February 25, 1916 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



19 



in the rulings themselves, or outside of them, that the department 

 of justice will give any weight to them at all. In fact, the com- 

 mission expressly warns the public that it will not in the future 

 consider even itself bound by its own rulings. Its exact words 

 are, as contained in press reports: 



While these rulings may be regarded as precedents in so far as they are 

 applicable in proceedings before the commission, a more extensive presen- 

 tation of facts in later cases may result in their modification, and they 

 shonld not, therefore, be regarded as conclusive in the determination by 

 the commission of any future action. 



That comes directly to the point: the "forty ruUugs, " the 

 fruits of a year's labor, bind nobody, not even the commission that 

 makes them, and the public is warned that they are not to "be re- 

 garded as conclusive." That being the case, what are they for? 

 Why are they promulgated? What is the use of handing the busi- 

 ness men of this country .a lot of "Jack Bunsby" advice that 

 does not mean anything? 



Take the lumber interests, for example: Lumbermen feel the 

 need of stronger organizations among themselves, particularily 

 with regard to foreign trade. They had hoped that the Federal 

 Trade Commission had power in that matter to say yes or no, and 

 that it would say it. They have gone before the commissiou, made 

 speeches, submitted evidence, and asked for what tliey want — 

 simply asked if they would be prosecuted if they should go ahead 

 and organize according to the plan submitted. No answer has 

 come, but in the place a vague set of generalities, with the warn- 

 ing that they must not be taken too seriously, or be depended 

 upon as authority for doing anything. 



The fact probably is that the Federal Trade Commission has no 

 authority to decide any such a question. Why does it not tell 

 the lumbermen so and end the uncertainty so far as it can? Of 

 what use are rulings which bind nobody, protect nobody, guide 

 nobody? The commission is not to blame for not exercising power 

 which it does not possess. Criticism goes back of the commission 

 and is directed against the half-cooked law under which the com- 

 mission is working and which shows a deplorable lack of states- 

 manship on the part of its authors. Many persons for a time 

 hoped that the commission would find a way to reach desired ends 

 in positive action. It has not found the way yet, and it probabl.y 

 never will until a law is passed by which such action becomes 

 possible. 



An Opportunity for Oak Manufacturers 



A MANUFACTURER OF NATIONAL REPUTATION, usiug 

 •»* immense quantities of all kinds of domestic woods, is endeav- 

 oring to secure from manufacturers of oak from 10,000 to 20,000 

 sets of six to eight pieces in each set of oak %" in thickness and 2" 

 wide of lengths that would conform to the lumbermens'' conve- 

 nience, the object being to finish these up and get them in the hands 

 of legitimate prospective home builders. 



Oak manufacturers are notoriously uninterested in any effort to 

 broaden their markets, or, in fact, to conserve present outlets. It 

 can be said that in many cases they have actually resisted such 

 efforts. Of course nobody can support every project that may be 

 presented to increase his markets. Further, when times are poor 

 everybody feels more hesitancy in spending money in directions 

 that do not show definite and immediate returns. When business 

 is brisk stocks move pretty fairly any way, and who will stop to 

 figure out just how many feet less this year we have sold than 

 last because another wood took some of our trade? We would all 

 be inclined to say that if we lose a customer here we will get an- 

 other one there and so it will all be the same in the long run. 



However, the whole thing must be looked at from a much broader 

 angle and in the end the oak producers are slated to lose those 

 markets which the utility and beauty of their product entitle them 

 to. It may not be a perceptible change from year to year, but 

 where a certain percentage of home and speculative builders in 

 one city swing from oak to some other wood one year and a certain 

 percentage in another city make a similar change the ne.xt year, 

 there is only one conclusion, namely, that in the end these accumu- 

 lated percentages are going to be felt. 



The plan offered by the firm above referred to is feasible and 

 should not be prohibitive in its cost. It must be remembered that 

 the fundamental demand of the home builder today is information 

 as to what he should use to produce the most pleasing effect" at 

 the most reasonable expenditure. It is apparent that his choice 

 will be at least partially directed in those lines where the most 

 specific and educational information is to be sccureil. 



The Value of Traffic Supervision 



THE CONSTANT AND • POIGNANT NECESSITY for expert 

 supervision of the relations of the lumber industry to the 

 railroads is illustrated not alone in the more important questious 

 considered and solved by traflSc departments of the respective asso- 

 ciations, but is emphatically proven by the less spectacular results 

 achieved by the live men at the head of lumber traffic work. A 

 notable instance in substantiation of this is brought to light by 

 the West Coast Lumbermen 's Association, through its traffic man- 

 ager. 



The tremendous snowfall that has tied up the entire sawmilling 

 trade of the West for some weeks might have resulted in the West 

 coast lumbermen paying materially increased freight charges had 

 it not been for the vigilance of the traffic department. It seems 

 that the normal allowance in addition to tare weight of cars for 

 snow and ice adhering to or remaining on the top of cars is seven 

 or eight pounds per cubic foot of snow. It is pointed out that this 

 is not enough under the conditions which have prevailed in the North- 

 west where alternate snow, rain and freezing spells have greatly in- 

 creased the weight of the snow and ice that remained on the cars. In 

 fact, the weather bureau of one of the large western cities states that 

 the average weight of snows falling during January and February 

 is from twenty to thirty pounds, while building inspectors give an 

 even higher estimate of from thirt}- to forty pounds per cubic foot. 

 An allowance of fifteen pouuds for dry snow and twenty-seven 

 pounds for wet is recommended by the traffic manager. 



Thus it is seen that with the authentic figures behind them, the 

 West coast shippers will be enabled to save substantial sums in 

 added allowance for the haulage of snow and ice. With the im- 

 mense quantities of lumber that are going out of this snowbound 

 territory, the ultimate benefit can be easily realized. 



Get Closer to the Trade 



TT IS A PRETTY LIVE BUNCH OF REAL FELLOWS at the 

 •1 Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wis., and they have 

 accomplished big things. Furthermore they are going to accom- 

 plish a great many other big results in their future studies. 



When the laboratory was opened up several, years ago it was 

 looked upon more or less skeptically by the trade at large it was 

 designed to help. Probably this skepticism resulted chiefly from 

 an imperfect knowledge of just what the laboratory' was aiming to 

 do, and just how its efforts could be so applied as to give the great- 

 est practical assistance to those interested in forest products. 



Possiblj- aside from the normal, human curiosity occasioned by 

 the unusual character of the plan, the lumber trade has never shown 

 due interest in the idea who prompted the establishment of the 

 laboratory. The lumber trade is really just about beginning to 

 use it properly and in order to make this easier, in order to present 

 an easih' understood and appreciated story of what has been done, 

 and what can be done at Madison, the staff is cooperating to pub- 

 lish a sort of a diary which records the problems that have been 

 presented to and worked out by the laboratory staff. 



The first edition of "The Log of the Lab," as it is called, has 

 just come from Madison. Aside from its real interest to the labora- 

 tory staff and its interesting makeup and contents, it indicates that 

 henceforth the practical man in a position to benefit by the scientific 

 assistance afforded by the laboratory, will be better able to under- 

 stand just wherein he can turn the laboratory' 's facilities to his own 

 good. 



"The Log of the Lab" should be successful because it should 

 generate a greater interest iu this, the first and probably the most 

 complete forest products laboratory in the world. 



