U.5. Business Climate Suffers By Comparison With Common Markef, NLMA President Temple Charges

NLMA President Arthur TemPle, Jr., has pointed to the European Comhon Maiket as an example of a healthy climate for business, as opposed to the unhealthy climate which exists in the United States.

Addressing the annual meeting of the lMest Coast Lumbermen's Association in Portland, Oregon, Temple declared that in the United States "we find the national government imposing an inecluitable tax system, restrictive regulation, and other harassments of business across the board in a way which more often than not hampers tlte economic growth and opportunity of every businessman regardless of where his plant is situated and regardless of where his markets are."

Temple said that while the European Common Market is providing its member natious with the same freedom of economic homogeneity that we have in this country among our several states, "the main difference, as I see it, is that the rules for the conduct of business within a nation are still made by that nation and each nation is exerting every effort to structure its procedures in such a way that its own businessmen can have a business advantage."

He noted that, "Our own Federal Government had the foresight to help establish the Common Market to foster economic recovery and progress in Europe and yet our Federal Government does not espouse the same rules for its own business community."

The speaker asserted that unless we as a nation move boldly into foreign trade we will be driven from the market place and relegated to a minor role in rvorld economics. With full employment in Western Europe, we have nearly five million unemployed at home, he said.

Emphasizing that the production growth and market expansion of many other countries makes otlr own industrial mechanism appear to be grinding to a halt, Temple said this malfunctioning cannot be attributed to a lack of readiness of our orvn business system.

"'fhe defects are apparent in a nebulous, confused national policy-especially in jurisdictional uncertainties among government departments as to where they stand." He added that these confusing conditions are not the fault o{ the Dresent administration alone but have p-ersisted and been compounded during several administrations, regardless of the party in Power.

"In the case of our own lumber and rvood products industry," he declared, "our main challenge of the moment is to find out what the ground rules are and who makes these rules."

He charged that "the elusive trail to decision meanders through the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, the General Accounting Office and, now, seemingly, to the State Department.

"\Me ueed a road maD to Goverument reality l"

Citing just two segments of the lumber and wood products industry, the speaker showed how American Producers are not backed up by their orvn government.

- Imports of hardwood plywood from Japan and other countries, where wages are thirty cents an hour or less, he said. '{have taken far more than half of our American market, have caused a large number of companies to operate a[ a loss, others to close down, and, of course, have thrown thousands of workers out of jobs."

In the softwood industry, TernPle delineated five of many punitive measures against the producers:

"First, we have government timber sales practices that force the costs up to a point at which our products cannot be marketed at a profit.

"Second, there is the subsidy that West Coast lumber pays to domestic shipping.

"Third, there are other extraneous costs charged off to lumber. We are taxed for the superhighways on 'ivhich logs rarely move. At the same time we bear tl-re entire cost of building access roads to timber supply which are in large measure used and enjoyed by the public.

"Fourth, whenever our industry seeks to take the initiative to develop markets elselvhere, we have been unable to get cooperation from the government.

"Fifth, our industry has had little berrefit from the Buv American Act."

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