Federal Court Decree Does Not Ban Inspection, Grading and Grade-Marking of Southern Pine

New Orleans, La., Feb. 2l-Following their pleas of nolo contendere to an indictment alleging anti-trust law violation, Judge Wayne G. Borah in federal court here today, assessed fines of $10,000 against the Southern Pine Association and $1,000 each against the Southern Pine Lumber Exchange of New Orleans and the National Association of Commission Lumber Salesmen, Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to the fines, civil actions were filed against the defendants under which consent decrees were entered restraining them from practices ,complained of by the government as in restraint of competition and trade.

The indictment was based on section 2 of. the Sherman anti-trust act, and the Southern Pine Association, in a statement concerning the proceedings, asserted it "does not admit any illegality in its activities as alleged in the complaint, and did not sponsor any such illegal activities," but for reasons given in its statement felt it was wise to enter into the consent decree and not become involved in protracted litigation. The proceedings were said to be a part of the Departme.nt of Justice nation-wide investigation of the building industry, with which the SPA has declared it is in complete sympathy.

Among the matters complained of by the government was the "distribution statement," and efforts in the industry to prevent direct sales to contractors and consumers, programs designed to control production, and certain phases of cooperative campaigns with retail dealers to promote use and sale of grade-marked lumber for protection of lumber consumers, as well as the set-up for inspection and grade-marking. The government attorneys contended these things tended to restrain free competition and trade.

With respect to the proceedings in' this case and the consent decree entered into by the Southern Pine Association, and others, the Association today made public a statement which follows in part:

"The Southern Pine Association in these proceedings was in no manner singled out for investigation by the Department of Justice because of. any suspected flagrant vio- lation of law, but the inquiry into the Association's affairs and the subsequent proceedings are a part of the Government's investigation of the entire building industry of the country, which has for its purpose the prevention of practices in restraint of competition and trade in the building industry, to the end that construction costs, particularly in the residential field, will be lowered. Thus far action has been taken in many cities throughout the country by the Department of Justice against a large number of individuals and groups, including labor union and trade organizations.

"The consent decree requires the separation of the grading rules, inspection, standardization, and grade-marking activities from the other activities of the Associati,on, which comprise trade promotion, traffic and freight rates, statistics, conservation and legislative problems of the industry. In the decree a plan is set forth for the establishment of a Southern Pine Inspection Bureau, r,vithin the Associati.on, under whose jurisdiction all matters relating to grading rules, standardization, inspection, and grade-marking, will be handled at actual cost of its services. This Bureau will be autonomous, guided by a Board of Governors selectecl by the subscribers to the Bureau. It was because of the semi-public nature of the grading, inspection and grademarking service, that all interested parties have agreed that it should be handled on the basis outlined in the decree, separate from the other activities of the Southern Pine Association.

"The Southern Pine Association always has made all of its services available to all manufacturers of Southern pine, who were qualified to meet the required standards of mannfacture, grading, etc., without discrimination, and the Association already had made inspection and grade-marking services available on an actual cost basis to all manufacturers of Southern pine without discrimination and regardless of affiliation with the Southern Pine Association."

New Orleans, La., Feb. Z3-Owing to confusion arising from inaccurate and incomplete reports of the terms respecting inspection, grading rules and grade-marking of lumber as stipulated in the consent decree entered into by the Southern Pine Association, in the Department of Justice case against the Southern Pine Association and others, filed in Federal Court in New Orleans, February 21, H. C. Berckes, secretary-manager of the Association, here today issued a supplemental statement explaining the exact effect of the decree respecting inspection, grading and grademarking. Mr. Berckes said:

"A careful reading of the provisions of the consent decree will convince anyone that there is no provision against continuance of the inspection, grading and grade-marking ac-tivities in the Southern pine industry, no prohibition against the specification or use of grade-marked Southern pine, and no thought of preventing the promotion of grademarked lumber for the protection of the consuming public and the benefit of the members of the lumber industry. The provisions of the consent decree relating to the inspection, grading, standardization and grade-marking activities of the industry merely involve principally the mechanics or set-up through which they shall be conducted in the future. Because of the quasi-public nature of these activities, the decree provides that they shall be performed by an autonomous Bureau of the Association, separate from the other activities of the Association. The transition, of course, will be gradual, and there is no need for any immediate change in specifying practices.

"The consent decree, as it relates to grade-marking, requires action on the part of the manufacturers only. It 'rvill be conducted as soon as the new set-up can be arranged, under a bureau of the Association to be known as the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau, with its own Board of Governors. Grade-marked lumber may continue to be specified and delivered, and there is no reason for disturbing existing specifying arrangements. As a matter of fact, when the program contemplated by the consent decree is fully in effect, the system of grade-marking Southern pine will be in a stronger position than ever before."

