24 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Fi'hruaiy 1". IH^I 



Appeal to Railroad Presidents 



Plans are rapidly develoiiing for a conference between officials 

 of the Soxithern Hardwood Traffic Association and the presidents 

 of the principal railroads serving the hardwood producing areas of 

 the United States, which shall have for its specific purpose discus- 

 sion of the lowering of rates on low grade lumber and forest prod- 

 ucts to a point where these will be able to again move to consuming 

 territory on a basis that affords a profit to the manufacturers 

 tliereof as well as revenues to the railroads which furnish the 

 transportation service. 



In accordance with the resolutions adopted at the recent annual 

 of the association, instructing the officers of that organization to 

 proceed immediately with the proposition of bringing about the 

 necessary readjustment of rates on low grade lumber, Walker L. 

 Wellford, chairman of the rate adjustment committee, has written 

 a letter to the presidents of the principal interested roads urging 

 upon them the necessity for securing such adjustment and inviting 

 them to attend a conference at which the whole matter may be 

 threshed out to the mutual benefit of all parties at interest. 



This letter was mailed Jan. 28, and replies have been received 

 from a number of the presidents of the railroads endorsing the idea 

 of holding such conference and expressing the hojie that it may 

 result in tangible good to all concerned. The only discordant note 

 is contained in the letter from the president of the Missouri Pacific 

 system. Some of the presidents intimate that they can not take 

 steps looking to reduction in rates in view of the present deficit in 

 their revenues, pending the outcome of the wage controversy now 

 before the Labor Board at Chicago, through which the railroads 

 are seeking abrogation of the national agreements. It is quite 

 clear, however, reading between the lines, tliat tlie railroads are not 

 unmindful of the position in which the hardwood lumber industry 

 has been placed by virtue of the restrictively high rates placed on 

 low grade lumber or of the falling off in tonnage, and consequently 

 in revenues to them, which is certain to result from inability of this 

 class of traffic to move on the rates now in force. 



The association, on its part, is fully cognizant of the position 

 in which the carriers have been placed by the general business 

 depression and by the high wages they are forced to pay to 



machinists and shop crafts, as well as all of the men who were 

 taken off the piece basis and put on an eight-hour day during the 

 regime of the U. S. Hailroad Administration. It fully appreciates 

 that the railroads have troubles of their own, and it is significant 

 that the association is anxious to aid the carriers in the labor 

 controversy as a means of helping to solve their own acute prob- 

 lems in connection with low grade forest products. 



J. H. Townshend, secretary-manager of the association, who is 

 chairman of the "traffic committee" of the Lumbermen's Club of 

 Memphis, made it quite clear the afternoon of Feb. 5 that the lum- 

 bermen want to help the railroads in the wage controversy when 

 lie introduced resolutions pledging the members of that organization 

 to tender their "support and assistance to the railroad presidents 

 and the executive committee of the American Railway Association 

 with respect to pending wage adjustments on a fair basis." These 

 resolutions were unanimously adopted by the club, the membership 

 of which is almost identical, so far as Memphis is concerned, with 

 that of the Southern Hardwood Traffic Association. 



In preliminary remarks made before introducing these resolu- 

 tions, Mr. Townshend made it clear that the association and the 

 members of the club would have to tackle this proposition of rate 

 adjustments on the basis of;(l) rates which have due regard to the 

 value of the cargo, or (2) on rates that represent complete elimina- 

 tion of the advances of 25 to 40 per ecnt, as to territory, granted by 

 the Interstate Commerce Commission in Ex Parte 74. In a circular 

 issued by the Southern Hardwood Traffic Association to its mem- 

 bers within the last 24 hours, it is pointed out that the majority 

 of shippers of forest products, in the hardwood industry, are in 

 favor of complete abrogation of the advances of 25 to 40 per cent, 

 as well as the inter-territorial advance of 33% per cent, and, when 

 this has been accomplished, of ironing out the inequalities which 

 have arisen as between the various territories. 



Although the resolutions adopted by the association at its recent 

 annual refer only to the South and Southwest, Mr. TowTishend and 

 other officials of the association are anxious to combat any impres- 

 sion that may have been created that the activities of this organi- 

 zation will be confined to an effort to secure lower rates onlv from 



of caseharilening and of honeycombing. Many moisture tests are 

 incorrect because the test sections arc cut too thin or are not dried 

 long enough or are dried at too high a temperature. Accurate tests 

 can be made with test sections not less than % inch thick in direc- 

 tion of the grain dried for not less than 24 hours with temperatures 

 not above 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Careful testing requires a bal- 

 ance with a capacity of 200-300 grams sensitive to ]/20th gram. 



Tests for Casehardening 



In order to know when to soften the lumber by steaming when 

 casehardening develops, tests for casehardening are also necessary 

 at certain critical stages of the drying. Such tests are simple and 

 can be easily made by resawiug into %-inch strips a %-inch section 

 cut from the interior of a board. If the outer prongs or strips pinch 

 inward severely a seriously casehardened condition is indicated. 



Both moisture and casehardening tests are most necessary when 

 trying out new kilns or when drying a new species or thickness of 

 lumber. As the operator becomes familiar with the kiln of lumber 

 concerned, he can gradually eliminate much of the testing which was 

 necessary at first. 



But to reduce the amount of testing safely and intelligently, the 

 ii]ierator must keep careful, adequate and permanent record of his 

 kiln operations. These records should include first, a description of 

 i':ich kiln charge, giving the amount, kind and thickness of lumber, 

 where it came from and how it had been handled before it reached 



the kiln. Then, for each kiln run accurate thermometer readings 

 should be taken once or twice a day, or oftener, showing the temper- 

 atures and humidities of the air, particularly at the hottest and 

 driest point in the kiln. Information on manipulation of valves and 

 ventilators and other control apparatus should be recorded along 

 with temperature and humidity readings. A record of the results of 

 all moisture and casehardening tests should also be kept, together 

 with the temperature and duration of steaming treatments given to 

 relieve casehardening. Records of this kind will provide the basis 

 for intelligent improvements in kiln operation and are very essential, 

 if maximum results are to be obtained. 



In addition to keeping adequate records, the operator must also 

 constantly study his kilns, looking for ways to improve results and 

 reduce drying time. The efficiency of any kiln is measured by the 

 uniformity of the drying. No matter how rapidly the lumber may 

 dry at one point, the charge can not be removed until all parts are 

 dry. Consequently, tlie entire charge may be held up by some slow- 

 drying portion in a part of the kiln where circulation is sluggish or 

 temperature and humidity conditions are not right. These slow- 

 drying points must be discovered by means of smoke tests showing 

 the direction of air circulation by moisture tests of the lumber in 

 different parts of each kiln, fneven drying must be corrected by 

 necessary alterations in the design or equipment of the kiln before 

 satisfactory results can be obtained. 



{ContUiuecl in Feb. 25 Issue) 



