HARDWOOD RECORD 



17 



TANGENTIAL SECTION OF BALSAM FIR. 



eucalyptus, known as blue gum, and only 

 about seven per cent for red cedar. For 

 hickory, the shnnkage has been shown to be 

 approximately twenty per cent of the dry 

 volume, and for longleaf pine about fifteen 

 per cent. 



In the usual air-dry condition, from twelve 

 to fifteen per cent of moisture still remains in' 

 the wood, so that the shrinkage from the 

 green condition to the air-dry condition is 

 only a trifle over half of that from the 

 green to the absolutely dry state. 



'Builders of Lumber History. 



Charles D. Gates. 



{See Portrait Supplcnunt.) 



The Hardwood Eecoed presents as supple- 

 ment to this issue the portrait of a man who 

 though not well known to the general lumber 

 trade in the usual sense of that term, is never- 

 theless a power in the special line of lumber 

 operation.s which he has elected to follow — 

 the manufacture of hickory handles. 



Charles D. Gates of Louisville, Ky., was 

 born in Hadlyme, Conn., on the twenty-first 

 day of August, 1855, and comes of good old 

 ' ' blue-blooded ' ' New England stock. His 

 father is F. E. Gates, a direct descendant of 

 the famous Gates family of BevolutioBary 

 times. His mother is a member of the illus- 

 trious Hungerford family, whose genealogy 

 is recorded in the Knights of England — truly 

 an ancestral line to be proud of. ilr. Gates' 

 father, grandfather and great-grandfather 

 were all prosperous farmers residing in the 

 Connecticut valley. 



The boy attended the school of the district 

 in which he lived until the age of fifteen, 

 when he was sent to Hartford graded schools 

 for a time. From there he went to a prepara- 

 tory school at Wolverhampton, Mass., and 

 later to the Williston Seminary at East 

 Hampton, Mass. After finishing his studies 

 there he became a "Yankee school-teacher," 

 and took charge of the principal gradea' 

 school at Moodus, Conn. The work proved 

 too confining, and finding that his strength 

 was being overtaxed, Mr. Gates went to sea 

 as a hand before the mast for one season. 

 On his return he continued the outdoor life 

 as a farmer for another year. 



His first venture in the commercial world, 

 and the one which decided his career, was 

 made in 1877, when he entered the service of 

 the Turner, Day & Woohvorth Handle Com- 

 pany, Inc., of Louisville, Ky., as yardmaster. 

 Mr. Gates has continued in their service ever 

 since, and in the thirty best years of his life 

 which he has devoted to their interests, has 



LWl. 



filled the positions of shipping clerk, foreman, 

 superintendent, secretary, general manager 

 and president, which latter oiSce h*" now 

 holds. 



The Turner, Day & Woohvorth handle 

 Company, Inc., is one of the great iiidustries 

 of Louisville ; its head office is located there, 

 and branches are maintained at 116 Broad 

 street, New York City, and the Flood build- 

 ing, San Francisco. The concern has an an- 

 nual output valued at about $1,.500,000, and 

 carries on hand at all times an average stock 

 of hickory handles worth $400,000. It main- 

 tains in all thirty-two branch factories, widely 

 scattered, and all in charge of men who are 

 experts in their line. The most important of 

 these are located at Nashville, Tenn., Hunt- 

 ington, W. Va., Memphis, Tenn., Paragould, 

 Ark., Cairo, 111., Bowling Green, Ky., and 

 Decatur, Ala. 



The company believes its facilities for ob- 

 taining a large and well selected stock of 

 hickory timber, and for its manufacture into 

 the handles used by woodsmen, farmers, me- 

 chanics, miners, railroad contractors and the 

 army and navy are unexcelled. In addition 

 to supplying a large domestic trade, the 

 ' ' Turner-Day ' ' people do an enormous export 

 business, supplying probably about 75 per 

 cent of all the handles that are shipped to 

 England. Germany, Australia and other for- 

 eign markets. In fact, their product goes to 

 all corners of the globe— to the Indian of the 

 far East, the Eskimo of the North and the 

 African negro of the southern hemisphere. 



The large interests of which Mr. Gates is 

 the head require his close and constant atten- 

 tion, and he has indeed given of himself un- 

 stintingly for many years, becoming familiar 

 with their every detail, and leaving no stone 

 unturned to forward the advancement of the 

 business, so that he may look back upon his 

 eiforts with the utmost satisfaction, knowing 

 that he has increased the operations and 



prestige of the Turner, Day & Woohvorth 

 Handle Company, until it is today the lar- 

 gest concern of its kind in the world. 



Like all forceful men, Mr. Gates is in de- 

 mand from outside enterprises which seek the 

 benefit of his ex]5erience and cooperation, but 

 he has never consented to hold any salaried 

 office; in politics he is a staunch republican. 

 He is vice-president of the Louisville Park 

 Commissioners and a director of the Board of 

 Trade; belongs to the Filson Club and the 

 Louisville Commercial Club and takes a lively 

 interest in philanthropic and church affairs, 

 being president of the Presbyterian Alliance 

 of Louis^-ille and an elder of the Presbyterian 

 church; in the past he has filled the ofices of 

 chairman of the state executive committee of 

 the Young Men 's Christian Association and 

 president of the Presbyterian Orphan 's 

 Home. 



ilr. Gates is a thorough believer in associ- 

 ation work, and is one of the most active 

 members of the new Handle Manufacturers ' 

 Association of America and was president of 

 the Hickory Handle Manufacturers' Associa- 

 tion for four years. In commercial affairs 

 he is possessed of keen penetration, the power 

 of making a quick decision, and firmness in 

 maintaining his position once it is taken — 

 essential attributes in a man who would dic- 

 tate the policy of a great corporation. He 

 maintains an attitude of open fearlessness 

 and absolute frankness in business relations, 

 so much so that he cannot forgive or con- 

 done the lack of these traits in a competitor. 



Perhaps the recent words of an intimate 

 a.ssociate of Charles* D. Gates best sum up 

 his dominant characteristics : ' ' When ht 

 goes after anything he usually gets it, and 

 when he gets anything good he is always 

 willing to share it " 



A Profitable Expenditure. 



Some people are always looking for outside 

 Investments. They put money into things of 

 which they know nothing. They entrust it to 

 entire strangers, who may or may not l>e honest 

 and capable. Sometimes they receive dividends. 

 Oftener they do not. 



While they are playing the other fellow's game 

 on the one hand, on the other their own business 

 is perhaps sutfering from lack of capital or 

 oSEering excellent opportunities that are unim- 

 proved. As a rule there is no safer or more 

 profitable Investment for one's money than In 

 one's own business. Frequently there is a chance 

 to add greatly to the profits by making a small 

 outlay in additional or improved machinery or 

 appliances. For Instance, in some cases mills 

 are hauling off their sawdust or burning it In the 

 open air and using slabs and edgings to run 

 their plant, notwithstanding there is a good 

 local market for firewood. Again, it not Infre- 

 quently happens that mills do not cut more than 

 ninety per cent as much lumber as they should 

 because the steam pressure sometimes gets down. 



In any case the Gordon Hollow Blast Grate Is 

 a big dividend earner and, in fact, some users 

 report that it pays for itself every month ! The 

 manufacturers, the Gordon Hollow Blast Grate 

 Company of Greenville, Mich., will ship an outfit 

 subject to thirty days' trial, and will stand the 

 freight both out and back in the event of rejec- 

 tion, — certainly a proposition worth looking into. 



The Virginia Timber Company of Springfield. 

 111., has elected A. F. Hemphill secretary, and 

 has taken new offices in the i-vrik building. 



