Arizona Lurnbermen Plan Active Year

By J. W. Tardy, Douglas Lumbet Co., Phoenix Ptesident, Lumbemen'g Club of Arizona

l. lI/. Tardy

On May 9, l0 and 11 just past, the Arizona Lumbermen's Qlub held its thirteenth annual convention in Douglas, on the Mexican border. At this meeting I was electe-d president, and was given a board of directors of which any organization would be proud.

It is not going to be an easy job to fill this place with credit, following "Johnnie" Wood, the retiring president. For two years "Johnnie" has steered our ship clear of all rocky points, and has at all times made the water appear calm and peaceful. For many years before being ilected president he was our most efficient workhorse as secretary. However, if I fail to function properly it will be entirely my fault, for with such men as W.F. Edens, Cottonwood Lumber Co., Cottonwood, vice president, E. H. Wheat, secretary, to do the real work, and Irving Jennings, Jenings Lumber Co., Douglas. L. H. DeMund, DeMund Lumber Co. of Yuma, J. A. Mulcahy, Mulcahy Lumter Co., Tucson, Frank Tutt, Jerome Lumber Co., Jerome, and that P,rince of all lumbermen, John C. Light, Norman-Light Lumber Co., Miami, Arizona, as our board of directors, the buck positively cannot be passed.

Tentative agreement was reached to have Yuma the next convention point, some time in April. L. H. DeMund issued the invitation to come to Yuma, and if he has the approval and cooperation of the balance of the Yuma dealef,s, no doubt the convention will be held there as outlined.

fn our lumber organization, as in all others, there are many debatable questions that have to be handled in a delicate manner. Foremost of these questions is the one as to what a lumber club should be. We have in our list of members, men who think that the annual get together should b.e all business; others who think it should be all play; and a third group who ihink that it should be business first, then fun to wind up on. It will be our purpose during this year, and before the next convention, to try and reconcile these factions.

Some of our more conservative members object to the annual convention being made one grand party from first to last, and in this they are absolutely right. Those who attend and insist upon a program of all PARTY and no business are driving away some of our most needed members. If these ALL PARTY boys will agree to tone themselves down a bit, I feel sure we can get the bone dry conservative type to meet with us on the middle ground of BUSINESS, PLEASURE and FELLOWSHIP.

In the office of the secretary, at Phoenix, we have installed a credit service, and an employment service. Ary member can get a ,credit rating on a prospective customer MUY PRONTO, in fact quicker than he can from most credit associations. Just recently,since business has slowed up and men are moving about seeking employmeht, this department has shown what it is capable of doing by securing a place for one good man with three different firms. This is unusual, and speaks well for the applicant as much as for the servi'ce. This is just another form of helpfulness that the clut" office is trying to render its members.

The club has taken under consideration, the proposition of a central warehouse for all the members, 'cbpiid after th_e Reserve and Supply Co. of Minneapolis and- St. Paul. We have not gone cieipty into the subj&t yet but hope to have something concrete come from our deliberations. The plan of the St. Pa.ul'concern is to have a central warehouse which carries a large stock of all side lines sold by lumber yards, from which all cooperating members may diaw stock as leeded, such as wall boards of all kinds,-composition roofing of all kinds, metal laths, corner beads, sheCt irons, and a thousand and one other things. T,his cooperative buying is the only way the lumberman can hope to compeJg with the chain stores now flooding the country and taking this business from him. With one investment for many yards we can make these boys look at their hole card.

In a legislative way the clut'has several problems that it will be called upon to solve during the year.

The Workmen's Compensation Law 6f this state is an abomination, to my mind at least. It has reached a point where it is very burdensome. Fly-by-night contractors come in, pick off a job or two, pay only a small proportion of what their part would be, then leave an unpaid balance to be absorbed by legitimate business and tegitimate contractors. The rate is high and getting higher. Something must be done about it.

We have a lien law, but it is going to be one of our aims to have an intelligent lien law passed this year, one that will give both buyer and seller notice of just what their respective rights are under it. 'We want a notice of completion clause in it so that the question of when a building is completed will not be controversial and subject to all kinds of proof and interpretations.

We should have a law passed forbidding any contractor to bid upon public works and buildings who cannot make his own bond without the help of some lumber concern or other firm. A man who cannot make bond on his own merit withoutthe lumberman indemnifying the bonding company isn'ta good risk and should irot-be allowed t6 bid. This practice makes a banker out of lumber,men, and burdens them will all kinds of contirigent liabilities.

For the city of Phoenix we will soon hav,e a building code submitted to the city council.' We need a good code but none of the lumt'ermen have seen this one and do not know whether or not it covers the field. and whether or not it is what we will subscribe to.

Not all the Arizona lumber dealers belong to our club but those who do not are gettini the benefits just the same, as is always the case. It will be our aim to interest all these dealers in the work of the club and bring them in as members during 1930 to the end that we will be one big harmonious family, meeting in April at Yuma for mutuall profit and pleasure.