32 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



April 10, 1922 



American Lumber Congress Re-organized 



iContiiiiied Jroin page 30) 

 Association, on the question of arbitration, which was discussed at 

 great length by delegates to the Congress. In part Mr. Palmer said: 



In the discussion of this arbitration question, it seems that it has so far 

 been viewed entirely as an inter-lumber proposition ; that it has not gone 

 outside of the ranks of the lumbermen ; that the effort would be made 

 to make painted angels, as Mr. Woodhead (Bon S. Woodhead, president 

 American Wholesale Lumber Association) said, out of the lumbermen, curl)- 

 ing all of these instincts of making profit, going out fighting battles, and 

 all of that, yielding in the shape of the helpless lamb by the process of 

 arbitration, and at the same time leaving the ravening wolf loose to bite 

 him in any way that he may see fit. In this Instance I am likening the 

 wolf to the consumer who buys lumber from any and all of us. We are 

 all purchasers of lumber and we are all sellers of lumber, and the lumber 

 has to be bought by the ultimate consumer. Any process of arbitration 

 that does not take into consideration the consumer is not a complete propo- 

 sition. It will not work to the interests entirely of the lumbermen. If 

 we pass rules and regulations governing our own conduct of it, we will 

 stand up so straight that we will lean over ba<*kwards and we will be at a 

 disadvantage when we go and deal with a buncii of "birds'* who arc a 

 trifle less unscrupulous. 



My idea of a competent arbitration proposition would be not only to 

 have it composed of lunibernicn, liut have it include the consumer of lum- 

 ber and make him also stand up straight. 



If we can get the consumer, the man that uses the lumber, the man that 

 finally buys it — if we can get him into some form of arbitration, then we 

 will have accomplished something more than miglit be boped for frcim 

 an ordinary plan of arbitration. We have accompllshe<l much more than 

 will appear on the surface, as evidenced by the cases that are settled by 

 arbitration. My reason for holding to that belief is this : That the man 

 who consumes your lumber, the man with whom we have all got to deal 

 in the last analysis in this lumber business, does not care so very much 

 about being shown up to the lumbermen, wdiether he is honest or dishonest. 

 He does not respect us, but thinks that we are a bunch of crooks anyway, 

 and he things probably It is perfectly all right In dealing with a bunch of 

 crooks to be as crooked as they are. Therefore, when you disclose only 

 the lumber side of any of these nefarious practices by the process of lum- 

 ber arbitration, you don't hit the right spot. You don't get at his melt 

 as you should, but when if you can devise a system of arbitration whereby 

 that man's methods are disclosed to his own fellows In trade, to show the 

 furniture man up to his own furniture people, that he is an unfair buyer, 

 to show the mill man up to his own association of mill men, that he Is an 

 unfair buyer, then he Is gcdng to be very much more careful about how 

 he handles his transactions ; he is going to come very much nearer to 

 toeing the mark of ethical regard, and you will not have nearly so many 

 cases for arbitration. 



In other words, my idea, to state It briefly. Is to combine the whole 

 proposition, to go Into one h(de as far as arbitration goes, to get in the 

 three elements of the lumber trade — the producer, the distributor and the 

 consumer of lumber, and work those into an entire arbltratl<)n proposi- 

 tion. I believe It Is possible to do that, not by dealing with Individuals 

 but Just as this lumber Congress is organized, do it through the associa- 

 tions, make it an inter-association proposition, not confined to the lum- 

 bermen, but to go out and take In all the other manufacturing associa- 

 tions, whatever they may be and get them in, and by getting them in then 

 bind their memberships to the proposition of arbitration ; not only to that, 

 but as the gentleman, the cypress man said, go further with that and 

 get into the ethical elements of the situation, get them to come to you 

 and we go to them, and we will adopt some proposlticm. some sales code or 

 code of ethics that is recognized not only by the luml>erman, not only to 

 be applied and used against the lumbermen, not only that the lumbermen 

 will have to stand up straight, and If they do not they will be thrown 

 outside of the organization that he has helped to build up. but also 

 bring the consumers Into our agreement and make the code of ethics or 

 the sales code apply to their side of the transaction os well as to that of 

 the lumberman. 



