National Conference on Forest Products 48 
agriculture of the Nation and so on and some municipality within the 
through commerce. The banks want State, will supply two-thirds of the 
safety, the consumers want safety in invested capital necessary to put in 
commerce, and the Government wants one of these central wood-utilization 
safety in commerce. The only way plants, the order which I represent 
to have absolute safety is to eliminate will undertake to raise the other 
the variables wherever you can find third; and if you want men from our 
them, and this great selling price industry to sit on your governing 
variable is to-day the most disastrous board of such a plant we will give 
hurricane in commerce ; and when the you a large number of volunteers of 
time comes that the Government and capable, practical, and successful men, 
commerce are willing to face each who will gladly serve on such a board 
other and discuss this frightful, much without expense to the Government of 
feared demon, it will be found that the United States. 
through honest work in detail it can It is my candid opinion that if we 
be overcome. can create a lumber utilization plant 
I am not a lawyer and I do not of this sort it will act as the convex 
know whether a proposition along the lens through which our patriotic zeal 
lines I am going to make could legally and whatever intelligence we desire to 
be worked out or not, but I shall make pass on upon this subject can reach the 
it; and that is that if the Government multitude of these small operators who 
of the United States, and some State, need this educational work so badly. 
WASTE PROBLEMS IN SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 
By M. W. STARK 
Vice President and General Manager, American Column & Lumber Co. 
It is unfortunate that the public greatest utility value. The lumber 
generally seems to think that the term manufacturer’s measure of utility 
“waste” as applied to lumbering op- value is, and can be, only in terms of 
erations means wanton destruction. quantity and grade. It is vital that 
The very fact that this conference is the grade standards to which the 
being held fully establishes the fact manufacturer must conform be true 
that the idea is a mistaken one. The standards of utility value for the 
lumbermen are deeply interested in manifold uses of his product. ; 
waste problems and they welcome this In hardwoods, the lack of right 
conference because of the opportunity grade standards that have as their 
it affords to work together and with source of waste both at the sawmills 
the Department of Agriculture in solv- and in the factories of lumber users. 
ing them. This waste will continue to be a 
The outstanding fact in better uti- wholly unnecessary drain upon our 
lization of our timber resources is the timber resources, as well as a heavy 
necessity for cooperation of all units burden upon the hardwood manufac- 
in the lumber industry, from the own- turing and consuming industries, un- 
ers of standing timber to the ultimate til there is made effective a set of 
consumers of wood and wood prod- grade standards that have as their 
ucts. Without full and unselfish co- guiding principles what can be gotten 
operation, little can be accomplished, out of the boards in usable lumber for 
because the major waste problems, the various consuming needs. This 
and most of the waste problems, are situation is now receiving the atten- 
intimately interwoven with the eco- tion of the various branches of the 
nomic problems of the industry. hardwood industry in cooperation with 
Our national problem is to convert the Departments of Agriculture and 
our standing timber into its finished Commerce. The accomplishment of 
products in a manner that will pro- the purposes of this undertaking will 
duce the greatest utility value, which be equivalent to adding millions of 
means to get from the timber the best acres to our resources of virgin timber. 
bossible in quantity and quality at a Another major problem in southern 
reasonable cost. hardwoods is the utilization of slabs, 
Only a part of this problem belongs edgings, and other material by manu- 
directly to the lumber manufacturer. facturing them into Small dimension 
His problem is to convert his standing stock. While much is being done in 
timber into lumber and other prod- this direction, the total of .such ma- 
nets in a manner that will produce the terial now utilized is but a small por-