New-York tribune., 1906-12-23
RICHER THAN JOHN D.?
Fast UeaIH attributed to q Little
knO7CR U'CStCrRCr.

Frederick Ueverbacuser, The name conveys
no meaning TO the average reader. Even IN ms
home town few know him. II" never ATTENDS
nubItc meetings He sIuus society. His home
is quiet and not out Of the ordinary. h'I
Wcyerhacuscr. timber king and recluSe' IS iotd
of millions Of far-hung timber lands with
fortune that overshadows that Of John d.
Rockefeller popularly believed to be the richest
man in the United states, if not in the whole
world As silently and as patiently as one OF
the giant trees on his land grew to its majestic
maturity. Wcycrhaeuser has grown. lie is
master Of vast reaches of wonderful forests eX-
tending from the cluttered drives of Wisconsin
lakes and rivers to the Pacific Coast. lie mas
behind him fifty years of unremitting toll along
lines Of telling organization. Patient, shrewd
and farseeing, he has given his life TO bringing
underneath his dominion the great forest tracts
of the Northwest.
It seems astounding that such an enormous
accumulation could he effected without the
whole world knowing it, but Weyerhaeuser IS a
man of mystery. TO his intimates he is known
as man OF enormous fortune and by the gen
eraI public hearing of him in a desultory way
he is popularity credited with great wealth; but
all estimates fall far short of the reality
Weyerhaeuser makes boast Of his wealth.
He shuns publicity. The spectacular pleasures
of the ordinary millionaire. have no fascination
for him He moves along in the same well or
dered groove. with the same ways of enjoy
ment, that he followed forty years ago. He is
essentially a worker but he works in the dark
He is a man of "A thousand partners. His hand
reaches the uttermost recesSes of the wilds OF
the Northwest. and the highest mountain peaks
spots from which he could Unfurl his BAN
ner TO the air if he desired. Secrecy Is his
hobby. one partner has idea Of what his
relations with another partner are His bust
ness is one of magnificent distances His great
wealth is in forests. and he seems to have ac-
quired some of the impenetrability and brood
ing silence that characteristic of them.
There are many men rich through lumber
traffic but Weyerhaeuser is king of them ALL
When any knotty problem arises. when there is
any complication in the trade, or any question
of moment TO be settled II is TO Weyerhaeuser
the lumbermen turn, and his decision is final
and binding
Weyerhaeusers wealth and opportunity grew
out of a national crime One OF the most wan
ton wrongs ever committed in this country has
been the spendthrift waste OF forests 1t
only recently that the nation awoke TO the van
dalism that has been going on unhndered for
years. and began the work Of establishing forest
reserves. Weyerhaeuser, born in land where
forestry is an exact science, realized that the
methods in vogue, if left unchecked, would in
time exhaust even the prodigal wealth Of the
land and bring on timber famine that would
cause forest lands to appreciate in value. Fifty
years ago he started in To acquire timber tracts,
ana ne has followed that policy without devia-
non. AS shrewdly the first AstOr sought out
ana accumulated New York city property,
Weyerhaeuser has sought out and secured the
best of timber properties.
There is nothing In this country growing in
Halue Dy leaps and bounds like timber proper
ties. The pinch is coming The prodigal waste
OF years is creating a paucity of desirable tim
per tracts. The famine isn't much yet but in
tlihe' possibly within the next score of years
according 10 well informed lumbermCn the real
supply "ll be greatly diminished and prices viii
toar even more than they have in the last ten
years Wcyerhaeuser Is beginning To reap the
fruits OF his foresight. If he lives twenty years
longer ana retains what ne has to-day, he will
be wealthy beyond all computation. 1t is hardly
necessary TO be specific the increase in the
Nalue OF lumber lands. but just couple Of cases
may % cited as instances and for these ca scs
John G. Stats editor Of The Lumberman's