September 10, 1917 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



^meclMnical engineers working out tlic practical details of a standard ear 

 design to be used by all the roads. He tays the subject has been con- 

 sidered seriously for some time and that the lioard aiiprociates the sug- 

 gei^tion of the association because it is both feasible and iiracticable, as 

 \A ell as highly brnefi< iai. 



Seek to Cultivate Southern Cutover Land 



Negotiations are licing conilucted between John W. Mcl'lure, in-esideut of 

 the Southern Alluvial Land Association, with headquarters at Memphis, 

 Tenn., and Herbert C. Hoover, in charge of carrying out the provisions 

 of the food control bill, looking to the use of cutover lands belonging to 

 members of the association for the cultivation of corn, wheat, oats, peas 

 and other foodstuff corps. Members of the association own hundreds of 

 thousands of acres of these fertile lands and the negotiations are being 

 conducted with a view to trying to reach a basis of use that will be 

 satisfactory to all concerned, .lust what basis is being discussed is not 

 l^own. 



Members of the association cooperated enthusiastically with the gov- 

 ernment this spring and summer in tlie devotion of a large part of their 

 cut-over lands actually in cultivation to the growing of foodstuff crops 

 and they realize that co-operation is even more desirable and helpful now 

 than atthat time. Members are restricted, however, as to their financial 

 ability to clear these lands and put them in cultivation. Drainage must 

 be completed and stumps and other obstacles must be removed. Demon- 

 strations are heing made now under the auspices of the association to 

 show members bow to remove stumps by blasting them with cheap powder 

 and then burning or pulling them. 



The fact that crops can be grown abundantly on these cutover lands 

 has been proven beyond all question during the current year and there is 

 therefore no experiment about their use. It, the government and the 

 owners can get together, there will be a vast new field rendered avail- 

 able, a field scarcely with an equal and certainly without a superior in 

 the matter of soil fertility or crop productiveness. 



Conference on Contract Forms 



-\s the result of confereuces extcuding over two months, the Interde- 

 partmental Cost Conference recently made public its recommendations that 

 where fair prices can be obtained, war contracts should be in the form of 

 straight purcbase-and-.sale contracts at fixed prices, that the cost-plus 

 contract may be necessary -where the production involves difficult and 

 complicated manufacturing effort or - conditions which cannot be clearly 

 foreseen, and that in cost-plus contracts a fi.xed profit of a definite sum 

 of money per article be agreed uiion as far as possible, instead of the per- 

 centage of cost. 



The conference was organized liy Secretary RedfieUl and Burwell S. 

 Cutler, acting .chief of the Bureau of Foreign and iSomestic Commerce, of 

 the Department of Commerce, and rejiresentatives of the most interested 

 Government bodies took part in the meetings. 



On the conference, as now constituted, the War Department has twelve 

 njembers, the Navy Department seven, the Federal Trade Commission 

 three, the accountancy committee of the War Industries Board, Council 

 of National Defense, three, and the Food Administration one. J. Lee 

 Nicholson, chief* of the Division of Cost Accounting, ot the Bureau of 

 Foreign and Domestic Commerce, is chairman of the conference, and H. 

 I*. Seideman of the Institute for (JJovernment Research, is secretar.v. Rep- 

 resentative business men of the country have appeared before the con- 

 ference. 



,.V document issued recently contains detailed recommendations for con- 

 tracting officials which is intended to suggest some of the broad economic 

 and equitable points involved in war contracts, and to express the prefer- 

 ence of the conference for a straight purchasc-and-sale contract at a fixed 

 price, since it is simpler in terms, easier to work under, and generally 

 speaking productive of quicker and better results. 



There Is also a comprehensive manual on cost definitions, including 

 recommendations for Collating cost data in connection with war business 

 as well as private business. 



