\(/hat Shall We Do With West Coast Lumber?

Bv \il. B, Greeley, Secretory-Manoger, \flest

Lum bermen's Associotion

Coost

Digest of Address Delivered at the Annuul Meeting of the Vest Coast Lumbermen's Associotion at Tacoma, \flosh., January 29,1932

I would like to direct our thinking and planning at this annual do not shrink, we must sell West Coast dimension that does not meeting to our most fundamental pioblem. That-is how can wc shrink. To compete with products that claim Breater durability or increasi the use and use-value of West Coast lurnber? greater fire resistance, we must g-rake our product as durabte and

In golden days of the industry, lumbermen concentrated th€ir as fire resistant as processing will permit' The future success of money and ability upon converting a natural resource. To buy.its this industry as a great supplier of building materials depends priproducts, it had a rapidly expanding population, constantly building marily upon the degree to which its abilities are concentrated upon new homes, towns and pushi'g new communities aiross tlie breadtfi merchandising, research and sales promotion' of the American contintnt. Lo*l.r largerly sold itself. The in- - Following are the _de-finite- undertaBings i-n merchandising which, iii-tLii, uoiia r-"* mitG and in my judgment, the West Coast lumber industrv can do forthwith: produce.

The golden days are gone and they will never come back' The time has long been here when the primary efiort,of this industry should be shifted from production to merchandising, when much more money should be spent in selling lumber, when research to develop salable products on present day markets and trade promotion to put these products into use should be undertaken on a scale far beyond anything that lumbermen have previously been. willing to conlider. The *orld has traveled very far in its building and buying habits during the last 20 years...-The lumber industry h-as noi stbod still, but has traveled at a snail's pace comp'ared with the speed of market changes. Neither ownership of stumpage,- nor sawmills, nor capital assits will make this industry successful in the future. It can only win on its merchandising efficiency-in the relative cost and seivice rendered by its products, and its ability to put those products over against intensive competition.

Who Buys Our Lumber?

The people of the United States are becoming predominantly dwelleri in cities, or in thickly populated metiopolitan areas surrounding the cities and towns and influenced by urban styles and methodJ in construction. Our markets are where the people are.

Today urban and near urban residential building is largely controlled by the speculative builder and the building and loan institution. They want a combination of low cost, good security and salable style. Urban building is profoundly inflgenced, further^more, bv building codes. And the city building code is an arena of intensive competition between materials, of technical scrutiny of the weaknesses or deficient qualities of any material, of terrific pressure to gain a point for this or that product, or put a competing product out of the running.

In industrial and commercial building and public construction, lumber enters an even more intensive arena of technical and exactinc comDetition. It must sell itself to men who have not the slightesI inteiest in wood, whose predilections-more likely than notare asainst wood, who have been highly trained in the technical scienci of judging the cost and service of a thousand difierent commodities.

Lumber no longer has any ordained or assured place in the great urban and commercial markets. The place that we shall have we must make for ourselves.

The fine intrinsic qualities of lumber-its low cost, its adaptability to a thousand purposes and a thousand forms of fabrication, its insulating qualities, its beauty for uses that appeal to the eye, and so on-give us a wonderful basis to work from. But these basic qualities are only starting points in modern merchandising. Not only must they be effectively advertised and everlastingly kept befori the consumer; they must be translated into the commercial and competitive terms with which the modern user of construction materials deals and with which he makes his comparisons and selections. As far as lies within our power, vr'e must develop the qualities of our product, point by pioint, to meet the selling arguments of our competitors and establish selling point of our own.

To compete with standardized products, we must fully standardize our product. To compete with guaranteed products, we must guarantei our product. To the consumer who wants to buy insulation, we must sell lumber in terms of insulation. To compete with assured structuril values of steel, we must sell assured structural values in fir timbers. To compete with metal house frames that

Grade-Marked L'mber

Push the sale of grade-marked lumber, The demand for certified or identified quality in building materials is coming from loan companies and other institutions which finanqe residential building because of their experience with shoddy construction whibh has fallen back upon their hands for resale. Lumber is losing ground as a material of construction because we are not meeting the requirements of modern construction for assured and identified quality.

