14 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



profit, as well as a benefit, to the laboring 

 army of his section of the country. Sev- 

 eral schemes were investigated, but none 

 were found more practical than converting 

 the refuse into charcoal and wood alcohol. 

 In order to guarantee a market for the coal, 

 it was found necessary to institute an iron 

 furnace to consume it, as the ordinary de- 

 mand for charcoal is light and very fluctuat- 

 ing. Since chemical plants and iron fur- 

 naces were so far removed from the class 

 of business in which Mr. Mitchell's life had 

 been spent, it took much thought and diplo- 

 macy to find the proper associates to assure 

 the erection and operation of plants in these 

 lines that would work successfully and act 

 as another amendment to the name of a 

 man who cares more for seeing his business 

 enterprises work out successfully than for 

 i .liars they produce. 



The first step was to procure the benefit 

 of Cummer, Diggins & Company's experi- 

 ence by f 01 corporation of the Cad- 

 illac Chemical Company, with Cummer, Dig- 

 gine & < ompany, Cobbs & Mitchell, Inc., an'l 

 Mitchell Brothers Company as owners. 

 An eighty cord chemical plant was erected 

 last year, which started up Feb. 1. I 

 day of iis inception it has not 



tour hours. At the | 

 ent time a duplicate of this plant is being 

 built near Jennings. 



The next step was to procure the co-op 

 tion of iron men, and this was done bj 

 listing the experienced assistance of .T. C. 

 i ord of Fruitford, Mich.; J. M. Beam of 

 Milwaukee, Wis.; and Colonel Brown of Chi- 

 cago. These gentlemen, together with I 

 mer, Diggins & Co., Cobbs & Mitchell, 

 ami the Mitchell Brothers Company, are 

 now building at Cadillac an iron furnace, 

 under (1m name of the Mitchell & Diggins 

 Iron Company, which will consume the coal 

 from the three chemical plants. 



In 1876 Mr. Mitchell married Miss Ella 

 Yost, who had been one of his schoolmates. 

 They went at once to Cadillac to reside, and 

 contrary to the custom of many successful 

 Michigan lumbermen, Mr. Mitchell lias no', 



abandoned the lumber town where he marie 

 his fortune, for a larger, more cosmopolitan 

 city, but has built himself a beautiful home 

 in the town he has done so much to estab- 

 lish, and where he has spent time, energy 

 and money in helping to build up a mod- 

 ern and model city of comfortable homes. 



A friend, speaking of Mr. Mitchell re- 

 cently, said: "I consider "W. W. Mitchell 

 an ideal business man; kindliness, consider- 

 ation for others, good fellowship, honesty 

 and integrity of purpose are synonyms of 

 his name. No man ever received anything 

 but 'a square deal' from Will Mitchell, and 

 now, when he has made enough money to 

 fully gratify his somewhat simple tastes 

 and provide liberally for those he loves, he 

 keeps up his large business enterprises, 

 not for the sake of 'the game,' but for the 

 army of workine men and women that 

 are dependenl on those enterprises. Ho 

 - t fee] himself the sponsor of the 

 country about his home town, and every 

 man, woman and child there litis a good 

 1 to speak of the generosity and gen- 

 uine humanitarianism of the man." 



In the course of a long business life, 

 William W. Mitchell has never forgotten to 

 rate the precepts and acknowledge the 

 worth of the example of his father. To an 

 especially intimate friend this man of great 

 affairs once showed by a little incident a 

 side of his character that perhaps may be 

 what of a surprise even to those who 

 know him well. While the two were driving 

 about the beautiful < it of Cadillac they 

 to the church at which father and 

 son have always worshiped, and in which the 

 tat her years before had placed a stained- 

 led from Proverbs 1:10. 

 Stopping before it for a moment, Mr. Mitch- 

 ell said wit h a \ nee full ni emotion, "Do you 

 know, although no word concerning it ever 

 ed between us, I have always felt that 

 that window bore a special message and 

 admonition from my father to me. Each 

 time that I look at it I see my father's 

 [ace and hear his voice saying: 'My 3on, 

 if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.' ' 



A Lumberman's Letters to His Son. 



< hicago, 111., July 17. 

