44 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



January 10. 1922 



J. T. Spicker Returns from Holiday Trip South 



J. T. Spicker, vice-president of the Ingalls-Spicker-Ransom Com- 

 pany of Nashville, Tenn., and Chicago, returned to the Chicago 

 offices of the company on January 5, afier having spent several 

 weeks of the holiday feason in the Soulh Mr. Spicker spent two 

 weeks with his family at Orlando, Fla., where Mrs. Spicker has a 

 winter home. He stopped over in Nashville and visited the mills 

 of the company. He found that the mills are running principally 

 on walnut and mahogany. As a result of his two weeks* rest in 

 Florida Mr. Spicker feels much refreshed and ready to spend a 

 strenuous 1 922. 



Veneer Outlook Is Optimistic 



The Veneer Manufacturers' Company, with offices and w^a re- 

 houses at 1036 West 3 7th .*!treet, Chicago, exhibits a substantially 

 optimistic tone in its monthly market letter of January, 1 922. The 

 report indicates a great scarcity of veneer logs resulting in sub- 

 santially increasing prices for those logs that are available. The 

 report further states that while December showed no exception to 

 the usual tendency during that month, January developments are 

 already promising and htere is good reason to expect a substantial 

 demand for veneers during the early months of the new^ year. 



Dean-Spicker Company Makes Changes 



The Dean-Spicker Company of Chicago m.akes announcement 

 that at a recent meeting of the board of directors the resignation 

 of J. T. Spicker was accepted and the following officers elected: 

 John R. Dean, president; Thomas A. Dean, vice-president and 

 secretary; John R. Dean havin^ acted as vice-president and director 

 since the company was organized in 1917. Prior to that time he 

 had six years' experience in veneers with the C. L. Willey Com- 

 pany, Chicago, acquiring a practical knowledge of the business 

 under Mr. Willey*s tutelage. After three years' experience in the 

 mill, he -was made city salesman, in which capacity he served for 

 three years. He left Mr. Willey and became interested in the 

 Black Lumber & Veneer Company, and served as vice-president 

 of that company until it was acquired by the organization of the 

 Dean-Spicker Company. 



Thomas A. Dean has been connected with the Dean-Spicker 

 Company for approximately tw^o years, and is also a stockholder 

 and director of this company. 



The names of the other directors will be announced in the near 

 future. 



Get Shipment from Circassia 



R. C. Clark, president of the R. C. Clark Veneer Company. 

 with offices and warehouses at 1650 Besley avenue. Chicago, an- 

 nounces that he is just receiving a shipment of beautifully figured 

 Circassian walnut panels, these panels having been made at the 

 plant of the Algoma Panel Company at Algoma, Wis., from a con- 

 siderable shipment of Circassian logs recently received. Mr. 

 Clarke says that so far as he has been able to determine these are 

 the first Circassian panels to reach the Chicago market since the 

 war stopped Circassian log shipments. 



Comment on the Vigilance Committee of the 

 Advertising Clubs of the World 



Editor Hardwood Record, Chicago, 111. 



Dear Sir: 



Those who were privileged to hear Mr. Lee's brilliant address 

 before the National Veneer & Panel Manufacturers' Association 

 at Chicago were deeply impressed and are in thorough accord, in 

 principle, with the proposition that: "Public confidence in adver- 

 tised merchandise must bfe maintained." 



Mr. Lee purposely avoided direct reference to the manner in 

 which it is proposed to apply this principle to furniture, but there 

 IS a very grave menace to the plywood industry if the suggestions 



already put forward are carried out. As I understand them, they 

 are as follows : 



1. To label all veneered pieces as "built-up." 



2. To label no piece as "Genuine" unless it is completely 



made up of the wood in which it is finished. 



3. To label pieces of "Solid" construction. 



4. To label pieces made of w^oods stained in imitations of other 



woods "Imitation." 



It is an undeniable fact that the public in general believe a piece 

 of furniture which is "Solid ' to be superior to one w^hich is 

 veneered. One can picture many instances of the exhibitions of 

 the family heirlooms, and its owner proudly thumping it. saying 

 "Solid Mahogany, " whether it was or not. It is equally conceded 

 that a well made veneered or plywood piece is at least equal and 

 probably superior to the "Solid." Furthermore, a "Plywood" 

 construction, with chestnut or poplar cores and poplar cross- 

 banding, is at least equal if not superior to constructions which 

 have the same core and crossbanding as the finish veneer. In fact, 

 in some cases, as in Oak, such construction is vastly superior. 

 Should anyone dispute this, there would hardly be any difference 

 of opinion in the case of figured Gum. If, therefore, the protection 

 of the public is the sole and only intention of the Vigilance Com- 

 mittee, they can in no case be practicing deception in labeling as 

 "Genuine Mahogany" a piece of admittedly superior plywood con- 

 struction, so long as the outside veneer is genuine mahogany. It 

 may be argued that the public can and should be educated to the 

 equality or superiority of laminated construction, but that is beside 

 the point, and is interesting only from the advertiser's point of 

 view. If, ho\vever. it is deemed desirable to indicate the construc- 

 tion of a piece of furniture, all labels or tags should prevent mis- 

 leading conclusions by some such statement as follows: 



A — -This piece of furniture is either of solid or plywood con- 

 struction, or a combination of both constructions, as indicated. 

 In presenting this information to the intending purchaser it is not 

 to be implied that one form of construction is superior to the other. 

 As a matter of fact, both constructions have been in use for many 

 centuries, and their quality depends upon the care and skill with 

 which they are manufactured. 



B — All pieces, whether solid or plywood, should be marked 

 "Genuine." if the visible parts are of the lumber or veneer indi- 

 cated, drawer bottoms and sides not being considered visible. 



C All pieces stained to imitate some other wood should be 



marked "Imitation." 



From the expressions of many manufacturers the word "Built- 

 up' is undesirable and unsatisfactory. There seems to be some 

 difference of opinion as to whether "Veneered" or "Plywood" 

 should be employed, but the latter is generally preferred. It is. in 

 fact, a more truly descriptive name, and has already been gen- 

 erally adopted by the trade in this country, and has been in use 

 abroad for many years. The United States Government, in all of 

 its specifications and contracts, refers to such material as *'Ply- 

 w^ood, " and in the w^riter's opinion it avoids the makeshift impli- 

 cation of "Built-up," and the flimsy inference of "Veneered." 



1 contend that an unexplained statement of fact may be quite as 

 misleading as a misstatement or half-truth, and if the Vigilance 

 Committee w^ishes truly to protect the buying public, it will do well 

 to adopt some such course as above outlined. 

 Very truly yours. 



(Signed) LAWRENCE OTTINGER. 



Wemyss Sues Chicago Company 



The Wemyss Furniture Company, of Evansville. Ind., has entered 

 a suit in the superior court at that place against the W. A. Davis 

 Lumber Company of Chicago, askin'? judgment for $L080 for 

 alleged breach of contract. The complaint alleges that the Wemyss 

 Company in October. 1921, ordered three carloads of lumber 

 from the Davis Company and that the Chicago concern failed to 

 deliver the lumber. 



