The Benefits of Deoler Associqtion lllembership

By Hol A. Brown, President 42nd Annual Meeting, S.C.R.L.A.-April 7, 1959

There is no service the Association performs that can be more valuable than conducting the yearly 'Cost of Doing Business Survey.' The profit motive is normally considered the lodestone of business endeavor. That it apparently is lacking in ours only highlights the fact that theie musl be some. deep-seated and elusive fascination in our industry not visible to the ordinary eye. We have been chasing our tail for_long, long years in a steadily sinking margin of profit. We reached a low in 1957. The score isnl in for 1958 but there is no reason to believe from a backward look that the pattern will be broken.

Mind you, this is not the grocery business, also highly competitive but with l8 turnovers a year. Our average turnover was 4.82. We can't, don't want to, and are legally prevente4 from making the slightest move towards price iontrol. Through the Cost of Doing Business Surve we can pool the results of our joint experiences and obtain a comprehensive yardstick against which to measure the elements of our individual operations. The mere compiling of these fi_gures fo.r our own businesses may give us a tlearer picture than we have had heretofore. Again we want to emphasize the anonimity of the undertaking. The reports are lent to a reputable nationally known firm of accountants, and cannot be identified. If you have not already done so, we urge that you send in your reports. The possible benefits aie undeniable.

Talk about your long shots in the Sweepstakes. In February ,1956, the Grade-Marking Program wls just getting off the launching pad for an estimated six-months promotional and development period. g1 would have gotten you $50.00 that active pursuance would not have been needed 38 months hence. It has now been in orbit that length of time. The advantage and necessity for constant aggressive education and development has diminished very little. That it is a continuing benefaction to all legitimate producers, merchandisers and users of Construction Grades of lumber there can be little doubt. The cost of this is not budgeted in Association expense and is maintained by volunteeisup- port of Retail, Wholesale and Mill Factors.

An outstanding 4l day gathering arranged and sponsored by your Association was the Management Workshop held

Trade association membership is a measure of Character, because it shows a man's ability to get along well with others. Trade association membership is a measure of Intelligence in business methods because it is the most successful method now known to eliminate the destructive waste of competition. Trade association membership is a measure of Judgment, because it offers a choice between unnecessary individualism, now quite out-of-date, and cooperaiion, as a means of economical business growth.

Trade association membership is a test of Sportsmanship. The bad sport drinks always on the other fellow._ The good sport pays as he goes. The good sport declines to accept the benefits that come to his business through the cooperation of his fellow business men without paying his share. Trade association membership is a measure of Credit. Bankers lend readily to a business man who has enough standing in his industry to be entitled to association membership. Trade Association Membership is a measure of Protection. Bankers lend more readily to business men who distribute the risk of business' judgment.

Trade association membership is business Insurance. The free exchange of business information by a group engaged in the same business cuts out wasteful practices, avoids useless experiments, saves the high cost of using original ideas only. Trade association membership is a measure of the Soundness of the Industry in February. For the most part the attendance was made up of the younger and rising generation of our industry. One is apt to think of such schools as dull and sawdusty but quite the opposite was true. Therein lies the spark that must keep our business in the vanguard of progress. We particularly mention it because of the enthusiastic and glowing reports of those who attended and we are anticipating a strong demand for the continuance of this very valuable feature.

As a Whole.-From the Bulletins of the Southern California Retail Lumber Association.

As businessmen and citizens we are vitally interested in government at all levels-city, county, state and national. All business groups and associations are. Our Association is, but it has not been enough. No straight-thinking person can doubt the way we have been headed for many years. The left-wingers, unions, bureaucrats, do-gooders and spenders have taken over. \Me send telegrams, letters and protests through our groups. We are represented by the Chamber of Commerce, Lobbies and Trade Associations to which we contribute directly and indirectly but it has not been enough and will not bL enough to tu?n back the tide of radicalism that is engulfing us.

Unless and until we individually become aroused to the point of seeing red where there is red and get fight- ing mad about it, there is little hope. We need not worry about cost of doing business surveys, associations or anything else related to our business. There will be no business as we know it-OR FREEDOM. ft is incumbent on each and every one of us to be constantly aware and to make our family, friends and Government representatives aware that we know we are in the midst of a battle that can only be won by all of us getting in there and punching-all the time.

It is trite to say that an Association is only as good as its members make it. No individual or group of officers can pump blood into a listless, flaccid body. There must be the enthusiastic support of the membership. At one time it seemed almost a necessity that we have featured speakers (Continued on Page 52)

BY JACK DIONNE

There is one thing left in this sadly disillusioned world concerning which no word of unkind criticism is ever spoken-no voice of condemnation ever raised. Yes, the American Red Cross. This organization appears to stand alone like unto the Rock of Ages itself, commanding the respect, deserving the esteem, and winning the praise of all mankind. You never hear even the mildest disparagement of the Red Cross and its work. Here all unkindly comment ends; human appreciation and approbation reach their zenith. Its worth is never questioned, its blessedness never denied. Never has the finger of suspicion pointed in its direction. Slander casts no evil thought in its direction. Mankind rises

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FOR BUITDING NEEDSSTRABTE TEADS and with one voice calls it good. Who is there so lacking in vision as to doubt that the finger of God Himself is upon this organization, protecting, ennobling it so that "the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it?"

We speak and write much about the great men of America, but not enough about our great women. And we have been bountifully blessed throughout our history with sublime characters of the so-called "weaker sex." In our early days, for instance, we had a president named John Quincy Adams. Students of history recall this fact without effort; many can recall his splendid worth. Yet few might remember that his wife was a far smarter, brighter character than John Quincy. Her name was Abigail. To a great extent she "hid her light under a bushel." She did not advertise. yet she was brilliant, wise, devoted. When her husband was inaugurated, she did not attend the ceremony but remained at home to shower him with her good thoughts. She sent him a letter that very day. Inspiration, indeed, is that letter of Abigail Adams to John Quincy. Here it is:

"My thoughts and my meditations are with you, though personally absent; and my petitions to heaven are that the things that make for peace may not be hidden from your eyes. My feelings are not those of pride or ostentation upon the occasion. They are solemni zed by a sense of the obligations, the important trusts, the numerous duties connected with it. That you may be enabled to discharge them with honor to yourself, with justice and impartiality to your country, and with satisfaction to this great people, shall be the daily prayer of Abigail Adams."

This lady is a splendid example of the many great women this nation has produced.

Napoleon, the man who has been credited with ,,revolutionizing the science of warfare," is frequently quoted by thinkers and writers. One of the remarks often credited to the "little corporal" is that "An army of sheep, commanded by a lion, could defeat an army of lions commanded by a sheep." No doubt Napoleon had himself in mind when he uttered that thought. Anyway, that was before his long trip back from Moscow, where he got so stout a taste of Russian air-conditioning. Mayb" lu'U changed his mind by then.

Speaking of good-neighborliness, the captain of an in(Continued on page 59)

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