On May IJ »li<> stvun.l iiiiiiuiil iiiwliiii; uf tlif I'l-.liTiiti I h urni 



lur.' iiiiJ Kixtiiro Muiuifnrliirorn wiih lu-l.I iit tlio t'oiii;ro»ii Ilotol, 

 CbicnRo, nnil by iirtion of tlii' in.vtiiiK tin- mimo wiih clmiino.l to 

 Fclcration of Kiiriiituro MiiinifacturiTii. The |.r.'i.i.lciit iiii.l vicc- 

 pn««i.li'nt, nwiMvtivoIy nol>ort W. Irwin iin.l II. II. MiimmHon, wore 

 rc.<<K'cto<l for iinotlii'r yeiir. 



The f<-a.<rutii>M conitiittji of tlic following ort.mniwaionH, niogt of 

 which hel.l pxcoiitive nuvtintp. either nii iKi.lies or through eoinmittco*: 



Nnllonil Kiiniltiin- >!«niifniiiir.-«_ .\»«"<'liitlnn Aiulluirluni^ ll^oiel, May 

 11 : ni.-'-iliiK '•( 



Nnllunnl 



.s.Tiitlv.- oininilttii' .Muv T-'. .1. S, IJiilnn. srcri'tnry. 

 \s«<>tiii(liin l"|iliol»iiT<-<l Fnriilluri- Miinnfm-tiirerii— Shfrniiin 

 n<Mi-..- Mriv'n in.l I-.'. J. I.. Miillliv. K.-cr.'liir.v. ,, . , „ ,. 



V tlim ("linlr .Manufnclurerji ConBrfK-s Ilolrl. May H. 



'n<-"ciul>— Conitres* Hotel. May K). M. Wiilpl, coni- 



J. I 

 1' 



"" Eiien!>l'>n Talile Mnnnfnrtiirers" Unrenii — Coni:rc«« Hotel. .May 11 nn<l 



>l.t:il I1.-.1 iiii.l SiirlMu' XIaniifactnrerH" Bureau — Concress Hotel. May 14. 



^''KiV'h'il '«'ai!llliVM"'iMifa<l'irerH- Assoelatlon— Auditorium Hotel, May 12. 

 1. I'. Wnlirs. secretary. 



In addition to the foregoing there were represonteil at the federa- 

 tion niwting niainifaeturers of store fixtures, wood novelties, opera and 

 chiireh ehairs, ea^e goods, cliairs. refrigerators, and jmrlor frames. 



At the opening of the federation meeting it was announeed that 

 no oflieers receive pay for their serWees, but it is liopocl that in 

 course of time a |>nid secretary may be employed. 

 The Gbadino Qi-estiox 



Chairman Irwin's address opened the day's proceedings, and fol- 

 lowing that, the nominating committee was appointed. It was com- 

 posed of the chairmen of the various organizations named above. 



The lumber grading committee's work is one of the most important 

 matters before the federation, and the leading address on th.it topic 

 was made by E. V. Babcock of Pittsburgh, president of the National 

 Hardwood Lumber Association. In a thirty-minute address the 

 >|icaker presented an outline of lumljer statistics, including the 

 annual output, the number of mills at work, the laborers employed, 

 the capital invested, an^l other data of that kind, after which the 

 ]iarticular ipiestions involved were taken uy. 



Mr. Babcock insisted that the chief thing desired by both the buyer 

 and the seller of lumber is a system of grading that will remain fixed. 

 It does not matter particularly just how the rules are worded, pro- 

 provided they are clear and explicit, and when once agreed upon 

 they should remain. The undesirability of frequent changes was 

 I.ointcd out. Such a thing upsets the plans of all concerned. Kxpe- 

 rience in buying ami selling is rendered of little value, if changes 

 are to upset custom and understandings at too fre()ueut intervals. 



Prices will ad.iust themselves. Supply and ilemand will do that 

 regardless of grading rules; but rules somewhat permanent are 

 desirable, for the purpose of furnishing a basis for doing business. 

 On that subject the speaker quoted as follows from an address by 

 the late Fred A. Diggins, delivered on a former occasion: 



Tho law nf suppiv and iliriianil will always cstatillsh the prl<o at which 

 1000 fwt of firsts anil scioikIs Nos. 1. 2 and :i coiiunon may be sold and 

 our only function Is to sav nliat shall constitute l.ono feet of firsts and 

 seconds Nos. 1, 2 and 3 common In the exchauRc between producer and 

 wholesaler or consumer. \V.- should do this with the full realization of the 

 fa-t that the real Intrinsic worth of luinhcr and not our classllleatlon of It 

 will eventuallv determine the value of any jrrade ne may describe and that 

 If we raise or loner an existinc standard a corresponding Increase or dr- 

 • line must naturally follow such IcKlsIatloD. 



