National Retail Lumber Dealers Hold Lumberless Convention at New Orleans

By JACK DIONNE

Reprinted from the Gulf Coast Lumberman, Nov. L5, L926

Yes, friends, I attended the meeting of the National Retail Lumber Dealers'Association in New Orleans last week.

The first thought that occurs to me, looking back over the meeting, isthat the Association may have some big explaining to do if the Truth in Advertising Folks ever get after them for calling that a "LUMBER" convention.

There were a lot of lumber manufacturers and their representatives there, as visitors, and they spent most of their time listening and looking, and wondering what they had got into, or gathered in corners holding small group indignatiorl meetings.

If the lumber industry got any satisfaction or solace out of that New Orleans convention, they are SOME optimists.

At the meeting I saw a lot of men who handle retail lumber, a lot of men who sell lurirber made from trees, and a lot of men who sell lumber not made from trees. Those seerned to be the outstanding groups.

The men who handle retail lumber were in convention. The men who sell lumber not made from trees, were in the saddle and riding high. "They taken the convention," as they say in Arkansas. The third group, those who sell lumber made from trees, furnished a good deal of the convention entertainment, and all of the convention indigna- tion. I know. I stood in lots of the corner groups, previously mentioned.

The meeting started off with a rush. The President got up and read his annual report. He talked largely of "distribution," and right away up jumped lumber not made from trees. He lauded a particular substitute manufacturer. He quoted from their ritual, or whatever itis. He praised them to the stars. Further than that he told of a deal that has been made by which a council of dealers has been organized to work withthis company in better distributing their product. He advised all manufacturers to follow the lead of this concern and use their distributing methods.

I had read of that deal in a circular recently issued which states that The National Retail Lumber Dealers had indorsed this mutual effort arrangement, but most of the lumber manufacturers at the meeting hadn't heard of it, ind it made them gasp some.

The next morning the New Orleans Tribune had a big front page article on what the President of the National Retail Lumber Dealers' Association had said about this substitute. Lumber was never mentioned. Not lumber made from trees, if you know what I mean.

Another man I heard speak DID mention lumber-lumber made from trees. He read a list of things of a building character for which lumber-made fromtrees-was for-

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