We Special ize

"Another great evil in the business is that many dealers regrade the lumber that comes from. the mill. They try to raise the grade t or rnstance, some dealers never buv numb.er. one vertical grain flooring, they regrade thelr number two and get what they call number one out of that. They do th e- same with_ number three, and get rirhat they catl number two. Some of us have recommended that the mills trade-mark theii lumberqarticularly their upper grades, and even Ilr.eir commons, if they wish to go that far. This would overcome the practicJ of resrading_ and make for more honest competit'ion."

One of the recognized leaders o? the re- tail lumber business makes this statement:

"A lumber business will not tast. when pushed by a selfish impulse, and it is' selfish and wrong to load number three boards on a number one or two order. The impulse is-_ bad that puts a few green boarcls 'with kiln dry stock, or unloadJshort sizes as fult widths and lengths."

_ "Trade marking and grade marking lum- ber, would improve the business. Protect the public against unscrupulous merchanis who Jump grades.'

"There are so many grades in lumber that one dealer can undersell another by sub- stituting and it_ requires a high gradi man to manage the lumber yards to cit out this game of substituting low grade material. To 'Build a Business that Lists,' you must build with only good grades of iumber."

CWting Prices on Side Lines

While the above represent what are claimed to be the major -evils in the indus- try, there are many other matters that will require close study and careful consideration in order to eliminate them as troullesome and disturbing factors in the business. A complaint made by hardware dealers asainst the lumberman is that the latter talie on lines heretofore regarded as belongine to them. The complaint is not on this ioint however, but that when and where this is done there is a tendency on the part of ttr- lumbermen to sell thes6 items below si.ni- ard prices and on a basis that does not

Another evil in this same connection_ and one productive of friction-is what is known .as the "requisition evil," where ium_ bermen and. loggers buy for their own usc and Jor their friends, at wholesate prices_ ar.ticles .that they do not regularly -handte. rhrs_ evtl has grown to a point where the retail hardware dealers and other targe re- tailers have gone on record in tt " toim -of a .r_e_s-olution to the following efiect:

"We believe that a merchiirt in business. selling merchandise for a profit, shdid ;; buy-goods at wholesale foi his';; Ge-;; for friends or employees, when he doJJ -noi regularly carry such merchandise in stock for sale."

It is not for me to attempt to tel you gentlemen, what you shall oi shall not'do along these lines. I am simply Dointins out some of the things that devllop-frictioi and. create bad feelings between rirerchants rn the same community.

A Reasonablc profit

Evgry man in business-no matter what the line-knows that a business cannot last unlessit pays a reasonable pro6t. N;- where in my discussion with the better class of lumbermen, have I found a disposition to exact too large a profit, nor to iharge excessive prices. Occasiohatly there ard individual lumbermen-as there are men in everv line-who witl charge "all that the tiaffit will bear," but this is not good business. and ultimately works a hards[ip on all conj cerned. It is just as bad to make vour prices too high as it is to make them- too low. An ideal condition is to organize your business so that it will afford a"reasoriabi. margin of profit on the merchandise sotd at all times, and this can only be done by ma-rntatnrng an, accurate system of costs, including,-overhead, inveslment, and ali that enters into the conduct of the business.

Service

This I think, is the most overworked ard !h. most abused word in the English language. It is used at once to covcithe smallest and most insignificant detail of business, and at the same time, the thinss that are basic and fundamentai. And v-et there does not seem to be any other word that fully meets the situation.

We are all familiar with the slogan of that splendid body of men forming the Rotary Clubs of the World: "}Ie profits most who serves best." and more and more. men are coming to regard this as the basis of successful business.

I once heard John D. Rockefeller, Jr., say in a speech before the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, at Atlantic City: "That it is not the primary or principal function of business to make money, but to render a service to society." I believe this is true. And if we expect to prosper-if we expect to be successful in our business -we must each of us render a service to our respective communities.

In the lumber business this term {'Service" covers a multitude of sins. It is ap- plied to many features of your businesssome of which are good-some not so good -and some positively harmful. To some, the term "Service" means quick detivery, regardless of distance or conditions. To others-promptness in figuring estimates; and still others-complete plans and speci- fications lor buildings with expert counsel covering every phase of home building in particular, and extending as far even as equipment and furnishings.

