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HARDWOOD RECORD 



Hardwood Record jW^ar/ Bag. 



[In this department it is propose-J to reply 

 to such inquiries as reach this office from the 

 Hardwood Record clientage as will be of enough 

 general interest to wan-ant publication. Every 

 patron of the paper "s invited to use this de- 

 partment to the fullest extent, and an attempt 

 will be made to answer queries pertaining to all 

 matters of interest to the hardwood trade, in 

 a succinct and intelligent manner.] 



Criticism of New York Inspection Methods. 



New York. Sept. 4. — Editor H.\rdwood Rec- 

 ord: It is not surprising that. there are so many 

 firms who refuse to ship lumber to the New 

 York market, for they have realized by sad ex- 

 perience in the past that their stock has been 

 "slaughtered." But few millmen are conversant 

 with the manner of inspection in New York, and 

 when the inside workings are known there doubt- 

 less would be fewer who would be willing to ship 

 lumber to New York to be inspected upon arrival. 

 The inside workings are peculiar, to say the 

 least. 



There is an organization in New York known 

 as the New York Lumber Trade Association 

 which is about as big a farce as ever existed. A 

 lumber yard having its own inspector has only 

 to apply to the association for a "license" for 

 that particular mau and he is duly inaugurated 

 as a "licensed inspector of the New York Lum- 

 ber Trade Association." He has blanks printed 

 with his name iu large letters as a "liceusod" 

 Inspector. This man only does work for the 

 yard in which he is employed and receives a 

 salary in proportion to the amount of money he 

 can earn for his employer. Some of these men. 

 until they become proficient in grading lumber, 

 receive about $15 per week and from that up 

 to $50 per week. 



A manufacturer of lumber ships a car to New 

 York ; It is inspected by a "licensed inspector" 

 at a cost of 50 cents per thousand and a cer- 

 tificate forwarded by his employer to the ship- 

 per. The shipper cannot account for the grade 

 being so very poor, but as the lumber has been 

 inspected, as he supposes, by an impartial in- 

 spector, he is forced to "take his medicine." 

 There Is hardly a yard in the city of New York 

 which does not have its own private, special in- 

 spector duly "licensed" by the association. The 

 jobber who buys lumber from the manufacturer 

 and sells to a New York lumber yard, after re- 

 ceiving an inspection of a car forwards it to the 

 shipper and tells him that this is the inspection 

 of a "licensed inspector." He takes particular 

 care not to mention the fact that the "licensed 

 inspector" is an employee of his customer, and 

 the 50 cents "earned" by inspecting goes to his 

 employer. 



The writer of this article Is located in New 

 York and has been selling the metropolitan trade 

 for a long while past and is thoroughly con- 

 versant with the methods employed for "making 

 money" in grading stock. In nine cases out of 

 ten where his firm is forced to allow deductions 

 they are unjust, but to "keep iu" with the trade 

 they allow them, but the shipper knows nothing 

 whatever of the matter. Suppose the shipper 

 wants to have the car which has been inspected 

 by the "licensed Inspector" (employed by his 

 customer) reinspectcd by an unprejudiced per- 

 son, how can he have this done? lie calls upon 

 the secretary of the New Y'ork Lumber Trade 

 Association, explains the matter to him and is 

 advised that as soou as an inspector who is not 

 engaged can be found he will be glad to bave 

 the lumber rcinspected. In Greater New Y'ork 

 there is but one public inspector, who, iu the 

 opinion of the writer, is unprejudiced and will 

 give the shipper "a square deal." In talking 

 with this inspector recently about the farce of 

 the New York inspection, he stated that this 

 thing could never be remedied because the lumber 

 yards wanted their own Inspectors and would 

 have them. This man is so busy that it is 

 necessary to file an application with him about a 

 month before you can get a car inspected. There 

 are a number of men who have licenses from the 

 association and w'ho are not employed by the 

 lumber yards, principally because of their habits. 

 The National Hardwood Lumber Association 

 is hardly known in New York, It is true, how- 

 ever, that they have one inspector here to do the 

 work for a place having a population of approxi- 

 mately five millions of people. We recently 

 received an inspection of four cars of lumber 

 which we shipped to a large concern in this city, 

 the inspection having been made by their em- 

 ployee, a "licensed" inspector of the New York 



Lumber Trade Association. We were not sat- 

 isfied with this inspection and called for a re- 

 inspectlon. The work of inspecting 42.000 feet 

 of lumber was done in less than two hours, the 

 inspection certificates made out and, the 50 cents 

 per thousand collected from our customer, which 

 was deducted from our invoice. This charge is 

 In addition to the one paid our customer's 

 "li<-ensed" inspector. The inspection was iden- 

 tically the same to the foot and grade as the 

 licensed inspector who was an employee of our 

 customer. We venture to say that the first man 

 who Inspected the lumber, if he should relnspect 

 the cars every day for two weeks (without the 

 lumber having been marked to designate his 

 former grades) that in every single car there 

 would have been some difference. 



Let us compare the farce of the New Yoirk 

 inspection with the inspection in Boston. No 

 yard in the city of Boston has cr could have, if 

 desired, a licensed inspector on a salary basis. 

