THE ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY by Helene King

        Acknowledgement is made to Dr. S. W. Preston, whose guidance and assistance have been invaluable to me while writing my thesis.

        Appreciation is also extended to Mr. John D. Tennant, Vice-President of Long-Bell; Mr. Jesse Andrews, a Director; Mr. W. O. Burgess, former Auditor; Mr. J. W. Martin, Construction Engineer of Longview, Washington; and my father, J. F. King, for the information which they made available to me.

        Cognition is likewise due my mother, Mrs. J. F. King, for the numerous suggestions she made throughout my work.

        The manufacture of lumber is one of the largest manufacturing industries in America, because forest products - wood in all its countless forms - are absolutely essential to our daily life. Wood for shelter, wood for fuel, wood for implements and weapons, wood for furniture, wood for vehicles of transportation on land and water, in fact, every moment of our lives we are using necessities or conveniences of wood.

        It is impossible for the human mind to comprehend the magnitude of the lumber industry today, but it is the purpose of this work to give somewhat of a cross- section of the industry, showing some of its problems, successes and failures. The Long-Bell Lumber Company, because it was one of the outstanding companies in the field of lumber manufacture for at least fifty years, has been selected as a definite example of the industry.

        The first chapter gives the general history of the Long-Bell Lumber Company from the birth of Mr. R. A. Long, former President of the company, to the present time. It touches on the simple beginning of this vast organization by telling of the company’s first retail lumber yards, its first sawmill, and its entrance into the virgin forests of the South.

        Mention is made of the large main office in Kansas City, Missouri; of new mills acquired in the South; and the hardwood flooring and creosoting plants in the South.

        The company's history if followed through its disposition of cut-over lands, and through the depression of 1929 which brought about the complete reorganization of the Long-Bell Lumber Company.

        The second chapter deals at length with the reforestation program of Long-Bell and with its problems of land utilization. Approximately 25% of the cut-over land was returned to the state for taxes. Another 25% of the land was sold for farming purposes, and the remainder of the land was retained for reforestation.

        The financial problems of Long-Bell are analyzed in the following chapter. The company obtained its first credit from the banks. The company became so successful that it was decided to incorporate in order that more capital might be obtained when necessary.

        Long-Bell took out a charter in the State of Maryland when the company began its expansion into the Pacific Northwest. This expansion took place during a “boom” period, and so, the company undertook an expansion program that was too large according to the financial position of the company. This act resulted in the reorganization of the company, and the first three months that Long-Bell operated under the reorganization were the most successful that Long-Bell had had in a number of years.

        The fourth chapter is a summary of the fore-going chapters, wherein reference is made to the effect of the World War on the company, the inadvisability of its over-expansion, and the ultimate belief in the company’s ability to again take its place among the top-ranking lumber companies of the nation.

        “The American lumberman, intrepid pioneer in the fullest sense of the term, has been a tremendous force in hastening industrial expansion and development. He has penetrated the forest wildernesses, remote and uninhabited, and has converted them into community centers and highways of traffic. He has hewn out roads, built railways, opened up waterways to navigation, constructed towns and cities, developed latent natural resources, and peopled the greater part of states with thriving, prosperous residents. He has opened up extensive sections of varied agricultural and commercial development, and has supplied all the conveniences for transportation and trade, the lack of which is the most formidable hardship of pioneering in 'new' countries.” (1)

        The Long-Bell Lumber Company has been one of these pioneers. Operating in localities remote from centers of population, Long-Bell has been forced to bring all the mechanical equipment required, and has provided all the necessities of life for the thousands of workers employed by the company in these localities.

        The history of The Long-Bell Lumber Company is so closely interwoven with the life of Mr. Robert A. Long, one of its founders, that it would be impossible to tell one without the other. Robert Alexander Long was born on a farm near Shelbyville, Kentucky, December 17, 1850.

        In 1874, Mr. Long, accompanied by Robert White and Victor Bell, went to Columbus, Kansas, to engage in the hay business.

        These boys were unsuccessful in the hay business, and curiously enough, the lumber which they used to build their sheds sold for more than the hay upon which they had staked their all.

        Mr. Long returned to Kansas City where he was able to obtain credit of eight thousand dollars in order to establish the R. A. Long & Company, which later became The Long-Bell Lumber Company.

        April 30, 1875, is the date which marked the actual beginning of The Long-Bell Lumber Company. It was then a small retail lumber yard in Columbus, Kansas, under the firm name of R. A. Long & Company. The opening stock of lumber was purchased from a retail lumber firm in Kansas City. On April 30, 1875, a carload of lumber was unloaded at the yard, and the firm, consisting of Robert A. Long, Victor B. Bell, and Robert White, began doing business.

        Two months after R. A, Long & Company opened its first retail yard, a local competitor, fearing that the town could not support two yards, offered to sell out to them, and the infant company accepted.

