MONTHLY NETS BULLETIN

Division of Simplified Practice

National Committee on Metals Utilization

National Committee on Tood Utilization

February 15 , 1927- No. 23

Table of Contents

Paragraphs Paragraphs

Benefits of Simplification 11,13,15,21 Government Contract Form 10

Bus ine s s and Euro loyme nt Mas s Pro due tion 2,9

Conditions 7,2b Obsolescence 4

Bus i ne s s I lanageme nt 3,6,17 Projects Under Way 22 , 23,2425

Cooperation s Simplification & Sales . l4

Elimination of Taste 20 Source of profits 19

Foreign Simplification . .

.

5,12 Turnover 16,1S

1. MAINTAINING- ADHS3SNCE

R. M. Hudson, Chief,

Division of Simplified Practice

Now andi tnen J tne question arises - "How are Simplified Practice Recommendations enforced?"

- ; .-/ ....

• . - - .

'

; . ... . Since a recommendation is the product of the joint and cooperative action

of the manufacturers, distributers' end consumers of the commodity simplified,

the responsibility for adherence to the recommendation obviously rests with

the group that created it, and not with the .Government . Tne latter's

services might be regarded as "catalytic," — and a "catalyst " in chemistry,

you remember, is sort of a "chemical marson officiating, at a marriage of

certain elements.

If the manufacturers adhere to the recommendation by c.: ncent rating their

manufacturing efforts on the simplified line, - if the- distributers stock it,

- if the 'purchasers' specify it when buying, there is set up a chain or circle

of support that, is broken only by intentional departure from, the terms of the

r e c ommendat ion.

Appreciating that it takes time to acquaint all members of the industry and

the trade rT ith the aims and ourooses of the Simplified Practice Recommendation,

there is the continuing necessity on the cart of those developing the recom- mendation to promote its ammlication, use and observance-. In practically every

instance, this -promotional ---orb is done by the Standing Committee appointed

by the croups concerned to sponsor the reconmendati on. Tne Standing Committee

observes the adherence to the simplified line of its industry through its

re-surveys of varieties ordered, made and sold; also of the relative demand

for each. Those periodic audits of sum *.ort in' 15 simplif ica.ti ons recently

showed an adherence of 7Su-

(over)

I
c

Granting that simplification, was .undertaken in these fields in the faith that

it would reduce waste .in the production and 'distribution of the poods affected,

this support is a strong demonstration that industry can be self-governing.

When ell parties support a common plan or "course of action in simplification

there is no occasion for "policing" or "enforcement."

2. " THE MAGIC I IT OUR BUY DIG POWER": In discussing this subject, George E. Putnam

in the December issue of American Bankers Association Journal, states:

"Some of the increa.se in consumer buying cower is the direct result of our increased production per man. Through the adoption of mass production methods and improved -•'rocess.es we have made phenomenal roeress in

lowering unit costs and in increasing labor efficiency. The wage earner,

no less than society at large, has been the beneficiary of these economics

In helming- to make available a larger quantity of goods, ho has been able

to buy more goods with his weekly pay check. This is only another way

of saying that increased oro duct ion ~er man makes for higher real wages

and greater purchasing mower ,

Simplified Fract ice has helmed to bring about the adoption of these

improved methods and processes.

3* BIG BBADT3 AHD BIG BUSINESS: An excerpt from an article on "Big Brains and

Big Business ", which appeared in Industrial Management for October, disclosed the fact that one of the world's largest shoe plants, End.icottJohnson, near Binghamton, IT. Y. , is giving considerable attention to

treating workers well, -providing regular employment , simplification of

numbers and. styles, and hr tiding of ultra-modern slants. Also, this

firm has its own tanneries. In addition, large-scale buying and handling helps overcome leather market r.ncer dainties . Financing of workers'

homes, and prevention of high retail nriccs and rentals help to increase

the real buying power of their wages

.

OBSOLETE VERSUS M0DE5IT EQUIPIEHT : Milliara Feather, in a bit of business

philosophy says - "The industrial success of America’ rests on our willingness to throw out the old and inefficient and. install the new and

efficient. High wages have compelled us to adopt this -policy, because

the only chance the American manufacturer has for survival in the

world market is by employing machines to do his work. "In this situation the business men dm would like to -clay safe finds himself "left on br.se." Alert competitors, awake to the oossibili ties for improvements, surge forward, and the mossback dies.

