to tbat trade as a result of a complete anjl 

 harmonious combination of the units of which 

 It is constituted, and while I hope at some time 

 to understand all that is implied by the term 

 National inspection, I have thus far exerted my- 

 self largely along the line of increasing the 

 membership of this association under the belief 

 that the greater the number that Join in the 

 worli. the earlier the harvest of effort will 



ripen. . , _ . . ,, . 



As a result of this special effort to add to 

 the number of members I am pleased to report 

 that during the year ending with this meeting 

 •'04 new firms haVe been placed upon the mem- 

 bership roll. While this addition in members 

 Is certainly gratifying, the fact should not be 

 overlooked ' that this increase is not made up 

 of the doubtful and questionable elements of the 

 trade but rather includes the names of many 

 of the best hardwood lumber firms in this coun- 

 try. A detailed statement of the membership 

 (or the year is as follows : 



Membership May IS. 1905 332 



Applications received since 211 



Applications rejected T 



Total accepted ' 204 



53G 

 Kesignations and withdrawals by rea- 

 son of going out of business, etc. . . . 33 



Association membership May 3, 1006.. 503 



The finances of the association have also re- 

 ceived my careful attention and while at times 

 the funds in hand have been reduced to a small 

 figure, the association has not been without a 

 cash balance in the treasury at any time where- 

 with to prosecute any \vork outlined in the 

 interest of its membership. I trust that the 

 Auditing Committee will be able to reconcile the 

 following statement of receipts and disburse- 

 ments with the books of the treasurer and the 

 voucher flies with him : 



RECEIPTS. 



From membership dues $11,810.04 



From inspection fees 11,831.55 



From sale of inspection rules 326.86 



From cash deposits 700.00 



From reinspection fees 321.89 



$25,190.34 



DISBURSEMENTS. 



Remitted treasurer $24,420.88 



Checks and cash on hand 769.46 



$25,190.34 



While, as indicated above. I am not able to 

 speak as one having authority upon matters 

 pertaining to inspection, it affords me pleasure 

 to be able to offer my testimony as to the effi- 

 cient manner in which the affairs of the sur- 

 veyor general's oHice have been conducted. Ow- 

 ing to the fact that that oflicer shares the office 

 of the association with the secretary, an ample 

 , opportunity has been uffercd me to arrive at an 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



The larger part of the time since I have been 

 your secretary has been spent at the association 

 headquarters in Indianapolis. 1 have, however, 

 made several trips to the large hardwood cen- 

 ters and have been asked frequently by our 

 members why Indianapolis was selected as head- 

 quarters for the association. There were doubt- 

 less good reasons for making this change and 

 while the association has prospered since its 

 removal to the present location I believe it would 

 now be advantageous to locate the executive 

 offices in a larger hardwood center. This ac- 

 tion would ipsuil in placing the membership in 

 much cliiser touch with the executive offices, and 

 I also believe the convenience of the members 

 of the various committees, whose duties necessi- 

 tate attending several meetings during the year, 

 would be best suited were the offices located in 

 some city where they have other business inter- 

 ests. 



In conformity witli the by-laws the Executive 

 Committee have held five meetings during the 

 year: at Indianapolis. ,Iuly IS and September 

 21 ; at St. Louis. November 6 : at Indianapolis, 

 January 18, and at Grand Rapids, March 16. 

 The Board of Managers have also held two meet- 

 ings, the first at Indianapolis. September 21, 

 and the second at Grand Rapids, .March 16. 

 These meetings were well attended and the 

 chairman and other members of the Inspection 

 Bureau Committee were also present. 



The popularity of the inspection rules of this 

 association is shown by the increase in the 

 demand from all sources for the pamphlets con- 

 taining these rules. In former years 5,000 to 

 10,000 copies have been printed, but in Novem- 

 ber last 2.1,000 copies of the rules were printed 

 and at the present rate of distribution the edi- 

 tion will be exhausted at an early date and it 

 will be necessary to issue another edition. 



CJood reasons exist for the belief that all 



25 



EDWARD BUCKLEY, MANISTEE, MICII., DI- 

 RECTOR. 



authentic judgment as to the manner in which 

 Mr. Smith has discharged his duties, and I am 

 certain that no organization ever had a more 

 diligent, faithful and conscientious employee 

 than this association possesses in the person 

 of the present surveyor general. 



pregnant with opportunity. You will all agree 

 that the executive committee acted wisely in 

 their instructions to the secretary to emphasize 

 qiialitv and to investigate all names thoroughly 

 before' inviting them to membership and sub- 

 mitting their applications for approval. 



