1) ANQEK FROM INSECURE STACKS 

 1 ill- iiiii.ul i^:.iii- of I'lulory, till' I liiiiiyo iiiunu/iuo, ciilU ulteii 

 tion to the ilanf;er (rrowinp out of improperly pileil lumber, aa a 

 collapse may very eaaily bo attended by serious consequences to 

 those in the vicinity. While it is true that if n stack wore to 

 fall it would likely hurt somebody, few accidents of this kind 

 are reported from lumber yards. Tho chances arc that most of 

 the poor piling is at factories, where less expert help is employed, 

 aa a rule. The lumber is put up hurriedly, as it is usually planned 

 to use it in a short time, and in a case of this kind it is likely 

 to be stacked without much attention to safety. While a few 

 poorly managed yards have piles which need attention, tho typical 

 hardwood yard is well beyond criticism in this respect. 



"PAID IN FUIi" 



.\ hardwood lumber dealer had an experience recently which 

 may be of interest to others who have accounts in dispute occa- 

 sionally. This lumberman received a check for $400 from a cus- 

 tomer, which was about $40 less than the amount of the invoice, 

 the ear having been "cut" to this extent by the user, who 

 claimed that there was that much off-grade stock in the shipment. 



The check was endorsed, "in full settlement of account." The 

 lumberman wrote back that he was receiving the payment "on 

 account," and was expecting to be paid the remainder of the 

 invoice. He deposited the check, and took up the question of col- 

 lecting the balance with his agency. 



It developed, however, that use of the check, with its specific 

 endorsement of full settlement, made it impossible to collect the 

 remainder, as this operated as a receipt in full. State laws doubt- 

 less vary on this point, but it is a good idea not to use such 

 a check unless the endorsement can be altered. On the other hand, 

 when a check for most of the amount is received, the lumberman 

 doesn 't like the idea of returning it and putting the entire amount 

 at hazard. 



SELUKO ON CONSIGNMENT 



Some of the manufacturers who have been shipping their lum- 

 ber abroad to be sold in the export markets by the commission 

 men are gradually coming to the opinion, if one may judge by the 

 number of foreign trips which are being taken nowadays by their 

 representatives, that direct selling work is the proper system. 



It is pretty difficult to control the sale of lumber three thousand 

 miles away, and giving the foreign brokers credit for good inten- 

 tions, it is obvious that the interests of the seller are not always 

 taken care of to the best advantage. While it is expensive to 

 make the sales direct, the bigger concerns are gradually swing- 

 ing around to it, and it would not be surprising to see the bulk 

 of the export business handled this way, ultimately. For some 

 time to come, however, the exporters will probably feel out the 

 situation and experiment with new methods to see whether it is 

 possible to make an improvement on the consignment system. 



OAK PEOSPECTS IMPROVING 

 Those who have believed that oak is in a bad way on account 

 of the attitude of important consumers may remember that just 

 aa there's nothing like leather, there's nothing like oak. Furni- 

 ture manuf.icturers and dealers say that oak looks like the one 

 best bet for the coming seiison. The July shows developed an 

 unusually large amount of fumed oak, for while this finish has 

 been offered for a number of years, it has never taken hold the 

 way the manufacturers have thought it should, and they have 

 been pushing it unusually hard this time. One of the difficulties in 

 this situation, by the way, is the trouble the retailers have in 

 matching up the different degrees of fuming shown in the goods 

 shipped them from the factories. The same factory often fails 

 to keep the color uniform, and this makes the finish more or less 

 unpopular with the dealers. 

 —34— 



A fiiiiHh which huM iiltraclcd much uttontion, and which if sue- 

 r.^sful will help oiik, as it is :iii oiik proposition, is what ih known 

 as Keiser gray. It makes a very cool-looking piece of furniture, 

 and for breakfast rooms, summer homes, hotels, etc., It ought to 

 be very popular. Tlieso and olIiiT developments olTccting oak 

 make prospects for this wood cHpociiilly ^lood in the furniture trade. 

 HELPING THE SALESMAN 



One of tho best ways to improve the work of tho salesman is 

 to give them something definite to concentrate on. 



Houses in other lines have found that it pays to have lists of 

 special items which must be moved promptly, and to pay a bonus 

 of some kind for sales of this stock. This does not interfere se- 

 riously with business on the regular lines, but it gives the man 

 on the road something to push, and enables him to have an enter- 

 ing wedge in the abapo of a special proposition, such as all buyers 

 are looking for. 



Nearly every lumber concern has certain items which need 

 moving, and which it would be willing to pay a special commis- 

 sion on. This need not be great, but should be enough to stimu- 

 late the interest of the salesmen. What with a weekly bulletin 

 containing this list, and weekly checks as well, covering sales 

 from it, the salesmen are pretty sure to be kept up to tho mark 

 in moving the odd lots which the concern has to offer. 

 CUTTING FOR QUALITY 



The mooted question of whether or not the mill should cut for 

 quantity or quality will probably never be settled definitely, and 

 each mill must bo run according to the policy decided on by the 

 owner as best for that particular operation. Those who believe 

 that in a big mill, which must get production to take care of tho 

 large overhead expense, it is best to adhere to one thickness, 

 without regard to the grades produced, may be interested in this 

 view, on the other side of the question, which was given by a man 

 who is interested in four or five lumber manufacturing enter- 

 prises: 



"I believe that the tendency to cut for quality must be em- 

 phasized if the manufacturer is to come out on the right side. 

 The increasing cost of timber means that we must make the most 

 of it in order to save the profit. The concern which pays no 

 attention to grade and cuts for quantity only is going to get lum- 

 ber well below tho grade of that which tries to cut each log to 

 the best advantage. There is no reason why satisfactory speed 

 should not be secured by the mill of the latter type; in fact, 

 in my own plants that is the policy, and wo cut as much lumber 

 per day as our neighbors. 



"It seems to me that the trend of events is bound to favor the 



manufacturer who tries to cut the best lumber he can out of his 



logs, rather than the chap who slams them through without caring 



about the grades which are produced in this fashion." 



UNIFORMITY IN VENEERED WORK 



Those who advocate the use of veneered work think that they 

 have a splendid argument in the interior trim of the new men 's 

 building of Marshall Field & Co., of Chicago, which is finished 

 in American walnut. The panels are beautiful, and not only in 

 color but also in figure they are so much alike that it is difficult 

 to find even a slight variation among them. 



While it is possible that the same results would have been se- 

 cured with the use of solid lumber, had the boards cut from each 

 log been kept together, there is no doubt that this plan, regu- 

 larly used in the veneer business, helps to bring out the most 

 beautiful effects it is possible to secure. Uniformity in color, of 

 course, is largely a matter of staining, but when it comes to the 

 figure of the wood, there must be careful selection, coupled with 

 the use of veneers cut from the same logs and the same tree, if 

 possible. 



