CIXCIX.NATI 

 TAUY 



■Ai:i;ii;i;, saudis. .miss?., member 



EXECUTIVE BOARD 



CLINTON CRANE. CINCINNATI. 

 EXECUTIVE BOARD 



board could be Is and 2s on one face and No. 4 common on the other, and 

 under our ruh-s still be graded as Is and 2s. I defy anyone to point out 

 any paragraph or phrase in our entire set of inspection rules that indi- 

 cates we grade lumber from one side only. 



In the cut-up grades our rules provide for a given per cent of either 

 clear face or sound cuttings, and you will find further that the rule pro- 

 vides the grade of these particular cuttings, describing In clear face cut- 

 tings not only the face hut the back. 



Read the rule on sound cuttings and tell me if yon can inspect a sound 

 cutting under that ruling without taking into consideration both sides of 

 the cutting. In our grade of select poplar, which is strictly a one-face 

 grade, you will find the rules provide as to the character of back the 

 board must carry. It is true that we get our cuttings from the best face. 

 If you want a breefsteak you do not send to a drug store to get it ; we 

 go where it is "at" and do not tell the inspector that the board must 

 contain a given per cent of clear face cuttings, but you must go where 

 it "aint" to get it. -\ny rule that provides for a clear face cutting with 

 a further provision that it must be taken from the poor side of the board 

 means but one thing and one thing only. Not what it says, a clear face 

 cutting, but a clear cutting. Why deceive or haggle ; if clear cuttings are 

 necessary say clear cuttings, not clear face cuttings when clear is intended. 



Is the consumer today demanding or getting the grades of lumber his 

 specifications call for? Is it not a fact of general knowledge to every man 

 in the manufacturing end today that a number of consumers grade speciflca- 



■ns are higher than they are actually accepting. It is a common occur- 



Mce to hear a man in the trade say that "So-and-so specifies a grade that 

 1 would not think of furnishing at the price 1 am selling if I had to fur- 

 nish the grade In accordance with his specifications. I know what his 

 grade demands are, and I can afford to meet them at the price I am get- 

 ting." 



On the other hand, however, there are other consumers who have taken 

 the time to familiarize themselves with the grading rules, and are de- 

 manding absolutely what they buy in the way of grades. What is the re- 

 sult? The consumer who is accepting a grade of lumber below that which 

 he specifics Is barring himself from competition of all producers except 

 those who are familiar with the exact grade he will accept. 



Again when selling consumers who are termed "technical on Inspection." 

 the seller is continually meeting competition of lower quotations by his 

 competitors, who thinks he, like other consumers, is specifying a grade 

 higher than his requirements, or that he is willing to accept. Is this 

 chaotic condition in the Inspection of lumber good for either the manufac- 

 turer or consumer? Is It not a fact that the only one who benefits is the 

 one who is unscrupulous in his business methods. Are we to legislate for 

 the legitimate or the illegitimate factors of the trade? Every effort to 

 revise a grading rule has been met with the statement, "Do not change 

 rules : if necessary Increase the price," it being argued that uniform in- 

 spection could not be brought about unless the rulps stood for a sufficient 

 length of time until every one became familiar with them and that par- 

 ticular standard was recognized. 



Gentlemen, it is my firm belief that no set of grading rules for lumber 

 win ever become standard until they are right, and for my part I am 

 willing to change them every thirty days it necessary to make them 

 right. Are we willing to admit that there Is not sufficient Intelligence 

 In our business to properly Interpret and apply a .set of grading rules that 

 are clearly written? I admit that in all the present Inspection rules he- 

 fore the public there is at some point or other within those rules room 

 for misinterpretation or misapplication, hut I am not willing to admit that 

 there Is not sufficient Intelligence to prepare rules that will eliminate these 

 dlfflcullles. 



I -might say in this connection that I am of the opinion that all grades 

 of lumber aside from clear lumber should be graded as to the per cent of 

 clear, clear face or sound cuttings that the board will produce, thereby 

 reducing the matter of inspection to a mathematical calculation instead of 

 the Judgment of inspectors, as to the seriousness of any designated defect. 



In making this statement I have in mind the general use of lumber and 

 not the specific uses. There will always be a time when a special grade 

 will have to be made to meet special requirements, but whenever that re- 

 quirement reaches a magnitude sufficient to justify a standard grade, such 

 grade has been and will always be provided. 



It occurs to me that it is high time those interested in the lumber busi- 

 ness, and in this I include the consumer, wholesaler and manufacturer, 

 should eliminate the strife among themselves and present a solid front to 

 our real and active competitors, the producers of substitutes tor lumber. 

 1 venture the opinion that most of the difficulties and ills of the business 

 could be remedied by a strong organization of manufacturers, and equally 

 strong organization of wholesalers and even, if you please, a strong or- 

 ganization of consumers. Such organized bodies could thrash out and 

 solve these problems easily and quickly. 



I cannot close without one word on the matter of association, or 

 cooperation. I believe that every man should affiliate and assist organiza- 

 tions which are striving with the problems that confront their Industry. 

 You will find in this, as well as in all other industries, a difference in 

 men. There are those who give enthusiastically, not only of their time 

 and money but the best that is in them in brain and power. Then there 

 are those whose sympathy and direct interest lie in the association move- 

 ment and who give liberally of their money but do not participate actively 

 in the work by giving their thought to the problems that are to be solved. 

 These men stand next to those who give both time and financial aid, and it 

 is between these two classes that organizations are made effective. 



There is another class which recognizes the benefits of association work 

 and who are willing to derive the benefits therefrom without giving of 

 their moral or financial support. They are what we might call "umbrella 

 men." No argument can be used upon them except to appeal to their man- 

 hood and spirit of fairness. 



There are others who do not affiliate themselves with associations Justi- 

 fying their position on the ground that associations are not properly man- 

 aged or do not accomplish what they are attempting. At one time I felt 

 the same way. and I remember distinctly resigning the membership of my 

 company from this organization. At the request of the late Mr. Fisher I 

 explained my reasons for withdrawing, and he, looking at me, said : "Young 

 man, no one gets what he wants without fighting tor it. If this organiza- 

 tion is not being run to suit you, get in and try to fight it around your 

 way." 



I have been In the fighting ever since. I cannot say more to that class 

 of men than Jlr. Fisher said to me. 



There are still others who do not take the time to consider whether 

 It is to their interest to become affiliated with the •rganizatlon or not. 

 .lust stop to think how efficient any organization would be representing one 

 hundred per cent of the output of any commodity. Its strength is only 

 weakened as it falls short of this maximum percentage. We might well 

 take a lesson from the Chinese, who recognize the wastefulness of the lack 

 of cooperation, who have guilds or associations In every line of trade. If 

 there are fifty tea dealers in a Chinese city the tea guild will consist of 

 fifty members. It Is one of the traditions of their trade that all should 

 belong to the appropriate guild. 



Our organization is not a social but a strictly business movement. Dur- 

 ing the two j-ears which I have served as president there has never been 

 a time that there were not sufficient funds In the treasury to carry out 



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