Defining Service

By Jack Dionne

I hcve c very interesting lelter belore me. It is lrom the hecd of c big retcil lumber concern who hcs been recding<nd likewise reprinting cnd distdbuting-the recent aennons in these columns concerning SELIJNG, qnd he asks cr very difficult guestion. He scys most cctive retcil Iumber lolks are tclking cnd promising "Service," cmd he wcnts to know whqt thct word, in the dictioncrry ol the retcil lumber decrler, crctuclly meqns.

No ecsy problem, I cssure you. Beccruse the interpretcrtion ol "Service" to each lumber decler depends very lcngely on the loccl gituation of thct decrler. It is not humcnly possible to lcy down c set oI rules cnd scy: "This is whct SERVICE mecns to c retcil lumber business." Tottrlly impossible.

Serviqe is cm intcngible thing. It is thct intcngible thing whicfu when cpplied to cnd added to your physiccl stocl6, trcrnslctes those stocks into the lcngucge ol buildings, cnrd building lunctions, cnd building ideas, crnd building things.

The cvercrge retciler-the gentleman who crsks for this cssistance being one ol them-wqnts to explcrin Service in entirely too tcrngible cmd physiccl c mcrnner, crnd Service, in the best sense oI the word, is NOT c physiccl thing. It is a mentql spiritucrl, ururcmcrble thing.

In your ycrd there is building mcrtericls ol vcrious kinds and chcrrccters. They mcrke no pcrticulcr cppecl, lorm no cttrcction lor the humcn mind, cs they ARE. The thing that mcrkes them desircrble, attrcrctive, populcrr, is the SERVICE the detrler puts behind them. He f,NOWS THEIR VALIIE. He knows the grcrdes, the items, the quclities thcrt crre best suited lor vcrrious building purposes. He knows where and how they should be ueed to give the customer the grrectest building vqlue, He knows the correct price ol his stoclc. He is cble to give c round figure on c building iob composed ol these mcterials he hqs.

He displcrys cnrd in every wcry ct his commcrnd cclls the attention oI his trade to these things he hqs for sqle. He shows pictures, plcns, suggestions of how HIS stocks mcy be used lor THEIR.benefit. He sells them the iob-the stoclg plus the building service thct will trcrnslcte them into building TIIINGS. He sees that the stocks cre properly used to give the customer the grecrlest sctisfqction. He keeps up with the lcrtest thoughts, styles, cmd idecs in building, so that his stoclcs mcy be used in rrodem lashion, <rnd therefore be more highly prized while in use.

He lullills crll his promises, does everything crgreed upon ct lecrst crs promptly cmd sqtisIcctorily cs the contrcrct provide+ keeps behind the iob in the wcry he should, cnd is clwcrys recrdy wth expert cdvice cnrd euggesdons as the building goes up, cnd weqves himsell into the building proiect-crnd into the good will oI his customer.

The intcngible things thqt he supplies cre much more inportant thcrn the physiccrl building mctericls. And everythng thct he lumishes outBide oI the physiccl stoclcs themselves, is the SERVICE-Ihe BUILDING SERUCE.

Changes in the Official Family o[ American Lumber & Treating Co.

At a meeting of the board of directors of the American Lumber & Treating Co., on August 1 in Chicago, R. M. Morriss requested acceptance of his resignation ps president.

Continuing increase of operating responsibility, due to expansion of the plant facilities of the wood preserving company, Mr. Morriss said, was permitting him no time to carry on his chosen work, promotion in the Lumber industry of the economic advantages of treated lumber. As an active vicepresident, Mr. Morriss will be able to devote all his efforts to the promotional work which has built the treating company to its present position in the industry.

J. F. Linthicum, formerly executive vice-president, was elected president at the meeting. Mr. Linthicum has been an active director of the American Lumber & Treating Co. for a number of years, and since 1937 has devoted his entire time to the operating vice-presidency of the wood preserving firm.

Roger L. Foote resigned as secretary and director. Mr. Foote, a member of the law firm of Gardner, Foote, Morrow & Merrick, has retired from active pactice and wished to be relieved of his other business responsibilities.

