A Busy Business This Lumber Business

BY JACK DIONNE

As I wctch the cnrtics oI the lurirber business right now there comes to mind cr story I used to love cbout the guy who struck oil cnd got suddenly very rich crnd very sell-importcsrt, One dcy he rushed inio the depot, threw cr twenty dollar bill down on the desk and scdd to the ticket crgent:

"Gimme cr ticket."

The agent asked, "Where to?"

He scid: "Anywhere. Hell, it dort't mcrke no differencel I've got business cll overl"

And thcrt's certcdnly the lix the lumber industry, root and brcrnch, iE in" It's got business all over, cnd it's working night cmd dcy, Sundcrys cmd holidcrys, trying to keep up wilh the tide.

Since the lqst issue ol this ioumcrl filteen dcrys <rgo there crre a lew new things in the news bqsket, most importcrnt ol which is the recently issued ceiling price on Red Cedcrr shingles, crnd the meetings now being held between Government and industry to decide whct should be done cbout the "Ireeze" order which will soon expire.

Conditions in the sawmill business crre cbout the scnne everywhere, in every diskict cnrd in every species ol lumber,' there crre cr hundred buyers with AIA rctings sitting bcrck ol every sqyv, wcriting to grab e<rch bocrrd cs it lclls. The Governrrrent continues to buy every foot it ccrn get oI the pcrticulcr products it needs, cnd the rest oI the world siqnds cnound clcmoring for cr shcrre ol whct's le!t.

The decler, lhe commission mcnr" the wholesaler-they crre cll in one Hell of a lix. The first two ccn find little to sell, cnd the third can find little to buy. And, crs is clwcrys the ccse, there seems to be an unlimited demcrnd or clcrmor lor everything the Govenunent doesn't seize tor its own" Every lumber dealer everywhere gees cround him what looks like q torrent ol demcnrd lor which he cqn supply only cr trickle of lumber. Tbey crre cll looking to the luture, wciting lor the time when civilicm business will be bcck in the scrddle cAcin cnrd when the war effort will hcrve lcrgely supplied its gicmt cppetite. Every decler is using his wits to see how much business he ccrn do on the items of lumber thcrt cre NOT covered by the Government lreeze. He is reclly interested in the *CAN DO'S" crnd the *CAN'T DO'S" now. OI course the "CAN DO'S" shrunk horribly when the lreeze order ccrme out, but they didn't entirely discppecrr, cnd the smcrt deqler is trying to mcke lhem serve his purpose until he cqn do better by his trcde.

I ccn imcrgine the lumber dealer generclly burning the midnight oil, with the heeze order on one side oI his desk and the production sheets on the other, trying to figure iust what the mill ccn sell him, and how he ccm use it

Some declers crre quitting business lor the durcrtion, but not cr lcrge percentcge. It is humcrn nqture to hope lor the best crnd to see the silver lining to every businees cloud, cmd the retail lumbermqn is pcrticutcrrly good at thcrt. He is much more inclined to stcry cnd fight the thing out urith whcrtever is lelt lor him to light with, criming to keep the wheels ol his business turning--+ven though slowly-until the mills hcrve lumber to sell cacin Luurbennen generclly cre fighters, cnd fighters don't quit, They preler to mcrneuver, to chcmge, to twist cnd turn crnd mckeshilt, in order to keep going. They know thqt some dcry the grect crppetite ol the wqr mqchine lor lumber is going to be lcrgely scrrislied, crnd thct ir the time they look lonncrrd to.

The commission men cre gqme. Like the declers they cre trying new tricks, new crrtilices, new wtrys crnd mecrns oI plcrcing themgelvee in the lumber wqr eflort, cnd most ol them crre highty optimistic. The wholescler has tcrken c severe drubbing, but is still in there pitching, cnd in numerous_ c_qses perlorming cr grect service in hetping the war mcrchine g-t the lumber it must hcrve. It has been no bed ol roses, but lvtr. Wholesaler hcrs furnished c lremendous service in the war progrcm.

In ihort, no depcrrlment ol ihe lumber industry has shown tbe slightest intention oI throwing in the sponge in the face ol dcrh dcrys 6jnd zli#iqutt situations and conditions. And whgn th9 em_ergency ends the entire lumber industrl'will be stoutly in the hqrnese, recdy curd equipped to do another gigcrntic iob-the cdter wcr problerr. And won't thct be cr honey?