"PROFITLESS PROSPERITY''

By lach Dionne

A [.oe Angeler burinerc mEn, tp€8king to a gathering of [.or Angeler burinen mcn thc othcr day, mede a declaration tfrat rings tnre with truth, a,nd very clearly depictr a rituation ttrat generally takee much longer to define.

He raid that the [.or Angeles territory ir in the mi&t of r'[l[ ERA oF PRoFITLESS PROSPERITY'"

He meant that there ir a world of burineg being done in nearlyallliner, but that no one ir making any money, or at lcart not a fair mount, everything conridered.

That ir true of the Loe Angeler diltrict, and of everyother distric in Crlifornia, ro far ar thc lumbcr burinec ir concerncd. An4 more than tht, it ir truc of moct of the lumber indurtry of thc cntire Pacific C.oarL

Thc milb of the Northwert rell their rtock at euch highly competitive pricer arid under cuch higtrly conpetitivc conditionr, that they make litde or no profrt.

The bo*r that carry lumber to California do an ovcr-oompctitivc burineca, and tlrey have been nking and rcraping to break eyen, for a long timc pad"

The wholenlcn in California are in the rame frx, and tfrey have been doing buriners for huo ycarl on a margin of profit far bclow r GoEmon remc hvel

Thc retailerr in Lor Angeles and yiirnity continue the sa,me way, and the margin of aver. age profit recured on their raler by the average netailer of Log Angeler, ie far below a decent retum ontheir invertment and effort.

And even the contracting trade of l.ot.An gelee are in the rane fix, and they parr thc buck to the fellow who buyr the building.

The only one who profitr on this tide of t'profitlese prorpcritytt ie the final purcharcr of lumber, who gctr it at leart tcn dollare a thou. und hrr than it ir actually worth delivercd on thc job in thir markel Lumbcr ir cheaper in Lor Angelo than anywhcre elrc in the whole world.

Anywhene elec in thc country,thc eame volume of lumber and building burines that i3 done in Lo Angclcr would meln prorperity and genuine profit for dI intercsted parties.

Tlrere ought to bc lome way to get back to profitable pro'eperity. Wonder what the route ie?

When Is a Shingle Not a Shingle

In the Grading and Packing Rules for Red Cedar Shingles there are a few points usually overlooked by distributors and salesmen and that are not given much attention except in the most technical inspection or reinspection. It might even be possible that a few shingle manufacturers are not fully cognizant of all of the points covered by the rules.

For instance, under the United States Government Standard Grading Rules effective January I, 1926, an average'of 1 inch to the course is allowed in random width shingles. On the other hand, the Official Grading. and facking Rules, effective April l, 1922, still in use by nearly all U. S. shingle mills allows an average of. l% inch to the course. Likprvise, the British Columbia Grading Rules allow the same, an average of I.l inch.

,The Rules under which British Columbia shingles are manufactured allow L0/o of any one shipment to measure. t/a-inch scant to the bundle, wher€as no such specification is contained in the United States Grading Rules.

Another little point often overlooked is the fact that -the standard Grading Rules for United States Shingles allow a discrepancy of. 4/o in grade inspection, whereas the British Columbia Rules and those for RiteGrade Shingles allow only a 3/o discrepancy.

CAPT DOLLAR RETUR]NS FROM E,ASTERN TRIP

Capt. Robert Dollar, Dollar Steamship Co., has returned to San Francisco after a mohth's trip in the ea"st on company business matters. In-his itinerary was included a trip to Muskoka, Ontario, Canada, where he lived fort/five years ago, prior to his coming to the Pacific Coast.

In both British Columbia and American Grading Rules not more than lo/o of any ilne shipment may be less than 4 inehes in width on first grade shingles. This, of course, does not apply to 2llnch Royals or Imperials, as these shingles do not allow any to-be less than 4 inches in width.

The question that often arises in grading of shingles that allow a certain per cent of flat grain, or that specify a certain per cent of vertical grain, is the manner in which this percentage is to be determined. It is.often supposed''that the shingles in'each bundle are counted and those that contain flat grain are tallied as leing entirely flat grain. This is incorrect as the official method of inspection is to measure the iactual number of lineal inches of vertical as opposed to the number of lineal inches of flat grain by spreading out the shingles and taking measurements with a ruler.

Very seldom is there a complaint on shingles being too wide. As a matter ol fact on first grade shingles the official rules speeify that no shingle shall be over 14 inches in width and no full flat grain shingle over 10 inches in width.

These little things are usually not of much importance but interesting for the general knowledge of those engaged in the distibution ol *.u Cedar

CHAI.ICP IN MANAGEMENT

Mr. Gregg Marshall, who for some time has managed the Palmdale yard of 'the Antelope Valley Lumber Company, has resigned from that position bnd will be succeeded by Mr. Ladd of the Lancaster branch, who will be in charge of both yards.

Speaking Of Odd Occurrences

The Friend & Terry Lumber Company, of Sacramento, reported a couple of good ones recently.

A salesman reported seeing a iob where they h3d built a garage and covered it with Rabt. Resawn Siding whiih they had put on WRONG SIDE OUT.

-Another one came from the millwork department of this same concern. A customer complained that a batch of Base they sent to ajob did not match the first lot on the same job. They investigated and found that the first lot of Base sent that job had been Hollow Back, and the builder had put it on wrong side out, with the hollow outside. When the next lot came along it was not Hollow Back and of course, didn't match.

Now, YOU tell one.

WEST COAST ASSOCIATION AND BU,REAU DISCUSS CONSOLIDATION

Longview, 'Wash., July Z3-Consolidation of the West Coast Lumbermen's Association and the West Coast Lumber Trade Extension Bureau was discussed at a meeting heJd here today of the boards of trustees of the two organizations, and will be submitted to the respective otganization memberships and stockholders, it was announced by Roy F. Morse, president of the association and Longview manager of the Long-Bell Lumber Company.

Ways and means for the consolidation were partly worked out and details will be completed before submission to the memberships. The purpose of the proposed consolidation, Mr. Morse said, was to avoid duplication'of effort and advertising and to effect better handling of the work.