Howard Kroehl, president of Howard Kroehl & Co., certified public accountants, was elected to succeed Mr. Foote as director.

Harold H. Humphreys, auditor of the company, was elected secretarv.

E. A. Goodrich With \(/est Oreson Lumber Company

E. A. Goodrich, popular and widely known Los Angeles lumberman, is now with the West Oregon Lumber Company as outside salesman and will call on the retail trade in the Kite territory, San Gabriel Valley, Orange county and parts of the Los Angeles district.

"Good," as he is best known by his many friends, has been associated with the lumber business in Southern California for many years, first as I-os Angeles manager for the Union Lumber Company for a long period, and later with HolmesEureka Lumber Co. and Anglo California Lumber Co. West Oregon Lumber Co. of Portland, Ore., manufacturers of old growth Douglas fir, have been active in the California market for years, making rail and cargo shipments. They specialize in general yard stock, and both dry and green clears.

C. H. Ditewig is in charge of their Los Angeles sales office. A. J. Hetherington is also a member of the sales staff.

RE-ELECTED DIRECTOR FOR CALIFORNIA

H. H. Whiteside, Whiteside Lumber Co., Los Angeles, was re-elected director for California at the annual convention of the National Association of Commission Lumber Salesmen, Inc., recently held at the Hotel Netherland Plaza, Cincinnati. Ohio.

l}b tr a story ol a wu lDrt Ta8 woq-a rar againrt I€uit6! trab€al

Leadter trabsa ls tle nolt commor apecier of fuagt tbat attac&r eltedor *oodwort. For yeur, treatnentr oI vuiour oilr ard aaltr had beel uc6d to reeist tLi! de slncdv€ agent ia gtructural tiuberg, but nonewese lrtia. lactory lor builded woodrcrl

Thel Curde weut to worl. 'We Lnew tLat Lcartwrcd had aatural ability to reairt decay. But tLe u oI heartrood aloae lq erterior woodworl wu out of ltre qucrtlon ba carc luber le not cut that way for comnercial pulpo!€r. Bul oI the -ill lub€r alwaye iacludea rcne rapwood. So we ast out to derelop a treatnut that rvould abo nale aapwood deoay-resirtaat.

For nuy nonlhr Curtis roeuch men chccled test agalnst tect, elution agaiDst elutioa, rlrci€r agaiut apeciea. Culturea oI variou fugl tere grcn la im, lept ia tacubaton Trc yeua elaprcd betore a su@esdul trmtmeat ru per[ected.

Whea the rcret behird lhe lare war Lnom. lcierce had won arcther battle agairat natue. For then both heart aad aapwrcd of the opeciee ued Ior mating erterior wmdworl could aucceralully resist Lsuites trabeal Aad aince luuary l, 193;i|, rhen Curtig gtarted to rhip their to:iobeated roodrcrh aof oae calc of dccay has been rcpottcd la a Cutilt fratcd ptduct llle preler lo call ou wmdworl dcay-rcrlstaat, not dcay-prcI. But revere lertr, made regularly giEce the pt€Flt lorio becue the standard Curda treaheat, have lailed to rhow aay breatdowl uder dccay fung{. I! .ddttio!, the cLemtcalr ured by Curtir ln thoi! torto lrertn€rt tqrir tle outdandiag ageat lor the preveniioa of d*ay la woodworll

Ar with nuy otLer importaat lnprcvements la tle tadurtry, Curtr ru fr'raf to rupply toric-beated woodwork. Nearly r|: yean of auccerr dud behiad this tr€atn€rt. Severty-two yearr of erperlence gtand behiad the aame of Curtis Woodmrl. Together, there recordr are you! arruaace ol ruperior quality ud ludag perlonuce ia woodworL oI all ldads.

A good deal of modernizing of office buildings and plants has been done in the last year by retail lumber concerns throughout California, and one of the best looking new office buildings that has come to the notice of The California Lumber Merchant is that of the San Pablo Lumber Company, 10th and Ohio Streets, Richmond, Calif.