In accordance with the decision of the Hoard 



JOHN N. SCATCIIERD, BUFFALO, DIRECTOR. 



branches of the lumber industry are becoming 

 cognizant of the necessity and importance of 

 organized effort under present trade conditions. 

 The interest evinced by our ow'n membership in 

 the work of this association and the material in- 

 crease in that membership affords abundant 

 proof of this condition. Since our last annual 

 meeting at Buffalo we have admitted many im- 

 portant, long established manufacturing and 

 wholesale firms who have never until now been 

 identified with association work. The secretary 

 is now in correspondence with many others who 

 are quite certain to connect themselves with 

 (his association at an early date. While many 

 requirements are necessary to carry to a success- 

 ful issue the work of organizing the hardwood 

 interests, I believe all agree that harmony is of 

 vital importance. It is my belief that a con- 

 dition of absolute harmony prevails today in the 

 ranks of the National Hardwood Lumber Asso- 

 ciation, and to this condition is due in a greater 

 degree than to any other tlie rate of progress and 

 the position which it now occupies in the hard- 

 wood trade. I do not claim that the National 

 association has the strangle hold on prosperity 

 and that our battle is ended, but I do believe 

 I hat it is possible to build on our present foun- 

 dation an organization that will embrace all 

 the best firms in the hardwood industry of the 

 United States. A membership of 500 aggressive 

 firms is a great nucleus, and while it is perhaps 

 true that many of our own members do not fully 

 realize the present possibilities, the situation is 



A. BENNETT, CINCINNATI, DIRECTOR. 



of Managers at our last annual meeting the 

 proceedings of that convention were published 

 in pamphlet form and distributed among the 

 membership. A large number of these pamphlets 

 were also sent to nonmembers and on request 

 have been supplied to the trade throughout the 

 country. Frequent letters requesting informa- 

 tion regarding the association's objects and 

 methods resulted in publishing the present hand 

 book. In addition to supplying the member- 

 ship with this booklet we have distributed many 

 thousand copies among manufacturers, dealers 

 and consumers, in each instance accompanying 

 same with a special letter. It is therefore rea- 

 sonable to claim that the National Hardwood 

 I.uiiil)er Association is today better known 

 throughout the United States than at any time 

 previous in its history. It has occurred to me 

 that if the members of tliis association were 

 (o adopt a uniform and distinctive emblem to 

 lie imprinted upon the letter heads used by them 

 in conducting their business correspondence, 

 some advantage would lesult to the association 

 from the practice if it could be made general 

 among the members. It is my belief that the 

 emblem appearing upon the letter heads of the 

 officers of this association for the past nine 

 months as well as upon all printed matter 

 coming from the secretary's office might serve. 

 I should be pleased to have this suggestion 

 considered at this meeting, and if it meets the 

 .Tpprovai of the members present I shall take 

 pleasure in supplying cuts of the design referred 

 to at cost for distribution. I desire to thank 

 the members of the National Hardwood Lumber 

 Association for the many courtesies extended 

 during the year and for your attention to this 

 report. Fr.ink F. Fish, Secretary. 



President Palmer : Tlie committee on officers' 

 reports can report at their convenience. The 

 report of the committee, however, should be in 

 before the order of new business tomorrow, so 

 that anything they recommend can be taken up. 



O. O. Agler : It occurs to me that it might 

 be well at this time to have a resolution adopted, 

 authorizing the president to appoint a committee 

 of three on rules and credentials, and I make 

 the motion that the president be so empowered. 



J. W. Thompson : I would amend the mo- 

 tion to read a committee of five. 



President Palmer : That, as I understand it, 

 does not refer to inspection rules, but parlia- 

 mentary rules to govern this meeting. 



Mr. Agler : Yes, I accept the amendment. 



The motion as amended was carried, and the 

 president appointed the following committee on 

 rules and credentials : 0. 0. Agler, O. B. Yeager, 

 T. B. Stone, G, J, Landeck, R. J. Darnell. 



President Palmer : We are ready for the 

 treasurer's report. 



