20 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



December 25, 1917 



matelj' the same cost, the result of this analysis must inevitably 

 be more uniform ideas of fair selling prices with a readjustment 

 to meet war needs, thus bringing about a better balance in com- 

 mercial lines, this influence would be even more marked. 



Another factor having a great deal to do with prices is the mount- 

 ing evidence that the lumber trade will be hard pushed to pro- 

 vide sufficient stocks to meet demands. Labor difficulties — increas- 

 ing scarcity of experienced help, and increasing inefficiency of 

 pick-up labor being the chief troubles — arc going to be great drags 

 on lumber production during 1918. Many northern mills are pro- 

 viding for day and night shifts so that this effect may be overcome 

 as far as possible. Prospective night runs though will result in 

 an even further reduced production per man in all probability. 



Lumber will be strong in 1918 because there will be need for all 

 that can be produced and shipped. Commercial lumber products 

 will continue good property because commercial needs will inevit- 

 ably take second place to government needs. If this is not brought 

 about through voluntary action by lumber producers and users, it 

 will be brought about arbitrarily by the authorities at Washington. 

 In the end it will bo tlie >;;nno. 



A Wheelbarrowful of Lumber 



EVERY PRODUCER AND SELLER of liardwood lumber should 

 secure a copy of the December 15 issue of the Saturday 

 Evening Post. We refer in that issue to the full page advertise- 

 ment of the Pullman Company. Read that advertisement and see 

 the fate which is in store for lumber if lumbermen do not keep 

 constantly before them, even in these times of stress, the fact that 

 the future of lumber rests with the lumbermen themselves. 



The Pullman Company hands out to the public as a piece of delec- 

 table bait the statemeuf that in its modern, almost aseptic cars, 

 the wood used would hardly fill one wheelbarrow. Just think of 

 it! A scant wheelbarrowful of wood now used wliere a few years 

 ago several hundreds of feet were used. And the Pullman cars 

 use but a small percentage of the total. The same change is true 

 in the construction of day coaches, dining cars, mail cars, express 

 cars and so on down the line of railway rolling stock. 



It matters not that the Pullman Company lays itself open to 

 criticism through this advertisement; criticism of its statement of 

 facts on the one hand and criticism of its policy in thus unneces- 

 sarily and unjustifiably knocking a stable and necessary article on 

 the other. The influence of what in effect is a direct statement 

 by the Pullman Company that wood construction cannot be made 

 sanitary might and probably will be disastrous to lumber, not in a 

 way that will be discernible by lumber manufacturers immediately, 

 but in that it contributes another point ot the public's misconcep- 

 tion of the proper use and utility of lumber and wood products. 



The Pullman Company advertises the car with the wheelbarrow- 

 ful of wood as the nearest possible approach to the sanitary vehicle. 

 Sanitation lias been the plea upon which all interior work has been 

 eliminated from Pullman and other cars. Had lumbermen found 

 out how wood could be made just as sanitary as steel tlioy would 

 have had a strong case, for no one will argue that a wooden inte- 

 rior is not more comfortable, both actually and suggestively, than 

 a steel interior. If lumbermen had found out how wood could be 

 applied with adequate provision for sanitation, the Pullman Com- 

 pany would not now l)e advertising tliat its new cars contain no 

 more than a wlieelbarrowful of wood. 



Less there be other wlieelbarrow advertisements in the future, 

 let lumbermen heed the necessity and now while the public is hear- 

 ing more about wood than it ever did, do a little talking and inves- 

 tigating of their own, so that the public may know the how and the 

 why of lumber's proper use and so that after the war is over the 

 market for lumber may be on the increase and not on the decrease. 



More Initiative Needed 



DURING THE RECENT ANNUAL MEETING of the Veneei 

 , and Panel Manufacturers ' Association in Chicago, emphasis 

 was laid on one feature of the war situation by several members 

 who had lately been in Washington where they had discussed 



business matters with boards, committees, and officials. It was 

 the opinion gained from talks with government officials that men 

 and associations which are in a position to supply the government 

 with war material should at once make known what they can 

 liirnish, and when; and not wait to be asked. They shoulil decide 

 wliat service they can ri'mlcr. thcji ofTcr that service, and not be 

 backward about it. 



To make it a specific ease, tlie manufacturer of veneer panels 

 ought to determine what kinds of panels lie can make, how many 

 he can produce in a given time, and what facilities he has for 

 increasing the quantity and kinds of his output, and he should 

 offer his services to the government, without waiting for a special 

 call. The call has already gone out to every man and association, 

 and the answer ought to come back promptly in no uncertain 

 terms. The government needs men with initiative, men who do 

 not need to be told what to do, but who can think on their own 

 account. 



There is abundant testimony that the war boards will welcome 

 offers from men of that kind, men who can see an opportunity 

 and grasp a problem without being told or shown. The man who 

 knows what he can do and offers to do it is the man who will be 

 welcome. Many a man who has something for sale and will make 

 the fact known will get war business which he would never hear 

 of if he should sit down and wait for the government to locate 

 his place of business. 



It was stated that a large order for veneers was recently i>laced 

 with difficulty, not because of scarcity of that kind of stock, but 

 because those who were placing the order did not know who had 

 such stock for sale. It is needless to say that the order would 

 have gone to men who had previously made known the fact that 

 they could furnish the material. The war boards will welcome 

 offers, and they want information. Instead of turning a proffer 

 down cold, they gladly list it where it can be referred to when 

 needed. 



Emphasis has been laid on the fact tliat better success will 

 follow if business men act through their associations than if they 

 attempt to go it alone. This proves the importance of the asso- 

 ciations and how greatly it increases the powers and opportunities 

 of the individual members. 



A Country for Sale 



SOMEBODY HAS STARTED THE REPORT that a movement is 

 on foot for selling Siberia to the United States for $30,000,000. 

 Let it be hoped that no foundation exists for such a report. The 

 purchase of Siberia by this country would be foolish. It would 

 be unwise to accept it as a gift, ij?ith all its great resources. Its 

 gold mines are among the richest in the world. Its agricultural 

 lauds compare with those of Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska, and 

 are first class. Its forests are as extensive as those of the United 

 States, though probably not quite so valuable. But notwith- 

 standing all these resources, we should leave Siberia alone so far 

 as any propaganda for its purchase is concerned. 



In the first place, by buying it, we would buy a war with what 

 may be left of Russia, for no government now exists there with 

 authority to sell Siberia. We would come into immediate pos- 

 session of an insurrection, for the Siberians are at it now and 

 liave the habit. We would lay the foundation for war with Japan 

 without fail, and for probable war with China, Persia and other 

 countries on the border. We have enough trouble of our own 

 without buying more. 



Siberia is as large as the United States, and it has resources 

 for developing great wealth; but it is too much like a yellow- 

 jackets' nest to offer any temptation to us. It is a good country 

 for the United States to let alone. The wisdom of taking over the 

 Philippines has not yet been entirely proved, and there are ten 

 reasons against taking Siberia to one for not taking the Philip- 

 pines. Let the Siberians work out their own salvation. We can 

 trade with them, help them, and encourage them, but we don't 

 want to buy their country nor would it be acceptable if tendered 

 to us as a gift. 



