THtr SOUTHLAND

By WAYNE executive vice president

E'THICS. There is probably no business in the universe where so much rides on so little.

A wholesaler takes an order for one or more cars of lumber to be shipped to a retail lumber merchant and in all probability never receives a purchase order. The retailer may or may not get a confirmation. Yet the entire transaction goes off according to what each has said over the phone.

What a wonderful feeling, to have such implicit faith in our fellow human beings, our fellow lumbermen, that we can by and large conduct our business this way. We have done so for years, and in all probability will continue to do so for years.

But every now and then it rains on our parade. Somebody, either buyer or seller, doesn't respond the way he said he would.

In the event that the buyer doesn't believe the grade is as represented, his recourse is through the mechanics of the American Lumber Standards Program, a voluntary program conducted with monies contributed by the producing agencies, based on total production for the prior year.