        The first year the firm earned $800; the second year $2,000; then it began establishing yards in other towns. In eight years from the beginning, the firm owned fourteen retail lumber yards in the Southwest. (2)

        About the same time that the retail yards of R. A. Long & Company were opened, Southern Kansas, Oklahoma, the Indian Territory and Northern Texas were just being developed; railroads were being built in this section of the country, and towns and communities were springing up rapidly. The company, being located near this region, profited from the large amount of building which took place, and so began to grow steadily.

        Because of these great demands which were being made for lumber, the R. A. Long & Company became so successful by 1884 that it was decided to incorporate under the laws of Missouri with an authorized capital of $300,000, only one-half of which was paid in at the time. This was paid entirely out of previous earnings. The name of the new corporation became the Long-Bell Lumber Company.

        In order to keep up with the great demand for lumber it was deemed advisable for the Long-Bell Lumber Company to have a closer contact with the sources of lumber supply. It was decided to enter the field of lumber manufacturing, in connection with the retail lumber yards. And so, in 1889, the company purchased a small portable sawmill, and the same year a wholesale department was added.

        In the spring of 1890 it was decided to build a sawmill.  William Francis Ryder was taken from Opolis, Kansas, where he had been in charge of a Long-Bell yard, and was sent to Antlers, Indian Territory, to build the first mill and to take charge of the company’s manufacturing operations. The daily capacity of this first Long-Bell mill was 40,000 feet.

        In 1896, the company further expanded by purchasing property at Thomasville, Indian Territory, and organized and incorporated the King-Ryder Lumber Company, with capital stock of $125,000. This company operated in Indian Territory and Arkansas for several years before the exhaustion of timber supplies caused the dismantling.

        In October, 1900, a new King-Ryder Lumber Company broke ground at Bonami, Louisiana. Longleaf pine, the most valuable of all the southern pines was found in Louisiana. Large areas of shortleaf pine were also prevalent, and so Long-Bell began expanding into this state. Bonami was the company’s first mill in Louisiana. This still operated until February, 1925, at which time its source of timber supply became exhausted and mill operations at Bonami were discontinued.

        The demand for lumber had increased to such an extent that it was impossible for Long-Bell to supply its customers through existing plants, and so in order to realize a greater profit from the increased demand, the company continued to expand.

        As a means of expanding, Long-Bell acquired the Rapides Lumber Company, Ltd. as a subsidiary, which had its beginning in 1890. This added a daily capacity of 75,000 feet. The subsidiary company was later absorbed by the parent company.

        The Long-Bell Lumber Company then expanded its operations to Thomasville, Oklahoma, where it was known as King-Ryder, but this plant was not large enough to supply the demand, and so another subsidiary of the Long-Bell Lumber Company was incorporated at Hudson, Arkansas, February, 1898. A band saw and “Dixie” circular were erected at Hudson; also a planning mill and the necessary dry kilns, and these were in operation until the fall of 1902. During its Arkansas experience, the Hudson River Lumber Company produced and sold at least 100 million feet of excellent quality short leaf southern pine lumber.

        The Long-Bell Lumber Company and the Hudson River Company bought 52,000 acres of timber in that portion of Louisiana of which DeRidder is now the commercial and active lumber producing center. This tract was in the northern part of Calcasieu Parish, where there were luxuriant forests. The erection of the new mill began in May, 1902, and was operating a year later.

        The Globe Lumber Company, Ltd., of Yellow Pine, Louisiana, was acquired in March, 1898, by R. A. Long and his associates. This mill cut approximately 150,000 feet per day. In 1913 the timber was cut out and the mill dismantled.

        As more and more property was acquired and as the business grew, the need was felt for a central office in a large city. Such a centralization of administration, it was believed, offered great economic advantages. Kansas City, Missouri had become the gateway of the West and Southwest. It was one of the great market and transportation centers of the country. It was the principal terminus on the Kansas River for the Santa Fe trade, and the last large outfitting point for emigrants to California. Because of these advantages, the general offices of Long-Bell were established in Kansas City in 1891.

        This step seemed further justified as the demands on the American forests increased rather than diminished. Substitutes were introduced to serve some of the purposes formerly filled by wood, but despite the increased use of concrete, steel, iron, brick, patented shingles, and other substitutes, new processes were constantly being devised in both chemical and mechanical lines of utilization, which meant an ever-increasing demand upon our forests. (3) The demands for southern yellow pine increased with the demand for lumber. In 1899, 37% of the softwood cut in the United States was yellow pine, and in 1909, 48% was yellow pine. (4) This increased demand brought about an increase in the price of lumber. From 1903 to 1917 the better grades of lumber averaged from forty to forty-five dollars and lower grades from twenty-four to twenty-six dollars per thousand over previous prices. (5)

        Greater and greater demands continued to be made on Long-Bell, and after the reorganizing of the Rapides, King-Ryder and Hudson River companies, other mill companies were formed with surprising rapidity.

