jiiiK- -jri, ]!)in. 



Ir- 



k'^sr " 



The Lumbermen s Round Table 



What's the Matter with Hickory? 



Tlio lu'inl nf a l>ij; liiir<l\viMii| iiiiiiiiit'ai'tiirin^ roncerii siiiil rocoiitlv 

 tlint tlii> ^rt'atfst imiMoiii niiioli lie is fiiciii); nt |iro80iit in tlie <li!<- 

 |iosul of liirkory. The I'oiii-orii tuiys n jiooii ileal of timl)<*r, frpi|iipiitly 

 I'litiro liotiiicliiries, iiikI tlic tlifliciilty of gt-ttiug rid of tlic liickory 

 has lioroim- so (;reat that very frtH|Ufntly tlio liiokory tree* arp left 

 staiiiliiiK. Tin- liiiiiliiTiiian siiii|ily can't si-i- how lie i-aii cut tlie tix'es, 

 trauspurt the lo};s to the mill, iiiaiiufactiire tliciii into hunlicr, put the 

 lunilier on sticks anil carry the material for an imlefinite ]>erioi|, 

 ami come ont at the large end of the horn. 



He declared that hickory is one of the few woods that have failed 

 to advance iu value. Luinbeniien are getting no more for hickory 

 now than fifteen years ago, and even at jiresent prices the wood is 

 .'ilmost nnsalable. Yet Forrest Crissey and other investigators for 

 ]>opnlar magazines come along anil announce that hickory is extremely 

 .■icarce. and that special jiains should be taken to conserve it! 



The troulile prolial>ly is that in the wagon manufacturing trade, 

 which is one of the largest consuming factors, other woods, such as 

 oak, have displaced hickory to a large extent. Besides, the wagon 

 trade itself has Iteen dull for some time, and this means that the 

 demands of that liusiness for hickory have been below normal. Cer- 

 tainly, however, the hickory trade needs stimulation, and the man 

 who can work out a scheme to do this will be conferring a benefit 

 ■ in the liusiness. 



Enforcement of Contracts 



It is an open secret in the lumber business that contracts, espe- 

 cially during quiet periods, are almost unenforeeable, and that when 

 a buyer places a contract he is merely taking an option on the lum- 

 ber, and establishing an anchor to windward that may be iiscful in 

 case the market hapjiens to advance, or the consumer lia|i]icns to 

 want the stock. 



When the customer who contracted for the delivery of stajde items 

 fails to specify deliveries, no one is badly hurt, except that the lum- 

 berman may have gone into the market and bought the stock with 

 which to fill the order. But, as a rule, the lumber may be sold else- 

 where, and no lieavy loss, though considerable inconvenience, is 

 experienced. 



But what hajipens when the lumber manufacturer receives an order 

 for some special thickness, such as 7-4 or 9-1, which ordinarily would 

 not be cut? In that case he is undertaking to produce some thing 

 for the special use of the customer, and when the latter decides later 

 on to cancel the order, the manufacturer is left holding the bag. He 

 has to put in stock an unusual item, and very frequently is comjielled 

 to remanufacture it in order to put it into salable condition. 



This hap)iens all too freipiently, and is grossly unfair. The lundjer 

 trade might be al>le to ]iut up with broken contracts, so far as they 

 pertained only to staples, which could be sold elsewhere without loss, 

 but when the same treatment is accorded special orders, a halt should 

 be called. The consumer should not attempt to dodge his obliga- 

 tions in a ease of this sort. He should remember that he used his 

 own judgment in ordering and should acknowledge the moral obliga- 

 tion as well as remember that there is ample ]>receilent for a suc- 

 cessful suit in a controversy of this sort. 



Remarks from Indiana 



A liaici«uuil manufacturer of Indiana, who. like all other lumber- 

 men from the Hoosier state, believes that the product of the mills 

 of Indiana cannot be equaled anywhere else, was making some remarks 

 recently on the doubtful comjdinu^nts that are paid to the section by 

 some other manufacturers. 



Indiana oak, ash, walnut and other hardwoods are right at the top 

 of the heap, he asserted, and for color, figure and the various other 

 qualities which the consumer is looking for they stand in a class by 

 themselves. 



