AprU 25, 1918 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



A\\V 



OMPKNSATION" IK YA 



The Way of the Woodworker Is Hard 



Woodworking iiiacUiucry has until receutly been considered iu a class 

 by itself when it came to tlie question of neatness and dispatch in pre- 

 paring a careless workman for the hospital. 



It had a reputation for cold-blooded ferocity which seemed to 

 denote the possession of a sort of Germanic kultur, and whenever a 

 stranger applied for a job the boss looked him over appraisingly and 

 if several fingers or a thumb were missing it was considered unneces- 

 sary to search for sawdust in his ears or slivers in his hands to 

 determine that he had been more or less familiar with woodworking 

 niaehinery. 



Iu those days the employe had much more personal liberty in the 

 operation of his machine tlian he does now. If he wanted to get gay 

 with the saws and cutters and gouge off a thumb or remove the first 

 joint from his middle finger before lunch, that was his own personal 

 aflfair. It was his own thumb, one he had raised from infancy and 

 no one could possibly have a more personal interest in it than himself, 

 and there really was nothing to hinder its rapid removal in the ma- 

 chinery by the display of a little carelessness, a slippery floor or a 

 playful push by one of the boys. 



The gears of the planer were uncovered and admirably adapted for 

 mashing finger bones and knuckles, also for grinding overalls into 

 pulp — with portions of their owner inside, and the saws and jointer 

 knives whirled in guardless abandon, ready for any surgical work 

 from straightening the rough, knotty edge of a hemlock board to 

 neatly removing the elbow joint from the hitherto unscarred form of 

 the innocent apprentice boy. 



There was no red tape to unwind in those days when an accident 

 occurred. The boss or manager came out and told the victim how- 

 sorry he was to hear he had been so careless, and advised him to see 

 a doctor, then get back to work as soon as possible, for they were 

 somewhat shorthanded. Then one of the laborers was instructed to 

 sprinkle some sawdust over the gore and clean up things around the 

 machine — and the affair was ended, for everyone but the fellow who 

 had lost his thumb. 



The fun was just beginning for liim. 



He was the one who was wholly and entirely to blame. Of course 

 the action of cutting off the thumb was premeditated; he deliberately 

 held it against the saw until the flesh and bone was sQyered, and he did 

 it just for pure cussedness and with the idea of inconveniencing the 

 boss as much as possible. 



Sometimes, acting on the advice of some one who wanted to keep 

 the pot of trouble boiling, he sued the company for damages, a shyster 

 lawyer agreeing to conduct the case for half the plunder, and if they 

 won out iu the first court it was continued in the one next higher, 

 which reversed the verdict because in the twenty-third line of the 

 stenographer's notes a misplaced comma made it difficult to determine 

 whether the boil on his neck was directly on his Adam's apple or 

 under his left ear. 



If the last court to which the ease could be carried happened to 

 find for the plaintiff, then the lawyer pocketed half the proceeds as 

 per agreement, and sent in a bill for two-thirds of the remainder for 

 postage, carfare and writing paper. 



The victim had lost his job, also his thumb, but he had gained a 

 whole lot of valuable experience which could have been secured in no 



other way, uud if at any future time he lost the rest of his hand he 

 would know enough to conceal tlie loss from anyone who happened to 

 bo about and keep right on nt work as if nothing hud hapiieued. 



Working conditions have been greatly changed in the past few years 

 and the workman has no definite knowledge that there is a dangerous 

 machine anywhere in the vicinity. If ho wants to get a peek at the 

 wheels ho must force his way through a board partition and teor down 

 two hoilcr-iron guards before he can see the revolving gears or even 

 trim his nails on the rip saw. 



In addition to these precautions there arc signs posted in all places 

 where they can bo read with tho least effort, warning the employe 

 that the management dislikes very much to have the floor littered up 

 with gore and loose finger ends, and will he please abstain from 

 removing the guards so ho won't bo tempted to leave his hands in tho 

 gears or to lean too heavily on tho outside edge of a revolving circu- 

 lar saw. 



That's the way the situation works out. When it was one of the 

 easiest things in tho world to lose a finger or an arm in the cutters, 

 or get wound around the shafting and part with one trouser leg — 

 with contents, about the only benefit to be derived was a long vacation 

 and the sympathy of the neighbors, but now when a benevolent 

 insurance company announces it will pay a specified sum for an arm 

 or leg — or a scalp, they go to work and make it practically impossible 

 to even knock the bark off a knuckle. 



It seems that the poor harassed woodworker can 't get ahead of the 

 game nohow. 



No Big Stocks of Thick Plain Oak 



There are no large stocks of tliick plain oak in the southern hardwood 

 producing territory for the reason that such stock has not been manu- 

 factured on a large scale during the past several months. Inquiry 

 develops the fact that most of the manufacturers in Memphis and the 

 valley region are producing thick oak only as they have orders for it, 

 and that they are not accumulating even sizable quantities thereof. 

 Vehicle interests are trying, after having failed in their other ques- 

 tionable tactics, as recently disclosed in the H.\rdwood Record, to 

 to create the impression by letters and other propaganda that there are 

 large quantities of thick oak on the market and that prices are work- 

 ing lower under the overproduction thus claimed. Hardwood lumber- 

 men in the producing part of the country appreciate the object of this 

 propaganda and it may be stated that they are not affected in the 

 least by it for the reason that they know that it is founded on false 

 premises. 



Those familiar with southern hardwood producing conditions, handi- 

 capped as they have been by labor shortage and transportation difli- 

 culties, know that production during the past few months has been far 

 below normal. Southern hardwood interests have been operating only 

 intermittently at best since last October and stocks, as a general rule, 

 are far below normal. Demand for thick oak has made itself felt 

 in a large way only during the past tw-o or three months and during 

 that time it would have been impossible, even if manufacturers of 

 lumber hscd so" desired, to have accumulated enough of such stock to 

 bring about comfortable holdings much loss actual overproduction. 



A Friend in Need 



A forest ranger, James C. Friend, whose beat lies north of Yel- 

 lowstone park, returned to his cabin recently where he lived alone, 

 and found it wrecked as if an advocate of German kultur had 

 paid it a visit. His dishes, provisions, and clothing were ruined, 

 and even his stove was upset. The havoc was the work, of bears 

 that had gained an entrance through the window. He had scarcely 

 made his cabin habitable before the bears came back for another 

 visit, but before they had time to suspect danger, the ranger 

 began a barrage fire with his Winchester and three of the bears 

 went down to rise no more. Friend kept up the fight, and before 

 he entertained proposals of peace he had killed ten large bears and 

 captured two cubs. This is a pretty tall bear story, and the bones 

 of Daniel Boone may turn in their grave for envy; but the truth 

 of the story is vouched for by American Forestry. 



