HARDWOOD RECORD 



i9 



ami m.-mlx.-i- in .ilitainiii;; lli.> n'siilts thai will Iju rt.'taili'J in the secretary's 

 re|ii)rt, and all I ...nlil |i..--ii.ly iLsk for for the balance of the year would 

 he a conlinnaii.iTi i.i ihii -ii. mils support. 



Our possiliiliti. - 1- III I iation are unlimited — let us not rest until 



we have eslablisli. d uiii.,. his so tirmly that nothing will be able to assail 

 «s or the wood we are boosting. 



Secretary's Repor'; 



A very meaty report was then delivered by Secretary J. M. Pritch- 

 ard. 



During the past twenty years various lumber associations have been 

 organized for solving problems perplexing to the trade. These associations 

 bave dealt with such questions a.s inspection rules, transiwrtatlon, trade 

 reports, insurance, etc. While some of these organizations within the 

 recent years have vigorously taken up the question of advertising, it was 

 mot until the gum lumber manufacturers organized that there was an 

 association formed for the explicit purpose of advertising their wood and 

 making a special study of all the conditions surrounding their business in 

 order to disseminate such Information as would improve manufacturing 

 and marketing conditions. 



The success that tlnsi \.i, , :i ..lations have had In handling the 



•questions for which tin > .1 :[\ organized has clearly illustrated 



the fact that it is only li\ i ■ 1 , i Imt any of the big questions'for the 



benefit of any pariiculin im .1 ii.ni. .an be solved. While all that has 

 been done by tli. .nil. r. m luiiiini- associations was beneficial and essential 



in order to ke. 1 r i-i 1 iiu' times, it is only recently that lumbermen 



bave felt the in.d ..1 siiiuni iting the market for their product. In the 

 past the lumbiriiiiu enjuyiil a natural stimulated market, opened and 

 broadened without an unusual eDEort on their part. So long as the old 

 order of things obtained, all was well, but with the advent of a variety of 

 substitutes and th.' aggressive methods pursued by opponents, conditions 

 have changed ami iii. imuii. 1 men must now adopt methods equally as 



aggressive In onl. 1 1 mii hn the market for forest products and take 



advantage of iitin Nii m^ i.i- iiiiliries that have never been considered. 



The aggressivi ill ss mi tin .;iim lumber manufacturers in meeting this 

 Issue has challenged tlie admiration of the entire lumber fraternit.v, and 

 •we believe the results so far obtained under adverse market conditions 

 •equals the expectations of the most sanguine members. 



The details of our advertising campaign were worked out by our ad- 

 vertising committee, and a contract was made with the Crosby-Chicago Ad- 

 vertising Agency for handling all of our advertising contracts. They pre- 

 pared a schedule for our advertising appropriation for the year 1914, 

 ■which was approved by the board of directors. The soundness of this plan 

 is clear. The Crosby-Chicago agency Is comi)Osed of experts in the matter 

 •of writing advertising copy, and placing It where the best results will be 

 obtained for the amount of money expended. (We have here proofs of our 

 advertising copy for your inspection, which will verify our statements in 

 this respect.) 



The following is an analysis of the inquiries received as a result of our 



I ii-||| 'IX. iiiiilders. 324 



Ai I lull I 1 - : I III I engineers ■ S" 



liN 1,11 III. iniiiiiifacturors ard dealers 30 



^1 1 ii'\ 'II I iiii iiiiriK-fiivrs and lumber dealers 29 



\l, . 1: , 1 ,_ ., ii, ,i|s 24 



' ..■HI... |.., !,.! ..II .|. ,.. 20 



iiii HI i'mi .1 1. ^.■s:;;;::;:;::::;;;:;:::;::;;;;;;;;;;;;ii;;! s 



i: . . I- " ' ' /.[[[['.[[['.'.'.'.['.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.[['.['.'.[['.I'.'.W'.'.W^ 5 



\ III. Ill- .".'.[[[[[[[[[[['.[[[['.[['.[lim'.'.'.'.'.ll'.W'.l 4 



1. 1. 111. I «..ii.ii-- .1 



1 lUlshll,^ 3 



r.anks 2 



Flooriui; 2 



Hotel 1 



nov's rxiin-. «ai;i,Tl 1 



ATn'si.. . :i!.ui. f 1 



~ I- 111 '.[[^[[[['.[[['.[['.'.'.['.[l^'.l'.'.'.'.'.ll'.^'.'.'.'.'.ll 1 



I i\ - I mi -hiiw rii-i- .'■irapany 1 



JlisteiiatiTOUs' .'..'.'.'.. '.'.'.'.'.'.'.\\'.'.'.\'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.\'.'. 12 

 Total 581 



The above have all had special attention from the secretary's ofiSce, and 

 in each Instance personal letters have been written giving the information 

 desired so far as possible. We have a complete list of these inquiries, and 

 the members and visitors are requested to examine same. This will give 

 some idea as to the interest created in gum by our campaign. Many of 

 these inquirers are now users of gum and a number of manufacturing con- 

 •cerns who formerly used only a small amount of this wood are now 

 using it extensively, and have become "boosters." 



We have here a list of buildings in which red gum trim has been used, 

 and in no instance have we had a complaint that the material did not 

 prove entirely satisfactory. On the contrary we have letters containing 

 the highest praise for this finish. 



The secretary's offlce will keep in touch with these inquiries, and we 

 feel sure there can be but one result, and that a greatly widened market 

 for gum. 