        June 14, 1905, the Lufkin Land & Lumber Company was organized at Lufkin, Texas.

        April 9, 1906, the Calcasieu Long Leaf Lumber Company was organized at Lake Charles, Louisiana. This particular site was selected for a mill because of the vast amount of virgin timber, and because of the port facilities which enabled the ships to come to the docks for lumber to be exported.

        The Longville Lumber Company was organized at Longville, Louisiana on February 9, 1907.

        June 14, 1911, the Arkansas Short Leaf Lumber Company was organized at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. This company was the first Long-Bell company organized for the purpose of cutting hardwood.

        July 20, 1912, the Fidelity Lumber Company was organized at Doucette, Texas, thus carrying the Long-Bell operations farther westward.

In 1913, an oak flooring plant was put into operation at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. This date marks the company’s first entrance into the field of oak flooring manufacture. Being successful with their hardwood operations at Pine Bluff, the company placed another hardwood plant in operation at Crandall, Mississippi in 1917. In 1921, the mill in Longville, Louisiana burned, and was replaced with an oak flooring factory in 1922.

Long-Bell realized that there would not always be such an abundance of pine in the South, and so to insure the continuation of operations, they made these entries into the field of hardwood and oak flooring manufacture.

January 25, 1913, the Ludington Lumber Company was organized at Ludington, Louisiana. At that time the mill in Yellow Pine was cutting out and members of that crew were transferred to Ludington

November 1, 1917, the Long-Bell Company, a subsidiary, was organized at Quitman, Mississippi.

All of these companies, with the exception of the Long-Bell Company at Quitman, as well as the Rapides, King-Ryder and Hudson River companies, which were mortgaged and could not change their names, were merged with the Long-Bell Lumber Company in 1922. The stock of the subsidiary companies was exchanged for the stock of the parent company.

By 1918, the Long-Bell Lumber Company had become nationally known in the lumber world. In January, 1919, the first national advertisement appeared, featuring Long-Bell trade-marked lumber. This was an innovation in the lumber industry, and to Long-Bell goes the distinction of being the first lumber manufacturer both to trade-mark and to nationally advertise it lumber. (6)

Having acquired large areas of land, Long-Bell faced the problem of their disposition after the timber was cut. A subsidiary corporation was formed for the purpose of selling agricultural lands to settlers. Later Long-Bell formed a Forestry Department. Land which was most valuable for farming was made available for settlement and cultivation, and lands best suited to production of forests were stocked with trees to provide another forest.

At this time, Long-Bell entered still another phase of the lumber industry. In 1916 they established a creosoting plant at Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later two more creosoting units were added, one at DeRidder, Louisiana, and the other at Marion, Illinois.

As Long-Bell grew and acquired more and more land; and as the forests were gradually removed in the South, the company decided to carry its operations into the Pacific Northwest. The Pacific forests represented the greatest remaining timber resources of the United States. In 1904 a substantial interest was purchased in the Weed Lumber Company, a California corporation with a capital stock of $1,000,000. In 1919 the company acquired controlling interest. The same year Long-Bell began to provide itself with timber in the State of Washington. The site of Longview, Washington was selected for the mill, and actual operation began in July, 1924. This site was especially attractive because of the domestic and foreign markets that were accessible. There was also an abundance of raw materials for diversified industries, as well as fuel and power. The transportation facilities of the region were good and the labor supply was adequate.

After operations began in Longview, Long-Bell took out a charter in the State of Maryland in November, 1924. The corporation, known as the Long-Bell Lumber Corporation, was a holding company that owned 99.23% of the capital stock of the Long-Bell Lumber Company which was incorporated in Missouri.

The last southern unit acquired by Long-Bell, after they had centered their operations in the west, was the Oak Flooring Plant in Helena, Arkansas. This plant was purchased from the Superior Oak Flooring Company in 1925, and was operated until 1933. It has not been dismantled, but remains idle for lack of sufficient orders to justify operation.

Long-Bell prospered until the depression of 1929, and by the latter part of 1930, efforts to provide for its current needs in the usual manner proved unsuccessful. Rather than forego a complete reorganization, the Long-Bell Lumber Sales Corporation was formed in November, 1930. By the end of 1931, however, the intensity of the depression had greatly increased, and the reorganization was deemed necessary. This reorganization became effective in November, 1935.

The foregoing is an historical survey of the Long-Bell Lumber Company, which gives, in brief, the growth of the company from is inception in 1874 through its reorganization in 1935. The remainder of this work will deal, as far as possible, with the outstanding factors which have most greatly influenced the growth and development of the Long-Bell Lumber Company, namely, the land policies and the financial policies of the company.

The problem of land disposal and utilization arises chiefly from two sets of conditions in the lumbering industry. First, and most important since it cannot readily be controlled, is the fact that trees usually require about half a century to grow to a size suitable for lumber. The full importance of this fact usually is not realized while virgin stands of timber are available for exploitation. As the natural resources of timber approach exhaustion, however, the effect of this time requirement for forest growth has been reflected not only in tendencies for lumber to sell at higher prices, but, also, in some cases, in changes in the organization and policies of the lumber industry itself.

