HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



of good, and general oo-operation is certainly 

 of benefit to tlie entire liardwood industry. 

 To illustrate, we have now talien up the sub- 

 ject of the western freight rate matter. At 

 the time I was elected president of our asso- 

 ciation — it was a year ago — it occurred to me 

 that the western rate of eighty-five cents to 

 the west coast was out of proportion to the 

 present rates going east. Our association 

 appointed a committee to take the matter up 

 with the National Association of Lumber 

 Manufacturers and at this meeting they ap- 

 pointed a committee and passed a set ot 

 resolutions that this committee should appear 

 before the Transcontinental Freight Bureau 

 in Chicago and see what it thought about a 

 reduction. The first committee appointed bv 

 our association prior to this did not get the 

 satisfaction they thought they should, and 

 thought that the national association, having 

 all the lumber associations back of it. would 

 meet with a larger measure of respect. So 

 it proved, for they granted us a hearing 

 which they did not grant the first committee. 

 We had a meeting last month with them, and 

 presented our case at leisure and I tliink we 

 gave it verj- detailed attention and proved to 

 the railway people that they are losing busi- 

 ness in not granting the request. We showed 

 to their satisfaction that there is now in the 

 neighborhood of 15.000.000 feet of hardwood 

 being shipped to west coast points. This 

 is about 6.000.000 feet from tlie national asso- 

 ciation, the .same from tlie Manufacturers' 

 Association. 1.000.000 from our association. 

 1,000,000 from Michigan, and an odd million 

 from other sources, making 15,000,000 in all. 



W. W. MITCHELL, V. P. MICHIGAN IIAUD- 

 WOOD MANUFACTUKERS' ASSOCIATION. 



At the rate at which it is being shipped it is 

 assumed by the people in the west coast 

 cities, who use it, that under a reasonable 

 rate they would be able to treble the con- 

 sumption of hardwoods. If this is so. it would 

 seem an object for the railway people to 

 make a reduction in the rate. They admit 

 that one-third of their cars going west go 

 empty. We offered to load those cars at a 

 lower rate, and give them the extra business. 

 The lumber that they force east on a low rate 

 IS not a benefit to them. In other words I 

 saw a house today finished in yellow pine. 

 That means a carload of lumber in the South 

 somewhere was shipped up here. Now in 

 this way the road got an extra car to haul. 

 Otherwise they would have got none. 



The railway people have seemed to take it 

 on themselves that they didn't want any 

 lumber to go west. They have sawmills out 

 there and the lumber ought to satisfy the 

 people there, and so they have not favored a 

 movement of lumber to the west. Wisconsin 

 manufacturers feel they are entitled to a 

 broader market in that direction. Some lum- 

 ber is even shipped in from Japan. Recently 

 there was made a contract for 1.500.000 oak 

 ties to he shipped to Mexico for the Hariiman 

 hnes. That means 50,000.000 feet of lumliei-. 

 So there is evidently some timber in Japan. 

 .It appears that there is a cause for apprehen- 

 sion on the part of the manufacturers of the 

 United States regarding the shipping in of 

 foreign lumber. I had a letter sent me bv a 

 manufacturer in which the writer stated that 

 he wanted to know what rates thev might 

 get to ship some of this Japanese" lumber 

 right into Chicago. So the railroads en- 



courage through their excessive rates the 

 importation of lumber into the United States. 

 At the same time tiiey have injured tliem- 

 selves as much or more than they have the 

 lumbermen. Up to the present time, however, 

 we have not been informed that we will get 

 any .satisfaction, rather the other way. 



The rate out of Chicago to the Pacific coast 

 is 85 cents, against 60 cents from the coast 

 to Chicago points. The railroads do not give 

 any reason for this. They simply say they 

 can get it. But I understand that the 

 northern lines are in favor of a reduction. 

 They like the lumber traffic. It gives' them 

 a long haul with full carloads, and they like 

 the business. But the southern lines, those 

 that go into San Francisco, evidently think 

 they will have all they can do in hauling 

 lumber at S5 cents. I think possibly that 

 later on they may make a reduction — after 

 the needs of the city of San Francisco have 

 been met. Now they encourage the importa- 

 tion of foreign lumber. I do not know wiiat 

 the position of the National Lumber Manu- 

 facturers' Association will be in regard to 

 this matter, Ijut from the sentiment of most 

 of its members I think they will feel like 

 bringing the matter up before the Interstate 

 Commerce Commission. With that in view, 

 I think it would be well for you to suggest 

 the advisability of co-operating with us on 

 this line, appointing a committee to take the 

 matter up with our committee, and do what- 

 ever is necessary for the good of the industry. 



I am pleased indeed to come here and visit 

 >'ou gentlemen and consitler it an lionor to 

 our association to be inviteel to attend your 

 meeting. I have not had an opportunity to 

 confer with the directors, but have had a 

 number of letters, and all seem to be of the 

 same opinion, that our work and yours are on 

 the same lines, and anything we can do to 

 co-operate will help each other. It occurred 

 to me that possibly there may be some work 

 in which we can pull together. To illustrate, 

 the pine and hemlock people of our state have 

 the same secretary. The work he does is 

 much more efficient than if iie acted only for 

 one association. A secretary that would act 

 for both our associations would be able to 

 devote his entire time to collecting such in- 

 formation as we would all like to have. Our 

 woods and markets are similai-. and there is 

 no reason why our two states could not work 

 together. I just make this suggestion, how- 

 ever, so that later on it may be deemed a 

 wise thing for us to amalgamate in some way. 

