HARDWOOD RECORD 



29 



thought out. It took a man in the Forest Service to think out the 

 destructive-distillation process. But this is not the only use for 

 the T%"aste. The greater the product the greater is the chance for 

 experimenting, but who will be the first to do it? It looks as if it 

 will be the same old story of each man waiting for the other. Hesult 

 — progress retarded. 



The losses are not only in manufacturing. There are losses in 

 the handling from the mUl to the yard, then in the shipment, poor 

 systems which waste time, unintelligent handling of sales corre- 

 spondence, lack of tact and courtesy as well, but greatest of aU, 

 lack of study and the getting of a broad, all-seeing vie^vpoint — the 

 ability to "get out of the rut;" to look at your plant, your busi- 

 ness and the lumber business in general from the point of a cus- 

 tomer or a stranger, in another line. Lumbermen are too close to the 

 lumber business. They should go out with an open mind and talk 

 with men in other entirely different lines and visit other industrial 

 ; lants making other products. That's the only way to get new 

 . leas that can be applied to the lumber business. 



What do you know about labor conditions outside of your own 

 mill, and outside of what possibly Jim Smith or John Jones, the 

 other lumbermen in your vicinity, tell you? This means labor in 

 general, and it refers to the taking up of questions such as: What 

 man is best suited for this job? What class of foreigners are best 

 suited to other jobs? Upon what does a man's physical eflSciency 

 depend? What race of men are best suited for rough handling? 

 What race for the finer work and for this, that or the other thing? 

 These are questions that the ordinary lumberman will probably 

 laugh at, but do you know that in the biggest industries we have 

 today, the heads think so much of them that they employ specialists 

 to just interview men and fit them in jobs? Yes, just ordinary 

 labor. This means the making of a good organization. 



Go into almost any sawmiU or any lumber operation and you'll 

 find that most of the men are paid the same wages. "Well, why 

 shouldn't they be?" you say. You pay a man either for what he 

 knows or for what he does (or at least you should). Now labor 

 is either mental or physical. It is almost impossible to divide the 

 line between the two, however, as even the most ignorant foreigner 

 puts a small amount of intelligence into his manual labor. 



Applied to the lumber business there are many men around your 

 mill who have an unusual amount of brains and who are working 

 simply in an ordinary job. On the other hand in the jobs where 

 more brain-work is required, you probably have some men who 

 don 't use their heads as much as they do their hands. Don 't you 

 know that by putting the men who use their heads in the more 

 important positions and using the ordinary laboring man for the 

 job that doesn't require much head work, you can increase your 

 efiiciency in the plant? This fact should be kept in mind — use 

 skilled labor for the skilled work and use cheap labor for the 

 handling. In other words, get the basis of organization in this 

 way and when you get good results from your skilled men, speed 

 the work up ; the cheap labor you can duplicate if they do not 

 keep up in the handling. 



In general, the lumber business must call a halt, recruit men from 

 outside with their knowledge of the specialized features of modern 

 business and industrial organization to work in with the lumber- 

 man's practical knowledge. Industrial and efficiency engineers are 

 needed most of all, and lumbermen must not stand in their own light 

 and say, "We never did it that w^y, " or "you can't teach us any- 

 thing. ' ' 



Efficiency is new to lumber, but is three or more years old to 

 other lines of trade. You watch the banking circles, in either times 

 of panics or booms, because you depend on them to some extent. 

 Yet, banking is a different industry. Why aren't you watching 

 other lines of trade as well? 



The judgment day for the lumbermen is coming. A few will see 

 the light quickly — the majority will sit and wait. 



The field of consumption of hardwood lumber narrows each day. 

 We have been content to sit by and let the cement people and the 

 steel people eat into our sales with their products. And they have 

 won their way by keeping abreast of the times, by using aggressive 



advertising and other forces. The last of your car plants is going 

 over to steel, and soon there wUl not be a wooden ear manufactured 

 for any of the big railroads. The cement people are advertising 

 stronger than ever. Manufacturers of steel doors and interior steel 

 trim are every day strengthening their positions, and yet you lum- 

 bermen calmly sit by and wonder why sales are falling off ! In 

 this respect, much is to be done individually, but a stupendous task 

 is before us collectively. 