"The most priceless asset of any industry is an open-minded management,

keenly alive to the necessity for everlasting self-scrutiny. 'That can

we do >o improve our -product? To reduce its cost of manufacture? To

better our service? To facilitate distribution? Unless an executive

is wiHi ng to face this daily cross-examination he might as well retire

from business. He certainly cannot keen his place if he resists progress. Again, he says, "Limited output is. the most vicious fallacy
- 3 -

that has evor found its '- r ay. into th3 minds of porking people.

Limited output means low wages; hi gh -rices, long hours and periods

of unemployment . Large output means high wages, short hours, low

prices and abundant employment."

One of the major causes for ”r aste in industry has been the interrupted

production caused by idle men, idle materials, idle plcants and idle

equipment

.

5. STAFLAZD SCREW THREADS liT CAUADA: At a recent conference in Toronto at

which a number of manufacturers of machine screws and machine tools rere represented, it was agreed that the machine scree situation in

Canada could be greatly improved by a reduction in. the number of varieties of threads. The meeting, ^hich TMas held under the auspices of

the Canadian Engineering Standards Association, also decided that

the' carrying on of a ca.mpa.ign of education among customers would tend

to reduce the variety of orders received. A sub-ccmmitteo mas appointed

to investigate the matter further and to prepare tentative data sheets

to shou the standard screw threads which should be stocked.

This matter is also engaging the attention of engineers in the United

States.

6. FOREMSIT STUDYDIG 3'^SIITESS I IAUAGT AMT : The .delegates to the Convention of

the national Association .of Foremen,, held in may 192o, approved a fouryear program of topics for use in the. various foremen's clubs and groups

in the Association. To each month is assigned a general topic -and

under this general heading the various aspects o-f interest to foremen,

have been listed. The topics for the next five months are as follows:

January, "Leadership"; February, "Factory Organization and System";

March, "Civic Responsibilities M

; April, "Management "; 'May, "Economics".

The Foremen's Magazine ^ill cover these- topics each month and taken

along r"ith the speeches on the Club programs, the subjects pill be

covered very fully.

Some of the wastes the foreman can control are: how Frocue t i 0 n

,

due to

more men on the job than necessary, the -prong men on the job, excessive

use of material - spoiled ,,r ork; Interrupted production, due to not

having enough material up to the machine, ooor machine condition,

power shortage or breakdown; Restricted Production, cue to stalling,

loafing, gossiping, tardiness, unnecessary absence, quitting early;

Lost Production, due to disregard for safety, unsanitary conditions,

indifference to health.

Fas t e means high cost and low profits, therefore lo— pay.

7- BUS HIES S AMD EMPLOYICEMT CQFDITIQMS : In Bulletin ITo. l4, on "Business and

Employment Conditions, 11 published by the Peirce School of Business

Administration, the statement is made that "If pop. are in business and

did not earn at least 10$ more this year than last, you did not get

(over)
- 4 -

your share and this is the time yon

- should study your methods to

determine r

rhy your profits rr ere below the average. Some of tile

larger organizations increased their profits 20$. )fo.

"It is estimated that the labor turnover in the United States this

year (1926) has been 125$ the number employed. In some industries

it nas been very much larger. This means that to maintain an average

employment roll of. 1000, 12F0 additional persons must be engaged.

Suppose that the average ’"cekly wage is $20.00 and that it roouired

about one first e ? eeu for one ne' r employee to become proficient sa that the

s ages is an expense. 1250 new employees during; the year represents an actual loss of $25,000.' But some turnover is necessary

to maintain the efficiency and morale of the force. If this necessary

turnover, is

. 25$, v’e still have a preventable loss of $10,000. If the

net profit is 10$, the net return from the first $100,000 of sales is vu p^d. out.. A 'as te of $10,000 r,hich might have been prevented by more

care in tne selection ox employees, better working conditions , more reasonable supervision, greater promotional opportunities , more equita.^lo "ages. mink it over and apply tnis method of calculating to your

own business. "

10 .

hany manufacturers . have found in simplification the means for greater

individual production and more permanent employment.

