EDITORIAL

Wood Morketing Council

OR SOME TIME, we have made it clear in our editorial columns that we fault the lumber manufacturers for their lack of interest in the people who are selling their products. We got quite a violent reaction from our friend Jim Cooper (CLM, May, Pg. 58) suggesting more involvement at the local level. We replied mildly in our June issue, and now we have an encouraging report (see Page twenty-four).

The Wood Marketing Council ofiers the lumber industry an opportunity to unite in striving for definite objectives that have long been sought by individuals in forest products operations. The object of the nerv corporation set up by the council is to regain and maintain markets for wood lost to competing materials. The program calls for support, encouragement and training of people at the point of sale. It seems a logical progression. How better could manufacturers of forest products enlist willing hands and minds than by actively soliciting participation and ideas and by furnishing support in varied forms to its distributors?

The council has strong leadership in Len Floan, Bill Swindells, and their board. They will be able to find a president who understands the problem and can carry out their wishes. They can make friends and believers out of the dissidents in their midst by an enlightened, unselfish program that will merit the support of all.

To our *"y -o1 thinking this is about the last chance the lumber industry will be granted to survive by mutual cooperation and understanding.

If this one fails it will be o'survival of the fittest", and we can all apply our own answer as to how well we will fare as individuals in an unfriendly jungle separated from the tribe and with little or no help from our own kind.

Time for Compromise

A S IT HAS so many times'before, a subcommit- I r tee of the American Lumber Standards Committee is meeting this month in an efiort to propose a compromise set of sizes for green and dry lumber. The subcommittee will then, presumably, recommend its findings to a meeting of the full committee who in turn will, hopefully, agree on them and turn the matter over to the U. S. Department of Cornmerce for voting within the industry. Then, if the industry agrees, the department will put them forth as a voluntary, industry-agreed upon set of standards. This is standard procedure in many industries. However, as we all know all too painfully, the lumber industry's try for standards agreeable to all has been something less than successful. But let's hope that next month- we can bring you the news that after many, many months of fighting a final agreement can at least be brought up for voting. For if an agreement is not reached, then we are afraid that the not-too-vague-rumblings from Washington may become louder and a move may be made by the federal government to step in and set compulsory standards on the pretext that the industry was unable to voluntarily set their own.

W'hile Commerce Secretary John T. Connor has pointed out that standards cannot be set by his department, he has said that other agencies such as FHA can on their own set requirements that will have far-reaching efiects. It seems not unfair to interpret many of these remarks made as inferring that the committee had better make up its mind before someone else steps in to do it for them.

In the past few years the lumber industry has laid a positive groundwork to progress and tJre regaining of lost markets and the garnering of new ones. We cannot afiord to again bring our own house down upon our heads. If everthere was a time for compromise and reasonableness it is now. We cannot urge the committee too strongly to heed the all-to-clear warning.

RI:BUltDlll0 the bridge at lsland Mountain (left) was one of the tasks facing NWP crews who recently completed a mammoth repair job following the Christmas week flood disaster.

S0UTHB0UIID FREIGIII (righ0 of lutnber, rounds a curve on the trestle below Scotia Bluffs on the northern end of the Eel River Canyon. NWP, who handles over % of northern California's lumber production, resumed normal operation list month after completing a $10 million repair job.

lllST0RlC GOID SPIKI (above) of the NWP was redriven last month to commemorate the rebuilding of 100 miles of NWP line following the disastrous Christmas week floods. The spike-which has been in Southern Pacitic's archives for more than 50 years- was the last spike driven to complete the NWP line on 0ctober 23, 1914.

Ft00D WATERS (left) sliced a huge section out of NWP's South Fork bridge. River rose 40-50 feet above its normal level in this area. The bridge has now been completely re-built by the NWP.

TYPICAL YIEIY (right) of track conditions along the Eel River alter the raging flood waters struck. All along the river slides wiped out large areas of the roadbed. The repair lob took 800 men and 500 pieces of equipment 177 days to eomplete.