March 



1922 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



27 



Lumber Trade Customs 



Xutc: The tUcLsioiwi printed lu-hiw itre rendered hit the Arfiitratiun 

 Committee of the Ameriean Wliolesalc lAimber Assoeiation. 



Claims Must Be Reported Within a Reasonable Time 



THE FACTS : A northern wholesaler luirchased from a southern whole- 

 saler a car of Xo. 1 common car siding, shipment of which was made on 

 July 5, 1920, the car being consigned to buyer's order at Cairo, 111., and 

 reconsigned by him to final destination, where it arrived en September S. 

 1920, after having been transferred enrnute into another car. 



On Decenil)er 2, 1920, buyer notified seller of his having received report 

 from his customer to the effect that shipment contained 8,136 feet of 

 rejects. Buyer explained that delay in making this report was due to the 

 fact that his customer had been unable until that time to identify the ship- 

 ment due to its having been transferred enroute. 



The seller refuseil to consider the claim or to order an official inspec- 

 tion of the shipment. Buyer thereupon arranged direct for official inspec- 

 tion, which showed G..S55 feet off grade. 



THE DISPUTE: The buyer contends that he did not receive the grade 

 of lumber called for in his contract as proved by an official inspection, and 

 that he was obliged to settle with his customer at a greatly reduced price 

 for the culls reported and that he was only acting as agent for the seller 

 in ordering the inspection and disposing of the culls, and that he must not 

 be caused to suffer loss under such circumstances. 



The seller contended that there must be some time limit within which 

 grade claims must be made, if they are to be entertained, and that three 

 months after arrival is not a reasonable time within which to report claims 

 for off-grade. He pointed out that in that time stock could not only 

 deteriorate to such an extent as to affect the grade, but to render identifica 

 tion difficult. He furthermore contended that buyer should have likewise 

 refused to consider claim from his customer at this late date, and that 

 therefore there was no reason w-hy buyer should have suffered an.v loss. 



THE DECISION : Held, First — That from both an ethical and equitable 

 standpoint there must necessarily be a reasonable time limit within which 

 a buyer should either accept or reject a shipment. Failing to receive a 

 complaint within a reasonable length of time after arrival of the car the 

 seller is entitled to consider that the shipment has been accepted as 

 invoiced. 



Second — That even though a seller may breach the contract by shipping 

 off-grade material, such breach is waived through failure of buyer to report 

 the facts to the seller within a reasonable time after arrival, and buyer 

 would thereby waive all right to recover damage as a result of the breach. 



Third — That approximately three months after unloading a shipment 

 of lumber is not a reasonable time within which to enter a complaint 

 thereon. It is therefore 



HELD, Fourth — That the seller in this case was entirely within his 

 rights in declining to recognize a claim on the shipment, and is entitled 

 to payment of his invoice in full as rendered. 



Pertinent Information 



\ 



"Marvels of Science" 



Since forestry took on fho habiliments of a science and engineers, chem- 

 ists and technicians began investigating forestry problems, such as the 

 growth and protection of the forests, the harvesting of forest crops and 

 the utilization of wood therefrom, many discoveries have been made that 

 would seem almost without the pale of possibility, according to a bulletin 

 of the New York State College of Forestry. 



One of the scientific developments that may have an important bearing 

 on the supply of automotive fuel of the future is the production of ethyl 

 or grain alcohol from wood. Grain alcohol might be employed as a sub- 

 stitute for gasoline, provided it can be produced clieaply and engines 

 adapted to its use, but the practical application of this product, like many 

 other utilities that had their Inception in the laboratory, must finally 

 depend tor its commercial development upon mechanical ingenuity and 

 capital. 



Sawdust can be converted into good fodder for cattle and farm stock. 

 Other products of surprising variety and character are obtained either 

 wholly or partially from wood, such as smokeless powder, linoleum, artifi- 

 cial silk, paint, varnish, soap, ink, celluloid, sausage casing, acetylene, 

 chloroform, iodoform and many kinds of dyes and oils. 



A new field has opened in scientific research with regard to the forests 

 and its products. The results achieved in the last ten years would seem 

 to indicate future developments that now are unimaginable. In fact, we 

 can but dimly vision the infinite possibilities that lie ahead of scientific 

 investigation in forest and wood problems. The time may come when wood 

 will be more generally in demand for chemical purposes than for building 

 material. 



Many substitutes have been discovered for wood, but the new uses have 



more than kept pace with the development of substitutes. What today 

 is a dream will tomorrow be a reality. It would be rash indeed to prophesy 

 uow far scientists may go in working out new uses for woo.l and new 

 methods of ulilizing wood. 



