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KI.ECTED SECIttrr.VKY. 



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IIENIIY 



CAI'E, NEW YOIIK CITY, UK- 

 ELECTED TREASUUEIt. 



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M NKTM. 111. 



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fldcncp. the association being as well equipped today to look after jour 

 Interests as It ever was. 



Keallzing the responsibility wMch accompanies the honor of being chief 

 executive of such an Important organization as this, It Is essential that 

 he should familiarize himself os far as possible with the detail operation 

 of the several deportments ond It Is my pleasure and privilege to testify 

 to the very effective work being done by the various beads of these 

 departments and the staff generally. i 



We urge your active coliperatlon In the matter of membership, and 

 Instead of leaving the responsibility of securing new members alone with, 

 the membership committee, let us show our loyalty to our association at 

 all times and speak a word In Its favor to those who have not yet 

 become associated with us. 



Collection Depabtment 



While the values of claims handed In for collection during the past 

 year Is less than the previous year by over $100,000, the amount which wc 

 brought forward two years ago was considerably greater than the amount 

 brought forward to the year Just closed. The condtllons which existed 

 during the past year and a half or so reflected by the reduced number 

 of claims banded to the bureau for collection would seem to Indicate that 

 lumber dealers throughout the country have met their obligations to the 

 trade in a fairly satisfactory manner. 



Lumber Expobts 



As Indicating the dllBcultles which have confronted the lumber trade 

 during the lost two years the tollowln? figures are submitted for your 

 consideration as showing the very serious falling off In timber and lumber 

 exports for the twelve months ending December 31, 191.'J-14-1.'> : Timber 

 and lumber, 1913, S75.536.381 ; 1914. $47,384,690 ; 1915. $30,087,635. 



This condition has been brought about by the unprecedented advance 

 In ocean freight rates, also the serious difflculty in ol)taiing bottoms even 

 nt the Increased rates. The matter calls for the most serious considera- 

 tion of the trade business. If the domestic market Is called upon to absorb 

 large quantities of lumber heretofore designed for export, we fear may 

 serious!'' n(T'"' •''" borne market. 



FtRB IKSUBANCF 



We nrf iph-.imm to report considerable activity on the part of the fire 

 Insurance committee through its chairman, R. R. Griswold, who will 

 bring In an Interesting report with the recommendation tn our members 

 as to the advisability of forming an inter-insurance company or some- 

 thing of that nature. Wc may say that this proposition appeals to the 

 trustees who have voted unanimously In favor of some action being taken 

 at his meeting. Personally, I believe, that we have among our members 

 a very large majority by whom such a proposition as this will be received 

 as vcrj- favorable consideration. I would, therefore, like to see the matter 

 carefully discussed when It comes before .vou. 



Secretary's Report 

 Secretary Perry's report followed next. Mr. Perry said: 

 The National Wholesale Lumber Dealers' .Association is strictly a busi- 

 ness proposition, and although the benefits derived from Its operations 

 directly affect it? member'?. It Is Impossible to confine these benefits to 

 members only, that Is, to those who contribute to the expenses of opera- 

 tion, and this has never been more clearly demonstrated than during the 

 past couple of .vears. 



The indirect influence which we have exerted on credits, fair dealing, 

 correct trade relations, our attitude toward transportation questions, 

 legislation, insurance, exploitation of the right uses of lumber, the weed- 



—18— 



Ing out of dishonest buyers, and a host of other bad practices, 1« Im- 

 possible of estimate. However, we believe In co«peratlon and the greatest 

 good to the greatest number, and while our association is stronger today 

 than at any period of Its life and continues to grow In ability and 

 influence, there are at least another 400 lumber firms east of the Miaa- 

 Isslppl river that ought In all fairness to themselves and to the coopera- 

 tive spirit become members of our association. What we need Is Just 

 a little more enthusiasm and a feeling of responsibility toward each 

 other, or, as one of our preachers says, ".More pep In the pews." For 

 a while we have held our membership probably as well as any other 

 association, yet we did, during the last period, sustain a temporary loss, 

 and, as usual. Just at a time when wc most needed financial as well as 

 moral support. 



It seems unfortunate that organized volunteer work such as this should 

 always be the first to feel the flnanciul effect of business depression ; but 

 having 80 nicely recovered In membership and Interest, we now get a great 

 deal of satisfaction In the fact that we were, during the period of de- 

 pression, able to do our work as efliclently and In as great volume as at 

 any time In the history of the association, and I believe that the service 

 rendered In the broader way during the past couple years has been thor- 

 oughly appreciated not only by our members but Is recognized by those 

 who while not members have profited by our efforts. 



Reference has been mode so mony times during this past couple of 

 years to the demoralized condition of the lumber Industry and Its slow 

 recovery that we hesitate to keep referring to It. 



Our association members are watching with a good deal of Interest 

 for the forthcoming report from the Federal Trade Commission. The 

 lumber Industry has been under Investigation by the federal govern- 

 ment for the past ten years, and by several commissions from as many 

 .angles. 



Recently, while discussing with a noted economist the methods em- 

 ployed by associations In different lines, the effort to recognize uniform 

 prices and lines of trade requirements, sometimes referred to as legitimate 

 trade, etc., he said : "My observation Is that lumber Is probably the most 

 erratic or unstable of any commodity, and the most unfair to the con- 

 suming publlf. and therefore you lumbermen should be encouraged to find 

 some plan whereby the merchant using lumber, the home builder and the 

 public at large should be protected against erratic rise and fall In prices." 

 Competition will always have a tendency to change prices, but regular 

 methods, such as standard sizes, grades, weights, terms of sale, taxation 

 of timber, freight rates adjusted to value, utilization, waste, etc., would 

 soon bring about greater efflclency with a consequent lowering of costs. 

 Profit will always go to the seller of any commodity, but the lumber 

 business should, in this enlightened age, be taken out of the realm of 

 speculation. 



The report of the commission when made will undoubtedly mark a 

 decided change in the merchandising of lumber. 



I believe before the lumbermen of this country spend large sums of 

 money In advertising lumber as against substitutes that they, In pre- 

 liminary study, spend a good, liberal amount In trying to find a standard 

 somewhere along the lines above recited. Undoubtedly, lumber has been, 

 as wc might say, advertised against, but we, on the other hand, have 

 not done all we might to put lumber In its right relation to substitutes ; 

 or. In fact, to Itself. 



A committee of architects told me the other day that It Is almost 

 Impossible to Intelligently specify anything regarding lumber, as there 

 seems to be no standard capable of universal use. 



Five or ten thousand dollars properly spent would, In my opinion, give 



