Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-01-31
EXTENSIVE OPERATORS,
Messrs. John Daily Of Grand Rapids and John
G'Day of Merrill.


The Merrill Advocate has an inter-
eSting article in its last issue about
John DAILY of this city and John
O'Day, who formerly resided here but
now of Merrill. We append the
article in full as it will be of interest
to the readers of the REPORTER:
John O'Day & Co., a firm comprised
OF John O'Day of this city and John
Daily of Grand Rapids, with their
home office here. in charge of that
prince of good fellows, William Glib
hart, stands today as the leading
logging firm in the state of Wisconsin.
and as far as that is concerned, in any
other state as we will prove before
closing this article.
The members of the firm ARE sub
Stantial citizens, progressive, enter
priSing and publicspirited, striking
representatives Of the energy and push
that has attracted SO much attention
tC northern Wisconsin. and which has
gone so far in making Merrill the
energetic and prosperous city that it
is today. They are not merely
interested in the logging business, for
they are the principal owners of the
Merrill Iron Works. They are, too,
stockholders in the Merrill Street
Railway & Lighting Co. And further
more they are owners of property in
our city and in territory adjoining
thereto, that will in the near future
be utilized for purposes that will add
to the fame and fortune already
acquired by this section of the
country.
But we started to write of but one
line, that of logging, and will get down
to that ere we embody facts that will
necessitate the giving over of the
entire paper to write-up of what this
cOmpany's business actually means to
Merrill. Yet we must state that
MeSsrS. John o. Day and John Dalys
career in tie business world is re-
markable in that they have won
success. because they were rightly
entitled to it. Luck has been no
factor for they have earned by hard
labor, honesty and being courageous
and long-headed, the success that has
been meted out to them.
This company has in some eleven
camps that will average over fifty men
to a camp. They will put in during
the winter over 100000 feet of
timber, 20.000,000 feet of which will
be handled by rail, 10000, 900 feet will
go into the river, and the remainder
into lakes to be driven down the river
or handled by rail next summer.
The Lac du Flambeau Lumber Co.
will get 2O,000,000 feet. The Grand
Rapids Lumber Co., firm in which
John O'Day & Co. are also interested,
will get 100000 and the remainder
will go to Merrill and Grand Rapids
parties. And all of this timber, with
the exception of about 5000, 900 feet is
owned by this company.
Of the different camps, there is one
at HiXOn, foreman, John Heron, with
forty to fifty men; two at HaZeihurSt,
one with RiauX as foreman, with fifty
men, the other with twenty five men
Erickson as foreman. Paul Kngston's
camp at GoOdnOW has thirty men, and
VIM. AndersonS camp at State Line
has forty men. They have five camps
in the vicinity Of Mercer, The names
of the fOremen of which, and the
number of men follow: John Still
well, forty; VIM. Snyder, forty: Owen
Ryan, Sevcnty-tive: Jim Log, fifty;
Arthur Short, sixty; while their Lac
du Flambeau camp of sixty men is
presided over by Dan Shea, and one
other by JAS Gallagher, with fifty
men. These with something like
twenty men working upon landings,
loading cars, ETC., bring the total
number of men employed close to the
600 mark.
While the above paragraph shows
some magnitude, it but adds to it to
state, that the transaction of this
cOmpany'S business causes them to
use 80 spans of horses, and the five
camps at Mercer averaging five or six
teams to the camp, hauling to the
same landing, necesSitateS the us: of
two steam leaders, that load daily
forty to forty-tive cars. These cars
are hauled by the cOmpany's engine
over their road to the main line of the
Northwestern where two trips a day
are made to the plant of the Lac du
Flambeau Lumber Co
We were nearly staggered by some
of the facts contained in the above.
but about lost our equilibrium when
we were Informed By Mr. Gibhart
yesterday that they, at that time, had
over 300 tons of hay in their ware
house in this city, to say nothing of
an amount sufficient in all of the
camps to provide for their horses for
some time to come. This latter fact
will give our readers a faint idea OF
the supplies necessary to feed the men
that they employ. Yet casual OBJ
server encOuntering either member of
this firm, or entering their office in
this city. would, from their actions or
the actions of their employees, gain
no idea whatsoever of the gigantic
proportions of their business And
why? Because they understand it in
every detail. Their system is perfect
and they transact this great volume
of business with apparently as little
effort as does an Italian peanut vendcr
his small business.