuban, Mexican, African and 

 rhllippine. 



African mahogany and Philippine mahogany are and have been for 

 many years recognized as "commercial mahogany." and the fact that 

 neither of them is true mahogany botanically is of no practical importance. 



Also, the Eastern Freight Classification Committee classes Philippine 

 mahogany with Mexican and African, and this wood has to pay the same 

 freight rate, viz. : 5th class. 



.Many experts are unable to distinguish Philippine mahogany from 

 African when finished, and the only reason that Philippine mahogany 

 is sold at less price than -African is because it is manufactured in the 

 Philippine Islands, pays no duly, and only the upper grades are exported. 

 Consequently, the freight and high cost of manufacture and duty do not 

 have to be charged as ovrrhend to the upper grarles to off-^et the loss on 

 the poor end. 



Denounced by Mahogany Club 



before proceeding witli tlie interesting history of the anti-mis- 

 representation campaign as sliown by the correspondence of Hawke, 

 Scoggin and others, it is only fair to the Mahogany Association 

 to quote a letter of condemnation received from J. C. Wickliffe, 

 acting secretary of the association, from the headquarters •in Xew 

 York City. To quote the letter: 



There has come to our attention the conimeudaI)le article in your 

 -August 25 issue entitled "Deplorable Propaganda." dealing with certain 

 anonynmus literature that recently made its appearance, purporting to 

 come from a "Hardwood Lumber Salesman," and which is directed at the 

 retail furniture trade. 



Inasnnu/h as both mahogany and walnut are mentioned In the so-called 

 "Friendly Warning" leaflet, we regret you did not have the opportunity 

 to communicate with the Mahogany -Association before your issue went 

 to press, 



t'nfortuiiatel.^'. the vocaluilai-y permissible in ijublic diction Is woefully 

 inadequate to appropriately express disapproval of such methods as were 

 made use of in this literature referred to. But holding itself within the 

 prescribed liounds this association desires to register its strongest con- 

 demnation of such methods and to classify them as in Its opinion merit- 

 ing the contempt of all reputable members of the hardwooil industry. ■ 



This scurrilotis leaflet came to our notice almost coincident with copies 

 of certain letters of similar vein, bearing the signature of one G. S. Hawke. 

 and appearing on the letterhead of Geo. S. Hawke, attorney-at-law. First 

 National Bank building, Cincinnati, Ohio. Because of the mention of 

 mahogany in both the leaflet and these letters this association felt it 

 incumlii'nt upon itself to make an investigation of this man's activity. It, 

 consequently, sent a representative to that city and ascertained that Hawke 

 was the party who had issued both the signed letters and the anonymous 

 literature. It was able to ascertain the name of the party Hawke claimed 

 had retained his services. The success of our investigation, which is still 

 under way, might be Jeopardized by publishing this name at the present 

 time. It is our hope that ultimately we shall be able to uncover the real 

 individual responsible for Hawke's pernicious activity. 



The Mahogany .Association will regard it as a favor it H.^bdwood 

 Recoup will give publicity in its next Issue to this letter to the end that 

 the hardwood industry and the furniture industry (both manufacturing 

 and retail) may bo apprised of the effort that is being made by this asso- 

 ciation to definitely and unquestionably ascertain the identity of the pei"- 

 petrator of this covert attack upon the good names of both. 



The first appearance of the propaganda which has stirred up 

 a sizeable tempest in the furniture and hardwood industries, 

 was in the following letter which was addressed to newspapers and 

 trade periodicals, with the idea of securing its publication: 



Do you realize, Mr. Reader, that probably 75 per cent of the furniture 

 you imagine is made of real walnut and real mahogany is mere imitation, 

 sometimes with a very thin layer of veneer of the real wood stuck on 

 the top? Very often the imitations are very poor and fade out, 

 shriidc and warp out of shape a year or two after you have paid for them. 



Further, do you know that you have no redress simply because you do 

 not know the technical description of Imitation. When you are told furni- 

 ture is w^alnut finish, raaboganized and birch mahogany, it all means 

 furniture made of inferior wood, often cheaper than common pine, that it 

 has been stained with either walnut or mahogany coloring matter. 



The United States government has a pure food and drug act which 

 compels the manufacturer to plainly state on the label when It is an imi- 

 tation or substitute, etc. 



Please Immediately write your senator or representatives at Washington, 

 D. C.. urging them to pass a law compelling manufacturers to label their 

 furniture with their name and address and guaranteeing the kinds of 

 woods useil in different parts of each piece of furniture they manufacture. 



What honest argument could there be against such a law? 



{Continued on page 21) 



