River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1902-11-06
MERGER IN COURT.
Lumber and Coal Men Testify as to
the Practical Workings.

In the suit of the United States against
the Northern Securities company, Mr..
Frederick Weyerhauser was the nrst wit
ness to follow Mr.. Hill in the testimony
taken in ST. Paul.
Mr.. Weyerhauser is the largest manu-
facturer of lumber in the United States.
He testified as to the reliance of the coun-
try upon the state of Washington for lum :
Der. This passage in his testimony is in
@. Are you acquainted with the lumber
supply in the Mississippi valley?
A Yes, sir; that is where 1 have been
operating for forty years.
q. How about the amount of standing
timber in the Mississippi valley, available
for making lumber compared with that
A 1t is getting very short; the supply
is getting very short.
O. About how long do you think that
this valley?
A. Oh, five or six years will wipe out
most of our mills, though the last tree
will not be cut for some time to come in
these states. l am speaking now mainly
of Wisconsin and Minnesota and Michi-
gan.
@. How is it with your own mills in
this valley? Are they increasing or di-
minishing?
A. Diminishing; We get through saw
getting through at Hayward, so there are
two mills less.
9. And taking down those mills?
"A. we uSeu 10 operate TOUR in DaVen-
port, Ia; we have only got two left now
Q. To what part of the country are you
fefgIort1ng for a supply OF timber in the
failure OF this Mississippi valley timber?
Washington and Oregon.
Q. What has been the extent of your
A. We own 100000 acres in that
neutrality-suspicious. that up to $500, 900
acres; about 200, 900 in Oregon, and per
haps about the same in Idaho.
For
lumber from any of that timber?
a. Yes, sir; we manufacture in Wash
ington and manufacture in Idaho.
He thought the largest market was in
Iowa. eastern Kansas and Nebraska
though Illinois was considerable of mar
ket
The facilities now offered whereby he
could ship by the Great Northern and
Northern Pacific and the Burlington, were
of great advantage both to his company
and the public In fact, this combina :
ton was practically vital to his doing
business at ALL
w. P. cIough.
w. p Clough, fourth vice president of
the Northern Securities company was the
made by the Northern Securities company
has been a direct individual transaction.
The stock purchased was transferred alb
solutely Internationally in every case and
without solicitation on the part of the
company.
He had been practically present at the
New York office every business day since
the company was organized. There was
nothing unusual in the transfers Holders
of Great Northern and Northern Pacific
stock would come in and ask to sell it
to the company and would receive in pay
therefor the stock of the Northern Sc
curitieS company.
He was next asked the amount of hold
ingS in the Northern Securities company
of the eight or ten gentlemen especially
named by Mr.. Hill as his particular as
sociates, to which he replied that he
thought that it was less than one-third of
the stock of the Northern Securities COM
pany.
C. B. Harris.
Geo. B. Harris, president of the Bur
HngtOn system, testified that he had been
with that system in some form for thirty
six years. The road has about $500 miles
of track, and to the. question, whether the
acquisition of the Burlington by the Great
strain trade and traffic between the states
and foreign countries, he replied
On the contrary l think it will pro-
mote business very greatly and develop
latent resources and enable forest, min
eral and other products to be utilized,
which are now idle. The practical extern
coast by reason OF it's connection affords
opportunity to merchants and manufac-
turers to extend their markets. He cited
the fact that he had 400 miles of track
in Nebraska and there is not a tree on it,
except those which have been planted by
the settlers. No lumber is cut in Nebras-
k1 ana SOlQ on The market.
a necessity to assist in settling up that
country. If people could not obtain lum-
Der at q reasonable rate they could not
live there, and it is distinctly an adVan-
tage to that country as well as to the
manufacturers on the Pacific coast and to
the transportation lines that distribute it.
The lumber has got to come directly
from the Pacific coast. Formerly they got
enormous quantities of lumber from Chi
cago, but that supply was now largely
exhausted, and if they could not get it
it from anywhere.
The cattle industry, he said, was anoth-
er great business that was being devel-
oped by this management. The cattle are
loaded on the ranges on the lines of the
Great Northern and Northern Pacific and
sent down on the Burlington to feed and
He thought the Burlington rails reached
every large packing point that he could
think Of, except Sioux City.
@. What effect will attend the trans
portatiOn of lumber onto the Burlington
and the territory tributary to it, as af-
fording return traffic over the Great
Northern and Northern Pacific, increaS-
ing the volume and the reduction of
rates?
A.. Well, it is obvious that wagon
which can go loaded both ways can af-
ford to do business at a lower price than
one which has to be hauled one way emp
ty, and the lumber business affording a
constant supply of tonnage eaStbound en-
ables the company to do westbound tom
mage and temptS us to do WeStbound
tonnage at the lowest price we cam AFFORD
to in order to promote that business. We
accomplish various things by doing that.
We give the people of Nebraska and
Iowa, where we have a great many lines
we give them cheap lumber, which pro-
notes trade there, promotes settlement.
They build houses, make improvements,
and it is an added inducement to people
to settle there where we need settlement,
and indirectly, it helps US in other ways.
Those people have got to wear shoes and
clothing and have tea and coffee.
The next matter taken up was the
transportation of coal and iron ores.
Speaking of this Mr.. Harris said: We
Streator district on the north to the dis
trict of which Centralia is the southern
most point in the south, but a great many
and some very large ones, and a few years
ago-a very short time ago. in fact-the
cCal supply on the Burlington lines in IL
an extent that the coal operators were
beginning to be q little FESTIVE about it.
rnev thought we ought to be able to
hustle around and provide a market in
some way-do something about it. But
if was something difficult to do that in
stand a great many transfers; it is friable,
deteriorates rapidly and must be taken
from the mines to as near the point of
consumption as possible without car
transfer. So this country up here, being
without co%l-
Great Northern and the Northern Pacific,
Minnesota and Dakota?
A Yes this northern country, and eS-
pecially the lines of those two roads.
we thought that that would afford us
a permanent market for that large
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