ao 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



of us. there are more and better reasons today 

 for believing that by a concession here and a 

 bit of leniency in judging some separate sus- 

 picious transaction there, we can move together 

 to the common ground of accord and apprecia- 

 tive understanding 



We feel honored in having received from all 

 our sister associations acceptance "t our invita- 

 tion to send representatives to join with us in 

 this convention to consider what action had 

 best be taken, whether mutual or otherwise, to 

 cement the existing relations and lessen the 

 grievances which have in the past been caused 

 in great part by wrong customs anil lack ni 

 understanding of' each other. We welcome these 

 delegates and tender them all the privileges of 

 membership in a joint effort to bring about such 

 result, and hope the retailers, the press repre- 

 sentatives and all who have accepted our invita- 

 tion to meet with us will make themselves as 

 comfortable as they would be at home, and of 

 -course dine with us tomorrow eveuiug. 



The bureau of information, with the legal 

 and claim collecting branches, maintains its 

 lead in the fixed departmental work. it has 

 demonstrated, beyond all question, its ability to 

 serve with profit the members of the bureau 

 and all of the membership as well who use the 

 splendid advantages offered to them in legal aid 

 and the collection of claims. It is needless to 

 say to you that this department is experienced 

 and well equipped, having at hand a fund of 

 information which makes it at once the most 

 reliable and skillful of agencies serving lumber- 

 men anywhere in the conduct of these important 

 features of the business of the individual. These 

 facts are attested to by voluntary statements of 

 members which reach the association almost 

 daily. 



The department established by the committee 

 on railroads and transportation, which has been 



E. V. BABCOCK OF PITTSBURG, TRUSTEE. 



in ' operation through an experimental stage 

 only, gives promise of deserving on its merits to 

 become a fixture. This traffic department is, in 

 a way, giving the same class of service, with 

 its information on transportation questions and 

 in the collection of freight claims, adjusting 

 weights, keeping track of routing changes and 

 charges, etc., that the bureau of information is 

 supplying in its larger field. It is today an 

 important feature of the work and deserves a 

 '.rial at least, and we believe that if it had the 

 upport of every member it would prove at once 

 its usefulness because of the pronouueed and 

 plain results obtained. 



One other reference before closing — the uncer- 

 tainty of lite was never more strikingly pointed 

 out than in the untimely death of Pendennis 

 White, lie had so recently stepped from leader- 

 ship and out of the presidency of the associa- 

 tion that it seems he can not be gone. A year 

 ago in this room he was zealously aiding in 

 every movement looking to the advancement of 

 the association and its prestige. 



Within but little more time than a year death 

 has. claimed two of the men who had both so 

 ahly and loyally served us in high places, Our 

 ...emorial last year was to the lamented Charles 

 M. Betts, who had reached his three score years 

 and ten ; today it shall be to Pendennis White. 

 taken in' the flower ami prime of life. A beau- 

 tiful thought and an admonition as well comes 

 to us in this connection in the lines of the poet : 



"And our hearts, though stout and brave, 



Still like muffled drums are beating 

 Funeral marches to the grave." 



Permit me to thank the officers, committee- 

 men and all of the members of this association 

 for their willing assistance to me upon every 

 occasion and to acknowledge the tireless and 

 effective service rendered to me and to the 

 association by the secretary. 



I shall always esteem the honor of having 



been your president or t I In- greatest that can 



c to me, and Cor you all my wish is health, 



happiness and increasing prosperity. 



The chair then called for tin- secretary 'a 

 report and E. I'. Perrj responded as follows: 



Secretary's Report. 



The annual task of trying to give in a report 



any lair idea of the year's work and toe 



phshments of au association whose interests are 

 s,, diversified as ours is probably more than 

 should he expected, and I sometimes feel that 

 such reports are not only detrimental but often 

 convej a \er\ false impression as to the exact 

 situation. lit such a brief report as I am 

 expected to make one can treat of the work only 

 in a general way. 



There are but a few members here today who 

 were active in the association ten years ago. 

 and fewer still who have followed the work of 

 the organization through the various phases. 

 Ten years ago we had 201 members ; today, 

 368. * Then our members were located in 11 

 stales; today we have members in 21) states and 

 3 provinces in Canada and extending from coast 

 to coast. During the past year we have had 30 

 new applications for membership, of which :;.: 

 were acted upon favorably, and there have been 

 31 withdrawals, leaving a net gain for the year 

 "I J. We have double the number of committees 

 over ten years ago, and there are three times 

 as many members working on these standing 

 committees. 



You will recall that at the last annual meet- 

 ing there was considerable discussion over in- 

 creasing the annual dues, and it was predicted 

 that a considerable loss of membership would 

 result. With that in mind, and also the prob- 

 able open field of the Pacific coast, a special 

 canvass was planned in the early spring toward 

 increasing the membership. 'The San Francisco 

 disaster came, coupled with an annoying car 

 shortage on the coast, and delay was advised, 

 consequently no organized effort was made until 

 the trustees' meeting in January. 1*J07, at which 

 time a small net loss of members was reported. 

 Since then special effort has been made, with 

 the result that today we show a slight gain 

 over hist year. 



