Spokane, Wash., has been asked to furnish that house entirely with American black walnut furniture. Certainly there are indications that we are to have a revival of walnut. What will it displace? Mahogany, which is growing more and more expensive, and much of which is so soft as to be anything but durable. Finished, as is much of the mahogany at this time, the color effect will not differ materially, and the argument is therefore all in favor of walnut. Why not, then, the native wood here in America!

T

A Call to Manufacturers

HE February number of THE FURNITURE MANUFACTURER AND ARTISAN contained a ringing argument by R. W. Irwin, of the Royal Furniture Co., Grand Rapids, upon why there should be more thorough coöperation between the furniture manufacturers of the country. It was a publication of substantially what was contained in speeches delivered by Mr. Irwin at various meetings of furniture manufacturers. The proposition, in behalf of which Mr. Irwin had been made the principal spokesman, met with cordial approval and the result is the following call for a mass convention of furniture manufacturers to be held in Chicago on Thursday, May 14. The call is as follows:

To All Furniture Manufacturers.

Gentlemen:-This is to advise you that a mass conference of the various branches of the furniture industry will be held in Chicago on Thursday, May 14th, next, at some hotel to be announced later. The purpose of this conference is to hear discussed the need of closer co-operation among the various branches of the furniture industry so as to secure united action upon questions of common interest to our craft. Many problems are presented at the meetings of each and every association representing the several branches of the furniture industry that are of equal interest to every other branch and could be handled with a larger measure of success if some plan were devised for marshaling our forces in a way to secure united and uniform action in handling them.

At this writing the following associations have arranged their spring meetings so as to be in Chicago to attend this mass convention:

Upholstered Furniture Manufacturers,
Extension Table Manufacturers,

Metal Bed Manfacturers,

Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers,

Chair Manufacturers,

Parlor Frame Manufacturers,

Manufacturers Cost Club,
Case Goods Manufacturers.

Also, many desk manufacturers will be present. From this it is apparent that we shall have the largest gathering of furniture manufacturers that has ever been brought together at one time. We do, however, most cordially and earnestly urge and invite every manufacturer of furniture, no matter what your line may be, or whether a member of any organization or not, to be present and participate in this gathering. You are invited not only to the mass meeting on the 14th, but also to the banquet to be held on the evening. of Wednesday, the 13th, at which function we shall have some most excellent speakers who are specially qualified to present the advantages and benefits to be secured only through organization and cooperation. Further particulars will be given publicity as soon as our plans are fully completed.

R. W. Irwin, Chairman, Royal Furniture Co., Grand
Rapids, Mich.

John Hoult, Luce Furniture Co., Grand Rapids, Mich.
J. A. Conrey, Conrey-Davis Co., Shelbyville, Ind.
Stuart Foote, Imperial Furniture Co., Grand Rapids,
Mich.

S. D. Young, Grand Rapids Show Case Co., Grand
Rapids, Mich.

C. J. Kindel, Kindel Bed Co., Grand Rapids, Mich.
Frederick B. Smith, Wolverine Mfg. Co., Detroit, Mich.
W. E. Murphy, Midland Chair & Seating Co., Michigan
City, Ind.

Mr. Walters, Hasting Cabinet Co., Hastings, Mich.
M. Wulpi, Commissioner, Chicago, Ill., representing
Table Bureau and Metal Bed Manufacturers.

C. F. E. Luce, Secretary, Grand Rapids, Mich., repre-
senting National Commercial Fixtures Associa-
tion, American Refrigerator Co.

J. L. Maltby, Secretary, Chicago, Illinois, representing
National Association Upholstery Manufacturers,
Chair Manufacturers.

Mr. Bozel, Secretary, Chicago, Illinois, representing
Parlor Frame Makers.

Geo. H. Rice, Secretary, Green Bay, Wis., Mnfrs. Cost
Club.

J. S. Linton, Secretary, Grand Rapids, Mich., Case
Goods Association.
Committee.

This should not be taken as evidence that the mass is to be the only meeting of furniture manufacturers durmeeting, for which the official call here printed provides, ing the week. Meetings will be called during the week of many of the associations now in existence, as part of this cooperative movement.

