93 



When the ladies Friday Afternoon Society or the Nature Study Club 

 asks him to read a paper about the trees, he usually feels complimented 

 and manages to crib a few statistics and make good. But he does not 

 take the job very seriously. I believe that he should take the job seriously 

 and to that end I have a few suggestions to make. 



One of the curious phases of the retail lumber industry today is the 

 air of complacent detachment and indifference of the average retailer of 

 lumber toward all problems of timber conservation. To him a sixty 

 year supply of timber seems like an eternal supply. 



The attitude of the retailer is too often a feeling that "sufficient unto 

 the day is the profit thereof". He is too prone to regard as visionary and 

 academic those discussions and those movements which have to do with 

 the future stability and permanence of his business; the welfare of his 

 industry a score or more years hence. 



I was reminded of this attitude very forcibly when I endeavored to make 

 some inquiries among the Ohio Association of Retail Lumber Dealers rel- 

 ative to the local timber supply in relation to the retail lumber trade. 



I discovered that less than 2% of the members of that association have 

 any saw-mill connections or any financial interest in local sources of timber 

 supply, and it is manifest from the discussion of the conservation question 

 in our district meetings that a still smaller percentage of them feel any 

 personal concern in the preservation of our forest resources. 



The retailer of lumber is not to be censored too severely for this 

 attitude. The problems of his business are so manifold ; the competition 

 he encounters so keen and the general technique of his profession is so 

 exacting, that the average lumberman must keep his nose to the grindstone 

 and his eyes glued to the opportunity immediately ahead, rather than to 

 problems which he feels will concern a succeeding generation. At least he 

 must do so when acting in his individual capacity. 



And yet I believe there is a possibility of making the retail distributor 

 of lumber an effective agency for constructive conservation work. 



If this is done, however, the appeal will have to be made to the retailers 

 collectively, rather than to the retailer as an individual. The retail dealers 

 will have to be interested in the work through an appeal for such service 

 from their local and district state commercial associations. 



The aggregate membership of the lumber organizations in the three 

 states participating in this conference, is more than 1500. Each state 

 association is now thoroughly and efficiently organized, with local zone 

 or district groups, comprising the dealers in every city, county, or several 

 adjacent counties. It is these groups of lumbermen which I feel could be 

 converted into effective agencies through which the state departments of 

 conservation could be assisted in functioning. 



In the first place, if I may digress slightly, I do not see why the lumber 

 manufacturers' associations, such as the Southern Cypress, Southern Pine, 

 West Coast Association, etc., should not be encouraged or required to 

 assume responsibility for reforestation projects as associations. What 

 may prove to be a very burdensome and poorly performed duty, if required 

 of the timber manufacturers, as individual competitive concerns, might 

 be eagerly and efficiently performed as an association enterprise. Espe- 



