The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1900-04-21
FIRST LO'1 ROLLER.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Entertaining Sto y ~ the Wi,constn Luna-
ber Kings Met rod of occurring What
He sought WhNc In ConsreAs.

ber kinEs Met rod OF occurring what
He Sought While In Congress.
The late Philetus Sawyer of Wiscon-
sin earned his first money by driving |
team for Mcssrs. renticld Il Ham
mOnd, who had mines and timber |
camps on the banks of Lake Cham
plain, and he managed to save $1,000
on salary of 81 month. With this !
capital he went 10 WISCONSIN In 1877 /
md laid the foundation of his enOr- |
nous fortune AT an auction sale of gov
eminent land. Mr. Sawyer spent two |
years tramplng through the timber ana |
marking the best tracts, and arranged |
with lumbermen in Boston to furnish |
the money to buy On shares. He used
to tell the story with great gusto. The |
older lie grew the oftener lie told 1t, |
and the more he enjoyed the recollec- |
ton of the way in which he Outwitteu |
a party Of spectators from New York. |
The latter, knowing that Mr.. Sawyer
was the only man who knew the actual
value of the lands, followed his bid
ding, and when he seemed anxious to
obtain certain tract they would raise
him until they got ii. Mr.. Sawyer soon
discovered how his rivals We're avail
ing themselves of the knowledge which
it took him two long years of labor and
their game.
Placing the list of lands he wished to
purchase In the hands of an uncouth
rustic with instructions to bid each up
to certain amount. he bid frantically
himself for other tracts, but the New
York spectators perslstently OutDid
him. He showed so much chagrin that
1t afforded them amusement. When
the sale'w over and the land was in
spected 1t was found that the New
York spectators had purchased near
ly every worthless piece OF timber in
the state and that the rustic lumber
man had secured nearly every choice
tract. The Boston people Were very
liberal to Mr.. Sawyer and gave him
generous proportion OF the lands he
bought with their money. Some of
them he still owned at the time of his
death.
Mr.. Sawyer was the inventor of that
form of legislation known as ''lOg-rOll-
ing" 1t was the practical result of his
ability to accomplish things. He never
cared for show. He never made IL
speech in his life, but no man enjoyed
the sensation of success more keenly.
What he undertook he carried out. and
II he couldn't do 1t one way lie did 1t
in another lie had large share of
that faculty the Yankees called CON
trivance." which enabled him TO devise
means for accomplishing his purpose
that would not have suggested them
selves to any other man. The "lOg-r0ll-
ing method of legislation was sug-
gested to him by the familiar habits of
the lumbermen in his own country,
who help each other to roll the logs
from the winter camp to the banks OF
the nearest stream, where they can
be caught by the spring rise. 1t was
the application of this neighbOrly prac-
tice which enabled Mr.. Sawyer to Sc
cure legislation that could not other
wise have been passed, and he gave
the method Its name.
Wisconsin needed good deal of leg
islation when he first came to Con-
gress, and Mr.. Sawyer secured more
than forty other men could have done.
He let his bills accumulate Until to-
ward the end OF the session, when he
would take up the calendar and make
Inemorandums of various measures IN
which influential men In the House
and Senate were Interested Then he
would call them together at his house
or mt his committee room and say:
Boys, we've got TO do a little log
rolling If we get our timber to the mill
this season." The result would be IN
agreement to stand by each other and
throw all their combined influence in
favor of Il list of bills which lir had
made out and handed to members of
the combine. The work was conduct
Ell in secret and was almost always
successful, 30 thai; the habits of the
Wisconsin lumbermnn now prevail In
every legislative body in the world.
The river and barbor appropriation
h 4, hat N u "a
separate measure would be passed for
each river or harbor that required I'm
prOvement. but under Mr.. Sawyer's
log-rolling system the members of
Congress interested in such approprIa-
lions organized a trust which finally
grew into n regular annual appropria-
ton bill and special committee TO
frame 1t.