HARDWOOD RECORD 



robruarjr 10. 101(» 



!.l nf nil 



rM|>«ctivcl,r being GiDSlicd up in tho dilToriMit iiuxlcrn finialitfs that 



becot!''- '"T-izcd with changing •tvlen. Mr. Urcnii); wiid thiit Uio 



idea tlio New York oflloo of the Briiltcport rompiuiv, and 



it was ur '■■] for thiil ' i: uh 



t>omo of t .'t' 111!' Hr. Ilw 



tioD of 1 i.ik-U Uiu 



same oppi' ivc homo 



owners tho dillcrcnt elTcvIs to be produced by viirioiis liiiiidlin^s of 

 Uio respective woods. The result was the beginning of the effort to 

 get thcoo exhibits at principal points where tlicy would do the most 

 good. 



The work is stU) progressing, and Mr. Breinig stated that ultimately 

 there will be over sixty of Uiese exhibits in the lending cities of tho 

 country, and Uiat tliey will bo easily aviiihible for any nrchitoot'? or 

 other ifcrson." interested in proper finii-hc.i. Tlicy will bo of great 

 valuo bceauso they will show large enough siunplos to give an ac- 

 curate idea of tho finished product, as tlie various s^amples will bo 

 actual pieces of finish and similar articles of standard size, and they 

 will be kept up to modern ideas of finishing at all times, thus effect- 

 ing a direct connecting link with the final purchaser. 



The plan has already met with a great deal of approval among 

 architects who have begun to use it extcns-ively, even at this date. 

 It has been in use only about a year and a half. One of the greatest 

 sources of good from such a plan would be to sliow the final buyer 

 lUst what his finished work should look like so that he will bo able 

 to judge for himself whether or not the finish contractor has dono his 

 job well. 



Mr. Breinig said that home builders are beginning to demand tho 

 latest effects in finishing more and more, as the color effort is 

 ireating greater interest constantly. 



In bringing the matter down to birch specifically, he said tliat 

 his efforts have been directed toward making birth finishes to more 

 closely resemble the wood rather than to make an effort to merely 

 imitate some other woods. 



President Goodman said that as the ultinrtate buyer purchased' tlie 

 finished product and not the rough . lumber, he should be enabled to 

 judge from the exhibits in the finished state. 



George H. Chapman suggested that Mr. Breinig 's ideas should be 

 retained in the minds of tho members and not be dismissed when 

 they leave the association rooms, as they present a real necessity 

 that is confronting lumbermen more and more formidably — that is, 

 the necessity for real merchandising and broader work in this direc- 

 tion. 



H. F. Weiss Tells Lumbermen Some of Their Shortcomings 

 Howard F. Weiss, director of tho Forest Products Laboratory at 



Madison, Wis., spoke very entertainingly. 



Mr. Weiss addressed the members of the association on the "Value 



of Services in the Lumber Business." He emphasized four points: 



1. Lumbermen should insist upon better manufacture and grading; 



2. The manufacturer should have a more intimate knowledge of the 

 needs of his customers; 3. Methods of advertising and selling lumber 

 should be made more effective; 4. Closest possible co-operation should 

 exist among lumbermen and other organizations interested in wood. 



He made a strong plea for an association brand which would stand 

 as a guarantee of quality, good manufacture, and grading. He stated 

 that the association should refuse the use of this brand to any of those 

 members who did not keep the stock up to standard. 



Mr. Weiss felt that the Wisconsin lumbermen should make a strong 

 effort to build up in the state of Wisconsin a larger number of wood- 

 using industries. He stated, for example, that Wisconsin had but 376 

 such plants whereas Michigan had 794, and used over twice as much 

 timber as Wisconsin, and manufactured over twice as many articles. 

 He felt, furthermore, that the lumbermen in this state could well afford 

 to do more re-manufacturing at their mills and cited instajices in Penn- 

 sylvania and the South where lumber companies were going into this 

 matter expensively. 