The exterior of the building is Redwood. The 1x12 Redwood siding was run in their own mill. The porch is paneled in Redwood. Douglas Fir beams were used. The roof is of Red Cedar Certigrade 5/2 shingles. All the millwork was done in the company's mill, including the block letters of the signs above the door. The windows and doors have plate glass, and the best quality Venetian blinds are used.

The walls oI the main office are finished in Knotty Pine. Ceiling is lx8 Douglas Fir. The private office ceiling is 1x8 Douglas Fir, insulated rvith Celotex Insulation Board. Walls are covered with Douglas Fir panels.

Beaver Tempered Hardboard is used {or the counter top in main office.

The San Pablo Lumber Company's yard extends three blocks, about 600 feet on Ohio Street from the corner of 10th, and is 100 feet deep. The yard is on Santa Fe trackage. The buildings provide ample storage for all dry lumber, panels, sash and doors, insulation board, roofing, etc.

O Business founded a guarter century ago

Woods handled are Douglas Fir, Redwood, Ponderosa and Sugar Pine, Port Orford Cedar and Spruce. Port Orford Cedar is sold for decking and factory floors. Spruce is sold mainly for boatwork.

Certain-teed roofing and building papers are sold. Celotex Insulation boards and U. S. G. Sheetrock and other products are handled. Both Redwood and Red Cedar shingles are stocked.

The mill is an important department of the business, and is modern in every respect, r,gith an experienced crerv of millmen.

The business was founded a quarter of a century ago by Anton Nelson, who came from Eureka to San Pablo ir-r 1913 and established the yard. This was moved tr,vo years later to the present location.

Mr. Nelson is not active now and the principals in the business are his two sons, Andrew P. Nelson and Albert C. Nelson. Andrew looks after all the outside work and Albert takes care of the inside work. They are both verv capable and experienced lumbermen and this joint management works very well. They are enjoying a very good volume of business. One idea that they believe in very strongly is that of selling the right grade of lumber for the job, and they find that it pays.

Oriental Situation Upsets Lumber Trade

Washington, August 1O,-A Japanese import control decree of lune 23, affecting production, distribution and consumption and imposing drastic national economy, including the restricted use of lumber, accentuates the need of tariff parity for American lumber with the British Empire, said the National Lumber Manufacturers Association today. This import control law will be relaxed to allow entrance of raw materials intended to become exportable manufactures.

This situation, on top of curtailed buying of lumber by Japan over the past twelve months, seriously affects the opportunities of the forest products industries in the Pacific Northwest to provide employment to their thousands of idle workers.

This section has lost one billion feet in export trade compared to 1929 lvhich has meant an annual loss to the region of more than trvelve million dollars in lumber wages alone. In the West Coast industry, production breaks down to an averag'e of 500 feet per man per eight hours. The averag'e wage in the Industry at present is 77 cents per hour. One billion feet of lumber represents 2,000,000 days, or 16,000,000 hours of work, or $12,320,000 in wages to lumber worker.

The Japanese plan, while it means more pressure to buy logs from both British Columbia and our West Coast for the manufacture of such products as export plywood and rayon, likewise means a drop in the buying of lumber as such.

One purpose of the Trade Agreements Act, said the Association, is "overcoming domestic unemployment." One way is to exclude competitive Canadian lumber from the American market just as competitive American lumber has been excluded from British Empire markets. The better way, say officials of the Association, is to restore our opportunity for equal competition in the British countries and all other countries now dis,criminating against our American lumber commerce.

Reduced Pacific Coast lumber exports always mean intensified competition of Douglas fir and Hemlock with Southern pine, Western pine and Eastern spruce in the domestic markets. These domestic markets are inadequate to absorb the domestic lumber production.

Add White Pine Panels To Line

Geo. E. Ream Company, Los Angeles, recently added White Pine paqpls to their plywood line. These are manufactured by the Harbor Plywood Corporation, Hoaquim, Wash.