ARC.-iT^Cio - II -IS : Simplified Practice Recommendation on-lumber is

included in a handbook for architects and builders, vol. 28 , issued

under. the. auspices of the 111. Society 0f Architects. Inclusion of

all. Simplified Practice Recommendations in such handbooks would ex- pedite one general adoption of the ^aste elimination :rogram and

obviate confusion among users of materials which have been sjfnlixied, according to the "Dayton Journal.

PaODJCTiOi'i Add LARGER PROFITS : Among the encouraging factors in evidence at tne close of I 92 S, according to the Peirce School of Business

Aciuii ni s t rat ion, are - "The margin between cost and selling price has

oecoine narrower, out o-ung to mass production, profits have generally

0 e e n larger. Price comoetition is becoming keener and creaking a necessity for greater efficiency and less waste. All classes have

enjoyed the present prosperity. Uageo have remained on a high level

and during the last few months living costs have receded.

STMDARD CONTRACT PORI! TOR FEDERAL SUP7ICR : In line with the movement to

standardize commercial forms, the I rker-depart mental Board of Contracts

and Adjustments, of the Bureau of the Budget, has developed a standard

c oatruct form . President Coolidge has recently approved the forms,

consisting of an invitation for bids, a. form of bid, instructions to

bidders, a Did bond and performance bond. He has directed that on and after January 1, 1527 , these forms be used for every formal contract

for tne construction and repair of Federal buildings or works. The

Contract Board first collected from the U. S« Departments and establish-
Bient s the contract lorms in use and discovered there were several

hundred of then varying in size, terms, phraseology, and embodying

many unr ease nabl e re qui r erne at s

.

This standard contract form will result in material saving to the

Government and will make a large contribution toward more efficient

and economical operation of the Federal service.

11* EfChild-] 117 PrJChS : "Are Lower Prices Coming", is the subject cf an editorial which appeal's in the "American Machinist" for November 11, 192o.

The writer says, "There been a decrease in prices during the last

year, without di dilution in industrial profits. This c o ndi t ion mu s

t

i no i onto a ro :ort:on ts elimination of waste . Par the reduction in

prices will hove to be achieved by the same means, or by reduction in'

wages. Resistance against lower wapes is stronger than it ever has

been, and comes from the employer as well as the employee. It seems therefore, that farther declines in prices are not imminent, except

as they can be brought about by further elimination of waste and by

developments resulting from research."

Leading men in widely divergent fields agree that the application of

Simplified Practice will decrease production cost? and eliminate many

of the causes for waste in industry.

12. STAEDAPDI ZhL TAU; hi ; According to " Schwei zeri sche Technische Zeitschrift"

for November, Ido, "A few months ago the Central Association of German

trunk manufacturers, Serlin, in common with representatives cf the

Merchants and Consumers Association, decided to proceed with the standardization of trunks. The first step in this direction is t» cover

all sizes of trunks made of hard card board and vulcanized fibre; subsequent1- the standardization of leather trunks shall be taken up.

In the place of the infinite number of sizes now appearing in the

market, it is decided to manufacture, as of January 1, 1927, only 10

sizes of hand bags; 4 sizes of collapsing bags; 4 sizes of steamer

trunks; and 3 sizes each for men's and women's trunks (average and full

size) . The sizes are so graduated that when ship ung them, they may

be placed one inside the other* and thus expense for packing and transportation may be decreased.

Here is food for thought for domestic maaafactur or s of trunks and bags,

13 . IILATSTPIAL SIG.uFICA.TCh OH 3Tn.'hD.ARLI ZATI0I7 ; Those who entertain any

doubts about the industrial significance of standardization should

read n Mechanical Engineering" for August, 192s. Sixteen splendid

arguments are given in favor of standardization. Among them are

" (l) standardization stabilizes production and employment, since it

makes it safe for the manufactur er to accumulate stock during: periods

of slack orders, which he cannot safely 00 -'ith an unst* ndardized

product; (2) it reduces selling cost; ( 3 ) i" lowers unit costs to the

(over)
public by me,king mass -reduction possible, as has been so strikingly sno' n in the unification of incaiide scent lamps -and automobiles; (4) by simplifying the carrying of stocks, it makes deliveries quicker and prices lower (S) it eliminates indecision both in

production and utilization, 3. prolific cause cf inefficiency and waste;