Very interesting to note is the fact that for the first time in the history 

 of this government, or in the liistory of any other, so far as is known, 

 representative business in varied lines was summoned for the purpose of 

 deliberating on the above contract forms and cost definitions as the.v might 

 see fit to make. .Many of these recommendations have been embodied in 

 this work published by the government. 



Retailers Consider Progressive Suggestions 



The National Retail Lumber Dealers' Associatiou held its first annual 

 convention at the South Shore Country Club in Chicago im Friday, Septem- 

 lier 7. There was a very substantial attendance of retailers from the East 

 and middle western territory. 



Important w'ork was transacted throughout the sessions, the feature lieing 

 an address by W. G. Ilollis. Minneapolis, entitled "Suggestions for Co-ordi- 

 nating the Retail .Vssociation Business." The point on which his idea 

 hinges is the inauguration of a house organ plan involving the publication 

 of a national magazine to be distributed by the 10,000 or more retail lumber 

 dealers of the country. This magazine can be sent to prospective ultimate . 

 consumers of lumber and could be maintained as a business proposition 

 just as any other national magazine, but directly in behalf of the lumber 

 interests. With this as a foundation other departments could be main- 

 tained inclusive of traffic bureau, department of grading and inspection, 

 legislative d-'partment, legal di'partment, insurance department and an 



advertising department, it being estimated that the tremendous circulation 

 possible through a magazine distributed ir. this way would ma'fie feasible 

 the solicitaticm of national advertising of a high-class character, the revenue 

 from which would maintain the departments suggested. 



other speakers were Julius Seidel, St. Loui.s, JIo., whose address was 

 entitled "Why the Retail Lumber Business Suffers in Comparison with 

 Other Lines, and the Remedy for the Situation;" Warren J. Duffy, Toledo, 

 O.. who spoke on the "Needs of the Retailers ;" W. R. Hudson of Detroit, 

 Jlich.. who presented suggestions for solicitors in behalf of retail dealers; 

 I'ldwanl nines of Chicago, whose snljjeet was "Why There Is Many Times 

 a Lack of Unity Between Mills and Retail Dealers and How It May Be 

 Overcome ;" R. B. Goodman, Goodman, Wis., acting president of tbe 

 National Lumber Manufacturers' Association, who told how the National 

 Lumlier Manufacturers' Association and tlie retailers' association can 

 co-operate. 



The evening was given over to extensive entertainment at the Country 

 club. 



The officers foi* the first year were ; 



I'HESiDENT, FriMl J. Robinsfm, Detroit. 



First Vii;i:-Piiesiiiext, Julius Seidel. St. Louis. Mo. 



Seioni) \'ice-Pesidi;.nt, Elmer A. Diebold, I'ittsburgh. 



TUE.vsi'UEit. John Claney, Chicago. 



DiKECToHs: W. M. De'Laplante. Buffalo; F. J. Schroeder, Milwaukee; 

 R. J. Burnes, St. Paul', J. H. Doppes, Ciucinnati ; Guy Gray, Clevelnnd ; 

 L. L. Selbel, Kansas City; T. R. Brown. Louisville; A. M. Melone, .Minnc 

 apolis ; O. A. Huey, Indianapolis; E. J. Bunker. Detroit; Charles A. Bowen, 

 secretary. 



The new officers for 1917 and 1918 are : 



I'RESIDEXT, Elmer A. Diebold, I'ittsburgh. I'a. 



Seco.nd ViCE-PiiESiDENT, Jullus Seidel. St. Louis, Mo. 



Second ViCE-PnESiDEXx, R. B. Burnes, St. Paul, Minn. 



TuE.isi-KER. John Claney. Chicago. 111. 



SECRET.utv, Charles .\. Bowen. Detroit, Mich. 



DiREiT'jus : William Rvan. Toledo, o. ; J. E. Bold, Pittsburgh- F J 

 Schroeder, Milwaukee. Wis. ; R. B. Burnes, St. Paul ; E. J. Bunker, Duluth. 

 iMinn. ; O. P. Huey, Indianapolis. Ind. : Theodore E. Rechtln, Evansvillc, 

 tnd. ; N. H. Parsons, Rocktord, 111. ; A. J. Doming, Erie, Pa. 



