Random Editorial Ramblings

By Jack Dionne

The Millwork Institute of California took a great stride along the road to fame, when, at its recent conference in Los Angeles, it adopted its proposed Plant Certification plan. The act stamps the word "forward-looking" in indelible letters upon the Institute. It marks the first definite and practical step of the Institute to begin the exploitation of the remarkable products of its members. It gives to its members a tangible and interesting thing to tie their trade promotion work to, and in so doing tie themselves closer togcther. Up to now the Institute has known that its members make the best and most beautiful millwork on earth. But that has not been well knbwn to those whose money in exchange for millwork is necessary to make their business more successful financially. When the Certifica$on plan gets to working, they will manufacture up to a required standard, and will then stamp their goods with ttis mark of guality, and be enabled to advertise to the world the fact that that stamp is their safeguard and guarantee of this better artd greater millwork Luck to the working of the ntoj""a.

, A thousand times this question has been asked: "I{ow can an individual manufacturer help the lumber dealer create a market for lumber?" The Exchange Sawmills Sales Company, of Kansas. City, Mo., a great milling concern il'ith mills in the South and West, has probably done as much experimenting with that idea in thb past couple of years as any other manufacturer of lumber, and they have evolved sorn€ very excellent and practical ideas. Right now t'hey have out a vefy simple little sales and advertising campaign that looks perfectly good. It concerns a plan to sell hog houses by dealers in agricultural districts, and should be perfectly feasible. And it offers an opening wedge for creating more business. Dealers in farm districts would do well to write for the i"Tn"lFl They'll get it, quick.

fs the world changing? Frequently in this column we have been driving home the idea of the great change that is taking place, the craving for variety that the public manifests, and the need for the lumber business to keep up with the times. Along that very line, grab this thoughtTHERE ARE FIVE INDUSTRIES IN THIS COUN. TRY TODAY THAT WERE PRACTICALLY NON. EXISTENT TWENTY YEARS AGO, THAT EMPLOY THIRTY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE. They are the auto, radio, motion picture, chemical and electrical iridustries. Isn't that worth thinking about?

Changing? Yes, indeed! It took us 200 years to discover that the tomato was worth while as an article of foodEven then they were slow in coming into general use, many idiotic ideas being prevalent for years concerning their hurt-i fulness, germ-making tendencies, etc. Now we know thati ' tomatoes, canned or fresh, corltain vitamin E, which assistsl

{fie red blood cells in absorbing iron from foods; now we know that they are one of the best of all foods for young and old, great and small, invalid and athlete. The lowly tomato has come into its own. +***

H. J. Kenner, writing in "The Executive" on "Merchandising on [Ionor"r puts great emphasis on the part that proven integrity and character plays in the success of a business, and points to the fact that there are firms who build their business on the fact that everyone knows they are on the square, cin be depended upon in every way, and always give their customers more than a square deal. Think it over, men. Does your trade think and feel and speak that way abqut YOUR business? If not, you have oierlooked the greatest thing in busin€ss;th: greatest asset in life. ,

The old order of things was jungle competition-the competition of the lion and the tiger. The new order of things is furnishing better human service, and so justifying success. Every man should go out of business who can't or won't keep up with the new order. The crook, the man of no dependability, must go.

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Any industry that does not organize stoutly and intelligently for mutual protection against antagonistic legislation, is in danger. Our constitution staqds for freedomfreedom in religion, freedom in politics, freedom in education, freedom in business, without unwarranted restrictions of our constitutibnal rights. * *

No longer does commerce mean merely exploitation. It means humarl service, and the more a business does to supply human needs and increase human happiness, the more right it has to succeed.

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Everything in this world depends on the viewpoint. VoItaire tells of two Athenians who saw Socrates passing, and ,one said, "There is that atheist Sgcrates, he believes there is only one God." To believers in many Gods, Socrates was a4 atheist, an unbeliever. To the orthodox Christian of today, Socrates was a "itT. *OlU * it goes.

Gii us, Oh Lord, a sense of humor. Without it we are just mud-and not very*i"Tr"i.t1t mud at that.

Regardless of how well or efficiently the other departments of your business are handled, if the selling end fails, the business fails. Moral-concentrate on your selling. Improve your selling methods. Increase your selling "ffortr. +rt,t+

../-Nowadays we only get what we go after. We likewise get what we deserve, but we only deserve what we go after. sothere! + * * ,r

Big men never pose. Little men who want to be thought big have a comer on the posing concessions.