Shinsles Won't Sell Themselves

By Jack Dionne

(Being the second in a new series of articles on the Red Cedar Shingle Situation.)

Any shingle man will tell you that Texas and California are the big "Star shingle states." Meaning that in these two great consuming states, more than in the average other state, the consumption of shingles has run heavy to 6 to 2 Stars, until they have come to be known, among the shingle folks as "Star states."

It is worthy of remark, in brief, that both these great shingle consuming states with twelve months of open building season, are REFO;RMING. A whole lot of high grade Red Cedar Shingles are now 'being sold and consumed in California, and the number is growing.

Texas got an even earlier start than California, and for the past year ,many progressive dealers of Texas have been buying and likewise pushing the sale of thicker and better shingles. One big line yard concern in the Lone Star State reports that they are selling PERFECTIONS at every yard they own, and finding the trade much interested in thick, high grade shingles.

Take Texas, for in'stance, ,and the reputation she attained for being a "Star state." Whose fault was it? For a generation Texas has enjoyed the reputation of using a better class of lumber for her general building than any other state in the union. From border to border the far- mer who built a barn would consider nothing worse than Numlber One dimension and boards, and the best of Cypress Shingles. While Texas has learned to use more or less low grade lumber where it can serve to good advantage Texas today unquestionably still uses a better class of lumber for building purposes than any other building district. That's history, and needs no proof to anyone who knows. Some of the biggest lumber yards in the whole state of Texas don't carry anything lower in grade than Number One stock. Think of that !

Then why should Texas have become a "Star State" for Red Cedar Shingles? Simply because, when Cypress shingles dwindled in production, which began to happen ten years ago-and Red Cedar Shingles came in to take their place, no effort was made by anyone connected with the Red Cedar Shingle business, to acquaint, instruct, advise, or educ:ate the Texas lumber dealer with regard to Red Cedar. They 'began buying Red Cedar Shingles strictly on a price basis, and a Red Cedar Shingle rilas a Red Cedar Shingle, and that's all there w,as to it. So of course they immediately got to using the Star shingle because it was the cheapest s,hingle, and they were being sold strictly on a price basis. !

Consider the result t You could find the Texas lumber (Contin,ued on Page 26.)