American lumber industry in the 19th century. They are very contrasting characters that appear to have nothing in common. They are from different parts of the world; Booth is Canadian and Weyerhaeuser is German. They did not share the same faith or educational background. Booth was Presbyterian and went to a local county school. Weyerhaeuser was Protestant and went to a Lutheran school till the age of fourteen.
One might look at them and presume that they were different from each other as night and day. However, when looking at such influential characters, it is unimaginable not to notice their striking similarities. They were brought up on farms and their families did not own much wealth. They were both exposed to work at a young age and possessed a knack for business. There may be a common misconception that one must be well-educated or come from a wealthy family or have a defined list of qualities to be a successful entrepreneur.
Contrary to that belief business activity transcends social class, faith, educational and family background, and the success of an entrepreneur depends on sheer passion and drive. Business leaders are susceptible to the volatility of the business market and make decisions based on their managerial style and personality. In this essay, I will compare the business careers of John R. Booth and Frederick Weyerhaeuser, and illustrate how they became the ‘Kings of the Lumber Industry’. With little or no capital in his hands, John R. Booth ventured out of his hometown.
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John Booth went to the state of Vermont and found a job as a carpenter at the Central Vermont Railway where he would help build bridges. He also dabbled in construction work of a paper mill and a saw mill near Hull. He got his first taste of business at this saw mill since the owner, Andrew Leamy, appointed him as the manager. After Booth left this job he went on to start his own business and thus became an entrepreneur. Booth’s first business venture was a small machine shop that he bought but it was tragically burned down after 8 months.
He next bought a mill and installed two shingle machines but the landlord wanted to raise the rent by the end of the year and Booth refused to continue his business there. He then came to Ottawa in 1854 with his wife where he discovered an unused mill in Chaudiere Island and started his business again. In 1859 he received a contract to supply timber and lumber for the Parliament buildings. This contract was a success and a climatic point in Booth’s life; it provided him with the financial support he needed to widen his business. After his partnership with Albert W.
Soper, an American lumberman, he bought more mills. He began to get a reputation of being a reliable businessman and this helped him get further capital. In 1867 he was able to buy pineries on the Madawaska River with the financial back-up from the Bank of British North America. In 1879 Booth came to the aid of the Canada Atlantic Railway. This move eased his lumber business in several ways, the major advantage being shipping . Thus the man who once had a capital of $9 in his pocket had now become a multi-millionaire. J. R. Booth was reputable for many things during his time.
One among them is his managerial style. He was a very hands-on boss and an autocratic leader. Booth kept away from political matters that were not pertinent to the industrial side of the economy. There are nuances to Booth’s character that are not readily perceived when looking upon his rugged personality. He was an autocratic leader but he cared for his workers; he paid them their full wages even though there was a strike in July 1910. He had a sort of humility to his personality. He did not consider himself superior and would prefer to supervise the workers rather than stay in the office.
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He was not fond of public attention and refused to attend his granddaughter’s wedding to Prince Erik, the Danish prince. Despite J. R. Booth’s discreet personality he still received the highest regard in the society. The former prime minister, Arthur Meighen, had said that Booth’s “quiet generosity, and his sincerity made him an outstanding gentleman among his fellows”. In contrast to John R. Booth, we now look at the work and personality of Frederick Weyerhaeuser respectively. Weyerhaeuser had been 18 when he moved to America from Germany in 1852. He settled in Erie County, Pennsylvania after he landed in America with his mother and sister.
He got his first job at a brewery and then later at a farm. He moved to the Rocky Island where he got the job of night fireman at a sawmill. He got his first breakthrough here when he was appointed the position of manager when the owners opened a new lumber yard. In 1860, Weyerhaeuser formed a partnership with his wife’s brother-in-law, Frank C. A. Denkmann. Weyerhaeuser acquired a sawmill situated on land along the Mississippi River. Weyerhaeuser and his partner took on sixteen other partners to form the Mississippi River Logging Company and by 1870 he was elected president of this company.
Weyerhaeuser saw the prospect of lumber companies in the West and opened the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company which had its headquarters in Tacoma, Washington. Weyerhaeuser had more of a participative managerial style and his business prospered through his many partnerships with his fellow businessmen. He was head of the “Weyerhaeuser Syndicate,” which had a hundred fellow wealthy businessmen dealing in timber. Weyerhaeuser had a keen sense of business and acquired businesses which he thought had potential. He gained the trust of his fellow partners and along with that the financial support that he needed.
However, Weyerhaeuser made bold business purchases which were not always supported. He bought vast amounts of land from the Northern Pacific Railway. This was seen as a risky investment at a time when the market was unpredictable and dwindling. This risky move became a success, surprisingly, and it is estimated that by the time Weyerhaeuser passed away he had $30,000,000 in his possession. Weyerhaeuser prided himself on being one of the few honest businessmen there was. He taught his sons the same values he held. Weyerhaeuser had lost his father at a young age and always took after his family members from a young age.
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From this grew a seed of a paternalistic leader who preferred to work with others instead of ruling over them. His work was his only focus in life and he did not stray into politics or desire public attention. Influential pioneers like John Rudolphus Booth and Frederic Weyerhaeuser amassed their wealth around the same point in history. They had a different manner of approaching their work and with people at work. Both were not born to luxury but a life of hardship. Perhaps that has made all the difference in their ambition and perseverance in business endeavours.
They are exemplary of the lifetime achievement that hard work can culminate to. A strong work ethic and clear vision defy the rules of boundaries set by poverty or family background. At a time when the wealthy were at the top of the social ladder and owned most of the businesses and financial assets, two aspirational men who had grown up on farms defied all the preconceptions of society. They had the perfect outlet: business. Business cannot be shaped by a single factor. It has the power to make a pauper out of a rich man, and a rich man a pauper. One very mportant lesson can be learnt in the study of the “Lumber Kings”: One can become a king by one’s actions as much as by one’s lineage.
