HARDWOOD RECORD 



29 



tiainiug of inspectors ';" With tliis tliought still 

 in mind I b;ive come before you in order tb 

 liave the subject given broader thought and more 

 open discussion. 



In order to cover the grouud quickly and con- 

 cisely I have seen tit to diviiie my subject into 

 four component parts. 



First. The advisability and necessity of a 

 school of inspection. 



Second. The class of men eligible for scholar- 

 ship and term of instruction. 



Third. The location of such a school and 

 its maintenance. 



Fourth. The direction and administration of 

 the school. 



In taking up the first division I would call 

 vour attention to the strides that the lumber 

 business has taken in the past ten or fifteen 

 years. Notwithstanding the many storms that 

 it has passed through, the seasons of unrest and 

 discontent, from which it has emerged safely, 

 all the better for having passed through them, it 

 lias constantly drawn closer together on stronger 

 and better organized lines. 



This condition has been made possible largely 

 through our trade associations and the general 

 tendency toward a universal adoption of an in- 

 spection and set of inspection rules which could 

 at all times be used as a basis of equitable ad- 

 justment between buyer and seller. 



We now have such rules in active force 

 throughout our country and covering every class 

 of lumber that is manufactured, but we fre- 

 quently ttntl instances where men entrusted with 

 their interpretation are wholly unfit and whose 

 judgment and aliility do not permit of the rules 

 iieing properly applied. In consequence we are 

 brought face to face with the annoying claim and 

 the subsequent reinspection by a licensed in- 

 spector which in many cases is unsatisfactory to 

 one party or the other. 



This brings me to the point where I contend 

 that we should have a training school to en- 

 deavor to overcome this feature. 



To take the young man and start him in with 

 the A B C of inspection, train him by regular 

 courses of instruction and bring him finally to 

 the point where, when he passes his judgment on 

 lumber, it will be the expression of the judgment 

 of his classmates, who have been trained in the 

 same school, who are going out into the world 

 of activity, endowed witli the same idea of in- 

 spection as his. then you are properly sowing a 

 seed of universalism whicli cannot help but prove 

 of inestimable value and benefit to the trade, 

 decrease the number of claims and do away, in 

 a great measure, with the necessity of reinspec- 

 tion. 



Our national and state governments have long 

 since seen the necessit.v of applied forestry and 

 have established well equipped systems and bu- 

 reaus devoted entirely to the furtiterance of this 

 work. We also have established at one of the 

 leading colleges a chair of forestry which many 

 of ycui have helped make possible by your con- 



JOIIX L. ALCOCK, BALTIMORE, 

 THE HOSTS. 



ONE OF 



tributions. Why is it not of equal importance 

 to train men to properly handle the forest prod- 

 uct after it is manufactured and to establish a 

 school for this purpose? 



If a system of this sort had been in operation 

 thirty years ago millions of feet of marketable 

 lumber which was thought of no value would 

 liave been saved, our early box manufacturers 

 would not have made packing boxes from uppers 

 and that great statesman, Senator Dalzell, would 



have been spared the stupendous task of en- 

 deavoring to locate a lumber trust. 



And now as to the class of men eligible ^to 

 scholarship in sucli a school and term of in- 

 struction, I \A'ould not consider it advisable to in- 

 clude in the list of students such men as have had 

 the advantage of advanced or technical experience 

 in inspection. The school would be purely to 

 give systematic aid and opportunity to men and 

 boys who have some previous knowledge of the 

 lumber business and are desirous of fitting them- 

 selves for a higher position and wliose judgtnent 

 has not already been distorted and contaminated 

 by previous falsely acquired ideas. They should 

 be men of at least ordinary school education 

 and should pass an examination on entrance in 

 such brandies as mathematics, orthography and 

 penmanship. 



The term of instruction, I have thought, should 

 be of at least eighteen months' duration, the 

 first six months of this time to be devoted to 

 sawmill training, wltere the student can more 

 readil.y understand the possibilities and difficul- 

 ties attending the manufacture of lumber. At 

 the ?ud of tills period he should pass an exam- 

 ination covering points that he should have 

 gained in his six months' training. If he passes 

 successfully he tlien should enter the class of 

 inspection to which. I have thought, a full year 

 should be devoted. The last six months of this 

 year to be taken up by having the student visit 

 different localities with an opportunity of in- 

 specting under actual conditions. 



