HARDWOOD RECORD 



37 



lations of stocks contracts ceased to have any 

 binding foi-ce with foreign buyers, who endeav- 

 ored to recoup themselves for the drop in the 

 current quotations by putting up the grade re- 

 quirements, and rejecting pieces not up to the 

 niarlc, in their opinion, and would malse arbi- 

 trary reductions on the pieces rejected. When 

 asked why they took the planks at all, they 

 would say that these planks were good enough 

 tor their purposes, and yet they insisted that 

 such planks were not good enough to be paid 

 for at contract figures. The reductions became so 

 great that the exporters sustained serious losses. 

 The organization of the Wagon Oak Plank Ex- 

 porters' Association followed. This organization 

 proposed to make a sample shipmenf, the planks 

 to be inspected by a number of the leading ex- 

 porters and to represent the American ideas of 

 quality. This shipment was to be inspected on 

 its arrival at Liverpool by a similar committee 

 from the Timber Trade Association, representing 

 ihe British view. With the two inspections 

 available as a basis of negotiations, the matter 

 was then to be submitted to a joint commission 

 lor final agreement upon inspection rules recog- 

 nized on both sides of the Atlantic and consti- 

 tuting an absolute and unquestioned standard, 

 t.'ntil the foreign buyers have given assent to 

 this proposition, however, exporters are resolved 

 to make no more shipments on contract, prefer- 

 ring to take their chances on the open market. 

 They feel that they will be incurring smaller 

 risks, especially at this time, when some improve- 

 ment has taken place in the situation, by offer- 

 ing their shipments on the open market than by 

 relying upon contracts. They feel that with 

 any system of inspection that is Itxed and stable 

 they can get along, but what they object to is 

 to be exposed to the mercies of buyers who do 

 not consider themselves bound by any rules. 

 The shippers are disposed to let the receiver 

 make the rules, and are confident that the price 

 will then adjust itself as long as the rules are 

 lived up to. 



Meeting Memphis Lumbermen's Club 



The regular semi-mouthly meeting of the Lum- 

 bermen's Club of Memphis was held at the 

 Hotel Gayoso, November 20. President Cren- 

 shaw was in the chair and the usual luncheon 

 was served. On account of the near approach 

 o£ Thanksgiving day, small souvenirs in the 

 shape of turkey images decorated the table. 

 'J'here were about forty-five members present, in- 

 cluding the following : 



George W. Fooshe. 

 A. N. Thompson. 

 I). T. Ueuer. 

 (Jeorge O. Friedel. 

 A. L. Foster. 

 S. B. Anderson. 

 C. C. Lattauer. 

 John W. McClure. 

 C. E. Bailey. 

 George C. Ehemann. 

 A. C. West. 

 J. M. Pritchard. 

 C. L. Wheeler. 

 F. W. Dugan. 

 H. W. Kramer. 

 C. B. Dudley. 



Kudolph Sondheimer. 

 N. Butler Ilalnes. 

 C. D. Hendrlckson. 

 B. H. Thurman. 

 F. E. Stonebraker. 

 J. W. Dickson. 

 A. W. Gould. 

 F. B. Robertson. 



E. E. Goodlander. 



F. J. Blackwell. 

 James H. Blair. 

 W. R, Barksdale. 

 If. W. Bennett. 

 S. C. Major. 

 J. W. Wright. 

 1!. J. Wiggs. 

 U. D. Nellis. 



The committee appointed at the last meeting 

 to investigate the proposed increase in charges 

 on code messages on the part of the telegraph 

 companies, effective December 1, reported 

 through its chairman, A. L. Foster, that the 

 members of the club would not be affected, and 

 on motion the secretary was instructed to com- 

 municate this fact to the Illinois Manufacturers' 

 Association, at whose request the matter was 

 taken up. 



President Crenshaw was instructed to appoint 

 nominating committees within a week to place 



two tickets in the field for officers for the ensu- 

 ing year. He will make these appointments by 

 next Saturday, and before the December 4 meet- 

 ing of the club these committees will select their 

 candidates and make them known to the club 

 at that time. It has been decided that no elec- 

 tion contest shall be longer than two weeks, 

 and the actual election will take place at the 

 second meeting in December. It is certain that, 

 despite the shortening of the time between 

 nomination and election, the race will be most 

 exciting and spirited, as it is considered quite a 

 high honor to serve the club in any official 

 capacity. No suggestions have been made as to 

 the identity of the nominating committee, and 

 no idea can be given of the personnel of the 

 cnndidates themselves. 



A letter was read from E. F. Perry, secretary 

 to the Car Stake Executive Committee, with 

 headquarters at New York, asking the members 

 of the club or the organization itself to con- 

 tribute to the defrayal of certain expenses in- 

 curred in the car stake controversy and litiga- 

 tion. The club did not feel so disposed and 

 instructed Secretary Thompson to advise Mr. 

 Perry to that effect. 



Two new members were elected, one active 

 and the other associate. Sam Burgess, of 

 .Malcy, Wertz & Burgess, Memphis, is the former, 

 and W. J. Norton, of the Norton Lumber Com- 

 pany, Richie, Miss., is the latter. 



A. L. Foster called attention of the club to 

 the very hearty support and assistance given by 

 the Jlemphis S'reight Bureau in the matter of 

 furnishing tarifCs and other information needed 

 by the club in prosecuting its cases before the 

 Interstate Commerce Commission. He said that 

 its help was material and that, in order that the 

 club might be able to command this aid in case 

 of need in the future, he thought as many mem- 

 bers of the club as possible should identity them- 

 selves with the Memphis Freight Bureau by be- 

 coming members of that organization. Mr. 

