President's Address

O. A. Spear, Provo,

Utah

Before the Western Retail Lumbermens Assn., Los Angeles

A year ago when at the close of the Convehtion held at Spokane you honored me with the highest gift at your command, I spoke. to you in brief of the duties and .responsibilities of that office as I understood them and made bLlone promise. It was that I would give of my best.

Today we meet in convention, and ivith my -year of service now almost entirely behind me in place of before, I greet you with the confidence of one who has kept his promise. I greet you, too, rvith the same sense of responsibility with which I received the trust you reposed rn me a year ago.

Ttre year has brought its problems, some of them perplexing, but in dealing with them we have always kept first in mind the duty and service we owed to oul splendid organization, and, in tuln what our organization owes to humanity. Our Secretary has worked untiringly for the good of our association, and close association with him during the year has strengthened my convictions that we are indeed fortunate in having his services. We have had the loyal support of the other officers of the association. Likewise many of the members have beeh solicited for counsel and suggestions and thanks to each one they all were ready and willing to give of their time and thought to help mark our course.

This moment is also one of great joy, since it again brings me face to face with so many of you whose personal friendship I hold in esteem, and permits me to greet this great gathering of earnest men and women, servants all in a great cause. The planning and building of homes.

The law of reaction is spoken of as being from one extreme to the other ahd if we take into comparison climatic conditions of February, 1923, at Spokane ind the present, then we can appreciate the two extremes.

We weie glad to receive the invitation to come to l.os Angeles and in behalf of the members of the association I desire to thank the members of the local organizations that have dohe so much which will make this meeting both a pleasure and a success.

Great as is this gathering, we remember that we are but representatives in part of a worthy craft invited from the

E. J.DODGE CO.

nine great western states. We who are privileged to be here in person have come, some of us great distances. We have been irnpelled by good will. We are actuated by service and we are bound by mutual interest hoping to give constructive thought and receive helpful suggestions.

Since we have come here, even though it be ohly yesterday or this morning, we have experienced the rvarm fellorvship which inspires us and seems to flourish at its best here in California. I believe that lve are to have a great convention. However, the success of this meeting is in the hands of you men rvho face me. It is your convention. It is your opportunity to build for the future of your business, this business being second to none in importance to home life, and the home being the foundation of our country. I trust that we will at all times through the several sessions keep in mind the responsibility which each of us have in assisting to make this convention go down in history as the greatest that the Western Retail Lumbermen's Association ever held.

Without further general remraks I r.r'ould like to direct your thoughts and invite your consideration to some things I deem of interest, and affecting the success of the retail lumber business.

Accounting Standardization

During these sessions you no doubt u'ill have the privilege of listening to discttssious on the subject of standardization methods for retail accounting. This should, and no doubt will be interesting and instructive.

For the past twenty years v\,'e have discttssed in most every meeting things we should do that would help the business in general and ourselves in particular. A few of those methods have been put into practice by a minority of the members and those that have done that are the ones that have profited by being members and attending the sessions of the convintion. But with all our discussion there is yet much to be done to bring the standard of our business to a larger degree of perfectioh.

Speaking in general of' conditions over the 'sections served by the association, I find there was improvement in 1923 over 1922. I:lowever, the volume is not producing the profit it should, due largely to inefficient labor, competition from those who are ignorant of their co.sts and a further fact that many do not keep sufficient cost records which rvould give the necessary information.

Compared over a period of the last five years you should know your increased cost of handling lumber through your yard. If you have kept such records you have found an increase in depreciation and wastage possibly due to lack of interest' on the part of employes. You also have found an increased cost in carrying past due accounts.

These are some of the potent visible factors that are taking their daily and annual toll from the scanty profit of the retailer, and can only be corrected when the merchant will accept and use an efiective accountihg system that will give him his costs.

Another generation will find the old, crude, unintelligent methods a thing of the past. Requirements for the industrial executive will be almost as severe as those for the doctor or lawyer.

We do not have to turn back many pages in the record of the past to find the time rvhen balance sheets were figured but once a year; when there was no current knowledge of business progress and the eleven months' dream of profits were in the twelfth turned into a nightmare of disappointed hopes.

The old school executive is being relegated to the scrap heap, and his place taken by the trained administrator. Success still requires the old elements of courage, perseverance, and unremitting effort. In addition, however, it calls for a new degree of intelligence and foresight.

However to repay us for this courage and perseverance an efficient accounting system brings a new sense of power in the knowledge that a man can set up his target, draw his bow, and watch his arrow hit the bull's eye clean.

It is our record of the past, our index for the present, and our guide to the future. It is an essential factor in our success.

Lumber Standardization

Silence sometimes has been said to be golden, but there is better authority for attributing the qualities ofi the precious metal to "the words fitly spoken," therefore let us deal frankly and fairly with the subjects for discussion and if possible reach conclusions that rvill repay us for the time we spend here.

Every manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer in the entire country appreciates the good work done by Secretary Hoover and the Central Committee on lumber stahdardization. It was not to be expected that everyone would get just what he wanted in such a meeting for we must remember there were many claims to be heard and interests served. It has been said that "progress is made only through successive compromises." Granting this to be true, and history relates many instahces in support of it, a reasonable compromise should be looked upon as one of the greatest sources for good of rvhich the world can boast. Recognizing the great good in national standardization. the lumber manufacturing, distributing and consuming interests, with the aid and co-operation of the United States Departm€nts of Commerce and Agriculture, have been endeavoring for several years to establish standards for the lumber industry. For the past year and a half intensive effort has been put forth to achieve this ideal.

Much has bien accomplished in that time. One thought has always been foremost in all of these discussigns, and that was the standard dressed sizes for yard stock. This important agreement having been reached and in a manner

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