24 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



December 



1918 



and will uever come to the old level because it now has a voice. 

 Labor, according to Mr. Boyle, must be handled industrially and 

 not individually. 



After touching on the question of grades and cost figures, he 

 emphasized the necessity for maintaining an efficient, helpful trade 

 press. He emphasized that the trade press is closely read by buyers 

 because they have no other means for keeping in touch with devel- 

 opments within the lumber industry. 



Speaking of merchandising of lumber. Gen. Boyle said the hour 

 has struck for the deveiopnieut of a broader vision and for getting 

 away from old habits. He said that many manufacturers have no 

 vision beyond the tail of the mill, but now they must get together 

 so as to have a vision beyond and into the market. 



Secretary Redfield Invites Co-operation 



M. W. Stark, St. Albans, W. Va., read a letter to Wm. M. Bitter, 

 Columbus, Ohio, prominent in hardwood circles, in which Secretary 

 Redfield expressed his keen appreciation of the valuable work Mr. 

 Bitter had done in the War Industries Board in helping bring the 

 government and the lumber industry together. He extended an 

 invitation to Mr. Ritter to continue his work with the department 

 of commerce which is now absorbing the work formerly carried on 

 by the War Industries Board. He expressed his desire that the 

 department of commerce may continue to co-operate with the coun- 

 try 's industries and to this end it is his desire that leading business 

 men act as a medium as heretofore. He therefore selected Mr. 

 Ritter with fourteen other men representative of principal indus- 

 tries who will give all aid to the department in solving industrial 

 problems. 



E. O. Robinson then reported for the resolutions committee. Prior 

 to submitting a resolution on grades he submitted the following: 



a — Resolution urging that the ports of the Gulf and South At- 

 lantic Coast be immediately developed; 



b — ^^That the merchant marine be developed and maintained under 

 conditions allowing of successful competition with foreign shipping; 



c — Railroads should be returned to private ownership as soon as 

 possible, and expressing the sentiment of the association as opposed 

 to an extension of the time limit be5'oud the maximum of twenty- 

 one months from date of final peace treaties, and urging control 

 under private ownership at least to the extent that pooling of cars, 

 open terminals and the handling of traffic by the shortest and most 

 economical route may be continued: 



d — Recommending appointment of a committee of five to work 

 out a uniform cost system and that such system be adopted and 

 plans made to make it general; 



e — That a committee of five be appointed to make a close study 

 of the labor problem and to make recommendations; 



f — That a committee of five be appointed to investigate foreign 

 trade matters and study such matters and the Webb bill as applying 

 to them and to make recommendations; 



g — That the board of directors be authorized to fix such rate of 

 assessment as to enable the oak and gum departments to carry on 

 their extension plans; 



h — That the question of membership in the National Lumber 

 Manufacturers' Association be left to the board of directors; 



i — That the association favors membership in the Chamber of 

 Commerce of the United States and also the American Chamber ol 

 Commerce of London, England; 



j — That the question of retaining and expanding the legal de- 

 partment be referred to the board of directors. 



All of the above were favorably voted upon in order. 



This was followed by a resolution of thanks to the members ot 

 the Louisville Club and to the trade press, after which the general 

 resolution regarding grading rules was submitted. This is given 

 elsewhere in a panel at the top of the page. This was followed 

 by a lengthy discussion. 



.John W. McClure, member of the resolutions committee, started 

 a discussion by submitting a minority report in the form of a reso- 

 lution, providing that a committee of five be appointed to meet 

 with the representatives of the. National Hardwood Lumber Asso- 

 ciation for further discussion and negotiation seeking to find a way 



to provide for the adoption and maintenance of the same rules by 

 both associations and that no further action be taken by the 

 -American Lumber Manufacturers' Association until the report of 

 this committee of five before the semi-annual meeting six months 

 from this date. 



Other prominent speakers, pro and con, were: E. L. Hutchinson, 

 Huntington, W. Va., who favored the Robinson resolution; R. L. 

 Muse, Memphis, who favored the McClure resolution; W. E. Hyde, 

 Memphis, who favored the Robinson resolution; Fred Arne, Chat- 

 tano(]ga, who favored the McClure resolution; Mr. Garrett, Clay 

 City, K.y., who favored the Robinson resolution; C. H. Holmes, Pine 

 Bluff, Ark., who favored the McClure resolution; P. B. Gilbert, Chi- 

 cago, who favored the Robinson resolution; 0. B. Robinson, Mound, 

 Ija., who favored the Robinson resolution; Mr. Morgan of Wilds- 

 ville, La., who favored the McClure resolution; B. F. Dulweber, 

 Memphis, who favored the Robinson resolution; M. W. Stark, St. 

 Albans, W. Va., who favored the Robinson resolution; Albert 

 Deutsch, Houston, who favored the Robinson resolution. 



Mr. McClure said he believed in fighting for peace within the 

 hardwood trade and that it is worth taking the time to get. E. 0. 

 Robinson said he believed he and Mr. McClure were both after the 

 same thing, but that Mr. McClure does not want to prepare and he 

 does. He said that to offer a compromise with another association, 

 the American association would have to have something to com- 

 promise on. The last speaker before the resolution was put to a 

 vote was W. E. DeLaney of Lexington, Ky. He said that in the 

 ]ievvly proposed rules the manufacturers plan to find out what the 

 consumer really needs and make the rules fit. He said the manu- 

 facturers must have more science in their future operation and 

 that for one he wants only what is his and what he has had to fight 

 to build. Mr. Beebe of Kansas City, formerly exclusively yellow 

 pine man but who recentl,y has gotten more deeply into hardwoods, 

 urged uniformity but expressed himself as astonished at the domi- 

 nation of the hardwood trade by the wholesalers. 



The McClure resolution was then put to a vote, it being moved 

 also that a negative vote on the McClure resolution constituted a 

 positive vote on the Robinson resolution. The result showed 88 

 against the McClure resolution and 34 in favor of it, which means 

 also that 88 were for the Robinson resolution and 34 against it. 



E. L. Muse moved that the vote be made unanimous, the motion 

 being carried by a rising vote. 



Report of Nominating Committee 



It then being three o'clock in the afternoon, other matters were 

 passed up and the report of the nominating committee was called 

 for. This was presented by Chairman E. A. Lang, who submitted 

 the following slate: 



President: R. M. Carrier, Sardis, Miss. ~ 



First Vice-President: M. W. Stark, St. Albans, W. Va. 



Second Vice-President: J. W. McClure, Memphis, Tenn. 



Treasurer: R. H. Darnell, Memphis, Tenn. 



Trustees to serve three years: 



J. M. Hamill, Columbus, Ohio. 



B. B. Burns, Huntington, W. Va. 



B. L. .Turden, Memphis, Tenn. 



('. Ij. Harrison, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 



B. F. Dulweber, Memphis, Tenn. 



E. O. Robinson, Cincinnati, Ohio. 



W. H. Russe, Memphis, Tenn. 



The secretary was instructed to cast a unanimous ballot for the 

 election of these officers. After a brief response by President Car- 

 rier, the meeting adjourned. 



Meeting of Board of Directors 



At a meeting of tlie board of directors following the general ses- 

 sion, John M. Pritchard of Memphis was re-elected secretary- 

 manager of the association and Frank R. Gadd was elected to take 

 charge of all field work and extension of the open price competition 



plan. -o ^ ,. ■ 



Entertamment 



The members of the Louisville Club were surely entitled to every 



expression of appreciation forthcoming of their efforts to provide 



i Co II till II I'd on iiiigc H-1.) 



