Manchester Democrat., 1911-05-10

lumber-from the Telling Of the
tree In the woods to the sale Of
the finished product In the yard.
| Whichever branch Of Il your boy
/ may choose, there 10 plenty Of
room At the top.
BY c. w. JENNINGS.
euND HE word '1umberman." as It
.hdUA Is used here, does not apply
Xdnh y exclusively to the rough and
&Nk often disreputable logging
~e crews Of our great forests.
That is but one phase of .
comprehensive and varied industry,
and least attractive Of all to one who
Is ambitious to make for himself a
satisfactory place among the success
full breadwinners with whom he comes
In contact.
The numbering business takes In
everything from cutting down trees In
the woods to selling the finished prod
uot to the man who has a lumber yard
In your home town, and there is such
a great variety of occupations con-
nected with 1t that your boy, having
decided that he wants to be a lumber
man. may selects his own line of ad-
vancement. 1t is<up to him in the be-
ginning to say whether he would pre-
fer to be an Office clerk, or to handle
an ak in the woods, or to pile boards
in lumber yard; or to be an engineer
or machnist In mill or salesman
ora buyer'or dealer in timber land.
No matter which branch he may
choose. there is plenty Of room at the
top II he will only exercise a ayreason.
able amount of industry, and stick-to-it-
iveness.
Strictly speaking, however, a lum-
herman is generally taken to be the
man who owns sawmill and disroses
Of his product in large markets. There.
fore this is the department. to which I
shall devote myself in trying to show
the steps that must be taken to reach
a lofty place in the Industrial world.
The biggest end of any business is
the marketing or selling of the prod.
uct. for no producer can thrive unless
| he can dispose of his wares profitably
This makes numbering sort Of para.
dox; for the owners Of the biggest saw.
mills, the most successful lumbermen
are not always the greatest experts in
the mechanical phases Of their mills
the ones who know most about lumber
production technically; but may be the
ones SO clever and experienced that
they can SO handle their shipments as
to sell at greater profit than. their
competitors. Let us say that your boy
not caring much for mechanics, has
taken mp this line.
| All that is necessary for him to dc
Is to get job with the lumberman In
the home town. If you live in vii
Mage, 80 much tho better; for then his
experience will be more varied. He
will have to help unload and pile the
lumber and shingles that come in tc
replenish the stock. check of, accord
ing to board measurement. the in
voices. help in keeping the books Of
accounts, assist in figuring up the
| price at which the lumber must be
sold in order to realize an adequate
4 profit. sell to local contractors and
builders, etc. And for all this he will
be paid what his employer thinks he
earns, possibly $50 month or SO. Il
he should be employed In city yard
he would get from $40 to $50 after he
had acquired some ability.
It will require year or SO before
i your boy begins to realize some of the
possibilities Of his chosen lifework. He
has been learning all he can abou
numbering. of course. and Will be {
diligent reader of the lumber trade pa
pers that come into the Office, which
will inform him Of the proceedings O
various manufacturing and selling as
sociations throughout the country ant
conditions all over the field.
This study is most important fol
thus he will be solving serious prob
lem affecting his own firm. If he be
comes student Of freight rates ant
manufacturing conditions, he will FIND
plenty Of opportunity to use his brain,
to the advantage Of his employer. Fol
instance. he may discover that
through local conditions, the mill me1
In some parts of the country are over
stocked with lumber and are willin,
to accept offers below list price. H.
knows the freight rates from that mil
to his own town. Thus telegram or
dering carload of this or that ma,
result in saving Of 500 to $50 O.
more, enough to change close shaw,
into really profitable business.
By the time your boy has becom,
acquainted with the various kinds O
lumber sold in your town and learned
the yard business sufficiently well I,
be able to handle all department.
without any directions from anybody
unless he should prefer to stay unit
he becomes member OF the firm
which he probably would be in time
he should go to some large railroad
center in the east or middle west
where he will hnd wholesale lumber
ing an important business, and get
Job. There should not be any specia
difficulty in doing this, for he will hav,
met numerous lumber salesmen wheI
he was in the home yard and will
prOuapiy nave boCureu tuelr aSSlSIAnC(
In making the move.
Here his work will be that Of clerk
attending to the volume Of orders ant
invoices and correspondence with mil
men, railroads and retailers. II he I,
with firm that has an extensive trad,
he will be doing business with al
parts Of the country. from buying car
states of Washington and Texas ant
Michigan and Maine. to selling 1t tt
the government for a drydock to b,
built on the Panama canal or to re
~~~c~>~~~~>~>
/ Texan Automobile Railroad.
Texas used to claim the. distinction
0f having tho frat a,tomphila rail