Life, 1926-03-11 · page 31 of 40
Life — March 11, 1926 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward **corporate advertisement** for Weyerhaeuser Forest Products, a lumber company based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The small illustration at the top shows a factory worker selecting lumber for crating, but it's documentary rather than satirical. The bulk of the page presents three case studies demonstrating how Weyerhaeuser lumber saves manufacturers money through reduced shipping weight and freight costs. For example, switching to lighter White Pine saved one client 82 cents per unit; using Cedar instead of heavier wood saved $4.50 per thousand feet. The advertisement targets business decision-makers ("Every Shipper who is hunting for Savings") with concrete financial arguments, positioning Weyerhaeuser's specialized crating engineers as experts who can optimize both materials and design. This represents early-twentieth-century industrial advertising strategy: using *Life* magazine's credibility to reach business audiences with detailed product testimonials and cost-benefit analysis rather than humor or satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Every Shipper who is hunting for Savings in the Cost of doing Business will read this Message What is Crating Lumber ? HREE items of cost go into every crate or box used by a manufacturer in shipping his goods: Lumber to make the crate. Labor to make th¢ crate. Freight cost on the weight of the crate. In this last item, freight costs, there is oftena very substantial saving to be made by more in- formed choice of crating lumber. Here are three instances that illustrate the point. They are taken from the note books of the Weyerhacuser Crating Engineers. Hundreds of others could be cited. The names of these clients are not cited here but we shall be glad to furnish them on request. Instance No. 1—Wood formerly used an ex- cellent wood but too heavy for crating light ship- ments. Crates re-designed using Weyerhaeuser White Pine. Weight saving of 82 pounds on each unit shipped. Average freight rate, $1.00 per hundred. Moncey saved by lighter and better crate, 82 cents per unit. Instance No. 2—Another instance of a light commodity crated with a cheap but far too heavy wood. New crate design recommended using light weight Weyerhacuser Cedar. The Cedar cost $6.50 per thousand feet more than the wood formerly used. But the freight sav- ing came to $11.00 per thousand feet. Net saving, $4.50 for every thousand feet of lumber used—a total of $2,700 saving per year. Instance No. 3—For this heavy export case, Weycrhacuser Fir and Larch furnished the nec- essary strength and still saved 210 pounds per case over wood formerly used. Freight rate 96 cents per hundred. Rate of shipment, 25 export cases per day—money saving with Fir and Larch about $19.00 per day—or $5,700 per year. OW please note: Allof the savings noted above were due entirely to the lighter weight of the crating lumber selected in place of the lumber formerly used. But that is only part of the story. It does not take into account the savings in labor. These Weyerhaeuser Crating Lumbers work more easily and with less splitting. There is also a saving in waste. You buy a uniform grade, all of which is usable. And beyond that there was in each instance a saving in the quantity of lumber required. Weyerhaeuser Crating Engineers are specialists in crate design. In most instances they can show how to make a better crate with /ess lumber. The shipper who is looking for a supply of the right kind of crating lumber is invited to get in touch with the nearest Weyerhaeuser representative. A booklet “Better Crating” will be sent on request, WEYERHAEUSER FOREST PRODUCTS SAINT PAUL: MINNESOTA Producers for industry of pattern and flask lumber, factory grades for remanufacturing, dumber for boxing and crating, structural timbers for industrial building. And each of these items in the species and type of wood best suited for the purpose. Also producers of Idaho Red Cedar poles for telephone and electric transmission lines. Products are distribs branch offices at 208 So. La Salle St., Chicago; 220 New -d through the established trade channels by the Weyerhaeuser Sales Company. Spokane, Wash York: Lexiogton Bid¢., Baltimore; aod 806 Plymouth Bide, Mio: with representatives throughout the country. comicbooks.com