(G) by concentrating on fewer lines it enables more thou .lit and energy

to be put into designs, so that they will be more efficient and economical; (7) it helps to eliminate practices which are merely the result 1

of accident or tiadition, and which imoede development; (. 1

) joint

effort in bringing about standardization within and between industries

.almost invariably leads to better understand! 4 and to beneficial co- operation along other lines—-a step toward the integration of our industries.

l4. ElylA.KI HO THROUGH CQJaPSTI TIOIT: In his new book bearing the foregoing title,

Hay Giles cites (on pages 138- l4o) the following experiences of three

companies that applied simplification to their sales problems: (l) One

company which was hit hard during the postwar deflation began to graft new products on to its old line in a. desperate effort to keep up profit £

1 But the profits stayed down. In spite of the fact that many cf the new additions appeared promising, this same manufacturer started in at

the beginning of the year to cut them off. The salesmen had so many

items to suggest to the dealer that there was nc time for aggressive

salesmanship. Since the amputations took place business is on the up,

and the selling cost per dollar's worth of roduct is decidedly lower

than it has been for years. (2) Another ce.se is that of a department

head for one of the large Hew England jobbing houses, who recently

said to a group, "I'm through with side lines." By this he meant that

he was through soiling competitive products. He had found that cleancut enthusiastic selling could come only when the salesman was never

put in the position of having to rob Peter to pay Paul. Today that

jobber has only one product in certain price classes. (3) The third

company simplified its line and then threw ail the salesmen into one

force. This large company had several separate selling forces for

different departments before they simplified. The men now sell the

complete lines. These changes resulted in cp per cent reduction in

traveling expense s , ability to make more frequent calls cn dealers

where necessary, the added attraction to the trade of being able to

get prompt, adequate shipments from a near-by point - which is st. frequently a determining factor in closing a sale."

These are the experiences of. a large number of manufacturers and distributers who have investigated and applied the principles of Simplified:

Practice.

15* SI I.ZPLI PI SATI PIT AID THE EOUETAIIT ? m~ FJSi nBSS: "The Policy That Makes

Every leer Our Best Year", is the title of a very interesting article

by the president of the Parker Pen Company which appeared in a recent

issue of "System" magazine. To get a. bettor indication of the demand

for new pens, investigators were sent out in several states, equipped

with 10 or 12 fountain pens, varying in size end style but all
-7 -

black except the three Duo folds. The investigation shoved an

extensive demand for Dao folds. By concentrating on an advertising

and soiling, .campaign, the year 1922 closed with a .J7/» g&i'G i n sales

over 1Q'21. The. success of the Duofolds, made it nrac-tical for the

company to simplify their line, and according to the President this was one of the best thing's it did. Like many manufacturers, they

had added style after .style, until they had more than .400 styles of

pens four years, ago. They have reduced their line until they now have

less than },0 styles.

l6. ELIMIIIATIrG THE SLOW SaLDIITG ITEMS: Contending . that the first loss is the

cheapest loss in the disposal of slow moving merchandise, even at a price, E. W,. Standart, Jr., vice-president end treasurer, Standart

Bros. Hardware Co,, Detroit,.- Mich. , told the pee'ent convention of

the national .Hardware Association how his firm, had eliminated unnecessary sizes, styles, varieties, and. lines. In part Mr. Standart said:

"We made "up a chart .which gave us a picture of our stock showing the

amount of sales for the year , our stock on hand, .price and manufacturer's name. With this chart as a base, we worked out a plan of disposing of slow selling lines. , Our,- policy is to confine our buying to

the best known lines, or what we consider -the beet known lines. Whenever we put. in a new line, we will wash out the old line first. This wo failed to do in the past and this was just another , reason for having too many unnecessary sizes and. styles. We found we had duplicated

items for about the same price, so we eliminated the slow selling item,

but retained the line as complete as possible.

