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The Lumberman s Round Table 



The Place of Figured Gum 

 The fact that requirements of domestic consumers of figured 



gum are probably less for ordinary commercial purposes than they 

 have been for a long while, means that the present advantage en- 

 joyed by gum docs not represent as much in the way of increased 

 demand as it might otherwise, but it is likely to get a lot of people 

 started to using figured gum in larger quantity than ever before. 

 If the buyers of finished products take to it, this increased use 

 may be a permanent proposition. 



Gum has always boen emphasized as a general utility wood, able 

 to fit into a situation and make good under almost any conditions. 

 The demands of war time, with their effect on various materials 

 needed for war work exclusively, have shoved gum into the lime- 

 light again, and have given it a particularly good opportunity to 

 demonstrate tliat tliis reputation for general usefulness was well 

 earned. 



Honoring the Boys in Service 



A big Louisville hardwood conqpany has been distributing photo- 

 graphs of the "Roll of Honor" which hangs in its of&ce, and 

 which is particularly effective in the way it presents the names of 

 I those who have enlisted in the service; of their country on land 

 and sea. It consists of a bronze plate, with "Roll of Honor" at 

 the top, and underneath, on separate plates, which can be added 

 to as new men enlist, are the names of those who are in service. 

 Below is a quotation from President Wilson 's famous message 

 pledging ever.ything to the fight for liberty. 



The disjjlay is dignified, permanent and appealing, and has senti- 

 ment without being too sentimental. It is just the sort of thing 

 that every house with many men in the service should use as a 

 means of memorializing their contribution to the country. 



The photographs, by the way, are being treasured by relatives 

 of the men, and the writer knows of one boy's mother who has 

 had the picture framed and will keep it all her life to show how 

 her son was honored by his employer on the occasion of his enter- 

 ing the ranks of Uncle Sam 's fighters. 



The Girl Question 



The Chicago Tribune recently published a big feature story, 

 illustrated with pictures of attractive girls in overalls, telling all 

 about the entrance into industry of a number of young actresses 

 who were temporarily out of a job because of the theaters being 

 closed by the epidemic of influenza. The story indicated that the 

 girls had taken employment in one of the munitions factories, but 

 that they were doing it more for a lark, and as a good press agent 

 stunt than anything else. As soon as the footlights are turned on 

 again, the munitions factory and the denim overalls will know them 

 no more. 



There is a moral in this with regard to the general employment 

 of female help in lumber yards and woodworking plants. A lot of 

 girls are being used at present, and some of them probably will 

 sta.y on the job. But the general complaint is that there is too 

 great a turnover, and that the employes do not stick as they 

 should. The result is that the training of green hands becomes a 

 big problem, and makes it a questionable matter for the manu- 

 facturer to bother with female labor. If it were not a ease of 

 necessity, in view of the shortage of men, it is doubtful if some of 

 them would continue to hire girls. 



This is one aspect of the employment situation which has a bear- 

 ing on what will happen when the soldiers come back from war 

 and seek civilian pursuits. In many lines, without question, they 

 will be welcomed with open arms, not only because of their greater 

 strength and skill, but because they can be counted on to stick to 

 the job at least long enough to give the manufacturer a chance to 

 break even on his investment for training expense. 



Logging by Contract 



The question of having logging done, by contract or handling 



this part of the operation direct is one which has been discussed 



considerably of late. The experience of one of the most successful 

 sawmill operators in the South, who now has seven or eight band- 

 mills going, is interesting. He has always had his logs brought to 

 the mill under contract, if he could make a satisfactory arrange- 

 ment, and finds that he can save money by so doing. 



''Logging is a business almost by itself," he said. "I am will- 

 ing to let somebody else worry about the details of getting the 

 logs from the stump to the mill, especially as this requires a big 

 organization, considerable equipment and some financing. It is 

 easier for me to use my capital for manufacturing and selling lum- 

 ber than it is to put part of it into logging, and I am more than 

 willing to give the logger a satisfactory return on his investment 

 in order to avoid the worry entailed in getting out the logs. 



"It is also a big advantage to me to know exactly what my 

 logs are going to cost. I know what it takes to convert them into 

 lumber, and hence I can figure my manufacturing expenses very 

 easily. If I were operating my own logging outfit, I would find 

 that the expense would vary, and I would never know just where 

 I was on the cost end." 



If an operation is large, and if a concern is concentrating its 

 manufacturing interests at one point, in connection with the de- 

 velopmont of a single timber tract, handling its own logging may 

 be profitable and more convenient than the other method; but for 

 the millman who has a number of operations, all requiring super- 

 vision, the advantage of having the logging work done on con- 

 tract by reliable men, at a fixed expense, often offsets the possible 

 economy of the other system. 



Simplifying the labor problem alone is held by many to justify 

 contracting for logging work. 



Changing Needs of Buyers 



The salesman nowadays must needs watch all of the angles if he 

 hopes to keep pace with his trade. 



The way in which manufacturers are switching their lines of 

 operation, as a result of war requirements, is having a big effect, 

 of course, on the character of their demand. 



Some furniture manufacturers are getting into the box business. 

 That moans that different grades and kinds of lumber will be 

 needed, and the lumber salesman must know these things in order 

 to get after the business intelligently. 



How to get the information promptly is the big question, of 

 course, and the only answer is study of general conditions affect- 

 ing individual enterprises, in addition to keeping the eyes and ears 

 open for knowledge of what they are doing. 



Hardwood Finish in China 



The best evidence of the progress and inherent appeal of hard- 

 wood for interior finish comes to us in a special consular report 

 from China. In dealing with the lumber situation, this report, 

 after pointing out that American lumber holds first place in the 

 market there, makes the statement that on account of the high 

 prices of soft woods Philippine hardwoods found a readier sale in 

 China than usual, lauan, apitong, and palosapis being freely in 

 demand. Of these woods something over 4,000,000 feet were im- 

 ported into Shanghai alone last year. And it is contended that 

 the market created for these woods is likely to remain as the 

 Chinese like the high grade hardwoods and will continue to use 

 them for interior finish in their buildings. What is true there is 

 true here and elsewhere, and that is, when hardwoods are once 

 used for interior finish they find favor and go on the preferred 

 list. 



Wooden combs were in use thousands of years ago and a few are 

 still made. The teeth are cut with a fine saw and the points 

 hardened by slightly charring them in a candle flame. 



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