JiiUL- 1». 1015. 



(HAS. It 



ni.KV. MDMI'IIIS. TENN.. 

 l>IKi:i TDK 



r. A. (!( (HUMAN. 



cillDMAN. WIS.. IiIIU'X'TOU 



<;i;r>. !■:. 



HiCErr;. cHAiti.icsTON. w. va., 



|iii:i;i-ri n: 



A coiuuiittee of three was luiiiied to draft suitable resolutious to 

 express the sentiments of the association in memory of members who 

 have died since the last annual meeting of this association. John 

 M. Wood, Otis Felger and Earl Palmer were named on this com- 

 mittee. 



A committee of four was apjiointed to draft general resolutious. 

 Those named in that capacity were Charles Goodman, Alexander 

 Schmidt, J. V. Stimson and E. A. Lang. 



A new committee on traffic was brought into existence to take the 

 place, to a certain extent, of a committee heretofore known as the 

 transportation committee. The chairman of the new committee is 

 A. F. Marsh. He addressed the association on the subject of the 

 work which he believed such a committee could carry out for the 

 benefit of the body as a whole. He admitted that he had very short 

 notice that he was to take such a position and stated that his remarks 

 could not be other than offhand; but he had no doubt of the field that 

 a live committee could cover. As he outlined it, that work would con- 

 sist in adjusting matters in a friendly spirit between the carriers 

 and the lumbermen, before the business assumed a phase requiring 

 the assistance of the Interstate Commerce Commission. The speaker 

 was confident that this could be accomplished by co-operation between 

 the lumbermen and the carriers, and the particular manner of doing 

 much of it wa.« pointed out to consist in frequent consultations be- 

 tween the railroads and shippers. 



For instance, if the railroads had in mind the changing of a tariff, 

 they might acquaint the shippers with their purpose beforehand, 

 and differences, if there were any, might be adjusted between them- 

 selves; and the Interstate Commerce Commission would never hear 

 of the matter. The trouble frequently has been that railroads have 

 put rates into effect witliout finding out ju.st what injustice they 

 might lead to, and the result in many instances has been that a lot 

 of trouble and expense resulted and tlie matter has gone to the 

 Interstate Commerce Commission for settlement when a much shorter 

 and better way could have been found. 



A number of other lines were pointed out by Mr. Marsh along 

 which he believed a traffic committee could serve the lumbermen in 

 an effective way. 



The Overweight Claims Committee 

 The report of the committee on claims for overweights was to have 

 been made by James E. Stark of Memphis, Tenn., but he was un- 

 avoidably absent, and his report was read by Secretary Fish. 



It was stated that this committee was in reality out of a job 

 because the Interstate Commerce Commission had taken in hand the 

 work which the committee was supposed to do. Sometliing was said, 

 however, on the subject now so prominently before the lumbermen of 

 the whole country, as to whether the value of lumber should be con- 

 sidered in fixing the rate of freight. The Forest Service's work in 



-28— 



that investigation was referred to. The government is co-operating 

 with lumbermen in the investigation, and it was distinctly stated that 

 it is a question with two sides. This investigation involves the policy 

 of charging higher rates for dressed than for undressed lumber; and, 

 of course, in this discussion the doormakers and the manufacturers 

 of finish and flooring are vitally interested, and the interest is no 

 less apparent from the viewpoint of the boxmaker and of others 

 who buy cheap grades of lumber in the rough. It cannot be foreseen 

 just who would benefit and who would suffer in a readjustment of 

 rates based on value. The low tariffs might be raised as well as 

 the high brought down if a new rating is to be made. The suggestion 

 of the appointment of a traffic committee came from this report. 

 Emil Guenther of Philadelphia, chairman of the transportation com- 

 mittee, was unavoidably absent, and his written report was placed 

 before the association. 



AFTERNOON SESSION 

 The afternoon session was opened by a report of the committee on 

 officers ' reports. It was short and consisted chiefly of an indorsement 

 of the association's work during the past year, and particularly along 

 the line of closer co-operation between the association and the fed- 

 eration of furniture manufacturers. That matter was brought jiromi- 

 nently before the meeting in several ways in course of the day's 

 proceedings, but most pointedly in an address by Robert W. Irwin,- 

 president of the National Federation of Furniture Manufacturers, 

 Grand Rapids, Mich., which follows: 



The value of better co-opcTation between bujer and ' seller, I am sure 

 is appreciated by this gathering. We have reached a time In our business 

 history when I believe that the true value of co-operation Is understood 

 and appreciated as it never has l)een In the past. I do not say that the 

 day of individualism is gone ; that there is no longer a place in our 

 business world for the strong Individual who maps out his policies along 

 new lines without much reference to forms and methods that have here- 

 tofore been accepted. We have not reached the stage, and I do not be- 

 lieve that we ever will, where we are ready to accept the socialistic theory 

 of co-operative efficiency, at the expense of individual initiative. But we 

 have reached a time when no business man is Justified or can find it 

 beneficial to shut himself up within the four walls of his own business 

 and do justice cither to himself or to his institution. 



Why are you gathered here today under this splendid organization that 

 you have built up? Why have the furniture manufacturers of this 

 country maintained their organizations all these years at a very large 

 e.vpcnse and have within a year joined together in one federation? Why 

 has practically every industry in this country formed its association? 

 It In to co-operate with the others In the same line for the common good 

 of all. Now what does cooperation mean? It means the association of 

 a number of men for their common benefit. It is not a philanthropic or 

 humanitarian movement. It is selfish In Its ends. It is gaining in 

 favor among our business men because in every line It has been found 

 that many of the trade problems could not be solved or adjusted unless 

 the men in that line were willing to lay aside for the time being at least, 

 the thought that every competitor was an enemy, and were willing to 

 join with each other to better the conditions within their industry. Each 

 line has had its own problems to solve. You probably could not find in 



