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The Lumbermen s Round Table 



PRICES ANT) CONSUMPTION 



A proniiueiit mauufacturer of oak and poplar recently made the 

 assertion that the prices at whicli lumber is sold have no effect on 

 the quantity used. Ho took the ground, for instance, that just 

 as much plain oak would be cut up if it were selling at $60 as 

 at $50. 



' ' Oak is oak, ' ' he declared. ' ' There is nothing like it, no sub- 

 stitute for it. Consumers will pay whatever is necessary to get 

 it. The cost of the lumber is a minor factor in determining the 

 price of the finished article, because so little of it is used in any 

 one piece. All we 've got to do to get the price is to ask it. ' ' 



Several hardwood men who were present took exception to this 

 statement, pointing out that the present condition of plain oak is 

 largely due to the substitution of cheaper materials for oak, this 

 being particularly true of the interior finish field, where gum, cypress 

 and other woods are being used in place of oak, simply to save 

 the difference in cost. That the consumption of poplar has fallen 

 off because the price went too high for consumers to stand is 

 also generally admitted. In fact, it may almost be stated, as a 

 proved theorem of the lumber business, that when the price of 

 an article becomes so much higher than other materials that the- 

 difference in quality is less than the difference in price, substitution 

 will begin. 



Most oak men, for instance, would prefer to see the market for 

 oak steady and consistent at an average price than to have an 

 irregular market, resulting from an extremely high price. 



THE VALUE OF ASSOCIATIONS 



A successful lumberman, who has won his way to the top largely 

 by his own unaided efforts, is of the opinion that associations and 

 conventions are all right from a social standpoint, but don 't amount 

 to much as far as practical benefits are concerned. 



"Some mep like to be president of this, or director of that," 

 he said, smiling good-naturedly, "and for those who enjoy that 

 sort of thing, the association is a great institution. But I can 't 

 see where anyone has ever been benefited by belonging to an organi- 

 zation of that kind." 



It developed later in the conversation that this lumberman had 

 lost the value of several carloads of lumber, a customer going 

 broke in a very thoughtless and ill-timed manner. 



"Wish I had known that chap was in a bad condition," re- 

 marked the manufacturer. ' ' I had my doubts about him, but 

 thought I'd take a chance." 



"Do you happen to know," demanded his companion, "that one 

 of the leading associations furnishes credit information of just that 

 kind? I had an order from the same people, but got information 

 from the association that saved me from shipping the stock. I 

 figure I saved $750. 



' ' Doesn 't that show that an association pays ? ' ' 



' ' Yes, I suppose it does, ' ' the other finally admitted. 



And the facts usually are that the man who makes use of his 

 association properly, and doesn't content himself merely with attend- 

 ing annual meetings and enjoying the good fellowship which they 

 involve, will find that organization work pays in a very definite 

 and measurable way. 



ON FORCING SALES 



" I 'm not in the market for lumber at this time, and don 't care 

 to buy," said the manager of a large interior trim plant in the 

 Mississippi valley. "I'm pretty well stocked up, and haven't finished 

 using up a big lot of plain oak I bought last fall in expectation of 

 big business around the first of the year that didn 't develop. 

 We're busy now, however, and so I think I'll be ready to buy 

 again in a few months. 



"I wouldn't buy lumber and put it into stock under present 

 conditions ; but if somebody comes around and offers to give me 



—24— 



:i ■•:ir. as a luirilier salesman did todny, of course I'll take it. But 

 nobody can sell me lumber at present. ' ' 



This remark shows, perhaps, that tlie price-cutter can always get 

 orders by giving his lumber away; but that sort of business can 

 hardly be regarded as profitable. It also shows that consumers 

 who are really carrying a fair stock can be forced only at the 

 expense of the seller, and that it is better to wait until they 

 actually want to buy before trying to close a sale. 



A little conservatism in times like these is worth a great deal 

 more than the spirit which is aggressive to the point of getting 

 orders even if they iiave to be bought. 



MANUFACTURING VERSUS SELLING 



"Which do you think is the more important department of the 

 business, ' ' an old-timer was asked, ' ' running the sawmill or the 

 sales department?" 



' ' It all depends on what you call being a good lumberman, ' ' 

 replied the veteran manufacturer, who has several mills and is 

 therefore qualified to speak with authority. 



' ' My own idea is that the good lumberman is one who can 

 take a pile of stock, equal in quantity and grade to some other 

 lot of material, and get the most money out of it. That may not 

 accord with the views of some other people, but it's the final 

 test. The man who gets the money is the best lumberman, no 

 matter whether he is technically as eflicient a manufacturer as 

 some other chap. 



' ' I know some lumbermen who never see beyond their yards. 

 They have no conception of the selling end of the business. That 

 means that they have to take a lower price for their stock than the 

 man who understands consuming conditions and can take advantage 

 of the various features of the market which are a closed book 

 to the manufacturer of the other type, whose only idea is how to 

 saw up a log to the best advantage. 



' ' Given a mill with fair management, you can figure on getting 

 within three or four per cent of the quantity and quality of lum- 

 ber that another mUl, operating under the same conditions, will 

 get. In other words, most mills, provided they are run with ordi- 

 nary efficiency, reach just about the same results. 



' ' It 's after the lumber is in the pile and must be converted into 

 money that the real test comes. I've always been my own salesman, 

 and I know that I can make more money going out and making 

 arrangements to supply a factory than I can staying at home and 

 looking after the operations of my sawmill. 



' ' I believe that covers the points involved, doesn 't it ? " 



SUPERINTENDENT OR LABORER? 



Speaking of running a sawmill calls attention to the fact that 

 a good many superintendents forget that they are paid for their 

 ability to get results out of other men, rather than to do the 

 manual labor themselves. 



The head of a big mill said recently that his superintendent would 

 be worth $2,500 a year more if he could learn to supervise and 

 to confine himself to that kind of work. 



"He's the sort who is always rushing forward and taking hold 

 of a job himself," said this lumberman. "His place is to look 

 on and direct, and to see what the men are doing, instead of 

 trying to do their work himself. We can get labor for $1.50 a 

 a day; when we hire a superintendent we want him to superintend, 

 and not to be one of the sawmill crew. 



' ' Occasionally it may be all right for the superintendent to show 

 a man how a thing ought to be done, as part of his instruction in 

 the business; but to make a practice of doing work which a much 

 cheaper man could do just as well is to waste time that could be 

 put in to much better advantage." 



This sounds like a topic that would be worth general discussion. 

 What are your views on the duties of a superintendent? 