Editorial Notes

THE promotors of red gum are not by any means satisfied to have it in the substitute class, or the just-as-good, but are desirous of establishing a name for it as a better wood.

THE attorney-general of the state of Pennsylvania has given an opinion that the act of 1913, regulating the manufacture and sale of mattresses, absolutely prohibits the use of shoddy in the manufacture of mattresses, and the sale of such mattresses, either new or old.

THE statement of the American Seating Co. shows that the opera seat branch of its business has outgrown the school furniture end, on which is was founded. Have the "movies" and the vaudeville theaters, for which the increased demand for opera seats is responsible, outstripped the educational system?

THE upholsterers have been waging a long-drawn-out fight against the Levin Bros., of Minneapolis, in which there has been entered a charge against Dennis F. Gorman, international organizer of the upholsterers' union, of an assault with intent to kill Joseph Baverle, who is the foreman for Levin Bros. factory.

KAPOK, which is used in the manufacture of mattresses, is found in the Philippines, and has very recently become an article of export from the islands. Heretofore it has come from other sources of supply. Kapok is a tree cotton of short staple, possessing great resilient qualities that make it a very desirable filling for mattresses and pillows. Philippine kapok, when carefully cleaned, compares favorably with that from other countries and its importation into the United States is likely to steadily increase.

STRATFORD, which is in Canada, is already an important furniture center and voted recently to make concessions and grants to three furniture factories, two of which it is proposed shall be removed from Hanover to Stratford, and in the third case a provision is made for an enlargement of the plant already established there by Allen P. Boyer, of the I. X. L. Furniture Co., of Goshen, Ind., through certain concessions and immunity from taxation.

THE office appliance exhibition idea has spread to Austria, and an exhibition of the type expressed in the name will be held in Prague, from June 20 to June 29, under the auspices of the Prague Chamber of Commerce. The articles to be admitted will include all objects and devices for use in business offices. Foreigners desiring to exhibit must make application through an AustroHungarian firm.

I'

T IS rare that the employer who centers all the responsibilities of a great business within himself gets very far. Enterprises which are one-man enterprises may succeed and flourish for a time, but let the one man be eliminated by death or from any other cause, disaster is pretty sure to follow. It is the man who is big enough, and broad enough, to repose some of the responsibility in others who finds in due time that he can put aside responsibility and reap the reward of his forethought and his early labor. When you hear about any man who is "always on the job," it is pretty certain that he hasn't learned the secret of getting other men to be "always on the job." But there is a growing appreciation of the truth that organization is first fundamental, and that it needs to be supplemented by coöperation upon the part of the whole working force.

The plant of the Macey Co. in Grand Rapids is one of the best run furniture factories in Grand Rapids. No one will gainsay that the man who has shaped the policies of that company is O. H. L. Wernicke. He is entitled to the credit of taking a bankrupt company, the common stock of which was a liability rather than an asset, and making it worth 200. Mr. Wernicke is a dominating force still in its affairs. But he is ego, minus. He has built a splendid working organization. A very important factor in making it a smooth working organization is the round table conference held as often as once a month, in which all of the heads of departments and many others participate. How the plant shall be run and how the business shall be run is determined by the coöperative wisdom of the men who are running it.

This cooperative plan is carried a step further. Two committees have recently been appointed. These committees perform so important a function, it seems to the writer of this, that he is prompted to write what is here recited, and add something concerning the functions of the committees and the trust which is imposed upon them. The committees consist of three men each, appointed by the secretary of the company. One of the committees is on fire protection, and the other on accident prevention. The men are chosen from both factory and office. The personnel of the committees is somewhat changed every six months. One member then retires and a new man is appointed to his place, and the process is repeated each six months. In making the initial appointments, effective March 1st, provision is made so that the retirement from one committee occurs at the end of the first quarter and from the other at the end of the six months, and so on indefinitely. As the committees have something in common, this seemed to be desirable.

be examined to see that no danger arises from defective insulation due to vibration or other causes. Fire doors should work freely and should be free from obstruction and all fusible links be placed in the right locations. Fire buckets and sand should be provided where necessary. Many other things may present themselves as your experience broadens."

