AilKtl«» 1". 101." 



Veneer Classification 

 ViMii'or mill iHiiu'l iiuiiiiil'iu-tiiri'ni liim' ln-t'ii yi-ttiiiK riMnu'.sfH 

 from till' Odiriiil »'ln».silir»tii>ii ('oinmitli'c rin-iMitlv for iiiforiiiii 

 tiou regnrilinK the iiioIIumIs of iiiiiniifiictiiriiii; iiiid liaiiilliii); tlicir 

 pro<hlPt, ii\.lirntiin; tliiit tlio qiu'stioii of .liiHsiii, iii,.!! is t<i l.r 

 tiiKi'ii ui> niul I'onsiiU'ri'il from the bp^i""'")-'- 



If this is tliP I'lim-. now is an o|i|>ortnni' tiim- mpi Ui. s iiu-cr 

 iutiTi'sta to triiin tlicir nuns on tlio tr:illii' men in an offort to 

 net uniform olassiticMtion, wliirli Ims ln'rii tin' loiiK-fi'lt want of 

 tin- tra.U' for a j;f>'"t iiiany vi'ars. At |in'scnt nearly ovrry spc'tion 

 iif till' country lins its own rules rocariliiiK tlio classilii-atioii of 

 veneers, variations lieiu}; introiUieetl at tin" start in ileteriiiininu 

 what thickness shall lie the deciilinK line between veneers anil 

 lumber. 



If the veneer men can set the Official Classification Committee 

 to lirinji the traftic authorities in the other freight territories to- 

 gether on the subject, ami ileciile on a scheme which woiihl enable 

 the same rules to apply to the whole country, it wouhl greatly 

 ■implify the situation, an<l woulil be an ailvautage to manufac- 

 turers and buyers of thin stock. 



Training a Salesman 

 Most lumbermen belicxc t)i:it the way In train a salesman is to 

 /ive him a list of stock j.rices, the names of lumber buyers anil 

 a mileage book. They figure that by the time lie gets around 

 through the territory ami bumps up against the consumers, he 

 will have had enough experience to enable him to iirocecil without 

 any further difficulty. 



This is the same theory which is often ajiplied to determine 

 whether or not a dog can swim. He is thrown overboard, and if 

 he comes up, he can swim. If he doesn't, he can't. Jf the new 

 beginner sends in the orders, he's a salesman, and if he doesn't, 

 it's his own fault. Tie a can to him. 



The methods of training salesmen which have been in vogue in 

 the business for a long time have produced some highly efficient 

 men, who have voluntarily made a study of the trade in its prac- 

 tieal aspects, and who really know lumber. But there are a lot 

 )f others who know their commodity in the most sujierlicial way, 

 and who "get by" by reason of attractive personality, acquain- 

 tance in the trade, etc., more than because they are really good 

 cnlesmen. 



.\ lumberman who has a son now at the age where business 

 jxperience must begin recently sent him dowu South to a mill in 

 irhich he is interested. The boy is expected to stay there long 

 jnough to find out how lumber is made, what the trees look like, 

 jud how stock is handleil and gradeil. 



"What's his title going to be — mill clerk?" the lumberman was 

 3sked by an interested friend. 



"He won't have any title," was the blunt response. "He'll 

 do anything the sujieriutendent wants him to, from wheeling saw- 

 dust on up." 



The experience may be rough for the young man — but it will 

 Undoubtedly give him a foundation on which to build a sound 

 future in the lumber Inisiness; and if he doesn't turn out a better 

 ealesmau because of it, his father — and a lot of others — will be 

 badly disappointed. 



The Cost of Compensation 

 The usual a.ssumption has been, in discussing the question of 

 .vorkinen's compensation, v.liich is now a live issue on account of 

 statutes of this kind having been put on the book.s in about twenty- 

 five states, with prospects of others going into this class shortly, 

 lliat the cost of coniiieusatiou insurance is extremely heavy ami almost 

 prohibitive. 



It is for this reason that a great many lumberMieii and other 

 manufacturers, who believe that the idea of compensation is good, 

 ?rom a theoretical standpoint, have opposed it, assuming tliat it 

 is a luxury the expense of which is too great for an ordinary 



— 2G— 



buninesH to carry. And this i.lea has been supported by expe- 

 rience in some statCK. 



However, a report wiw rocenlly made as to Indiana, which now 

 has a compensation law reipiiiiiig the indemniricatioii of workmen 

 who are hurt in any way, whet her by their own negligence or not, 

 ami it was made to a)i]icnr that idiiipensation rates which are now 

 being unotcil will be no hitflii'r than liability rates, with much 

 more limited coverage. Of I'onrHC, this is undoubtedly due to 

 competitive 4'ondit ions, and may not last permanently. 



If this turns out to ho the case, the opposition of lumbermen 

 ami others, based on the prospect of excessively high cost for 

 insurance under compensation, will likely be greatly lessened, if 

 not entirely withdrawn. 



The Value of Local Clubs 



Successful local organi/.atious of hardwood manufacturers and 

 dealers are so numerous at present that one is inclined to take 

 them for granted, and as having been a permanent factor in the 

 business. Rut it is necessary to look back only a very few years 

 to lind the time when local clubs were unknown, and when compe- 

 tition was of such a severe nature that members of the tracle in 

 the same city were often far from friends. 



-Much of the improvement in methods of conducting the busi- 

 ness is traceable to the work oi the local associations of hard- 

 wood men, who have found that co-operation produces dividends 

 which, can be figured both in dollars and cents and otherwise. 

 They have found that their own facilities for doing business have 

 been enlargeil by getting together with other members of the 

 trade in their markets, inasnnnh as it has put them in touch with 

 additional stocks, containing items which they have not been in 

 jiossession of. It has enabled them to exchange credit informa- 

 tion, and thus prevented accepting business from concerns which 

 had become financially imjiaired. They have been able to work 

 together in handling traffic matters, often obtaining better rates 

 anil regulations than it would have been possible to secure in- 

 dividually; and, :it any rate, the cost of carrying on traffic 

 investigations and litigation looking to such changes has been 

 greatly reduced by means of being shared. 



The national lumber organizations are properly given great 

 credit for bringing about changes of great benefit to the hard- 

 wood trade and to buyers and sellers of lumber; but, in the last 

 analysis, it is the local eltib which is back of the national organi- 

 zation, and as such it should be regarded as a pillar of the entire 

 hanlwooil business. 



The Picayune Buyer 



The South called a nickel a "picayune" long before the 

 "Jitney" was discovered. One of the oldest papers in New 

 Orleans bears tliat name, referring to the price at which it was 

 originally, and may still be, sold. 



Lumber grading is largely a matter of judgment, and in a car 

 containing several thousand boards, each one of which has been 

 pas.sed on by two or more individuals, who may vary as to their 

 judgment of grade, there may be some difference in the final 

 result. For this reason lumbermen are always willing to get 

 together with their customers and compare notes. 



Occasionally they find a buyer, however, who is a veritable Shy- 

 lock, and who refuses to compromise or arbitrate, but insists on 

 having his pound of flesh, down to the last foot and the last 

 iota of ouality. A bilyer of this sort, who is inclined to be ultra- 

 technical, can make himself very disagreeable, and at the same 

 rime still be in the right, technically speaking. 



But it is worth noting that when a buyer definitely establishes 

 himself as belonging to the picayune class, he automatically elim- 

 inates from the ranks of those who are willing to sell him a good 

 many high-class concerns, who will go the limit to please a cus- 

 tomer, but who find that it is jioor business to waste time and 

 patience trying to perform a miracle every time they ship a 

 carload of lumber. 