Hardwood Men Show Eagerness to Serve Government Needs 



There is n'port of quite a fight on at Washington between different 

 factions of hardwood lumbermen, namely, the manufacturers on one hand 

 and the wholesalers on the other hand, over the question of prices for 

 government war business and competition to see which group will get the 

 business. 



Recently the Southern Hardwood Emergency Bureau opened offices in 

 the Muusey building, with E. E. Myers as secretary in charge. Mr. M.vers 

 is on tbe grounil getting in touch with government officials in the various 

 ilepartments wdiich buy hardwood lumber or its products. On the other 

 hand, Frank Fish, secretary of the National Hardwood Lumber Association, 

 has also been in town. 



Just at present their dift'erences are concentrated chiefly on the question 

 of oak stock for wooden ships. The hardwood emergency bureau has 

 quoted a price averaging .SilOo per 1,000 feet for such oak stock, to the 

 shipping board and its emergency fleet corporation. This price, represen- 

 tatives of the wholesale interests are saying, is too high. * They claim 

 that the wholesalers will furnish the necessary stuff at lower prices. The 

 manufacturers retort that the wholesalers can furnish some stuff at lower 

 prices, but that it will not in many cases come up to the rigid specifications 

 of the government. 



The shipping board has attached to its staff recently F. K. Paxton of 

 Bristol, Va.-Tonn., as assistant purchasing agent of the emergency fleet 

 corporation in connection with the purchase of hardwood materials for 

 ship building. Mr. Paxton is reported as seeking to bring pressure to bear 

 upon the hardwood manufacturers to reduce their prices, but in behalf 

 oi: tiie manufacturers it is stated that they have not done so. and will not 

 do so. They believe that they alone can furnish the stuff ahd that the 

 prices-.they ask are reasonable, though on some items of oak in the wooilen 

 ship schedule they run as high as $150 per 1,000 feet. 



Til's latest development in connection with the situation was the pub- 

 lication September (i in the Official Bulletin of the government of tbe 

 following : 



Shipyards building wooden ships for tbe government are in the market 

 for extra large white-oak construction timbers or logs of good quality. 

 Tbe 2,000-ton ships now building each require two rudderposts of this 

 species, 14 by 24 inches. 40 feet long. Logs measuring 2S inches in 

 diameter at the small end will cut out such timbers and are worth (end 

 of .\ugust) from $50 to $60 per thousand board feet measured in the log. 

 Sticks hewed or sawed to this size will bring $70 to .*.'S0 per thousand 

 board feet loaded on the cars within 100 to 20u mih's cd" the shipyards. 

 Sticks squared to tbe size mentioned above contain 1,120 board feet and 

 would therefore bring from $7S to $90 each, f. o. b. cars at loading jjoint. 

 Though these prices apply to the S(nith .\tlantic and Gulf shipyards, 

 it is probable that they would also hold good for those located in the 

 North. The yards are also in need of other white-oak stinictlftal timbers 

 for shaft logs, horn timbers, deck and chock rails, and keel shoes. These 

 range in size from to S inches by 20 to 30 feet long to 14 by 14 inches 

 IS feet long. 



Farmers having white-oak trees that wdll produce timbers of these slze.s 

 are urged to lake advantage of the demand for such material and get in 

 touch wdth shipbuilding concerns. 



Farmers living in the vicinity of port towns could probably secure from 

 the secretary of the board of trade or chamber of commerce of such places 

 the names and addresses of ship.vards at such points, or a list of eastern 

 shipbuilding firms can be obtained upon application to the Forest Service, 

 Department of .\gricidture. 



It is claimed that this originated with forestry officials who have to do 

 with the development of farm woodlot resources, but nmnufacturers say 

 (Continued on Page :;;!) 