The second fact contributing to the problem of land utilization is the custom which has led lumber companies to purchase not only the timber but the land itself. This condition has been practically forced on the industry as it is impossible, in most cases, to acquire the title to timber without also taking title to the land on which the timber stands. Much of this land under timber cannot easily be diverted to the production of other crops, and hence the land has little sale value once the trees which it supports are rendered into lumber. This custom of purchasing timber lands made the trees available for logging and made it possible for the owners to cut trees at the rate that seemed most expedient. This resulted, however, in the eventual holding of many acres of cut-over land which had to be disposed of or made remunerative to the company in some way.

The problem of disposing of cut-over land does not immediately face a company when operations are first started. While companies starting business at the present time undoubtedly realize that provision should be made against the time when the land now owned will no longer be productive as a source of timber, it is a question just how much attention the older companies that first started operations in the middle of the last century paid to the probability of having to face this problem.

The original organization of Mr. Long and his associates did not, of course, have this problem of land utilization so long as they confined their activities to those of merchandising lumber which they purchased from lumber manufacturing companies. When Long-Bell decided to expand its activities into the field of lumber manufacture, however, the groundwork was laid for the rise of the problem of disposition of cut-over land.

During the first years of operation there was little need for careful consideration of the problem. The presence of vast areas of virgin timber which could be acquired at relatively low costs tended to give the impression that there could never be a scarcity of timber. Again the importance of the problem was minimized during the first years of operation because the initial purchases were made in tracts sufficiently extensive to last for a number of years. As long as any part of a tract was producing lumber, it tended to disguise the fact that the company was carrying unproductive land. Not until an entire area was cut out did the importance and magnitude of the problem become apparent.

Even though the problem later came to be recognized, it was difficult to do much to remedy the situation. As long as some companies were able to operate on an exploitative basis, the competitors of those companies were forced to do likewise. And so, even though individual companies might have wanted to reclaim or reforest part of their cut-over holdings, they could not very well do so in the face of the competition they had to meet.

It remained for the increasing demand resulting from population increase and the extension of uses of wood and wood products, coupled with the obvious fact of a diminishing supply of timber to bring home to the industry the fact that reforestation would soon become essential and that some means of disposal of land not reforested would have to be found.

By 1916, the cut-over land problem of the Long-Bell Company had grown to such proportions that it could be ignored no longer. The amount of cut-over land was constantly increasing and the taxes on this unproductive land furnished added impetus to the desire to dispose of some of this property. In order to facilitate the removal of this land from the expense account of the company, the Long-Bell Farm Land Corporation, a subsidiary organization, was set up. Thus, Long-Bell gave evidence that it no longer considered the land problem inconsequential, but that a serious situation had to be faced.

The subsidiary organization thus established advanced three possible solutions to the land problem. First, that land capable of growing produce was to be sold for farming purposes. Second, that land best suited to the growing of timber was to be subject to reforestation. Third, that land which could neither be farmed nor reforested profitably was to be allowed to revert to the state in default of taxes. A further temporary expedient was undertaken through reclaiming the stumps left in the ground after logging operations and using them as a source of that group of products usually designated as naval stores.

Before actively pushing the development of any one of these suggested remedies for the land problem, it was deemed advisable to do some preliminary survey work. Accordingly, field tests were carried on in eight states of the South and West to determine first, whether the tested areas were more suitable for timber or farm crops, and second, where farming was indicated, to determine what crops could be grown most advantageously. As a result of this survey, an initial area of land located in the high-lands of western Louisiana, which was potentially excellent for farm purposes, was offered for sale by the company. Terms of sale were designed to encourage and enable the purchaser to develop his property and complete his payments over a period of years. During 1923 and 1924 additional areas of cut-over land in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas were offered for settlement under the same general terms.

As a means of ascertaining the crops to which the soil was best adapted, Long-Bell started an experimental farm near Bonami, Louisiana. The diversification possibilities of the soil were demonstrated when both pecans and citrus fruits were profitably produced on this farm, and the value of the land for sale was greatly enhanced when the experimental grove consisting of a thousand acres of pecans produced three thousand pounds of pecans in one year. Since that time the grove has continued to yield between $5,000 and $9,000 per year. (7)

The Long-Bell Farm Land Corporation worked steadily and persistently to make the land attractive to the settlers, and by 1930, 165,000 acres out of the holdings of 400,000 acres of land had been sold at approximately $20 per acre. (8) Of this amount, however, only about $3 per acre went to the company as profit, due to the fact that the selling costs averaged about $16 per acre, and approximately one-half of the land sold had to be repossessed from time to time as the buyers defaulted. The amount realized by the company was, in most cases, scarcely enough to meet the tax payments on the land retained by the company.

