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^M The Lumbermen s Round Table 



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The Public and Woods 



Iiack of information on the part of the public about woods is 

 so general a condition that the task of eliminating it, and dis- 

 seminating at least a little general knowledge of the subject, 

 seems almost hopeless. The b'est method, though the one which 

 involves time, is through the schools, especially those with manual 

 training departments. But lumbermen ought to endeavor to get 

 the ward schools, which have no manual training work, to teach 

 children something about woods, just as a matter of common 

 knowledge that everybody should have. The hardwood man, or 

 the retail yard man, for that matter, who has an opportunity to 

 talk to school-children about woods should take advantage of it. 



Pick up a newspaper and turn to the real estate section, 

 especially on Sunday. Note the number of houses that are 

 "finished in mahogany." The number is far greater than would 

 be revealed by an examination of the buildings themselves. In 

 fact, it has become such a regular thing in the real estate line to 

 claim that a house is finished in whatever woods the stain suggests, 

 rather than the material actually used, that a great many people 

 think that every red stain covers mahogany. A prominent lumber- 

 man who recently leased a handsome home was told by the 

 enthusiastic salesman that the finish was mahogany, though the 

 lumberman saw at once that it was birch. He was kind enough 

 not to "show up" the real estate "expert," however, and as a 

 matter of fact rented the house in spite of the misstatement 

 regarding the wood. 



Infrequently one sees an advertisement that suggests that people 

 in the real estate business are trying to get away from the habit 

 of talking about woods in terms of the stains used, and substituting 

 their real names. In an announcement regarding a $.5,000 residence 

 that appeared recently, it was explained that poplar had been used 

 for enameling work, though a much cheaper wood, which was 

 named, could have been bought for .$15 a thousand feet cheaper. 

 This is one of the few ads the writer has seen which evidences a 

 desire to put the public "next" to wood values. 



How About the Architects 



In spite of the amount of wood advertising appearing in the 

 architectural journals — and the space used to exploit gum and 

 walnut and maple and cypress and a few others is larger than the 

 person who has not been following these things realizes — the 

 architects themselves do not appear to know it all yet. In fact, 

 some of them have not even waked up to the fact that a "Made 

 in the United States" movement is on, and that domestic woods, 

 other things being equal, ought to be encouraged. (Mahogany, 

 by the way, is "made" here in large quantities, so that as far 

 as the purpose of the movement is concerned the use of this wood 

 is all right.) But the writer has in mind a certain large building 

 which the designers specify is to be finished in an imported wood. 

 In fact, the name of the country of its origin is part of the 

 descriptive title of the material. "Imported" is the thing the 

 owners, or the architect, want to have said about the interior 

 trim, apparently. Now, as a matter of fact, war conditions make 

 it impossible to deliver this particular material, and a domestic 

 wood which resembles it generically, and is superior to it in all 

 respects, will probably be used in its place. Just between us, the 

 architect is not expected to know the difference, and when the 

 building is finished he will proudly show it off to his professional 

 friends as an evidence of the fine results to be secured through the 

 use of this "imported" material, made in tlie United States! 



There is nothing so "easy" as ignorance that doesn't want to 

 be enlightened; and, incidentally, this situation throws some light 

 on the proposition of what those who are trying to educate the 

 public are up against. 



Try the Eoad Yourself 

 Hardwood manufacturers who are inclined to wonder whether 

 their salesmen are doing all that could be done to develop business 

 —20— 



ought, as a matter of policy, to get out on the road with them and 

 see what conditions actually are. That is the best way to find out 

 whether sales are smaller than they should be; and, besides, it's a 

 good thing for the lumberman himself to come directly in touch 

 with consumers now and then. Not only does the presence of 

 the man whose card bears the words, "general manager," or 

 "president" or "vice-president" make it much easier to obtain an 

 audience with the real buyer at the factory, but the lumberman 

 is given a splendid opportunity to form personal connections that 

 will help him later on, and to acquire inside information about 

 the characteristics of the consuming plant which will enable him 

 to take care of orders to better advantage. 



And it 's a safe bet that the lumberman who tried to take the 

 place of his road men at present would come home feeling much 

 greater sympathy for the boys who have to sell his stock, and 

 with fuller understanding of the troubles and difficulties with 

 which they are forced to contend. 



One Phase of Contracting 



"Contract business is mighty nice," said the sales manager of 

 a lumber concern which handles a good deal of trade of that sort, 

 "when the market remains steady or firms up a trifle. The reduc- 

 tion in selling expense and the fact that the volume is assured 

 give the contract a lot of standing with us. On the other hand, 

 however, if conditions become favorable to the buyer, through a 

 weakening of the market, the danger is that he will not only quit 

 specifj'ing on his contract, but will not give the contractor a 

 chance to figure on the lumber which he buys in the open marKCt. 

 In a case of that kind, having the contract is really a big disad- 

 vantage to the lumberman, because it practically kills the oppor- 

 tunity to handle the customer's business. I am inclined to believe 

 that it would be good policy, when the market slumps, to go to 

 the customer and release him voluntarily. One hates to do that, 

 because the chance is always present that the lumber contracted 

 for will be taken; but after so many experiences where it isn't 

 taken, and where other stock is bought on the outside, I think 

 we might as well accept the heads-you-win-tails-I-lose arrangement, 

 and permit cancelations when prices go ofl', for the sake of keeping 

 our position of advantage with reference to the customer's busi- 

 ness. ' ' 



Keeping the Stock Together 



In sawing up high-priced woods, it is good policy to follow the 

 example of the veneer manufacturer and keep all the equal-grade 

 boards of each log together. It may seem to work a disadvantage 

 in the trouble which will be required, but it will furnish a big 

 talking-point and be a real argument in using with the consumer. 

 One of the biggest weaknesses of goods made with solid furniture 

 is the variation which is noted in the character of the material. 

 There are frequently differences of color, texture and figure which 

 mark the article as a poorly manufactured piece of goods, irrespec- 

 tive of its design and the way it is finished up. 



A prominent walnut manufacturer, who cuts up the wood on a 

 number of mills placed at various strategic points over the country, 

 said recently that he follows the plan of keeping the boards out of 

 each log together when the customer desires that this be done. 

 In other words, if the consumer indicates that he wants to buy 

 the product of certain logs which he himself may have seen, he is 

 given an opportunity to do so. It would seem that the plan would 

 be worth adopting for general use, even though the boards would 

 have to be separated as to grade. 



Osage orange wood is a source of dye and can be used to supple- 

 ment the imported fustic wood, as a permanent yellow for textiles. 



News print paper has been made by the Forest Service Labora- 

 tory from twenty-four different woods, and a number compare 

 favorably with standard spruce pulp paper. 



