For many years our people have realized the almost 

 public utility nature of your business, founded as it is upon 

 control of one of the great elements of national wealth. Re- 

 cently, instances of malpractice have focused public atten- 

 tion on the industry with telling concentration, and while 

 these dishonesties have been limited to very few, the entire 

 group is in some measure hampered by suspicion. 



Certainly no time could be imagined more favorable for 

 the development of an new breadth and unity among all 

 branches of lumber. Secretary Hoover has sugested, as you 

 know, a most promising means to this end the establish- 

 ment by your industry of a national inspection bureau sup- 

 ported pro rata by the several associations, and available 

 to every citizen upon payment of appropriate fees. His 

 thought is not that the inspection of the National Bureau 

 shall supersede present services of grading, sizing and in- 

 spection, but that the new organization shall co-ordinate 

 these services and gradualy develop any necessary modifi- 

 cations of sectional practice required to give greatest stabil- 

 ity to the lumber business and greatest ability to the lumber 

 user. 



Let me emphasize again, that there is in the Secretary's 

 proposal no implication of the necessary substitution of a 

 new service for services already functioning properly ; rath- 

 er his proposal is the co-ordination of present services under 

 a representative national organization which can aid in the 

 broadest and most constructive development of the lumber 

 resources of America. 



This proposal the Department of Commerce feels to be 

 basic. Without a def inete correlation of all lumber inspect- 

 ion, it is almost impossible to conceive the proper protection 

 of the consumer and such proper development of producers' 

 interrelations as shall meet present criticisms and build 

 stably for the future. 



We confidently expect the broad visioned men in the 

 sub-groups of lumber to lead in working out a practical pro- 

 gram for such national service. True, we are told that there 

 are certain natural divisions in lumber which make it im- 

 possible for any true unification of the entire field. It is 

 stated by some representatives of hardwood interests that 



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