California Retail Lumbermen's Association Want Lumber Grade Marked

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C. W. Pinkerton of Whittier, President of the sociation, says that at its annual meeting next fall campaign to bring about the grade-marking of all fornia.

California Retail Lumbermen's Ashis Association is going to start a lumber entering the State of Cali-

Most people know that the bill introduced in the California Legislature last winter, providing for a pure food law on lumber demanding grade-marking, was fathered by this Association, the Board of Directors having voted to begin the agitation for grademarking in that way. That bill died in committee, but it gave the lumbermen something tothink about along that line.

Grade-marking will go down on the program for the next annual, says Mr. Pinkerton, for open and general discussion, and he expresses the conviction that it will be adopted by the Association, and plans prepared for inducing the manufacturers of lumber to grade-mark. This will apply to all lumber coming into and used in California.

The Southern Pine Association, after a year of investigation and experimentation, adopted grade-marking for all their mills last winter, and reports show that they are making much progress with their campaign, and thatthe retailers are enthusiastically adopting it. That Association considered that grade-marking was directly in line with the demands and requests made of the lumberindustry through Mr. Herbert Hoover when he invited the lumber industry to "clean house" three years ago, and thus brought about the great standardization program now in effect. That Mr. Hoover thought lumber should be plainly grade-marked, as well as cut and graded to known standards, was something he made very plain at all times.

Grade-marking entails trademarking as well, of course. A grade-mark on a board would mean nothing unless the mark also showed who was responsible for the board and itsgrade. The Southern Pine Association grade-mark identifies the grade, the producer and the Association all in one mark.

Mr. Pinkerton himself is an enthusiastic believer in grade-marking, believes that it insures the public a square deal, and puts another known quantity into the lumber business, which has long suffered for want of same.

With enonnously increased production of lumber due to our recent purchase of the Pope & Talbot interests this concern no\ r manufactures not less than 250,000,000 feet of Fir lumber annually, and we are in better position than ever before to say that