Questions For The Lumbermen

The Associated Lumber Mutual Insurance Companies have taken advantage of the popular fad of questions and answers, to issue some questions on fire prevention which are of direct interest to the lumberman. While only a ferv important points have been touched upon, there is abundant food for thought (and incentive for action) in the ten questions and answers given.

Considering the importance of fire prevention in the lumber yard,. it is reasonable to expect that any lumber man might profit substantially by carrying out the suggestions of these companies and giving these questions and answers to'the men in their employ. Many may desire to include with them additional questions relating specifically to conditions in their own plants, but, with or without individual additions, a knowledge of these questions and answers cannot fail to bring a favorable reaction in any lumber plant organization. Here are the questions and answers given: l-

O. What was the total fire loss of the United States in 1926?

A. $575,000,000.

2- Q. IIow many fires did this mean per day?

3-

4-

A. Over 1,500-better than one fire per minute.

Q. Ifow many of these fires could have been prevented?

A. At least 75 percent. That means over 1,000 unnecessary fires every day in the year.

Q, What is the underlying cause of every preventable fire?

A. Carelessness, either of persons or in construction.

5- Q. What is the biggest single cause of fires?

A. Carelessness with matches, cigarettes, etc. Figures show that over 25 percent of all fires can be traced to this cause.

6- Q. What can you do to prevent such fires in our plant?

A. Observe strictly the rule against smoking on the premises.

Keep out all trespassers. Be careful with matches. Should you use a match for any purpose, be sure it is fully extinguished before you dispose of it.

What are the other principal causes of fire?

Defective construction in chimneys, flues, etc.; stoves, furnaces, boilers and thier pipes; spontaneous combustion and electricity, in defective wiring, improper fuses, etc.

What can you do personally to guard against such fires?

Supplement the re,gular and thorough official inspection by reporting immediately to the pfoper authority any ap- pareflt defect which may develop, so that it can be promptly corrected, and each man take special care to make proper disposal of oily rags, waste, or. greasy clothing which might cause spontaneous combustion.

What are the chief causes for the spread of fire?

Accumulation of rubbish, waste, shavings, etc.; carelessness in piling of lumber stock; empty water barrels; delay in sending alarms; and lack of intelligence and efficiency in fighting fire before the firemen get on the job.

What can you do to keep a fire from spreading?

First, do your part to keep the place clean. A clean plant seldom burns. \Mhenever you pass a water barrel, check up on it to be sure that it is filled and that the buckets are in place. Know where and how to send in an alarm instantly after the discovery of fire. Know the location and use of every fire extinguisher, so that you can be sure of operating it quickly and intellige.ntly when the emergency comes. If each man knows his part and plays it both in preventing and fighting fire, our chances of suftering any serious fire loss will be reduced to a minimum. we'll have a better and more efficient plant, we'Il attract and handle a bi,gger business, and every man will be just that much more sure of a steady job and a certain substantial income. Co-operation in fire prevention will mean definite gain for weryone of ns.

There 15 a difference, grade for grade. There are qualities in lumber that grading rules cannot classifylight weight, softness and uniform texture.

PAUL BUNYAN'S CALIFORNIA PINES ATC specified where economy is a vital factor or where the best is used, regardless of cost.

There are actual savings in working-up costs, whether by hand or'machine. Pine from the'Westwood district is light in weight, reducing freight and handling charges.

Mixed Cars

Manufactured products of all kinds, standard or special as well as lumber for shed, shop or yard stocks shipped in mixed cars offer unusual advantages to the dealer, the broker or the manufacturer.

Sash and Doors, Plywood Veneers, Laminated Doors, LaminatedStocks,Cuttings, Box Shook and Fabricated Lugs, Mouldings.

Sold in 43 out of 48 States to those who figure "Cost" instead of "Price."

If you are not calhing in on this proposition, order a trial mixeil car toilay.

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But THAT charge cannot be laid at the door of the retailer, for the dealer in gen- eral has progressed and progressed mightily. And, when he began enjoying the increised activity that comes with efforts at better advertising, bettei sellihg, better business thinking, better efforts to serve the public, two elements became of immediate interest tohim. The first was his chief competitors; the second his chief allies. This would naturally be true.

And he soon began snatching pages from the book of his chief competitor-the mail order man. Up to now the dealer was a building material man, and he sold his stock as raw material. That was all the sawmill sold him, and the sawmill had never offered him any suggestions or assistance along any other lines. "You are my point of contactr" said the mill man; "I sell you lumber at wh olesale, you sell it at retail, and make a pro- fit." If there was anything more to the whole scheme the dealer never heard of it from his sawmill friend.

But here was a fellow who was every day selling right under his nose, in spite of all he could do to stop him. He was selling homes, and barns, and other buildings.- NOT at so much a thousand but at a completed price on the whole job. He had pictures, and plans, and attractive designs that appealed to the customer, and the trade, which wanted buildings and not lumber, fell for the mail order man, and felt strong.

For a number of years the efforts of the dealer to meet this compitition were rather pitiful. He had been bred in a bad school. His vision was short. The only way he could think of was to undersell the mail order man. And he found it almost impossible to undersell a man who was selling something entirely difrerent from what he was. Most men remember all the trials and tribulations that came to the retail territories where they tried actively to fight the mail order man with fire. It didn't work.

And then, to wise men here and there, came the bigger and better thought-meet them with their own game. Sell buildings also. Sell building ideas. Have building plans yourself. Have pictures, and books, and thoughts, and suggestions, and samples and displays, and everything the mail order man hid, and then some. The mail order man had to send in his suggestions by mail. The dealer could have them in his place of business, show them in his windows, send them through the mail, advertise them in the papers, etc.

And from this thought came the modern building merchant as a logical and useful and honorable successor to the old-timey lumberyard man, and the modern building yard or store, as the necessary place of business of the man who did the building thinking of his town.

Dr. Compton is partly right and partly wrong in his diagnosis of how this transformation took place. The customer was crying for better service. In every other line he was being taught that there was such i th-ing as better service. Everyone was progress- ing but the lumber men-the building men. They were the same as they had always been. The world advanced at break-neck speed. The lumber business stood still. The mill man sawed up his logs, sold his lumber, and turned to saw more logs. His duty, as he saw it, ended there. The dealer, without assistance from the man who produced and furnished him his raw material, was slow in swinging out into the stream of progress. But he finally did, and when he did he came fast.

What was he to do when he began'competing with the mail order man in selling homes and buildings, instead of boards and shingles? He had to have home and building plans. He had to have samples of things he wanted to put into those homes. He had to have pictures and ideas. He had to display his wares so his trade would know he need no longer go out of town for his building service. He had to advertise in many ways. He had to have people come to his office to see his pictures and plans, and his office had not been accustomed to being a public sAles room.

And so all these things came together. And rapidly there came into existence concerns who went into the business of furnishing the dealer with pictures, with plans, with books, with blue-prints, with advertising, with merchandising suggestions, etc. The office had to be fixed up so it would be a fit place for people to call. They had to have space for their plans and their books. Each one brought on something else.

So, if he sold homes, he must carry the materials for homes. He must place in stock many things he had never carried before. Paint, hardware, building papers, side lines of many sorts that the public had becomd accustomed to, and wanted. What was the dealer to do? Launching into this merchandising business, could he stop half way, and when they wanted anything he hadn't in stock, was he to tell them to go elsewhere for it, and let someone else make a profit on it? Why?

He had not been put on earth, so far as he knew, to simply fight the battles of the lumber industry. Ife was under no obligation, so far as he could see, to devote himself at apparent great loss to himself to defending men who were doing nothing for them-

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