In suggesting the work for the committee on accident prevention, Mr. Prichett wrote to the appointees: "The duties of this committee will be to see that all machinery is properly guarded, all exits and doorways properly marked and guarded where necessary, that the danger signal, red, be applied to all places where danger exists and to suggest anything that will prove beneficial to the plant at large and prevent accidents."

Both committees are to report each month to the round table conference and there will, therefore, be constant reminder that there are duties to be performed. The constant change in the personnel of the committee will be educational in its influence upon many of the employes instead of a few, and the infusion of new blood, it is argued, will prevent an employe, if appointed to the committee, getting into a rut as is so apt to be the case in any factory where reiteration of operations occur. Some one of the appointees on each of the committees will serve for a year and a half; but in due time there will be a new man each six months to "ginger up" the members who have been serving from six months to a year and a half.

The Hardwood Record expresses the belief that those engaged in the manufacture and sale of mahogany have played their cards intelligently, and have carefully cultivated the demand until it is a steady and dependable thing—until mahogany has become a staple which can hardly be dislodged from the place it occupies. It recites that one company has been sending to manual training schools supplies of mahogany at a figure below the market in order to get the boys to work in that wood. The advantage of winning friends for their product among the youngsters now growing up is undoubted. The Record goes further and sagely suggests that the school boy who makes a piece of furniture and takes it home to be used and admired by the family, does something to create business for the furniture dealer and in turn the furniture manufacturer, particularly if the piece is of mahogany. For once a piece of mahogany furniture is introduced in a room where furniture built of other wood is found, it makes the rest of the furniture look shabby and suggests new furniture. This has been the experience in every community where the manual training students have made furniture worthy of a place in the home of the maker. It might have been added by our contemporary that there is an all unexploited field for the sale of choice cabinet woods in small lots, presumably at the retail price, to the hundreds of manual training schools already in existence throughout the United States and in Canada. THE FURNITURE MANUFACTURER AND ARTISAN reaches this class in constantly increasing number and can promise the lumber dealer who will venture in this suggested field

In announcing the committee on fire prevention, Secretary Prichett outlined the purpose of the committee as follows: "The object of this committee is to observe the general factory conditions from the standpoint of fire prevention. Examinations of the entire plant should be made at least monthly and as much oftener as may seem wise. Particular attention should be given to the basements, unused areas under buildings and all places where dirt and rubbish may accumulate. Electric wiring should

and will use the advertising pages of this magazine to get results.

The wood mantel is said to be coming into favor again. There are many furniture factories which were built in which to manufacture mantels, when the wood mantel was in favor, but which when the change came in public taste were turned to making furniture. There is one such in Grand Rapids, two in Rockford, Ill., several in Knoxville, Tenn., one in Cincinnati, and how many more we do not know. At a recent meeting of the mantel and tile dealers association, held in New Orleans, an open discussion on the question of hardwood mantels was a feature of the meeting. The consensus of opinion developed was that the hardwood lumber manufacturers had not been alive to the opportunity or the necessity of creating new designs and new ideas in mantel furniture. On the other hand, manufacturing concerns of competing materials have kept abreast of the times and as consequence have taken a large proportion of the market. However, it seems that the hardwood industry has a strong ally in this association which went on record as favoring the sponsoring of the cause of the hardwood mantel, and is making every effort to reintroduce it as an essential feature of the modern home. Possibly the complaint against the manufacturers of mantels is well grounded, but the men who once in that line of manufacture, and are over in the furniture field, will bear cheerful witness that they did their best to stay in the mantel business, but thanks to their competitors, and possibly to the architects, were fairly driven out of it. Within a year one of the leading houses in this line, located in Cincinnati, has turned to furniture with no lack of evidence that design in furniture of any sort is deemed important.

were

now

had been shown in the market places for many seasons. Well-informed furniture men were unable to tell who is now making anything of the sort. Recourse was had to the Spratt book, the best directory of what is made in the line of furniture obtainable, and who is making it. Thirty-two concerns are listed in that book as making folding beds. Further inquiry has failed to disclose more than two out of that long list who are still making wood folding beds. The folding bed of a few years ago is almost an extinct thing. "There was no demand for folding beds," writes one manufacturer, "and we discontinued making them." "We have been receiving a few inquiries lately," writes another, "and we have been thinking of trying it again." Just about the same condition is disclosed in the mantel field we imagine-and all because of the fickleness of fashion.