Ready-Cut Stock Is the Keynote to Lower Production Costs 



The fabrication into small rough stock of low grade lumber produced 

 in such relatively enormous quantities at every hardwoo<l sawmill, and 

 even the use of wide edgings, thick slabs and long trimmings for this same 

 purpose, is to be the newest development and one of most wide reaching 

 effect in the woodworking industry. In the work now being conducted 

 by the Forest Products Laboratory along these lines some remarkable 

 information is being collected in the chair industry. For instance, it has 

 learned that certain chair manufacturing companies, who are noted for 

 their low production costs and economical use of raw material, attribute 

 their success to the wide use of small rough dimension stock cut to meet 

 their requirements and to material purchased in semi-flnished form ready 

 for the sanding and shaping machines. Upon further investigation the 

 laboratory has ascertained informally that these particular materials 

 have, in a majority of cases, been produced entirely from low grade lumber 

 and sawmill by-products, such as slabs and edgings, which otherwise would 

 have been disposed of as waste. In spite of these facts, this material 

 bought by these chair companies in a ready-cut or semi-flnished form has 

 been of as good, and in some instances, higher quality than that which 

 could be produced from lumber at their factory. Much other information 

 of the same nature is gradually being assembled, and it all points to the 

 practicability of the more extended use of small dimension stock in the 

 chair and other wood-using industries. 2 



The work by the laboratory crews on intensive studies at chair factories 

 throughout the United States continues. In all, studies extending over 

 periods of about .30 days each have been made at nine different chair fac- 

 tories. In these studies the members of the crew actually tally the dimen- 

 sions and grade of all lumber going across the cut-off saw and through 

 the rip saw, and the resulting products of these two operations. In addi- 

 tion they are collecting information on the relative cost of band sawing 

 versus the bending of curved chair parts. Soon the crew will move to 

 western Pennsylvania for one or two additional studies. 



After a careful survey of the different classes of conditions existing 

 throughout the chair industries, the laboratory believes that the data 

 obtained in these 11 or 12 studies will be truly representative of the entire 

 industry. The general report, which is to be a summation of the statis- 

 tics, cost information, waste data, etc.. collected in all these studies, will be 

 published as soon as the mass of figures can be worked up. 

 Teak Dealers Have Bad Year 



.\ British lumber exporter discussing the demand and consumption of 

 teak in Great Britain expresses the opinion that the past year has been 

 a very disastrous one for holders of this lumber, owing to the setback 

 in the shipbuilding yards and the holding back of rolling stock 

 construction. That the renewal of rolling stock, both at home and on 

 the continent is very necessary is indisputable, but the deplorable condi- 

 tion of trade generally, and the transition state of British railways, which 

 are being transferred from government war control to private "pre-war" 

 management, have served to discourage any radical dealing with rolling 

 stock renewals. Moreover, financial inability on the European Continent, 

 caused by the utter disruption of the exchanges, and the enforcement of 

 the preposterous and vindictive peace treaty, have dictated temporary 

 starvation to the continental railways, as an Inevitable evil until the 

 seething financial questions arising out of the treaty have been recon- 

 sidered and modified. 



Owing to political and financial difficulties mentioned above, a costly 

 wood like teak has been largely excluded from practical business; importa- 

 tion has been reduced to almost nil and holders of stock have wildly com- 

 peted to supply the very limited British demand at continually reduced 

 prices, entailing, it is feared, heavy losses. 



On the whole the mahogany market has been disappointing, prices hav- 

 ing fallen away to an unexpectedly low level, especially for the lower 

 grade qualities. The demand generally appears to be steadily improving, 

 but unless there Is a marked revival in consumption, stocks would appear 

 to i)c relatively sufficient. 



February Building Statistics Show Slight Gain Over January 



February building permits have Just enough edge on January's goodly 

 totals to Justify saying there is a gain. One hundred ninety-four cities 

 reporting to The American Contractor for January gave a total of 31.392 

 permits whose estimated valuation was $138,799,280. One hundred eighty- 

 eight cities reporting for February give a total of 32,150 permits whose 

 estimated valuation is $139,919,847. 



In comparison with respective totals for 1921, January of this year 

 showed a 125 per cent gain while February shows only a 50 per cent 

 gain, this being due, of course, to the fact that February of last year 

 showed a remarkable advance over January. 



Chicago is outstandingly the city showing a big second month gain this 

 .vear. In January Chicago's permits were 457 in number and $7,991,550 

 in estimated valuation. In February the number increased to 634 and the 

 estimated valuation to .?13,493,800. Boston shows slightly less than a 

 two million dollar gain and Richmond, Virginia, springs from a $437,206 

 January total to $2,284,942 for February. 



New York shows an almost negligible loss from its January total of 

 .$46,484,948, the drop being to $46,111,679. 



