for the Postwar Pe Industrial Planning

Executive

By Charles L. Vheeler

Vice President of Pope & Talbot, Inc., and President

of International Rotary

(Excerpts from an address delivered at the annual meeting of the !ilest Coast Lumber:men's Association, , ii held at the Multnomah Hotel, Portlond, Ore., January 28,1944) "": are a number of steps the industry could take that would be'; in keeping with that good bld proverb, in times of ple4ty:l prepare{or tifnes of stress. :

1. The industry'should more aggressively strive for maxi:,ii mum utilization through intensified development of plastics,'. pulp, veneers, lamination, prefabrication, distillation, preser-, I vation-and many other methods-of the timber now r€-l,ir maining in the woods. We should'seek the assistance pf our Pacific Northwept universities and similar institutions, andl we should obtain the services of the best industrial, chem' ical and forest laboratory engineers available. l-:

2. Starting immediately, further effort'should be madt .to expand our cooperation with county, btate, and national: authorities to achieve sustairred yield of that great crop-l 'Timber.

3. We should withhold criticism of others until such timcl as we have eliminated the archaic methods within our ownii industry-for instance, let the world look to a single'stan.G, ard inspection bureau. ' ,i;,:

L. Wheeler

It is a peculiar fact that every'majoJ war development is of striking and important value ' to the lumber industry, appraising it from a postwar viewpoint. In that respect, let's examine what the fortunes of this war have done for our lumber industry here in the Pacific Northwest. In the face of wartime needs, and consumption exceeding production, there is simultaneouslv accumulating a .rait potential need for lumber and lumber products for the construction of rural and urban dwellings, farm buildings, school buildings, highways, railroad rehabilitation and for numerous other types of construction that have been deferred until the war is over. In the embattled areas the destruction of wooden frame dwellings and other buildings, docks, warehouses, bridges, et cetera is creating a condition thbt is-bound to absorb great quantities of lumber for years to come.

Now, to have access to the overseas markets and, indeed, to reach advantageously some of our domestic markets, efficient and economical watercarrier transportation must be available. Most remarkable is the coincidence that war has been provident to our iridustry in this respect. It has caused the construction of thousands of ships of a type that will transport lumber perhaps better than any other commodity to the markets of the world

The war.has rushed to completion more power plants so that we shal1 have a plentiful supply of low-cost power. It has brought hundreds of thousands of new workers to the Pacific Northwest. After the war, a surprisingly large percentage of these will wish to remain in this area; to establish their homes and earn their livelihoods here; so that, in peacetime we should have'low-cost equipment, a reasonable supply of competent labor, and a stupehdous demand for our products. And then will come the reaction-as it has always come before-unlgss we do something about it. Private initiative, free enterprise, whatever you choose to call it, will receive its greatest test-not this year, nor the next perhaps, and maybe not until the cream has been skimmed from the nutritious business that appears so .promising for the first few years after the war. Nevertheless, that test is certain to develop, and foresightedness dictates'that appropriate steps and bold action now will save.the industry lots of grief later. Our industry is indegd fortunate in not having to face the serious problems of reconversion that confront so many other industlies. We have only to reenter familiar marketi, and exert ourselves a little to seek new outlets as well as to expand old ones. But there could be hard times again in the lumber industry. What shall we do about it ? There

4. Immediate plans are needed for vigorous support, both from a financial and manpower standpoint, to market our., mafket olr.; products throughout the world; and to simplify or revise,i market distribution dom'estically in order that we may,.rl. deliver better material at a lower cost to users'of lumberlil and timber products. :1i

Proouctlon.

6. A strong postwar econorny is necessary to keep busi- i ness healthy and the keynote thereof is plenty of employ.;

'5. Lumbermen indivitluatly strould slpport constructive i! postwar c-ontro_ls to assure economically sound prices and,; volume of production. i ment.

Returning to my first point: As a.most efficient groiving.i; crop, the forests will take a place high among the materials..i slated to rebuild the world. 'i

We must not lose sight of the fact that research is for *"t { purposes and new methods for the future are by-products o$ii: this war industrial research. As an industry we must sup. -t port postwar research. Such improv,ements as the follgw;'fi ing will become commonplace; compregnated wood almost:.' as strong as steel. Studding of any length produced frortr1; gluing short lengths o,f 2x4's together endwise with an orig::! inal splice. Binding materials very strong,.inexpensive, re-il sistant to moisture, heat and decay-producing organism5. Even ordinary lumber laminated. Plastic-faced plywood. extremely versatile and fitting into shipbuilding and othel purposes. Lignum plastic, in conju4ction with Douglas fir,,-.1! making the most wonderful structural material in the world:;_tr

Point 2. The tree farms we've heard about are a splendid i-: development, but each company dnd each individual has a .l; devetopment, Dut eacn eacn a :.j duty to observe intelligent cutting-and forestry management i{ so that it cannot be said, "Most trees wind up with one-third 'r: left in the forest and one-third left in the sawrnill."