The problem of taxation was a serious one for Long-Bell, as well as for other lumber manufacturers who possessed large areas of cut-over land. If the land was either retained in its existing state, or sold at a bare profit, the payment of taxes would result in a large expenditure for land which was unable to produce an income of any size. Not only would the continuation of this practice be considered a bad business policy, but none of the lumber companies were financially able to permit such a drain on their resources for any length of time. Under such circumstances, Long-Bell returned approximately 25% of its land holdings to the state for taxes. The land returned was that which was fit for neither farming nor reforestation.

Long-Bell remained in possession of about one-half of its cut-over land, and so the possibilities of reforestation were investigated. As this investigation was being conducted, the question arose as to whether individuals and large corporations should carry on reforestation activities, or whether this should be left to the state. Returns from cultivated timber are realized perhaps once or twice in a lifetime, and the amount of capital required is large. In the practice of private forestry certain carrying charges like taxes, interest, and protection costs must be met annually, while the return on the investment is deferred. Furthermore, where capital and interest are mixed together in an investment such as the investment in reforestation, the pressure of competition or the necessity of meeting fixed charges leads very readily to forced cutting of the timber. The time element and the consequent temptation to private owners to cut the forests rapidly makes it easier for the State than for even large capitalists to practice reforestation. When the forests are owned by the public, the infrequent returns are of no great disadvantage, while taxes and interest charges do not have to be met; and as a result, a stable policy of reforestation which requires a long period of time may be undertaken with the certainty of success. (9) In the United States, however, the States have not actually practiced reforestation themselves, but rather have passed laws to encourage individuals and corporations to carry on the actual reforestation.

Two factors were largely responsible for Long-Bell’s decision to adopt a reforestation policy. The first of these was the fact that the bulk of the cut-over land owned by Long-Bell was in the South, and so the company could benefit from the comparatively short length of time required for growing trees in the South, as compared with other sections of the United States.

The following table published by the National Lumber Manufacturers’ Association shows that in most cases the South possesses a decided advantage as far as the time factor is concerned with regard to the length of time required for the growth of representative species of timber. (10)

	Fence Posts (6” trees)	Pulp Wood, Fuel (8” trees)	Ties (11” trees) in years	Poles and Piling (14” trees)	Saw logs (18” trees)
Northern:
Beech	65 - 80	80 - 95	110 - 125	145 - 160	185 - 200
Birch, paper	30 - 35	50 - 55	----	----	----
Hemlock	25 - 40	35 - 50	50 - 65	65 - 80	85 - 100
Maple, sugar	55 - 70	70 - 85	90 - 105	110 - 125	145 - 160
Pine, white	25 - 35	35 - 45	50 - 60	65 - 75	90 - 100
Spruce, red	30 - 40	45 - 55	60 - 70	----	----

Southern:
Cypress	15 - 25	20 - 30	25 - 35	35 - 45	40 - 50
Gum, red	10 - 20	15 - 25	15 - 30	20 - 30	30 - 40
Pine, loblolly	15 - 25	20 - 30	25 - 35	35 - 45	45 - 55
Pine, Long-leaf	20 - 30	25 - 35	45 - 55	65 - 80	90 - 110
Pine, Short-leaf	10 - 20	15 - 25	20 - 30	25 - 35	55 - 65
Pine, Slash	15 - 25	20 - 30	30 - 40	60 - 70	----

Being located in the South, Long-Bell could expect to reap profits from a reforestation program within fifteen or twenty years. This expectation was substantiated by the Department of Conservation of the State of Louisiana in a bulletin published in January, 1921, (11) which stated that loblolly pine cordwood or pulpwood could be raised in farm woodlands in Louisiana at 50 cents to $1.50 a cord in fifteen years. The lower figures were for that type pine which could be raised in piney woods soils, and the higher figures were for that type pine which could be raised in poorer soils. The pine of medium quality soil would cost 77 cents per cord. In large tracts where fire protection was a considerable item, the cost in fifteen years would run from 75 cents to $2.35 per cord. If the stand was maintained for twenty-five years the cost would be 67 cents on good soil, and a thirty year stand on poor soils would cost $1.70. This pine would bring from one to two dollars per cord on stump. Lumber for crossties, in twenty-five years, would be 8 cents a piece for the crossties, and, at the time of the report, $5 and $6 was being received for second growth timber in Louisiana.

The second factor which played such an important part in Long-Bell’s decision to reforest its cut-over land, the majority of which was in the State of Louisiana, was the act passed by the Legislature of the State of Louisiana, in 1910. (12)

Any owner of land within the State of Louisiana having an assessed value not exceeding five dollars per acre who should contract in writing with the State Conservation Commission to plant trees upon the land and care for them as required by the said commission for a period of not less than thirty nor more than forty years might have the assessment of the land fixed at one dollar per acre throughout the contract period or for such part of the period as the owner should comply with his contract.

