The silver star., 1900-04-20
FIRST LUs1 ROLLER.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Entertaining sto y of the Wisconsin Lum-
ber kinE's Method of occurring What
He sought Whlio In CnnRreHa.

Entertaining sto nf the Wisconsln Lun,-
ber kings Method OF occurring What
He Sought White In Congress.
The late Philetus Sawyer of Wiscon-
sin earned his first money by driving
team for Mcssrs. Pcnticld Il Ham
mOnd, who had mines and timber |
camps on the bnnks of Lake Cham
plain, and he managed to save $1,000 /
OH salary of x12 IL month. With this |
capital he went to Wisconsin in 1917 /
and laid the foundation of his enOr- |
nous fortune at an auction sale of GOV |
ernment lund. Mr.. Sawyer spent two |
years tramping through the timber ana |
marking the best tracts. and arranged |!
with lumberinen 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 he told 1t, |
and the more he enjoyed the recollec- |
ti0n Of the way In which lie Outwitted |
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, anu when he seemed anxious to
obtain certain tract they would raise
him until they got 1t. Mr.. Sawyer soon
discovered how his rivals were avail
ing themselves of the knowledge which
It took him two long yenrs of labor and
hardship to acquire, and then turned
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 persistently Outbid
him. He showed SO much chagrin that
1t afforded them amusement. When
the sale was over and the lnnd was in
spected 1t was found that the New
York spectators had purchased near
~ every worthless piece of timber in
the state and that the rustic lumber
man had secured nearly every choice
tract. The Boston people We're very
liberal to Mr.. Sawyer and gave him Il
generous proportion of the lands he
bought with their money. Some of
them he still owned ut 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
speech III his life. but no man enjoyed
the sensation of success more keenly.
What he undertook he carried out. and
If he couldn't do II one way he did 1t
In another. He 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-roll
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 lie 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
memOrandums of various measures In
which influential men In the House
and Senate We're Interested. Then he
would call them together at his house
| or Rt his committee room and say:
Boys. we've got to do Il little log
rolling IL we get our timber to the mill
this SEASON. The result would be an
agreement to stand by each other and
throw all their combined Influence In
favor Of II list of bills which he had
made out and handed TO members of
the combine. The work was conduct
ed In secret and was almost always
successful, 80 that the habits of the
Wisconsin lumbermnn now prevail In
every Legislative body In the world.
The river and iarbor appropriation
bill originated In that way. Formerly u
separate measure would he passed for
each river or harbor that required i'm
provement. hut under MIR. Sawyer's
log-rolling system the members OF
Congress Interested IN such appropria-
tions organized II trust which finally
grew into regular annual appropria-
tiOn bill and II special committee To
frame II.