12 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



May 10. \»ll> 



Ameriro. The nuts are lnri;c and numeroui, but tiipy are bitt«r 

 and no animal will pat thrm unlomi futnvt l>y liiiii;.t'r. The tradition 

 that thny nere fornierly fed to lioriK-H i« |iri'l';ilily not foumlcd on 

 {■■ ■■ hone clii*8tnut is a trniiKltituni of tlio Latin name 



>r . nnil tliitt nnuip is conipoiicd of two Urcck words, 



Ai;>p<u (liorw) nnd kiittanos (chestnut). 



It 1.1 not nvrciaary, however, to go into many detniln concerning the 

 detscription of tiie tree and the origin of the nnme, for nearly every- 

 body in Uiis country knows the horse chestnut tree by sight. It was 

 introduced into this country about one hundred nnd fifty years ago, 

 and the first tree planted in the Unitcil States is snid to be still 

 standing at Yonkers, N. Y. Since Uicn it hns been widely planted 

 in nearly nil yattn of this country. It is valuable only an iin orna- 

 ment; at leni^t, it hns not been put to any other particular u»e in this 

 country. The nuts are occasionally ground into Hour and made into 

 paste for book binders, but the quantity so used is insignificant. 

 The wood is much like that of tlio American buckeyes, and doubtless 

 could be subiititutcd for it. If so, it will mnkc good j^npcr pulp, 

 may he worked into many kinds of woodenwarc, might serve for 

 artificial limbs, and would take the place of sap poplar for many 

 purposes. 



The tree grows rapidly and the tnmk is usually more shapely than 

 that of the buckeye grown under similar comlitions. It is popular 

 as a shade tree along streets nnd as nn ornament in parks. The leaves 

 are large, grow in dense clusters, 

 and in early 'summer they are of a 

 rich, lui-trous green, but late in 

 summer they become dingy and 

 ragged, and are far from orna- 

 mental. The falling of the heavy 

 flowers is also objectionable, be- 

 cause the ground beneath the trees 

 becomes littered with a decaying 

 mass. The glory of the bloom 

 when at its best, and the richness 

 of the foliage, compensate for some 

 of the disagreeable habits of the 

 trees at other times. 



The tree shown in the front 

 page illustration stands in Lafay- 

 ette Park, Washington, D. C. 



Oliver O. Agler 



IN Tins DAY of tremendous, 

 overwhelming commercial ad- 

 vancement it is a fact, however painful the admission might be, 

 that those men whose records show them to be the most successful 

 in the accumulation of wealth are generally credited with having 

 secured that success »^ least partially by the use of methods that 

 did not take proper ^ into account the feelings and the interests 

 of others. It has bceft contended that any large accumulation of 

 wealth has hanlly bce»< possible under the present commercial era, 

 without practices whicL while accepted as ethical in business, would 

 hardly be accefited as strtetly in accord with a full measure of honesty 

 in personal and private life. 



Therefore, when the record, the characteristics and the reputation 

 of any business leader indicate that he at least has secured his 

 advancement without recourse to any measures that did not take into 

 consideration the full rights of others, that man can be justly 

 looked upon as a moral asset of the commercial structure as a whole. 

 When business loses such an advocate of moral ethics rather than 

 mere business ethics, it has suffered a genuine loss which is more 

 genuinely irreparable than is a mere monetary disaster. 



In the death of Oliver O. Agler the lumber trade, especially the 

 hardwood trade, has lost just such an asset. Fortunately, Mr. Agler 's 

 prominent position in the trade gave him an extended acq\iaintance 

 at all points where the hardwood industry plays a prominent part. 

 Hence, the value of his life and of his example will not have been 

 lost with his death. His living has been a silent sermon on right 

 methods, not entirely from an administrative standpoint, but from 



An association is merely an organization which 

 gives the individual member an opportunity for de- 

 velopment in the successful field of cooperation. It 

 is a schcol for grownups, and the same conditions 

 prevail as those which were in existence in the 

 kindergarten. 



