South ern California Dealers Hold \(/ar Industry Conf erence in Los Angeles

falks on Postwar Planning Feature of Program

The Lumbermen's War Conference of the Southern California Retail Lumber Association was held February 10 and 11 at the Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles. There was a large and representative attendance of dealers, and Secretary-Manager Orrie W. Hamilton received many expressions of appreciation for tl-re entertaining and instructive program which he provided.

Thursday Morning

The morning was devoted to registration.

Luncheon

H. Park Arnold, president of the Association, presicled and introduced W. W. (Dick) Spear, Hammond Lumber Co., Canoga Park, Calif., master of ceremonies.

Mr. Spear in his remarks paid a tribute to Jack Dionne, publisher of The California Lumber Merchant. for the quality of his "Vagabond Editorials" and his helpful philosophy.

Kenneth Smith, president of the California Redwood Association, San Francisco, introduced Jack Dionne, who delivered the keynote address.

The attendance at the luncheon was 235. Door prizes were awarded as follows: $5.00 War Stamps, W. E. Hoyt, American Lumber & Treating Co., Los Angeles; $10.00 War Stamps, Ray Klots, Schafer Bros. Lumber & Shingle Co., Los Angeles; $25.00 War Bond, per,cy Bruner, Burbank Lumber Co.. Burbank.

Thursday Afternoon

President H. Park Arnold presided. called the convention to order at 2;15, and extended greetings to the large gathering of dealers.

The $25.0O War Bond door prize was awarded to C. P. Kellogg, Rossman Mill & Lumber Co., San Pedro.

The Question and Answer Forum occupied the close attention of the audience for an hour and a quarter. Mr. Arnold was chairman, and the panel consisted of George B. Carpenter, Administrator of Limitation Order L-218, Portland; Col. W. B. Greeley, Secretary-Manager, West Coast Lumbermen's Association, Seattle; Kenneth Smith, San Francisco; H. R. (Cotton) Northup, Secretary-Manager, National Retail Lumber Dealers Asso,ciation, Washington, D. C.; Percy Meritherv, E. K. Wood Lumber Co., Los Angeles, and Orrie W. Hamilton, Secretary-Manager, Southern California Retail Lumber Association. Los Angeles.

Many questions, mainly pertaining to the interpretation of Government orders and regulations, were asked and answered. ft was brought out clearly by members of the panel that lumber is the most critical material required for the war effort, and that there is no hope for additional lumber being made available for civilian trade until a definite turn comes in the war.

"War Lumber Requirements" was the subject discussed by Mr. Carpenter, who said he welcomed the opportunity of answering the questions asked from the floor. Those who asked questions included the following: J. A. Privett, E. K. Wood Lumber Co., Los Angeles; J. A. Thomas, Thomas Lumber Co., Los Angeles; Connie Ganahl, C. Ganahl Lumber Co., Los Angeles; Charles Bonestel, Peoples Lurnber Co., Ventura; E. C. Parker, Patten-Blinn Lumber Co., Los Angeles; Dick Emerson, Santa Ana Lumber Co., Santa Ana; A. E. Rogers, Hyde Park Lumber Co., Los Angeles; Clint Laughlin, E. J. Stanton & Son, Los Angeles.

rn the evenins

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and noor show at the Biltmore Bowl, at which there was a large attendance of lumbermen and their ladies.

Friday Morning

President Arnold presided. Everett C. Parker was chairman.

The door prize winners were: C. C. Cashwell, Building Material Dealers Credit Association, Los Angeles, $5.00 War Stamps; D. M. Bufkin, California Redwood Association, I-os Angeles, $10.00 War Stamps; Gerald V. Curran, Curran Bros., Pomona, $25.00 War Bond.

Dr. Vervon Orval Watts, Ph.D., economic counsel, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, addressed the convention on "Do We Want Free Enterprise ?" The speaker was introducd by Kenneth Smith.

Col. W. B. Greeley in his talk on the "Home Planning fnstitute" expressed the hope that this plan will be extended tltroughout the country. Everett C. Parker introduced the speaker

Hoo-Hoo Luncheon

There was an attendance of 219 at the luncheon in the Biltmore Bowl, sponsored by Los Angeles Hoo-Hoo Club No. 2. Vicegerent Snark Dee Essley 'ivas master of ceremonies.

Dr. Herbert E. Harris of Whittier, introduced by C. W. Pinkerton, gave a most interesting talk on "Cooperation."

Door prizes were awarded to Harry McGahey, San Diego Lumber Co., San Diego, $5.00 War Stamps; M. A. Alexander, Paramount Pictures, Inc., Hollywood, $10.00 War

Stamps; Ed Mason, E. J. Stanton & Son, Los Angeles, $25'oo \\tar Bond'

Friday Afternoon

President Arnold presided. Lathrop Leishman, Crown City Lumber & Mill Co., Pasadena, was chairman.

