REVIEW OF LUMBER INDUSTRY AFFAIRS 257 



A RETAIL LUMBER DEALER'S VIEWS 



The president of a prominent lumber company of Chicago, address- 

 ing brother retailers, classifies their business troubles under three heads : 



"First, utter lack of scientific methods in handling our operations, which not 

 only embraces a lack of understanding of the products we merchandise, from an 

 •engineering and botanical standpoint, but a further lack of understanding be- 

 tween producers and distributors of lumber; second, the labor situation; and, 

 third, credit. The manufacturers, as a class, have conducted their selling opera- 

 tions with all the dignity of a snake in quest of a frog, and with about the same 

 result. The lack of knowledge upon the part of users of lumber is due largely 

 to dealers themselves. We cannot refer to any other business of equal impor- 

 tance where the merchants do not use every effort to educate the public to the 

 proper uses of their material. Until the United States Government established 

 a Bureau of Forestry, many retail lumbermen did not know whether their ma- 

 terial was originally a tree or a vine. Through the meager teachings of techni- 

 cal engineers and experts, the lumber merchant has slowly absorbed a better 

 "knowledge of the product he handles" {American Lumberman, December 21, 1918, 

 page i). 



New agencies develop and old agencies must learn new ways. 



At a recent meeting of the Retail Lumber Dealers of Wisconsin, 

 they were addressed by members of the faculty of the University of 

 Wisconsin, who urged upon them the possibility and desirability of 

 increasing the service rendered by them to their customers. 



It was pointed out to the retail dealers, for instance, that most of 

 them handled tile, and they were urged to learn something as to the 

 proper methods of survey and use of drainage systems. 



In a similar manner they were told that much of the Wisconsin agri- 

 cultural territory was in need of lime, and, insomuch as most of them 

 carried lime in stock, they were shown how to make simple tests for 

 soil acidity, with a view to rendering direct assistance to farmers in 

 improving the value of their lands. 



LUMBER wholesaler's POINT OF VIEW 



A brief by the attorney for the National \Miolesale Lumber Dis- 

 tributors presents in excellent form the relation of the wholesaler to 

 the lumber market, legitimate need for and services rendered by him, 

 and presents in detail the status of the wholesaler, his rights, and so 

 forth. 



The document makes an interesting supplement to the publications 

 of the Forest Service in connection with its studies of the distribution 

 of southern pine {Lumber, July 22, 1918, page 13). 



