Vagabond Editorials

(Continued from Page 7) pieces. The buyer looked at it and asked: "How much is that a thousand?" "Oh," said my friend, "I didn't know you wanted a thousand." "I don't," said the other, "I just want the two pieces, but what are you charging me a thousand?" "I don't seem to understand," said my retail friend; "you want only two pieces, yet you talk about how much a thousand I am charging. I'm not charging you by the thousand, at all. I'm charging you by the piece. If you want a thousand, I'll be glad to make you a per thousand price. But since you don't, f can't see what difference the per thousand price makes to you. The price, per strip, is twenty-five cents. And it's purely a service to you." And the customer went away grumbling. The fellow that originally taught the public to figure lumber at so much per thousand feet ought to be caught and hanged, anyway. i The lu-ber dealers of California held a very useful and interesting annual convention in Los Angeles during the past two weeks. It was marked by vigorous discussions and forceful addresses on subjects pertinent to the welfare of the lumber industry in California. What a splendid organization Harry Lake and associates have made of their association? Give them the support they deserve in all parts of the state and the lumber industry will be in the best position of its entire history in this territory. There is no possible substitute for leadership; and the quality of its leadership has made this association a thing splendidly worth while in the last several years. But it required tireless and courageous effort on the part of those men who saw the necessities, and went out to accornplish things. More power to thern.

A few years ago 95 per cent of the coffin and casket busi.ness went to wood. Today it mostly goes to metal. I asked the editor of a mortician's joutnal why the change and he replied that "the metal industries have broken into the market through g'6od "dtruttising and aggressive selling." He expressed the opinion that wood is the natural and best material for coffins and caskets and is only losing that ness through lack of effort, as contrasteil.tothe and intelligent methods of the other fellows.

We find many instances where wood has lost markets because the competition had a first class cornpetitive argument. But here is one individual case where it is just poor selling and lack of trade extension and trade promotion work. The only reason wood still does a large part of the casket business is because it is so splendidly qualified for the purpose. The casket and coffin material business in the United States is about $62,000,000 annually.

Prominent in the convention the other day was that keen and association-minded lumberman, Jerry Sullivan, Sr., of San Diego. There is no better association man in California than Jerry, and no man who stands higher in the councils of the organization. For about fifty years he has been supporting and working with lumber associations, and attending their meetings. He believes in the need for business organizations as he does in the blessedness of the home, the school, the church, in our social life. It is men like Jerry Sullivan that make associations possible. 'He is the type of wheel-horse that keeps them up and going. No meeting in Southern California would be complete without him and his pipe.

\flhlesalers and Manufacturers """Meet in San Francisco

A, group of representatives of Northwest lumber manufacturers met in San Francisco October 31 with members of the'California Wholesale Lumber Association, for the purpose of discussing marketing and distribution problems. Five of the group made the trip from the north by air. These were: Guy E. Smith, Chas. R. McCormick Lumber Co., Seattle; A. H. Landram, St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co., Tacoma; Alvin Schwager, Nettleton Timber Co., Seattle; R. A. Clark, Bloedel-Donovan Lumber Mills, Bellingham, and E. C. Stone, Stimson Mill Co., Seattle.

Others who attended were Frost Snyder, Clear Fir Lumber Co., Tacoma; E. H. Ffouston, Long=Bell Lumber Sales Corp., Longview, Wash.; J. E. Morris, Weyerhaeuser Sales Co., Tacoma; O. R. Schramm, Schafer Bros. Lumber & Shingle Co., Montesano; Russell J. Hubbard, Winchester Bay Lumber Co., Portland; G. A. Robertson, Portland Lumber Mills, Portland; H. E. Jenkins and George M. Walmsley, Jones Lumber Co., Portland; C. E. Price, Clark & Wilson Lumber Co., Portland; Raymond Lewis, Willapa Harbor Lumber Mills, Raymond, 'Wash.; J. F. Justice, Hammond Lumber Co., Portland; D. H. Doud, Defiance Lumber Co., Tacoma, and Herbert Busterud, Coos Bay Logging Co., North Bend, Ore.