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Let's Hope h's True

A FTER ALL this time it seems somehow hard to la b"U"n" that the lumber industry is finally approaching actual promulgation of a new standard lor softwood lumber. (See story on page 8') At least most of the people involved think the new standard will go into eflect March l. As always, when the new standard is involved, dissent is in' evitable.

Technical merits of the opposing arguments aside, we hope that this is the end of the long battle over the size of lumber. The long fight has divided and confused the industry, hurt and blurred the in' dustry's image with the publig aggravated the Con' gress, absorbed a lot of money better spent on ad' vertising and promoting the product, and has generallv made trouble where none should have been.

ItlL have watched as energies were dissipated in intra-industry brawling while, for example, the tremendously worthwhile Wood Information Bureau of Southern California collapsed from lack of attention. WIB was a serious loss for the forest prod' ucts industry in one of its major markets, yet un' fortunately, it is only one of many victims of an industry that too often would rather fight with itsel{ than put its faith in mutual cooperation.

While the dispute over new rules heated emotions as no other trade topic has lately done, many within the business were either lukewarm or totally disinterested.

One of the best wholesale merchandisers of lumber we know, after a long evening of listening to the pro and con, succinctly observed, o'Why are we in here arguing about the size when we should be out selling it."

At the dealer level, opinions often varied, but few got too worked up about it. Queries regarding the subject sometimes were returned with a blank stare. Sometimes with a shrug often with the re' mark that it should be settled and put into the past so everyone could get back to business. A fairly frequent observation was that all the guarreling only served to upset and confuse the contractor and make him more receptive than he already is to substitute materials.

As for the consumer's idea of smaller 2 x 4s, there has been enough written here on that subject to suffice it to say that it is an industry black eye, Like all such wounds, however, it is transistory and in time can be cured with the proper amount of promotion to the public, this time stressing ad' vantages, not demonstrating drawbacks.

Part of the problem of tlre new sizes is tJreir obvious vulnerability to the charge that the public is getting less for its money. Commerce Deparhent Secretary Maurice H. Stans, apparendy recognizing the problem, made it plain in his announcements that the American Lumber Standards Cornmittee had agreed to focus its attention on nomenclature to replace the nominal 2 x 4 designatiorn. We wish ALSC good luck with that tough assignment. If new names can be agreed upon, lumber merchants can get away from the sales resistance problems of a smaller product and stress the benfits the new standard brings.

If this is the end of the long battle, and *e hope it is, let us also hope that the next time industry forces move for a change in standards it can be accomplished without the rancor and financial fratricide that this revision produced. It seems little enough to ask.