
5 minute read
U n ited Sto tes G sum
For Buildlng. For lnduslry
. Steel lnsulotion Roofing Point Gypsum Lime
Prices and wages are two words that hog the headlines. And yet-when we produce all the worth-while things we need, fill all our stomachs, clothe all our nakedness, and house all our people comfortably, then we will have achieved genuine prosperity regardless of the wage scale or the price level.
Trade names are interesting things. Twenty-five years ago California used great quantities of softwood lumber from the Northwest which they called "Oregon" Pine, or simply "OP" for short. This "Oregon" Pine in California was Douglas Firin other places. But at that time the lumber and building industry in California hardly knew what lDouglas Fir was. ft was just "Oregon" Pine to them. i Where and when that trade name attached itself to Dougls Fir is a mystery. When THE CALIFORNIA
QIFER MERCHANT started publication in California ove{ 25 years ago it simply overlooked the name "Oregon" Pine in its printed columns, and called the wood Douglas Fir. Not long after, Kenneth Smith started a campaign to get rid of the trade name and restore to the wood its proper name, and soon "Oregon" Pine was forgotten in California, and Douglas Fir took over.
It may be that oo.,gt."*fi, n"U "" claim of foul against anyone for calling it "Oregon" Pine, for the interesting fact is that it is really not a true fir. When Dr. Archibald Menzies, famous botanist, invaded the Northwest in 1791, he discovered great forests of this magnificent tree which excited his admiration, and likewise puzzled, him; or so it seems. He described it as "a false hemlock with a yewlike leaf," and compared it in various ways to fir, hemlock, yew, and spruce. Just a generation later another great botanist, Dr. David Douglas came from Scotland, and spent several years classifying the trees of the Northwest. So they named the prevailing great tree "Douglas Fir," after him.
*{<*
Back in the days a generation ago when they were calling Douglas Fir "Oregon" Pine in California, there was another conspicuous trade name situation in the Western forests. The mighty stand of soft Pine that grows in various Western states is Pinus Ponderosa. But they called it "White Pine," and that became its fixed trade name among its manufacturers, distributors, and users. Ifit came from California, one of the biggest Ponderosa states, it was called "California White Pine." If from the other states it was "Western White Pine." In California there was a
California white pine association. But Pinus Ponderosa is NOT a true White Pine. It is a tree with a three needle leaf, which, botanically, makes it a member of the Yellow Pine family. Plenty of this wood is white as lumber comes. Which changes its botanical classification not at all.
***
About 16 years ago the Federal Trade Commission, after various hearings and discussions, issued an order forbidding the use of the name "White Pine" for Ponderosa. It just could not be called "White," whether with or without the usual prefixes of "California," or "'Western." The Western lumbermen accepted the decision and proceeded to comply with it. They hit on a plan that has worked out splendidly. They simply began calling their wood by its real botanical name, Ponderosa. It is interesting to note that while this rvas a tremendous industry, the change of name was made with little difficulty, and Ponderosa Pine came into its own. The order covering Ponderosa did not affect Western Sugar Pine, because that IS a true White Pine with a five needle leaf. Funny, isn't it, that they used to call their Yellow Pine "White Pine." but never called their true white pine "White"? They have always called it Sugar Pine. Very often Ponderosa boards will be found whiter in color than Sugar Pine boards in the same lot. Which changes their classification not at all.
The Ponderosa people were lucky, when they had to give up their established trade names, to be able to successfully substitute therefor the real name of the wood, as they have done, and make its real name its trade name. Think what might have happened had the Douglas Fir folks been called upon to do the same thing. Carpenters have no trouble about calling on the lumber dealer for Ponderosa. But can you imagine one of them walking into a lumber yard and asking the dealer for a thousand feet of Pseudotsuga Taxifolia? For that, dear friends, is the botanical name of Douglas Fir.
At about the same time the Federal Trade Commission outlawed the use of the word "white" to designate Ponderosa Pine, it likewise questioned the propriety of calling some beautiful Philippine hardwoods "Philippine Mahogany." Botanically speaking, these woods are NOT true Mahoganies. The decision was made in favor of the Philippine distributors, it being shown that there was no intent to deceive the trade, or to fool anyone into thinking these WERE true Mahoganies. It was strictly a trade name. That decision still stands. Almost no Philippine Mahogany has come to this country since the war started, but some day
(Continued on Page 10)

. (Continued from Page 8) these very beautiful and practical woods, which grow in greater volume than any other cabinet woods on earth, will again become a factor in the United States. All of which goes to prove my initial retnark, that trade names are interesting things, even in lumber. *t<*

Matry millions of young Americans are fighting against odds for a place in this difficult and topsy-turvy world of today. We read and hear much of their problems. It might be well to quote some history to them; to remind them that from the ranks of the workers and fighters spring most American successes, and the fact that a young man may be on a low rung of the ladder today does not mean he has to stay there. It might be helpful to remind them that most of the intellectual giants o,f history who have cast great shadows of good across the world, came from that class of humanity we sometimes hear referred to as ,,ill-fed, illhoused, and ill-clad." It has always been that way. And it is a safe bet that most of the men whose names will be spelled in capital letters in days to come, will spring from those same classes of society. It seems to be an ordering of God that genius will rear its head much more frequently in a cottage than in a mansion.
"Eloquence is logic on fire," said Lyman Beecher. Someone made a suggestion the other day that hung out the stop, Iook, and listen sign, it was so appealing. He said that England in her present great extremity is not much in need of a great political and civic leader, as of a great orator. He spoke truth. Churchill, one of the greatest orators in this world's history, would not have been onetenth as effective during the recent world war, had he been less than the mighty man of incomparable thoughts and words. Amazing, isn't it, what kingly words can do for a people in time of crisis? Much that passes for oratory is merely argument-declamation. Oratory is something far different; it is the impassioned outpouring ofa human heart. ***
An orator's words are the instinctive servants of his heart and mind. Persuasion sits upon his lips. A true orator idealizes the real, fills the gallery of the imagination with statues and pictures perfect in color, enriches the brain, ennobles the heart, and quickens the conscience. Between his lips wondrous words and phrases bud and blossom. Milton was a great genius who firmly believed that the lips of a true orator are touched with Promethean fire. He speaks of the "Eternal Spirit who can enrich with all utterance and knowledge, and sends out His Seraphim with the hallowed fire of His altar to touch and purify the lips of whom fle pleases." It is that sort of an orator that England needs right now to lift her great spirit high once more. Which reminds me that we could use one here, too.
New Yard in Roscoe
The Sunland Lumber Company has opened a new lumber and building material yard at 8172 San Fernando Road, Roscoe, Calif. Martin Weisel, who has an extensive background of business experience in Nerv York, is the owner. Tl-re yard will later carry a complete line of hardl'vare.