E. D. Kingsley Addresses Sacramento Valley Lumbermen's Club Meeting

Standardization Grade Marking, and Certified Lumber were the principal subjects discussed at the meeting of the Sacramento Vallev Lumbermen's Club held at the Senator Hotel, Sacramento, on Saturday, February 13. The meeting was largely attended and among those preseht were members from the Central California Lumbermen's Club, San Joaquin Valley Lumbermen's Club, East Bay Lumbermen's Cltrb, and the Peninsula Club. The meeting was opened rvith community singing, and during the luncheon hour there was an excellent musical and.entertainment program.

E. S. McBride, president of the Sacramento Valley Lumbermen's Club presided, and in opening the business session ihtroduced the following guests and visiting lumbermen to the gathering: E. D. Kingsley, West Oregon Lumber Co.. Portland. and President of the West Coast Lum- bermen's Association; C. W. Pinkerton, Whittier, President of the California Retail Lumbermen's Association; J. E. Fraser, San Francisco, Secretary ofthe California Retail l,umbermen's Association, J. U. Gartin, President, and Lester Elliott, Secretary, of the Central California Lumbermen's Club; W. H. Falconbury, Stockton; W. P. Innes, Secretary, East Bay Lumbermen's Club; Frank Trower, San Francisco; ahd the Jollowing Directors of California Retail Lumbermen's Association: R. F. Wells, Turlock; J. H. McCallum, San Francisco; Paul M. P. Merner, Palo Alto; J. H. Shepard, Saciamento; F. Dean Prescott, Fresno; E. T. Robie, Auburn; J. E. Neighbor, Oakland; and Chas. G. Bird, Stockton.

President McBride then introduced .E" D. Kingsley, President of the West Coast Lumbermen's Association, who spoke as follows:

Mr. E. D. Kingsley

I have been asked to speak to you on the subject of American Lumber Standards, included in the scope of which is the grade marking of lumber This is a big question embracing the efforts of many leaders in the various branches of the industry over a period of more than three years and, in order to avoid being tedious, I will omit minor details andrdeal with the problem in as broad a way as possible.

That which should interest you first is why a change in lumber standards was necessary, second, the manner in which these changes were brought about, third, that part of the industry pledged to adoption, and fourth, the success of the movement so far.

The first standardization meeting was held in Chicago during luly 1922, it being the outgrowth of a number of annual meetings of the National Lumber Congress. The idea, however, is generally credited to the fertile brain of Secretary of Commerce l{ooven Whether or not Mr. Hoover is directly responsible for the move I do not know but that he is at least indirectly responsible for it there is no doubt.

Standardization was predicated on the idea of elimination of waste and the adoption of standard practice in manufacture. The terrn waste may be applied in several ways, as for instance in feetage of lumber, attempting to work kiln dried l-inch to a finished size of l3-16-inch which a practical manufacturer knows cannot be done except where the piece.is cut full l-inch. Rapidity of manufacture is responsible for a slight variation in the thickness of all lumber sawn, due to the crowding of saws and to other logical reasqns.

Another element of waste is the unnecessary expenditure of labor in manufacturing a variety of sizes, one but slight- ly different from another. Still another and important element of waste is the investment on the part of the mills. wholesalers, and retailers in superfluous stock, due to the practice of carrying several patterns and sizes of lumber intended for the same use.

During the 1922 annual meeting of the National Lumber Congress, Committees were appointed representing all branches of the industry, such as manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, contractors, architects, engineers and rail- roads, Secretaiy Hoover of the Department of Commerce, presiding. Mr. Hoover urged the necessity for prompt action and has consistently followed the woik evei sinCe. He has presided over the mass meetings, all of which have been held in the Department of Commerce in Washington, D. C., and are at stated intervals still being held there for the purpose of perfecting the standardization plan

The retail lumber -interests, in the first meeting, were represented by officials and members of the Nitional Retail Lumbermen's Association. The second meeting was held during the latter part of 1922 and was composed of a represen-tative from each branch of the indusiry. The result of this meeting was the naming of a Cential Committee. A Consulting Committee was also named, it being composed of a representative from each regional association of manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. Its duties are to prepare details and make recommendatio,ns to the Central Committee. The duties of this Committee are to work over the Consrlting Committee's report and in turn submit recommendations and changes to the mass meet= ing, which, as I said before, are held regularly in the Department of Commerce and are presidld over by Mr. Ifoover. Final action on all questions is taken therl.

The outcome of the combined efforts of these Committees is the establishment of. 2 sets of standards as applying to loards, Dimension, and Finish lumber in thicLirijs oily, all other items being of one standard. They are known is Standard and Extra-Standard. Stock oider-ed manufactured to other sizes is designated as special and is to be obtained. under special contract.

The new standards. brought home to the Fir industry a problem with which it wrestled for mo,re than two yeirs. It then found it could not adopt the program in full as established, without reservations, the difficu-lty being one of shrinkage in kiln drying which proved to be too lreat to permit of the manufacture of some sizes without serious waste, the very thing which the standardization program proposed to- eliminate. For instance, 6-inch cleir Jtock worked to American Lumber Standards called for an over.all width of. 5l inches as compared to the old standard of 5/s inches. .8, 10, and l2-inch finish specified /z inch off

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