THE HARDWOOD RECORD. 



15 



A Prominervt LumbermsLn. 



and a High Public Official. 



Few lumbermen have reached as great 

 a prominence in yiiblic life or held a more 

 honored place in the lumber trade than 

 A. T. Blis's ot Saginaw, Mich., governor 

 of that .state. 



Governor Bliss is a native of New York 

 State, where his youth was spent on his 

 father's farm, and as a clerk In the store 

 of a merchant. When the Civil War broke 

 out he entered the army as a private in 

 the Tenth New York Cavalry. He with- 

 stood the hardships of Andersonville 

 prison and came out of the army as Colonel 

 of the company, which he entered as a 

 private. He is veiy i>opular with the mem- 

 bers' of the Grand Army of the Republic 

 and has held the high post as commander 

 of the Department of Michigan. 



After the war he settled at Saginaw, 

 where he at once embarked in the manu- 

 facture of lumber on his own account. He 

 was successful from the start and began 

 immediately to invest in timberlands. 



To-day he is probal>ly the largest indi- 

 vidual holder of timberlands in the world, 

 owning large tracts not only in Michig'an, 

 but alsK) in the states of Washing'tou, Ore- 

 gon, California, Minnesota, West Virginia. 

 Tennessee, Alabama, Ai-kansas and Louisi- 

 ana. These vast holdings, however, he re- 

 gards as investments pure and simple, and 

 recent profitable sales in Pacific Coast 

 properties have proven the wisdom of amch 

 investments. His business operations, 

 however, are largely in and around Sagi- 

 naw, where he owns two large saw mills, 

 a mammoth salt works, a coal mine and a 

 beet sugar factory. He also owns a large 

 amount of business and residence propert.v 

 in Saginaw and considerable farming 

 lands in the vicinity of Saginaw and Flint, 

 Jlicli. One of the most recent enterprises 

 in which he became interested is the 

 Chicot Lumber Company, a big hardwood 

 lumber manufacturingr institution. He is 

 president of the company, whose plant is 



located at Blissville, Ark., the town being 

 built for the company and named after 

 him. This compan.v is reputed to have the 

 largest and best hardwood milling plant in 

 the country. 



Notwithstanding the call which all of 

 these vast business interests made uijon 

 his time and thought Governor Bliss has 

 reached a proud position in the political 

 firmament. He has been on all the rounds 

 of the political ladder. He has served as 

 alderman and then as mayor of Saginaw; 

 he hay been a member of the State Legis- 

 lature and served the Saginaw district in 

 the United States Congress. He is now 

 governor of the state of M'ichigan and has 

 .iust recently been renominated for that 

 high office on the Repulilicau ticket for 

 the second term. In political life the gov- 

 ernor is of the old line t.vpe. has had a 

 long and varied experience, and the fol- 

 lowing he controls is' a compliment to his 

 political sagacity and integrity. 



In busines's life and considering the im- 

 portance of his affairs, the mcst valuable 

 triljute to his commercial status is the high 

 esteem in which he Is held b.v his business 

 associates. No man could have built up 

 the extensive bufflness Avhich is now com- 

 prised in the operations of Governor Bliss 

 did he not possess a high order of business 

 talent and reputation for integrit.v. 



The governor in private life is well 

 known for his many conti'ibutious to 

 cliarity and donations to public enterprises. 

 A monument to this phase of hisi character 

 is a siplendid drinking fountain given to 

 the cit.v of Saginaw, and he also only re- 

 cently bestowed a cash item of .$21.(mio on 

 Albion College of Albion, Jlich. 



As one to whom honor is due, the Rec- 

 ord takes great pleasvire in presenting the 

 likeness of Governor Bliss herewith, and 

 the alcove brief outline of his successful 

 career as." a citizen of our country, as a 

 business man of our tribe and as a man 

 of men all the way through. 



The Boyne City Lumber Comjiany of^ 

 F.oyne City, Jlich., the new hardwood cor- 

 poration previously mentioned in tlie Rec- 

 ord, have purchased as a site for their new 

 jilant the mill property of Wigle & White 

 and some adjoining teiTitory. The old 

 mill will be put out of commission and 

 the new mill erected on the enlarged 

 premises. The work will be carried for- 

 ward under the management of Mr. 

 White, which insures its hasty completion. 

 Jlr. White says the plant will be in op- 

 eration by the first of the year, providing 

 the delivery of machinery is made as 

 promptly as expected now. It is esti- 

 mated that the number of men necessary 

 to operate all branches of the new mill 

 will approximate 300. 



The building of the Williams Bros, fac- 

 tory at Cadillac, Mich., is under way. It 

 is the present intention to begin the man- 

 ufacture of hardwood lumber, billiard 

 cues, ten pins and last blocks. 