New Manager At Santa Rosa Yard

Herb Latell, formerly assistant manager at the Santa Rosa yard of Sterling Lumber Company, has been appointcd manager to succeed E. J. Striepeke who recently resigned.

Appoints Three New Field Men

Appointment of three new representatives to the field staff of the Red Cedar Shingle Bureau has been announced by W. W. Woodbridge, secretary-manager.

Foster M. Pratt of Port Orchard, Wash., and George E. Messner and E. R. Lyford of Seattle are the latest additions to the Bureau's well-known field staff. Mr. pratt will work in the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Mr. Messner in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas, and Mr. Lyford in Minnesota, Nebraska. Iowa. and North and South Dakota.

"The red cedar shingle industry of the pacific Northwest, through the Bureau, is bending every effort to work in complete accord with the consumers of its product throughout the North American continent,,' Mr. Woodbridge said. "The work of the Bureau is segregated into two separate divisions-protection and promotion. The former phase is well taken care of by a staff of experienced inspectors, the latter by a fast-growing corps of fieldmen who travel in every state of the Union and in every province of Canada."

M. C. WHITE WITH CHRISTENSON LUMBER CO.

Millard C. White, who has been assoc,iated with the Bay City Lumber Co., Oakland, for the last nine years, has been appointed manager of Christenson Lumber Co., San Francisco, succeeding E. B. (Gene) Mclntyre, who is retiring.

Mr. Mclntyre, prominent in San Francisco retail lumber circles for many years, was with Christenson Lumber Co. for 35 years and was manag'er of the yard since 1924. It is his intention to take a trip to New York and other Eastern cities soon and he expects to be gone about three months.

New Yard In Artesia

Carr-Wenholz Lumber Co. recently opened a new retail lumber yard at Lakewood and Artesia Boulevards, Bellflower. Elmer Wenholz, manager, was with Bauer Lumber Co., Compton, for the past several years, resigning his position a couple of weeks ago to go into business for himself.

Gray Or Green

The world is not forever green, Nor any life that I have seen. The summers of the world depart, But springtime comes to every heart. The world is not forever fair, Nor any living anywhere, But not a good shall turn to ill But has a hope of goodness still.

Yes, so the seasons come and go, |tthe su*mer flowers, the winter sno% I "lWhether it be a field or fen, \nlhether it be the lives of men, We wait the spring, and so the heart May be as sure that cares depart, The world, the life, that all have seen rs not forever gray or *trlin", trnknown.

THE FIRE Blt{LE

Young Thing-Did yor\f."{6 I've married a man in the village fire department? V

Old Flame-A volunteer?

Young Thing-No, pa made him.

Another Program Of Scarcity

Said the big brown rooster to the little red hen: "You haven't laid an egg since I don't know when." Said the little red hen: "You dear old soul, Haven't you heard about birth control?"

ITS O\J[/N REWARD

When men are rightly occupied, their amusement grori/s out of their work, as the color iretals out of a fruitful fower; when they are faithfully helpful and compassionate, all their emotions are steady, deep, perpetual and vivifying to the soul as is the natural pulse to the body.

-John Ruskin.

A Consuming Flame

I knew a girl named Passion, I asked her for a date; I took her out to dinner, And gosh! How Passionate!

GARRICK SAID-

Corrupted freemen are the worst of slaves.

Precious Work

My share of the work of the world may be limited, but the fact that it is work makes it precious. Darwin could work only half an hour at a time i /et in many diligent half hours he laid anew the foundations of philosophy. Green, the historian, tells us that the world is moved not only by the mighty shoves of the heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.

Keller.

-Helen

The Runner

/r, *rro ul^s"ffithings in my house," usually the lawn,@6er, washing machine, vacuum cleancarriage, and errands.

Speaks Elf

Do not waste t a second-in trying to dem. onstrate to other rits of your performance. ff your work does not vfyl6ate itself, you cannot vindicate it.Thomas Wentworth Higginson.

Precious Possession

The most precious possession that a nation can have is tlte individual initiative of those who make up its life. Aspiration, initiative, achievement. These are the steps by which man rises from obscurity, and often poverty, to renown and usefulness.-George Matthew Adams.

SPRING SONG_TO END ALL OTHER SPRING SONGS

The trees are veiled in green again

The birds are off tiheir nut

The shops are full of &r!

Its spring again-soVhatl ut -Davida.

The girls are heaving sighs again, The boys ar+tut, tut, tut. And spring is here as usual, So what so what, SO WHAT?