The extent to which "Service" along any or all of these lines may be furnished, depends on the price obtained for your merchandise and the cost of the service; and this should be carefully determined, because the entire cost of operation, whether figured as "Service," overhead, cost of merchandise, investment, or what not, must come out of the merchandise sold, and the price obtained, therefore, must of necessity, in the final an- alysis, govern the amount can be given.

ef "$qlvisq" ghlf

Lumbcrmen Are Too Conscrvative

A prominent lumberman of my acquaintance, and one recognized as a leader in his section, says: "Retail lumbermen are traditionally conservative, sound and substantial, and are hard to drive from a beaten path. They see readily a tumber pile, but it hard for them to visualize that pile converted into the spirit of a comfortable, happy home. As a class they are proud of the traditions of the business and naturally resent interference,-feeling that hodern methods are a fad and are not applicable to the class stability of their product."

I regard imagination as an essential in the .retail lumber business. for without it the salesman cannot visualize and portray to the prospective purchaser-and p-articularly to a woman-the completed home, artisticly finished and furnished, with the children healthy and happy, romping about the lawn. In order to make this appeal and to interest folks in building homes, there should be something more than a lot of miscellaneous lumber piles in an alley or down by the railroad track. There is no reason why a building occupied by a lumber dealer should not compare with the best stores in the town -with all of the surrounding:s artistic and attractive. In the office or store room, there should be on display, samples of all the materials used in the construction of a home, and which are ofiered for sale. In addition to this, there should be pictures of modern homes with plans for their construction, and the persons in charge should be in a position to furnish figures covering the approximate cost of the completed buildings.

To the average man or woman, the build-

And in Boston too, Superior Brand (}ak Floors

Another notable example showing the high type of building in which "America's Fiaest" oak flooring is serving. America's.leadrng crtrzetrs rn ennanc- ilel. and beautifying rnelr nomes.

This exclusiveapartment located on aristocratic Beacon Street, Boston, is floored throughout with fn catering to the exacting taste of those who occupy apartments of this character, it is imperative that every detail of the decorative features be the acme of oer{ection. Thus from coast to coast. Superior Brand Oak Flooring is becoming more and more relied upon to insure the maximum in beauty and utility. through its matchless uniiormity in color and individual iuperi- orrty rn manulacture. ing of a home is the event of a lifetime, and occurs but once. Hence, they have but littte knowledge of what is necessary, or the cost. And the furnishing, theiefore, of such information as I hav6 suggested, is in many, if not most cases, a real service.

SHALL WE QUOTENOW?

Most progressive lumbermen have such buildings as I have rcferred to, with their lumber neatly piled-the yard clean and tidy -and their equipment in 6rst class shape, but there are a few of the other kind still left.

Pcrsqurel

How few of us realize the importance of this feature of our business. We are proud of our location, our buildings, our stocks, and on our inventories they are given a definite cash value. We give serious and careful thought tq the protection of our buildings and our merchandise,'but scarcely any to the men associated with us. Again, in selecting a site-in designing our buildings-and in choosing our merchandise, we exercise the greatest care and judgment, but too many times we select our associatesthe men who are to work with us, and upon whom, in large measure, the success of our enterprise will depend, with less care than our wives give to thc selection of a cook, I wond_er if you all realize to what extent the success of your business is dependent on a driver or a yard man? In many cases the customer does not come in contact with you personatly and you and your institution are judged by thg driver-yard man-bookkeeper, or salesman, as the case may bewith whom the customer does come in con- tact. Hence, the importance of seeing that these men are the best obtainable-thai they are intelligent, truthful, courteous, and toyai.

(Continued on Page 38)

(Continued from Page 37)

I\{ay I quote from a few of the best and most successful lumbermen that I know: ' "It is the personnil of a concern which builds a business that lasts."

"It is not necessary to have a sign 'welcome' over the door. The customer should feel it instinctively the moment he enters the office-whether it be the 'lumber buckers' or the manager with whom he comes in contact."

"The retail lumber business is highly competitive and iis success or failure depends almost entirely on the men in charge."

"The personal element in the lumber business is very important."

"The retail lumber yards that go through times of hard competition and make a profit, are those where the manager has built up an organization who are close to the buyer.

