Roy Dailey Advises Wholesalers

There was a lot of timely and wholesome business advice and philosop'hy in a recent 'letter sent to the mem'bers of The Pacific toast Shippers' Association by Roy A' Dailey, Seattle, Secretary.- It is wel'l worth reading, and is as follows: by the way? Have thej' been living in t'he past-too well sitisfied *ith so*" sttccess achieved-too well assured of their position in the future-too con'fident of their ability to meet conditions as theY arise?

"As we swing into the new bu'siness 'cy'cle, it is a good plan to take anlnventory of methods as- well as the stocks *" "t" handling. In this new cycle the -competition for markets is keener than ever before. Business is moving swiftly into new channels.

"The present svstem of distribution is' all righ-t' .I.t has been thousands of years in the making. The legitimate wholesaler occupies trhe sound position he does today by reason of his reputation for honesty of purpose, resourcefulness in marketing lumber 'products to the best possible aclvantage and by sheer ability as a merchant.

"That there has been a rapid evolution in the methods of merchandising lumber is an obvious conclusi'on to the o'bservant ma.t. -The unusual number of changes that have been going on during the past two years in the 'lumber industri, du-e to the peiiod ol deflation. de-p'ression and recent i-nflation, is simply a readjustment of values-men and things finding their prtoper places in the scheme of things' "Certain wholesale firms are drifting---<ertain'1y they are not progressing. Have the men at the head of those 'con.erns f"*il"d tJread the signs of the times-the warnings

"It is, however, during such reconstruction periods that we hear a great deal from certain long-haired demagogues, u,hose favo"rite doctrine it is to advocite the elimination of the middlemen in all lines of business. There is nothing new abotrt this and such plans have always failed because they are not in keeping with sound econ'omics' and because ulterior motives atd co-ntained in their inceptitrn.

"In a very real way the iuterests of the manuf'acturers, rvholesalers - and retailers of lum'ber products are ONE' They all depend on one another for growth and prosperity -a"a all three are dependent upon the good will of the public for their contintted success.

"This interdepe,ndence is not always recognized by each member of the'partnership' but where there is such a strong comm,unity of interests, there is an obltigation to learn.

"And th'ere is an obligation to teach. There is an obligation on the part of the wholesalers to teach the other branches of the industry just what the advantages are for both manttfacturers and retailer to deal with'the responsible wholesaler-and there is much to teach.

"Both of the other branches of the industry shottld be given more aufhoritative information about the wonderf-ully perfected sales organizations o{- the wholesalersthe-scbpe of their buying power-the financial strength of that branch of the industry-and the truly great oonstructive work it is accom,plishing in smoothing the path of both the manufacturer and the retailer'"

The Japanese Steamer Milan recent'ly sailed from Hammond's mill on Humbolt Bay with 2,000,000 feet of Redwood aboard for Australia.