24 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



January 25, 1918 



ticularly their chairmen, iiu'IiKiing the executive committee, and the 

 members themselves. 



Secretary's Report Meaty 



J. T. Kendall, secretary, in his report, said that the association 

 had during the year, because of its realization of the need of funds 

 for carrying on its work aggressively, conducted a vigorous mem- 

 bership campaign, with very gratifying results. He referred to 

 the work of the special committees, commended them for their 

 interest and activity in behalf of the association, and said that 

 their work would be outlined in the reports of their chairmen. 



He said the information contained in the actual sales reports 

 and inventory of oak on hand had proven of inestimable value to 

 the members, because it had shown them the relations between 

 supply and demand, which must necessarily determine prices and 

 other conditions. He made it clear that the association "does not 

 try to control, and that it has no agreements whatever as to, 

 prices," and that it wants from all its members "all actual sales 

 of oak and the prices obtained on several basic points" for its 

 stock report. 



He reported that the association had begun compiling, Septem- 

 ber 1, a monthly report of "actual sales of oak veneers for the 

 members of the veneer department," and that it had endeavored 

 to take advantage of every opportunity to increase the use of oak 

 and to keep members informed as to new developments. In this 

 connection he outlined what the association had done in the way of 

 taking up the use of oak with the sliipbuilders, with the implement 

 manufacturers, the car builders, the metal furniture manufacturers 

 and the builders of motor trucks and other equipment for the gov- 

 ernment, and in keeping in touch with the various government 

 departments, saying that all the information and inquiries gained 

 in this way were promptly bulletined to the members. 



He pointed out that the association received 528 inquiries for 

 oak and other hardwoods during the year and that 36,208,000 feet 

 of lumber had been furnished as a result. If the stock had been in 

 hand as wanted, he said the quantity furnished would have been 

 75,000,000 feet. 



Secretary Kendall said that publication of "Hardwoods for 

 Sale" had been inaugurated in December and that this contained 

 the "stocks of the different kinds of hardwood lumber and veneer 

 members subscribing to this service have for sale," and that it is 

 distributed among about 8,000 consumers each month. The cost 

 of space in this publication is $10 per page, he said, and added 

 that the mailing list was furnished to each member who used the 

 service. 



The report of E. L. Jurdcn, treasurer, showed that the association 

 had received $28,836.40 during the year, the largest item being 

 dues of $26,491.32. He placed disbursements at $28,lo2.80, but 

 showed that the net worth of the association on January 11 was 

 $3,187.84, as confirmed by the report of F. E. Gary, chairman of 

 the finance committee. 



C. L. Harrison, chairman of the assessment committee, reported 

 that assessments had been uniformly made on the basis of the cut 

 by each member, from a maximum of 28,844,641 to a minimum of 

 500,000 feet, and that, so far as the committee had been able to 

 ascertain, "cuts of the members had been conscientiously and 

 honestly reported." He further stated that total assessments for 

 the past year amounted to 317,000,684 feet, and that only two mem- 

 bers had failed or refused to submit figures on which to base their 

 assessments. He attributed their failure to lack of appreciation of 

 "the magnificent work the association has done and of the support 

 it so justly deserves." 



M. B. Cooper, chairman of the membership committee, reported 

 that 58 new members had been received during the year, an increase 

 of 170 per cent over the figures of 34 last January. He announced 

 the total to be 92 and briefly outlined the active work in behalf 

 of new members done by the committee, the officers and the mem- 

 bers themselves that had brought about such gratifying results. 



Advertising Fruitful 



n. B. Weiss, chairman of the advertising committee, announced 

 that $12,133.46 had been expended in advertising up to December 1 

 in magazines of national reputation and having combined circula- 

 tion for the period from April 1, when the campaign began, to 

 December 1, of more than 2,500,000 copies. He said that a new 

 departure had been the use of space in seven lumber trade journals 

 "with talks to oak manufacturers," and that a vigorous propaganda 

 had been carried on through the mails iu behalf of oak lumber 

 among manufacturers of furniture and other products in this coun- 

 try and Canada with such effectiveness that it was a great deal 

 easier to find "a good piece of oak furniture today than it was 

 a year ago." 



Mr. Weiss believed that the advertising begun by the association 

 should be continued with the utmost vigor, saying in this con- 

 nection: 



.Vdvertising is your communication line between production and con- 

 sumption. A break in this line may prove disastrous, and it is necessary 

 to keep this line open to continue effectively the work done in the past. 



Other woods in various parts of the country are being nationally adver- 

 tised. There will be a great sum of money spent as time goes on for the 

 exploitation of various woods, and the best money this association can 

 spend is money for sproading broadcast the story of oak. 



Ours is a product that lends itself to more uses, perhaps, than any 

 other wood. It has been known for many years as a dependable wood. 

 Its story is not a new one, but, owing to an apparent lethargy that over- 

 took the., manufacturers of oak lumber and owing to the splendid adver- 

 tising camjtaigns in behalf of other woods, to say nothing of the vast 

 amounts spent by wood substitutes, the public let oak pass out of its mind. 

 It is up to the^ producers of oak for selfish reasons, if for no other, to 

 arouse themselves and occupy with their oak product the place that is 

 due them. 



In conclusion he asked that the work of the advertising committee 

 be studied by the members, that helpful suggestions be given or that 

 criticism be offered. He thought every member should take a 

 personal interest in the advertising campaign and made a plea to 

 this end. 



Predicts Renewed Competition from Japanese Oak at 

 Conclusion of War 



W. H. Eusse, chairman of the committee ou the importation of 

 foreign woods, said that practically the only competition experi- 

 enced at any time was from Japanese oak, and that this was prac- 

 ticalh- nil now because of the absence of ships for ocean transpor- 

 tation. He predicted, however, that, when peace came again, com- 

 petition from Japanese oak iu the western markets would again 

 become serious, and, instead of agreeing with those who argue that 

 demand for Japanese oak will decline because of the inferior quality 

 thereof, asserted that it will increase to such extent as to prac- 

 tically eliminate American oak manufacturers from the Pacific 

 coast territory. He pointed out that the Japanese oak business was 

 in the hands of Mitsui & Co., who were quite aggressive in enlarg- 

 ing their otitlets in both Europe and America, and who, in his 

 opinion, as evidenced by the sawmill inspection trip recently made 

 in the South by their representative, Xaotoro Iga, intended to seek 

 the business in the West after the war was over. 



Mr. Busse pointed out the fact that, from a transportation stand- 

 point, Japan, in normal times with respect to transportation, is 

 closer to Pacific coast markets than American manufacturers of 

 oak and concluded as follows: 



.\s the tendency is to increase our freight rates to the West coast, our 

 chance of competing with Mitsui & Co. for the trade in that section is 

 practically nil. So long as they sell their product for less money they 

 will control the situation. 



IIow shall we meet this competition? Shall we ask congress to increase 

 the tariff so that duties on Japanese oak will be large enough to offset the 

 higher freight rates we must pay, or should we not, as patriotic citizens, 

 on account of our rapidly disappearing oak forests, ask the government not 

 to increase the tax now imposed, provided the Japanese government recipro- 

 cates on goods for which this country seeks a market? 



Earl Palmer Makes Stirring Address 

 Earl Palmer made a brilliant talk on the "War," in which he 



made the following declarations: 



That whatever interest we may take in our own affairs and our personal 



problems, "the main business of the country is the business of war." 



