We're Saying "Howdy"

Bg IACK DIONNE

, In prerenting the firrt ircue of THE CALIFORNLA /UUnanUn MERCHANT to the hmber trade of Californian I'{*" feel comi'g oyer u! the rame dirposition to ofier up a I prayer for guidance that the colored gentleman from Mirf eiirippi did, whore Iart dollar trvar on the f,oor, and vrho iqt HAD to ','make a paut'.

(He rattled the pair of 'Migircippi Marbler" agfirt,hir ear' and rolling hir eyer, raid: "De good book rayr-'Oh Lawd, hep me to DO rigH-but Ah ray-J96 Lawd, hep ' me to GET right'.'.

It ir with rornething of e feelbg of hurnility that we offcr r nerchandising publication to the lumber trade of a commonwealth that her done more to rell the world op the dilect and practical value of advcrtiring and rnerchandiring than bar any other epot on God'e footetool.

Yet the fact that Cdifornia HAS made the burinec world bow dorva and wonhip at tf,e rhrine of intensified publicity u a creator of human DEMAND, ir one of the powerful and fundamentd funpuber that har urgd ur to create a California lumber magazinc.

In May, 1921, the writer come to Cdifortria ar the guert of The Wertern Retail Lumbennen's Agociation and talked to a rplendid gatbering at Fnesno on the rubject of "Modern Merchandiring for thc Lumber Dede/'. The intengc intercrt maniferted in the rubjcct, and the keen diveneee of the dealers to the problemr of better rerving of thcir tradc, made a profound inrpreuion.

Jurt ar for sevcral yearr powerful lunbermen have bedn urging ue to inctall a mercbandiring Imber journd in the Pacffic Northwert, to preach thc Gorpcl of Creating Burinerc to that teritory, so for the past ycer good friende in CaIifonria have been talking to ur about a Cdifornia paper.

We debated the matter with ourrelver for monthr.

One day we picked up a copy of The Ladier' Home Journal and rtared at a page of colored advertiring.

At th€ top rvar the picture of a luccious looking rhort-cake.

Below the rhort cakc w!3 a faccimilc of a check medc to The Cu*ir Publirhing Company for elcven thourand dollan.

And rmder that were jurt a few wordr that read like tlhir:

"We paid The Curtic Publirhing Company $11'0OO for the privilege of telling tte houeewiver of America how to neke thir wonderful peach ehort-cake." Under that war tbc recipe for the peach rhort-cake. $9n the rignature of Sc Cclifotrir Peach Gruwtrr' Alrocilhn.

An advertiring cnthud$t-almott fanetic-that advertlxncnt took our brcath away. No other bar ever impre*cd rlr lrtr ar much.

And we raid: "Good Lord! Think of the VISION, and C(ruRAGE of men who can advertire like that! Sur,cly there murt be a wonderful field for a merchandieing lunbcr journal in a rtate where tbe fanners have ruch magnificent faith and underetanding of the busineeg of CREATING DEMAND."

Because we believe firmly in the philorophy pf the old colored preacher, and have been expormding that philorophy for many ycan. Hc was preaching on t{re rubject of ttPraye/t, and he raid:

"Ah find tat whcn Ah ark de Lawd to aend me a tuhkey, Ah don't git it; but when Ah alk dc Lawd to SEND ME OUT AFTAH A TUHKEY-AH GITS IT.''

And that profound and impregnable philosophy ir roDGthing that thc tumber indrutry of th;" nation har been very rlow to leanr.

More than nine yean ago wc began preaching to thc lumber the Gorpel of Merchandiring.

Atthat time not a ringle voice was being raired in the fidd of jorurr'lirm to induce the lumberman to CREATE burinsr.

Since that time a great change has taken place, and, wbilc the indurtry as a whole can offer no comparironr to the Cdifornia peach growcrs urho paid eleven thourand dollarr to nrn one rhort-cake recipe-poue*ing the virion and thc courage to KNO\il that theld get it back with intencrt:' still itH.AS rwakened fron ocean to ocean and har tikcn up to some extent the busineu of making people DESIRE thore things which their products will build.

We believe that it ir jurt at nscerrary to creatc MARKETS for lumber, ar it ir to make lunrber.

We believe that tbe proeperity of the lumber indurtry dependr upon the efrortc of the lumbennen to induce people to invest their money in necerary and ureful buildin$, rather than in lerr vduable ttingr.

And we believe that the more ways we rhow people for USING buildins materialr, and the more rkillfully and impre*ively we bring thore thinge to their attentionr the mort of there materialr they will buy.

We bclievc tbd tihe retail lunberman is the cu*odian of r grcat trurt. Thrt b porition b in redity a rtewaidrbip, ro gteat are bir pordbilitier for good in hir community.

.And we deligbt to declare that a great number of retailcn the countr5r ovcr are ver5r much alive to the bigneer of thcir profegeion, and enthuciastic in their efiortr to improve tteh rerwice.

California ir very fo. hmate in its retail lurnber citizenrhip. Takcn ar a whole, the xetail lumberrnen of California UY