HARDWOOD RECORD 



July 25, 1917 



by the situation. He says a paper mill in Alaska could lay down 

 print paper in New York at $35 a ton, which is $25 less than present 

 prices there. The present annual consumption of paper in the United 

 States calls for pulp wood equivalent to five billion feet of lumber, 

 something more than one-eighth as much as the output of all the 

 sawmills in the country. 



The point made by the secretary is that we do not need to go to 

 Canada for our ])aper. There are enormous timber resources in the 

 United States suitable for pulp. Development is aii tnat is needed 

 to place these resources at the service of the people. At the present 

 rate of consumption, there is enough spruce and white fir in Oregon, 

 Washington and Alaska to supply the United States with paper for 

 eighty years, without drawing upon young timber that will grow 

 during that period. This western timber is convenient to tidewater, 

 and the paper may be shipped by way of the Panama Canal. 



Another great pulp resource lies among the Rocky Mountains, in 

 Idaho, Montana and southward. That is not within convenient 

 reach of western tidewater, but is accessible by rail to the markets 

 of the upper Mississippi valley and the states on tlie plains. 



The Logical Course 



THE PROBLEM WHICH HAS OVERSHADOWED ALL 

 others in the hardwood lumber business for a number of years 

 past has been the incorporation into one national body of its various 

 elements. Today there is greater co-operation than ever before: 

 there are more associations jiroviding, in their respective fields, Vietter 

 working conditions. There is a greater desire on the part of all to 

 analyze manufacturing end of lumber and to standardize selling 

 methods; to utilize the best talent in the industries towards getting 

 the maximum return from the log, and at the same time to meet 

 conditions in the consuming end of the business and insure greater 

 economy and more general satisfaction to the consumer. In short, if 

 there was ever a time when the manufacturer and dealer of hardwoods 

 should work closer together it is now. There was never an opportunity 

 so ripe for bringing into perfect harmony all of tlu' associations wldch 

 are factors in hardwood lumbering. The opportunity is so genuine 

 that it will be a catastrophe if it is lost. 



There are at least $250,000 being spent to maintain organizations 

 in the hardwood business, but in spite of the efficient work these 

 associations are doing, it could be done more economically and jios- 

 sibly even more satisfactorily if the various as.'ociations could be 

 centralized. We have in the present organizations as competent a 

 set of men as it is possilile to get together in a.ssociation work, hut 

 by the consolidation of all associations into a centralized grouping, 

 two main bodies, for instance, but operated under the same manage- 

 ment, greater economy and larger results would unquestionably accrue. 

 It would greatly help the distribution of the vital information which 

 has in the respective associations proven its worth and in fact its 

 necessity to the growth of the industry. This work would be simplifieil 

 and rendered much more effective because it woukl be made easier 

 for the manufacturers. Some of thcni are now making reports on a 

 half-dozen different kinds of woods to tlie various associations, and 

 by simplifying it in a centralized way they would undoubtedly respond 

 much more readily. 



In the traffic work the extremely valuable results that the Southern 

 Hardwood Traffic Association has been getting could be made of 

 even greater significance if this work were national in its scope. 

 Consolidation would bring a unanimity of opinion as to the grading 

 of liie different woods. It would uudoiibte<lly insure protection for 

 the man operating a yard, who in many cases has as much nu)uey 

 invested as pome of the Simon-pure numufacturers. It would guar- 

 antee each manufacturer tlu' right to state just what value lie is 

 willing to give for a specified price, and would give him a closer 

 conception of the needs of the consumer either through the dealer 

 or through his own sales department. Such co-operation would insure 

 the |)erpetuity of the present yard man who sells either in less than 

 carload lots in the retail trade or distributes in carload lots through 

 the regular channels. It will insure protection to the small mill 

 man, who, because he has no selling organization and concentrates 

 on inamifacture, is out of toiuli n-ifli markets and Iroqnently at a 



disadvantage when it comes to figuring grades and values. It will 

 bring to him a more stable and certain outlet than that which he 

 frequently is compelled to utOize, and will insure the minimizing of 

 that type of price competition which is made possible by inordinately 

 cheap buying unhampered by delivery charges, high rentals, over- 

 head or operating costs. 



Each legitimate operator in the hardwood business has his own 

 place and sliould be the controlling factor of his operations as well as 

 of his selling. If he desires to sell direct he should not be out of line 

 with what the dealer sells the same goods for, or vice versa. The 

 manufacturer should not permit his representatives in the consuming 

 markets, whether they be on a salary, commission or a wholesale 

 basis, to undermine values and grades and disorganize standards that 

 are necessary to the greater prosperity of the industry. 



Speaking again of the cost of association work, there are probably 

 1,500 out of the 5,000 firms connected with the hardwod business 

 paying dues to at least one association and many to four or five. 

 In one instance association dues cost a large hardwood manufacturer 

 $4,000 a year. If the men who are factors in the trade would make 

 up in their minds to see a more compact, better and more economical 

 organivation, one built scientifically to incorporate the whole industry, 

 this manufacturer would undoubtedly save fifty per cent and would 

 get more general advantage and with the proper plan lose none 

 of the benefits that he is now deriving. 



This suggestion is not new, and as there is left very little of the 

 old rancor in the different factions and in its place there is a greater 

 knowledge of association work, there should be a keener desire for 

 the best organization, or organizations, that could be had in the 

 industry. The thought sliould give food for reflection to many of 

 the factors in the hardwood business who during their vacation periods 

 may have time for calm reflection and to put their thoughts in 

 letter form addressed to the presidents or secretaries of their respec- 

 tive associations. 



Hardwood Record feels that this is the logical time and hopes 

 that these suggestions will not be interjjreted as indicating that it 

 desires to dictate. Because of the fact that Hardwood Record's 

 editors are in friendly conference with the managements of all the 

 associations in the trade, and are in sympathy witli all of their efforts, 

 we feel that this article might logically receive the comments of the 

 individuals through the association channels suggested and hope that 

 the various factions may work together for the advancement and 

 greater prosperity of the industry. 



Involuntary Servitude 



A LAW PLACED ON THE BOOKS by the recent special session 

 of the West Virginia legislature looks like an attempt to enforce 

 involuntary servitude, if the act is correctly quoted in press accounts. 

 Perhaps conditions brought about by the war were the excuse for 

 enacting the law; the purpose being to compel every person to go to 

 work. Under this law, every able-bodied citizen between the ages of 

 sixteen and sixty shall work at least thirty-six hours a week. Being 

 able to live without work will be no excuse for idleness. The rich 

 man who refuses to take hold of a job will be liable to arrest, and 

 the penalty will fall on him the. same as on the tramp. "Share and 

 share alike ' ' is the motto of the legislators who put the law in force. 



It is a radical measure, and perhaps the courts will have some- 

 thing to say regarding its constitutionality. The prohibition against 

 involuntary servituile, except as a punishment for crime, must be taken 

 in account. The West Virginia law provides for arresting idlers and 

 putting them to work for wages, and half of their earnings will go to 

 their dependents, if they have any. 



While the measure makes a clear case against the penniless loafer 

 and hobo, and also against the idle rich, it is suspected that the 

 blow is likewise aimed at the striker who quits his job and does not at 

 once find another. West Virginia has had much trouble with strikes. 

 It is a roal mining state, and there arc also many factories for making 

 glass, tin plate, nails, axes, and forest products, as well as paper 

 mills and tanneries. The enforcement of the law against idleness 

 would ] Kivc an inconvenience for the striker or labor agitator who 

 heretofore has found a congenial field there. 



