Western Door Manufacturers Or9 anize

One of the most noteworthy advances in American business in the last decade is to be found in the increase and development of trade associations throughout the country. The number of these organizations is constantly increasing, and constantly their scope of usefulness is becoming greater and their purposes more readily understood and appreciated by trade and consumer alike.

The announcement of the newly formed Western Door Manufacturers' Association is the most recent and one of the most important developments in the door industry and lumber trade. This group of Western door manufacturers, comprising the leaders in the Douglas Fir door industry, has made a forward step lvhich 'ivill mean much to dealers, architects, contractors and builders in general.

The gror,vth of Douglas Fir door manufacturing plants on the West Coast has been little short of phenomenal. A wealth of lumber, ideal manufacturing conditions, low freight rates East and a u.ood ideally adapted by Nature for door manufacture: evenly textured ; beautiful ; holds hardrvare tight; does not mar easily ; hardest and strongest of all employing unifolln methods of manufacturing; to provide architects, dealers and builders rvith an organized and aln'ays available standard of qualitv; to protect the integrity of the product and stimulate its more intelligent and economical use, and to adopt lar.vful plans for the general development and improvement of the industry."

The Articles {urther state : "This Association shall not, either directly or indirectly fix, regulate or control the prices, purchase or sale of doors, or attempt to do so." Under this plan the members are left free to follow their individual path upon such matters, and it will be seen that the Association will not under any conditions interject itself as a factor in regulating prices or production.

A rigid inspection service will constitute an important department of the Association work. Experienced inspectors will be maintained to travel amangst the various manufacturing plants, constantly watching the grades and seeing that the various firm members are adhering to the standard grade rules, as adopted by the Association.

A Grading Committee has been named and has drawn up commercially available soft 'ivoods-all these things assure a great industry. The formation of the Western Door Manufacturers' Association is a far-sighted movement to safeguard this industry by safeguarding the bu1'er and user of Douglas Fir doors.

William L. Rawn, Secretary and Manager of the new {froup, sounded the keynote of the policy in stating, "In every field of merchandising there is conclusive evidence of the fact that the public prefers a standardized trademarked product. It will be the aim of our Association to see that every Douglas Fir door. bearing the trademark WDMA comes up to a uniformly high quality standard. By protecting the buyer, we automatically protect ourselves and assure the permanence of the industry."

Some of the objects, as set forth in the Articles of Association, are as follows: "To encourage and increase the use of Douglas Fir doors in the United States by co-operative advertising; to establish uniform grades and standards of oroduction. and to assist the members tolvard constantly a standard set of grading rules for Douglas Fir House and Garage Doors, which have been duly approved by the trustees and members of the Association as a whole, and are now in effect. Each manufacture is desiroud of manufacturing his House and Garage Doors strictly in accordance with these rules, and each manufacturer takes considerable pride in the product of his plant. It should be very gratifying to buyers and prospective users of Douglas Fir Doors to knorv that all manufacturers being members of this Association are manufacturing their product to standard grades. A great many difficulties of the past of varying grades is at once eliminated. All Doors manufactured by members of this Association will bear the Trademark WDMA and, further, on a given date, presumably about the middle of May, every manufacturer will clearly mark the grade on each door he produces and ships, thus insuring the buyer that he is getting exactly what he pays

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