Semi=weekly graphic., 1899-04-29
TO HEAR PROPOSITION OF w. E. SAWYER LARGELY
 ATTENDED.
A LIBERAL PROPOSITION.
Commercial League Appoints Con- mitteeS to Raise $5O,O00 as a
 Bonus.

Several hundred Pine Bluff citi- zens ingpursuanee to call, assembled at the court house Tuesday night to meet and hear the proposition of Mir. w. E. Sawyer and Mr. J. T. Putnam, represent tativcs of the Sawyer & 4 Austin Lumber Company, of Lacrosse, Wis, which company recently purchased 1000 acres of land from the Muskegon Lumber company. The land begins seven west of Pine Bluff and extends to within five miles of Benton, Ark This company will move it's plant to this State and are favorabIy :m- pressed with Pine Bluff and it's facilities. They will if the people of this city offer the proper induce ments, build their plant here and also construct 8 standard gauge road from Pine Bluff to Sheridan, with daily passenger and freight service.
 The proposition made by the Saw yer & Austin company is as follows:
 They propose to erect their big three band plant in Pine Bluff, which is capable of manufacturing and marketing timber from the pur- chased lands for period of thirty years. The plant will be a substan- tial one and will rank second to none in the State. They will pay their employees in cash, and will not conduct a eommissary, thereby let ting their employees spend their money with the Pine Bluff mer- chants. They viH also construct the above named line, provided the citizens Of Pine Bluff will donate a mill site of fifty acres and raise bonus of $50,000 for the railroad.
 The meeting was called to order by President Fox of the Commercial League. He made known the ob- iect, and then introduced Mr. Saw yer, who said he had been looking all winter for place to locate his big plant and upon a first visit to our city and seeing its excellent facilities became very fayorably i'm pressed with the place. Recognlz- ing the advantages of Pine Bluff he is anxious to make this place the headquarters for his mill and be- lieves it to be the proper location.
 Mir. Sawyer said to erect his plant here he would need the assistance of the citizens and believed they would lend their aid. He stated that fifty per cent of his employees have signided their willingness to come here with tae plant. He an. swered several questions in regard to the matter and closed by saying he knew it would greatly develop this city and section and would be the best thing that could ever hap pen to Pine Bluff, that is, as an en- terprise.
 Mir. Putnam then arose and said 4he most important part of the transaction besides the mill for Pine Bluff would be the standard guage road they will construct. He said he has seen lots of timber but has never yet seen any that would equal the timber in Grant county.
 The people of this city, he said, have no idea what wonderful devel- opment would result in this section after that road was built. Pine Bluff should be the headquarters for the plant, as we would have two other railroads to ship from and that makes it the more convenient.
 Mir. Fox stated that the business of the meeting had been transacted and he adjourned it, announcing, however, that the Executive Com mittee would hold a meeting at the Commercial League quarters We'd nesday morning and select Finance l Coumittae of ion nitizans whc