The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-01-03


heavy lumbermen. who do not wish 20
| bother with the hard woods and other mis-
| ceIianeous timber resources. are turning
| their attention to other fields. Just as the
lumbermen of Maine went to Pennsylva-
/ mia, northern New York and Michigan, so
| are the white pine lumbermen of Michi-
gan. Wisconsin and Minnesota developing
| the resources OF the south and Pacific
| coast. This has been going on for nearly
| twenty years from Michigan. during the
| last ten years from Wisconsin, and more
recently from Minnesota, and has pro-
gressed so far that probably half of the
entire lumber product of the south is pro-
duced or controlled by northern men.
| They have gone into cypress in LOUISE
ana, South Carolina and Florida into
yellow pine in the southern Atlantic coast
and gulf states; into short leaf pine in
Arkansas and Missouri, and into the hard
woods in all the states of the middle
south. They have had no monopoly. for
the native southerner has held his OWL,
but the chance is at least an even one
that the owners of any first class south
ern saw mill will turn out to be former
northern mill men. The largest lumber
however, the Kirby Lumber company of
Houston, Texas, with fourteen saw mills.
is a southern enterprise. projected by
John H Kirby southern born and Texas
raised
1.-The mills along the southern Atlantic
coast have always been largely under the
control of northern capital New York has
furnished a great deal Of it, being espec-
tally represented in S.Sanah, Brunswick.
and recently in the Atlantic Coast Lumber
company; but lumhermen of the farther
west are also there. The Cummers OF
Grand Rapids, Mich, have big mills at
Norfolk and Jacksonville; JON Paul OF
La Crosse, Wis, is also In Florida. The
principal interest in the Alger-Sullivan
Lumber company of Century, Fla, is Gen.
r. A. Aiger. All the gulf states east OF
the Mississippi are dotted with the enter
prises of northern men. The Goodyears of
Buffalo. besides their great hemlock hold
ings in ennsylvania, are heavily inter-
ested in Mississippi. At Lake Charles.
La, is ne Bradley Ramsey Lumber COM
pany from Saginaw, Mich. Northern
Louisiana is being exploited largely by
Wisconsin and Illinois capital. Arkansas
and south Missouri were developed al
most entirely by northern men,, chiefly
from west of Lake Michigan, though in
southern Missouri considerable Pennsyl-
yania anu District of Columbia capital is
invested Texas also has a large number
of northern people. though the major part
of it's business is done by natives or those
who have been there so long they have
become naturalized. California develop
ments have largely been under the control
of residents of that state, but of late
years heavy investments have been made
of eastern capital, chiefly from Wiscon-
sin and Minnesota and some from New
York state Oregon, which has been
slow to develop in a manufacturing way,
has been the scene of heavy timber in
vestments, while Washington mills are al
most entirely owned by former fasteners.
except for a series of large mills erected
by San Francisco capital"
Where is the largest area of standing
timber?
'.The most heavily timbered state now
is Oregon; next comes California, then
Washington. They are each far ahead of
any other state. OF the states east Of
the Rocky mountains Arkansas has prob
ably more timber than any other state,
though exact information is lacking. Fol
lowing closely would come such states
as Louisiana. Mississippi. Minnesota, Wis
consin Maine Pennsylvania, Texas, North
Carolina, Florida.
There has been for few years gath
ering together of holdings by heavy tim
Der operators, so that in a few states the
80 A. = tn
to twenty hands. Among the states where
the grouping Of the timber properties has
progressed the afrthest are Mississippi,
Louisiana and Texas. There are a num-
Der of heavy timber concerns in Kansas
City like the Long-Be Lumber company
and the Central Coal and Coke company,
that have timber holdings running above
/. 600. O00 900 feet, mainly in Arkansas, Loui-
sana and Texas.
The largest timber interest in the coun-
try is the so-called Weyerhaueser syndi-
cate. This simply means informal CO.
operation of number of wealthy lumber
men in Wisconsin. Minnesota, and along
the Mississippi river below these states,
under the general leadership of Freder-
lex Weyerhaueser, formerly of Rock ISL
and, H., but now OF St. Paul. He is n
man whose judgment is highly regarded,
whose integrity is unimpeachable and who
has a genius for organization, conse-
quentIy ne has had no trouble in carry
ing out any project which he put on foot.
In some off his enterprises but one or
TWO men may be interested, in others more
ambitious d dozen or twenty. The Weyer-
haueser people are probably still the lar
gest holders o fwhite pine. and the Weyer-
haeuser Timber company owns more
stumpage than any other corporation in
the United States Ii has over 4 million
acres of timber lands in Washington on
which there are probably upward OF 20
900 ooe 0oa0 feet of timber. and its holdings
will very likely cut double that amount
4. is all the time buying and sometimes
selling The Weyerhaeuser people have
more timber in Idaho than anyone else.
have some Investments in oregon and
have recently gone into the south
THE most valuable tract CT timber I'M
der one control is that of the Kirby Lum-
Der company. II has over 1.0oo. % acres in
east Texas which is worth upward OF s25.-
osJ,opo.
Il have mentioned a few of the larger
timber owning interests Of the country,
but this business is one singuiariy free
from combinations and control of the raw
material is probably more widely distrib-
uted than in any other industry.
WILLIAM z. CURTIS
CASTORIA