HARDWOOD RECORD 



35 



falo resolution is — aud Mr. Palmer has told it 

 better than I can — conditions have changed. 

 Gentlemen, good logs are getting scarce. Another 

 reason is. the desire deep in the heart of every 

 hardwood lumberman to get uniform inspection. 

 If uniform inspection can be reached it ought to 

 be reached. [Applause.] 



Mr. .Scatcherd — The gentleman who has just 

 addressed you has told the truth. Tlie funda- 

 mental part of the success of universal inspec- 

 tion rules of this organization has been that 

 they have been lived up to. If a mistake was 

 made it was made in adopting the Buffalo reso- 

 lution for three years. We have lived two years 

 under that resolution, and I say he tells the 

 truth when he says in two years we accom- 

 plished the fact of increasing our membership 

 and made our rules possible and established 

 the fact that we meant what we said. Yet, 

 on the very threshold of carrying out that agree- 

 ment, why transgress the rules of honor and of 

 personal contract'; Mr. Palmer said in his ad- 

 dress yesterday — led up to it beautifully — the 

 duty of the membership of this association is 

 to live up to the honor of the membership of 

 this association and carry it out. notwithstand- 

 ing it might be against his pocket. The fact 

 is that this resolution was passed, was sent out 

 to the world at large, not only America but 

 abroad — for the first time in the history of this 

 country you established the fact that a man in 

 London could write you, knowing full well that 

 within the next year, he could get what he 

 ordered. I, personally, have a contract based 

 on these rules which does not expire until Octo- 

 ber 1, 1909, which is a year beyond the limit 

 of this agreement. And I have to live up to it. 

 I cannot go to these men and say the trees are 

 getting poor. Our friends want us to legislate 

 to make good trees. The trees were here long 

 before we were born. Don't let us stultify our- 

 selves as honorable men, simply because the 

 manufacturer — and, who is he, he isn't any 

 better than we are and we are no better than 

 he is — buys the trees and so do you and so do I. 

 We get the best we can. But when you sign a 

 contract between yourselves and your fellowmen 

 you have to live up to it. If you don't your 

 end is sure — absolutely certain. I say the thing 

 that binds this association and is the basis of 



JAMES BUCKLEY, BUOOKVILLE, IND. 



the whole thing is the inspection rules. They 

 have accomplished a purpose I never believed 

 was possible, and I hate to see the whole thing 

 shattered simply because of not carrying out 

 an agreement for a paltry ten or twelve months. 

 That is why I want this laid on the table. There 

 may be some specific reason. No official sug- 

 gests whether inspection of oak or poplar should 



be changed. And it nothing of that kind is 

 suggested, why suspend? Bring the reasons — 

 if the reasons are potent, which I don't believe 

 they can be, and then we can discuss suspension. 

 Mr. Kelsey — I want to reply in part to Mr. 

 Palmer's statement that there is no second 

 party to the obligation. I consider the public 

 as a second party. We took the public into con- 

 fidence and the public is really the second party. 

 The promise to make no change for three years 

 was an obligation to the public which should 

 be considered, honor being the consideration. 

 We want stability, we want to get something 

 that the public can rely upon. So far as I 

 know, on the part of the wholesalers, they took 

 .special pains to get the rules before the public. 

 We Insisted on our salesmen as well as ourselves 

 carrying a copy of these rules. A primary reason 

 for a change in the rules is that the manufac- 

 turers are going to receive more for their prod- 

 uct. Then there is another point to be consid- 

 ered and that is the matter of odd lengths. 

 That gain don't average more than 1% per cent, 

 which they claimed would be the gain of the 

 consumer, but at the same time you have the 

 rule that requires the consumer and wholesaler 

 to take lumber that may have splits in either 

 end or each end not to exceed the width of the 

 board. When such boards are put to the bench 

 they must necessarily be trimmed off and the 



C. A. BKJELOW, BAY CITY, MICH. 



loss would be from 5 per cent to 8 per cent. 

 Then taking the matter of width, these boards 

 are taken out in a stage of dryness, and some- 

 time between the time the boards leave the 

 mill and reach the bench there is bound to be 

 a shrinkage. Using llVi-inch boards, for illus- 

 tration, where the purchaser has paid tor I'J- 

 inch. it would invariably result in having to 

 use about 11 feet, which means a loss of 8 per 

 cent. And the same feature holds good in refer- 

 ence to asking the wholesaler or consumer to 

 purchase lumber that is good on one face but 

 with serious defects on the other. There is 

 bound to be a depreciation. If this change is 

 insisted upon to be fair to the wholesalers, lum- 

 ber should remain in the yard one year drying. 

 Referring to classillcation of lumber, which we 

 have already adopted, it seems to me it answers 

 every purpose. It has made It possible for us 

 to hold our ground between each other. It 

 also made it easy for the purchaser to select 

 about what he wanted. In place of changing 

 the rules the manufacturers should get together 

 and increase their prices which would elimi- 

 nate any desire to change the rules. They 

 would accomplish the same object. Hold to- 

 gether, gentlemen, and agree upon something 



that will be stable, for it is not only an annoy- 

 ance but a great detriment upon the trade as a 

 whole to have constant changes in the rules. 



Mr. Guenther — Perhaps Mr. Scatcherd will 

 accept an amendment to lay on the table until 

 this afternoon. 



Mr. Scatcherd — I am willing to accept any 

 suggestion that will bring about a fair discus- 

 sion of thi.^ matter. L'p to this time, neither 



DPi. C. A. SCIIK.NK, mi.lMORE, .\. C. 



in a written address nor a verbal expression 

 on this floor has there been a succinct statement 

 as to why we should rescind the Buffalo resolu- 

 tion. No gentleman has given me any reason 

 for a specific change. That is what I contend 

 for. Don't throw down the bars until you 

 know what you are going to do. Bring the 

 reasons before us, and I am ready to accept 

 suggestions if they are good ones. When there 

 is a good reason I am perfectly willing to con- 

 sider it. I want something to consider and not 

 simply certain changes should be made without 

 any statement as to why such changes should 

 be made. I will accept the amendment that 

 this be laid on the table until 3 o'clock this 

 afternoon, when it shall be the first order of 

 business. 



Mr. Palmer — I cannot understand why Mr. 

 Scatcherd prefers to sit in absolute darkness 

 until 3 o'clock this afternoon. If he is seeking 

 light he ought to have it. Why not let this dis- 

 cussion take place now? The members are here 

 now and we don't know whether they will be 

 here this afternoon. When I want light I turn 

 it on immediately. I don't wait for three or 

 four hours. There is not a man in this house 

 who can claim this matter has been sprung on 

 him. Every member has had several letters 

 that there would be important changes consid- 

 ered at this meeting. Why defer it until 3 

 o'clock? There is the election this afternoon. 

 If we do take down the bars and suspend the 

 Buffalo resolution — which we are going to do — 

 then comes revision of the rules. It is going 

 to take a long time. We are here now and let's 

 work at it now. 



Mr. Andridge — It seems to me unwise to pass 

 a motion to lay on the table. We are not now 

 discussing a change in the rules but we are dis- 

 cussing the question of whether we will discuss 

 a change in the rules. Whether we will suspend 

 file Buffalo resolution simply opens the way. 

 It it is unwise for this association to change 

 any rules at the present time I feel sure the 

 good sense of the gentlemen present will see 

 the rules are not changed. If wise for all of 

 us that the rules be changed I feel sure the 

 rules will he changed. Why not open the door 



