22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Handle Manufacturers' dissociation. 



Agreeable to previous notice, liaudle mami- 

 faeturers reiiresenting about seventy-five ])er 

 cent of the total output of hickory handles 

 and quite a number of others engaged in 

 the manufacture of ash, oak, maple and other 

 handles, met in Club Boom L-38, Great North- 

 ern Hotel, at ten o 'clock on Tuesday, Oct. 8. 



The meeting was addressed by several 

 gentlemen prominent in association work, 

 after which a general discussion over the ad- 

 visability of formiug a general handle asso- 

 ciation with subsidiary organizations cover- 

 ing: 



(1) Hickory Division: Consisting of 

 manufacturers of handles for edge tools; 

 railroad and mining trade; pii-ker sticks; 

 dowels. 



(2) Ash and Oak Division: Consistiug 

 of manufacturers of rake, fork and other ag- 

 ricultural and domestic implement and tool 

 handles; logging tool handles; plow handles. 



(3) Maple and Minor Woods Division: 

 Consisting of manufacturers of broom ami 

 mop handles and dowel rods. 



A committee on permanent organization 

 was appointed to report at a meeting to be 

 held at the New Grand Hotel, Indianapolis, 

 on Wednesday, Nov. 20. 



A full report of the proceedings follows: 



Details of the Meeting. 

 The meeting was called to order by Henry 

 H. Gibson, editor of the Hardwood Eecord. 

 Mr. Gibson addressed the gathering as fol- 

 lows: 



I do not think I need any excuse for calling 

 this meeting. If I do, I will say to you that it 

 was called at the suggestion and request of some 

 half dozen handle manufacturers, partially hick- 

 or.v and partially ash people. I published their 

 suggestions in the IlAiiDwooD Record and fol- 

 lowed it tip by numerous letters, which elicited 

 man.v replies, so tliat it was ftually thought wise 

 to organize a handle association divided into 

 separate divisions, according to the nature of the 

 product. I thinic most of you have seen quite 

 a number of these letters printed in the Hard- 

 wood Record, I have had considerable expe- 

 rience in association work, and from the tenor 

 of the letters referred to, I tind that certain 

 peoi)le say we are getting sliort of raw material 

 and prices are not commensurate with labor, 

 manufacturing, aud material costs. I tlnd other 

 people who say that the inspection of handles 

 lias not been moditied to meet the current needs 

 of the trade. That material is growing coarser 

 and still you are making the same higli grade 

 bandies you always have, and thinli that changes 

 might be made to better these conditions. An 

 analysis of tbe whole proposition is tliat you 

 are up against what a great many other manu- 

 facturers have been in the past, that is unintel- 

 ligent competition. 



In this association work with which I have 

 been allied for a good man.v years. I have never 



found any particular valiif in a lot of people 

 getting together and making a price list. I 

 think it is one of the last things they should do. 

 My experience tells me that the value of asso- 

 ciation work is to educate each other in the 

 various lines of production and especially up to 

 cost, on the principle that tbe man who does 

 not know cost ought not to be in any business. If 

 you will' eliminate this unintelligent competition, 

 you will better your industry and yourselves. 

 Association work is for acquaintanceship, better 

 trade relations, estimating cost and figuring econ- 

 omy. I have had experience with a number of 

 lumber associations and they have all had good 

 fortune and made money for their members : the 

 . flooring manufacturer, whosi' business a few 

 years ago was fearfully demoralized ; the dimen- 

 sion stock people, who two years ago were in 

 utter chaos, selling clear stock for less than the 

 price of No. 1 common ; and a year and a half 

 ago we found the veneer and panel people in 

 about the same condition, as far as making money 

 out of their business was considered. I have a 

 lc>t of faith in association work anci I believe 

 this nucleus here, which represents quite a pro- 

 ])ortion of the output of handles, can do some- 

 thing for all that will better the trade, and adopt 

 measures that will be generally accepted. My 

 personal interest in this association is not a very 

 large one. I want to do everything I can through 

 my newspaper and personally for the interests 

 of the totalit.v of the hardwood industry. I am 

 glad to see so many here and hope we can ac- 

 complish something definite. The tirst thing we 

 must do is to appoint a temporary chairman and 

 1 am going to ask Mr. Clendenin to take the 

 chair and perfect a little organization. 



RKr'RESE.xj'A rni; cathkuing ok handle manufacturers in se.ssion at the 



latEAT NORTHERN HOTEL. CHIfAGO. OCT. ,S. 



