116 SELLING LUMBER 



directors, in turn, elect the president, two vice presidents, treasurer 

 and secretary of the corporation, and they also employ the man- 

 ager of the Association. The directors meet once each month to 

 pass upon all details of the organization as submitted by the presi- 

 dent and the secretary-manager, including the work and recom- 

 mendations of the various committees. 



The work of the organization is largely conducted by com- 

 mittees, which have direct supervision over the several departments. 

 These committees are composed of representatives of the subscrib- 

 ers, each subscriber being asked upon what committee its repre- 

 sentatives would like to serve. Each individual concerned is urged 

 to lend his services to that particular branch of the work in which 

 he may be most interested, thus enlisting the active participation 

 and interest of all. The committees are appointed by the board 

 of directors, and each committee selects its own chairman. All 

 but twelve subscribers are represented on committees, and these 

 prefer not to be. 



The Association now has 167 subscribers, representing 195 

 mills manufacturing Southern Yellow Pine, and one wholesaler. 

 Their aggregate annual shipments amount to between 5,250,000,000 

 and 5,500,000,000 feet. These firms represent the progressive ele- 

 ment of the industry. They are men who believe in co-operation 

 and who are willing to bear their share of the work and pay their 

 portion of the expenses for the good of the whole. 



The following is a brief summary of the work of the several 

 departments conducted by the Association. 



Inspection Service The inspection department is under the 



supervision of the grading committee, which consists of sub-com- 



Association mittees having charge of the standard specifications for the grad- 



Inspection m g o f varc j s t O ck, timbers, car material, railroad maintenance of 



way material, lath, shingles, structural timbers, navy specifications 



and export grades, as well as sub-committees on standard sizes, 



dry kiln methods, mouldings and brandings. 



The inspection staff consists of the chief inspector, inspector of 

 grades, and sixteen official inspectors. The mills represented by 

 the Association are divided into nine inspection districts, each being 

 covered by a mill route inspector, who visits the plants in his dis- 

 trict once every thirty days. The mill inspector leaves a report 

 showing the items of stock handled by him, and the percentage 

 above and below grade on the amount of feet of each grade in- 

 spected. He instructs the mill graders in their work, and efficiency 



