June 25, 1917 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



25 



We wish to quote from the report of this committee made in July, 1916, 

 as follows : 



The Chicago market in particular has held off long enough to secure 

 some concessions on No. 3 common to which they are not entitled, based 

 on the laws of supply and demand, and the same firmness on our part 

 would have caused all these culls to have moved at prices last recom- 

 mended. .So "our hat's off to them" but let us see to it another year that 

 they do the "lid lifting" in order that they may have a more proper and 

 abiding respect for us. 



Gentlemen, are we to continue the "lid lifting?" No, not this year. 



Hemlock B.\ek 



Hemlock bark is a commodity in w"hich we are all very much interested 

 at this time. 



The users are working along the old line, offering the same old excuses 

 that they do not require as much bark and cannot afford to use it except 

 at about last year's price, in the hope that the producer will hand them 

 a nice fat dividend by acceptiug what they care to offer, in order to close 

 the deal and get over to the bank and buy a liberty bond. It is up to the 

 producer to get what his bark is really worth, and he can then go and 

 buy several liberty bonds. Your committee has reliable information that 

 the bark consumption this year will be equal to and In fact greater than 



last. We also know the production will fall about 50 per cent below 

 that of last year. 



We also believe our members are going to sell their bark at its actual 

 worth, and we hope they have anticipated this by placing generous orders 

 for those liberty bonds. 



The Election of Officers 

 The work of a nominating committee was dispensed with and the 

 old officers were re-elected by acclamation, as follows : 



President — W. C. Hull, Traverse City. 



First Vice President — T. W. Hanson, Grayling. 



Second Vice President — O. L. Larson, Manistee. 



TRE.iSURER — H. Ballon, Cadillac. 



The secretary, J. C. Knox, wUl be reappointed by the board of direc- 

 tors. 



The association met in joint session with the Northern Hemlock 

 and Hardwood Manufacturers' Association to discuss sales to the gov- 

 ernment. The result of the meeting is given in the report of the meet- 

 ing of the hemlock association following. 



!?l y^tlit;aM:^TO^^w>im!^^wiUg«^;i^^^ 



The Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers' Association 

 held its mid-summer meeting at the Sherman Hotel, Chicago, June 14. 

 B. B. Goodman was selected as temporary chairman to act in the 

 absence of both the president and vice-president who were unavoid- 

 ably absent on important business. President J. J. Lingle had been 

 on an extended trip in the West, and Vice-President C. H. Worcester 

 was in Washington, D. C. 



The meeting was timed to coincide with the meeting in Chicago of 

 the National Hardwood Lumber Association so that members of both 

 associations could attend both. The attendance at the hemlock and 

 hardwood meeting was large. 



The most important matter before the meeting was the report of 

 the bureau of grades. The report was presented by George H. Chap- 

 man, who laid emphasis on the desirability of the association sup- 

 porting the proposed changes in the grading rules of the National 

 Hardwood Lumber Association. The speaker said that he looked for 

 little or no opposition to the proposed changes so far as they affected 

 northern woods, but he was not so sanguine in regard to the cypress 

 changes. 



The proposed rules on No. 3 hemlock, providing for a grade No. 3 

 yard stock and a grade of No. 3 box lumber had been sent to all mem- 

 bers of the Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers' Asso- 

 ciation with a request for written expressions, either for or against 

 the proposed changes; but the response had been much less emphatic 

 than had been looked for, only seven replies having been received from 

 the entire membership. It seemed to indicate to Mr. Chapman that 

 no change in the rules was desired, otherwise more interest would 

 have been shown. The meeting took no action on that point. 



High Cost of Feeding - 



The high cost of boarding has struck the lumber camps, as was 

 clearly shown during a discussion of the subject by the meeting. It 

 now costs from $1 to $1.25 a day to feed the men; and a discourag- 

 ing feature of the business is that the men show a disposition to kick 

 at what is set before them. It was suggested that steps should be 

 taken to get up a regular meal schedule for the camps, thereby attain- 

 ing uniformity both in bill of fare and cost. It was pointed out that 

 in some of the logging camps where uniform meals were served, and 

 where the boarding in one camp is as good as in another, and no bet- 

 ter, the changing from camp to camp by the men has declined. They 

 find the same grub in the new camp that they left in the old, and the 

 experience does not encourage them to migrate from camp to camp 

 on the search for more appetizing viands. 



The subject of organizing logging associations in different parts of 

 the lumber regions was brought up for discussion. Experience with 

 such organizations, so far as they have been tried, has been satisfac- 

 tory. At a former meeting of the association a committee was ap- 



pointed, with W. B. Clubine, chairman, to investigate and report upon 

 the desirability and feasibility of local logging associations. The 

 committee has not yet completed its report. The interest manifested 

 during the discussion of the subject indicated that the report was 

 awaited with considerable interest. 



Quoting Prices to the Government 



Having concluded the other business before the meeting, a joint 

 session was called of the Michigan Hardwood Manufacturers' Associa- 

 tion and the Northern Hemlock association. W. C. Hull, president of 

 the Michigan association was chosen chairman of the joint meeting, 

 the purpose of which was to take up the question of supplying the 

 government with lumber to meet its war needs. This was not the 

 first action taken along that line; for at previous separate meetings 

 of the two associations each had appointed a committee to arrange 

 prices with the government. The Wisconsin association's committee 

 had E. B. Goodman as chairman, and H. BaUou was chairman of the 

 Michigan association. 



It developed that quotations made by these committees to the gov- 

 ernment had been adversely criticized in some quarters, as being above 

 market values. The purpose had been to quote prices within market 

 prices or below; but inasmuch as it was necessary to cjuote for the 

 future, and it being uncertain what the future market quotations would 

 be, the committees' prices had been such as to call for criticism. That 

 result was, in a measure, unavoidable because of the impossibility 

 of forecasting the future accurately. 



General discussion followed, and it was the sentiment of the meet- 

 ing, without a dissenting voice, that the lumbermen would support the 

 government, not only in patriotism but also in the matter of price 

 and grade. In order that this might be done with as little delay and 

 friction as possible, the business was placed in the hands of the two 

 committees, spoken of above, with power to act. 



The lumber jack used to be painted in literature as wild and 

 woolly and full of bad booze, but at a conference of the Forest In- 

 dustries some interesting talks made on prohibition show that 

 sobriety prevails to quite an extent even among the wildest of 

 the western wooils and not only the millman but the employes 

 and their families profit. 



There are various methods for loosening and removing rusted-on 

 pulleys from shafting. Usually heat and, oil are applied and some 

 hammering is done. One thing to be mighty careful about is the 

 hammering, because the vibrations from hammering on the hub 

 of the pulley often break the spokes between the hub and the rim. 

 One of the best things to do is to use a wooden block as a drift 

 and cushion between the hammer and the pulley; this lessens the 

 shock some and it is not quite so likely to cause breakage. 