Mr. WeiHS dixpliiyed cliartn uliicli showed tlio uiiiuunt of birch con- 

 !<niin'd ill till- different Rtntw of fhr l'iii"ii, and tho amount of wood 

 ■ lit woiiil , pnrlicnlarly the furniture 



M. .i.| tJiiit -i;; i ■ .• bircli cut in this country 



cjuno from WiHconitin, 14 per cent from Michigan, and 11 per cent 

 from Maino, tho rest boing mutttcrod in small |iroportiona throughout 

 a number of tho slates. This concentration of supply in Wisconsin, 

 togetlier witli the |>reH<>iit locitiun of largo connuming niarketit for 

 birch, in his judgment fiiriii!ilie<l a ready boKis on which the birch lum- 

 bermen could launch tlieir CMiiipaign for the promotion of birch. 



Mr. Weiss illustrated with pliotugrajihs how luinlwrmon can greatly 

 increase tho life of wood farm buihlings without adding to their cost, 

 and claimed that lumbermen should have a much more intimate con- 

 tact with tho ultimate consumer of their products. He suggested that 

 the Nortliern Hemlock and llanlwood Association employ a competent 

 engineer to work up these methods of timber design and construction, 

 and represent them properly Ijcfore city engineers, car builders, archi- 

 tects, etc. He strongly omphasizcil the desirability of hearty co-opera- 

 tion between various lumber associations and other organizations in- 

 terested in wood. 



In Mr. Weiss' opinion tho fundamental principle back of tlio whole 

 movement is to render a greater service in tho lumber business, and 

 that this service should begin in the sawmill and not end until the 

 lumber is put in final place. Throughout his talk Mr. Weiss illustrated 

 his various points with specific examidcs taken from actual occur- 

 rences. 



He also said that the Illiniiis chapter of the American Institute 

 of Architects recently adopted a resolution in effect that on account 

 of the great trouble and inconvenience resulting from haphazard sizes 

 of timbers, efforts should be made to have the federal dcjiartment 

 of weights and measures at Washington exercise jurisdiction over 

 the size of lumber manufactured with authority to inflict penalties 

 for mismanufacture. 



Adoli>h Pfund, secretary of tho Wisconsin Retail Lumber Dealers' 

 Association, invited the members to attend the convention of that 

 body, which occurred a few days after the manufacturers' meeting. 

 He said that the feature would be a round table discussion between 

 manufacturers and members. 



Inspection Report Shows Improved Manufacture 



Cliief iusjipctor McDonahl rci'orted on the exhibit of homlot'k, 

 tamarack and birch in tho rough and finished that was in.>.talled at 

 the Northwestern Retail Lumber Dealers' convention at Minneapolis. 

 He said it awakened gieat interest, but that as the styles of finish 

 of doors are out of date, they should be replaced by doors of full size 

 finished in modern styles. 



Mr. McDonald reported on inspection work for the past year, say- 

 ing in the beginning that he has noticed a vast improvement in con- 

 ditions around the operations, there being evidence of much greater 

 care in all stages of manufacture; that the lumber is more closely 

 ;issorted on the transfers, resulting in a great saving of money in 

 handling and a saving of stock in rehandling. 



He reported that of pine re-inspected, 12 per cent was below grade; 

 of hardwood 2J/i per cent, and hemlock 8% per cent below and 3 per 

 cent above. That there was a grand total of all lumber re-inspectfld 

 of 1,672,973 feet, and 480,000 pieces of hemlock lath. 



Mr. McDonald said that the increased total of reinspection in- 

 dicated carelessness in planing mill work, as a large number of tile 

 complaints were caused by improper handling of stock in the planing 

 mills, and that care in this work should be considered as on© of the 

 important features of building up permanent hemlock markets. 



He said that if he were advised in all cases whether inspection 

 was required immediately or not, he could save a good deal in trav- 

 eling expenses and time by grouping reinspections in different parts 

 of the country. 



After reviewing the financial situation of the inspection depart- 

 ment, he recommended a paragraph in the general instructions on 

 hemlock rules treating with the appearance of all grades of hemlock, 

 calling inspectors' attention to serious defects which decrease the 

 appearance of any and all grades of this lumber. He also suggested 



