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Forest Products Federation Work 



The movement for the organization of the Forest Products Fed- 

 eration, which was inaugurated at the recent mass meeting in Chi- 

 cago, is proceeding along the lines laid down in the working plan, and 

 has advanced far enough to assure success. The special committee 

 on organization consists of A. T. Gerrans, chairman, Frederick Wej-er- 

 haeuser, F. A. Hofheins, H. C. Scearce, and John H. Kaul. 



The practical work of placing the organization on a permanent 

 footing consists in securing enough signatures, with annual sub- 

 scriptions, to guarantee for five years the means of carrying on the 

 work. More than one-fourth of the subscriptions necessary to begin 

 the work have been secured. The signers represent some of the 

 strongest lumber firms of the country, and the progress thus far 

 made is accepted as a guarantee that the necessary working organiza- 

 tion will soon be complete. 



The list that is being signed at the office of E. S. Kellogg, secre- 

 tary of the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association, contains 

 the proviso that the annual payments named shall not be binding 

 unless a sufEcient sum is pledged to guarantee $50,000 a year. There 

 no longer seems to be any doubt that enough will be pledged to assure 

 that yearly sum. Of course, it does not stop at that. It is intended 

 and expected that the full $200,000 a year will be provided; but when 

 the fifty-thousand mark has been reached, the actual work of the 

 Forest Products Federation will begin. 



The organization will be a part of the National Lumber Manufac- 

 turers' Association. On account of that arrangement it will not be 

 necessary to form a new body, but present equipment can be used 

 to a considerable extent in putting the business on a working basis. 

 The list now being signed pledges the signer to pay $1,000 a year 

 for a period of five years. The working capital will come from that 

 source. Of the many thousand lumber companies and large timber 

 owners in the country, there is no question that a sufficient number 

 will lend their active support to assure the success of the movement. 



It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the plan adopted does 

 not take anything away from any existing organization. Instead it 

 supplements and strengthens all publicity, educational and trade 

 extension effort in promoting the use of forest products. Its function 

 is to broaden the field of consumption, and to help or initiate wher- 

 ever the uses, merits, or good name of wood are at stake. 



The need is apparent, since the lumber industry is suffering for 

 want of a national champion of its interests in matters of trade 

 extension. Neither the manufacturers nor distributors have told the 

 consumers how, when, and where the wood may best be used, nor 

 have tlicy aggressively met competition, but instead have allowed 

 other building materials to beat wood out on its own ground. This 

 supine acceptance of what comes in the way of orders, with no attempt 

 to fight for business or to promote grades and kinds of woods to meet 

 specific service requirements, simply gives the other fellow an open 

 field. Not only are the other materials sold for purposes where lumber 

 would be as good or better, but they are constantly improved and 

 made to serve the consumers' needs more perfectly. Such methods 

 win permanent trade, and the materials thus perfected and adapted 

 to specific uses become so firmly intrenched that wood will never get 

 back its lost ground. In fact, the existing information regarding the 

 best use of wood in relation to service requirements has not even been 

 compiled, much less made available to either the consumer or the lum- 

 bermen themselves. Much prejudice against wood exists because its 

 merits have not been convincingly presented, its uses wisely advocated, 

 nor its availability explained. This lack of knowledge has been 

 increased and misconceptions created by the active propaganda for 

 other materials, which in many cases are not so economical or desirable 

 as wood. 



The belief that the resources of the forests are nearing exhaustion 

 needs correction. While it is well known that the country does not 

 contain so much timber as it contained a century ago, there is still 

 a great deal, and it will last a long time yet. The contrary opinion 

 is general, and the competitors of wood have not been backward 

 about taking advantage of that erroneous belief in order to procure 



—14— 



a foothold for substitutes. A remarkable case to the point was cited 

 at the recent Forest Products Federation mass meeting, when the 

 statement was made that many of the architects and construction engi- 

 neers of New York and other eastern cities actually believed that 

 heavy dimension stock, suitable for large building frames, is no longer 

 procurable. Yet there is enough of that kind of timber to supply 

 every city in America, and the rest of the world, too, for that matter. 

 In cases of lack of information like that, and of deliberate misin- 

 formation also, competent and reliable work such as is contemplated 

 by the new organization, must be of inestimable value. In the past, 

 every person who had some substitute for lumber was free to knock 

 lumber whenever and wherever he could do so ; and too often there 

 was no one to take the part of wood. The Forest Products Federation 

 will change that. Where wood may need defending, it will be 

 defended, and where it may need pushing, it will be pushed. It is 

 admitted, however, by pretty common consent that it is pushing more 

 than defending that wood stands in need of. 



Logging Conditions Around Memphis 



There has been little change in conditions affecting logging in 

 Memphis and surrounding territory during the past fortnight. 

 There has probably not been so much rain in this immediate territory 

 as for the last half of February but there has been enough to keep the 

 ground pretty wet and to prevent the pushing of timber cutting or 

 hauling. Where logging operations are under way they are being 

 conducted at somewhat expensive rates. Teams are able to haul very 

 little at one time and it is necessary to use lizards and various other 

 appliances for getting timber out of the lowlands. Where railroads 

 run into timberlands the work of moving logs is very greatly facili- 

 tated but where they have to be hauled any distance by a team it is 

 almost impossible to make headway. It is conceded by most mem- 

 bers of the trade that the supply of logs offering is comparatively 

 small and there is confirmatory evidence of this fact in the shape of 

 reports from the Valley Log Loading Company regarding the small 

 amount of timber being loaded at present. This is perhaps less than 

 twenty-five per cent of the average for this time of the year. It has 

 not been necessary in but a few instances for the mills here and in 

 the Memphis territory to close down on account of lack of timber but 

 it is pointed out that manufacturing operations are steadily increas- 

 ing at a time when the amount of timber on hand is exceptionally 

 small, with the result that the pinch may be felt somewhat later. 



Practically every member of the hardwood trade here says that the 

 hardwood business is increasing somewhat and there is striking evi- 

 dence on this point furnished by the reports of several of the rail- 

 roads operating through the Memphis gateway. They point out that 

 there has been a steady increase in the movement of lumber during 

 the past sixty days and that, while shipments are still somewhat below 

 normal, the increased movement of lumber has added appreciably to 

 the revenues of the roads in question. These statements have been 

 made by the Frisco System, the Eock Island System, the Illinois Cen- 

 tral and Yazoo & Mississippi Valley roads. There are certain features 

 of the market which are quite active, including plain oak in both red 

 and white, sap gum and gum box boards. In other items there is a 

 reasonably active call and, altogether, the manufacturers and whole- 

 salers alike are feeling a little more cheerful regarding the domestic 

 situation. There is no doubt that more inquiries are being received 

 from Europe for southern hardwoods. In fact one exporter is 

 authority for the statement that he could dispose of at least 100 cars 

 immediately if it were possible for him to secure rcason.able ocean 

 rates or war risk insurance. As it is, however, there is almost noth- 

 ing doing witli Europe at the present time and the outlook will not be 

 particularly encouraging until there is a readjustment of ocean freight 

 and insurance charges. 



Easy office chairs are often expensive luxuries. Better do as the 

 old wood chopper did — sit down on the slivers in the center of the 

 stump, for fear that he might sit too long. 



