Random Editorial Ramblings

By Jack

__The great special auditorium which is being built at Houston, Texas, to house the Democratic Nati-onal Convention in June, which will have a seating capacity of 2.5,000, will be built entirely of wood. Particularly interesting will be the roof construction. It will have what is called a "Lamella" roof, which is a method of building rvide spans of roof without any upright supports, out of short length dimension. This will probably be the biggest building ever so constructed, and the great building will be covered u'ith three spans, so that only two rows of upright supports will be needed for the great roof. This inter-bracing wooden roof is marvelously strong, and one of the engineering triumphs of the age.

Speaking of using wood, a big advertising campaign is being promoted at the preseht time by a big retail lumber association. A part of their plan is uniform, signs for office, truck, and road use. The prospectus shows that these signs will be "all metal."

Lumber in bundles, tied, wrapped, protected, and cared forlike dry goods, is a nerv idea that is fast taking root as a merchandising plan: It's a really big thought, and the lumber industry generally is going to work more and more in the direction of more careful manufacture, prepaiation, and delivery. No doubt about it. Packages of special lumber for special purposes, wrapped and shipped

Dionne like golf balls, is no fad. It's practical common sense. No trick to advertise that sort of lumber, with the entire package useful for labeling, etc. And it makes the public think you are proud of your own stock. You'll see that thought develop fast.

They've been doing Jr..l, tnlt in the Northwest for several years. There arefinish manufacturers that tie their finish together with the best faces inside, and then paper the entire interior of the freight car they ship in, to see that no dirt reaches the lumber en route. And there have been siding manufacturers putting their lumber in wrapped and labeled bundles for some time. ***

This one has been on mrr mind for several weeks. I heard a dealer declare on the floor of a retail lumber convention this winter, that if a house burned down, it would be unethical and bad business for the lumber dealers of the town to go out and try to sell that man his new home. And listen ! Not a single man in that audience contradicted that amazing statement. Andyet a dealer wrote me the other day and gave me fits because I had been criticizing the dealers for lack of merchandising, declaring that he knows no business that has progressed so much. All I'vegot to say is God help the man who lives in a

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