It is probable that the announcement would have been made long ago that J. Boyd Pantlind, who is known to furniture men everywhere, had taken the lease of the new $2,000,000 hotel now building in Grand Rapids, if he had a son whose tastes ran in the direction of hotel management. Mr. Pantlind has but one son, and he a worthy and energetic young man, but he does not like the hotel business, and so hasn't been drawn into the new project nor any of the other hotel projects of the successful father. Now, J. Boyd Pantlind has been connected with the Morton House for forty years. With this as an index you may be able to figure out about how old J. Boyd is, although he doesn't look the part. The older men, who are readers of this, will then appreciate why Mr. Pantlind hesitates about taking hold of an enterprise which will require the investment of fully $250,000, and an immense amount of physical and mental outlay. There are probably some wives of these elder readers who have some slight conception of what running a ten to twenty-room house means and then what it may mean when it comes to furnishing and operating a 500-room house. And be it said in passing that the "help" problem in the hotel business is almost as fierce as it is in the private home.

In the opinion of the writer of this, present conditions are largely due to the whim of fashion. Very recently we have been called upon in this office, by dealers who evidently reflect the needs of some consumer, to give information upon where folding beds can be bought-the old-fashioned upright or mantel folding beds, built of wood. This was found to be no easy task. Fifteen years ago folding beds were a standard article of furniture, made by some of the largest and strongest concerns in the country. Do you remember when the Forest City Furniture Co., of Rockford; the Windsor Folding Bed. Co., of Chicago; the Phoenix Furniture Co., of Grand Rapids; the Welch Folding Bed Co., of Grand Rapids, and scores of other concerns were making folding beds? Then there were the Judkin Bros., of Chicago, who used to sell folding beds in car load lots only and made a comfortable fortune in the process. Why, at the time the World's Fair, in Chicago, was held, more folding beds were shown than any other class of furniture. We were in the folding bed inventive age at that time. When, therefore, these recent inquiries began to come in from dealers for beds of this type, our search was commenced. No wood folding bed

-Author Unknown.

Every now and then a son is found who doesn't take to his father's vocation, and as a matter of fact, in this country it is rarely expected that such will be the case. In trying to explain why this is so frequently the case, Joseph Meyer, associate editor of The National Harness Review, in writing of the subject, said recently: "One reason why sons do not always follow or, rather, take an interest in their father's business is that the fathers, many of them, have the bad habit of knocking' their own business. Even if a man is not successful or has achieved only a modest success is no reason why he should deprecate his calling. The wise business man will never knock his own business in the presence of customers, his children or any one else. It is good policy to think highly of one's business, and it is the height of folly to belittle it in the presence of others. There is no purpose served,

and the better way would be to get out of it and try another occupation." To which the American Lumberman adds: "It is a fact that many a business is injured from within by its own knockers and apologists. If a man does not believe in the business, in its integrity, in its value to the community and the world, and in its very necessity as a part of the commercial fabric, he ought to get out of it. He can not help that business and that business can not help him. He will not suc

ceed in it, neither will the business attain success through his instrumentality. He is a brake on the wheel.”