The best argument for grade-marked lumber that I have ever seen is simply to examine jobs under construction in Los Angeles where grade-marked fir Common has been specified throughout, and there are many of them. Even a casual inspection of one of these buildings conveys a definite impression of uniform, standard identified quality of material-the basis of good workmanship, sound financing, and satisfaction and confidence on the part of the owner. In my judgment, that is one definite and specific thing-the grade-marking of our lumber-we can do to hold lumber's place in the building of America.

Recently the Building Commissioner of Boston, approving the request of retail lumber dealers, has required that grade-marked lumber be employed for all load-bearing purposes in Boston after April 1. Official gra4e marks of regional lumber associations will be given preference. More recently still, influential groups of retail lumber dealers in other Atlantic Coast sections have raised the question of merchan4ising grade-marked lumber and invited its discussion by our Association. We will strongly encourage their interest in putting Association grade-marked lumber in these markets, because -we be-lieve that the identification of lumber quality and the promotion of standard, identified grades is one of the first things to increase the use and use value of our product.

A few years ago the mixtures of fir grades of Common lumber. the _lack of standard grades and price chiseling based upon variable quality, wa! p. qt up to the West Coast Association by distributors in Southbrn California as their most serious merchandising problem. The Association enlisted the cooperation of the Southern Cilifornia distributors_ in solving this problem through the sale of grade-marked lumber, eith-er lumb-er grlde marked at our member mllls, or grade marked at the Southern.California yard under our supervision.- Association grade-marked lumber has become established in Southern California, and is now making headway in the San Francisco Bav region. -It is being supplied today by some 240 yards in the souttiern portion of the state. It is specified in the construction reouirements of seven leading building and loan associations, by a iarse number of architects, .by a substantial number of publii buildiig agencies and by large industrial buyers.

We want to establish official trade and grade marks of the West Coast Lumbermen's Association in all of thise markets wh.re cradi_ marked lumber is coming into demand, as the sterling mark ofquai_ ity for West Coast items. It would not be difficult ior these -m'ovements- to- bring forth various local lumber grade marks in which the manufacturer h.as- no -part and of whose aicuracy he has nJ ,rsui_ ance. Hence, it !ra9 been our aim to get the oificial marks of -the Association established and recognized- as the stana"ral-oi-ites. markets,

To the Association mills here represented, I urge your own ind-ividuat, active promotion of grade-marked lirmber] ti "osts's"-"_ thing, ani you may not-particularly in these- derretopminial ;L;;; recover its extra cost. But it is one of the direct, c,instruciivi-itrings that you can do to create confidence and assured standing for your product, -

Merchandising Lumbcr on Quality Rather Than on Pfce Alone

Today, at least half a dozen national organizations or manufacturing institutions are promoting the steel house. The country is being flooded by their advertising material. The vast resources of the steel industry for mass production, complete fabrication of materials at the plaht and quick erection on the job are offered for the housing of the country, It is advertising welded steel; fire-proof homes, guaranteed against shrinkage, warping or cracking, completely fabricated for the specifications desired and erected in a fraction of the time required for an ordinary frame structure. This is the type of competition the lumber industry will be called upon more and more to meet; and we must muster every resource and selling point we have to me€t it. The lumber house should compete with the steel house on its ground of durability, fire resistance and protection from shrinkage.

Many of the arguments for the steel house are met by wooden houses constructed of properly Beasoned lumber. The others can, in my judgment, be met if we concentrate our energies on the processing of wood for fire resistant qualities.

The immediate point I would stress is that of meeting one of the most important "quality" arguments of competing materials by sup- plying our markets with seasoned lumber.

