22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



January 10, 1919 



The Railroad Question 



The following series ol" resdlutioiis regarding the operation of 

 railroads was adopted by the association: 



Whereas, The government of the United States has been engaged in 

 the operation of the railromls iluring the war, as a necessary war measure, 

 and under present legishition the railroads will be returned to private 

 operation within twenty one (21) months after the close of the war; and 



Whereas, The congress of the United States especially declared the 

 operation of the railroads by the government to be an emergency measure 

 growing out of the war ; and 



Whereas, The occasion and necessity for the operation of the rail- 

 roads by the government, to successfully prosecute the war, ended with 

 the termination of hostilities ; now therefore, be it 



Resolved, 1. That it is the sense of the Southern Hardwood TrafHc 

 Association that the operation of the railroads by the owners is preferable 

 to government operation and that government operation should be 

 al)andoned and the roads returned to their owners. 



2. That we are convinced that before the railroads are returned to 

 their owners for operation, additional legislation is necessary in their 

 Interest as well as for the protection of the public. 



3. We are opposed to the extension of the period of government opera- 

 tion beyond the maximum time now provided in the Federal Control .\ct, 

 twenty-one months from the ratification of treaties of peace. 



4. That we favor the extension of the powers of the Interstate Com- 

 merce Commission so as to give them jurisdiction over the distribution 

 of equipment. 



5. We also favor increasing the Interstate Commerce Commission, 

 either by providing additional commissioners at Washington or by ap- 

 pointing regional commissioners whereby complaints of the shippers can 

 be immediately heard and deoisions promptly rendered, but that we are 

 opposed to extending the power of the Interstate Commerce Commission 

 over the inland or coastwise water traffic. 



6. That we urge upon our representatives in the congress of the 

 United States, the necessity of promptly providing, by law, for the return 

 of the railroads to private operation under such governmental regulations 

 as will permit the operation as a unit, at least to the extent of continuing 

 the pooling of cars ; unification of terminals ; handling of traffic by the 

 shortest and most economical route : be it further 



Resolved, That the president of this association shall appoint a com- 

 mittee to have power to consider such additional legislation and measures 

 as may be deemed necessary and to present the views of this association 

 before the Interstate Commerce Committee of the United States congress. 



Whereas, Prior to and during the war the ports of the nation were 

 congested to such an extent as to make it impossible to handle expedi- 

 tiously the exportation of all commodities from the South to foreign 

 countries ; and, 



Whereas, It appears that the proper solution of this will be to enlarge 

 the Gulf and South Atlantic ports to such an extent as shall permit the 

 free, economic and uninterrupted movement of traffic through these ports ; 

 therefore, be it 



Rcxolred, Ky the Southern Hardwood Traffic Association, that we 

 earnestly urge upon the port and harbor facilities commission of the 

 United States shipping board and the rivers and harbors committee of 

 the United States congress the development and proper maintenance of 

 these Gulf and South Atlantic ports ; and, be it further 



Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the hoard of port 

 and harbor facilities commission and to the members of the rivers and 

 harbors committee of the United States congress. 



President Stark, in accordance with these resolutions, appointed 

 the following committee to confer with the national league of 

 owners of railroad securities in the United States and to take such 

 other steps as will insure the return of the railroads to their private 

 owners under as satisfactory terms as possible to members of the 

 association: S. M. Nickey, chairman; R. J. Hackney, M. B. Cooper, 

 S. B. Anderson, S. H. Swenson, W. H. Day, T. M. Brown, "W. A. 

 Ransom, R. L. Jurden, J. F. Barrow, Walker Wellford, Frank F. 

 Fefe, George Land, C. H. Murphy and W. E. Hyde. 



J. H. Townsliend announced that there would be an important 

 conference at St. Louis January 14 in connection with proposed 

 advances in rates from west side, and in some instances from east 

 side, points to destinations in Central Freight Association and 

 Eastern Trunk Line territories and urged that as many members 

 as possible attend this conference and take part in it. President 

 Stark, in this connection, was authorized to appoint a committee, 

 which will be announced later to represent the association. He 

 urged, however, that all members of the association attend who 

 could. 



At a meeting of the governing board, held immediately after 

 adjournment of the annual, J. H. Townshend, secretary-manager 

 was re-elected at a substantial increase in remuneration; F. B. 

 Larson, who is now in Denver, Col., for his health on a leave of 

 absence, was chosen to succeed himself as assistant secretary; 

 J. S. Thompson, who has recently filled the place of Mr. Larson, 

 was elected acting assistant secretary, and Elliott Long was re- 

 elected treasurer. 



Committee Down to Business 



The inspection rules of the American Hardwood Manufacturers ' 

 Association are now being drawn by the inspection rules commit- 

 tee of the orsanization, of which B. F. Dulwcber of the Kraetzer 

 Cured Lumber Company, Memphis, is chairman, and they will be 

 submitted to the executive committee, to be called together at 

 Memphis by President R. M. Carrier, for approval as soon as they 

 have been whipped into satisfactory shape. It is known that rapid 

 progress is being made on the drafting of these rules and that this 

 work will be shortly completed. It may be stated, however, that 

 nothing of the rules themselves will be given out for publication 

 until the committee has finished the draft and until the rules, as 

 drafted, have been approved by the executive committee. 



It IS also known that the committee, in drawing up the rules, is 

 following well defined principles which were adopted at the joint 

 meeting of the executive committee and the inspections rules com- 

 mittee of the association held in Memphis December 30. In this 

 connection, it may be stated that the committee is proceeding on 

 the theory that the manufacturer and the consumer are the two 

 big factors in the hardwood situation to be protected and that it 

 is endeavoring to afford all the protection to the latter consistent 

 with the interests of the former. The consumer is invited to co- 

 operate with the inspection rules committee in the application of 

 the rules, and a special committee, to be known as the co-operative 

 or propaganda committee, has been named to bring about all co- 

 operation possible on the part of the consumer of hardwood lum- 

 ber. The committee wants to adopt the best of everything in the 



drafting of these rules and asks that the National Hardwood Lum- 

 ber Association join with the American Hardwood Manufacturers' 

 Association in working out a single standard of inspection. It also 

 has adopted the inspection rules of the Southern Cypress Manufac- 

 turers' Association applying on cypress and tupelo gum and will 

 co-operate with that organization in working out the single stand- 

 ard so far as these woods are concerned. The need of haste is 

 clearly recognized and it is pointed out that the rules must be 

 adopted and in use not later than February 1, 1919. 



Principles Followed 



The principles which are being followed by the committee in 

 drafting the new rules are fully set forth in the following resolu- 

 tions drawn by the inspection rules committee and approved by 

 the executive committee recently: 



First : That the rules governing the inspection of hardwood lumber is 

 a problem mutually affecting the producer and the consumer of this com- 

 modity : that the inspection rules should be based on the utilization of 

 the lumber and every effort made to prescribe such rules as will minimize 

 the waste in utilization ; that the producer and consumers should co- 

 operate, each lending his experience and knowledge to, the end that these 

 purposes may be accomplished. 



Second : That inasmuch as a set of inspection rules based on the prin- 

 ciijles laid down in the first paragraph of this resolution will require 

 much careful thought and study and considerable time to work out, and 

 believing that some fair basis of determining values should be adopted 

 until the matter can be more satisfactorily determined, this committee 

 believes that a set of inspection rules should be put into effect as quickly 

 as possible and not later than February 1, 1919, such inspection rules to 



