HARDWOOD RECORD 



45 



l.y ovrry Inislncss man iu tlK- United Slatos. Wc leave it to you. Has 

 til'' .i.]\< I IMii^j, :i- you have seen it, been successful? Can not the lum- 

 l..iiii,iii I. II 111' \\"mlerful story of the forests and 'the beauties of our 

 liiiii. r iihl ith u . lulness of its products as intelligently and as interest- 

 iiii;l( '" III |,iii.ii,.- as the telephone company can educate the same 



|iu !■ Til II if their implements; as the National Biscuit Company 



cm I'll III' I "II "t cakes and crackers? 



w ' I'll' I "II all know, proven by the different individual campaigns 

 "I 111'' v:iri"ii- .'""liations that people can and do become interested, but 

 iliosc campaigns, wonderfully successful as they have been in their more 

 iir less narrow scope, do not now and will never touch the great subject 

 (if wood and to a certain degree are more or less antagonistic to each 

 other, but "Wood vs. Substitutes for Wood" is a tale that must be told 

 — a battle that must be fought by a united army of lumbermen of the 

 United States and it can be done in no other way. We must all pull 

 together, big and little, strong and weak, must all do what we can to 

 furnish the brains, energy and what is equally necessary, the sinews 

 of war. the cash — not the promise of help, financial or otherwise, but 

 the fulfillment of the promise, and not some time in the future, but now. 



When we visit this magnificent exhibition In (he Coliseum is there a 

 lumberman iu the audience who Is not proud of it? Gentlemen, it took 

 brains, energy and money to plan and carry to a successful issue our 

 Forest Products Exposition. Will the lumbermen stop here, or are 

 I here any more brains, energy and money left to continue the good 

 work? We heard only yesterday of the sale of a large amount of rail- 

 road material at a price nearly 50 per cent less than the same class of 

 lumber was sold for a year ago. 



We presume there is no danger of prosecution, or continued persecu- 

 tion, from the Bureau of Corporations if we simply refer to a lowering 

 of prices and don't talk of raising them. We don't know the quantity 

 sold, but for the sake of argument we will say that 1.000,000 feet was 

 sold and that the average price was ?10 less than obtained last year 

 (and some items we heard were nearly $16 less). Then $10,000 has been 

 irrevocably lost In one deal. This .$10,000 would have paid 1 cent per 

 thousand feet on each day's cut of the average mill for thirty years, and 

 the 1 cent per thousand feet is all we ask to begin a campaign of force- 

 ful and intelligent advertising, coupled with an efficient follow-up depart- 

 ment. We are more or less being taxed out of existence, some states 

 having as high as three separate taxes on the same tree and its con- 

 tents, and our assessors are much more interested in the cutting down 

 of the trees and the collection of the revenue and the immigration of 

 settlers and farmers to the cut-over lands than they are iu the conserva- 

 tion or reforestation movements. One is a live political issue, the others 

 a dream of the future. 



Wiping Out Good Prospects 



Our great timber holders, buyers for a future market, will probably 

 find taxation on the one hand and substitution on the other wiping out 

 the former prospect for a good investment, together with the fact that 

 nothing is being done intelligently and in accordance with accepted, 

 up-to-date methods, either to hold the old trade or broaden the market 

 and explore new fields. AVo ask, will not these large timber holders be 

 forced to build mills and begin to realize at once what they can and 

 further swell the enormous overproduction and thereby further lower 

 the average price per thousand feet? Remember that notwithstanding 

 one branch of the United States government upbraids us for raising 

 prices from 80 to 200 per cent, another branch, presumably as reliable, 

 shows a drop in the last seven years of $1.20 per thousand feet, an 

 average on all kinds of lumber of about TH per cent — this, notwith- 

 standing the well known fact that the value of standing timber has 

 materially advanced during the same period. 



In 1910 the United States Government says the value of all lumber 

 and timber products was $1,136,129,000. The members of the National 

 Lumber Manufacturers' Association produced about 2.5 per cent, or 

 .$289,032,250 worth. We are asking the members of this association to 

 contribute in cash the sum of 1 cent for each thousand feet they pro- 

 duce, which we figure will amount to $12,000, for twelve months. This 

 sum is sufficient to start a campaign under the banner "Wood vs. All 

 Substitutes." It has taken practically three years to prove these facts 

 to our own fellow workers, but we believe that no one today doubts 

 the vital necessity of such a campaign of education and we therefore 

 again recommend to this association that it now act before it is too late. 