DRYING VARNISHES

I have read your articles by Alexander T. Deinzer about varnish drying. About five years ago I erected in our plant a special apparatus that takes in air and takes out the moisture and discharges 7,500 cubic feet of air in our finishing-room every minute, the size of the pipes reduced to such an extent that where it comes out it hardly can be noticed and does not affect the dust in the rooms, with proper ventilators to let the odor of benzine and turpentine to the outside. We found that this helped our drying qualities to a great extent and made it a very pleasant place for men to work in, as you could hardly smell the odor of either benzine or turpentine at the end of the day's work. Since then I have installed a varnish drying kiln, but find it very unsatisfactory. They want us to put in the furniture at about 115 to 118 degrees in the filler room and 112 to 115 for the different coats of varnish. We find this entirely too much for solid mahogany lumber or work that has inlaid lines. I have been working and experimenting with about 95 degrees of heat and trying to keep the proper humidity in these rooms and find it works fairly well on enamel goods, but not so on the varnish. I think if a person figured out the exact humidity that a room or place should have that with 90 to 95 degrees of heat it would make a better job drying varnish on wood, as there is hardly any wood that will stand first the filler to be dry and then three or four coats of varnish at a temperature of 110 to 115. This works very nicely on iron or steel, but we find lumber a different proposition. We had better results on built-up stock that is veneered than on solid lumber. Have you had any expressions from any engineers or people who extol the great benefit of drying varnish in kilns? Carrollton, Ky. H. SCHURMANN. Carrollton Furniture Manufacturing Co. Answer by Alex. T. Deinzer I would like very much to see the apparatus you installed in your finishing-room. If furniture manufacturers would heat their finishingrooms to 95 degrees at night during hot and cold months and make suitable provision for constant circulation of fresh air and removal of foul air, a bad situation now so commonly found in nearly all factories would be corrected and an excellent drying condition produced. Humidity should be at a desirable point and under control. If, as you state, your apparatus discharges 7,500 cubic feet every minute and you have no direct draft on your work, you will be able to do very satisfactory drying at from 96 to 98 degrees. A modern varnish kiln will give very satisfactory results at 125 degrees and lessen the time of drying. I wish I could inspect your varnish kiln, but this is quite impossible at this particular time. It will be to your advantage to engage an expert to

install an up-to-date kiln for you. There are a number of good men in the field. I suggest the following: Mr. Maural, manager of the dryer department of the A. H. Andrews Co., Chicago, Ill.; Elmer Perkins and Charles A. Wenborne, of the Karpen, Wenborn Co., Chicago, Ill.

CURING RED GUM

We are writing you with special reference to the kilning of red and sap gum lumber. Can you tell us if it is important that a steady heat be kept in the kilns for the drying of this lumber at all times? In other words, is it bad to have the proper heat on during the daytime, and let it cool off during the night, and then put on the heat again the next day? Over Sunday the heat would be off from Saturday night, until Monday morning. Our experience shows us that it greatly hinders the kilning of this particular lumber. A. II. VILAS Co.

Answer by J. M. Pritchard, secretary Gum Manufacturers Association-It is my opinion that as a general proposition it is not a good idea to let lumber completely cool off during the process of kiln drying. We do not know, however, that it actually hurts the lumber, but it takes much longer to dry lumber when it is allowed to cool off after the outside of the board is once heated and dried, as it takes longer for the heat to again penetrate into the green portion of the board. No lumber should be allowed to dry too fast, but as a general proposition, it seems to be conceded that better results are obtained if the lumber is not allowed to cool off during the process of drying. I do not feel that I have given you much information. As stated to you in former letters, it is the policy of this office to be very conservative in any statements made concerning questions of this kind until after the report of our Committee on Technical Research has been made.

A SPECIAL FLOOR COVERING

I am informed by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co., Pittsburgh, that an article appeared in your paper last summer in regard to making factory floors with a sawdust concrete. I will be greatly obliged if you will inform me where I can get exact information as to the formula and name of parties who are using it successfully. Cave Springs, Ga. FRANK WRIGHT,

Cave Springs Planing Mill. Answer by the Editor-The article referred to was as follows: "A mixture of two and one-half parts of clean sawdust, two parts sand and one part of cement, used instead of concrete for floors, is said to be especially adapted for factory floorings. Men often go lame from working on a cement floor and it is very fatiguing if no worse evil results. The sawdust floor also is elastic and