During' the past year, the Association has been in touch with groups of retail dealers in Chicago and on the East Coast who want to develop a source of supply of dimension, dried sufficiently to fully meet the requirements for non-shrinkable framing. We have found it difficult to reach a practicable meeting ground between them and the manufacturers on moisture content, price, and the appearance qualities of the product after it has been seasoned. These contacts have led me to wonder if-to meet the quality demands of these highly competitive urban markets-the West Coast should not develop a super-dimension, based upon Select Common and low-grade Clear stock and sold at a guaranteed moisture content of 16 per cent.

'I he market now opening up in the Atlantic Coast and its backhaul territories for seasoned West Coast dimension. and to a lesser degree in California, gives our mills an excellent opportunity to introduce American Lumber Standard sizes in those markets. With the undoubted growth in volume of seasoned dimension moving to our cargo markets, we should not lose the opportunity to extend thereby the acceptance. of American Lumber Standards.

The West Coast lumber industry, with its enormous future interests at stake, cannot afford to just let the question of seasoned lumber drift or to follow the lines of'least resistance. We cannot aftord. specifically, to continue to depreciate the fine intrinsic qualities of West Coast hemlock by permitting it to reach the hands of the eastern builder green. We cannot afford to let the difierences over price or manufacturing problems stand in the way of putting our lumber into these concentrated urban markets today-properly conditioned to compete with the steel house or with any other type of house. Builders and architects may turn to other materials. Building supply dealers may turn to other materials. We are left with the timber and the sawmills. Our interest in having the public build with wood and maintain its confidence in wood is paramount. And, to protect our paramount interest, as I see it, it is necessary for the West Coast lumber indristry to aggressively push quality merchandising in the specific instance of seasoned lumber.

Douglas Fir Car and Structural Grades

The Association grading rules for the Structural grades and our railroad and car material items are often criticized by manufacturers as too technical, too finely drawn, overlapping in some instances. Doubtless some simplification and consolidation are in order. The point in my inind, however, is that these sections of our grading rules express-more definitely than any others-the effort to-merch-andise our products on quality. In them, we have undertaken to define lumber qualities to meet the engineer's requirements for known and assured load-bearing values, or the car builder's requirements for specific use values in the various types of rolling stoik. Let us in no wise recede from the_ g_round we have gained in merchandising these important items of West Coast production on their specifii quality.

One.of the th,ings that I would like to do this year is to work out, with the West Coast mills, a scale of relative values for our timber grades and for our railroad and car material items.. a scale based upon the requirements of each grade, the relative volume of its production, the cost of selection and manuiacture, loss from desrade and like factors. Let us start with any convenieni base grade ai one hundred per cent; and work out the relative values 6f the other grades to that base. Certainly, where'we have deliberatelv adooted quality B_!ades, we should get corresponding quality prices-for them. On the West Coast we control the only lirge su-ppiy of structural timber in the world, and certainly the -only-realli'' liree ,uoot" oi high-grade lumber for car-building requirements in the United States. These markets should be among our most profitable; b"t -i t"vi brought them down to the level of common boards ina ai-i"sio" because we do not carry the conception of quatity gooAr i"to oui merchandising.

One of .the keenest phases of modern competitive merchandisinn rs rn makrng products more salable, as by furnishing them to thi (Continued on page lZ)

Lem Putt Says t-

"A feller asked me this question: 'Are times better or should we give this country back to the fndians?' Well, sir, that set me thinkin'. An' it reminds me most o' the oldest Tyler boy down on the farm.

"Durin' a long cold spell one winter the gol dang pump froze up solid. This Tyler boy finally gits her thawed out an' starts pumpin'. But no water comes. Right away he yells, 'She's dry !'

"'She ain't,' says I, an' looks him in the eye. 'She's jest like business sometimes-needs a little primin'.' I primes 'er, an' up she comes. Y' see, the water was there all the time. An' business is here. But you got t' coax'er now ant then.

"Don't take much t' get business goin' an' everybody kin help. Even in my Uusiest season I'm always willin't'help out where I kin, kinder keepin' customers an' prospects in good humor, knowin' as I do thet business picks up fer the feller thet gits out an' picks it up."-By Chic Sale.