Mr. Babcock stated that satisfactory progress had already resulted 

 from the joint work of a committee . from the National Hardwood 

 Lumber Association and a similar committee from the Federation of 

 Furniture and Fixture Manufacturers. Two meetings had been held, 

 one as long as nine months ago, and common ground had been found 

 on which both parties could stand. The two committees will meet 

 again in joint session in Chicago June 9, 191.5. 



The federation gave a vote of thanks to Mr. Babcock for his 

 address and for his general interest in the matter. 

 Rates on Fursitl-re 



C. S. Bather, traflSc manager for the federation, brought up a 

 matter which he said was of very great importance to members, but 

 its seriousness seemed to be wholly unappreciated by a majority of 



tiie inriiiture niaiMitaeturcrn. Tlu-ir l:n k nl intercut appeared in the 

 fact that of l,*i(iii retpioHta for vital and important informatioa iM-nt 

 to inemlierK, l.l.'i.'! paid no iittonti<in to it, ami retiirncil no aniiwer 

 whatever. And that was in the face of a movement under way by 

 the railrondn in a nuiiilx'r of stateH in the MisKissippi valley to cancel 

 the commodity rates on furniture. That would mean an advance in 

 rates from eight«?n to sixty-throe per cent on furniture shipmentn. 



The information axked for was wanted for the purjtoHo of pre- 

 paring a jirotest to take l)efore the proper nuthoritiea. It i» likely 

 that the matter will come iH'foro the Intt-rstate Commerce Commission 

 next month and Mr. Mather said that the information which should 

 Im! in hand to make a strung case before the eomniinxion hns not yet 

 been furnishecl by the manufacturers of furniture. 

 One Show a Yeak 



Of all the proieciliiigH of the iiiectiiig, the shnrp<-«t debate aihl the 

 most of it was brought about by the pro]>0Hal to hold only one fiirni 

 ture show a year in the future instead of two as in the past. It 

 dcvelo|ied that (irand liapids was ]iracticnlly against the fiehl. The 

 Grand lia|ddH furniture manufacturerH want two shows a year. Most 

 of the others would be satisfied with one; and some expressed them- 

 selves as willing to get along without any. 



The committee which had the matter in charge had been at work 

 on it for months, and hail t.:ikon a comprehensive canvass of the field. 

 The total recorded vote pro and con was 014, and eighty per cent 

 favored one furniture exhibit a year; and three fa\-ored July to one 

 for January as the time for holding it. 



So far as the majority was concerned, there was no question that 

 the vote of the meeting would be in favor of one show only; but the 

 matter never came to a direct vote on that question. Numcrouii 

 speeches pro and con were made, and it was so pointedly intimat4?d 

 that Grand Rapids would hold its t%vo furniture shows anyhow, that 

 a way was found out of the dilemma without inviting revolt. The 

 whole matter was again referred to the committee for another report 

 next year. The discussion was good natured but very earnest. Some 

 of the speakers insisted that the question of one or two shows a year 

 had been coming up reguLirly for consideration for the past twenty- 

 five years and it would seem that the time had come for ending the 

 agitation one way or the other. 



It was a double question. "One show a year and one line a year" 

 was the wording of the proposition. Some of the manufacturers were 

 anxious to be free from the necessity of jireparing two lines of 

 samples a year, as it entails a large additional expense. Manufac- 

 turers from Jamestown, N. Y., stated that furniture fairs are things 

 of the past in that town, and that the furniture makers are glad of it. 

 No business has been lost on account of the discontinuance of the 

 fairs, and a heavy expense has been cut off. 



March Lumber Exports 



The following figures show the exports of lumber and other wood 

 products from the United States during March. The totjils arc com- 

 piled from reports by the Department of Commerce: 



Article. Mareh. 1014. March, 191.'"i. 



I.oRs and round timber 22.!»l!."..nOO feet :!..'ilO,000 feet 



Firewood, etc .«22.407 S;7,.';!)2 



Square timber 4 2.. '147.000 feet 10.:i.-7.nno feet 



Lumber 187,1 7N.noo feel S2.. ■120.000 feet 



Itailroad ties 404.s:i:i pleees 21ii,l(37 plrees 



Shin^'IeH l,7r,.!.0fK) 44.'i.OOO 



Hox shooks CC,7.ri44 1 .0.W.n-l 



Barrel shooks 41,S40 .'■.n.2r,:t 



.Staves O.nC.1.2.11 2..'iin,!t71 



Ileadlnp *.'12,.'!78 *27,14.S 



Other cooperage $281,797 $104,921 



Kmptv barrels $74.!t22 .'5:!2.7:tl 



lionrs. sash, blinds .<lo4.124 S2s,40.'i 



rurultuie $."iOii.SlS $209,417 



Woodenwarc $49,427 $45,552 



Total value $S,004.434 $3,473,612 



What we need now is a business building propaganda to replace 

 that old shop-worn, trust-busting idea. Trusting-busting never 

 did get us anything. 



j-lS— 