With their Douglas Fir Super-Harbord, the "outd.oor plywood," Redwood Super-Harbord panels and regular Fir plywood and wallboard, they carry one of the most complete stocks in Southern California.

Their new rvarehouse at 235 Alameda. Street is ideally situated for shipping by either truck or car and for dealers' pickr.rp.

sTucco lilce this havc a futurerrr

dnd 6uild one for you!

P.ggpt. like stucco's bea-uty, its _varied textures and gdapta- bility to any style of home. They'll choose stucco-more and more often-if stucco jobs around them are the right kind, weather-proof and requiring little or no upkeep. These simple steps insure a quality job: o See that the structure is rigid and well-framed . . insist on -a good b_ase _. qlace non-corrosive flashing over door and window heads, under sills and copings and at other points ot posstble motsture entrance position reinforcement properly so that it will be completely imbedded in the mor- tar.. and use only Portland Cenent stucco, mixed, applied and cured according to approved methods, for all coati. Our "Plasterers Manual" on recommended practice in stucco finishing will be sent to contractors on request.

Appointed Southwestern Reprcsentative For Douglas Fir Plywood Assn.

Joseph 'Weston, Los Angeles architect and former chief architect of the National Resettlement Administration, will be the Southwestern representative of the Douglas Fir Plywood Association with headquarters in Los Angeles, according to W. E. Difford, managing director of the Association. The appointment is to take effect immediatelv.

He is particularly wellequipped to take charge of Association activity in the Southwest since he is thoroughly familiar with the problems of architecture and construction in that area, having been a practising architect in Los Angeles for many years. In addition, he has recently been engaged specifically in designing low-cost housing projects and has had wide experience in adapting Douglas Fir plywood to this field.

Mr. Weston studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, the New York Beaux Art Institute of Design and the Bellevue School of Arts in Paris, at which he enrolled following service as an aerial observer with the A.E.F' Following these studies he returned to Los Angeles and there practiced with his brother, Eugene Weston, present president of the Southern California Chapter of A.I.A. During the 20's the firm of Weston and Weston for a time specialized in bank architecture and were responsible for designing many of the banks built in Los Angeles during that period.

Leaving his practice in 1928, he spent nine months in Mexico studying Mexican architecture and in 1925 another year studving in France.

Intensive studv of low-cost housing for suburban areas occupied most of his time in the years following 1931 and as a result of his pioneering efforts in this field, he was asked to assist in the Resettlement Administration and Subsistence Homestead projects in California and Oregon in 1934. Later he was brought to Washington, D. C. as chief architect,of the National Resettlement Administration and was responsible for the designing of many of the large projects which have been built in various parts of the United States.

Mr. Weston's training and study, his experience as a practising architect and his pioneering efforts in the adaptation of Douglas Fir plywood to low-cost housing fit him particularly well for the work he is to undertake with the Plywood Association.

Architects, contractors and builders in the Southwestern area will find him readily available for consultation on any specific technical problems concerning the use of Douglas Fir plywood on contemplated projects. In addition, various factors in the lumber and building trade, dealers and distributors will be given an opportunity for training and education of their sales organizations on the merchandising of plywood since Mr. Weston will address these groups at regular intervals.

West Coast Meeting at Longview

Washington, August 4,-James G. McNary, president of the National Lumber Manufacturers Association, was the principal speaker at a luncheon meeting of the West Coast Lumbermen's Association, August 9, at the Monticello Hotel in Longview, Washington.

Mr. McNary discussed the activities of the N.L.M.A. and described conditions affecting the lumber industry. His speech included such matters as lumber markets, new Federal laws and regulation, and opportunities available for restoration of foreign trade.

Edmund Hayes, president of the West Coast Lumbermen's Association discussed the lumber situation primarily as it affects the West Coast, his plans for the Association and the outlook for the industry.

Open Retail Yard

A new retail yard, Economy Cash Lumber Co., has been opened at 432 West Valley Blvd., San Gabriel. They are putting in a complete line of lumber and building materials. L. W. Shade, H. E. West and Dr. F. F. Graefe are the owners.