Long-Bell’s land actually had an assessed value of $3 per acre, and in order that this value might be reduced to $1 per acre, as stated in the act, Long-Bell contracted to reforest 5,000 acres in Louisiana. With this reduction of taxes, Long-Bell believed that the market value of its well-stocked land in the South would be great enough in twenty or twenty-five years to retire the investment plus at least saving bank interest for Long-Bell.

Such a tax reduction was of great importance to Long-Bell, as well as to the other lumber companies in the state, due to the fact that reforestation is a long-time investment. The growing of trees for the first five or ten years does not produce a revenue, but rather demands financial expenditures each year for supervision and maintenance. Therefore, it is not practical to assess the growing timber, but deferred taxation is desirable until the timber has matured.

The company maintained its part of the contract until the depression of 1929; at which time it became necessary for Long-Bell to discontinue any active reforestation in the South because of financial difficulties encountered at that time. As a result of breaking the contract, Long-Bell could no longer claim exemption from taxes. The company continued to maintain a small forest nursery near DeRidder, Louisiana, although the companies’ forester was transferred to the Pacific Northwest.

Long-Bell, having seen the need of reforestation in the South, determined that at no time would it permit its timber lands in the West to become depleted. As a result, Long-Bell authorized the institution of a five-year program of reforestation of its timber land holdings in the State of Washington immediately after the company began operations in that state. In connection with this program, a large forest nursery was established near Ryderwood, Washington, for the production of plant stock sufficient to complete the stocking of from three to four thousand acres of land annually.

In the South, the preparation of the land for selling purposes and for reforestation necessitated the removal of the stumps which had been left. These stumps, yielding turpentine, pine oil and rosin in commercial quantities, were sold to near-by companies who specialized in the extraction of these by-products from the wood. Turpentine proved to be an important by-product, due to the fact that there are but two great centers of turpentine supply in the world - Southern France and the Southern United States. The stumps, therefore, which averaged about forty board feet, usually brought the company from $5 to $9 per thousand board feet, and so covered the cost of clearing the land.

Thus, the land was cleared; the sections most advantageous for farm crops were sold; the part best adapted to tree growth was retained for reforestation; and the undesirable portions were returned to the state for taxes. All of this was done in an attempt to relieve the company of costs of carrying cut-over land, which would result in improving the financial position of the Long-Bell Lumber Company.

Mr. Long and his associates originally organized to conduct their enterprise as a partnership. The rapidity with which the business grew and the demands for capital to finance this expansion soon made it desirable to incorporate the enterprise. The purpose of the following discussion is to trace briefly the growth and activities of the Long-Bell organization, with particular emphasis upon the financial phases.

In the year 1875, Mr. Long obtained credit of eight thousand dollars from the bank in order to establish the R. A. Long & Company, as Long-Bell was then known. The partners of this company were Mr. Long, Victor Bell, and Robert White. They began business with one small retail lumber yard, and in two months they purchased another yard from a local competitor. The profit for the first year was $800, and for the second it was $2,000. This partnership continued to grow until, in 1884, it became necessary to incorporate. Primarily, the purpose of the corporation was not so much an attempt to attract new capital at that time, but rather an act to assure the company a continued existence which did not depend upon the life span of the individual stockholders or their retention of the company’s stock. The elasticity of capital, however, which the corporate form of organization furnishes, was desirable. Long-Bell’s operations were expanding and plans were being made for further expansion, and the partners realized that they would not be able to meet all the capital requirements by themselves. The necessary capital could be obtained through incorporation, and at he same time the partners could limit their liability as share holders. Accordingly, in 1884, the R. A. Long & Company incorporated under the laws of Missouri with an authorized capital of $300,000, only one-half of which was paid in at that time. This amount was paid entirely out of the previous earnings.

The new corporation saw possibilities of great financial gains in the Indian Territory which was being opened at that time, and when the company decided to build a sawmill at Antlers, Indian Territory, it was necessary to increase the authorized stock to $500,000 to meet the capital requirements entailed by the construction of the mill.

Between 1898 and 1917 the authorized stock of Long-Bell was increased three times as a result of the acquisition of eleven subsidiary corporations. As the timber supply in the South became limited, Long-Bell began to look to the Pacific Northwest for its future timber supply. In order to purchase tracts of timber in the West, the company increased its authorized stock to $25,000,000 in December, 1921, and to $30,000,000 in July, 1922, thus making the capitalization one hundred times as large as the first capitalization thirty-eight years before.

With the development of properties in the Northwest and the prospect that the company’s operations in that country would be largely conducted at one location, which was not the case as applied to its Southern operations, it seemed wise and for the best interests of all concerned to merge practically all of the subsidiary companies into the parent company.

As a result of the exchanging of the subsidiary companies’ stock for stock of the parent company, and in pursuance of the consolidation plan, the property of all but four of the subsidiary corporations in the South was conveyed to the Long-Bell Lumber Company.