17. MAKA0EM5ICP 1 S SHADE Ik HASTE ELIMIPATIOH: Mr. E. W. Sparks, Deputy

Manager , Policyholders* Service Bureau, Metropolitan Life Insurance

Company, in di sens sing” Management 1 s Share in - Waste- Elimination, *’ in

The Management Review for December, makes the observation that

"management * s changing status lately , has been a point of profound

discussion." The American Management Association* s recent discussion

of Trends in Management Organization indicates the_ importance of

organization, and coordination. Management must see to it that its

organization, is a unit, - then production control, maintenance, costs,

s i mpi i f

i

c at i 0

n

. and the myriad of other problems that are constantly

harassing management can more easily be ironed out."

18. MAKE EVERY D0LI.AH WORK : In the fir st of an unusually timely and practical series by leaders of American business the "Pact ory** magazine for

November carries an article by C. E. Mitchell, Pres., The national

City Bank. of Hew York. "Gone a,re the salad days of American

business, when wide. margins made possible substantial profits for

the manufacturer who was a good trader but not so good an executive,"

says Mr. Mitchell, in pointing, to the road we must follow if we are

to survive in today's strenuous competition. Among other things he

says: "It is of the essence of modern manufacturing that a fast rate

(over)
of turnover goes lie nd- in-hand with a large volume of production and

a small margin cf profit. And a variation of c«sts 3$ or 5 j> above

the standard may impair the net profit "by 50$ or even wipe it out

altogether. Unquestionably the whole, tendency of manufacturing

today is in this direction. Low costs, low prices, low margins, high

rates of turnover » - in making a business profitable today, these are

the things that count. They are the means that keep every dollar

of operating money in the channel whore it will flow fastest.

They male© -every dollar do more work."

19* THU SOURCE OP PRO BI TS: "The profits of a business are not earned by the

sales department on sales. Sales are merely opportunities to realize

finally on all the planning and work that have gone before. As a matter of fact, the profits, of a business are not earned by any singl

department, and some of them are not even earned; they are saved . Your purchasing department, for instance, doesn't earn profits but

it may save them. So with your credit department and all your other

non-productive' departments. You see, profits are the sum total cf an accumulation of many small advantages, earned or saved at every point

in a business. Keep that before you always, for it is the key to

profitable management, (Spoken by Burton Lexter, the banker , in

” Captains in Conflict,

the story of the struggle of a business

generation, by B. II. . Updegraff) .

Elimination of waste through simplified practice is now widely recognized throughout American business as a powerful influence for better

profits.

20* An AGE Of ELIi.-ZrATIQU; In an address before the national Hardware Association, 11. W. Standart, Jr., vice-president and treasurer, Standart

Bros. Hardware Co. of Detroit, made the statement that, "This is an

ag e of e 1 i s i nat 1 0 11 . Bor example, he says: "The General Electric

Mfg. Co.

,

are recommending to their trade to handle one type cf lamp

in six different voltages, as they have found their sales are on

these lamps. The Hill Bolt Co. of Detroit have confined their line

to three sizes and six lengths of carriage bolts and the same sizes

and lengths of machine bolts. This is their entire output; P. & P. Corbin Company have issued a new catalog and greatly reduced their

lines, The same applies to the Axe story. After we had reduced

our line of tinware to the items which wo felt were good sellers, a representative of a tinware company called upon us. We asked his

opinion of what we had done and he said: ‘Who gave you the idea? 1 Wo told him it was our own. Ee seemed very .much surprised and said

that just the previous week, ail the tinware manufacturer s had met

and reduced their lines to practically the same plan that we had

made. He said we were absolutely right in what wc had done.”
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£1* 3EtJji'?Ii| S

[|| DERiy!p3j QUIROJCH, SII.7PIJEICATI01I: "The concent rati »n of demand on

__ comparatively few varieties of a commodity instead of many promises

Great economies for the future," J. R. Colville, tf the National Lamp

Works of the General Electric Company, Cleveland, Ohio, tcld the Rational

Hardware Association at its convention held recently in Detroit, hr.

