34 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



arbitration agreements have been 



detrimental to your trade. Yet. on tbe otber after the 



hand, we are daily finding out that a great many signed." 



peopleare becoming ediicated to tlie advantages , Res|jectfully submitted, 



C. U. B.iit.NABY, Cbairman. 



derived liy these rules, and gradually these diffi 

 culties are growing less, and the action of the 

 association has had much to do with this falling 

 in line, as it were. We fully realize that while 

 it is necessary to try to get things as near on 

 an equitable basis as possible, yet it is impossible 

 to altogether disregard the customs that have 

 prevailed. These things are coming gradually, 

 however, and the Committee on Trade and Ethics 

 in closing their report cannot enlarge too greatly 

 on the benehts that may be derived by the adop"- 

 tion of this uniform basis of business ethics, 

 and sincerely trust that the good work accom- 

 plished in Chicago .lune 8, 1009, will be carried 

 on by the cooperation of the lumber industries 

 at large, in order that a high moral standard 

 may be attained and we may be rid of irrespon- 

 sible and unscrupulous manufacturers, whole- 

 salers and dealers, and we recommend that the 

 National Wholesale Lumber Dealers' Association 

 adopt the code of ethics as revised and adopted 

 at Chicago. June 8, I'JOO, and vour committee 

 be discharged. 



Kespectfully submitted, 



J. Randall William.s, Chairman. 

 Chairman C. H. Barnaby of tbe Committee 

 on Arbitration expressed the sentiment of 

 that committee as follows: 



Eeport of Arbitration Committee 



Your Committee on Arbitration beg to submit 

 the following report : 



Six cases were submitted to the committee 

 during the .year, all of which were disposed of 

 promptly and we hope satisfactorily to those 

 concerned. Kach case was given the clo.sest at- 

 tention and thoroughly understoixl before ren- 

 dering our decision. 



EriWAKIi.S. OTT.\\V.\. TltrSTlOK 



We learn from the secretary that a number of 

 cases were settled through his otflee, thereby sav- 

 ing the time and expense of putting them before 

 the Arbitration Committee. 



At our meeting last October in New York we 

 recommended the following rules for submitting 

 evidence to the Arbitration Committee : 



"Both parties must first sign arbitration agree- 

 ments as per printed forms furnished by the 

 association. 



"The party demanding the arbitration must 

 first submit his full evidence of claim through 

 the association to the other party to the agree- 

 ment. This second party is then to submit his 

 full evidence of counterclaim, which is to be 

 submitted to the party demanding the arbitra- 

 tion. 



"Kach party to the agreement may then sub- 

 mit to the Arbitration Committee his argument 

 of the case. Init without anv new evidence, which 

 argument may not be seen by the other party to 

 the agreement." 



The rules were adopted by the Board of Di- 

 rectors at a recent meeting. 



The secretary has experienced considerable 

 trouble and delay in receiving papers and argu- 

 ments of arbitrators, after the arbitration agree- 

 ments have been signed. In order to overcome 

 this delay we recommend the following rule for 

 adoption : 



"Final arguments and replies shall be placed 

 in the hands of the secretary within thirty days 



The Traile Kelations question was next 

 taken uji by X. H. Waleott, chairman of that 

 committee: 



Report of Committee on Trade Relations 

 Th,- cjurstic.n of e(juitable trade relations will 

 no doubt always be a hard one to solve. Your 

 committee finds complaints from both the whole- 

 saler and the retailer, evidently all more or less 



The fair-minded wholesaler who does not in- 

 Iprtere with the trade of the retailer makes 

 complaint that some retailers are employing trav- 

 eling salesmen who are selling the 'wholesale 

 consuming trade at less than a living profit, and 

 seeking their .source of supply in competition 

 with the wholesalsr, oftentimes giving the manu 

 taeturer the preference, and at the same time 

 asking the wholesaler to protect them, holding 

 the wholesaler to very narrow trade lines. 



Ihen we have the wholesaler who will so- 

 icit trade from the retailer, at the same time 

 ose no opportunity to sell the retail dealer's 

 legitimate customer. For wholesalers of this de- 

 scription, when discovered, the retail dealers 

 have the remedy in their own hands, but what 

 method can the wholesaler pursue with the retail 

 dealer who seems to figure that anything they 

 get in a wholesale way is all profit. 



Then again, the retail dealer who is trying to 

 do a wholesale business has no regard i'or his 

 brother dealer in another town or city, aud by 

 poaching on each other's territory stir' up strife 

 among themselves. 



The greatest complaint today before your com- 

 mittee IS not the relations of the wholesaler to 

 the retailer, as the retailer can and does to a 

 large extent keep the wholesaler in line liut 

 there are three propositions that require the at- 

 tention of the committee ; 



First, how to iiroceed with the retailer who 

 asks protection from the wholesaler, then com- 

 petes with the wholesaler in both buying and 

 selling. JO 



Second, how to proceed with the wholesaler 

 who solicits the legitimate trade of the retailer 

 Ihird, what can be done with the retailer who 

 IS poaching trade in territory of his brother re- 

 tailer. 



The first question is a hard one to solve, and 

 coming to some understanding on this question 

 iivpiires considerable assistance from the retail 

 association. 