 Foster characterized it as one of the most active 

 and important in rate matters of any organiza- 

 tion in the South. 



Gardner I. Jones of Boston addressed the 

 ciub informally, and John P. Hanna of the 

 Wiborg & Hanna Company, Cincinnati, also was 

 called upon for a few remarks. 



Monthly Meeting Chicago Wholesalers 



The regular monthly meeting of the Chicago 

 Wholesale Lumber Dealers' Association was held 

 in the East Room of the La Salle hotel Tuesday, 

 November 9. The business session was preceded 

 by the usual enjoyable luncheon, which was 

 served at one o'clock. President Griffith then 

 called upon Secretary Thornton, who read the 

 roll call and minutes of the last meeting, which 

 latter were adopted. 



The next order of business was the reports of 

 standing committees. George J. Pope, chairman 

 of the Trade Relations Committee, stated that 

 there was nothing special in connection with the 

 work of this committee except as it related to 

 that of the Inspection Committee, to which the 

 members had been able to give some assistance. 



Next followed the report of the Ispection Com- 

 mittee, which was given by Chairman George T. 

 Mickle. Mr. Mickle referred to the hiring of 

 H. N. Hanbury as association inspector, whose 

 work was begun November 1. Mr. Hanbury has 

 made a number of inspections, all of them en- 

 tirely satisfactory to both the mill men and the 

 consumer. Mr. Mickle said that he had talked 

 with a number of mill men regarding this fea- 

 ture of the association's work, and that all had 

 been strongly in favor of the plan, as were also 

 most of the buyers. Mr. Mickle stated that thus 

 far the work assigned to Mr. Hanbury had not 

 been of as great volume as had been expected, 

 and he said that it seemed to him that the mere 

 fact of the Inspection Bureau having been estab- 



lished had served to prevent complaints, and that 

 it might be a good plan to maintain the office 

 as a preventive measure even though the in- 

 spector were not called for at all. 



The work of the Inspection Bureau and the 

 attitude toward it which manufacturers and 

 consumers of lumber show, as well as the expense 

 vonnected with its maintenance, were discussed 

 by Messrs. Brown, Mickle and Pope. These men 

 were of the opinion that the work could be done 

 through the local bureau cheaper than in any 

 other manner, and this appeared to be the view 

 of most of the members of the association. Mr. 

 Hanbury has so far made his headquarters in 

 the office of Mr. Mickle, and the question of 

 securing a separate office for him was taken up, 

 and upon motion it was decided to leave the 

 matter with the Inspection Committee, with 

 power to act. 



John A. Nourse, chairman of the Membership 

 Committee, reported that a number of applica- 

 tions had been made by operators outside the 

 city who seemed to be anxious to join the asso- 

 ciation to reap the benefits of the Inspection 

 Bureau. Mr. Nourse called the attention of the 

 members to the tact that under the present by- 

 laws of the organization it would be impossible 

 to admit these concerns, and raised the question 

 of amending the by-laws to provide for associate 

 membership. He then stated that the Wisconsin 

 Lumber Company had applied for admission to 

 the association, and this concern was favorably 

 acted upon. 



J. C. Ulrich reported that it was rumored that 

 the Pacific Coast Lumber Manufacturers' Asso- 

 ciation is contemplating putting in an Inspection 

 Bureau for middle western territory and suggests 

 the possibility of an alliance with the Chicago 

 Wholesale Lumber Dealers' Association for the 

 use of its bureau instead. Mr. Ulrich suggested 

 that it might be a good plan to communicate 

 with Washington and Oregon manufacturers' or- 

 ganizations to the end that they use the bureau. 



F. E. McMullen spoke briefly on the campaign 

 which the Chicago Hardwood Lumber Exchange 

 proposes to make in advertising Chicago as a 

 lumber market, and suggested the appointment 

 of a committee to confer with a committee from 

 that organization. Mr. Mickle spoke about dies 

 for stationery and the use of stickers as pro- 

 posed by the hardwood exchange. On the sug- 

 gestion of I'resident Griffith the matter was 

 given into the hands of George J. Pope, chair- 

 man of the Trade Relations Committee. 



The meeting then adjourned. 



Why Posts Should Be Turned End TJp 



It is said that among the ancients there were 

 a number of features of construction work that 

 were as well if not better understood than they 

 are today. It has been shown that all main up- 

 right timbers, for instance, were almost in- 

 variably put in upside down and many placed 

 in this position are of much larger diameter at 

 the top than at the bottom. For instance, it is 

 often found that posts, having a diameter of 

 twelve inches at the top, at the lower end are 

 not over eight inches, somewhat like the dimin- 

 ished stile of a door inverted. 



The reason for this may be explained in a 

 very natural way. The sap in the tree rises 

 through the porous grain of the wood and de- 

 scends on the outside circumference of the trunk 

 under the bark, forming an annual ring and 

 at times becoming part of the wood of the tree. 

 Fixed in the natural position it is claimed it 

 would be the means of carrying moisture 

 throughout the length of the post, but when 

 placed in a reversed position, the dampness does 

 not rise into the wood and the timber is only 

 affected by moisture on the exterior, which 

 would seem to be a logical explanation of the 

 fact that so many construction timbers placed 

 years ago were Well preserved through long 

 years of time. 