 If there is any information I can give you, I 

 would be pleased to give it, and that is one 

 of the reasons that brought me here. I 

 thought I might possibly be of some aid. and 

 would be pleased to be of service in an.v way 

 possible. 



F. A. Diggius: I have just drafted a resolu- 

 tion which I wish to present, which I believe 

 states about what the oominittee had in their 

 minds when they drafted the rules. 



RESOLVED. That the secretary of this 

 association cause the report of the grading 

 committee to he printed, and a copy of the 

 report sent to each member for their con- 

 sideration, accompanied by a request that .said, 

 members shall submit suggestions for sucfi 

 change-s as may occur to them. 



That the grading committee shall meet and 

 consider these suggestions and then formulate 

 a set of rules which shall be submitted by a 

 sub-committee to the grading committee of 

 the national association and an earnest effort 

 made to have our proposed changes incor- 

 porated in their rules, to the end that there 

 may be no conflict between the two associa- 

 tions. 



That pending the adoption of a set of grad- 

 ing rules by this association, the rules of the 

 National Hardwood Lumber Association be 

 used by the members of this association. 



Mr. Diggins spoke briefly in support of his 

 resolution and moved its adoption. The mo- 

 tion was carried by rising vot«. 



Mr. Day: The rules do not so much matter 

 as the way they are interpreted. I think that 

 while some changes are necessary in the 

 rules, there should be something done in the 

 matter of inspectors. According to my opin- 

 ion they are almost wholly controlled by the 

 Joljbers. who get the benefit it there is any 

 to be gotten. It would look to me that we 

 should do something more on that line. I 

 want to say that an inspector does not have 

 to know very much about lumber. All he has 

 to do is to give .a bond. That makes it all 

 right with the jobber, and the manufacturer 

 seldom troubles him. 



Mr. Hull: I do not wish to be understood 

 as opposing a modlHcation of the rules, but 

 what I do insist upon is to make them so 

 plain that so much will not be left to the 

 judgment of the in.spectors. for their opinions 

 vary greatly. I want them plain enough that 



an inspector can intelligently put the board 

 where it belongs. 



Mr. von Platen: I have worked on grading 

 committet^s for seven or eight years, and 

 have met with some very fair rrien on the 

 other side. I think we should take the con- 

 sumer into consideration, if not the middle- 

 man. My aim is to make the middleman sell 

 the same grade to the consumer that I give 

 him, and I think when we get the grade 

 where the middleman cannot manipulate it 

 we have done everything we can. I do not 

 believe it is best for us to get up a set of 

 rules and say that .such and such must 

 constitute grades. I do not believe we can 

 make it work. It might not be best to confer 

 with the national people, but we must get at 

 the consumer and see what he thinks l)est in 

 the case. I do not think it best to force on 

 a man lumber that he cannot u.se. and 1 b.ave 

 worked for that point and to get grades to 

 satisfy the consumer. I think that defects 

 should be according to the number of feet in 

 the surface measurement in a board, instead 

 of in width. That would help the flooring 

 man because he wants long lumber. I would 

 like to see consumers on that committee but 

 not middlemen. Of course they are fighting 

 us inch by inch. I am not in favor of chang- 

 ing the rules to any extent at present. 



Mr. Cook: The consumer should be brought 

 very close to any changes that are made in 

 rough lumber, and the trouble as I view it. 

 from the national association, is that it is 

 largely made up of middlemen, and every 

 inch you get you have to fight for because 



LEWIS DOSTEI!. SECY IIAUKWOOD MANU- 



FACTUREKS' ASSOCIA'i'K IN OF THE 



UNITED STATES. 



his profit at the present time, of any size, 

 results almost exclusively in the manipulation 

 of the grade which you sell him. and it 

 would seem to me that it is essential that a 

 grade of firsts be established; then the 

 seconds, and along down the list; so closely 

 specified that when you get done with the 

 grading the basis will be found simple and 

 there can't be any manipulation. It is cer- 

 tainly essential to change the gr.ades of lum- 

 ber, just as it is the grades of maple flooring. 

 The flooring men do it and nobody kicks 

 about it because everybody does it. The 

 grade on flooring is 2 feet and up. It seems 

 to me that grades should be changed from 

 time to time to cope witli the situation, as 

 manufacturing conditions change. As for 

 doing it at once, you are on ground that 

 needs careful and thorough investigation, and 

 must needs be carefully and slowly covered. 

 Radical changes today, with the market as 

 it is, need serious thought. I should say that 

 if we could understanil the basis of supply 

 and demand from the viewpoint of the manu- 

 facturer we could maintain better values, we 

 could maintain better grading values and get 

 more out of the product of the log. 



Market Condition Committee Report. 



Chairman Odell presented the report of 

 the committee on market conditions, as fol- 

 lows: 



Your committee on market conditions begs 

 to report as follows concerning stock on hand 

 and stock sold on unfilled orders. 



