"'W.hat Do Associations Do For Me?"

..WHAT DO THE ASSOCIATIONS EVER DO FOR ME? Nothing!"

With this conclusive parthian shot, the "independent" lumberman returned to his office from a meeting of Association members to which he had been invited to discuss an important constructive mo\rement. "Just fuss and palaver," he snorted.

Fuming angrily over the rvaste of his valuable time, he sat down at his desk-the height oi which was standardized by an ASSOCIATION-and impatiently snatched up an order written on an ASSOCIATION order blank.

The prices seemed too low, but he suridenly recollected a recent reduction in freight rates to this customer's territory; a reduction secured for the benefit of ALL shippers by an ASSOCIATION after a long, hard battle fought with brains and money furnished by ASSOCIATION members,

So he decided to accept it, (being unaware that the customer had not been paying his bills lately and n'as "on the verge" so to speak. This information being shown on a "List A," National-American ASSOCIATION members were "laying off" the account and leaving it wide open for him).

Order was duly acknowledged for a car of ASSOCIATION Graded lumber and shingles-on a blank devised and recommended by an ASSOCIATIONbearing the printed Terms and Conditions of Sale adopted by an ASSOCIATION.

A cordial letter assuring the customer he would find the stock fully up to ASSOCIATION GRADES AND MANUFACTURE was dispatched-written on a typewriter with a keyboard standardized by an ASSOCIATION. The shipper also generottsly expressed his personal approval of an ASSOCIATION'S success in defeating an anti-shingle ordinance in the dealer's city.

The shipment rvent forlvard in equipment and on tracks standardized by the American l{aih,r'ay ASSOCIATION. Whereupon the transaction was duly recorded in an ASSOCIATION Accounting System.

On arrival at destination, the customer flatly refused the shipment, claiming it was not up to ASSOCIATION GRADES. Immediately the irate "independent" shipper wired: "Refer to the ASSOCIATION TERMS and Conditions of Sale printed'on order acknowledgement, and unload subject to ASSOCIATION Official Reinspection. This treatment is not in accordance rvith the recognized Trade Ethics promulgated by the ASSOCIATIONS."

When shipment was unloaded under this pressure, shipper ordered an ASSOCIATION to send its inspector to the dealer's yard. In fact he demanded quick service on this job. Reinspection showed stock to be only 3/o oftgrade. This definitely proved the dealer to be a crook, and he wrote the ASSOCIATION suggesting it collect the reinspection charges from the dealer.

When dealer balked on his idea of settlement, shipper threatened to place the matter vvith an ASSOCIATION whose expert advice and assistance he now sought to enlist-gratis. On being courteously advised that this ASSOCIATION'S rules prohibited such service to non-members-the shipper seethed with indignation. This rank ingratitude was the last strarv! Associations? Tsk, Tsk! -(Roy A. Dailey, Seattle.)