HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



Note liow much less lumber is in tlie hands 

 of manufacturers today unsold than a year 

 ago. As I said before, I cannot see a weak 

 spot anywhere. There is going to be a de- 

 mand for every foot of lumber we have with- 

 in call, at good prices, possibly better. 



Mr. Ballon: It is plain to be seen that 

 this report of stock on hand is a very intelli- 

 gent report, one which can be studied with 

 a great deal of profit by every manufacturer, 

 and the object I have in making these re-' 

 nuirks is to urge upon members to be. prompt 

 in getting reports to the secretary at . the 

 time he asks for them, because he cannot 

 make such a report unless he gets informa- 

 tion promptly. 



Both President White and Secretary Odell 

 strongly urged members to support this 

 recommendation of Mr. Ballon, and not to 

 pigeon-hole requests for information but to 

 attend to them immediately, thus enabling 

 the secretary to compile a report which should 

 be of the greatest possible value, representing 

 as large a number of manufacturers as pos- 

 sible. 



The report on market conditions was ap- 

 proved by action of the association. 



W. L. Martin: I move that vote of thanks 

 be given the Grading Committee which has 

 so ably and successfully accomplished the 

 work of a readjustment of hardwood grading 

 rules in line with the necessities of the trade. 



Tlje motion was seconded by A. W. Newark, 

 and carried by vote of the association. 



Mr. Odell : The association will be in need 

 of funds in the very near future. A number 

 of expenses and small bills will require more 

 than ive now command. I would like to have 

 the secretary to be authorized to call upon 

 members for a second assessment of two 

 cents per thousand feet for the quarter end- 

 ing July 1. 



A motion to this effect was made, seconded 

 and carried, and the assessment will be levied 

 in due course. 



Mr. Bigelow: Eef erring to the work of 

 the Grading Committee, of which you have a 

 report, we have been very ably assisted, and 

 without the assistance of the lumber press 

 also I doubt if we would have accomplished 

 half what we have done, so I wish to make 

 a motion on behalf of the committee that I 

 hope this association will adopt — to thank the 

 members of the lumber press for the assist- 

 ance they have rendered and the fairness with 

 which they have treated the subject. 



The motion was seconded and carried, 

 whereupon J. E. Defebaugh was called upon 

 to respond on behalf of the newspaper men. 



Mr. Defebaugh: I certainly wish to com- 

 ply with your request to say something on 

 behalf of the press, and to tell you that I am 

 sure we all feel it is our privilege to serve 

 this association and all associations in the 

 best way we know how. If we have been of 

 any service to you by our publications in the 

 matters referred to, we are very glad to have 

 this kind of expression of approval from 

 you. It is my jjersonal wish to say that I 

 attended the first meeting of this association 

 aiid' subsequent meetings, with one exception. 



G. VOX PLATEN, BOYNE CITY, DIRECTOR. 



and I find it a great privilege to be here and 

 note what progress you have made. The 

 number of stock reports received by your 

 ' secretary shows a great increase in interest 

 among members — an interest which looks to- 

 ward permanent benefit to all concerned. I 

 am sure in the work of the association, in 

 whatever you may undertake, you will have 

 the cordial support of the lumber press. 



President White, observing J. V. Stimson, 

 the well-known hardwood operator of Hunt- 

 ingburg, Ind., in the audience, asked him to 

 address the nieeting. 



Address of J. V. Stimson. 



As far as Indiana is concerned, it is still on 

 the map. and we are still making lumber down 

 1 here. Y'our president is more generous than 

 the president of a lumber association whose 

 meeting I attended a short time ago. At the 

 banquet he called on me and said I would now 

 tell them how we made ten and up quartered 

 oak over in Indiana, out of eighteen inch logs ! 

