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A Matter of Salesmanship 





Kverv man familiar with oflici> fiiriiitiire is awari' tli:it nii'tal has 

 mado coiisicleraMo iiiroails on tho ust> of lumber in the manul'artnre 

 of tilings. That is hy no means all there is to this thinp;, though. 

 Go into the faetory liuihiings anil you will find great lines of lockers 

 anil closets made of metal today which were formerly made of 

 wood. Moreover, take up a maga/.ine, for example say Faetory, 

 and you will find in its advertising pages many offerings in the way 

 of steel lockers and metal work for lavatories antl closets, hut not 

 a thing in the way of wooil for this same purpose. 



It is safe to say that not only has the average man been noticing 

 these things for some time, but he has accepted them as au iucon 

 trovertible fact and lias gone right along feeling that there is no 

 use trying to do anything about it. The result of all this is that 

 lots of good cabinet trade which ought to be using some of our 

 hardwoo.ls and give more satisfaction all around has been captured 

 by metal with practically no competition or i)roti'stive effort on tho 

 part of the lumber trade. 



Now let us look into this matter and see why this is and what it 

 is that makes metal control the situation with a lot of work that 

 ought to be made of wood. It may as well be said right now as any 

 time that in the final analyses it will be discovered that it has been 

 quite largely a matter of salesmanship. 



Metal is not a cheaper product than wood, consequently neither 

 the factories using the lockers nor the oflSce equipment people 

 handling metal furniture have been induced to take on metal goods 

 because of their cheai>ness. They really cost more than the best 

 articles in wood. 



It is not the appearance. This is proven by the fact that in order 

 to create a pleasing appearance on the part of metal office furniture 

 and factory lockers the manufacturers have gone to considerable 

 pains and expense to imitate woods in finishing them off. There is 

 on the market metal furniture finished in close imitation of quar- 

 tered oak and some made to resemble mahogany, and everywhere 

 manufacturers of these metal articles are paying a compliment to 

 wood by imitating its color and figure in finishing off their goods. 



Thus it is evident that it is not a matter of presenting a better 

 appearance which makes the way for metal in this work. Wood 

 not only presents a more pleasing appearance but it is much more 

 satisfactory in use. It Is not cold and harsh like metal and will 

 keep its shape better. 



This leaves for consideration practically only the one point of 

 fireproofiing qualities. This is tho bugbear that has kept the wood 

 interests buffaloed for a clecade or more now, and yet it is nothing 

 more than a silly bugbear. This thin sheet metal stuff used for 

 desks, filing cases and factory lockers is not a safeguard when a 

 serious fire occurs. To make really fireproof compartments of metal 

 calls for two thicknesses of it with space between which is filled 

 with cement, asbestos, mineral wool or some other nonconductor of 

 heat. A single thickness of metal, while it may not be completely 

 destroyed by fire, will receive and conduct heat so readily that 

 papers and other combustible materials enclosed by it will be 

 destroyed in case of a serious fire much more surely than if they 

 were in wooden cases or lockers. 



Moreover when it conies to firejiroofing factory buildings, if the 

 buibliiigs themselves are made of brick or concrete with steel fram- 

 ing what little in the way of combustible material is added by the 

 wood used in making lockers for the men will not amount to any- 

 thing, and the one thing certain and sure is that good wooden lock- 

 ers are cheaper to construct, will prove much more sati>*factory to 

 the men, and more useful in every way than anything which can 

 be made of metal. 



The one strong factor in making the way for these metal product? 

 to the office and factory has been a matter of salesmanship. The 

 steel people have not only done press agent work, and in this made 

 the most of the cry for fireproofing, but they have put on the road 

 salesmen who have talked dealers in ofTico equipment and factory 

 owners into the use of metal, it has taken them several years, but 



:cll this tinic the.\ have had comparatively easy -ailing so i:ir as 

 competition is concerned, for practically no effort has been made to 

 controvert the argument and to set up an order of competitive 

 salesmanship on the jmrt of those interested in wood. 



Now, since salesmanship was unquestionably the biggest factor 

 in putting metal in the place of wood in all these things, it should 

 naturally follow that a proper order of salesni:inshi]> persistently 

 applied will put wood back into its place here and help retrain at 

 least a part of this trade. Moreover it will perhaps be easier now 

 than it would have been before to controvert the arguments of the 

 metal people because the trade had had its experience with the 

 metal goods and as a result is in good shape to be turned toward 

 wood. 



Some splendid eviclence illustrative of this fact can be found 

 in connection with big fireproof office buildings, schools ami public 

 buildings. Just about the time the metal interests began striving 

 for the office furniture and locker trade they also turned their at- 

 tention to sash and doors and interior trim for large buildings. 

 They caught the eye of the architects, %vho, however, because of 

 their experience with metal interior work are looking anxiously 

 for other things more pleasing and satisfactory. They are turning 

 back to wood at times even when the work is very exacting as to 

 fireproof qualities. In some of the new ofKce buildings where 

 proof against fire has been insisted upon the architects have so 

 strongly rea/lized the superiority of wood that they have specified 

 doors ancl casing of wood covered with a thin protecting sheet of 

 asbestos and then finished over with veneer. In other words, they 

 ha\e had the wood fireproofed and still preserved the real wood 

 face, not a cold imitation. This is somewhat expensive, but it is 

 much more satisfactory than metal and perhaps after all is not so 

 expensive as metal work itself. 



This goes to show what can be done and is being done and it 

 should lend encouragement to sales managers in both the luinber 

 and furniture trade to wage a campaign for the return to wood 

 in this kind of work. .\ll will admit that it will mean a big in- 

 crease in the consumption of hardwood, and if all the sales man- 

 agers will turn to and get after this matter earnestly they can 

 regain quite a lot of this trade. 



The lumber sales manager may take the attitude that this is more 

 a matter for furniture manufacturers and salesmen than it is for 

 the lumberman. Sometimes it is, too, but acknowledgment or 

 acceptance of this fact cloesn 't help the luinberinen out any. 

 Maybe the lumber salesmen can stir up and inspire the furniture 

 salesmen and encourage the furniture men to push wooden |iroclucts 

 more vigorously in competition with metal. Something along this 

 line is worth trying, anyway. 



Then when it comes to the matter of factory lockers, which, by 

 the way, are quite an item, the lumber salesman is calling on fac- 

 tory owners right along and selling them lumber for consumption 

 in their plant. While doing this why not make it a point to inves- 

 tigate ancl talk about the sub.ject of lockers. .\sk the men how 

 tliev like metal and see if they wouldn't jirefer wooden loc-kers, 

 and by continual inquiry and discussion the salesman on his rounds 

 should not only be able to get .some good selling ancl aclvertising 

 points for lumber, but he should be able to make some actual sales 

 now and then and to encourage factory owners to return to wood 

 for their lockers. 



Salesmanslii|i put the metal there in the first place; salesmanship 

 is putting wood back into big oflice and ])ublic buildings, and there 

 is certainly a good fighting chance for .salesmanship to put more 

 wood back into oflice work and factory lockers, .1, C. T. 



It is never safe to .judge of a thing's power for gcoii or evil by 

 its size alone, according to the 'tatenient made by an expert on 

 harmful beetles and bugs. He says that forest insects destroy enough 

 timber every year to fin. nice the const met icin prcigram of the navy. 



