"The Ethical Situation in Florida"

The following is reorinted from "The Southern Lumber Journaf', a. lumber publication at Jacksonville, serving the Southeastefl part of the country. Mr. Ben Wand, Editor and publisher of this journal is the author of this editorial. It contains rnuch meat, Mr. 'Wand has fearlessly assailed the wholesalers and manufacturers who are reported to be selling "direct" in that market, taking business from the retail distributor. Understand that this is happening on ordinary construction work and does not apply particularly to industrial, railroad or other jobs of like nature.

The ethical situation in Florida is bad. It is more serious than most lumbermen imagine. It promises to get worse.

All over the state, but particularly in Miami and Tampa and in small cities where a great amount of speculative building is going on, and especially where subdivisions are being promoted by northern capital and through outside contractors, every effort possible is being made to buy iumber and building materials direct from the rvholesaler and manufacturer.

There is a movement on foot in Florida to eliminate the legitimate, established dealer and buy direct under the fallacy that to do so will lessen the cost of construction.

The inability of legitimate dealers to get materials to fill the needs of contractors, is one of the principal causes .for the efforts to buy direct. This situation is due to the inability of railroads serving Florida to deliver: materials to the dealers. What the present embargo is costing dealers of Florida will never be learned but it is amounting to millions of dollars.

Contractors try to excuse their'efforts to buy direct by blaming the dealer for being rvithout materials. But ONE OF THE REASONS rvhlr 11-t" dealer has empty shelves is that railroad equipment has been used to supply contractors that should have been used to fill orders of the dealer. When 104 cars of 253 delivered during a period of three weeks to Miami are consigned to other than recognized legitimate dealers, the retailer cannot be expected to restock his empty bins.

Large contractors in the north rvith wholesale lumber connections are using their wholesale friends at home to buy lumber direct to ship to their account in Florida. Failing in that way to get their requirements, they are using every effort to buy direct from Florida manufacturers and wholesalers.

Let it be said here to the credit of most of the manufacturers and wholesalers of Florida that they are refusing even to quote these contractors. They are mindful of their responsibility to their old customers, their established trade connections, and realize that the day of the speculative builder will pass and they will still be in business with lumber to sell.

But there are some who are resorting to subterfuge to sell these contractors direct. This Journal Does not question the right of any manufacturer or wholesaler of lumber to sell whoever he pleases. That is his constitutional privilege. But it is against all the rules of good business, aside from ethical reasons, to sell both the dealer and his customer.

Dealers of Florida will not remain ignorant of who is selling direct for the account of contractors. This Journal, for one, expects to help them know who is following this practice. We believe firmly in the principle of Maximum Distribution Through The Retail Dealer because it is a true and tried practice, one that is the result of business evolution. Mahufacturers and iobbers who build on a solid foundation for the future foilow religiously the policy of dealer distribution.

IT IS HIGH TIME to quit beating the devil around the stump and get down to facts. It is time to find out who is trying to sell both the dealer and his customer and make the facts known to the dealer.

If wholesalers and mills in the other states are selling Florida contractors, while practicing at home and in other parts of the country the principle of dealer distribution, it is time to tell that to the members of the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association.

Here in Florida we hear of a few wholesalers who are said to be selling contractors at distant points for the account of a local dealer who has no interest or investment where the contractor is located. That too is unethical, just as unethical as though the wholesaler sold the account direct,

Men must be hard up for business when they will resort to subterfuge to violate established ethical practices. It isn't necessary to do this to get business in Florida. There is too much to be had. Selling direct to the dealer's customer does not cause the consumption of one additional foot of lumber or one extra bag of cement, or add one brick to the sum total consumed.

This Journal stands HIDEBOUND on the principle of Dealer distribution. We don't want any advertisers in these pages who violate this principle. If we have any who do and proof can be showh, we will not renew their contracts for advertising. We are ready to lay our cards on the table and fight this matter of ethics out to a finish.

And we are not taking this stand just on account of the dealer. The advertisers in these pages who ptray the game fairly with the dealer are just as much entitled to our protection as are our dealer friends, more so if anything. The manufacturer or the wholesaler who abides by the principle of dealer distribution is being deprived of his markets by these bootleggers, who are getting business to which he is entitled. For years he has stood back of the dealer, furnished him with lumber and carried his account, and he has a right to share in the development that has come about. We are fighting for him.

It is time to face facts; time to learn who is and who is not "playing ball." The dealer's part is to know what is going on in his community and tell his neighbors about ethical violations. It is the dealer's duty to know the policy and practice of those from whom he is buying, and to give ALL his business to those concerns whose character is unassailed.

