HARDWOOD RECORD 



JS 



heavy wheel weights, together with the extremely severe track con- 

 ditions frequently met in winter operations in this country, often 

 produce conditions which are most difficult to meet." 



The editorial then comes out point-blank with the following state- 

 ment: "This means simply that steel cars not only fail to prevent 

 railway accidents, — in the nature of things, they could not prevent 

 them, — but because of their weight causing rails to spread and break 

 and the difficulty of stopping the heavier trains in emergencies, they 

 actually increase the danger of collision and derailment." The edi- 

 torial then goes on to outline wherein the railroads are weak and 

 to point out the real cause for the many fatal accidents on the rail- 

 roads of this country. It says that steel cars are a poor make- 

 shift and cannot replace the vigilance, loyalty and devotion that 

 should be demanded of the railway operatives. It is needless to say 

 that with the proper attention given to these conditions the ratio of 

 accidents in this countr.v would soon bo reduced to such a low figure 

 that the public would have no special interest whatever in the type 

 of cars in which they were riding and would not make the extrava- 

 gant and foolish demands which they are reported to be making, 

 which, if ultimately granted on a general basis, would mean the entire 

 replacement of substantially built wooden cars by another typo of 

 car concerning which there is absolutely no proof of its right to 

 CJcist. 



A Questionable Policy 



IT IS REPORTED THAT MANUFACTURERS of furniture and 

 •I other similar articles in which veneer is utilized have decided 

 that their best interests are not 



served through the use of the 

 word ' ' veneer ' ' in explaining 

 the construction of their goods. 

 It is claimed by these people 

 that the use of the word "ve- 

 neers" gives to the public mind 

 the impression that there is 

 something shoddy in the con- 

 struction of the article in ques- 

 tion, and that it will not stand 

 up to the test of time, and that 

 it is really but a poor imita- 

 tion of something that ought to 

 be better. 



Having convinced themselves 

 of this fact, they announce, 

 it is reported, that they will 

 endeavor to substitute for "ve- 

 neer" the words "reinforced 

 wood," contending that veneer 

 is really reinforced wood in 

 that the piano, table top or other article in which veneer is 

 used is really made of several layers of veneer, one reinforc- 

 ing the other. This, of course, .is true, but it is extremely doubt- 

 ful if the establishment and maintenance of such a policy will be 

 of any benefit to them or to the furniture manufacturers and 

 other handlers of furniture, and it is practically certain that it 

 would be anythipg but a benefit to manufacturers of veneer. If 

 such a plan really exists, it would seem that it would be to the best 

 interest of the veneer and panel concerns of the country to investi- 

 gate in order that their products may not be forced to sell under 

 false colors before the eye of the general public. 



It is true that with the average individual the word "veneer" 

 is synonymous with "inferior quality," and in fact this word has 

 become established as an expression for almost anything which, while 

 it appears all right on the surface, is really not of much real value. 

 That a properly constructed panel is really stronger in many cases 

 than the solid lumber, and that the employment for face panels 

 of high-grade veneer offers a much greater variety of figure, is too 

 generally recognized among those interested in the handling of 

 lumber and veneers to need any argument, but evidently the public 

 has not come to realize that this is true, and it is certainly not a 

 good thing for the veneer trade to let this misconception continue or 



to allow without protest any such campaign as is suggested that 

 will rob veneer of its identity. 



A''encer is coming to command more and more popularity, but such 

 popularity should be founded on a proper understanding of its 

 value, purpose and application and not upon any false pretenses 

 such as are being suggested as alrove noted. 



Important Precedents Established 



A DECI8I0X WAS RENDERED on Novembtfr 17 by Special 

 *» Master .1. C. Wallace in the famous Arkansas reparation case 

 at Little Rock, Ark. The decision stated that the consignee is enti- 

 tled to the rebate for excessive freight charges and as a result manu- 

 facturers and wholesalers have entered formal appeal to the federal 

 court. However, the special master will be unable to file a complete 

 list of settlements. Hence there is no probability of the ease being 

 ready for the appeal for some little time. 



About $300,000 will be paid back to the consignees on the basis of 

 this decision, unless an appeal is sustained. This is the amount of 

 excess freight paid, which constitutes about one-third of the amount 

 of the statute rate, which continued in, force while the injunction of 

 the railroads against the state rates was pending. 



The question of reparation was brought to an issue with the filing 

 of a pica of intervention to collect rebates on shipments made by 

 the Wisconsin-Arkansas Lumber Company of Walco, Ark., on ship- 

 ments within the state. At the same time the East Arkansas Lum- 

 ber Company, one of its consignees at Paragould, Ark., filed a similar 

 plea of intervention, in which it claimed that the consignee was 

 entitled to a rebate. 



UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL = The decision as rendered 



would establish the fact that 

 shipments in transit are the 

 property of consignee, and that 

 the real price of an article was 

 the price f. o. b. mills to which 

 the amount of freight to any 

 destination was added. 



The court held that the con- 

 signee was not only the owner 

 of lumber while in transit, but 

 really paid the increased rate 

 on it at the increased price of 

 delivery. This condition, ac- 

 cording to the decision, was not 

 affected by the fact that mills 

 in some instances made conces- 

 sions which amounted to ab- 

 sorbing part of the amounts 

 themselves, the court ruling that 

 in this case thev acted on their 



iH. I. OTaUricf) Hanb Co. 



SHAWANO, WISCONSIN 



November 17, 1913. 

 Hardwood Record. 



537 South Dearborn Street, 

 Chicago, Illinois. 

 Gentlemen: 



Yours of the 15th Instant with reference to increasing 

 the circulation of your publication, received. Your pub- 

 lication should be in the hands of every hardwood oper- 

 ator or timber owner. I would not be without it even 

 if I had to pay more than the subscription price. En- 

 closed find check to cover renewal of our subscription 

 to 1915. 



Yours truly, 



M. J. WALLRICH LAND COMPANY, 

 By M. J. Wallrich, Pres. 



own volition, not being compelled to make such concessions. 



Are You Aware 



T-'HAT THERE IS USED in the United States over six. times as 

 *■ much wood per capita as is used in Germany and over twelve 

 times as much per capita as is used in England, and that we are 

 using in this country today about twice as much wood per capita as 

 we did fifty years ago? 



These figures might appear somewhat of a surprise to the lumber 

 trade in view of the much lamented increase in the use of substitutes 

 for wood for various i)urposcs. The lumber trade has been rather 

 startled by the remarkable progress made in the field of wood sub- 

 stitutes and, being fully alive to the situation, is preparing in various 

 ways to combat its progress. We should not figure, however, that 

 because we use six times as much wood as they do in Germany per 

 capita that we possess any more complete understanding of the work- 

 able qualities of wood and its adaptability to different uses or that 

 the lumbermen of this country Ii.ave been any more progressive in 

 marketing their product than have the lumber producers of Germany 

 and England. 



As a matter of fact, it is all a question of economics, and it may 

 be said that these figures have some significance as an indication 