The National Hardwood Lumber Association, which I represent at this 

 meeting. Is working on Just such a plan as that. It has rather a broad 

 vision as to the matter of the sales rode. That proposition came up a 

 year ago and we pouri'd it out into the saucer to cool before action Is 

 taken, and we will probably take action on that Question at our next annual 

 meeting in June In this city. It has as Its basis the recognition of those 

 three elements of the trade, and we Ijelleve that the only thing that is 

 fair to the lumbermen Is to get a reeognition on the part of the three 

 elements of the trade to work and accept and recognize and be governed 

 by a cwle that is not only applicable to the lumbermen, but one that 

 also applies to the consumer of lumber, and that is what the National 

 Hardwood Lumber Asseciation Is attempting. 



Blodgett Becomes Chief of Manufacturers 



t Coiitinuid from pa(/c 27) 



Committee Will 'Work ■with Hoover 



As an outcome of this conference with the Secretary of Com- 

 merce, the association later in the first day of the meeting adopted 

 a motion authorizing the president of the association to name a 

 committee to go to Washington to confer with the Secretary of 

 Commerce on lumber standardization and simplification and the 

 protection of the public as to grades, quantity, quality, et cetera. 

 The president of the association will use his own judgment as to 

 the size of the committee, but will make it large enough to provide 

 representation for the various kinds of woods represented in the 

 membership of the association. As regards hardwoods, Mr. Good- 

 man suggested that it would be well to have at least five hardwood 

 manufacturers on the committee. It will probably also contain re- 

 tailers' and architects' representatives. 



The association also ajjpointed Secretary-Manager Comptou a 

 committee of one to sit in at the conference which the Secretary 

 of Commerce will hold with trade associations on April 11 and 12 

 to discuss the question of the handling of trade statistics in co- 

 operation with the Department of Commerce. The Secretary- 

 Manager was given authority to participate in the discussion only, 

 and instructed not to commit the association to any agreement 

 which would permit the Government to assume control of its statis- 

 tical service or otherwise interfere with the method now pursued 

 of disseminating its statistics direct to its membership. 



Chairman Kirby expressed the attitude of the association in this 

 respect when he said "that under no circumstances shall we volun- 

 tarily submit to governmental regulations of our association ac- 

 tivity even to the extent of controlling statistics and making those 

 statistics worthwhile to us. If we liave got to go to the expense 

 of gathering it, we ought to have the privilege of distributing it, 

 and I am quite sure that Mr. Hoover will give his approval." 



As a preface to this statement, Mr. Kirby had said that the asso- 

 ciation representative should assist the conference with any data 

 required wliich might be at the association's command. 



At its annua) banquet this year the association had as its guests 

 delegates to the American Lumber Congress and delegates from the 

 National Construction Congress. This was held in the Gold Room 

 of the Congress Hotel on the evening of April 5 and was opened by 

 Mr. Kirby, as toastmaster, and the gavel later turned over to 

 Ernest T. Trigg of Philadelphia, president of the National Federa- 

 tion of Construction Industries. 



The active participation of the members of the National Con- 

 struction Congress in the annual dinner was an eventful departure 

 and marked the beginning of a policy of closer co-operation be- 

 tween the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association and this 

 Construction Congress. 



The .'Lssociation decided to establish a publicity department as 

 a regular department of the association, financed out of the regular 

 budget, and not, as heretofore, by special subscription from the 

 regional members. D. P. Allen, a former newspaper man, who for 

 a number of months has been conducting the tentative department, 

 is at the head of the publicity department. 



Gen. L. C. Boyle of Washington, D. C, who for a number of years 

 has been chief counsel of the association, tendered his resignation 

 at the twentieth annual meeting. 



For the guidance of the committee which will go to Washington 

 to confer with Secretary Hoover on standardization and simplifica- 

 tion of lumber grades and sizes and means of more completely 

 safeguarding the interests of the buyer, the directors of the asso- 

 ciation, at a final session on April 5, adopted the principle of the 

 grade marking of lumber, providing that a piece tally of the con- 

 tents and grade of lumber be placed in each car of lumber at the 

 mill and the card so numbered that the buyer of the said lumber 

 may ascertain the name of the original shipper from the association 

 to which the latter belongs. 