Colville said in part: •>

"Yon are, u course, familiar with the increasing interest being shown

in simplificat ion <- f lines . Some manufacturers, in analyzing this

problem, are finding that 90 or 95 "P er cent of their present demand is

concentrated in a very few items and that the remaining 10 or 5 per

cent is scattered ever a wide variety of types. Under nedern highspeed, .high-pr' auction methods , the cost of producing low-demand goods

is out of all proportion tc their actual value. Unless lar.e price

differentials are established, this extra cost is distributed ever the

entire line, with the result that the consumer who can use a standard

type is penalized for the benefit of the consumer who can not or will

not. It is easy to see how the manufacturer benefits from simplification of lines and elimination of unnecessary types. It is also clear

that the consumer benefits, for, in general, lower manufacturing costs

mean lower prices. It is. equally true, although n*t quite so obvious,

that the distributor and the dealer also benefit."

22. SIMPLIFI CAT ION OE SALT CONTAINERS

:

On January l4th, a Preliminary Conference of salt producers met in Chicago, under the auspices of the

Division of Simplified Practice of the Department of Commerce to con- sider the simplification of salt container si 7 es. As a result of this

meeting a committee was appointed to conduct a survey to determine the

varieties used by this industry. Prom the report of this committee an

age.-da will be .re pared for consideration at a General Conference of

ail interests, with the view of developing a Simplified PracticeRec cm en dat ion.

2j . AMERICAN ' .ARIUE STANDARDS CO" IT TEN

The fourth annual mass meeting of the A morican marine Standards Committee was held at the U. S. Department of Commerce, on January 17 , 1927 * The meeting; was presided over by Colonel E. A. Simmons, -Chair- man of the Executive Board of the A.MV3.C. In his opening ad ress

the Chairman pointed ut that 2o standards were approved during the

past year and in addition there was produced, the report of the

special committee on "Stability and Loading of Snips", representing

the best thouJ.it of some of the prominent men in the marine field.

The Executive 3oard for 1927, as recently elected by the membership!,

is made up of 21 prominent and representative men in the marine

industry. Secretary Hoover addressed the me ting, stating that he

considered the voluntary action of industry in the setting u; of com- mittees for the elimination of waste and the adoption of better

methods , was one of the most forward ste .s taken by fie A erican

over
business public in many years; that the purpose of the Department of

Commerce wf.s to encourage generally such action and to contribute, directly to their deliberati ons^arhere-ver it' was possible to so assist;

that ^4. t was not ( the pur use ’of the Department to dominate their decisions, for he held the belief that voluntary action was not only effective of far greater results than official pressure, but that it was laying the foundations for a much s ouader economic organization for the

country.

' M-T I Qi'AL COMMITTEE 01\T PETALS UTILIZATION

The status o.f the committee's active projects is as follows:

Electrical Refrigeration Industry: During the ’past month the Committee

has had correspondence with about forty manufacturers of electric re- frigerating ,a,p jar atus , of domestic refrigerators, and of artificial ice.

Two of the larger firms indicated a desire to sponsor a movement for

simplification of over-all dimensions of ice bones, ice compartments

,

and electric refrigerating units made to fit into domestic ice boxes.

There seems to be a majority opinion that simplification can.be accomplished, particularly in reducing the number of different sizes of ice

compartments . The maximum results can be secured by the cooperation of

all the above groups, and of the manufacturers of tanks and ice cans used in male in.. artificial ice.

ITew Billet Steel for Concrete Reinforce. .en t : In the latter part of

December, manufacturers of new billet steel for concrete reinforcement

met at the Department of Commerce to discuss the results of the recent

questionnaire to producers and users of new billet stock for concrete

reinforcement. The meeting was presided over by hr. A- E. Lindau, of

the American System of Reinforcing, who is Chairman of the Committee

appointed at the general conference in January, 1926 , to conduct the

survey.

S olid, Section Steel Wi ndows : The Committee of Manufacturers of Solid

Section Steel Windows, who are at present working on a Simplified Practice Recommendation for this commodity, report favorable progress. It

is expected that there will be a general conference in the Spring.

Porcelain Insulat ors : On January 20, 1027. a group of manufacturers of

Porcelain Insulators met at the Department of Commerce and made further

progress in the simplification of their product. This was the second

meeting of the above groum. The first meeting was held on November 10,

192b.

Punch and Die Industry: The Simplified Practice Committee of the Pouch

and Die Industry reports that it expects to have a tentative program

ready for submission to a conference of all interests in the near

future.

