24 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



E. H. Shaffer, George E. Watson, James Costello, and G. A. Thomp- 

 son. The gist of the report was that the fire risk from shingles has 

 been much overestimated in public opinion, and statistics collected 

 in all parts of the country were submitted to prove that most of the 

 blame laid on shingles has been undeserved. 



Manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, both east and west, 

 took part in the discussion which followed the reading of the 

 report. It was suggested that the shingle business could be bet- 

 tered if the manufacturer would grade his product better, if the 

 retailer would push the sale of the best grades rather than the 

 poorest, if some concerted effort were made to have only good 

 nails used, and if the carpenter who puts the roof on would see 

 that the lumber foundation for the shingles is thick enough and of 

 sound wood, so that the roof will not go to pieces on account of 

 failure of its foundation. 



A paper dealing with safety in wood construction was to have 

 been read by James P. Whiskeman, chairman of the committee 

 on approval of materials, but he was unable to be present, and 

 a letter from John W. Hardy, of the American Society for Fire 

 Prevention, was read instead. 



Carpenters in the Fight 

 An address by Frank Duffy of Indianapolis, member of an 

 organization of 260,000 carpenters in the United States, was lis- 

 tened to with interest. His subject was: "How Can Carpenters 

 Promote the Uses of Wood?" 



Mr. Duffy said that carpenters can fully sympathize with the 

 lumberman's fight against substitutes, because they face that fight 

 all the time and at every time. When they work to retain the 

 use of wood where it should be, they are helping the sale of lumber. 

 The interests of the carpenter and the lumberman are identical in 

 that particular. Each is an enemy to the unwarranted use of 

 other materials in places were wood is better. 



THURSDAY AFTERNOON SESSION 

 A. T. Gerrans opened the Thursday afternoon session with a 

 report of committee No. 5 on promotion. He outlined the compre- 

 hensive and exhaustive publicity campaigns as carried on by substi- 

 tute interests showing the intricate scheme of development and 

 promotion work financed at a great cost by individuals and asso- 

 ciations, and reviewed specific cases. 



In conclusion he said that the controlling factor is the amount 

 of money avaUablo not only for the advertising work, but for all 

 kinds of educational and development work along modern mer- 

 chandising lines. 



Dr. Herman von Schrenk of St. Louis addressed the meeting 

 on "Modern Uses of Wood." He expounded his views regarding 

 the proper manner of procedure in following out the plan pre- 

 viously outlined. His most emphatic contention was that lumber- 

 men must be frank in admitting lumber is not pre-eminently fitted 

 for use for every purpose, and that they must be broad enough 

 to admit the superiority of certain other commodities to be used 

 in certain places. 



Dr. Von Schrenk maintained that the educational campaign 

 should indicate the defects of lumber and the best ways of meeting 

 them. 



He stated that there is bound to be a closer specification of 

 various classes of lumber for various uses, and illustrated his views 

 with descriptions and methods in vogue abroad in the lumber busi- 

 ness and in this country in the steel and packing businesses. 



"Money invested will come back one thousand fold because wood 

 already has the advantage in that it is a popular commodity sur- 

 rounded with more or less sentiment which gives to lumbermen an 

 advantage at the start. The only thing left to do is to get up 

 and shout. If you don't do that, the Lord help you. 



After a general discussion of the subject, the chairman called 

 for the report of the executive committee on permanent organiza- 

 tion, which was delivered by A. T. Gerrans. The report opened 

 with discussion of the function of the mass meeting, outlining it 

 as an aim to bring together the representatives of the lumber in- 

 dustry in order to crystallize sentiment in favor of promoting the 

 rightful use of forest products, through the endeavor to meet the 



more detailed and specified demands of consumers. Mr. Gerrans 

 compared efforts of substitute manufacturers to adapt their products 

 specifically to specified purposes with the supine indifference of the 

 lumbermen to consumers' requirements. 



The report states that the fundamental aims of the organization 

 are the development of the lumber market, the education of the 

 consumer of lumber and forest products, to promote in legitimate 

 ways the use of wood wherever it is the best available material or 

 where it can be made equal to other materials for specified purposes. 



It recommends that the work be carried on by the National Lum- 

 ber Manufacturers' Association in a department known as the 

 department of trade extension, to be administered with the assist- 

 ance of an advisory committee, composed of the chairman of the 

 federation, a representative wholesaler, retailer, consiuner, a timber- 

 land owner and two manufacturers. 



The initial activity covers: 



1. Compilation of full details and reliable information on fire losses, 

 insurance rates, building codes, uses of wood, substitutes for wood, anti- 

 wood legislation. 2. To co-operate with and assist other organizations 

 of woodworking and consuming interests ; 3. To disseminate information 

 by speakers, bulletins, newspapers and magazine articles, exhibits, ad- 

 vertising, etc., upon the properties and uses of wood. 4. To oppose un- 

 fair discrimination against wood in building codes, regulations, ordinances, 

 legislation, etc; 5. To conduct technical iuvpstigations of the properties 

 of wood as a construction material. 6. To develop and extend practical 

 fire prevention methods and processes. 



The plan proposes an organization under a manager who will 

 be the administrative head; to be assisted by a statistician, a 

 construction engineer, and a publicity expert. 



The financial aim shall be the creation of an annual fund of 

 $200,000 for five consecutive years, and that the work be started 

 when a fund of $50,000 a year for five years is assured. 



The report was adopted as read. 



President Downman expressed his sentiments still further in clos- 

 ing on receiving a motion for adjournment, by saying: 



' ' I hereby declare the meeting adjourned ' sign or die. ' ' ' 



Hepburn Case Decided in Favor of Shipper 



The supreme court interpreted the Hepburn rate law in a decision 

 handed down February 23 as authorizing the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission to award damages to shippers for unfair rates and 

 discriminations, no matter what the date of such unfair practices 

 might be, the only provision being that claims must have been filed 

 prior to August 28, 1907, at which time, according to the decision 

 the act went into effect. 



The case was decided on a suit of New York coal dealers in- 

 volving $116,000, the Lehigh VaUey Railroad being the defendant, 

 for claims dating back to 1900, and the first year after the law 

 went into effect thousands of other claims were filed, and this de- 

 cision will be in favor of the shippers. 



Demand for Lower Grades 



Those familiar with the walnut situation report that the demand for 

 No. 1 and No. 2 common has been picking up during the past few 

 months, and that the experience of consumers who have been using 

 these grades has been very satisfactory. 



"The demand for firsts and seconds for war purposes has been 

 unusually large," said a lumberman who is in close touch with the 

 walnut business, "and this has naturally caused values to advance, 

 and the supply, relatively, to be less than it is in other grades. Con- 

 sumers who have been wise enough to appreciate the conditions have 

 been trying out the lower grades, which are selling for less, in pro- 

 portion to intrinsic values, than firsts and seconds, on account of the 

 difference in the demand. They found that, after figuring waste and 

 additional manufacturing expense, they have been able to make a very 

 satisfactory showing, and in many cases will use the grades below 

 firsts and seconds regularly hereafter, assuming, of course, that rela- 

 tive values remain unchanged." 



The experience in the use of walnut recalls the oak situation a few 

 years ago, when consumers thought that nothing worse that a first 

 and second board would do for furniture manufacturing. Some of 

 the leaders finally realized that they could cut up the lower grade 

 stock to better advantage, price considered, and since then No. 1 

 common has been used right along in that field. 