Similar lumber companies were unable to buy with Long-Bell in its rapid expansion. Long-Bell superiority in this case might be accounted for by several reasons. In the first place, Long-Bell had its beginning in the South at an opportune time. The company was organized just as the timber supplies in the North were being depleted, and the plentiful virgin forests of the South were in great demand. In addition to the already existing demands that were being made on the lumber supply, the settlers who were moving westward also required lumber for their homes and towns. Long-Bell was ideally situated to supply a large part of the demands made by the settlers. As the demands increased and as Long-Bell realized large additional profits from satisfying them, the company continued to expand its operations. In order to expand it was necessary to acquire additional capital. The great profits that were being realized by Long-Bell attracted capital that might have been directed to other lumber companies, but was not, due to the fact that the operations of the other companies did not appear so successful.

The above mentioned advantages were accounted for in part by the efficiency of the internal organization of the company. Each of Long-Bell’s mills was a complete unit in itself, having its own logging operations, manufacturing management, housing facilities, and accounting department. These units submitted a monthly statement to the main office in Kansas City, Missouri. Here each statement was carefully checked, and comparisons of the mills were made. It was the aim of each mill to maintain a lower cost of production than any of the other mills, and to realize a higher average price for the lumber than any of the other mills. Long-Bell had a standard price given to the salesmen, but the average price depended upon the superior ability of the manufacturing forces to obtain the best results from the manufacture of a log into lumber. These competitive influences were beneficial to Long-Bell in that as each mill strove to get the best product at the lowest cost, just so was the entire cost of production lowered for Long-Bell. A lower cost of production meant that greater profits could be realized by the company when the product was sold.

In order to have large sales each month, it was necessary to have a trained sales force to sell the lumber. Each salesman for Long-Bell was required to know his product and to understand the particular merits and advantages of the wood which he was attempting to merchandise, as well as the limitations of the raw products, the grades and finished sizes and the uses of each species. One method of training salesmen was to send the men to various mills as lumber students. At the mills they became thoroughly familiar with the manufacture, with the types of lumber, and with their respective adaptabilities. The salesman was then in a better position to increase sales through an increased knowledge of the product, and so aided Long-Bell in a financial way since larger sales meant larger profits.

As Long-Bell expanded, it became necessary for the company to enter new lines of activity, such as the sale of cut-over land; therefore, the need for a new charter which would permit the company to carry on these activities was seen.

Additional capital was also needed to financially assist the undertakings in the Pacific Northwest. Accordingly, the Long-Bell Lumber Company took out a charter as the Long-Bell Corporation in the State of Maryland, the corporation laws in that state at that time being unusually liberal. This newly-formed corporation had the authority to issue 600,000 shares of its Class A common stock and 550,000 shares of its Class B common stock, both classes of stock being of no par value. Stockholders of the Long-Bell Company owning approximately 99% of the stock of that company exchanged their stock for Class A and Class B shares of the Long-Bell Lumber Corporation, receiving approximately 450,000 of the Class A shares and nearly the entire issue of the Class B shares. The remaining 150,000 of the Class A shares were sold to the bankers who in turn sold them to the public. The Class A shares had certain preferences and priorities over the Class B shares, among them being that a dividend of $4 per share per annum must have been paid on the Class A shares before any dividend could be paid on the Class B shares.

The continued expansion of the company seemed fully justified. Long-Bell’s virgin timber supply in the South had become practically exhausted. With such a vast organization behind it which had been growing for approximately fifty years, and which had nearly a half-century of experience in practically every phase of the lumber industry, it seemed impractical for the company to cease operations after they cut-out in the South. On the other hand, it would have required from thirty to forty years to grow enough timber in the South for the company to realize any profits large enough to justify the continuation of the company to cut only second-growth timber. And so, in order to maintain the profitable business it had established, Long-Bell thought it wise to enter the lumber fields in the Pacific Northwest, where stood the greatest acreage and finest timber in the United States at that time.

To finance a part of the development in the West, the company arranged for an issue of $30,000,000 of first mortgage gold bonds. The first offering of $9,000,000 of the bonds was made August 3, 1922, and was oversubscribed by the bond brokers. The sale of this first offering to the public was brisk.

The bonds were secured by a first mortgage on unencumbered standing timber having a value, as independently appraised, equal to at least 100 percent of the face amount of the outstanding bonds, and further secured by a mortgage on plants, mills and other property having a value at least sufficient to make the aggregate security under the mortgage not less than 200 percent of the par amount of the outstanding bonds. (13) As the timber was cut, Long-Bell was required to place $2.50 per thousand feet in a sinking fund to retire the outstanding bonds.

The site selected for the new mill was at the confluence of the Columbia and Cowlitz Rivers in the State of Washington and was named Longview. This site appeared to have more outstanding advantages than any other available point in the Pacific Northwest.

