Two Amendmcnts to Conservation Order M-208

Washington, D. C., October 20, 1942-Two amendments to Conservation Order. M-208 covering softwood lumber were announced today by the Director General for Operations.

One (Amendment No. 3) tightens restrictions on use of the higher stress grades of softwood lumber by raising the minimum rating required for Class 2 orders from'AA-5 to AA-4.

The order as originally issued limits the use of various grades of softwood lumber by dividing purchase orders into four classes, depending on the level of preference ratings.

The grades of lumber which may be used to fill Class I orders require preference ratings of AA-2 or higher. The effect of today's amendment is to limit the grades of lumber used to fill Class 2 orders to preference ratings of AA-4 or higher. At the same time, the top rating for Class 3 orders becomes AA-5 instead of A-l-a. Definition of Class 4 orders is'unchanged.

Under Amendment No. 2 to the order, issued October 5, L942, lumber users are required to apply to their purchases any rating which may have been assigned to them as a project rating, on a PD-IA application, under the Production Requirements Plan or otherwise. M-208 as amended assigns ratings for various use.s of lumber only in cases where no other rating has been assigned.

Amendment No. 4, also announced today, defines a softwood lumber "producer" as "any plant which processes, by sawing, edging, planing or other comparable method, 25 per cent or more of the total volume of logs and lumber purchased or received by it, and which sells aS lumber the product of such processing."

The previous definition was construed in some cases to include among producers such establishments as millwork plants, furniture factories, box factories and the like which process lumber in such manner as to convert it to another product. This was not the intention of the order. Only plants processing 25 per cent or more of the lumber they receive and selling their product as lumber are defined as producer under today's amendment.

Buyers on Class 2 orders, as defined in M-208, may purchase Southern Pine, Douglas Fir and Western Larch which meet a specification of 1400 to 1600 fiber stress. It is these grades which will be conserved by today's amendment requiring higher minimum preference rating for Class 2 orders.

ATTEND N. R. L. D. MEETING

F. Dean Prescott, Valley Lumber Co., Fresno, left October 15 to attend the annual meeting of the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association, held in Chicago, October 19, 20 and 21.

Bernard B. Barber, secretary, Lumber Merchants Association of Northern California, and J. H. Kirk, Southern Pacific Milling Co,, San Luis Obispo, Calif., left by plane October 17 to attend the National meeting.