of its moral support and prestige to the movement, but un- 

 til producers of hardwood are in substantial agreement 

 among themselves, and in further agreement with producers 

 of softwoods, the sort of national constructive action for 

 which Secretary Hoover hopes is quite impossible. So long 

 as personal jealousies or the assumption of present perfect- 

 ion controls the councils of lumber, broad-self-government 

 is but a dream and forecast of the future must regard gov- 

 ernmental regulation as the most probably outcome of the 

 pitifully foolish policy of uninspired self-interest. 



Gentlemen, you have great opportunity. By forgetting 

 past animosities, by uniting in genuine effort to develop a 

 national lumber practice of highest ethical grade, you can 

 place your industry in the lead of great American projects. 

 You can forestall regulation by making such regulation ut- 

 terly unnecessary. The Department of Commerce stands 

 ready to assist in every way in bringing such unification to 

 consumation, but the problem of developing wise national 

 practice, is your problem, not ours. We can, and will, sup- 

 port and follow up stabilizing recommendations to the full, 

 but our Department any department of Federal Govern- 

 ment can aid only in so far as you build for lasting stabil- 

 ity and the greater ultimate rewards attained through the 

 vision of broad public service. 



Gentlemen, we are looking to you to so build to wipe 

 out any lingering enmities in the hardwood field to estab- 

 lish unified proposals for all aspects of lumber service to 

 go forward with the same energy that has carried your busi- 

 ness to its first rank of importance, to that clarifying and co- 

 ordination of policies which shall place you among the lead- 

 ers in the stabilization of our American industries. 



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