The ethical situation in Florida is bad. It will get worse unless the dealers in every district get down to cases. It will get better if they WILL it so and WORK to that end.

J. O. MEANS

WHOLESALE LUMBER tq)I CENTRAL EUILDING

LOS A'IIGE.ES. CALIFORNIA

J. H. BAXTER & CO.

WHOI.ESAI.E LI,'MBER

Polcr-Pilcr-4rcorotcd Mrt rid

Cotral Blds.

TRinity 6332

MARK W. LLLARD, INC.

WHOLESALE SASH-DOORS-PANEUi

Southcrn Cdifornl,a Dlrtrlbutor

Nlcolal Door Mfg. Co., Portlan4 Orcgon

Whltucr Jackcon Co., Albuqucrquc, N. M. I

C&3 Stlnford AvG. Lor Angotcc, CaI.

THorawall 8214

Wiahing You a H"ppy New Year

ROLLINS A. BRO\MN

Hardwood Lumbcr

8M6 Carlor Avc. - GRanite 3e$l

FIR.

TEDUOOD

WENDLING NATHAN OO. PACTFTC LUMBER CO.

A. L. HOOVER - 706 Standard Oit Bldg. PHONES VAndlkc E5it2 TUcLcr lt!2

A. O. NELSON

Lumbcr.Lath-Shinglcr

Central Building

TUcker 3512

Specializing in Sanded Finish and Rough KiIn Dricil Clears

REFORESTING BEGUN BY LONG-BELL East Bay Hoo Hoo Have Christmas

Work is now begun on the reforestation prog'ram of the Long-Bell Lumber Company for the winter of 1925-26. /

Pafty

Forlhe time being, a smalf group of technical foresters / lHoo Hoo Club No.39, Oakland, celebrat-ed the Holidays rvill conduct experi"mental planTing^and will develop a nur- /on the 18th of December with a monster Christmas Jinks, sery upo,n a ranch owned 6y the do-putty north of Ryder{ wilh ab_o_ut s_ixty in attendance. *obd, Wash. 'r Rod Hendrickson, Supreme Junior lfoo Hoo, and past

In addition to J. B. Woods, forest engineer, the technical plesident- of the San Francisco Club, made his appearan-ce force at present'comprises Arthur o.- Reed, giaaiiate ;t att dotted up -in his Santa Claus. regalia, presenting gifts Yale Forest School, #ho h", been conducting in .*"*i"r- to every member there and creating a world of fun, qost; tion of the Weed Ltr*U.t Co-pu"y;r i""a" .?tt.. 1niy, "na ly at the expense of the recipients. The gifts were furnished Omar Undseth, graduate of thi F-orest school of-the-Uni- bythe-members,eachmaninattendancefurnishingone,for versity of Norwiy, who has had several years' experience the other fellow. in silvicultur" "rd timber management in -Scandinu.,riu. The. tree w-as quite a novelty, being decorated in lum-

Part of the reforestation frojr?. .uft" t"i i.-r."Ji"s ."t- ber things, shingles, lath, a few sash and such Lhings-.over lands, and for e*periinerr-ts with California redivood, Three attendance-prizes were.awarded to the-fgllowing white pine'and Port Oiford cedar, in addition to the native lucky ryemberg : !. J. Dunn, Zenith Lumber and Mill ComDouglis Fir, cedar and hemlock. Abandoned logging spurs pany, Oakllld; T. B.-$fan, Duner and Mltheny, Oakland "r. tlo be planted with alder and other broad-leai"spEcies to and L. J. Woodson, llardwood Products Inc., San Franserve as a fire protection for the young growth. clsco.

This program of the Long-Bell Lumber Company in their Douglas Fir holdings in the Pacific Northwest, is being rc26 TO undertaken at the company's own expense with the idea of perpetuating their lumber supply.

..ONLY ONE I READ''

"Received your live lumber journal this morning. IT IS REALLY THE ONLY ONE RECEIVED HERE THAT I TAKE TIME TO READ COVER TO COVER."

J. E. Fraser, Secy.-Mgr., Calif. Retail Lumbermen's Assn.

Be Another Six Billion Dollar

BUILDING yEAR

F"^h .,-.. {^* +ha nac+ G,,a .,-4-. ,rLa a_^t :+-^+.._-l

Each year for the past five years The Architectural Forum of New York has conducted an extensive survey among architects and builders to determine the amount of building construction contemplated for the ensuing year. The method used includes the obtaining of confidential reports from thousands of sources covering six geographical divisions of the United States in 19 building classifications. These reports ar'e carefully tabulated and correlated and the totals determined by a careful system of weighing. Thus the final forecast figures are established after months of careful research work.