Insulation lmportant Factor in Motorists' Comfort

"The motorist frequently does not realize that his automobile is insulated, but upon examination it will be found that most passenger cars have a layer of heat-resisting material in the dashboard to protect the driver from the heat of the engine," says a new bulletin on insulating materials just issued by the National Committee on 'Wood Utilization of the Department of Commerce.

"lfouse Insulation: Its Economies and Application" is the title of the bulletin which deals mostly with the uses of insulating materials in building and construction. The main purpose of insulation, the bulletin says, is to retard the passage of heat, and when used in house construction it helps to establish a greater uniformity of temperature inside the home, regardless of weather or climatic conditions outside.

Insulating materials, however, are not confined to uses in building and construction, according to the bulletin, for aside from their application to motor cars certain types of insulation are used in cabin airplanes to maintain comfort for passengers in spite of the coldness of the higher altitudes. Insulating materials also are used in airplane construction to minimize motor noises. Sleeping cars, as well as chair cars on the railroads, are insulated to eliminate drafts and reduce the suddenness of temperature changes, according to the bulletin.

"House Insulation: Its Economies and Application" ^ay be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents. Gov.ernment Printing Office,'Washington, D. C., for ten cents a copy.

Lumber that has been properly kiln dried is automatically steriIizel-the spores and filaments of wood destroying fungi are through for good when lumber has been dried in: MOORE'S REVERSIBLE CROSS CIRCULATION KILNS

Coastwise Lumber Rates Stabilized

Reorganization of the Pacific Coastwise Conference and the formation of the Pacific Coast Lumber Conference were recently announced in San Francisco by Arthur B. Cahill, of Sudden & Christenson, chairman of the reorganization committee and of the lumber conference.

Numerous meetings of the lumber conference have been held and as a result of these Mr. Cahill announced on February 18, new coastwise steamship rates on lumber.

The new rates per thousand feet board measure are as follows:

For delivery at San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles harbors, $4.00; Monterey, Port San Luis, Santa Barbara and San Diego, $4.50; Santa Cruz, Moss Landing, Ventura and Hueneme and other small ports, $5.00.

The rates apply to lumber loaded at Coos Bay, the Columbia River, Willamette River, Grays Harbor, Willapa Harbor, Puget Sound and British Columbia ports not north of Powell River.

The new schedule will provide uniformity in rates rather than horizontal increases, Mr. Cahill said.

John H. Rossiter, widely known in transportation circles, has been appointed secretary-manager of both the Pacific Coastwise Conference and the lumber conference. He will make his headquarters at 21O California Street, San Franclsco.

East B.y Hoo Hoo Club

East Bay Hoo Hoo Club No. 39 held its regular tnonthly dinner meeting at the University Club, Oakland, Monday evening, February 15.

President Larue Woodson presided, and Frank W. Trower was chairman of the evening.

David D. Oliphant, Jr., Oakland of the evening, chose as his topic, Washington-The Man."

attorney, the speaker "Intimate Glimpses of

Frank Trower spoke on the subject of Birthday observance. Washington's

Musical entertainment was provided by Mr. Starr, whose song's were much enjoyed by the gathering.

W. G. KAHMAN RETURNS FROM EASTERN TRIP

W. G. Kahman, Western sales manager of the McCloud River Lumber Company, San Francisco, has returned from an e4stern business trip where he visited the Eastern lumber consuming centers. L. S. Turnbull, Los Angeles, the company's Southern California and Arizona representative, met Mr. Kahman at Phoenix, Ariz., where they spent a few days calling on the trade. Before returning to San Francisco, Mr. Kahman spent a few days at the company's Los Angeles office.

State Association Directors Meet At Fresno

The directors of the California Retail Lumbermen's Association met at Fresno on Saturday, February 20. Directors from all sections of the state attended the meeting.

You wouldn't buy a carbon filament lamp even at a price-that's why kiln dried lumber SELLS!

Moore Dry Kiln Company

World's largest manufacturert North Portland, Ore. of dry kilns and equipment Jacksonville, Florida