32 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



February 10, 19lS 



"U is the father of deooption, misrcprosontntion and busiuess hypocrisy." 



•■It creates strife, discord, distrust and dishonesty." 



"It opens the doors of bankniptoy and closes the gates of opportunity." 



"It deprives honest eft'ort of reward and puts a premium upon lying 

 inconsistency." 



"Its pernicious infUicnce forces all to a commt)n level." 



"Cutting the price merely for the sake of getting an ujdcr regardless 

 of the fact that you obtain a mighty small margin o£ profits is mighty 

 prior busiuess and a deciilcdiy dangerous practice to follow." 



Now to some of you I know it was a waste of time to repeat those little 

 invectives. To all, however, I would suggest, if the corp.se belongs to you, 

 attend the obsequies, and I'll guarantee, if you're honest with yourselves, 

 that one carriage won't accommodate all of the mourners. 



The trouble with a great many of us is that we do not seem to have 

 acquired as yet some of the finer points in merchandising. Take a case 

 of an inquiry for a rather large amount of any one particular item. The 

 first inclination is to figure how much of a concession in price we ought 

 to make to receive the order. 



Seriously, gentlemen, there has got to be more unified support given your 

 committee than has been experienced the la.st several months, or It might 

 .iust as well go out of business. We appreciate that the majority are 

 co-operating, but it's the minority that are raising the devil, and It's up 

 to you "Old Faithful" to get out and do a little missionary work on the side. 



We have been accused at times of not giving enough attention to what 

 competitive woods were doing, more recently in connection with low grade 

 birch and gum. Possibly No. ,S gum and even No. 2 gum at certain com- 

 petitive points is being ofliered at less than No. 3 birch, but is there any 

 concrete evidence that it has materially decreased the sales of lurch? 



A man without a policy, without a definite purpose, without a strong 

 conviction of any kind, who believes a little of ever.vthing and not much 

 of anything, who is willing upon pressure to relinquish his opinion or any 

 idea he has conceived, whether it be feasible or not, who does not hold to 

 any one thing tenaciously, will never accomplish much in this world. 

 Build up barriers, fancy you have a grievance or two, condemn everything 

 you see, worry about things that never happened and you haven't enough 

 gumption and courage left to lick a sick cat. 



In the discussion following Mr. Butts' report the members, espe- 

 cially referring to the continuance of high production costs, main- 

 tained that lumber sold now cannot justifiably be sold at lower 

 prices, as even though production cost might recede slightly in the 

 new year, this lumber would not be ready for marketing for some 

 months ahead. It was the conclusion, though, that as a matter of 

 fact costs are still going up and that the soft, open winter that has 

 prevailed through the North has not only been a serious factor 

 obstructing production, but has greatly increased the cost of woods 

 operations and, therefore, of the production of lumber. 



Following this, C. A. Bigelow of Bay City, Mich., who has been 

 acting as chairman of the tentative organization seeking a formal 

 getting-together for export development, talked to the members 

 regarding the facts upon which those fostering the export move- 

 ment base their contention that no time should bo lost in getting 

 the thing thoroughly whipped into shape. 



He emphasized the conditions existing in various European mar- 

 kets, reviewing the developments that have led up to a large poten- 

 tial need for lumber in such European countries as Spain, Italy, 

 France, England and Belgium, and dwelt particularly upon the fact 

 that it would be diflicult for these countries for some time to come 

 to secure any of their supplies from Europe and Asiatic sources 

 hereafter relied upon to a considerable extent. He emphasized that 

 the market is there, but that it must be immediately developed in 

 order that early activity from other directions may not take these 

 potential markets away from the probability of their being supplied 

 with northern woods. 



He told of the tentative plan for an export organization, which 

 contemplates a six mouths' investigation by Roy H. Jones, formerly 

 manager of the Washington office of the Northern Hardwood Emer- 

 gency Bureau, saying that Mr. Jones will have behind him a ten- 

 tative organization offering for export about 12.'),000,000 feet of 

 hardwoods and an adequate supply of maple and beech flooring. 



