22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



December 25. luls 



very simple eliiiiiiiation in :i nunK'l uuitmni. Tliis was can-ied all 

 the way through in all Uiiiils of ))roiluetioii, with the result that 

 millions and millions of dollars were saved and a tremendous in 

 crease in ])ro(hietioii eajiaeity was gained. 



Mr. Manss referred to the remissness in jmshing trade on the jiail 

 of lumbermen in trade extension work. He -said that salesmanship 

 is an aeeident and not a scienfc in this country, and that the manu- 

 facturing trade as a whole is only nnw beginning to organize itself 

 so as to deal direct. He said that trade secrets as far as selling is 

 concerned can not exist as one organization is bound to learn what 

 the other is doing. 



Referring to salesmanship it was stated that the average sales- 

 man is too intent npon making his sale to allow him to weigh in- 

 come against revenue; that he is not sufficiently conversant with 

 liis costs to know whether or not an apparently good sale will result 

 in a definite profit. One of the big results of the war is that manu- 

 facturers are now compelled to face tlie facts of the case and to 

 make such changes as will enable them to proceed upon a more 

 scientific basis. The old system was wrong, according to the speaker, 

 as most men were eoiiti'nt to sell something rather than to make a 

 profit from it. 



Mr. Manss urged business men to stand out for the revocation of 

 or change in the Sherman law so as^ to permit conditions which 

 would eliminate waste, simplify production, maintain prices and 

 prevent dumping. Snch condition wonM help reduce the cost of 

 living. 



The United States, according to Mr. Manss, is independent as 

 far as the personal temper of its population is concerned, but is 

 distinctly dependent commercially. For instance, according to the 

 speaker, the monetary value of German exports going into Pennsyl- 

 vania alone are equal to all of their exports to South America, 

 (ierman export excess in this country is due to foreign patents held 

 in the United States under our antiquated patent laws, which must 

 be changed. 



Mr. Manss t.'nen referred to the question of maintaining newly 

 developed iiidustries. He urged that all business men conic to a 

 realization of the fact that influences bearing on other industries 

 have a vital reaction upon their own. He referred to the hope that 

 business men may eventually come to play a more prominent part in 

 politics, stating that S.l per cent of the present Congress is ma<le up 

 of lawyers. 



The present tendency is to look for a panacea for life, as Mr. 

 Manss expressed it, meaning that there are many laws and most of 



them are theoretically cimipiled with tlie idea of correcting some 

 influences which can only be corrected by men of broad vision who 

 will consider the future as well as the present. 



.Mr. Manss said that introspection has been a national trait, that 

 nv have liad no great statesman and no real viewpoint on interna- 

 tional problems and therefore no foreign trade. He maintained that 

 the war was neederl to bring the nation back to the ability to see 

 things in tlii' liroail vision of old, that the war will bring men of 

 power to the forefront and will compel real men tn take a voice in 

 the government. Jlr. Manss said: 



It i.s my belief that with the proper laws, busine.ss men can run this 

 country without government interference or regulation. It is un- 

 iiuestionably a fact that business cannot be so well carried on by 

 the government as by private citizens. It is the spirit of our country 

 and of our constitution that men should work for the government 

 and not that the government should work for its citizens. 



Paternalism, according to Mr. Manss, is just as serious a menace 

 as socialism and is destructive of initiative and creativeness. 



Touching on the question of merchant marine, Mr. Manss said that 

 in 191.'! this country paid .$.500,000,000 to foreign steamship lines in 

 ocean freight, wliereas $12,.500,000 would have been sufficient to 

 subsidize American vessels to a point where they could have com- 

 peted with foreign bottoms. 



Referring to the question of labor, Mr. Manss said the day of 

 bulldozing by cajjital or labor has gone and that capital and labor 

 must get together to solve their problems. The employers, accord- 

 ing to Mr. Manss, have not put their cards on the table and have 

 not stated their aims while labor has. These questions should be 

 put in the melting pot and the proper answers formulated. 



Resolutions on Railroads and Port Development 



B. I'\ Dulweber submitted two important resolutions: One, urg- 

 ing that the government return the railroads to private ownership 

 as soon as is consistent with the needs of the public and the govern- 

 ment, stating that the association is opposed to any extension of the 

 time limit for government control which now is set at twenty-one 

 months beyond the day of the ratification of the peace treaty. In 

 this resolution the association also expressed itself as favoring under 

 the return to private ownership regulation to the extent at least of 

 cimtinuing the pooling of cars, open terminals and the handling of 

 traffic by the shortest and most economical route. 



The other resolution put the association on record as advocating the 

 immediate development of Gulf and South Atlantic ports so as to 

 iniividc increased outlet for foreign trade. 



K. G.iDII, ESPECI.VLLY APPOINTED 

 TAKE CHARGE OF FIELD WOUK 

 OPEN PRICE PLAN 



li.MtNELL. TREASURER 



.\t. \V. STARK, CIIAIRM.VX OPEN PRICE I'LAN 