 Now I know .von are not making much quartered 

 oak in Michig:an but you are making kindred 

 woods, and we are neighbors. We are doing 

 business along the same lines and through the 

 same channels, and I am pieased to meet the 

 gentlemen here today. I am glad to see how 

 much you are accomplishing in the way of 



D. H. DAY, GLKN HAVEN, DIKIX'TOR. 



a state organization. There isn't any doubt In 

 the world but that lumber legislation that is in 

 existence today has been brought about through 

 the association of lumbermen in a business and 

 social way. The inspection rules of the associa- 

 tions have come from this, and the application 

 ol the rules has developed from these discus- 

 sions. Lumbermen get close to each other and 

 cease to fear one another. It is a system of 

 education. .Some one said that education has 

 two uses — it teaches the wise man his limita- 

 tions and inspires the fool with his own omnis- 

 lienee. We come in contact witb that thought 

 and appreciate it. The lumbermen of the coun- 

 try are the biggest-hearted set of fellows on 

 earth, and they are capable, able business men 

 in every channel, and I always feel well paid 

 when I make a trip of a few hundred miles to 

 attend a meeting where I can meet new men and 

 renew acquaintances with old friends. The targe 

 number of gentlemen here are strangers to me 

 personally, but I know your firms and know of 

 you all. Mr. White and I, as well as others 

 of yon, have worked shoulder to shoulder in the 

 past, and we have seen a great man.v things 

 accomplished through lumber association work. 

 And, gentlemen, there is a lot more to be dug 

 up along these lines. Your secretary a few min- 

 utes ago referred to the matter of a traffic bu- 

 reau. I am not surprised that you have a good 

 field for service there, not at all. There has 

 been a lot of public agitation along railroad 

 matters ; public sentiment is in a degree an- 

 tagonizing the railroads. There has been con- 

 siderable legislation and you know there is a 

 sort of disorganization of the traffic business at 

 this time. Lumber rates that were in existence 

 a year ago are withdrawn — we do not know 

 when nor why. All we do know is that when 

 wc attempt to m;ike shipments to this i^oint or 

 that we find the rate is perhaps a cent higher 

 than it was before. I came in contact with 

 that featitre a short time ago on a shipment to 

 I'eoria, 111. I formerly had Chicago rate, and 

 made claim for the advance of one cent which 

 appeared in the charges. Railroad men advised 

 me that the twelve-cent rate had been with- 

 drawn, and it was now thirteen cents. I asked 

 why this was. I asked for restoration of the 

 twelve-cent rate. I wanted to make quotations 

 to Peoria, and the railroad traffic department 

 advised me that I could only use such rates 

 as were on file in their regular traffic schedule, 

 a copy of which was in the hands of the Inter- 

 state Commerce Commission, etc. Now, gentle- 

 men, that is the proposition you are up against 

 when you want to make quotations. You are 

 advised that there can't be any change made 

 imder thirty days' notice of change of tariff, 

 and, of course, after thirty days have expired, 

 it is most too late to quote that fellow over 

 there on lumber. There is certainly a field here 

 where information can be gathered and dis- 

 seminated, I believe, to the advantage of every 

 lumberman in the state and every lumberman in 

 the United States. Along the line of your in- 

 spection report, I am very much pleased to see 

 the unanimous action you have had here at this 

 time. I believe we are fast getting toward gen- 

 eral rules for the inspection of hardwood lum- 

 ber. We must do the best thing at hand, and 

 work out the proposition in order to accomplish 

 the things that are most essential — the things 

 that we need. The systems of applying rules 

 of inspection are perhaps changing in a way, 

 but all the time for their betterment — they are 

 being strengthened. The system of National 

 inspection and reinspection is much better and 

 stronger than ever before. It perhaps has some 

 weak features but they will all be remedied 

 in time with the co-operative action which must 

 come along the lines of work of the state asso- 

 ciations and the larger bodies. There is no 

 doubt, gentlemen, but what in a few years it 

 will be possible for us to get united action and 

 systematic service along these lines. It was 

 suggested by your president that .vou did not 

 get all you wanted in the change of rules 

 adopted at Atlantic City, but you are wise 

 enough, gentlemen, to take what you did get 

 — and you got liberal concessions — and those 

 members of your association who attended the 

 Atlantic City meeting know the fight put up 

 against the adoption of the rules at that time, 

 and the effort put forth to accomplish this 

 adoption. It seems to me that the future is 

 bright along this line. Y'onr stock report is 

 certainly a comprehensive statement of lumber 

 conditions as the.v exist here toda.v and I can- 

 not see any shadow for a pessimist there at 

 all. He has no place to put even one foot. 

 ,Tuly, of cotirse, is midsummer, usually termed 

 the dull period of the year. A year ago, how- 

 ever, lumber moved as rapidly as any other 

 manufactured product. There was a general 

 car shortage over a great part of the country, 

 and every man had orders to ship every car 

 he could get hold of. Today there is not the 

 quietness existing in July that there was two 

 or three years ago in the summer period. I 

 think .vou will all concede that statement to be 

 a fact. It was true that late in the season or 

 in the winter, when the car situation laid up 