 My Dear Son:— When your mother talked 

 into Bending you on the read to sell 

 lumber, 1 thought possibly you might get a 

 move on k< m>od. She had a no- 



tion that, because you made a record as half- 

 back at college and did wonderful stunts 

 with a dinky golf stick and a tennis racket, 

 you could sell limil i 



I an I raid that you 're a dead 



Yen have a stock of lumber that will 



half a chance. For 



sake don't walk into a man's office 



and as! him if he wants to buy lumber, and 



let him tell you no, an ilk out! J 



i irty-nine cent alarm 



and try I ike during business 



hours. Don't write me hard luck stories 

 about people telling you that they don't 

 want to buy any stock. Of course they 

 don't' What man ever did? It is your 

 business to convince them that they do want 

 to buy lumber. Never give a man a chance 

 to tell you no. Tell him what you have to 

 sell. Keep on talking! 



Don't get Involved too deeply on the sub- 

 ject oi inspection. Get a man interested in 

 yourself if you can, and you can't do that 

 with the average lumberman by talking golf 

 to him. Talk lumber, and keep talking lum- 

 ber. If you can't interest him in poplar, 

 try him on gum; if gum won't reach him. 

 ma I e a spiel on red 1 ircli or gray elm. 



Don't urge oak at the present time on any 



man. There has been a Noah's flood in the 

 oak country all this year, and while there is 

 a little accumulation of stock in some quar- 

 ters right now, there won't be enough in 

 sight in ninety days to wad a gun. 



When you get another order for plain- 

 sawed first and second oak, all sixteen feet 

 long, averaging twelve inches wide, don 't 

 you go hustling off to the nearest telegraph 

 shop to send the order in by wire. Send it 

 by freight. 



When you were a pimply-faced kid in swad- 

 dling cl'dhes, the neighbors used to say that 

 you looked like me. If you did, I 'in 

 ashamed of it. There's nothing in your 

 business career thus far that would indicate 

 you have ever followed my smoke in the 

 least. Can't you see the third rail without 

 stepping on it? Haven't you got lumber 

 sense enough to know that the fellow who 

 gave you that order at Detroit last week for 

 strictly heart, white hard maple was joshing 

 Oh, my boy, my boy! You hung 

 id this lumber yard days enough coax- 

 ing cheeks away from me to discover that 

 le is a sap wood. Don't let any man 

 string you on that proposition again. 



I want you to understand once for all 

 that this traveling job you are up against 

 is no picnic or polo match. Get yourself to 

 gcthcr and hustle. 



Your affectionate Father. 



P. S. Your mother wants to know if you 

 !• i ived those green and yellow plaid socks 

 she sent you at Battle Creek. When you get 

 over into Canada next week I should advise 

 yen to conceal them carefully in the bot- 

 tom of your grip. The nearest hospital is 

 tit Toronto, and not a very g I one at that. 



Ottawa Midsummer Meeting. 



The Hardwood BECOBD wishes to acknowledge 

 Invitations, from both President Lewis Dill and 

 Secretary E. I<\ Terry of the National Wholesale 

 Lumber Dealers' Association, to be present at 

 the midsummer meeting at Ottawa. The head 

 quarters of this meeting will be at the Russell 

 Bouse and the dates Aug. 10 to 18 Inclusive. 



The entertainment for the occasion will be 

 provided by the Ottawa Valley Lumber Manu- 

 facturers' Association, and while time is pro- 

 vided fur the proper conduct of the business of 

 the association, there will also be ample provi- 

 sion made for a very elaborate series of enter- 

 tainments. Ladies are Included In the arrange- 

 ments proposed by the hosts. 



Every Indication points to a very large gather- 

 ing of members of the association and their 

 friends at this meeting, and undeniably it will 

 be fraught with many pleasurable features. 



New Cincinnati Hardwood Company. 



Will S. Sterrett. who for some time has been 

 associated with the Famn-Korn Lumber Corr.- 

 i.iii of ' iiu iiianti, has organized the Sterrett 

 Lumber Company, with office at 753 West Sixth 

 street, thus embarking in business on his own 

 account. He will continue to handle the lines 

 of stock produced by the Farrin-Korn Lumber 

 and tin M. li. Farrin Lumber Com- 

 pany, hut will supplement this stock with o. 

 full line of forest products. Mr. Sterrett has 

 had considerable experience in the lumber 

 business, and with his excellent reputation 

 and large acquaintance, should find no diffi- 

 culty In building up a handsome buslne 

 ■ mi inns ti and vicinity. 



