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The Lumbermen's Round Table 



15 



Safety First in CrodlU 

 When liUHinp!<.s i» more or less iiiiMottloil, as it is at proiwiit, tlic 

 <|uvstiun of oxtonding i-redit is iiioro sorioiiB than nt any otbor tinio. 

 Tlio very condition that makes tlie lumberman anxious to move his 

 stork, often makes it unsafe for him to do so; and it is Iwttcr to 

 ki-ej) the mat<<rial on the yard tlion to convert it into a book account 

 where the risk is greot. 



It is not every liimlMvman who can turn down an order that will 

 move something he particularly wants to get rid of, just because the 

 customer is not rated or is considered an unsafe credit risk ; but at 

 this particular time more courage should be brought to bear than 

 is ne«-os8ary ordinarily. One can afford to take a chance when busi- 

 ness in general is favorable and proiits will stand some shrinkage; 

 but with the situation at largo more or less unsteady, the lumber- 

 man must increase the factor of safety. 



Shrinkage In Measuiement 

 .\ sawmill niiin recently called attention to the fact that the loss 

 in measurement experienced in his business had been found to be seven 

 per cent — a larger amount than most of those who heard the statement 

 had considered correct. In this particular case the lumberman runs a 

 southern mill, and his red oak is rather porous, which might account 

 for a larger shrinkage than otherwise. He also handles a good deal 

 of gum. The difference in measurement is not absolute, of course, 

 but is the amount developed by a comparison of the measurement 

 of the lumber as it leaves the mill and the inventory. The latter 

 is only approximate, but it is generally regarded as accurate enough 

 for all practical purposes. Either, then, the shrinkage which goes 

 on in the pile is greater than the casual observer would believe, 

 or the methods of inventorying are not sufficiently accurate. 



Statistics covering the situation in general are available, but one's 

 own experience is always most valuable. It would be worth while 

 for a sawmill man to make a few tests along this line, by putting 

 up a pile and then measuring it, board for board, as it was taken 

 down, after a lapse of the usual drying period. This would furnish 

 an incontrovertible argument, unqualified by approximations or 

 guesses. 



Incidentally, the large shrinkage in measurement referred to sug- 

 gests that the wholesaler who is buying green lumber at the same 

 price he is paying for dry, and is then absorbing the shrinkage which 

 occurs on his yard, is hardly using sufficient judgment in the con- 

 duct of his business. 



Why Not Build Scads 

 Now is a good time to build macadam roads to take the rilace of 

 the dirt highways which mark the average hardwood yard. The 

 lumberman may not think it worth while to improve his alleys in 

 this way, especially as business is quiot at this particular time; but 

 when the demand is lively and time is valuable, trying to handle 

 lumber over roadways that are nothing but bogs is a difficult and 

 expensive operation. While it pays have the roads properly put 

 •lown, using crushed stone and putting it on in the roughest way will 

 make a big improvement and give the horses a footing where they 

 would ordinarily be unable to get through the mud. Besides, it is 

 not to the credit of a lumber yard to have roadways like most of 

 those that are in use. 



Lumbermen who have little for their regular forces to do, but 

 want to keep their men together in order that they may not have to 

 organize a new crew when business demands become larger, should 

 consider the question of having their men do the work of road- 

 building. It would give them a chance to earn wages, and it would 

 be a permanent investment worth while for the lumber company. 

 Walnut for Interior Finish 

 Those interested in the development of American black walnut in 

 the domestic trade are very much pleased with the increased use 

 of the wood for interior finish. A large number of important build- 

 ings have been finished in walnut, and the architects seem to have 

 decided that it is handsome enough to go into the finest structures 

 —22— 



thi'V iiri' i|i'si;;imi;.;. Thi- i- iiii|Mirl!iiit on it- own airuiinl, (if iimrsc; 

 but oven more important is the effect which this will have on tho 

 furniture business. The man who builds n re«idonco wonts to fur- 

 nish it according to tho way it is finished. If tho dining room is 

 finished in oak, his dining tnble, chairs, buffet, china closet, etc., 

 will 1)0 of that material, the finish being mission, fumed, early Eng- 

 lish, Flanders, golden or whatever is called for. On tho other hand, 

 if his living-room is to bo a walnut apartment, as shown by the 

 interior finish, his tables, chairs and other furniture will liavo to be 

 walnut. This is equally true of offices, and perhaps is oven more 

 applicable. 



There is a new office building in a western city, finixhed in ma- 

 hogany — 150,000 feet being used, by tho way — where the tenants 

 who came discarded hundreils of oak desks and other office equipment 

 and replaced them with mahogany furniture. Walnut is coming so 

 strongly in this respect that one is justified in assuming, therefore, 

 that tho furniture trade will have to increase the proportion of wal- 

 nut furniture in order to keep up with tho interior finish movement. 



In connection with the relationship between interior finish and 

 furniture, one of the leading houses in its line in the country, the 

 Glidden Varnish Company of Cleveland, O., struck a false note in 

 a big advertisement to consumers recently, when it suggested the 

 use of one of its finishes to make the furniture "harmonize" with 

 the finish. 



"Our furniture was oak, and the room was finished in mahogany," 

 says the host to his guests, with a flourish as he proudly indicates 

 his handiwork. "With Japalac we turned the furniture to mahogany, 

 and now it harmonizes." The idea of taking a high-grade piece of 

 oak furniture and staining it to resemble mahogany seems a trifle 

 crude. 



Is Poplar Coming Back? 



Poplar, which has been rather dull for some time, is one of the 

 most active movers on the list at present. Lumbermen report that 

 it is selling in quantity, and is the bright spot in the situation. 

 There is good reason to be pleased with this development, inasmuch 

 as poplar is intrinsically one of the finest woods that grow, and on 

 account of its splendid working qualities appeals to the artisan 

 strongly. With competing woods gradually increasing in value, while 

 poplar is either steady or selling at lower levels than heretofore, 

 there is no reason why the consumption should not be stimulated to 

 a marked extent. 



Two Sides to the Proposition 



The salesman who insists that he can 't make the consumer think 

 that his business is good, when it isn't, lacks imagination. He 

 forgets that there are two sides to every proposition, and that the 

 manufacturer, especially when he is on the buying side, often sees 

 only tho gloomy features of the situation. The salemnn must be 

 a "bull," temperamentally and professionally. Ho isn't expected 

 to hypnotize his customers, nor change black into white; but most 

 people prefer to see the silver lining of the cloud, and the salesman 

 who knows how to turn it around and expose the bright side is 

 going to get the orders and win a welcome, while the man who is 

 in the dumps, and tries to condole with his customers, finds tnat 

 misery doesn't love company to that extent, and that mighty little 

 lumber is going to be sold in that way. 



Historians make men famous after they are dead but the advertising 

 man does it while they live. 



There is no question that there has long been room for a produc- 

 tion of much more dimension stock at the mills to save tho freight 

 OE the trimmings, but tho problem has been to get the millmen 

 interested, and after that to find a way to produce and handle the 

 smaller dimensions without the cost eating up the profit. Still we are 

 making progress and are gradually solving this problem, and the 

 future wiU likely see more attention given by both producer and 

 consumer to this feature of the business. 



