Aims of Peninsula Club

Secretary, Peninsula Lumberrnen's Club

By E. H. Galpin,

We are all more or less familiar with the many ills of the retail lumber business which have Drevailed over a large section of California for some time past. The chaotic conditions have been so great that most of us have at times felt that most any other business than the one we were in would be much better from a standpoint of profits -and enjoyment- The ills, both past and- present, ha.,re been brought about by a combination of conditions. A few of these conditions have been beyond our power to con- trol, but most of them can be cuied by t,he retail lumbermen themselves. Before the lumber industry can solve the problems that confront it as a whole it is verv necessarv for that industry to be strongly organized.

We know that where individual efforts will meet with complete failure, organized effort rvill accomplish much of benefit to all. Knowing this our Club is endeavoring to fully co-operate with the State Association in ever! possible way. The demoralized conditions we have been passing through naturally have generated a feeling of distrust and even ill-will-among competitors. For this reason it is difficult to bring a local gri,up together on a basis that will hold them unfil a feeling of co]rfidence in each other can be created. The creation of confidence is a slow process and cannot be brought about by force, but a tight organization can hold a group together until by constant association and the working out of the problerns common to all an assurance in the integrity of your competitor can be established.

With these things in view our Club was organized on the so-called Chicago plan which guarantees to each member a fair share of the business in the territory as established by past performance over a reasonable period of time. We yet have much to do, but in the short iime we have been Io.kj"g_ tog-ether local conditions have been materially benefited. We are striving to deal with our competitors in the territory adjacent to ours in such a way thit thev rvill want to treat us fairly and we trust that they will bind themselves together in local groups for the betierment of the business through this entire section of the State.

Our aims for the future are the securing of better cooperation of our members as well as neighboring competi- tors and the establishing of more modern and more ecbnomic merchandising methods for the benefit of our customers and ourselves.

_ The big strides being taken by the dealers of Southern California and the more advanced marketing methods be- ing adopted by the manufacturers of lumbei are verv encouraging signs. They bid fair to make our businesi one of the most profitable and the most enioyable of all.