From this source there would naturally be a 

 certain amount of revenue obtained which would 

 revert to the school and be used to reimburse 

 those who had contributed toward its support. 



At the end of this time the student or stu- 

 dents should be given a final examination cover- 



E. E. WOOD, BALTIMORE, ONE OF THE 

 HOSTS. 



ing their entire course and their fitness to occupy 

 positions as inspectors should be determined en- 

 tirely by their individual average, a failure to 

 attain required standard necessitating their tak- 

 ing all or a part of the course over. 



I am confident that an opportunity to advance 

 themselves so rapidly would be an incentive to 

 each and every one to excel and to fit them- 

 selves for a position which is at once a profitable 

 and independent one. 



Yon who have experienced the many difficul- 

 ties of obtaining competent inspectors can read- 

 ily understand wliat a great satisfaction it would 

 be to be able to draw from such a school trained 

 men in wliom you could place entire confidence 

 as to ability aiid this association would always 

 have a reserve force to draw from and be as- 

 sured of the character of the men they were 

 employing. 



The third division of this subject is the one 

 that has given me more cause for thought than 

 the rest. ".A suitable location for this school," 

 but I am almost convinced that Memphis, Tenn., 

 or Cincinnati. O., would be the most desirable 

 points from the fact that both branches of train- 

 ing, the mill and inspection, could be pursued at 

 these points. 



I have thought that if a school of this char- 

 acter could be established independently, have its 

 own sawmill, buy its own logs, manufacture its 

 own lumber and market its own product, the 

 income in addition to the tuition fees would 

 keep an institution of this kind on an absolutely 

 independent footing. But if it was thought in- 

 advisable to establish an independent school, by 

 locating at Memphis or Cincinnati the scholar 

 could secure the benefit of a thorough mill edu- 



cation and subsequent inspection experience in 

 many of the mills and yards at these points. 



The direction and administration of a school 

 of this character should be entirely in the hands 

 of an educational committee or board to be es- 

 tablished with careful consideration of their in- 

 dividual fitness, this board to be appointed by 

 the president of this association and to worlc 

 at all times in conjunction with the Board of 

 Directors and Inspection Bureau Committee, and 

 the combined members of the Board of Directors, 

 Inspection Bureau Committee and Educational 

 Committee should elect an instructor of well 



I. F. BALSLEY. PITTSBritG, ONE OF THE 

 HOSTS. 



known ability to have full charge of the tuition, 

 after he has carefully prescribed a thorough 

 course of training, the same to be approved by 

 the combined members of the committee. 



I would in this connection suggest that as a 

 basis of inspection the national rules as they 

 are at present or as they may be revised be used 

 in the inspection course. 



In conclusion I wish to thank you for the time 

 that I have taken up and I sincerely hope that 

 some action along these lines will be taken in 

 this convention, as I feel that even snould it be 

 found necessary to raise the annual dues of this 

 association in order to start a movement of this 

 kind each individual member would early realize 

 that he had aided his own business far in excess 

 of the small monetary outlay and contributed to 

 the greatest movement toward a universal in- 

 spection that has ever been inaugurated. 



Mr. Currie — I hope some action will be taken 

 by this convention along these lines, as I feel 

 confident even should it be found necessary to in- 

 crease the dues of this association each individ- 

 ual member would early realize that he has been 

 benefited far in excess of the small outlay, hav- 

 ing contributed to the greatest movement toward 

 universal inspection that lias ever been inaugu- 

 rated. [Applause.] 



President Russe — Mr. Currie's address has cer- 

 tainly given us food for thought. I trust these 

 addresses will be gotten up in such shape that 

 you will all receive a copy. 



Mr. Thompson — We have just listened to an 

 address which this association ought to take 

 under consideration. I have worked three or 

 lour years on the inspection bureau of this as- 

 sociation and I know how hard it is to get com- 

 petent inspection. We may get a man to inspect 

 one class of goods, for instance, in Memphis or 

 maybe in Wisconsin, and he would not be capable 

 of inspecting in New York. Or, this associa- 

 tion might employ a man to take care of the 

 market in New York who might know nothing of 

 mahogany, cherry or walnut, while he might 

 be an expert on oak. Tins association needs 

 right now more than any other thing the right 

 kind of men to take care of this thing. We 

 cannot get protection in the different markets 

 simply because the man who is representing the 

 association there as inspector doesn't know how 

 to inspect the goods we ship to certain localities. 