This is lire eminently au age of centraliza- 

 tion; an age of intense concentration of energy, 

 power and facilities in all lines of endeavor. 

 The slogan of our members seems to be "the 



maximum results at the minimum cost of ti 



or effort consistent with efficiency." Expansion 

 scents to be the order of the day. Our associa- 

 tion is no exception to this rule, and I doubt 

 very much whether any other organization of 

 tiny character has during the last decade so 

 broadened its scope, or been forced to meet 

 such a wide range of interests, S<> quietly and 

 \,i so forcibly have these evolutions been at 

 work in extending our operations, that even we 

 in charge are astounded at the advance wheu 

 we calmly consider the situation. 



Edmund Burke says. "When had men combine 



g 1 men must associate." Only a lew years 



ago association work was unrecognized : today 

 nearly every lumberman is a member of some 

 association, and many are members of several, 

 'itir association, in order to keep pace with 

 business progress, has constantly added special 

 ' facilities for handling its varied and growing 

 business, and thus we have many departments : 

 First, Executive and General Correspondence ; 

 second, the Bureau of Information or Credit 

 Department ; third, the Legal or Collection 

 Department : fourth, Arbitration; fifth. Railroad 

 and Transportation ; sixth. Fire and Marine 

 Insurance; seventh. Forestry: eighth. Terms of 

 Stile; ninth. Legislation; tenth. Trade Rela- 

 tions; eleventh. .National Inspection Rules: and 

 so on, and each of these in turn has its im- 

 portant function : and each from a national 

 standpoint has a relative value which is not at 

 all comprehended by the average member, for 

 it seems to be the rule that the individual 

 member is rarely at one time interested in more 

 than two or three phases of general association 

 work. 



An old saw much used is that "The world 

 is small." but it is so old that it becomes 

 trite aud applies with great force to the lumber 

 situation. Shipping points are no longer close 

 to consuming centers when measured in miles, 

 but when considered by general conditions, 

 "The world is small, and all the world is akin." 

 Personal acquaintance witli the man you sell is 

 no longer esseutial. What you want to know- 

 is his general reputation, what others think 

 of him and how he has treated them, and what 

 his needs are. You are no longer willing to sell 

 your lumber to everyone who is willing to pay 

 . hut the legitimate retailer, although a 

 thousand miles away, can buy of you if he is 



ii. K. ; therefore, our bureau of information 

 or credit department. 



You no longer alone try to cope with the 

 railroads, but you ask your competitor to help 

 you to get your rights, while at the same time 

 you ask for no special favors over other ship- 

 pers. Legislation is no longer ignored and 

 allowed |>, go unnoticed, but you co-operate with 

 fellow members and other organizations to get 

 the best and fairest legislation possible and the 

 most effective for the good of all. 



You have disputes with your customers, who 

 sometimes are your competitors, and instead of 

 trying to adjust your differences by long-drawn 

 out law suits, you use your association's good 

 offices to adjust them and in case of failure, 

 then you ask for arbitration. 



You fight fire insurance companies with 

 organizations conducted in your interests aud 

 controlled by men of your selection. And so 

 on down the full list of the association depart- 

 ments. 



To report what our association has done in 

 the past year is but to give" in detail the work 

 of the above departments, all of which will be 

 referred to in the reports of the various cm 

 mittees who have had these matters in charge, 

 and as intimated at the start, even these reports 

 will not fully portray the actual accomplish- 

 ments. Many committeemen refrain from taking 

 the credit due them for work performed, as 

 much of their work is that of negotiation and 

 supervision, and visible results tire not always 

 a true portrayal of the actual work done, but 

 1 bespeak a careful consideration of all com- 

 mittee reports. 



The association again this year has been 

 actively engaged in the prosecution of the car 

 stake equipment complaint, which undertaking 

 has required considerable attention, and is 



.\ II WALCOTT OF PROVIDENCE, TRUSTEE. 



acknowledged t<> he cue of the most important 

 matters we have before us. 



Next in importance possibly is the work done 

 under the plans laid down last year by the 

 executive committee and the trade relations 

 committee along trade relations lines. Little 

 of this work has come directly under the notice 

 of that committee, but the action taken at 

 Ottawa has enabled us to work in greater 

 harmony with the retail associations, and a 

 large number of classifications of trade have 

 been made, apparently to the satisfaction of all 

 concerned. Probably the most noticeable change 

 has been our work in conjunction with the 

 New Jersey Lumbermen's Protective Association. 

 We have had the hearty co-operation of our 



members in that held, ami it lias been a - <, 



of great satisfaction to note the hearty response 

 of our members in matters taken up with them : 

 in fact, our effort to adjust certain unsatisfac- 

 tory conditions has extended to wholesalers not 

 members. 



Lest our president should not refer to it. I 

 am sure you will be pleased to learn that the 

 New Jersey Lumbermen's Protective Association, 

 appreciating his interest in trade relations, the 

 existing relations between them and the National 

 association, last week elected him to honorary 

 membership in their association, conferring the 

 same honor upon your secretary. I am sure 

 this will be appreciated by all. because we have- 

 not always been able to agree with that associa- 

 tion in trade relation matters, hut a new light 

 seems to have dawned upon the situation, and 

 I know we will all profit by it. 



We maintain most cordial relations with all 