There has been much preliminary work necessary in order to organize 

 the secretai-y's office for handling the work to the best advantage and we. 



no doubt, have made some mistakes. We are dally gaining in experience, 

 and with the beginning of our second six months' period are better 

 equipped for taking advantage of all the opportunities at hand. There is 

 now being prepared a booklet which will greatly facilitate the work of the 

 offlce, and which will contain concise and pertinent information for the 

 benefit of prospective users of gum. We will, also, be better equipped with 

 samples, which In themselves are very effective advertisements. 



Our office has handled !i vast amount of mail. In addition to regular 

 corres|i..ii.i, II, ,., «, hnv ^. ni mn :il..,nt five thousand triplicate postcards 



to corisiiiih I - III! . I . . ,iiijiij .lit. lit inn to gum and our methods of co- 



"Perati iii- n , «. i:,i.. i„.,.n able to fill our flies with the 



names ..i m.nn i..ij..iti- h h iis,.i-s of gum, especially for interior 



trim. Our |ilan is to refer inquiries from the territory of each of these 

 concerns to them, and they in turn co-oiierate with us in developing the 

 business. This plan works admirably and proves the benefits of co. 

 operative work. 



The secretary's offlce issues a bulletin to the membership containing 

 information concerning the work of the association. This includes a 

 report of actual sales of gum lumber, with prices based f. o. b. Cairo, 

 Memphis or N. « "M m riiis information is of immense value to mem- 

 bers In that 11 t ' I I larket conditions. These sales reports indi- 

 cate that then i i. m i .i.nmnd for red gum, and that prices on all 



grades of gun. :m t - .■ uniform. While on this point, we would 



like to urge more or the ni.inl>ers to make reports of actual sales to the 

 secretary. It does not seem out of place here to say that thjs association 

 does not in any manner attempt to set prices or to regulate production. 

 As previously stated, our sole object is to stimulate and broaden the market 

 for gum. Thus will the natural law of supply and demand regulate the 

 price. 



Inquiries received at our office for lumber and veneers are put in circular 

 letter form and mailed to all members, who make quotations direct to 

 those making Inquiries. An analysis of these inquiries, also, reveals the 

 fact that there is an increased use of red gum. In December, January 

 and February our offlce received very few inquiries for the grades of red 

 gum, most all of them being for the grades of sap gum. Recently the 

 inquiries have been so largely for red gum that one of the members has 

 suggested that we should make a greater effort for stimulating trade tor 

 sap gum. 



The red gum exhibit at the Forest Products Exposition, which was held 

 in Chicago April 30 to May 9, and which will be in New York at the 

 Grand Central Palace May 21-30, will prove to be one of the biggest 

 "boosts" red gum has ever had. This exhibit was admired by all visitors 

 at the Chicago exposition, and without wishing to boast, it is safe to say, 

 it will, also, he one of the popular features of the New York exposition. 

 Great credit should be given the committee, and especially to Thos. W. 

 Fry. chairman, who was compelled to go ahead with the plans for tliis 

 exhibit without sufficient funds having been subscribed to foot the bills. 

 Mr. Fry personally guaranteed the deUcit in order that the exhibit might 

 be carried through as planned. We do not believe, however, that when 

 the gum manufacturers have been made acquainted with this fact, and 

 with the beneflcial results of this exhibit, they will permit Mr. Fr.v to 

 pocket a loss of money in addition to the time he sacrificed in making 

 this exhibit a great success. 



Statistics show that 33% per cent of all the veneers used in the United 

 States are manufactured from gum. Gum is an ideal veneer for every 

 sort of use for which veneer is suitable. The work our association is 

 doing is of benefit to the veneer manufacturers, as well as the lumber 

 manufacturers. In view of this fact we recommend that our by-laws be r.o 

 amended as to make veneer manufacturers eligible to' membership on a 

 basis which will be fair both to the veneer and the lumber manufac- 

 turers. 



It is a little premature to give exact information, but we feel quite safe 

 in saying that plans will materialize within the next two or three months 

 whereby another large factory wUl specialize in the manufacture of high- 

 grade gum doors. It is easy to figure the benefits that this specialization 

 of gum doors will have. There is absolutely no question but that red gum 

 makes one of the most beautiful and desirable doors on the market. With 

 red gum doors, red gum trim will be specified, and this in turn will create 

 a demand for red gum furniture. 



It is difficult to put on paper all the tangible results to be accredited 

 to our work of exploitation, but the publicity we have given to gum has 

 made it much easier for the lumbermen to talk red gum to their custom- 

 ers. We believe we bave made such an impression on the trade at large 

 that it is now realized that red gum is fast becoming the popular wood 

 for interior trim and high-class furniture. It has possibilities for artistic 

 decorating that no other wood can claim. 



Doors manufactured by the Hardwood Products Company, Neenah, Wis., 

 and the .\merican Compound Door Company, Chicago. 111., were shown in 

 our exhibit at the Forest Products Exposition, and were admired by all our 

 visitors. There are several other concerns already manufacturing gum 

 wood doors and the increased use of these doors will stimulate the demand 

 for both veneer and lumber. 



Permanent offices of the association are being arranged for by the com- 

 mittee on offices and furuiture, and same will be finished and furnished 

 entirely in red gum in such a manner as to show the possibilities of this 

 beautiful wood. ITie interior trim and paneling of these rooms is now in- 

 stalled, but the finish is not completed. These rooms are on the thirteenth 