To say that a shipment is from Indiana is to give it a character, 

 as it were. But a person may run across a good many cases of 

 "Indiana oak" being produced in Louisiana, Mississipjii, Arkansas 



—20— 



and cl.si'nlurc. I'l'DpIc of the Hoosier state appreciate the compli- 

 ment which is iniplieil by having the products of other sections called 

 out of their names, but there is a certain obvicnis disadvantage con 

 nccteil with it, from a purely sordid and comnu'rcial standpoint, which 

 is objectionable to a good nnuiy hardwood men in Imliana, who are 

 beginning to think they will have to get together and devise a trade- 

 mark for Indiana stock, and to stamp every board cut on an Indiana 

 mill with that distiiu'tive emblem, so that consumers will know when 

 they are getting the real thing and when the spurious is iM'ing offered 

 them. 



An Interesting Possibility 



The railroads are consiilering, according to recent rejmrts, chang 

 ing the present rate basis .so as to make a higher charge for dre8s<'d 

 than for rough lumber. If this change is put into effect, it will pos 

 sibly bring about a different situation in certain respects, particu- 

 larly with regard to the relative jiositions of the hardwood lumber 

 manufacturer close to the log supply and the concern whose location 

 has been chosen chiefly with reference to the consumer. 



At Jiresent the southern mill which is in a ]iosition to ilress its 

 stock is able to save enough on the freight thereby to make jirac- 

 tically the same price for dressed as for rough lumber. In other 

 words, the loss of weight, which is reflected in a reduced freight bill, 

 is sufficient in many cases to take care of the expense of planing. 



The lumberman who is buying his rough stock, Itringing it into 

 his plant for working, and then shipjiing it on to the consumer dressed, 

 is thus at a certain disadvantage, inasmuch as he must ])ay the higher 

 rate for at least part of the haul. His saving in freight, which comes 

 in the haul from his plant to the consumer, is naturally less than that 

 of the original manufacturer, who dreases the stock at the mill, and 

 lience his opportunity to absorb the expense of planing is lese. 



This is, of course, offset considerably in specific cases by the manu- 

 facturer getting his lumber from nearby points, and having a shorter 

 haul than his competitor. But it suggests a general condition which 

 must be affecting the situation in some respects. 



If dressed lumber should be charged enough additional to make 

 up for the loss of weight — and from the revenue-raising viewpoint 

 of the carriers that would be the logical change to make — the sawmill 

 man would of course not be able to take care of the charge for dress- 

 ing, except by adding it to the cost of the rough lumber. This would 

 put the concern which is farther away from the mill and which must 

 pay freight on the rough lumber before putting it into a dressed con- 

 dition, on even terms with the mill, and would eliminate the disad- 

 vantage under which it may be laboring at times now. 



The manufacturer of rough hardwood lumber, who does no planing, 

 may contend that in view of the fact that the carrier is seldom com- 

 pelled to pay a claim because of damage to the stock in transit, 

 burning being about the only way to make such a claim possible, rough 

 stock should certainly be carried at a lower rate than dressed. There 

 is doubtless something to be said on the other side, however, and it 

 will unquestionably be .said before the Interstate Commerce Conmiis- 

 sion ]ierMiits the differential to be inaile. 



"It Pays to Advertise" 

 Clever and consistent advertising of the merits of birch to consum- 

 ing manufacturers, to architects and others who influence the use of 

 wood has given it a splendid position in the market, and has insured 

 an increased consumption which will tend to uphold values for some 

 time to come. A comparison of the current prices of birch and jilain 

 oak, in view of the general assumption that oak is intrinsically a 

 finer wood than birch, might be suggestive to those who are endeav- 

 oring to stimulate the use of the former. The jdace that cypress has 

 taken in the building field, the demand for it being better, in propor- 

 tion to output and other factors, than nearly any other construction 

 material, is also a point to be considered in connection with the advis- 

 ability of advertising a wood. The come-back of black walnut, which 

 has been staged with appropriate advertising, is more evidence to the 

 effect that if you want the jjublic and the trade to appreciate the 

 quality of your jiroduct. you must tell them about it. 



