Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1915-09-09
POISON IS SURE LUMBER
MUST HAVE ADVERTISING
Lack of Merchant Marine, Too, Is Costing Busi-
ness Vast Sums That Now Are Going
to Foreign Countries

Alex Poison, former state senator,
explains many of the things that are
wrong with the lumber industry, in
the last issue Of the State Capitol
Record Mr.. Polson's article follows:
There are many things that are the
matter with the lumber businss, pne
or two of which 1 will mention any
one of which is destroying the indus
try at a very rapid rate and bankrupt
ing great. many. @,ft
To begin with, the manufacturers
and producers of lumber pay a great
deal of attention to manufacturing it
as economically as possible, and pay
little or no attention to the sale Of
the same to the trade There is not
a manufacturer in thousand today
who is certain that his grades of lun1-
ber are represented to the trade as
they leave the. manufacturer. He does
not know whether No. 2 is sold for
ANOs ~ CAAO ~ oNOS Va AOt. Il tAC
manufacturer took q greater interest
in the sale and distribution of his
lumber, which could easily be done if
several mills would join in an asso-
citation and sell their lumber direct
to the trade, he would be saving the
trade a great deal of money and make
a little. profit to himself. something
which today he is not doing, while the
trade is. paying almost as much as it
aver did.
Today there is little, or no adver-
tising in the local papers, which are
more closely read than any other kind
OF literature, every morning. and even-
ing, by nearly every man, woman and
child in the community. If the manu-.
facturer were selling his own lumber
he would be boosting the quality of
his lumber through the local paper
as well as the lumber journals and
Y magazines. He would show to the
trade that lumber is one of the best
non.conductors of heat and cold, thus
makingthe most comfortable house for
man and beast, He would also show
that there are many mineral paints
today that can be used to paint roofs
laid with cedar shingles, which make
them as fireproof from sparks as any
other kind of roofing, and great deal
more satisfactory. There Is no roof
yet made that will stand all kinds of
weather and storms and give the salts
faction our red cedar shingles will
give.
Our insurance companies are work.
ing to our detriment in calling for a
higher rate on shingle roof than on
other kinds of roofing, which could
be easily overcome by the manufacture
er If he were selling his own lumber
and recommending the roof painted
with mineral paint.
While in Boston and Providence,
r. L.. noticed few shingle dealers
had bought carload of shingles made
from cedar stumps, in which the grain
Of the root and the grain of the trunk
made a very undesirable shingle when
kiln dried, but which is not the case
when air dried, or when put on green,
which is much the better way.
II the lumber were sold by the
manufacturer he certainly would not
attempt to sell shingle of this kind
I to the trade. These shingles were
made by some very small mill that
was cutting shingles from the cedar
stump from which the tree had been
cut years before. Several punches of
these shingles had been cut open and
were being shown to the trade, very
much to the detriment of our fine
cedar shingles.
Other roofing was recommended
with telling effect in competition with
our red cedar, of which the yards did
not show any of the finer grades.
saw timber sticks from so to 100
feet long dumped into muddy tide
sloughs, which had become very Shiny,
x63Nky and very unattractive. When
asked why this is done, the dealer tells
you that if they were piled in the
yard they would crack and be broken
up. If this were sold by the manu-
facturer of our lumber, himself, direct
to the trade, he would have shown that
this lumber is as strong as oak, and
instead of the contractor putting in
ten pieces for beam to 60 across a