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Meeting TSforthern Manufacturers 



The annual meeting of the Northern Hemlock and Hardwood 

 Manufacturers ' Association took place as usual at the Hotel Pfister, 

 Milwaukee, on Tuesday, January 27. Following the usual formal 

 opening of tlfe meeting, President Hamar read the following annual 

 report: 



President's Address 



1 venture to say tliiT^- lias lu-cn nmro win-k duni- (iiiriiij; tlu' past yoai* 

 to arouse the Iiinih.Tman, manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer through- 

 out the count r.A' to the needs of the business than any other one year 

 period in the history of the industry. There are a large number of asso- 

 ciations in the field. Most of them will hold meetings during these winter 

 months, at which time tliey will grapi)le with the various problems con- 

 nected with their branch of the business. To these associations we extend 

 greetings. We wish them well and trust they will continue along in as 

 friendly a way in the future as in the past, and we hope that the get- 

 together spirit that has prevailed to such a large extent during the year 

 just ended will continue to grow and develop until the lumber associa- 

 tions have become one large organization working in harmony for tlu^ 

 idtiraate good of the cause. There seems to have beeu a recent awakening 

 to the fundamental principle that in consolidation there is strength. 

 Acting upon this knowledge, the National Lumber Manufacturers' Asso- 

 ciation sprang into life. Composed as it is of eleven affiliated organiza 

 tions, it has under able management become probably the largest factor in 

 working (or the common good of the lumberman. Its officers have devoted 

 time and energy to the problems facing them, your problems and my prob- 

 lems, and have in a quiet and business-like way, without any undue adver- 

 tising or blast of trumpets, done the work of the organization in an effi- 

 cient and able manner. When the National was first organized a number 

 of us looked upon it as a fifth wheel. This illusion has been dispelled 

 until at the present time most of us realize that it has its place in the 

 'field of association work. I would recommend that we continue to give it 

 our moral and financial support. 



Our own association has become, thanks to the efficient work of our 

 secretary, a well-oiled, smoothly-running piece of machinery. During tlie 

 past year the association, with a limited appropriation, has carried on a 

 very effective advertising campaign. This advertising feature of our work 

 we feel is beginning to bear fruit. I recommend that we continue this 

 work and that an appropriation be made at this meeting for the coming 

 year. 



At the quarterly meeting at Kau Claire in Octobi r your officers were 

 authorized to call a congress of logging superintendents to be held in 

 (ireen Bay. This meeting was held during the early part of December and 

 was largely attended. A nnmber of papers pertaining to the industry were 

 read, and much interest and discussion were aroused. I am confident that 

 everyone who attended this meeting went away with some new thought. 

 A committee was appointed by the chairman on welfare work in the log- 

 ging camps. It was felt that by making camps more sanitary and attract- 

 ive a better class of woodsman could be secured. A committee on a 

 s.vstem of logging cost was also appointed. It developed that nearly every 

 company has a different method of figuring logging costs, while a great 



—20— 



many have no method at all excepting by using final figures at the close 

 of the season. The chairmen of these committees will have something to 

 offer at this meeting. I would recommend that a logging congress for the 

 benefit of our woods superintendents be held once a year. 



Tlie several meetings called for the lumber graders were largely attended 

 and created considerable enthusiasm. A number of our members were 

 somewhat skeptical as to the practicability of holding these meetings. I 

 think, however, if they will talk with the different men who attended the 

 meetings that they will become convinced that it was lime and money well 

 spent. The chance that it gave our graders to meet one another and the 

 opportunity that it gave them to broaden their views were well worth 

 while. I recommend that the bureau of grades be authorized to hold 

 meetings of lilie character at least once a year. 



In our zeal to log and manufacture at a minimum cost, I sometimes 

 wonder if we give enough attention to that other part of our business 

 known as the sales department. Anybody can sell lumber at some price, 

 but to sell it and get the value for it requires years of training and ability. 

 A salesman must go forth without samples and through his own person- 

 ality sell his goods and get the price. The mill manager is so busy pro- 

 ducing and trying to keep costs down so he can get an old dollar back for 

 a new one, that he is apt to lose sight of the sales department as an 

 avenue for increasing his revenue. He is inclined to think — "Well, we 

 can get only so much tor our lumber anyway." While we must admit we 

 all have good men in charge of this department, still I think more atten- 

 tion should be given to that end of the business. It sometimes pays to 

 back away from a proposition and get a broader view of it and what Is 

 beyond it. You may have expected too little, or gotten too little from 

 this department. Keep your salesman ke.ved up to a point where the sale 

 of lumber at a profit becomes a hobby ; see that he talks aud thinks lumber 

 and that he feels he is selling the only stuff that is worth selling and 

 worth buying. 



.Just now the railroads are struggling to get an advance In freight rates. 

 I believe this advance is to be five per cent, although we hear rumors 

 that in certain instances they have discriminated against some commodi- 

 ties to the extent of five and even ten per cent. I think that we should 

 take a broad view of this subject and stand for an increase. True, there 

 are gross discrepancies in our present tariffs, but there are those who feel 

 that these can be adjusted satisfactorily later on. You might say that 

 the railroads are suffering for their past sins, which is probably true, but 

 as the prosperity of the country depends on the railroads are we not fellow 

 sufferers? They have been compelled to increase wages of employes sev- 

 eral times, put on safety equipment and improve rolling stock. To offset 

 this drain they have Increased the size of locomotives so as to increase the 

 tonnage per train ; but there is a limit to the size of a locomotive and a 

 limit to the tonnage it can haul, and we have pretty nearly reached that 

 limit. With gross earnings increasing, but with gross operating expenses 

 increasing faster, so that net earnings are decreasing, is it any wonder 

 that the railroads are looking for a way out? Y'ou may have your bumper 

 crops, you may have your increase In merchandising, but you cannot have 

 general prosperity when the railroads are not prosperous. This is espe- 

 cially true of the lumber and steel business, which are two of the main- 

 stays of the country. 



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