The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-07-07
ABOUT eooMs.
One That started with Half Finished
MIL and Ended With Finished Wreck.

One That started with "a Half Finished
Mill and Ended With Finished Wreck.
Some one had asked the ex boomer from
Oregon to describe the theory and practice
of his late profession. Every boom" he
said has its pretext, which may range
from projected railroad to a salubrious
climate, and its promoter, whose real OBJ
ject may be almost anything imaginable,
but is generally a desire TO buy or sell
some particular piece of property, and
booms are as various in inception and de-
yelopment as their pretexts and promoters.
1.-THE most successful and farreaching
boom is disturbance far beyond my pow
ers of description. Capital and specula-
ton are, however, the only vitality neccs-
sary elements for the creation of small
sized boom, and II is possible that one OK
perienced man may represent both of them
and be wholly and directly responsible for
boom of considerable magnitude
Il may cite as an example of such a
boom my own experience with sawmill
which had started TO build for neigh
Dor of mine, man of large experience III
the lumber business, who died suddenly,
leaving me in possession of n half finished
plant, of whose operation / knew absolute
~ nothing. On trying to sell discovered
chat none of the other mills in the vicinity
had been making money for some time,
and that it would be impossible to find
purchaser for my property as 1t stood.
"Well, / had capital involved and pro-
ceeded to speculate with every cent l pos
sessed l finished the mill, adding plan.
ers, lath, shingle and boxmaking machin
| cry and an electric light plant to the orig
| inal plans, and began running day and
| night. With the first lumber sawed con
structed spur TO the mill from the rail
road near by, built large general mer'
! chandise store, a blacksmith shop and o
| hotel, all of which i operated myself, and
| about so cottages which / rented to my
| employees. / also secured the establish
| ment of railroad, telegraph and express
| station and "a postofiice and soon bad "a
| bustling little town started. managed to
| find some employment for every man,
woman and child that wanted it, and had
more money in circulation in the county
| than the oldest inhabitant had ever before
| known Of To keep the mill going after
| the legitimate local demand for lumber
| was satisfied, began to stock new yards
! in the two nearest county seats, put up a
fence all around my ranch, and built new
| barns, corrals and sheds all over the place.
"At the end of three months after the
mill had started running had about ex-
hausted my capital, but had gained repu-
tation that nearly sent me to the state
legislature that year, and, more TO my
| purpose, had received several offers to in
corporate or sell my business. The best
of the offers i finally accepted, and trans
ferred the whole layout to number OF
moneyed men from the state capital for a
price that gave me net profit of $4,000
"The following summer l spent abroad.
On my return six months later the prop
crty was in the hands of receiver and II
was sold at auction in the following year
for SC, 600. New York Sun.