46 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Annual National Lumber JManufac^ 

 turers' Association. 



On Tuesday, May 28, the fifth annual meet- 

 ing of the National Lumber Manufacturers' 

 Association was called to order in the audi- 

 torium of the Jamestown Exposition grounds 

 at Norfolk, Va. The weather was extremely 

 favorable and a large number of delegates 

 and guests was in attendance. 



The convention opened with an address of 

 welcome by Harry St. George Tucker, presi- 

 dent of the exposition. Mr. Tucker said it 

 was a great pleasure for him to welcome so 

 important and distinguished a body of 

 visitors. 



President William Irvine responded in a 

 fitting manner, and then presented bis annual 

 address. He reviewed the general prosperity 

 in the lumber trade as well as in other great 

 industries of the country, touched upon in- 

 surance matters, ear equipment, the work of 

 standing committees, forestry matters, etc., 

 and stated that the association had labored 

 in the direction of effecting economy in hand- 

 ling forest products, in promoting uniform 

 grades and sizes, lumber insurance, proper 

 credit ratings, and cordial relations between 

 manufacturers and shippers and carriers. He 

 pointed out the wide field of usefulness cov- 

 ered by the organization and particularly 

 called attention to the efiScient and strenuous 

 work that has been accomplished by Secretary 

 George K. Smith. 



Secretary Smith then read his report and 

 that of the treasurer. He stated that one 

 member had been added to the association 

 during the year, the Western Pine Manufac- 

 turers' Association of Spokane, Wash., 

 bringing the individual membership up to 

 1,400, representing an annual output for 1906 

 of 14,327,914,986 feet of lumber. Mr. Smith 

 reviewed the work of the credit rating de- 

 partment, which has become an important 

 one and is steadily broadening its field of 

 usefulness. 



The treasurer's report showed net receipts 

 of $31,656.89, with disbursements amounting 

 to $30,441.42, leaving cash on hand May 1, 

 $1,215.47. The report was referred to an 

 auditing committee. 



J. B. White of Kansas City, Mo., deliv- 

 ered a masterly and exhaustive address on 

 "The Growing Need of Accurate Knowledge 

 as to the Standing Timber in the United 

 States Available for the Manufacture of 

 Lumber." Mr. White presented statistics 

 covering the various phases of forest denuda- 

 tion and lumber production, and laid great 

 stress on the importance of an accurate tim- 

 ber census, that it may be known how many 

 acres of timber there are standing in the 

 United States, how much waste land is irre- 

 claimable and how much brush land can ulti- 

 mately produce forest trees. He urged that 

 lumbermen give every aid possible to the 

 Bureau of the Census in collecting statistics 

 for the report of 1910, that data may be on 

 band which will enable the government and 



individuals to successfully cope with the great 

 problems which are confronting them. 



E. S. Kellogg of the Forest Service, Wash- 

 ington, D. C, made a brief address on "The 

 Lumber Cut of the United States for 1906, ' ' 

 after which Henry P. Graves delivered a 

 paper on the Yale Forest School, covering 

 the valuable work accomplished there and the 

 crying need for trained foresters. He stated 

 that the work does not deal solely with tree 

 planting, botany and the like, but embraces 

 the more practical phases of forestry; the 

 matter of lumbering had even been taken 

 up as far as funds permitted ; that the uni- 

 versity welcomes the alliance with lumbermen 

 which the proposed chair of lumbering will 

 afford, and that a department can be built 

 up which will become a powerful force in the 

 future of the industry by training the young 

 men in the practical and technical sides of 

 the question. 



James M. Hammill read an interesting 

 paper on "Adjustment of Lumber Fire 

 Losses.' Mr. Hammill laid particular stress 

 upon two matters connected with this sub- 

 ject: first, the necessity of a thorough ex- 

 amination of the policy when received, since 

 it alone, according to law, must govern the 

 relations of the parties under it; and, sec- 

 ond, whether in case of loss of manufactured 

 lumber by fire the assured can recover from 

 the underwriters the market value of the 

 lumber at the time and place of loss, or 

 merely the cost of producing the lumber. 

 Mr. Hammill cited several instances and de- 

 cisions pertaining to the principles involved 

 and covered the two subjects very thoroughly. 



Coimnittees Appointed. 



President Irvine then appointed the follow- 

 ing 'committees: 



Resolutions — J. A. Freeman, St. Louis, Mo. ; 

 H. C. Hornby, Cloquet, Minn. ; John W. Love, 

 Nashville, Tenn. ; S. M. Bless, Garyville, La. ; 

 V. H. Beckman, Seattle, Wash. ; C. A. Doty, 

 Doty, Wash. ; H. H. Foster, Malvern, Ark. 