"Your Future Is In Your Hands," was the title of a talk by Kenneth Smith, who was introduced by George Lounsberry, Lounsberry & Harris, Los Angeles.

H. R. "Cotton" Northup's address was entitled "How Things Look From the National Capital." IIe was introduced by Paul Hallingby, Hammond Lumber Co', Los Angeles.

Dr. Fredric P. Woellner spoke on "Ten Certainties for 1944."

Door prizes were won by A' C. I\{esselheiser, Dill Lumber Co., Hemet, Calif ., $5.00 War Stamps; Herrick E. Schnur, Patten-Blinn Lumber Co., Riverside, $10'00 War Stamps; George E. Howard, Jr., Whiting-Mead Co., Los Angeles, $25.00 War Bond.

The conference adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

C. L. lsted Retires--W. H. Myers

Appoint ed General Manager

P. V. Eames, president of The Shevlin-Hixon Company, Minneapolis, announces the retirement of C' L. Isted as general manag'er of its operations at Bend, Ore., which position he helcl for more than eighteen years. Ill health has made it necessary for Mr. Isted to ask to be relieved from active duty after serving the company and affiliated companies for over forty years.

I Montgomery S-treel 1800 Marshcll Ave. SAN!'BANCTSCO 4, CALIF. STOCTTON, CtrUr. DOuglcrs 2060 STockton 8-8521

CAUFORMA SUGAN PINE

CAIJFORNI.A POIVDEROSA PINE White FirDouglcrs FirIncense Cedcr

SAWMILLS:

DorriE, Cclilornic White Pines, Calilornitr North Forlr, Ccliloraic Westpoint, Cclilornic

Mr. Eames announces the appointment of W. H. Myers to succeed Mr. Isted as general manager. Mr. Myers has been assistant general manager at Rend for several months, before which time he was for several years general manager of the Sumter Lumber Company at Elestric Mills, Miss'

New Revenue Bill Sent to President

\Mashington, D. C., Feb. S.-Both the House and Senate completed congressional a'ction on the new Revenue Bill, including the Bailey Amendment, on February 7, and it was sent to President Roosevelt' (Editor's note: An article on the Bailey Amendment, relating to Forest Tax Reforms, appears on page 17 of this issue.)

Let fate do her worst; there are relics of joy, Bright dreams of the past which she cannot destroy; Which come in the night-time of sorrow and care, And bring back the features that joy used to wear. Long, long be my heart with such memories filled, Like the vase in which roses have once been distilled: You may break-you may shatter the vase if you will, But the scent of the roses will hang around it still. * * * -tnomasMoore.

Friends, if some of the stuff I write today sounds a bit screwy-please overlook it. I've been trying to read one of these income tax blanks. If you've tried it, you'll understand. ***

The story of the creation of the world, told in Genesis uses just 400 words. The world's greatest moral code, the Ten Commandments, contains 297 words. The Gettysburg Address of Lincoln required but 266 words. But if you owe Uncle Sam ten bucks for your last year's income tax you'ie going to have to try and figure the meaning of enough words to write all the above and throw in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Such, dear friends, is bureaucracy in bloom.

Mention of.the cettysbrirg I,uJ.."" reminds me that February 12th was Lincoln's birthday. February 22nd, of, course, will be Washington's. Two pretty fair sized human souls those two were, wouldn't you say? The Gettysburg Address, written long hand on a bit of brown wrapping paper by Lincoln as he rode the train toward Gettysburg, is considered far and away the champion all-time American oration'

But it was not a flash in the pan, as far as the author was concerned. Lincoln was given to inspired and lofty eloquence that evidenced itself many times during his lifetime. There are authorities who think the simple farewell address to his friends in Springfield when he was leaving for Washington, was even more sublime than the one at Gettysburg. Witness the rolling granduer of these words and thoughts: ***

"No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century and have passed from a young to an old man. Ifere my children have been born, and one is buried. f now leave, not knowing when or whether ever I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid Ior*"r afrectionate farewell."

John Ruskin, the great thinker, thoroughly diagnosed the greatness of men of the Lincoln type, when he said: 'The first test of a truly great man is his humility. Really great men have a feeling that greatness is not IN them, but THROUGH them, and they see something divine in every other man, and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful." It was no doubt the Christ-like humility of Lincoln that has caused every world scholar of the last generation to list him among the few greatest men who ever figured in the tide of times. Vanity, egotism, arrogance, and jealousy of other men-those weaknesses so much in evidence in our big men of today-were utterly lacking in Lincoln.

