March 2o, 1916 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



15 



the aggregate would be utilized by amateur carpenters, particu- 

 larly as this short stuff in the special widths and lengths could 

 very likely be purchased at very much more reasonable prices. If 

 the amateur carpenter went to his lumber yard to secure a piece 

 of oak three or four feet long, the probabilities are that the yard 

 man would have to cut this off of the end of a longer board, and 

 the price would be set accordingly. 



The beauty of the suggestion is that it would not in any wise 

 interfere with the present legitimate outlets for lumber through 

 retail means, but would simply add a little here and there to the 

 total consumption, thus in the end favorably affecting the whole 

 industry. 



Troublesome Questions 



THOSE ENGAGED IN THE LUMBER BUSINESS are often 

 asked troublesome questions and it is not always easy to give 

 satisfactory answers. One of the questions is as follows: 



"If the supply of wood in our forests is in danger of running 

 €hort, why object to the employment of substitutes which will 

 relieve the pressure on the supply?" 



The other question is nearly like the first, but political policies 

 are involved as well as questions of economics. The free trader 

 sometimes asks, in good faith, his protectionist brother: 



' ' Since timber in this country is in danger of exhaustion, as 

 has been so often announced in tones of warning, why oppose the 

 importation of foreign lumber free of duty, when it is apparent 

 that whatever comes from the outside will save that much of our 

 home supply until it is worse needed and until prices are higher?" 



Nearly every person engaged in the lumber business on a large 

 scale has been confronted with one or both of these questions 

 more than once, and it has not always been easy to give satisfac- 

 tory replies. Different men, with individual viewpoints, use differ- 

 ent arguments in their answers. 



It should be observed that false premises are involved in both 

 of these questions. They assume that it will be taken for granted 

 that America's timber supply is on the verge of exhaustion. It is 

 •not to be wondered at that such ground is assumed by those who 

 put the question, because it has been preached in season and out 

 ■of season for so long that many have concluded that it is true. 

 However, it is not true that our timber is practically gone. There 

 is enough to last seventy years at the present rate of consump- 

 tion, not counting what will grow during the next seventy years. 



That knocks the props from under the argument that substi- 

 tutes are justifiable for the purpose of saving our timber. If the 

 substitutes are better than wood, they should be used; if not 

 tetter, they should not be used. That ground can be reasonably 

 taken by every lumberman; and he should concede no more. The 

 substitution of fiber for wood in box making is not justified, 

 because fiber is not better. The substitute in this particular 

 instance saves little wood, if any, because boxes are, for the most 

 part, made of low grade lumber which is not demanded in large 

 •quantities for any other purpose. If it is not used for boxes it 

 will not be used at all and will be largely wasted. Therefore, the 

 employment of fiber for boxes saves little lumber and causes large 

 ■quantities to be wasted. 



This answer seems to be complete and logical so far as the use 

 of substitutes for boxes is concerned; but the same answer does 

 not hold with equal force against all substitutes for wood in all 

 situations; because sometimes the substitute may serve as well as 

 wood, and the wood thus displaced may be of sufficiently high 

 grade to be used elsewhere, and no waste results. 



The answer to the second question, why foreign woods should 

 not come in free in order to make the home supply last longer, 

 might take various grounds. Aside from certain cabinet woods 

 like mahogany, prima vera, and Spanish cedar, which do not com- 

 pete with any similar woods of this country, the most competition 

 is between Douglas fir of British Columbia and Douglas fir of 

 Washington and Oregon, and between the white pine of eastern 

 Canada and the white pine south of the line. 



These woods are of the same grades on both sides of the line. 



and the grades are high. Because of cheaper labor and for other 

 reasons, the Canadian lumber comes across the line and undersells 

 American lumber of the same grade. This has two logical results. 

 It crowds out a certain quantity of American lumber, and to that 

 extent it might be said to ' ' save ' ' some American lumber for the 

 future. But that is not the main result. It lowers the price of 

 much American lumber which it does not "save." Dealers must 

 sell it at too low a price, for the imported lumber sets the price. 

 The effect of the imported lumber in this instance is to destroy 

 the profits of American dealers without conferring any corre- 

 sponding benefit in the way of saving our timber for the future. 

 Recently, on a bill of lumber amounting to about $30,000, British 

 Columbia dealers underbid Americans $3,000 on the same grades 

 and qualities. That is an object lesson showing how deeply the 

 American must cut his prices to meet competition from across 

 the line when no duty is imposed. The foreigner in that instance 

 simply regulates the price of American lumber. The Americans 

 should be in a position to regulate their own prices. 



Don't Be a Car Hog 



THERE ARE A GOOD MANY OCCASIONS IN BUSINESS 

 when the inelegant term "hog" can be aptly applied to the 

 man whose methods show him to be ruthlessly regardless of the 

 interests of others, when by exercising a little thoughtful unself- 

 ishness he can not only lighten the burdens of certain of his fel- 

 low businessmen, but in the end can help produce conditions that 

 will be more favorable to himself. 



No type of commercial hog is more to be condemned than the 

 car hog, who under present conditions of extreme car shortage, 

 when every item of rolling stock is eagerly requisitioned as soon 

 as set free, wiU tie up from one to a dozen cars for storage pur- 

 poses in order to save a little storage room and effect a temporary 

 advantage for himself, when he could and should unload promptly 

 so that they may be used for transporting other urgently re- 

 quired materials. 



The car hogs are recognizable in a number of different forms. 

 Some of them are merely of the storage type, as above described. 

 Others will not take the trouble to load to capacity limit because 

 it might possibly inconvenience them slighlty to do so. Others 

 burden the whole system by ordering more than they need when 

 there is no particular advantage in doing so, thus tying up more 

 cars than should be devoted to that particular purpose. 



Other examples of the species wish to avoid any worry that 

 might be occasioned by some difficulty in getting cars, and so put 

 in their requisitions long before they need the rolling stock. Then 

 they may sit placidly by with a self-satisfied feeling knowing that 

 even though somebody else is suffering, they have cars on their 

 sidings which they can proceed to load leisurely whenever they are 

 ready. 



The man who insists upon routing his cars regardless of the 

 fact that surrendering that privilege to the carriers for the time 

 being will relieve the situation, easily comes under the category. 

 It is pleasing to note favorable action taken by certain southern 

 manufacturers who have surrendered this privilege officially while 

 the emergency is in effect. So it goes. 



Quite likely a good many car hogs are not intentionally in that 

 category, but have not fully appreciated what proportions the car 

 shortage has assumed. These men are to be censured for their 

 thoughtlessness, but those who wilfully and knowingly will allow 

 themselves to be parties to such selfish methods should be shown 

 up. It is to be hoped that the bulk of the car hogs are of the 

 thoughtless type, but all should get behind the movement for a 

 more expeditious handling of freight in and out of cars and for 

 a more complete utilization of car capacity, as general effort along 

 these lines would go a great way toward alleviating a very serious 

 situation. 



It should be remembered that nothing hampers business more 

 and nothing acts more as a damper during prosperous times than 

 the inability to ship and receive freight when shipments and re- 

 ceipts are desired and planned for. 