The second question, as to how to proceed 

 with the wholesaler who solicits the trade of the 

 ]etailer, we believe at all times that our asso- 

 ciation endeavors to keep its membership in line 

 as to who and who is not the proper customer 

 lor the wholesaler. With the assistance of the 

 r.'tail associations that report the wholesaler 

 \.bo interferes with their trade to the various 

 associations, this is not so hard a problem. 



On the third question, some of our members 

 might ask why the wholesale association should 

 be interested in the fight among the retailers 

 biit some of the retailers have put up to the 

 wholesaler tbe proposition of refusing to .shin 

 excepting into the territory where the buyer is 

 located. We. of course, recognize that this is 

 impractical. Some of the retailers have arrace- 

 mtnts at various junction points for divert'n" 

 their shipments in transit, and we believe that 

 It IS to the advantage of this association to do 

 all that we can to assist the retailer in rectifv- 

 iiig the "poaching " evil. 



in conclusion, we believe that most of the 

 wholesalers are loyal to the retail trade aud 

 most of the retailers appreciate the wholesaler 

 who protects their interests. We believe also 

 that the relations betwei-n the buyer and seller 

 in the lumber business today is as cordial as at 

 any time in its past history. 



In the lesser problems in connection with our 

 trade relations, the tendency of the trade seems 

 to be to promote a code of trade ethics which 

 works towards harmony. 

 Kespectfully submitted. 



Nelson II. Walcott, Chairman. 

 J. V. Stimson of Huntingsburg, Ind., then 

 read the report of tbe Committee on Forestry: 



Eeport of Forestry Committee 



It is cousidered necessary today that whenever 

 lumbermen meet in convention something should 

 be said on forestry, thus making a necessary part 

 of every body of lumbermen so assembled a com- 

 mittee on forestry ; so I am in this capacity not 

 because I have something new to tell you but 

 because I happen to be the chairman "of that 

 committee. 



Some time since, a physician in southern Illi- 

 nois on driving through a village saw a native 

 entertaining a crowd with a trick dog, and after 

 watching them for a while he said : "Say, friend 

 how do you teach your dog all those things'- I 

 can't teach mine anything." "Weil," said the 

 native, "You see, in the first place, you must 

 know more than the dog." 



like'-Heif of°H,i" ">'»'■'>**'>, i« perhaps somewhat 

 iiKL that ot this country doctor. This topic is 

 (lone over and over many times each 

 lumber — ^ — 



on 

 )rts 



of general information;'" We" "sirail''Mn°!der''the 

 subject briefly aijd from three points : conserva^ 

 tive lumbering, forest reservation and forest rt 

 production. The first two merge so closelv that 

 they might almost be considered togethei'With- 

 i'!!,.i , ™'"mory of some of you gentlemen, the 



.,'„,''"'^-''*'"'i "^ " ■""'■'^''t Pi'oduct over a 

 gieat portion of the Ohio and Mississippi val- 

 leys: the sturdy oak was principally used for 

 fence rails and clapboards and miich of the tim- 

 ber w'as cut, piled and burned to get the laud to 

 wheat and corn, and to get the same to the 

 earth to rid it of the much-dreaded malaria, and 

 timber was so destroyed over areas that it nut 

 together would constitute great states: but as 

 markets opened up. lumbering became an indus- 

 Wl '^ today one of tbe great industries of 



this country, which has grown in a few cen- 

 turies to a country of a hundred millions of 

 people w'ltlun the borders of the United States 

 the greatest and richest nation on earth 



At first the pioneer only used such trees or 

 parts of trees as split or worked to suit him 

 and as time and conditions have made it profita- 

 ble more and more has been utilized, until today 

 the entire product of the tree has a value I't 

 IS said that in 1870 only about half of the lulled 

 white pine tree was taken by the mill man. but at 

 this time they cut everything from the tree that 

 will square a four by four timber, because it is 

 now profitable to do so. and I take it that the 

 lumbermen everywhere are taking from the lands 

 cut over all the wood that will show a profit to 

 the business. ' 



Notwithstanding all reports to the contrary, 



I'HWN.MAN. NKW ( IKI.KANS, TUCSTEE 



short and odd lengths in Inmber now have their 

 proper place in the market, reducing the waste 

 to a low point, but there are not many things 

 that can be done in the interest of conservative 

 tunibe.-mg by which much more can be saved 

 first by using better milling equipment, thin 

 saws and cutting from the edging, slabs, etc , 

 all dimension stock possible and creating a mar- 

 ket for the same, as has been done with much of 

 the other product that was wasted at one time 

 and b.y having mills properly adjusted and 

 manned, reducing the miscuts to a minimum, 

 and b.v not overcrowding the machinery in a 

 great eftort to cut all your timber at once: much 

 valuable wood is wasted annually by poor and 

 incompetent manufacturing: this is not only 

 waste hut a crime. '^ 



The matter of forest reservation is not a new 

 subject, the government began in this direction 

 during « ashington's administration, buying the 

 Live Oak Islands oil the coast of GeorgTa to 

 secure a supply of ship timbers ; then Grover and 

 Llackbeard Islands in 1817. comprising I.HOO 

 acres, and subsequent purchases, bringing the 

 tota up to about 208,000 acres: then nothing 

 further was done for a long time, as the civil 

 war changed the type of war vessels, when these 

 ive oak foi-ests were no longer required for ship 

 building. During the last twentv-eight years 

 the government has been quite active and today 

 owns over one hundred million acres, or one'- 

 htth ot the so-called forest land in the United 