Are you one of the " You-can't-teach-us-anything" kind, or are 

 you going to do your share individually and then collectivelj' as 

 weU? • H. E. S. 



New Ocean Freight Rates 



The ocean freight rates for the new year have been announced, 

 and in many instances lumber and log exporters have entered into 

 contracts for their shipments during 1914. In the main the rates 

 are the same as those that prevailed throughout the present year, 

 though some changes will be put into effect. These changes affect 

 hardwoods in particular, though all others are taken in. Under the 

 new tariffs from Baltimore and Xorfolk to ports in the United 

 Kingdom the rates on lumber IS" to 23" wide, and an inch or less 

 in thickness, will be about ten per cent higher than in 1913. On 

 lumber 24" and upward and for aU thicknesses and all kinds of 

 lumber, the increase is twenty-five per cent. The flat rates are the 

 same as those in force now. Exporters feel that the additions made 

 are not warranted by the situation, but they signed contracts to 

 prevent any possible impairment of the service. It was feared 

 that if the shippers generally held back, the steamship companies 

 might proceed to divert vessels to other ports, materially reducing 

 the sailings, and so curtailing the facilities for shipment that the 

 exporters would stand to lose more than they could possibly hope 

 to gain. It was this consideration that prompted entering into 

 commitments on the basis fixed by the steamship compsinies. The 

 expectation is that while the rates might and should have been 

 lower, they will not prove prohibitive, and that the general trend 

 of prices will put the exporters into a more favorable position than 

 that which they have occupied for months. 



The statement of exports for November, compared with the 

 corresponding month of 1912, is not calculated to afford much 

 encouragement to the shippers except as an indication that stocks 

 abroad must be getting quite low, the period of recovery being 

 thus brought nearer. The statement shows that November must be 

 added to the other months of 1913 conspicuous for a shrinkage in 

 the forwardings to foreign countries, the total value of the exports 

 being only about half of what it was a year ago, when it was 

 $283,955, against $148,357 this year. Among the items in which 

 the shrinkage chiefly occurred, oak must again be counted well near 

 the top of the list, with oak logs also short and walnut shipments 

 much lessened, but with an actual increase in poplar, and in the 

 miscellaneous shipments designated as "all other kinds of lumber." 

 There was a hea\-y decline in the shipment of staves and headings, 

 the biggest item, however, being spruce from Wesl Virginia. Of this 

 wood not less than 2,568,000 feet was exported in November, 1912, 

 against only 13,000 feet last month. Among the comparative figures 

 are the following: 1913 1912 



Quantity. Value. Quantit.v. Value. 



Logs, Hickor.v 92,000 Ft. S2.6G0 71.000 Ft. $2,600 



Logs, 0.nk 29.000 Ft. 1.145 



Logs, Walnut 100.000 Ft. 6.7S1 163.000 Ft. 11,633 



Logs. .\11 others 40.000 Ft. 1,900 23.000 Ft. 900 



Lumber. C.vpress 10.000 Ft. 350 



Lumber. Oak 1.S90.000 Ft. 62.434 2.99S.0OO Ft. 98.237 



Lumber, Poplar 209,000 Ft. 67,722 193,000 Ft. 8.021 



Lumber. Spruce 13.000 Ft. 525 2.568.000 Ft. 70.300 



Lumber. All others 382,000 Ft. 16,902 300,000 Ft. 12.567 



Shooks, Box 13.000 1.463 



Shocks. All others 1,130 1,283 3.359 3.705 



Stav<?s 24.926 1,790 152,745 9.640 



Headings 13.080 



All other lumber 20.420 3.867 



Furniture 2,084 2,727 



Trimmings 512 



All other manufactures of 



wood 2G.2S4 27.650 



