June 10, 1917 



" S I^TOaiMJKKTOag^CMatOilSi^i*^^ 



The Lumhermans Round Table 



Get-Together Meetings 



One of the difficulties wliieh lumbermen, in common with other 

 employers, frequently experience is training their young men to 

 take positions of importance and responsibility. A lad of good intel- 

 ligence and fair education comes into a lumber office, learns the 

 routine of handling orders and ought, in time, to be good timber 

 for an exeeutive position ; but in too many eases he does not seem 

 to develop to the proper point. This is bad for him and bad for his 

 employers. I 



A successful hardwood man, whose business has been growing so 

 rapidly, both in the manufacturing and distributing ends, that he 

 has felt the need of assistance of the right kind, said the other day 

 that he realized that the lack of good lieutenants in his organization 

 is largely his own fault; that he has not given enough attention 

 to training the youngsters, who have been forced to rely on them- 

 selves to pick up the sort of information and develop judgment of 

 a kind that would justify giving them more important posts in the 

 business. 



' ' The lumber trade is peculiar, ' ' he said. ' ' It isn 't a case of 

 wrapping up a package and handing it over the counter. You've 

 got to know what you are doing and why you are doing it all of 

 the time. It is unfair to expect a youngster to get all of the inside 

 information, which he has to have to understand the lumber busi- 

 ness thoroughly, if all he does is to handle office routine. There he 

 gets a smattering of superficial knowledge, but he doesn 't get down 

 underneath the surface. 



"Today, for instance, a carload of log-run lumber came into our 

 yard. It would have been a fine car to have demonstrated with in 

 order to show the boys just what the different items it contained were 

 best adapted for. But I was busy and everybody else was busy and 

 the car was handled in the usual way. 



' ' What I plan to do is to have a weekly meeting, after hours, at 

 which all of the office men, especially the boys growing up in the 

 business, will be present. We will have dinner and talk about the 

 business along general and specific lines. Individual problems will be' 

 talked over and all of the little points which those in executive 

 positions must know will be elaborated. In this way I hope to be 

 able to develop more good men for our organization. We need them 

 and the best place to get them is in our own office, I believe. ' ' 



The Daily Conference 



In connection with the proposition of having meetings for the 

 purpose of educating the youngsters in the organization there is a 

 ■certain panel concern in an Ohio valley city which for a number 

 of years has improved the work of its plant by having a daily con- 

 ference of the foremen of its several departments. 



The experience of this manufacturer had been that one of the most 

 potent reasons for tie-ups of orders and failures to get work out 

 on the dates promised was lack of co-operation between the depart- 

 ments. Instead of co-operating, they were competing with each other. 

 The foreman thought that the other fellows were trying to "put 

 something over" and pulled against instead of with the heads of 

 other departments. 



The plan of having every-day meetings was, therefore, devised 

 with the idea of eliminating this feeling, getting the foremen to 

 understand that they were all parts of the same organization, and 

 that ultimate results were what every man should strive for. Inci- 

 dentally, the troubles which had been experienced in handling work 

 from one department to another were gone into. 



The results of the plan were all that had been expected, and then 

 some. Some of the men who came to these conferences were rela- 

 tively inexperienced and did not understand the scope of the busi- 

 ness as a whole. They became broader and more efficient by reason 

 of their constant contact with the heads of other departments. On 

 the other hand, they grew to understand the other men's viewpoints, 

 and to sympathize with them, so that a spirit of teamwork and har- 

 mony was introduced. The net result was more vigorous co-operation. 



better spirit throughout the plant and smoother running of the business 

 machine. 



These meetings are held in the morning, about 10 o'clock, after 

 the day's work is well under way. They give an opportunity for 

 the superintendent to call special attention to orders which need to 

 be featured in any way or are in any degree out of the ordinary. 

 The sessions are held on company time, but it is declared by those 

 connected with^ the institution that it is an excellent investment. 



How About the Timber 



The most important thing about any hardwood operation is the 

 timber supply. It is strange but true that lumbermen will occasion- 

 ally erect mills without having sufficient assurance that timber of the 

 right kind and at the right price will be forthcoming. 



In the case of manufacturers who have been located in one place for 

 a long time, and are remaining there largely for sentimental reasons, 

 it is expected that they will have to depend on purchases in the terri- 

 tory outside, and that their local supply is not all that they will have 

 to run on. But in the case of new operations in the timber country, 

 where long hauls to market must be offset by low manufacturing 

 costs, the timber factor must be right if the manufacturer is to make 

 any money. 



In one case, which was put on record a number of years ago, a 

 manufacturer put up a remarkably expensive mill, which was equipped 

 to do the best possible work. It was taken for granted that since 

 the mill was located where timber was, the matter of a log supply would 

 take care of itself. It didn 't, for the reason that other people bought 

 up the only available tracts. At last reports this mill was still unable 

 to operate. 



In another ease, of more recent origin, a mill was erected at a point 

 where the timber which it would logically saw belonged to somebody 

 else. There was some material to be had by way of the river on which 

 the mill was located, but this supply was uncertain. To operate regu- 

 larly and profitably, it was necessary to purchase the timber owned by 

 the other party. This was finally arranged, but it was evident that it 

 would have been best to have provided for the timber before, instead 

 , of after building the mill. 



Another hardwood concern is now erecting a mill, and putting a 

 goodly sum into it, without having any assurance that its log supply 

 is definitely assured. It hopes to be able to buy timber, because tim- 

 ber is standing in its locality. But whether this timber is being 

 reserved for other operations, whether it can be had at a satisfactory 

 price, or whether it can be gotten to mill under favorable conditions 

 for manufacture, are features which have not been disposed of yet. 

 The lumbermen are taking a chance, and hoping that everything will 

 come out all right. 



Oak "Au Naturel" 



Those who admire fine woods will enjoy a visit to the retail store 

 of Lyon & Healy, Chicago, located at Wabash avenue and Jackson 

 boulevard. The store, whicli was opened a few months ago, is a fine 

 type of modern mercantile structure and the interior trim is espe- 

 cially attractive. The first floor and the elevator cabs are finished 

 in American walnut, while the fixtures above the first flioor are of 

 oak. The interesting thing about the latter is that the finish shows 

 the natural color and appearance of the wood, no attempt being 

 made to darken it. Some people might consider the appearance less 

 attractive than if a stain had been used, but those who enjoy looking 

 at handsome woods find in this installation an argument in favor of 

 natural finishes. The public has been so accustomed to looking at 

 a result decided on by the architect or owner, without regard for 

 the natural appearance of the material, that to get a glimpse of what 

 the wood looks like when the finish covers without hiding it is an 

 unusual sensation. At all events, the effect in the Lyon & Healy 

 building is good, and the installation, besides doing credit to the com- 

 pany, is a fine boost for oak, and is especially worth while now that 

 the oak manufacturers are working to bring this material back into 

 its deserved popularity. 



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