The Washington herald., 1922-05-28
Sec. HOOVER TELLS
TRADE TO BEWARE
OF BUREAURACY
Warns Lumber Men of
Danger in Government
Supervision.
SEES INEFFICIENCY
Department Should Be Merely
Clearing House, He
Declares.
SEES INEFFICIENCY

Standardization of the lumber
trade and industry through the in
ternal workings of the business it
self rather than government regu-
lation and control, was the keynote
of an address last week by Secre-
tary Of Commerce Herbert Hoover
before the conference of the Ma
tional Lumber Manufacturers Asso-
citation.
Secretary Hoover said he resents
an attempt to extend the arm of
the government in every direction
and believes the trades could more
effectively accomplish the results
sought than the government.
Can Bring Trades Together.
The Secretary. said in part:
The purpose of the department
Is to assist by bringing the difreren+
trades together. so far as we are
able; to give you such expert assist
ance as we possess, and in that we
make many reservations, because
We all know that the real expert
is the producer himself
I'VE can give to you the expert
ences OF other trades and other in
dustries in methods of solving diff
ficulties. And We can give to the
work which has been outlined. we
hope. a certain amount of moral
hacking that will be OF assistance
to you in carrying through what
ever you may decide is wise.
Must Reduce Costs.
Now. the problem that we are
here to discuss Is one of funda-
mental Importance. One of the diff
ficulties of our whole national eco
nomic system is the expensiveness
Of our distribution. And these ques-
tfons that we are going to discuss
here. practically all of them. are
distribution questions; the guaran-
tees Of qualities. the simplification
Of dimensions, the grading of lum-
Der. all OF them. are steps in ad-
vance toward reducing the cost and
wastes in distribution. Every time
we can take a penny of of the
costs Of distributing a commodity
We haAe made that much more of
TIE commodity available TO that
r-any more persons.
TN other words. the whole stand
ard of living OF the American peo-
ne rises directly with the cheaper
ing of its production and its dis
tribution. So these plans are not
for the development Of seIfshnes,
IN industry at all: they are plans
t"nt lead Fundamentally toward a
h"tterment in American life. And
the plans are of no purpose what
ever. unless they tune straight
1W-av With the interests of busi-
ress. Now. they could have no sur
v'--"l rrless they are developed and
carried through in a fashion that is
~ benefit to the majority Of the
"eonle who are engaged In the
trade"
Danger In Bureaucracy.
He then took up the different
points of controversy that the lum-
boy manufacturers themselves must
strairhten out. offering suggestions
orly on the broader fundamentals.
He confined himself to three phases
--~rading. guarantees, arI simpli-
fcation.
Secretary Hoover continued:
II would like to make this gen.
'e-aI observation. that there has
been agitation in the lumber trade,
or AMONGST the public, for the past
twenty-five years, for some kind
Of government inspection, govern
rent trade. and government con-
troll Of that type. Some OF the
branches of the lumber trade them
selves have recommended courses of
that order.
NV own feeling is that II we can
SevelOp these things through the
internal machinery of the trade it,
self. as a matter Of self-government