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^ The Lumhermans Round Table 



Meeting Changing Conditions 

 Uiic ui the llii-urii-s establislii'il li.v Durwiii, aiul ucri'pti-d iiuw hy 

 mo.st |>oupl(>, was that of naturnl scU'i'tioii. It was fii^rcd out that 

 thf species which did not adapt itself to chaii^'iii); environment was 

 pretty sure to be eliminated. Tlie cliaiines wliich gculoKists have 

 found recorded in the strata laid down l>y passinj; eras demon- 

 strated liow the effort was successfully nuide to meet these now 

 conditions as they developed. 



This proposition is just as true of businesses as of animal life. 

 The business which is built along arbitrary lines, which takes no 

 account of the market, but produces according to -its own idoas, 

 is sooner or later going to bump into the inevitable difficulties of 

 such a course. Unless it changes ([uickly, so as to align itself with 

 the now conditions under which it must operate, it will be elimi- 

 nated. 



The war is bringing this fact very much into evidence. The 

 product which has a place at the head of the list now is a product 

 that can be used in the war. It is an article of some sort that 

 soldiers need, and hence is something for which the channels of 

 supply are being kept open, and for which the demand is assured 

 in advance. 



As one of the leading hardwood operators of the country said 

 recently, business is good because everybody using lumber is mak- 

 ing something for the government. 



And he added, succinctly, "And if they arc not making some- 

 thing of that kind, they are pretty nearly having to quit." 



That is perhaps a broad statement, and exceptions might be 

 made to cover such products as musical instruments, furniture, etc. 

 But taking the woodworking industries as a whole, it is found that 

 they arc rapidly adapting themselves to war conditions, and that 

 they are continuing to get along by the jdan of producing goods 

 which are needed in the prosecution of the war. 



Manufacturing a Labor Problem 



Xrost of the problems of the millmau now arc problems which 



are phases of the main question of getting a sufficient supply of 



the right kind of help. The labor problem is the big, fundamental 



problem undejlying the rest. 



The shortage of logs which one hears about occasionally is prin- 

 cipally <lue to lack of help in getting them out. The superintend- 

 ents of the mills can produce plenty of lumber if they can get the 

 men to work at the saws and on the yards. But getting and hold- 

 ing help is a problem worthy of the name. 



Inasmuch as most of the mills are turning out lumber for war 

 work, a definite appeal might be made to the patriotism of those 

 who are failing to stay on the job and do the regular work which 

 is needed in every industry if it is to do its share toward winning 

 the war. 



Holding labor is also a health problem, as much as anything else. 

 Where malaria and other ills are prevalent, and where typhoid 

 is not controlled, you can't expect to have 100 per cent attendance 

 by those who are nominally on your payroll. This is where the 

 organization of a medical department comes in. If j'ou have a 

 good doctor who is looking after your men, and who is given real 

 co-operation in the matter of sanitation, food supply, housing ac- 

 commodations, etc., you will not only have less trouble holding your 

 men, because they will like to work in that kind of mill, but you 

 will have a more productive force, for the reason that more men 

 will be physically able to work at anj- given time. 



The industrial doctor has become a big factor in the medical 

 world, because it is now recognized that he is standing back of 

 the army of workmen in all lines of production, doing a big share 

 to keep them physically fit, and helping to keep the supplies 

 needed by the soldiers moving to the front. The lumber manu- 

 facturer who has a doctor of this kind serving his organization 

 has a real asset. 



Traffic Conditions More Difficult 

 The taking over of the railroads by the government has made 

 traffic conditions more, instead of less, difficult. The questions 

 which naturally arise as a result of the division of authority be- 

 tween the railroad administration and the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission have mode it harder to figure out just how to handle 

 a given proposition, and the task of the traffic man is therefore 

 not quite as easy as it used to bo; and it never was a bed of roses. 

 One of the best known traffic experts in the southern hardwood 

 field recently said that the railroad question requires harder study 

 and more careful watching now than it ever did before. That is 

 another way of saying that the services of a traffic manager are 

 more necessary now than they ever were before. A good traffic 

 manager can much more than pay his keep in preventing tangles 

 in the business of the hardwood concern. 



The Southern Hardwood Traffic Association, which has head 

 quarters at Memphis and a branch in Louisville, is planning tn 

 establish another branch in the Red Kiver district of Louisiana. 

 The demand for service which has come from operators in that 

 section of the country is sufficient evidence that hardwood manu- 

 facturers are not yet prepared to get along without expert advict 

 on the subject of traffic. 



The Economic Side of Dimension 



The manufacture of dimension stock is necessarily considered 

 first from the commercial standpoint, because a business must be 

 reasonably profitable if anybody is to stay in it. But its real and 

 fundamental importance pertains to the economic service which is 

 rendered by the producer who is cutting his lumber to size and 

 shipping it to the consumer in that form. 



The situation is familiar to everybody, and yet it is worth while 

 to recall the facts occasionally. Consider the waste that is elimi- 

 nated by this plan, which enables the manufacturer to work ud 

 the material so closely that very little that is intrinsically valuablp 

 has to be thrown away. 



Another factor is the conservation of timber. If tlio logs an 

 properly worked up in a dimension mill run in connection with k 

 sawmill, there will be a much better showing from the standpoint 

 of conversion of timber into finished products. Walnut is getting 

 to be largely a dimension proposition, and it is a wood which especi- 

 ally needs the careful handling and manipulation assured by this 

 plan, in order to make the available supply go just as far as pos- 

 sible. There is enough walnut to go around, but it must be in- 

 telligently handled in order to make the supply equal the demand. 



The man who is in the dimension business may be having his 

 troubles commercially, but they have got to be settled, because 

 that is a business which is economically right; and no industry can 

 afford to be lost which is on that kind of basis. 



Poplar in Food Containers 



Gum is used for so many different things at present that if you 

 don't know what material is going into a certain product and 

 guess gum, you are pretty likely to guess right. Gum is getting 

 an enormous play just at present in the manufacture of boxes of 

 all kinds, and boxes are in great demand in connection with the 

 shipment of war supplies. 



It is interesting to note, however, that poplar, which has never 

 lost the high esteem in which it is held by many consumers, is still 

 being specified for a number of food products. Creamery butter, 

 for instance, is almost invariably shipped in a box made of poplar. 

 Where it is desired that the product be kept clean, sweet and free 

 from stain or odor, poplar is the material which can be depended 

 on to achieve that result, and hence many of the most discriminat- 

 ing food manufacturers are continuing to buy poplar bo.ves and 

 shooks. 



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