A negro once was sentenced to be hanged for murder. During his 

 term in jail no statement could be gotten from him, nor would he talk 

 even on the morning of the day set for his execution. The priest en- 

 deavored to gain his confidence on the w^ay to the scaffold with no better 

 result, but just as everything was ready for the bolt to be pulled that 

 would shoot him Into eternity he said slowly and emphatically : "Gentle- 

 men, I'se be'n a bad, bad nigger, but I'se gwine to turn over a new leaf 

 right now." 



W. F. Biederman, superintendent of the Blue Book published 

 by the National Lumber Manufacturers' Credit Corporation, 

 reported that the financial condition of the book is in excellent 

 shape. 



Then followed short talks b}- delegates of the various affiliated 

 associations. 



F. E. Waymer of the Georgia-Florida Sawmill Association was 



the first speaker. Mr. Waymer said that the affairs of his asso- 

 ciation are going along nicely and that the members meet every 

 month and have a free and general discussion of conditions. 



J. C. Knox, secretary of the Michigan Hardwood Manufac- 

 turers' Association, reported for that body. He said his associa- 

 tion has seventy members, manufacturers of hardwood and hem- 

 lock, who cut last year 750,000,000 feet of lumber, of which 450,- 

 000,000 feet was hardwood. The association meets quarterly and 

 a close interest is always maintained in its affairs. 



R. S. Kellogg in speaking for the Northern Hemlock and Hard- 

 wood Manufacturers' Association, said that he was surprised at 

 the expression of difficulties which he had heard regarding main- 

 tenance of association work during recent times of uncertain busi- 

 ness. He stated that his association is accomplishing more and 

 is actually spending more money than ever in its history. 



Mr. Kellogg outlined the work of co-operating with the retailers 

 of Wisconsin for the purpose of helping maintain the lumber 

 market. This work has been undertaken as a result of the 

 activities of substitutes advocated in that territory, and is becom- 

 ing a more and more important phase of the lumber business in 

 all sections of the country. Mr. Kellogg said that of the 31,000 

 silos constructed in the middle western states during the past 

 year, 8,000 were in the state of Wisconsin alone. He then went 

 on to describe the advertising work done by the association, telling 

 of the success with which it had met. 



H. S. Childs, secretary of the Northern Pine Manufacturers' 

 Association, said that the 1913 cut of the association members 

 was 1,185,000,000 feet; shipments 1,400,000,000 feet, and that prices 

 had fluctuated somewhat during that period. Mr. Childs said that 

 there is a smaller membership than previously, but that this does 

 not necessarily mean a decreased influence, as the total cut holds 

 up very well. 



George E. Watson, secretary of the Southern Cypress Manufac- 

 turers' Association, reported that the affairs of his association 

 have been going on in an even tone, that the policy has been to 

 simply maintain their own during the present unfavorable condi- 

 tions. He said that both cypress and the cypress association have 

 held their own during the past year, and that there is an antici- 

 pation of considerable branching out when conditions are more 

 favorable. 



Thorpe Babcock, secretary of the West Coast Lumber Manufac- 

 turers' Association, reported that the advertising campaign insti- 

 tuted by that organization was the big work of the year. He 

 stated that association work is difficult under present stringent 

 conditions. 



George K. Smith, secretary of the Yellow Pine Manufacturers' 

 Association, stated that general conditions are not so encouraging 

 as last year, and that there does not seem to be material promise 

 of betterment during the next ninety days. He said that the 

 members of his association are simply waiting to see what will 

 develop from present conditions. 



E. A. Selfridge, who was representing the Redwood Manufac- 

 turers' Association, (not now a member of the National associa- 

 tion) was called upon. Mr. Selfridge expressed himself as believ- 

 ing that his association will eventually join the National Lumber 

 Manufacturers' Association. He told of the conditions in the red- 

 wood industry of the West, and said that members of that associa- 

 tion have already seen the necessity of a broadening of the 

 interest in the lumber market, and the necessary going together 

 to accomplish this increase. 



W. B. Roper, secretary of the North Carolina Pine Association, 

 Inc., said that with their lumber they used to experience con- 

 siderable blueing, but that this difficulty has been eliminated in 

 the lumber itself by kiln-drying, and is being eliminated in the 

 individuals by proj)er doses of optimism. Mr. Roper expressed 

 himself forcibly as in favor of a national advertising campaign 

 in lumber. 



J. M. Pritehard, secretary of the Gum Lumber Manufacturers' 

 Association, was also called upon to talk. He described the work 

 and purposes of that newest of the general associations. 



