SELLING LUMBER 29 



sible that those memories in the ex'perience of the younger gen- 

 eration have prejudiced them against the wood shingle. How- 

 ever that may be, we believe the yellow pine product to be a very 

 important part of our industry, and we have neglected it, very 

 much to our own disadvantage. 



There are millions of shingles made every year, a great many 

 of them made by mills poorly equipped and without much regard 

 to the requirements of roofing material. Your committee has 

 been studying this subject for some three or four months. We 

 have put out specifications dealing with the manufacture and pro- 

 duction of the material. 



As you know, there is a tremendous demand in this country 

 for roofing material. The shingle is, of course, best adapted to 

 the needs of a roofing material in connection with houses, or with 

 homes, to use a better term. The requirements of roofing mate- 

 rial are that it shall be tight and durable; that it should be of 

 light wood, requiring no extra strength in the frame of the build- 

 ing on which it is applied; that it may be readily available, and at 

 a reasonable price; that it should be a non-conductor of heat and The Wood 

 cold. Those of you who have studied the shingle know that it meets Shingle 

 all of those requirements to a remarkable extent. It is the mis- 

 use of the product that has brought it into disrepute. The mis- 

 take has been made of using unfit material for shingles. The re- 

 sult has been disastrous to a very considerable extent. And what 

 we have to do now is to correct our practices and get ourselves 

 right at first, and then to educate the public to the good qualities 

 of the shingle, and especially of the yellow pine shingle. 



There is a tremendous demand to be taken care of within a 

 short distance of the points at which shingles are manufactured 

 in the yellow pine states, where the rates of freight are low and ous Market 

 where we have no competition with shingles by a substitute ma- Near Home 

 terial. 



We have been experimenting with our shingle, properly 

 treated by a mineral paint, as compared with results in tests with 

 the composition shingle substitute shingles ; and the results jus- 

 tify us in the belief that if we use a little care and attention we 

 can produce an article so far superior to the composition roof- 

 ing of various firms that when the public knows what we can do 

 there will be no trouble about our getting the business. 