One of Lincoln's famous remarks on economics was: "Let not him who is homeless pull down the house of another, but let him labor diligently to build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own will be safe from violence. I take it that it is best for all to leave each man acquire property as fast as he can. f don't believe in a law to prevent a man from getting rich; it would do more harm than good." I take it that Lincoln would not have agreed that the way to make a land rich and happy is to take away from one man and give to another the things for which the first man has labored

Washington was and will always be "the father of his country''; 'lfirst in peace, first in war, and first in the hearts of his countrymen" as "Lighthorse" Harry Lee (the father of Robert E. Lee) so marvelously said. He was a great man, a GREAT man, and you c:rn keep right on saying that over and over to yourself. When his country needed him he gave to her every ounce of his strength, devotion, and magnificent leadership. And when the emergency ended he went back to his people and his home, denying all declarations of ,his people that he was an "irreplaceable man." He knew this to be a great nation, even in its infancy; and he knew that God would provide men of wisdom and devotion to take up where he left off. Which was one of the chief proofs of his greatness. No man can be truly great in whom the power-lust holds sway.

Washington was a man who made few speeches, and (Continued on Page 10)

\THAT HE FOUGHT TO \TIN LET US FIGHT TO KEEP!

Vital Victory Materials

(Continued from Page 8) when he had one to make he made it brief, to the point, and thoroughly illuminating the subject at hand. He was not an orator. But he was a grand thinker-aloud. When he said farewell to his officers on July 4th, 1783, they filed past him and each shook his hand. Washington's eyes were filled with tears. No word was spoken. And then, when the time came, he uttered these brief and unaffected words: "With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable." *

Right after Bunker Hill Washington wrote to a friend in England: "I.}re Americans will fight for their liberties and property. Unhappy it is to refect that a brother's sword has been sheathed in a brother's breast, and that the once happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched in blood or inhabited by slaves. Strange alternative! But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?" ***

One of the greatest speeches in American history was made by an Englishman, Lord Chatham, a great admirer of Washington. In a debate in the }fouse of Lords in England the subject of the then developing battle between the new United States and the mother country, he orated: "Were I an American, as I am an Englishman, I would never lay down my arms !

Never ! Never !"

May I interject the personal remark just at this point that much reading of their mutual history proves to me that British and Americans sort of enjoy fighting together. They've been doing it for nigh onto two centuries, now. Sometimes they fight sturdily, shoulder to shoulder. And then again they fight manfully, face to face. But whether fighting for or against one another, they have never at any time lost their mutual respect. I like that thought. Socially, and in peace times, we don't enjoy each other's company much. Be honest. You know that's so. But when the "front o'battle lowers," as Burns said, we get along mighty well together. Which is fortunate for both-and for the world'

A little more about Washington. (Forgive me for being a hopeless hero-worshipper, but I can't help it. I could spend a day proving that Washington was a greater man than Lincoln; and then spend the next day with ab solute sincerity, proving that it was Lincoln who was the titan.) When Washington returned to Mount Vernon after the war ended, he wrote a letter to that great Frenchman, Lafayette, which said in part: "At length I am become a private citizen, and under the shadow of my own vine and fig tree, far from the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life, I am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments of which the soldier can have little conception. Envious of none, I am determined to be pleased with all. And this, my friend, being the order of my march, I will move gently down the stream of life until I sleep with my fathers." True greatness speaks for itself. It needs no debate. This man had it:-mountain high.

At the time of t i" a".ti i""lrrr*.on owned 124 slaves, yet he did not believe in slavery. He had written Robert Morris "there is no man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery." So, you see, these two great men of the month of February, thought alike on that score. His will provided that at the death of his wife, the slaves should all be freed. When she learned of his will, she set thena free immediately. The dying words of Washington were: "It is well." A fitting epitaph. Because of his life and deeds, the words, "It is well," came to apply to the greatest nation in the world, which he did so much to create.

*rF*

I am going to close with two short stories of Lincoln; two priceless ones. The wife of one of Mosby's men (Mosby the guerrilla leader) came to Lincoln to pray for the life of her husband, who was captured and under sentence of death. FIe commuted the sentence. Whereat her tears flowed so freely and her emotions were so violent that Lincoln said to her: "Madam, if you don't go away I'll be crying with you." Another woman, the mother of a soldier who had been found asleep at his sentry post and sentenced to death, came to Lincoln and plead for her son's life. He sent a wire to the officer in charge of the prison where the boy was: "Suspend execution until further orders from me." Still the mother was deeply worried. It looked like just a suspension of sentence. When she expressed her fears to Lincoln, he smiled that sad smile, and said: "Madam, if he lives until I give orders for his execution, he'll be here at the judgment day."