HARDWOOD RECORD 



35 



tlif-m tnn muoli. I am sure that you will agree that 

 dnni f"!- in-ip.'.tif.n is very mucli desired by tbc entire 

 ' 11' 11 ■i\ 11 1 ill u I.J perfect our rules, I hope that we 



mil I !■ n (t{ the consumers, whose interests 



:.r.. ii; .1 I 1 ^iiaid. I am sure that our committee 



airing. .1 . .hh 1 . 111!' with you and other consumers for 



Mill. Ill ami u juu ii(-sire I will take the matter up with 

 e association with the object in view of having such a 

 11 sure that this would result in a much better under- 

 ituaHon." 



the same gentleman, i 



discii.-i-iiii; il.is ii 

 the olUi. IS ui Ih 

 conforeiite. I ar 

 standing of tlic s 



This letter was followed by a second lette 

 date of February G, 1913. as follows : 



"I note that you feel that the rules committee should meet a delega- 

 tion of consumers before the next convention and this plan will be agree- 

 able to the association. I am sure such a conference will result in much 

 more being done on amicable lines than in any other way, and will be 

 pleased to have you advise what date would be agreeable for such con- 

 ference." 



Your chairman wishes to direct the attention of our members and all 

 others interested to the fact that this letter requesting the active repre- 

 sentative of the consumers to set a date for a conference was Ignored, 

 and that they did not accept the Invitation to confer with the inspection 

 ru'fs committee. 



'I'he speak.i- :ii ili. ( iii.i-.i meeting on May 14 last was again mistalcen 

 in stating ili.n i.'"' i-n .i i.i.iiests were sent to the association, because 



nine years since this membership gathered in this beautiful city, and 

 during that period the memory of the bountiful hospitality which was 

 extended upon that occasion by the Buffalo lumbermen has remained 

 with us, and we return today with a sense of again entering a home 

 where the most perfect hospitality prevails. But while pleasant memo- 

 ries of the past are treasures not lightly to be regarded, the nine years 

 which have elapsed between that meeting and this have carried with 

 them attainments of a more substantial nature. It was at the meeting 

 held in Buffalo in 1905 that the tentative methods of a volunteer service 

 were supplanted by the permanent methods of a regular service. It 

 was then that the first definite steps were taken toward the establish- 

 ment upon a firm foundation of the extended system of inspection service 

 which is today not only the efiicient servant of this membership but also 

 the keystone to the arch of successful accomplishment which marks the 

 work of this association. Therefore, we return to Buffalo in order that, 

 like Cadmus of old, we may once more place our feet upon the ground 

 of inspiration, thereby renewing our strength for another decade of 

 strenuous effort for the advancement of those interests which we seek 

 to serve. 



In all ways the past year has been the most successful period through 

 which this association has ever passed — not so much on account of the 



"prole 



received the 



HOTEL 



111 II ■ , and these so-called 



consideration of tlic board of managers for nearly 



an entire day before the convention opened, aud 



were carefully reviewed by the inspection rules 



committee. It is a significant fact that at least 



two of iho firms whose names were printed on 



the original piotests were represented on the 



committee at Chicago .luue C that recommended 



to the convention the adoption of the rules as 



they now stand. The protests to which the 



speaker so often refers were against the printed 



report of the inspection rules committee of .\pril 



5 date, and a comparison of that report with the 



book of Inspection rules as It now stands proves 



false the statement that the protests were 



ignored. 



It may be proper to inquire as to the hostility 



of the opposition to this association that has so 



recently developed, and which is being urged so 



relentlessly by two or three of its promoters. To 



those who are possessed of the tacts in connec- 

 tion with this movement, It would seem that 



certain consumers of lumber whose unfair 



methods of many years' standing have felt the 



restraining curb of the inspection administered 



by this associadon upon their unfair practices 



and who were, therefore, unable any longer to put over practices In con- 

 nection with the inspection of lumber which In the past has been the source 

 of no small profit to them, and not because of the slight alteration in the 

 rules that was made at the 1913 meeting. I do not wish to Include in this 

 statement the great body of consumers who form the new federation, but 



to make It apply only to those who have misled that body of men to the 

 belief that this associaUon is not playing the game fairly. 



There is not a consumer of lumber in this country who does not owe 

 a debt of gratitude to the National Hardwood Lumber Association for 

 the work it has accomplished. It has been at ail times an etficient bul- 

 wark between the consuming trade and a radical element in the pro- 

 ducing hardwood trade that would not have hesitated, when the oppor- 

 tunity presented, to slaughter hardwood grades with one hand and boost 

 hardwood prices with the other. It has at all times been the genuine 

 exponent of conservative action and of fair treatment to all ; and any 

 attempt now, or at any other time, to destroy its prestige or to cripple 

 Its efficiency can only result in failure and bring into disrepute those who 

 are most active in the work of opposition. 



