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Should W^hke and Red Oak he Mixed 



A furniture manufacturer recently addressed this inquiry to 

 an expert on finishing: 



' ' We are troubled at present with red oak mixed in our cases 

 with white oak. Would you kindly give a suggestion as to how 

 to treat the red oak to match the white, making them uniform in 

 color? ■ ' 



This inquiry suggests that mixing red oak and white oak by 

 the lumberman is a plan which is short-sighted, to say the least. 

 Since it provides a hard problem for the manufacturer in putting 

 his goods on the market, the latter is sure to remember the lum- 

 berman who sold him the material and to put a little red mark 

 opposite his name under the heading, "People From Whom Not 

 to Buy." 



Of course, from the standpoint of wood experts, there is red 

 oak which is so close to white that there is comparatively little 

 difference between the two varieties. It is undoubtedly true that 

 some individual boards furnish a hard study even for the experi- 

 enced lumberman, and can hardly be properly designated without 

 close inspection. On the other hand, however, there is red oak 

 which is plainly red oak and which has no real warrant in being 

 in a pile of white. Where the plank is what might be called a 

 "line board," there is justification for putting it with white oak, 

 and thus giving the lumberman the benefit of the doubt; but to 

 mix red oak with white as a matter of intent is to do the pur- 

 chaser a wrong and to do the lumberman himself a wrong which 

 is seldom made up for by the difference in the selling price of 

 the two varieties. 



The trouble comes in quartered oak principally, as there is not 

 much marking between plain red and white as to price, and conse- 

 quently, by an interesting coincidence, there is less diflSculty in 

 distinguishing between a red oak and a white oak board. The 

 fact that it is the high-priced stock which is made the medium 

 for this form of "salting," to use a rather harsh expression, 

 makes the situation all the worse, since the purchaser, who has 

 a right to expect to get exactly what the order calls for, is thus, 

 in some cases, compelled to use material which is not adapted 

 to his needs, and which is bound to result in dissatisfaction. 



As a matter of fact, it would be better, as far as the user is 

 concerned, to receive a car load containing only red oak rather 

 than one made up of white oak with a considerable percentage of 

 red oak mixed in. The latter is present in just sufficient quantity 

 to cause trouble in finishing, and is not a large enough factor to 

 give a chance for uniformity in making up the finished product. 

 A case made exclusively of red oak would make an appearance 

 several times as attractive as one containing a mixture of white 

 and red. 



Xot only is there a difference in color, which requires a special 

 treatment as to finish, as suggested by the inquiry noted above, 

 but the texture of the wood is different. Bed oak tends to 

 develop a "fuzz" which makes finishing difficult. That, at any 

 rate, is the experience of many consumers. It seems to be con- 

 ceded that the wood does not hold its finish after being put in 

 the hands of the ultimate consumer as well as white oak, thus 

 making another argument in favor of the use of the latter material. 



It might be said that the purchaser of the lumber should have 

 sufficiently expert handlers to be able to pick out the red oak 

 from the white, and to pile the former separately so as not to 

 run the risk of having the two come together in the same case. 

 In practice this is not usually the situation, and anyway it would 

 be bad policy for the lumberman to announce a principle of selling 

 which involves a "Caveat emptor" attitude on the part of the 

 purchaser. This is not necessary in most instances, and the con- 

 sumer can usually rely on getting what he ordered. It is the 

 exceptional lumberman who attempts to take advantage of lack 

 of sufficient technical knowledge on the part of the purchaser to 



be able to distinguish between two varieties of wood as closely 

 associated as white oak and red. 



There is, it is true, some ground for the statement that the 

 consumer of lumber who attempts to buy quartered white oak 

 and pay red oak prices for it may hardly be surprised to find 

 that he has received just about what the price paid would justify 

 him in expecting to get. The ' ' cheap buyer, ' ' who constantly 

 hammers at the price, is constantly getting his deserts in this way, 

 either in a poorer grade or a cheaper variety, as in the case of 

 quartered oak; but this is yielding the field to the buyer, instead 

 of standing by one 's guns and insisting on educating the consumers 

 of lumber as to the factors involved. 



Merely to take the attitude that the consumer is going to get 

 his lumber somewhere, and at the price he insists on paying, does 

 not entirelj' justify the shipper in taking the order on those 

 conditions and then filling it in such a manner as to allow himself 

 a profit. It is done frequently, of course, and there is mnch 

 justification for it from a practical standpoint. It would be far 

 better, however, if the consumer were to be informed about the 

 facts, so that lumbermen who desire to seU goods on the highest 

 possible plane may do so. The majority of those in the business 

 do not care to admit that the code of ethics used in the lumber 

 field will not bear scrutiny, and is not comparable to that which 

 prevails in other lines of business. 



A case was developed not long ago by a veneer manufacturer, 

 who is regarded everywhere as a gentleman of unusually strong 

 scruples, as far as doing the right thing in business is concerned. 

 He found that he had lost the business of a certain consumer of 

 importance, and made an investigation. He discovered without 

 much trouble that the competitor who had landed the order was 

 delivering a veneer which was considerably thinner than the- stock 

 which he had been selling. Thereupon he agreed to reduce his 

 price to meet that of the competing concern, having decided 

 to fight the devil with fire. 



"I realize that I did not do exactly the right thing," said this 

 manufacturer, "yet I was confronted with one of two alternatives, 

 either asserting that my competitor was not delivering the goods 

 according to specifications, or saying nothing and losing the busi- 

 ness. The course I chose involved repetition of the plan used by 

 the other fellow, and while I acknowledge that two wrongs do 

 not make a right, I realized that the consumer would probably 

 have been offended if I had told him the facts, and would have 

 asserted promptly that he knew enough to protect himself. Besides, 

 the thinner stock seemed to be giving satisfaction, so why not 

 give him the material he could use and permit him to save the 

 difference in the price? The reasoning is specious, yet I feel 

 that it establishes justification for the course I am pursiiing. 

 Obviously, if the customer discovers that I am delivering veneers 

 which are thinner than provided for in the order, it will be no 

 excuse for me to be able to say that the other fellow was doing 

 it. I do not feel that my position, as a salesman, is strong 

 enough to permit me to expose my competitor, and that I must 

 follow in his footsteps if I am to maintain my business relations 

 with my customer." 



This is the situation, probably, with which many a lumberman 

 is confronted when a furniture manufacturer tries to buy quar- 

 tered white oak for less than what it is worth. As suggested, however, 

 the better plan would be to educate the buyer to the fact that 

 variations in prices are based on intrinsic values and that the 

 man who wants quality must pay a quality price. Besides, there 

 is always the possibility that the consumer can use red oak to as 

 good advantage as white, in which event it would be practicable 

 to offer to supply quartered red; which could be done, of course, 

 at a low enough price to satisfy the demands of the purchaser. 



G. D. C, Jk. 



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