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•^ Is the Platform a Good Investment? ^ 



A lot of liardwood men, especially those -who are in the wholesale 

 end of the business, shy at the idea of putting money into 

 equipment as rapidly as a colored gentleman of dice-rolling pro- 

 clivities does at the mention of the police. He simply can't ac- 

 custom his mind to the idea that such an investment can be made 

 to pay dividends, but keeps insisting that he wants to put all of 

 his money into lumber, where it can ho turned over rapidly and 

 made to produce profits in proportion. 



For this reason the numlier of yards whieli are being operated 

 without platforms probably constitutes a majority. Yet there are 

 plenty of yards where platforms prevail, and where the owners 

 have found, according to tlieir own statements, that they can be 

 made not merely a convenience, but actually a big asset in the 

 operation of the business. They ought to know, and consequently 

 their testimony' on the subject, though to a certain degree preju- 

 diced, ought to be accepted as worth something. 



Taking up first the points against the platform, that of initial 

 expense is the chief item. It costs a good deal of money, depending 

 on the size of the yard, to equip it completely with platforms, both 

 material and labor entering into the proposition. The money that 

 is spent in this way has to remain there permanently, and there 

 is no way of getting it back except by experiencing advantages 

 in the use of the platform. 



On the other hand, however, the fact that hand-trucks can be 

 used almost if not quite exclusivelj', means that an investment in 

 horses and harness, not to meiltion expenditures for stables, feed, 

 etc., can be wiped off the slate. Some live stock is needed, ordi- 

 narily, for handling lumber to other yards and to local consumers; 

 but the number of horses needed is extremely small contrasted 

 with the size of the string which must be maintained when horses 

 are used for trucking work. 



The cost of maintenance is a serious point in the argument 

 against platforms. The work of replacement must be begun in 

 three or four years after the platform is built, and after that, in 

 the experience of most lumbermen, a man must be kept busy most 

 of the time putting in new planks and keeping the platform in good 

 shape. This is a considerable item of expense, and one of the 

 chief factors that can be lined up against the use of a platform. 



But this expense is almost certainly overcome by the saving that 

 is made through the elimination of lost time which accrues when 

 men are kept waiting for the arrival of the trucker. One can see 

 dozens of instances of this loss in walking through any wholesale 

 yard where a lot of business is being done. The truck may be 

 filled and ready to move, but in most instances the horse is not 

 immediately at hand, and the time of everybody is lost while the 

 movement of the lumber is being held up. 



The increased labor needed to get lumber into and out of a car 

 when the floor of the car is several feet above the level on which 

 the yard crew is working can also be easily figured. It may seem 

 as though no time is being lost in handling the stock, but the very 

 fact that greater physical exertion on the part of the men is neces- 

 sary means that they are not as fresh at the end of the day, and 

 their movements are less rapid, than those of lumber handlers who 

 have not been compelled to work against gravity to the extent of 

 the others. 



While three or four men are needed to handle a truck loaded 

 to its full capacity, the quickness with which they can dispose of 

 the work keeps the absence of horses from being noticed. And, 

 as indicated, the work moves forward without loss of time, because 

 there is no waiting. 



There is a particularly marked advantage for the lumberman 

 when stock is being handled from one car to another. The speed 

 with which this can be accomplished is really remarkable. But, as 

 pointed out above, the men are not working against gravity to the^ 

 extent that is observed when the lumber must go down from the 

 car to the truck, and then up from the truck into the other car. 



—22— 



It takes more labor, and likewise more time, which is another way 

 of saying more money. 



Even in the best of yards where no platforms are used, the alleys 

 got in bad condition and it is difficult to work in tliem in the 

 winter time, especially after a rain or snow. The jol) of hauling 

 lumber around under those conditions is difficult and expensive. 

 The use of a platform gives the men a dry place to work at all 

 times, and there is never any loss of time after a rain; the men can 

 work just as easily as before, and are not incommoded by having 

 to w'ade around in the mud. 



This and other points which have been mentioned relate largely 

 to the comfort of the men employed in the yard. From this it 

 might be assumed that the platform was devised as a humanitarian 

 proposition, intended to make the work of a crew of lumber hustlers 

 easier than before. This was not the reason; but at the same time 

 the fact that men can be more comfortable and can do the same 

 amount of labor with less expenditure of effort is ample proof that 

 the work is being done at less cost. The tired laborer cannot 

 achieve as much as the fresh one, and the man wlio has to put 

 forth effort that his competitor is not called upon to produce is 

 going to show it in his work before the day is over. 



The yard which uses a platform to best advantage is one which 

 has a good deal of car-to-car business to handle, for, as suggested 

 above, this is one of the places where the advantages of this kind 

 of equipment make themselves most manifest; while the handling 

 of inch lumber can be better managed with a platform than when 

 thicker stock torms the bulk of the lumber which goes through the 

 yard. The heavier stock cannot be trucked by hand to as good 

 advantage, and the use of a platform consequently appears to best 

 advantage when inch lumber predominates. 



Perhaps in an extremely large yard hand-trucking would be out 

 of the question, on account of the length of time taken, and be- 

 cause three men would be tied up instead of only one man and a 

 horse. Here it is the same question as to the use of motor trucks 

 in general business; in long hauls they show to best advantage, 

 while short hauls, with many stops, prevent them from making a 

 good record under most conditions. 



In the same way the yard which is not too big and has no ex- 

 tremely long hauls can use platforms with obvious benefit, while 

 it is doubtful if a good showing could be made in a yard covering 

 an unusual area and involving hauling through exceptionally long 

 alleys from the ear to the stacks, and vice versa. 



"We have been using platforms in two hardwood rehandling 

 yards," said the manager of a well-known concern, "and we have 

 found them an advantage. Whether other people would experience 

 the same results is a question. I may say, however, tliat we handle 

 mostly inch lumber, and that this class of stock seems to work in 

 better than when thicker, heavier lumber, or long timbers must be 

 taken into account. 



"The advantage of having the men on dry footing all the time 

 is not to be discounted. It improves their tempers, for one thing, 

 and results in more and better work being done, for another. I 

 believe there are fewer delays in the yard where hand-trucking is- 

 the rule than when horses do most of the work. We seldom have 

 men tied up waiting for something to do, but can keep the work 

 moving without interruption. We think a good deal of this is due 

 to the use of the platform, though in this we ma.v be mistaken. 



"All in all, however, we regard the proposition as a good invest- 

 ment; and while, if we were able to convert the money spent in 

 building and maintaining the platforms into cash, it would be a 

 temptation to do so, I am sure that we are not likely to try to get 

 along without them under present conditions." G. D. C, Jr. 



Floods follow forest denudation, and the disasters of this year can 

 be traced in part, at least, to non-forested watersheds. It is much 

 easier, however, to explain Avhy these things happen than to discover 

 a way to keep them from happening again. 