Credentials — A. J. Niemeyer, St. Louis, Mo. ; 

 Lewis Doster, Chicago, 111. ; F. H. Pardee, Wau- 

 sau. Wis. 



Credit Rating — J. B. White, Kansas City, Mo. ; 

 William B. Stillwell, Savannah, Ga. : Edw. Hines, 

 Chicago, III.: E. C. Ii'osburgh, Norfolk, Va. ; 

 R. A. Long, Kansas City, Mo. 



Auditing Committee — H. H. Foster, chairman, 

 Malvern, Ark.; F. E. Waymer, Lakeland, Fla. ; 

 George E. Watson, New Orleans, La. 



Credit Indemnity— Drew Musser, Little Falls, 

 Minn. : William B. Stillwell, Savannah, Ga. ; 

 J. A. Freeman, St. Louis, Mo. ; W. F. Biederman, 

 St. Louis, Mo, ; E. C. Fosburgh, Norfolk, Va. 



Conference Committee on Car Stake — Bdw. 

 nines. Chicago, 111. : C. A. Doty, Doty, Wash. ; 

 R. A. Long, Kansas City, Mo. ; J. B. White, Kan- 

 sas City, Mo. ; George E. Watson. New Orleans, 

 La. 



E. Y. Babcock told of the work which has 

 been accomplished with the railroads and the 

 Interstate Commerce Commission, after which 

 E. F. Perry, W. B. Stilwell and W. W. Boss 

 spoke. 



John A. Fox of the National Rivers and 



Harbors Congress delivered an impromptu 

 address on the necessity for improvement of 

 the great system of waterways of the United 

 States, drawing an uufavorable comparison 

 between what has been accomplished along 

 these lines by foreign nations and our own 

 country. Overattention has been given to 

 railroad development here, while the rivers 

 and harbors have been neglected. Mr. Fox 

 stated that 37,000 miles of waterways could 

 be made efficient at a cost of about $500,- 

 000,000 and would effectively solve the prob- 

 lems of freight congestion aud railroad regu- 

 lation. He urged hearty cooperation of the 

 lumbermen in securing the necessary appro- 

 priations. 



WEDNESDAY'S SESSION. 



The association reconvened at 10 a. m. on 

 Wednesday in the assembly room of the Hotel 

 Chamberlin at Old Point Comfort. The Com- 

 mittee on Credentials gave a satisfactory re- 

 port which was ordered filed. C. I. Millard 

 sent in his report as chairman of the Com- 

 mittee on Transportation, which covered vari- 

 ous phases of lumber traffic, car stake allow- 

 ance, freight rates and claims, weight con- 

 tentions, etc., and gave it as his opinion that 

 the railroads themselves as well as the Inter- 

 state Commerce Commission are trying to be 

 fair in adjusting their business to public 

 demand and legislative restrictions. 



The Committee on Hardwood Rates to West 

 Coast Points, consisting of E. P. Arpin, 

 Eugene Shaw and John B. Ransom, next 

 presented its report. It referred to confer- 

 ences with a joint committee from the Na- 

 tional Hardwood Lumber Association and the 

 Hardwood Manufacturers' Association when 

 a statement was prepared for presentation 

 to R. H. Countiss, agent of the Transconti- 

 nental Freight Bureau; also to the courteous 

 reception given it later by the bureau itself. 

 In spite of various negotiations and strong 

 effort there has been no disposition shown 

 by railways to justify the present excessive 

 rate, although they do not deny that it is 

 detrimental to their own interests. The com- 

 mittee recommend the appointment of another 

 committee to take up the matter further with 

 the freight bureau, securing necessary funds 

 from the various hardwood associations, and 

 to go before the Interstate Commerce Com- 

 mission if no justice is obtained. 



The report of the Committee on Credit 

 Indemnity was read by the chairman. Drew 

 Musser; it was received and the committee 

 continued, after which the entire matter was 

 taken up in active discussion. 



A letter was read from F. E. Weyer- 

 haeuser, chairman of the Committee on Yale 

 Forest School Endowment, in which he stated 

 that $54,000 has been subscribed, of which 

 $35,000 has been paid and invested in bonds; 

 subscriptions are being added from time to 

 time. After much discussion a motion to 

 the effect that the present fund be turned 

 over to the school was carried; the president 

 urged that strenuous efforts to raise the bal- 

 ance of the funds be continued, so that the 

 matter may be settled before the end of the 

 year. 