Buying of course is important, but I believe that the most important thing is building up a selling organization with high grade men in charge of the yard.'

"A marked weakness is that so many retail yards are run by employees who have no interest in the business but regard the job as simply a stepping stone."

Linc Yerd Managemcnt

I wonder if you line yard men would pardon me if I gave you a criticism of line yard management made by an unusually capable and observing traveler just a few days ago?

"Most of the line yard concerns do not take the manager into their confidence. The local manager is little more than a foreman. He is told nothing about the cost. His goods are all priced for him and he is told to sell them at these prices. He has absolutely no authority and is very often placed in the embarrassing position of having a buyer go to the main office (or even write in), and get a price lower than he was authorized to quote. This is a very common happening in line yard management. The line yard manager is bawled out about monthly losses or _yearly deficits, but is never complimented for a good sale, or a good monfh, or a good year. He is abso- lutely in the dark about things, since hib bookkeeping is mostly done for him at heddquarters and he has no knowledge of the facts or figures. Is it any wonder-then that there is a- heavy turnovei in line yard management?"

I shall refer to this matter again under the head of Human Retations.

(To be continued in April lst issue.)

sAN JOSE CONCATENATTON

Henry L. Wills, Vicegerent Snark Coast Counties District, arinounces that his-district is holding a monster Concatenation at San Jose on March 28. The program calls for dinner at the Vendome Hotel at 6:00 p.m., to be followed by the Concatenation at 8:00 pmr During th9 Co.ncatenati6n, a special entertainment will be provided -for the ladies. Following the Concatenation, there will be dancing until midnight.

San Jose being centrally located,-a lar.ge .crowd .it :I; pected io attend] The Coast Counties will be out in full iorce and a large crowd from San Francisco, Oakland, and the Bay District are expected to be presenl {!cege19nt Snark i{"ttty L. Wills *iu"t pt.tettt af the Hoo-Hoo Club No. 9 lunch.ott ott March l2'when he announced that final arrangements for the Concatenation were- ne?4I completed and tfrat they had rounded up a fine bunch of Kittens' Mr' Wills also innounced that a Hoo-Hoo Golf Tournament would be held on Sundav at the San Jose Country Club and a big crowd have alieady signified their intentions to compete in the contest.

DON'T FORGET THE DATE COAST COUNTIES HOO HOO CONCATENATION

VENDOME HOTEL-SAN JOSE

MARCH 2;8, L925

DINNER_CONCATENATION_DANCE

GOLF TOURNAMENT

SUNDAY, MARCH 29, T925 sAN JOSE COUNTRY CLUB A BIG TIME_BE THERE

ST. HELENS, OREGON, TO GET LARGE PAPER MILL

Plans will be started at once for the erection of a $2,500,000 paper mill, which when completed will have a capacity for manufacturing from 3@ to 400 tons of craft paper daily. The plant will be erected on the Willamette slough at St. Helens, Oregon, on property formerly owned by Chas. R. McCormick & Co. interests, and will be known as the St. Helens Pulp & Paper Co. Negotiations for the construction of this large mill were recently completed at San Francisco, and the officers of the new enterprise were announced as follows: President, Willard P. Hawley, Sr.; Vice-President, Willard P. Hawley, Jr.; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Hamlin F. McCormick.

The Hawley interests have been associated with the manufacture oi paper for many years and operate the Hawley Pulp & Papei Co. at Oregon City. Hamlin F' McC6rmicli is gen-ral manager of the large lumber interests of Chas. R. McCormick & Co. at St. Helens. Plans are already under way for the construction of the mill which will be built in units. The first unit will have a capacity of about 50 tons daily and r,r'ill employ over 300 men. The buildings will be fire-proof in construction and the latest in paper making machinery will be installed.

The nerv concern will manufacture Sulphate Paper. Sulpl-rate mills make a chemical PaP9r, using in the process the more plentiful woods, such as Douglas Fir and \Mestern Red Cedar, which are not adapted to making sulphate paper or for mechanical or ground wood pulps' Most of the mills on the Pacific Coast make sulphate paper, using hemlock and white fir. Spruce is used in making ground paper pulp. With most of the sulphate mills confined to the East, ihe- establishing of this large sulphate mill, will make the Pacific Coast an important factor in the paper industry.