The National Hardwood Lumber Association has stood the test of time 

 and the history it has made in the lumber trade is eloquent of the high 

 quality of its purposes and the success of its achievements. To attempt 

 to separate the improvement that has taken place in the manner of 

 conducting the hardw'ood trade during the past fifteen years from the 

 direct influence of the National Hardwood Lumber Association, would 

 be as ridiculous as to attempt to separate day light from the sun of 

 noonday. 



And what is to be done under the existing condition of affairs? 

 Simply, let every member protect the Integrity of this association — but, 

 at the same time, set about patiently and intelligently to correct the 

 error that has so widely been disseminated among the consuming trade. 

 If this be done in the proper spirit, no man need lose a customer nor 

 yet sacrifice a principle. To do more than this at this time would 

 intensify a bad situation ; to do less would be to lose that the value of 

 which cannot be measured in dollars and cents. 



Secretary Frank F. Fish then read an interesting report, as follows : 



Secretary's Report 



This is the seventeenth annual 

 Lumber Association, and the second 



gain In membership. 

 Inspected, but because 



lor yet on account of the amount of lumber 

 f the fact that the conditions prevailing through- 

 out this country for the past twelve months have 

 been of a nature to test to the uttermost the 

 benefits to be derived from associated effort under 

 proper direction, and In every instance this asso- 

 ciation has satisfactorily responded to the test ; 

 and while a number of other voluntary organiza- 

 tions of a similar nature are yielding to the 

 pressure of existing industrial, financial and com- 

 mercial depression and are evincing evidence of 

 the approach of the sere and yellow leaf period, 

 this association emerges from the ordeal stronger 

 than ever before. 



Since its organization, there has never been 

 a time when the service of the inspection depart- 

 ment has been of greater value than during the 

 past twelve months. With a slacking demand 

 for lumber inevitably comes a more technical 

 inspection. While most buyers of lumber Intend 

 to be fair, when profits are at the vanishing 

 point for all manufactured articles it Is only 

 natural that attempts be made to reduce the cost 

 of raw material in every legitimate manner, and 

 a bearing down on inspection usually results : but 

 where the protection of National Inspection is 

 Invoked, a line Is drawn beyond which neither 

 the necessitous nor the greedy buyer can go. Because of this protection 

 afforded to our membership, some of our consuming friends have become 

 restive and are even now attempting to put something over. But with 

 the united co-operation of this entire membership, it will be easily possible 

 to demonstrate to them that they are in error ; that this association intends 

 to wrong no man, but that its chief function is to see that no man 

 wrongs any of Its members. When this is thoroughly understood, the 

 slightly discoi'dant condition prevailing at the present time will pass 

 away and comity and good will will once more be in evidence. As the 

 years pass by, the solidarity of this membership becomes more and more 

 apparent and absolute unity of purpose and satisfactory concert of ac- 

 tion less diflScult to obtain. 



Since Ihe convention in Chicago on June 5 and 6. 1913, 130 new appli- 

 cations for membership have been received, of which 12 were rejected on 

 account of being ineligible or undesirable. Failures and withdrawals from 

 business number 63 ; 12 have been dropped on account of being delinquent 

 in dues ; and 6 have resigned. The total number of new members admit- 

 ted during the year is 118, being a net gain tor the year of 35 members, 

 bringing the present membership up to 894. 



In the work of soliciting new members, greater care than ever has been 

 exercised to canvass firms only of unquestioned standing in the trade, and 

 the quality of the new members admitted during the past year attests 

 to the care that is being exercised in the selection of new additions to 

 this association. 



Doubtless few. If any, of the members of this association have ever 

 given thought to the changes that have taken place and which are con- 

 stantly taking place in this membership. When we gather at these meet- 

 ings and mingle with friends of many years' standing, whom we are accus- 

 tomed to meet upon these occasions, the assumption is most natural that 

 the entire personnel of the association is subject to but slight change 

 from year to year. This assumption, however, is in error, as the muta- 

 tations which are constantly occurring in our ranks are very great 

 indeed. 



In order to bring this feature prominently before this membership, 

 permit me to cite the following condition, developed by a careful com- 

 parison of the membership list contained in the year book published Just 

 prior to the annual meeting held in this city nine years ago with the 

 list as it exists today. A careful checking of these two lists develops 

 the tact that of the 381 names appearing on the old list, but 125 are 



