San Francisco Yards Adopt Firm Stand in General Strike

With all industry at a standstill as a result of the general strike San Francisco's lumber yards were shut down for three days, July 16, 17 and 18. Although the strike was not officially called off until 1:15 p.m. on the 19th, San Francisco yards were opened for business at 8 a.m. on that morning. The definite and determined action of the San Francisco lumbermen is shown in a display advertisement in all the San Francisco papers by the San Francisco Lumbermen's Club, announcing the opening of the yards. This read as follows:

Notice

From the San Francisco Lumber Dealers

Appreciating the courageous stand taken by the Governor, our Mayor, our Police Department, all constituted authorities and the right thinking conservative labor leaders, we wish to do our part to end the confusion.

HeNcC, ALL SAN FRANCISCO LUMBER YARDS WERE OPENED FOR BUSINESS AT 8 O'CLOCK THIS MORNTNG, JULY 19.

SAN FRANCISCO LUMBERMEN'S CLUB.

M. A. Harris, Chairman. No deliveries were made to the yards or by the yards during the period of the teamsters' strike, July 12 to 20. San Francisco hardwood yards acted in conjunction with the softwood yards, being closed but three days.

M. A. Ilarris, Van Arsdale-Harris Lumber Co., San Francisco, chairman of the San Francisco Lumbermen's Club, sent a telegram from his home early on the morning of July 19 to each of the 25 lumber yards in San Francisco, suggesting that they open up their yards at once as an evidence of their Americanism, their support of the efforts of the constituted authorities to restore normal conditions in the city, and their refusal to be dictated to by certain subversive influences known to be at work in the ranks of the strikers. The decision to o,pen up the yards was unanimous.

"In reply to the announcement from the Labor Temple when the strike began to weaken, that deliveries would only be allowed by permit, all the yards announced that no lumber would be delivered on permit," Mr. Harris told a representative of this paper. "If the general strike had continued into the following week it was generally understood that the San Francisco yards would take this definite stand, and deliver by truck come what may."

"One big mistake made by the radical elements in the unions was that they picked the wrong town when they selected San Francisco in which to call a general strike," said Mr. Harris. "We are all appreciative, however, of the conservative right thinking of the intelligent labor leaders, and it can be said that there is no desire on the part of the lumbermen towards the breaking down of legitimate trade unionism."

Asked what effect the longshoremen's strike has had on stocks of lumber in San Francisco yards, Mr. Harris said that present aggregate stocks in San Francisco yards total about 30 million feet as against what might be called the normal stock of 40 million feet last fall. It is interesting to recall at this time that the normal stock of the San Francisco yards in 7926 was approximately 2ffi million feet.

No water shipments of lumber have been unloaded in the San Francisco Bay district during the period of the longshoremen's strike which started May 9, but yards in the area setved by cargo shipments have brought in lum' ber that they had to have, by rail.