HARDWOOD RECORD 



May 10, 1918 



styles aud sizes under an agreement between the Commercial Econ- haps a few new ones built to accommodate the millions of acldi- 

 omy Board and representatives of the industry. tional men whom it is planned to draft in order to carry on the war 



The army camps and cantonments are to be enlarged and per- to final victor}'. 



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The Lumberman s Round Table M 



Hire Your Traffic Manager Now 



Right now is probably the best time tliat has ever presented it- 

 self to hire a good traffic manager. The railroads, since the gov- 

 ernment has taken charge of their operations, are cutting down 

 their organizations. A great many wide-awake traffic men, who 

 liave been employed in the solicitation of business, are being taken 

 from this work and put into the operating departments, in order 

 to justify their being kept on the pay roll. 



A good many railroad men affected by the changes have been 

 quietly looking around for positions in the industrial field, taking 

 the view that their tenure of more or less unnecessary jobs was 

 likely to be of uncertain duration. One such official in the ac- 

 quaintance of the writer has become traffic manager for a big 

 company which had needed a man for a long time, but had man- 

 aged to get along without one until this well-equipped railway ex- 

 pert became available. 



Of course, it is not to be expected that the hardwood companies 

 can get a bargain in traffic managers, because qualified men in this 

 line, as others, come high. But it is true that more favorable terms 

 can be made now than would have been possible formerly, and it 

 is also true that many railroad men who would have hesitated to 

 leave their positions in the service are now glad to consider work 

 that will take them into the industrial field. 



The plan which is being used successfully in the South and else- 

 where, of having traffic work done on a co-operative basis, can be 

 adopted by companies which haven't enough work to justify the 

 appointment of a man to serve their individual interests. 

 Trucking in the Warehouse 



A visit to a big veneer storage warehouse in the Chicago dis- 

 trict the other day suggested a few ideas on the subject of cutting 

 labor costs in the handling of this material. A warehouse of this 

 character usually covers a considerable area, and moving the crates 

 and bundles around on hand-trucks is a slow process, and expen- 

 sive both in time and money. 



It ought to be a profitable arrangement to use a truck equipped 

 with a storage battery for work of this kind. The "juice" would 

 not need to cost much, and the speed and facility with which the 

 work could be done ought to make the use of the truck a profitable 

 investment. In connection with loading ami unloading cars, where 

 speed often is an important factor, a truck operated electrically 

 would enable a lot of time to be saved and better service given to 

 customers. 



In the warehouse referred to above, those in charge had equipped 

 a remodeled Ford with small, solid-tired wheels suitable for ware- 

 house use, and had arranged for it to pick up trucks and haul 

 them to the desired point. This plan would work well in some 

 eases, but where there is a lot of space on one floor, a battery- 

 operated truck would be most convenient and successful in actual 

 use. 



Solving the Logging Problem 



In connection with transportation questions in the hardwood 

 trade, are there any log buyers who are using their own motor 

 trucks as a means of bringing in their purchases from the country 

 districts? 



This question is of some interest at this particular moment, be- 

 cause of the difficulty of getting men and teams with which to 

 handle logging operations. That refers especially to territory 

 where the logs are scattered and are purchased in small lots from 

 different buyers, and not to the big operations where the logger is 

 using his own railroad. 



A lot of farmers are going to be hard to I'ouvincc tliat they 

 ought to spend their time getting out logs for the sawmill man 

 this spring, especially when their crops need attention and food 

 production is undoubtedly tjie most important item on the program. 

 The only way to get the logs will be to arrange for the handling 

 of them, and as the use of teams might be difficult, in view of the 

 possible distance away from the mill, it looks as though motor 

 trucks might come in handy. 



During the freight congestion and bad weather of last winter, 

 motor trucks were used successfully for overland journeys of sev- 

 eral hundred miles. In fact, the standardized motor truck de- 

 signed for United States army use was tested out in this way. 

 Interurban hauls by truck are quite practicable, from the stand- 

 point of money saved as well as that of meeting an emergency. 

 Of course, a truck has to have a fairly good road, but given rea- 

 sonable conditions in this respect, it ought to be able to make a 

 great showing in handling logs. 



Sawmill and veneer mill operators who have been studying the 

 logging question may find in this suggestion an idea that they can 

 profitably apply to this department of their work. 

 Selling Hardwoods to Retailers 



The hardwood manufacturer seldom regards the retail yard man 

 as an important customer, or one worth paying much attention to. 

 He devotes most of his time to the factory buyers, and even the 

 planing mill man who wants a mixed car of hardwoods to take 

 care of the varied demands for small lots of material isn't regardcil 

 as the most desirable prospect in the world. 



The yard man, however, is showing a good deal of interest in 

 liardwoods just now on account of the high price of pine and other 

 materials usually handled in the retail yards. Hardwood flooring, 

 for instance, is being featured to a larger extent by the dealers, 

 not only because it is an item which can be sold readily, in view 

 of its frequent use in remodeling and repair work, but because to- 

 day an owner can put in a hardwood floor for not much more than 

 it would cost to lay one of yellow pine. 



This situation ought to suggest that with the proper encourage- 

 ment the retailer might be persuaded to handle other hardwood 

 items, and possibly reach a point of great importance in the "dis- 

 tribution of hardwoods. 



Poplar, for example, is a wood that ought to be carried in stock 

 by all of the retailers. It is one of the easiest woods to work, and 

 carpenters, householders and others requiring material in small lots 

 ought to be able to get it of their local dealer. There are other 

 classes of hardwood lumber suitable for distribution through the 

 retail yard, and the dealers ought to be educated regarding hand- 

 ling them. ^ 



Of course, the situation just now is such that few manufactur- 

 ers are endeavoring to add to the number of tlieir accounts, in view 

 of the difficulties attendant on production and shipment. How- 

 ever, the hardwood concern which has a few salesmen who are not 

 busy at present might do a lot worse than to have them make an 

 investigation of the retail trade as an outlet for their products. 

 There is no telling when this information will be exceedingly usi- 

 ful in the distribution of what might otherwise be surplus stocks. 



Thirty Thousand Cars Ordered 



On April 2G the government closptl the contract for building 30,000 

 friught cars at a cost ot ,$80,000,000. Thoy will be Iniilt by the American 

 Car & Foundry Company, whose plants arc located in Indiana, Illinois. 

 Mlciiigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Negotiations for tlic 

 construction of 70.000 additional cars are still pending. The cars arc of 

 llio steel underframe type box and coal. 



