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 MO.. PRESIDENT 



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VICE-PRESIDENT 



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SECOND 



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Hardwood Manufacturers Meet 



Atteudanee at the thirteenth annual meeting of the Hardwood 

 Manufacturers' Association of the United States was very gratify- 

 ing considering the general depression throughout the country and 

 the disinclination on the part of everybody to spend even traveling 

 money. The attendance was representative and the sessions closely 

 attended. 



President J. H. Himmelberger, Cape Girardeau, Mo., called the 

 meeting to order on Thursday morning. January 28. 



Mayor Frederick S. Spiegel of Cincinnati in his address of wel- 

 come told of the many attractions offered by the city, and extended 

 a most cordial welcome to all of the visiting lumbermen. His ex- 

 pression of cordiality was further emphasized by Alex Schmidt, 

 president of the Cincinnati Lumbermen's Club, who in his address 

 brought in the question of the advisability of establishing a national 

 merchant marine. 



E. L. Hutchinson, president of the Hutchinson Lumber Company. 

 Huntington, W. Va., raised a laugh in his response to the addresses 

 of welcome through the humorous tone which he adopted. 



President's Address 



President J. H. Himmelberger, in his annual address, reviewed the 

 business history of the past year as far as it is of concern to the 

 lumbermen. There were some features in that history on which he 

 preferred not to linger, because many things were not pleasant to 

 bring in review. The last of the unpleasant circumstances have not 

 yet wholly passed, but the lumbermen are showing a willingness to go 

 ahead in the best way possible and do business in as good a manner 

 as they can, while expecting better things in the future. A sum- 

 mary of his address follows; 



When war with its loss of life and destruction of property has ended, 

 a great deal of reconstruction must be done in the regions where hos- 

 tilities have done their work, and lumbermen In .\merica must not over- 

 look the opportunities brought within their reach. 



Many large questions are before the lumber interests of this country. 

 Success depends upon the skill with which these problems are solved. 

 One of the most important of these is the marketing of lumber. Lumber- 

 men havf spent too much time fighting one another and too little in 

 fighting in a common cause where all have equal Interest. -Ml should 

 stand together and push wood against substitutes, and should waste less 

 time and energy in contending over the respective merits of grades, rules 

 and different kinds of lumber. Fortunately, the financial situation does 

 not appear to be giving anyone much concern at this time. The new 

 banking law seems to be able to provide for any contingency that is 

 likely to arise. 



The National Lumber Manufacturers' Association has recently put Into 



the field a new insurance organization, known as the National Lumber 

 Manufacturers' inter-Insurance Excliange. The purpose of this exchange 

 Is to furnish reliable insurance to lumber manufacturers, planing mill 

 operators, etc., who meet the requirements, at a reasonable cost. Insur- 

 ance organizations of this character are past the experimental stage, and 

 have been operated successfully for many years, and at a very consider- 

 able saving to the policyholders. 



If the government's attitude toward business were a little more 

 friendly the result would appear In the form of greater confidence among 

 business men. 



The manufacturers of lumber have it in their power to advance their 

 own interests by making closer study of efficiency and giving more 

 attention to manufacturing costs. They have a promising field for more 

 efficient marketing by becoming better acquainted with their customers' 

 needs. 



The Forest Products Federation has come before the lumbermen of 

 the country as a candidate for favor. There Is a large field for its 

 activities. An educational campais-Mi is in contemplation no less than a 

 purely business campaign. 



Treasurer's Report 

 The treasurer's report showed a very .satisf.-ictory balance on hand 

 with all expenses paid. 



Cash in Bank, January Id, i;il4 f 5,698.49 



Cash in Office, January IG, 1914 .07 



Cash Receipts of year ending January IG, 1915 23,051.13 



Total cash 



Disbursements for same 



J28,749.69 



period 25,209.97 



Balance in Bank J3,537.73 



Cash in Office 1.99 



* 3,5,19.72 



$3,539.72 



Report of the Secretary 

 Secretary Weller then read his report, wliich follows: 

 Nineteen Hundred and Fourteen would not be considered by associa- 

 tion workers an Ideal year for promoting the Interests of their organi- 

 zations. It Is usually expected that periods of business depression 

 shall cause a loss of Interest, and a falling off of membership that will 

 necessitate careful nursing to bring the organization back to Its normal 

 working condition ; but our experience the past twelve months has been 

 just the opposite, and we have come through a year marked by more 

 than 18.000 failures In l,G5.''>,4nO concerns doing business, or 1.10 per 

 cent of the whole number (the largest percentage in fifteen years) with 

 an Increase In membership, and what Is even more gratifying, a mem- 

 bership that is thoroughly alive to what this association means to It, 

 and which always stands ready to give Its support to any movement 

 that Is for the betterment of the Industry. 



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