Automobile Li cense Plates :_ In an effort to secure standard dimensions

fir punchings of automobile license plates, a resurvey of present dimensions has been made. This study brings out very clearly the need

far the establishment of a uniform standard of punchings.
11

25- "N'T ^ rp T rr r a t W-ii j. Oil WOOD UTILIZATION

The status of the committee's active projects is as fellows:

Snort Lengths Project: The Director and Assistant Director have addressed meeting of lumber retailers in the middle west, south and

southwest, regarding distribution of short lengths lurnber. Set ail

lunber organizations have purchased 6,900 copies of the Committee 1 s bulletin for distribution among their members, and lumber manufacturers

have placed them at the disposal of their salesmen and consumers, "ore

than 14,000 codes have been sold thus far. The Committee has circularized about l'4,00C newspapers and trade papers, giving the short

length project wide publicity.

C-ang Cawing of Lumber : As soon as circumstances permit, a special study

will be made of the sawing cf logs loss than 10 or 11 inches top

diameter which eani.ot be satisfactorily and profitably converted into

lumber with present equipment. These small logs consist of top logs

and small timber produced through thinning of the stand. Gang saws of

light construction and of special design for this class of timber have

been developed and a few pf these saws are in operation in the eastern

parts of the United States. The successful operation of these saws would mean the saving, of several millions of feet of timber now left

in the woods.

Grade harming of Lumber: About 170,000 copies of th

bulletin on grade marking of lumber have been sold

The grade marxin^ system has undergone new deveiopn

bulletin was issued and a campaign will be started

grade marking of lumber. This project involves the

bulletin in question.

e Committee's

since July, 1925*

ents since this

t o p opul arize t he

revising of the

National Survey of Don-Utilized ?,aw Material: A Sub-Comraittee will

be organised in the near future to conduct a survey of non-utilized

raw material at saw mills, box factories and other wood-working

establishments in the State of Virginia. The Virginia Conservation

Commission has pledged its aid in this work. Later, the survey will

be extended to other States. It is believed that such a. survey will

be a material aid in a closer coordination of forest industries in

each state.

Wood PI our

:

As a result of t regard to the manufacture of

to prepare a bulletin on the

for sawdust. Some time ago,

statement in regard to wood f

and amplified.

he increasing demand for information in

wood flour and its uses, it was decided

subject embodying a study cf the uses

the Committee issued a mimeographed

'lour s.nd this treatise will be revised

The Annual meeting of the Committee will be held about May first.

The exact date will be announced later.

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GElJSR&i BUSINESS C01ID15I0HS

26. HIGH : In a discussion of the general business con- ditions of the country which appeared in the January ‘bulletin of the

national City Bank., the editor has this to say:

"So much is said in current discussion to the effect that high wages are

the secret of this country’s prosperity that in the interest of clear

understanding it is well that some qualifications be made. High wages

which accompany high productivity, either as a cause or result, undoubtedly make for prosperity and the general welfare, but high wages which con- tribute to high industrial costs and are passed on for consumers to pay

have no such beneficial results. If they yield benefits to the recipients

it is at the expense of the rest of the community, end if no more substantial basi-s than this existed for the country's prosperity the outlook

would be poor.

She real -basis of prosperity is that as a rule prices tc consumers haveadvanced less than wages , thus enabling the wage-earners to consume a larger physical quantity of goods. This could not be so unless productivity was increasing.

If wages and prices both advance 50 per cent with production remaining

the same, it is evident that the wage-earning class will have no greater

command over commodities than before and • that its consumption cannot in- crease. This is a fundamental truth which is ignored in much of current

discussion. Wage increases without increased production signify nothing

but the competition of industrial groups with each' other. If one wins

larger buying powers, it does so at the expense of the others.

If, however, by the installation of improved machinery in production or more powerful locomotives in transportation, the coats of production or transportation are lowered -nd prices are reduced accordingly, she result

to every consumer will be precisely the seme as though- his wages had been

increased, for a portion, of his buying power will be available for new

purposes.

The 'improvement in social conditions so much desired is not obtained by

wage-battles, which usually are costly and wasteful, or by victories for

wage-earners which result in higher prices to consumers , but as Hr. Green,

President of the American federation of Labor, describes, by 1 expanding

productivity so that the cost of the manufactured article will bo reduced

instead of increased'.;"

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