Random Editorial Ramblings

By Jack Dionne

The first home was made in this world when the first mottrer crooned a lullaby to her first born. It preceded the first religion. The first religion was created when a mother knelt beside the dead body of a loved one, and out of the inspiration born of love and grief came that great yearning of the human [63ft-"\fi/s shall meet again."

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If you would truly merchandise, go to the people with your story. But first, be sure that you have a story. Any business that hasn't some romance in it, isn't worth havit g. Find the romance, the story, in YOUR businpss. :frf*

Politics are improving. When Mr. lloover made his speech of acceptance of the Republican nomination the other day, the highest highJights of his talk were on HOME and HAPPINESS. The old bromides were conspicuous by their absence. And Hoover talked of business-praised bu iness associations and organizations, and their efforts and effccts. And he condemned government in businessfor which all business men will be grateful. More and better homes, more and better business ahd business organiz4tions, aqd more FAITH in business. These columns have been preaching those same things for years. Mr. Smith's acceptance speech, not yet made, will undoubtedly help to brush away more busineSs and political cobwebs.

Had, some nice notes "i"J-rri""uation concerning a tittle editorid in this column of recent date, discussing Americarl laxness in punishing the crime of mu;der. It reminds me that years ago a deep-thinking, earnest citizen said to me: "Dionne, in every public talk you make, say something against the crime of murder, and help decrease the awful toll." Rather a difficult request for an alleged humorist to follow in public speaking, but a sentiment in which I wholeheartedly agree. The shame and disgrace of this country -one that should make every thinking citizen hang his head in sorrow-is the murder menace. And nothing is being done to stgp it. NOTHING ! It will never be done with our present laws, and our present public attitude. trt will never be done so long as kille,rs walk the streets before trial ! It will never be done so long as men who kitl with illegally carried weapons are allowed to plead self-defense. It will never be do'ne until "Thou shalt do no murded' (which was the first of the six commandments of Jesus, according to Matthew), begins to mean something in our courts as well as in our statutes.

Those who preach forest conservation should build a shrine at the temple of the business god-GLUE. For truly the coming of glue, plain, smelly glue, into the lumber business has done more for wood conservation than anything else in lumber history. In the old days the waste from a sash, door and millwork plant, was enormous. For doors and millwork were then made out of solid wgod, and the waste was simply firewood. No more ! With just as much truth as the packer used when he said that his modern packing plant used "everything but the squealn" the modern milhi,oik man can truthfully say that they use everythiqg except the whine of the saws. And GLUE has made it possible. Theydon't make solidmillwork any more. It's all glued up, built up wood. And they don't do it simply because it's a saving of wood, and because they can use their odds and ends of lumber. They do it be. cause built-up and glued-up wood is stronger, tighter, safer and more economical than solid wood. Built-up millwork is incomparably better millwork than the old solid stuff. Today the panels are laminated-built-up; the stiles and rails, and nearly everything else from the millwork pfant, is made of glued-up wood that would otherwise be wasted. **rt

It has come as a mighty and undisguised blessing to the building industry, and is as yet only in its infancy. What it shall yet be, no man knoweth. That we will soon be building boards of dl widths, thicknesses and lengths, builtup, and glued-up, there can be no doubt. There is a natural limitation to how wide you can get beautiful boards fromthe tree. There is practically iro limit on built-up boards, strong, non-warping, non-cracking, beautiful in grain, practical for thousands of uses. Keep your eye on Laminated Lumber. It is the greatest friend that forest conservation has. The cheap wood, the defective wood, the waste odds and ends, are built together, and glued to' gether, and made into powerful cores-foundations-and the outer cover is beautifully sliced veneers' glued on to the cores, making a wonderfully stout and lovely productall wood. Watch that business grow' friends ! It's the fastest developing thing in the lumbbr industry. "We have practically no waste any more,"'said the head of a great western millwork plant to me the other day. And going through his plant, I saw no waste.

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In England there is an organization that collects and offers rewards for ideas of "\ll/hat's Wanted in the V/orld" each year. For several years now they have published a book by that name. In this yeay's list there are 339 selected "\ll/ants", and one of them was "Simpler windows for houses". There's a thought there. Maybe next year that "Want" will be missing. For in the past twelve months more thought has evidently been given to window improvement, in the United States at least, than during all time past. The old fashioned window IS the oldest fashioned of things. Windows should be arrange-d for more convenient ventilation, for a greater variety of ventilation, for in' side washing, for locking, etc. We really should quit mak' ing the old tt'o sash, sliding, window weight windows. If we can't do better than that we ought to quit.