Western Retailers Hold Mighty / Meeting in Los Angeles

The Western Retail Lumbermens' Association celebrated its twenty-first birthday in the City of Los Angeles, and the celebration was a fitting one for so important an eveht. It was the twenty-first time that this famous organization had met in annual convention, and this years "Institute" rvill go down into history as the very brightest of red letter events. There was a splendid business program, fine discussions, and many interesting and eloquent addresses. There was a continual program of entertainment from the'opening until the close of the rneeting. The Los {ngeles entertainment committee did a job that will give other entertainment committees several marks to shoot at, and the convention was loud in singing their praises. Phil B. Hart, Jim Chase, and Floyd Derniei led the entertainment committee work.

There was the greatest Hoo-Hoo Concatenation in history staged at Venice. Ohe hundred and seventy-one kittens were initiated into the order, one of the trick entertainment palaces at the beach being the scene of the festivity. Not only was the Con-Cat notable for the large number of kittens initiated, but for the high quality of the new membership. Many of the best knon n lumbermen in California were among those initiated.

The attendance at the convention was large, the delegates coming from all parts of the western territory covered by the Association, and the convention was an enthusiastic one from start to finish.

The registration booth opened in the lobby of the Biltmore Hotel, and u'as transferred to the Cinderella Roof, right across the street, after the business meetings got started. The business sessions lvere all held on the Cinderella Roof.

This place also permitted space for exhibit purposes, and there were five very enteresting and attractive exhibits in the room, maintained by The California Redwood Association, the California Sugar & White Pine Association, The Weaver Roofing Company, of Los Angeles, the Schumacher Wallboard Company, of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Lumber Products Company, of Los Angeles. They were ranged along the walls of the large convention hall. Secretary R. F. Flammatt was in charge of the Redwood exhibit; Secretary C. Stowell Smith was in charge of the California White & Sugar Pine exhibit; Earl Schmidt was in charge of the Schumacher Wallboard Company exhibit; Sylvester Weaver, head of the Weaver Roofing Company, was in charge of his own exhibit; and Mr. Hal Baly, the new manager of the Los Angeles Lumber Products Company, was in charge of the exhibit of that concern.

It was decided that next year the meeting shall be held in Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, being the only other contestant.

Mr. C. H. Crawford, of Walla Walla, Washington, was elected President of the Association for the ensuing year, and David Woodhead, of Los Angeles, was made Director for the State of California.

Los Angeles did all that could be expected of her in the handling of this convention and the ehtertainment of the delegates, particularly in the matter of rveather for the week, for surely no meeting was ever held anywhere that furnished such delightful sunshine every day, with bright blue skies and delightful temperature, interspersed with lovely moonlight nights. The name and fame of Lot Angeles weathbr was strongly upheld during the week of the convention, for it was ideal throughout, no rvind, no rain, and no cold coming to. mar the festivities.

The Opening Session

. Tuesday morning, February 19th, the convention opened at ten o'clock, with President O. A. Spear, of Provo, Utah, presiding. He called the meeting to order; and introduced Alexander Pbllard, of Los Angeles, who led the crowd in singing a number of popular choruses. The entire audience also sang "America."

Parson Peter A. Simpkin then delivered the opening prayer, after which President Spear gave his very excellent address (found elsewhere in this issue).

The reports of President O. A. Spear, of Provo, Utah and Secretary-Treasurer A. L. Porter, of Spokane, were then read, and listened to with close attention by the audience.

The appointment of the various committees to serve through the convention were then made, after which Douglas Malloch, the well known lumber poet and lyceum bureau lecturer gave his famous lecture on "The Average Man," which was very much enjoyed by the large audience.

Tuesday afternoon the convention was opened by several beautiful musician selections rehdered by the California Girl's Quartet.

The first speaker on the program rvas Roy Brown, of Spokane, Traffic Manager of the Association, who gave the annual facts and figures concerning. the traffic department. The long and short of it is that those figures prove that any member who sends in all his freight bills for checking can undoubtedly get at least the amount of his association dues back every year, and sometimes several times over.

The next speaker was that very excellent young wholesaler of Los Angeles, Mr. T. B. Lawrence, who spoke very interestingly on the subject "The Wholesaler, his opportunities and obligations in the distribution of lumber." He stressed many excellent ideas of the service that the modern wholesaler can and does give the retail trade that is of service to that trade, and succeeded in proving that the wholesaler today is a genuine blessing to the lumber industry in general, and to the dealer in particular lvho has learned to understand and appreciate the service the wholesaler gives him.

"One sure way of reducing your overhead" was the subject discussed by O. D. Hauschild, Manager, Retail Lumbermen's Inter-Insurance Exchange, I\{inneapolis, Minn. He talked on retail lumber insurance, and also on financial conditions among the farm districts of the middle west, Minnesota, Dakota, Montana, giving many interesting facts concerning the very serious situation in those territories.

Jack Dionne, Publisher of "The California Lumber Merchant," delivered an address entitled "Random and Rambling Remarks." He paid personal attention for some little time to a number of the well known figures in the convention hall, telling stories and taking humorous digs at such men as Parson Simpkin, Robert Anderson, George Burnett, Gus Russell, Elmore King, Al Porter, and others. He then

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