HARDWOOD RECORD 



37 



E. B. XORXIAN. E. B. NORMAN & CO., 

 MEMBER ENERTAINMENT COMMITTEE. 



memory serves me right. Michigan has the largest 

 representative membership of any state iu the 

 Union represented in the association. The gen- 

 ueman I wish to nominate comes from a family 

 of lumbermen %vhose names have always been 

 held in the highest esteem in the lumber fra- 

 ternity, and especially in Michigan. The gentle- 

 man has served this association for several years. 

 He has served as president of the Michigan 

 Hardwood Manufacturers' Association, and dur- 

 ing his term of otBce that association had the 

 largest growth it has ever had. He has put it 

 on its feet. It is with the greatest pleasure that 

 I nominate Mr. Fred A. Diggins of Cadillac, 

 Mich. [Applause.] 



Many of the members seconded the nomi- 

 nation of Mr. Diggins iu the midst of pro- 

 longed applause. Colonel Barksdale of Mem- 

 phis moved that nominations be closed and 

 the secretary instructed to east the unani- 

 mous vote of the association for Mr. Diggins 

 for the office of president for the ensuing 

 term. 



President Agler put the motion to a vote, 

 and it was unanimously carried, after which 

 the secretary cast the ballot as directed. 



Mr. Agler : Gentlemen. Mr. Diggins has been 

 duly elected president of this association, and I 

 will appoint as a committee to notify the gentle- 

 man of his election Mr. Bigelow, Mr. Palmer and 

 Mr. Pritchard. The gentlemen will please find 

 Mr. DlKgins and notify him and escort him to 

 the platform. 



President Agler : Gentlemen, I have the honor 

 of introducing to you the next president of the 

 association. [Applause.] 



Mr. Diggins' Speech of Acceptance 



President Diggins: Mr. Chairman. Fellow 

 Members of the Association — I wish, first of all, 

 to thank you for the compliment that you have 

 paid the Michigan Hardwood Manufacturers' As- 

 sociation in selecting one of its humble members 

 as your president. And then I wish to assure 

 you of my very deep personal appreciation of 

 both the honor and the responsibility that have 

 come to me through your recent action. [Ap- 

 plause.) I trust that none of you will think that 

 I do not appreciate this ht)nor when I say that 

 I appreciate the responsibility the more. [Ap- 

 plause.] 



I have been, as you know, for the past two 

 years closely connected with the administration 



CLAUDE SEARS. EDW. L. DAVIS LUMBER 



COMPANY, MEMBER ENTERTAINMENT 



COMMITTEE. 



of the affairs of this association, and I know 

 something of the time, the energy and the care 

 that has been given to it by your retiring presi- 

 dent. I know something of the needs of this 

 association, and I know that anyone who takes 

 upon his shoulders the responsibilities of this 

 association has something to do. The honor is 

 a very great one, and I very deeply appreciate 

 it. I fear the responsibility the more because I 

 cannot bring to this position the ability, the ex- 

 perience or the acquaintance among the member- 

 ship that my predecessors have had ; and if I 

 did not feel and know that I should have the 

 loyal support and generous counsel of all the 

 members, I could not have been prevailed upon 

 to accept this position. I shall need them both, 

 and I shall call upon you frequently for them. 

 I have not had long experience, because it is less 

 than four years ago that I became active in 

 association affairs, and those of you who do 

 logging with horses know that a four-year-old is, 

 at best, only an experiment. A three-year-old is 

 much better because you know he is a colt, he 

 knows he is a colt, and you don't expect much 

 of him and he is easily controlled. A flve-year- 

 old is far superioi because he has reached the 

 age of maturity : he has had experience ; he has 

 gotten some sense ; he is practically a horse. 

 But a four-year old thinks he is a horse, while 

 he is only a colt. [Laughter and applause.] 

 He impresses you with the fact that he is a 

 horse ; but he needs the restraining influence of 

 the hand of the best driver you have, else he is 

 of no value and works a detriment to those who 

 are dependent upon him. 



So I bespeak the restraining influence of your 

 counsel and loyal support throughout my ad- 

 ministration. With your support I pledge you 

 my best effort to foster and promote the use- 

 fulness of this association. I wish to say here 

 that I have been and I am in sympathy and ac- 

 cord with all the policies of President Agler. 

 [Applause.] I am in accord with his recom- 

 mendations for future action. His policy has 

 been my policy. His policy, so far as I know it, 

 shall be my policy. [Applause.] I have no 

 reforms to work cut. I am not a reformer. 



A Member: A standpatter? 



President Diggins ; Yes : I am a standpatter 

 when it is right to stand pat. [Applause.] 

 There are one or two things that I want to 

 emphasize, not that they have not been the 

 policy of the association, and not that they have 

 not been the active policy of the association ; 

 but I want to impress them upon the member- 



A. E. NORMAN. NORMAN LUMBER 

 COMPANY. 



ship. The first is, that this association insist 

 upon admitting to membership only men of in- 

 tegrity. If you do not know you should know 

 that to obtain membership in this association a 

 written application must be made and an en- 

 dorsement by some member must be had to the 

 application, and the application after endorse- 

 ment is scrutinized by the Board of Managers 

 before an individual or a firm may be accepted 

 into full membership. At some time in the 

 future, perhaps, there may creep into this asso- 

 ciation someone who should not be in it ; and I 

 want to advise you, gentlemen, that in the event 

 of such a firm or individual getting in, it shall 

 be the policy of this administration to ask for 

 the resignation of such an individual or firm, 

 upon conclusive evidence of any crookedness or 

 improper business methods. [Applause.] This 

 association does not claim to be able to make 

 dishonest men honest ; but it will not permit dis- 

 honest men to bide behind its good name. [.Ap- 

 plause.] 



You have today voted to increase the annual 

 dues of the association for the express purpose 

 of enlarging the scope of the Inspection Bureau. 

 I am glad that you have provided for more funds 

 for the association. We claim the best inspec- 

 tion service in this country. No one can suc- 

 cessfully question that proposition. [Applause.] 

 A Member : You are right. [Applause.] 

 President Diggins : And the work of the bureau 

 is growing, gentlemen, day by day, and it re- 

 quires an additional expenditure of money to 

 provide for the expansion and improvement of 

 that service to which you are entitled. I wonder 

 how many members really know the value, or 

 fully appreciate the value of membership in this 

 association. I wonder if I would tire you if I 

 should take about five minutes to tell you some 

 of the things I think it stands for. 

 A Member : Go ahead. 



President Diggins : It seems to me. gentlemen, 

 that the average member does not fully ap- 

 preciate the value of his membership nor what 

 the association has done for the hardwood trade 

 as a whole. This association came into existence 

 fourteen years ago. and it was the pioneer of all 

 associations. It was also the pioneer inspection 

 rule maker of all associations, and for years it 

 haa no competition. Six or seven years ago it 

 began to have competitors. This association has 

 come along down these fourteen years ; the in- 

 spection rules have been amended : conditions 

 have required it ; conditions will probably re- 

 cmire further amendment, but the inspection 