 In Boston there is a surveyor general, an ap- 

 pointee of the governor of the commonwealth, 

 who is an up-to-date lumberman and who has an 

 ntlice at SS Broad street. This surveyor general 

 has nineteen deputies who are experienced lum- 

 bermen and impartial. We venture to say that 

 if a lumber dealer in Boston who had had a car 

 of lumber rejected should request the surveyor 

 general to send a certain man to inspect the 

 car. that his suggestion would be spurned, and 

 the man who was most familiar with that pai-- 

 tl.ular kind of lumber and best qualified in the 

 iudament of the surveyor general would be sent 

 to do the work. In Boston it is only necessary 

 to call the surveyor general by telephone and 

 request him to send an inspector to survey a 

 certain car of lumber; within twenty-four hours 

 a certificate is delivered to your office. This is 

 the way business is done in Boston. In New 

 York you chase around at night to the inspec- 

 tor's iiome, climb three, four or five flights of 

 stairs and are informed by the wife of the in- 

 spector that he is not at home, but will probably 

 he found at the saloon on the corner. Imagine 

 the surveyor general in Boston having a deputy 

 whose business address was at some saloon I 

 We contend that the New Y'ork Lumber Trade 

 Association should refuse to issue a license to 

 emtdoyees of any lumber concern. 



We recently had a car of lumber rejected and 

 the yard to 'whom we sold the stock insisted 

 upon having (heir paid Inspector go over the 

 lumber, hut we would not agree to this and. 

 owing to our being unable to locate a public in- 

 spector, finally agreed that we would leave the 

 matter of inspection In the hands of a certain 

 inspector who was an employee of another .yard. 

 We then applied to his employer and asked if he 

 would accommodate us in the matter and he 

 replied that he was so busy with his own lumber 

 that he could not spare him. This is the way 

 things are done iu the Great Metropolis. — New 

 York .Jobber. 



The foregoing letter is from a well-known 

 New York jobber of lumber. The Lord 

 knows there is enough to criticize in the 

 method in which New York Lumber Trade 

 Association inspection rules are applied in 

 the Metropolis, but the arraignment made 

 1 y our correspondent must be regarded con- 

 siderably in the light of ex parte evidence, 

 as he has evidently been the victim of par- 

 ticularly irregular methods in the applica- 

 tion of the New Y'ork system of inspection. 

 In New Y'ork, as in all large commercial 

 centers, there is a deal of business trans- 

 acted in lumber that is "on the level," 

 while there are of course other methods that 

 are open to criticism. 



The statement made that the National 

 Hardwood Lumber Association is hardly 

 known in New Y'ork and that they have 

 only one inspector there to do the work, is 

 not borne out by the facts, as, during the 

 month of August, two licensed, salaried in- 

 spectors, viz., F. P. Southgate, 472A Greene 

 avenue, Brooklyn; W. T. Holahan and two 

 extra inspectors, were employed by the Na- 



tional Association to handle New York hard- 

 wood inspection. SuflBce it to say that hard- 

 ■ wood inspection conditions in New York 

 City are gradually improving, and in the 

 course of time it will be possible to ship 

 hardwood lumber to all buyers in that mar- 

 ket with the assurance of a square deal. 

 Today it is the part of wisdom ou the part 

 of lumbermen to know the purchaser pretty 

 thoroughly before shipments are made. 



The favorable comment the correspondent 

 makes about the method of application of 

 inspection rules in Boston is just, but it 

 must further be recalled that the inspection 

 rules themselves, known as "Boston Sur- 

 vey," are extremely severe. Shippers to 

 either market are advised to make, as a 

 part of their selling bargain, a specification 

 not only of the system of grades con- 

 templated in the sale, but also who shall ap- 

 ply the grading rules in the event of a 

 dispute. — Ebitoe. 



Concerning Laurel. 



Louisville, Kv., Sept. G.— Editor Hardwood 

 Uecord : We should like very much to know 

 where laurel wood grows, and where we can 

 obtain some of it. If you can give us this in- 

 formation we shall appreciate it very much. — 



COJIPANT. 



Without naming the botany of the wood re- 

 ferred to, it is diflScult to tell what particular 

 variety is meant by the common name laurel. 

 There are half a dozen varieties of American 

 tree growth which might answer to this 

 name. The best known of the laurels of 

 course is the mountain laurel (Kalmia liti- 

 folia, Linn). This is the great flowering 

 underbru.sh growth of the lower Appalachian 

 region which bears the great masses of beau- 

 tiful blossoms in early June. The wood is 

 reddish brown, heavy and fine grained, but 

 so far has not been adapted to commercial 

 use. The roots of this growth are employed 

 quite extensively in the manufacture of 

 ' ' French ' ' briar pipes. It is found in great- 

 est profusion in southern We^t Virginia, east- 

 ern Tennessee and western North Carolina. 



Or it may be that the great flowered mag- 

 nolia or "bull bay" (Magnolia foetida, Sar- 

 gent), which in some sections is known as 

 ' ' big laurel ' ' and in others as ' ' laurel-leafed 

 magnolia," is meant. The range of growth 

 of this variety of magnolia is along the coast 

 region of North Carolina, south of the Cape 

 Fear river, to Florida and as far south as 

 Tampa bay, westward in the gulf coast re- 

 gion to Texas and through western Louisiana 

 and southern Arkansas. The wood of this 

 magnolia is more valuable thau that of any 

 other of its genus. It is strong, somewhat 

 fibrous in its nature and very light in color, 

 and is worthy a place as a cabinet wood. 



The address of the above correspondent will 

 be supplied upon request to anyone interested 

 in the class of material sought. — Editor. 



Wants Beech Lumber for Plane Stock. 



New York, N. Y.. Sept. 13. — Editor Hardwood 

 Record : Please give ns the names of a few 

 firms handling beech lumber for plane stock 

 (manufacturing planes). Thanking you in an- 

 ticipation of your courtesy, etc. — . 



The above inquirer has been supplied with 

 the names of several concerns manufacturing 

 beech lumber; on application the addre-ss oi 

 this correspondent will be furnished to firms 

 making a specialty of beech lumber for plane 

 stock. — Editor. 