The plan is to conduct this investigation, after which Mr. Jones 

 will return and make a complete report. If the expectations of 

 those supporting the movement are fulfilled as to the potentialities 

 of the European market, a corporation will then be formed for 

 ilovelopraent of an export sales organization under the Webb- 

 Pomerene act, backed by adequate capital and adequate stocks 

 to carry on a continuous export campaign and on a basis that will 

 call for an assessment of fifteen cents a thousand feet on the basis 



of export stocks, and will return to the corporation for its running 

 expenses a certain selling commission. 



In outlining tlie plan for the organization, Mr. Bigelow dwelt 

 upon the fact that the Scandanavian countries have marketed and 

 inspected their forest products for European consumption through 

 such export bodies which have enabled them to secure much better 

 service and lower rates on ocean shipments, and expressed the belief 

 that individual manufaeturejs in this country shipping abroad 

 would be in far less favorable condition in these respects than would 

 be a general export corporation. 



The sentiment of the association was enthusiasticall}' in support 

 of Mr. Bigelow, it being realized that not only those directly inter- 

 ested in selling abroad but those also who ship only to the domestic 

 market would benefit materially from a developing export trade, the 

 reason being, of course, that the strength of the domestic markets 

 would be accelerated by increased quantities of northern products 

 shipped out of the country. 



There followed then a report of the resolutions committee cover- 

 ing the recent death of P. T. Latimer of Ashland, Wis., and support- 

 ing federal appropriation for the continuance of the excellent' work 

 of the Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wis. 



A resolution also covered the present vital question of utilization 

 of cut-over lauds for future development on common sense and 

 businesslike basis by returning soldiers. 



The association went on record in resolution as favoring every 

 possible consideration for the immediate emploj'ment of returning 

 soldiers, with the following memorandum: 



Wheiieas, Owing to the demobilization of the military forces of the 

 country and the slackening manufacturing industries there will be a large 

 amount of unemployment during the period of readjustment ; therefore be it 



Rcsohcil. That it is the sense of this meeting that this condition be 

 ameliorated : 



1. By all employers of labor giving tlie maximum emi)Ioyment to labor 

 that circumstances will permit. 



2. That particular attention be given to the employment of returning 

 soldiers or securing it for them. 



3. The immediate adoption of a policy of State and Federal improve- 

 ment, particularly the building of roads in the cut-over land districts of 

 Wisconsin and Michigan, thereby opening them for settlement. 



It advocated in the following resolution the immediate return 

 of the railroads to private ownership: 



Wheiie.xs, The director general of railroads has recommended to the 

 Congress of the United States that Federal control of the railroads be 

 extended until Jan. 1, 1924, or that the railroads be returned at once 

 to their owners, and has declared that it is wholly impracticable as well 

 as opposed to the public interest for the government to operate the rail- 

 roads for twenty-one months after peace under the present law ; be it 



Resolved, By the Northern Hemlock & Hardwood Manufacturers' Asso- 

 ciation : 



1. That we are opposed to the immediate return of the railroads to their 

 owners or to the government control being extended for five years. 



2. That w'e are opposed to government ownership of railroads either 

 for the purpose of operation by the government or for leasing to corporate 

 organizations for private operation. 



3. That at the earliest practical date Congress sliould enact legislation 

 directing the Railwa.v Administration to restore the integrity of the rail- 

 roads and return them to their owners and at the same time enacting 

 such revised regulatory measures as will insure adequate service to the 

 public and fair returns to owners of these properties. 



4. And tliat supervision and control should be vested in a body repre- 

 sentative of all interests. 



Along the same lines it expressed its hearty condemnation of the 

 growing inefficiency of the present telegraph service, advocating as 

 a means for ameliorating the condition the return of the telegraph 

 lines to the private companies. 



One of the last features of importance at this session was the 

 election of officers, which resulted in the re-election 'of all those 

 serving during 1918 with the exception of Mr. Butts, who, as above 

 not'jd, resigned the chairmanship of the market conditions com- 

 mittee, he being succeeded by Alfred Klass. The officers then are: 



President — George N. Harder of Rib Lake, Wis. 



Vice-Pkesidbnt — M. P. McCuilough of Schofieid, Wis. 



Treasdrer — George B. Foster of Mellen, Wis. 



Secretary — O. T. Swan of Oshkosh, Wis. 



Chairmax of- the Market Conditions Coilmittee — Alfred Klass of 

 Oconto, Wis. 