Are you lending financial support and the resources. of:..{ your company to the various organizations doing research. that serves the lumber industry? fs yours a "gimme" in-; stead of a "giwer" company, when it comes to helping the,:* Schools of Forestry at the University of Washington, Ore::i gon State College, and'the University of California? We;. 6*" " vast debt io'the United States Fbrest Service, and weii must not forget the O and C, the State Boards of Forestry,

' 'the fndian Forest Service. the State Divisions of Forestry in

, the Departments of Natural Resources, the county foregt organizations, and the Forest Service experimentation stations. Bang-up jobs of research are being cohducted at Ore- gon Forest Products Laboratory, and in the laboratories bf

' the university forestry schools, the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company and other lumber plants,.the Western Pine Association Laboratory and other trade groups, from which all of us derive benefits in the long run. We are all aware of the

, incalculable service rendered bv the United States Forest Products Laboratory in Wisconsin, and of the benefits to come from the national-industry-owned laboratorv of the Timber Engineering Company, but we are apt to bverlook the local side. We cannot afford to be complacent about all this assistance, when we are still losing two billion cubic feet of wood a year destroyed by fire, insects and disease.

Point 3. By and large, financial problems are not considered nor are recommerldations made thereon by the for. qst products committees of our banker association. It is a question, even, whether the industry has asked these committees to meet or to consider financial problems. Hence loans are made to liquidating receivers who proceed to mar:ket lumber without any regard to costs. Lack of interest in this regard was the cause of a good share of the indus- ' try's troubles in the '3Os. I refer particularly to our rnethods of inspection, finance, marketing, distribution, research and waste utilization. The arguments against giving the world . a single standard of inspection'are feeble indeed.

It is our united responsibility as an industry that support be given to a sound plan of sustained yield, and equally-im- portant that research as to waste utilization be vigorously carried on.

Point 4. Marketing begins at home. This morning you heard about Portland's Home Planning fnstitute and the-de- ' sire for its national application by me"ans of lumber groups of manufacturers and retail distributors.

, The United States Chamber of Commerce, early in 1943, I made a postwar consumer survey. It polled home owners, and thus farm owners, about their iniended postwar pur- '. - chases for the home. Of the farmers who replied,58 per

, 452,0m'will add service buildings, 386,000 will repair barns, 266,m will ad new barns, 388,000 will repair sernice buildings, 266,W will build or repair fences, 161,00O will make other repairs, 147,000 will repair tenant houses.

The postwar export market so vital to any successful mar'keting plan will require the full cooperation and assistance of every Association member, whether rail or cargo. Naturally, a great many new problems will arise. Our industry needs an outlet for at least Z0 per cent of production in foreign markets, and past experience proves that some mills mt-+t desire as,high as 60 per cent of their production being sold offshore. Such an butlet would have the efiect of keep- ing prices on a basis which would protect production costs. Close study must be given to present tariffs, and the full voice of our industry should be heard by the State Departrrient on future trade agreements and tariffs. Trade ex.tension and activities are essential, and there should be more advantage taken of the broad provisions of the Webb-Pomerene Act, which has the full support of our Governmbnt.

Our support will make the Association a powerful voice to be heard by the State Department in the matter of tariffs. In passing, we do note a trend toward tariffs and fewer trade barriers.

Point 5. We should resolve now that in the postwar period, particularly after the cumulated demands aie satisfied, we will individually cultivate stricter rules of self-discipline than we have in the past in dealing with the prob- lems of what constitutes a consistent rate of production 'and economically sound selling prices as applying to our respective operations.

Point 6. New factories.and new jobs can and must open up new employment through the conversion of wood. Give active j_gpqo$ to these efforts. Take an aggressive part in the Worl-Pile programs, the Chamber of edmme.c.i-ployment surveys, the circularizing of employees about the jobs waiting- for their return from the front or camp, ship, training station.

In closing, it is reasonable'to assllme that at war,s end. we will have the merchant marine to handle any volume of export trade that develops. Rear Admiral Emory S. Land has advocated a merchant fleet of 2O million deadweight tons. W_" :yqlt to keep that and not just as an adjunct !o ou! U. S. Navy. It -sounds easy ofihand, with plenty of stuff to,be moved rieht after the war. But the Lend-Lease and other rehabilitation measures amount to emergency operations. F,or a permanent merchant marine, looking well into the future, the lumber industry should actively pro,mote the use of American ships. We should not allow the United States to slip back into- that era preceding the Merchant Marine Acts when this countrv had onli enough merchant ships to carry 20 per cent oi the worli trade afiecting our nation. Yet it iJ conceivable that foreign countries will- push their postwar shipbuilding and strive to regain their lost places. They wili bid for-trade at cheaper costs of transportation. Be forewarned about this and stand as a group of "Ship America4,', no matter what comes.

Coastwise and intercoastal lines will receive their replace- ments quickly since these services were the first io be denied their ships when hostilities broke out. The shippine comqanie.." are modernizing their methods of handling iirg6 and keeping up with war-produced improvements at ports. They will'be able to furnish the best of service in the'postwar world and lead us to greater expansion than many'peo- ple now anticipate.