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Hardwood in the Retai) Yard 



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The coDBumption of hardwood lumlicr of vnrioiiH kinds by plaii- 

 iDR mills and through retail lumber ynrds has reached the point 

 now where those who nro exploilinir those products may well (jive 

 more attention to the systematic cultivation of this field. It 

 might even be urged that for the past few years this field of trade 

 has not yielded bo large returns as it should have because hard- 

 wood manufacturers have not sought to cultivate it so thoroughly 

 or so attentively as they might. There has been too much inclinn- 

 'inn to regard it as a small incidental trade that fills in and helps 

 ■ It but not worth serious effort to follow up nuil culivate. . 



Illustration of what may be done along this line is furnished 

 l>y a case in the veneer industry, where a manufacturer of high- 

 grade hardwood veneer turned special attention to the develop- 

 ment of trade with the planing mills having glue room depart- 

 ments. This trade seemed so small and insignificant with each 

 individual mill that veneer people heretofore have not sougjit it. 

 This man concluded to try it out thoroughly, and after a year or 

 two cultivating this trade with close attention, he said that it 

 • .IS proving to be the best business he had. There wore not a 

 u'reat many carload orders, in fact, most of the trade was in small 

 lots, but he found at the end of the year that the aggregate not 

 only amounted up to a goodly total but that his best protfis ha<l 

 come from these small lot sales. 



Another illustrative case may be found in connection with oak 

 flooring. There has been a fair amount of exploitation of maple 

 flooring before the retail trade but many of those making oak 

 flooring have passed this idea up in favor of handling the oak 

 flooring through special channels, through individual agents who 

 talio contracts for and lay and finish the floors. There is not 

 much question either but what a certain part of the parquetry 

 n.| ol" the oak 'flooring trade will continue through this channel, 



• specially such as show window work, but just the same in the face 



• I' this tendency and these special agents and contractors, a pro- 

 _:rcssive retailer in one of the large cities has taken up this hard- 

 ■vood flooring idea as a strong feature. He has put a man well 

 acquainted with the hardwood trade on this kind of business 

 .xclusively — that is the selling of hardwood flooring and of hard- 

 woods of various kinds to the local trade at retail. The result so 

 far seems to have proven entirely satisfactory and to have dem- 

 onstrated an argument made in these columns heretofore, that a 

 retailer, by carrying a proper stock of oak flooring and giving 

 attention to its exploitation, can get a lot of business he had 

 missed before, and in time can develop the trade so that local 

 flooring contractors and layers will come to him for their sup- 

 jilies instead of having local shipments made for each job from 

 tlic factory. 



A remarkable change is coming oyer the retail trade and its 

 attitude toward oak flooring and hardwoods in general. Only a 

 few years ago the secretary of one of the retailer's associations 

 brought the subject of oak and parquetry flooring to the attention 

 of a meeting of the board of directors which was made up of 

 influential retailers from various sections of the state. He pointed 

 out to them that they were missing a certain share of the lumber 

 trade and forcing manufacturers of oak and parquetry flooring 

 to go direct to consumers with their product when they might buy 

 this product and carry it in stock. One of these progressive re- 

 tailers made the statement that he didn't care to bother with it 

 and would rather see it go direct. Since that time, though, there 

 has been a change of feeling on this subject. It is being realized 

 that the hardwood flooring, and especially oak and parquetry in 

 certain sections of the country, is coming to be an important part 

 of practically every good home built, and is therefore an item well 

 worth carrying in stock by retailers. 



Meantime there comes a much more extensive use of hanlwood 

 for interior trim. From the North we have birch trim in standard 

 patterns which many retailers are now carrying in stock; on all 

 sides of us the planing mills are working birch, oak, gum, chestnut. 



maple and other hardwooils into ciising, baM-, htuird, paneling 

 and making various kinds of hardwood trim and millwork to onler. 

 Meantime here come the gum people boosting gum for millwork 

 a« well as for furniture. Their investigators have shown that very 

 likely one reason why more gum is not used for interior trim in 

 because it ia. very expensive when bought and made up to special 

 or(3cr for each individual job, wheroos other ^tpo'l". especially 

 pine, arc oflcred much cheaper in standanl palteriiH made in quan- 

 tity at the mills. 



This opens.tip (uicof thc-quoHtious that should be BcriouNly con 

 sidered by the cntir'p hardwood trade and that'is the riucjation of 

 putting in kilns and planing mill equipment and making liftinilard 

 patterns in hardwood trim for sale through Vh^lf-ctail yards. 



It would not only enlarge the possibilities for mnrkcling, by 

 having this stuff worked to pattern as the iiine pco|fl5^do lots of 

 this work, but it would make easier the earloail shipnu-nts and 

 competitive jiriies with the softer woods. One thing that makcB 

 the retailer hesitate about buying gum or any otbui.^ harilwooil 

 trim or mouldings is that he docs not rare to buy M^carload of 

 it at once. In buying his pine he has long since been scliocdeil tu 

 the habit of making up mixed car orders, in which he can ihclude 

 anything in the way of casing base or other special worked stock, 

 and then have the carload made up of flooring, boards or framing. 



With the hardwood millman in a position to furnish flooring, 

 casing, base step stock and various other worked items as well as 

 rough lumber, the chances for trade in carload lots become much 

 better in dealing with retail yards. Practically all retail yards 

 carry some quantities of rough hardwood. Often the man furnish- 

 ing oak lumber may be in a position to furnish poplar siding and 

 dressed poplar boards. Then if he can include oak flooring, oak 

 for casing and base dressed to pattern and oak for window sills 

 his chances 'for carload trade in mixed orders are exceptionally 

 good. The gum manufacturer has some of the same chances, that 

 is for siding both of the bevel type and of the drop siding type, 

 gum boards, rough and dressed, gum for flooring, and for interior 

 trim and for ceiling. If these are made up in quantities to stand- 

 ard patterns tliere is almost as g90<i an opportunity to sell mixed 

 cars in hardwood to the retail trade as there is to sell yellow 

 pine, and there is a splendid talk for the hardwood in the fact 

 that it makes a trim and takes a finish which compares with 

 cabinet work for which people do not think of using the soft 

 woods. 



Taking the retail vard trade through and through, it offers splen- 

 did opportunities for the exploitation of a wide range of hard- 

 wood products. Moreover, during the sjiring months some of the 

 hardwood lumbermen of the South have admitted that were it not 

 that the planing mills and retail yards, those catering to the 

 building trade, have been liberal buyers of hardwood this spring 

 the hardwood business would have been decidedly dull. This is 

 pretty conclusive evidence that the yard and planing mill trade 

 has grown to be an important factor. Indeed, it seems important 

 enough that it should receive the serious consideration of the 

 entire hardwood trade and careful cultivation along all lines that 

 promises fruitful results. J. C. T. 



Railway Switch Facilities 



If a railway loiupaiiy is under no legal duty to furnish sidetrack 

 facilities for a particular shipper it is inmiatorial that it refuses to 

 furnish such service through malice; but where a lumber mill is 

 located near a sidetrack, and the railway company has furnished cars 

 at that point the company may be compelled to continue the service, 

 if the owner of the mill has made valuable improvements in reliance 

 upon the previous course of dealing, if discontinuance of the service 

 would seriously injure the millowner's business, and if the track is 

 being maintained for the benefit of another shipper, and the .service 

 is maliciously refused. 