It cannot but be recognized that the foundation 

 for the success of the world in general is based upon 

 God and goodness. The atheist cannot deny that 

 the very name in itself, regardless of his belief, 

 makes for the possibilities of life, liberty and success. 



Our ch'Tches, associations, etc., are merely the 

 framework that affords the opportunity for the indi- 

 vidual development. The buildings, the men — the 

 words of men, if idly spoken are of no real benefit; 

 the benefit comes from instilling in the minds of 

 men that spirit of cooperation which is so essential 

 as applied to the development of beneficial results. 

 HERMAN H. HETTLER. 



a moral standpoint also. His memory tiiould be > jierpetual reminder 

 of that sermon. 



Victory for Oak 



OAK MANUFACTUUKUS HAVK LONG KOUOHT ■ relaUvely 

 unsucceKKful fight aguinnt the encruachmcnt of Japanenc and 

 Siberian onk in weatern miirketx. The ruling of those having in 

 charge the levying of import dutie» has made pomiiblc the im|>orta- 

 tion of onk from these countries Uint has been a tremendous factor 

 operating against legitimate trade in American onlc on the Pacific 

 const, particularly in the manufacture of flooring. 



There has lx>en a keen elTort tu vfTect a change in this ruling under 

 which then' wouhl lie levied a fiftocii pur cent imjiort duty on 

 the finished flooring, and the arguments presented by American manu- 

 facturers have seemingly carried suflicient weight, for they have 

 demonstrated beyoml reiihonnblo doubt that the policy of admitting 

 finished product free was directly in contradiction of the actual 

 legal phases of the condition. 



In short, the tariflf regulation provided for an import duty of 

 fifteen per cent on such products, and previous classification shows 

 a misintcrprctntion of the classification of oak flooring. The result 

 has been that flooring of foreign manufacture has entered into 

 competition with the American i)roduct on the basis of low ocean 

 freight rates in a way that has practically prohibited the shipment 



of American stock from the mid- 

 dlewestern states to the coast. 



A decision has recently been 

 handed down under which the im- 

 port duty of fifteen per cent is dis- 

 tinctly prescribed, which ruling is 

 a momentous victory for legiti- 

 mate interests in this country. Its 

 details are more specifically out- 

 lined in another part of this issue, 

 but the details are not so impor- 

 tant as the tact of these efforts 

 having actually borne fruit. 



Just what it means is most fully 

 appreciated by those whose money 

 has been tieil up in the production 

 of oak flooring, ami they can feel, 

 with this victory behin<l them, that 

 one of the greatest menaces to 

 their industry has been at least 

 partially taken care of. 



The Lumber Business Taught for Five Dollars 



THE ABOVE CArXION is not intended in any way to convey 

 a sarcastically expresseil opinion of a plan recently announced 

 by the University of Wisconsin, whereunder, for a fee of five dollars, 

 it will give a correspondence course in lumbering to those who are 

 willing to make the necessary expenditure. The practical man may 

 pooh-pooh the idea and might feel that it is purely theoretical and 

 has no real practical value. lie might be right or he might be 

 wrong in this opinion. If the plan is designed to give anyone a 

 thorough working knowledge of the use of lumber, he is right. If 

 it is designed simply to provide a basic structure whereon a man of 

 average intelligence can build a superstructure of practical expe- 

 rience, he is wrong. 



No one will deny that there is ample room for a more closely 

 analyzed and systematically compiled knowledge of the uses of lumber. 

 The chief drawback to the production and the consnmjdion of the 

 products of the forest in the past has been that practical knowledge 

 has been given too much precedence over scientific knowleilge. It 

 is true that the scientist very frequently will theorize, but on the 

 other hand, it has been demonstrated in practically every professional 

 walk of life that technical training forms the very best foundation 

 for the intelligent absorption of practical experience. There is no 

 logical reason why the same rule cannot hold in this case, and it 

 would seem that the plan as instituted by the University of Wisconsin,. 