The site of Longview was selected not because of the existing industries that would demand Long-Bell’s products, but rather because of the abundance of raw materials that were expected to draw these outside industries to that location. As these industries would enter that location, they would need lumber for their buildings and homes, thus increasing the sales of Long-Bell. In addition to this, these industries would bring new capital to the city, and so further increase the possibilities of sales. The wheat of eastern Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana was expected to attract flour mills and cereal manufacturers. Fish from the Columbia River and Washington and Oregon coasts suggested canning and utilization of by-products. Coal and other fuel and hydro-electric power invited the metal trades, the production of machinery and tools, compounding of chemicals, and the production of brick, title and cement. The proximity of numerous species of native woods in vast quantities, many highly adaptable for furniture making, suggested the possibilities of that industry in Longview. Still another industry that offered unusually attractive possibilities at Longview was that of paper making from wood pulp. (14)

Perhaps the most outstanding advantage presented by the site of Longview was the fact that a number of foreign markets would be accessible. Being located on tidewater at Longview, Long-Bell could distribute lumber products by vessel to Japan, China, Australia, the Philippine Islands, South Africa and other Trans-Pacific markets, and to European ports and other harbors of the world. (15)

Japan was expected to require more timber than any of these other foreign countries. With rare exceptions, state and municipal buildings in Japan were of wood, and wood was largely employed in residential construction. The reason for this was the prevalence of earthquakes which made buildings of brick and stone difficult to maintain. While there were quite extensive forests in some of the northern islands of Japan, the forestry operations and methods of manufacture were so crude as compared with those employed in the United States that it was necessary for Japan to import much of the timber used for construction purposes in that country. American fir and cedar were desired in Japan because most of the native wood was of extremely inferior quality, and so, Long-Bell had expectations of selling approximately 10,000,000 feet of lumber to Japan a year. The company also expected to sell large quantities of Douglas fir timbers, deals, and boards to the other foreign countries mentioned above.

The port facilities at Longview would eliminate the transportation costs to the port, which was an important factor in the cost of production of the majority of Long-Bell’s competitors, and so, Long- Bell would be in a position to offer a product of at least equal quality at a somewhat lower cost, which would aid in promoting Long-Bell sales in these foreign countries.

Having determined the location of the plant, the Longview Company, an associated company of the Long-Bell Lumber Company, was incorporated under the laws of the State of Washington. The Longview Company had full jurisdiction of the development of the city of Longview with regard to construction, real estate sales and other activities in which it engaged. Some of the capital required in these activities was obtained through the authorized stock of the Longview Company.

Deliberate judgment and careful planning preceded the swiftly moving progress of construction of the plant at Longview. In planning new operations in the lumber industry, as in other industries, the factor of future operating costs must be considered equally with first cost, equipment and facilities. In the plans for the Long-Bell manufacturing units, every step was taken to safe guard and assure the lowest possible operating cost consistent with dependability and quality of product.

The plans for Longview were made during a period when there was marked activity in the construction of buildings for industrial purposes. This activity was due to the prevailing great demand for consumers’ goods, the high prices, and the consequent large profits which prevailed. The building of residences, stimulated by conditions of prosperity and the housing shortage which developed during the war, also increased greatly at this time. (16) In short, Longview was unwittingly planned and constructed during the “boom” period of the business cycle, and so a mill that would meet the somewhat abnormal demands during such a period was constructed.

Long-Bell, like all other concerns was unaware of the fact that a depression was just ahead. As early as 1926, however, the prices for lumber began to drop. The curtailment of residential construction intensified difficulties. Due to conditions such as these, the Lumber Company ceased paying dividends in 1927. At the close of 1927 it owed no bank debt, the company not having needed the use of its lines of bank credit during that year. By the spring of 1930, however, Long-Bell owed the banks $5,400,000. This was in part attributed to the fact that between May, 1929, and October, 1930, there was a total drop of 30% in the price of lumber. (17) Two internal factors were also given some credit for bringing about this debt to the banks. The first of these was the law suit brought against the company by F. J. Bannister, former President of Long-Bell, who disagreed with the company in regard to its real estate policy, and attempted to prevent the further development of Longview. While the company was successful in winning the case, the cost of fighting the complaints added considerably to the financial burden of the company. (18)

The second undesirable burden borne by the company was that which was brought about through strikes carried on by the laborers. These strikes which generally prevailed throughout the entire Pacific Northwest over long periods of time paralyzed Long-Bell’s entire operations and cost the company thousands of dollars. The cessation of operations made it impossible to fill orders for lumber, and so the profits arising from these orders were lost to the company when the strikes were prolonged.

Under such circumstances, the efforts of the Long-Bell Lumber Corporation to provide for its current needs in the usual manner proved unsuccessful in the latter part of 1930. The Long-Bell Lumber Sales Corporation was formed by the company in November of that year in order to provide a medium of borrowing and to enable it to obtain its current cash requirements at a time when certain of its banks did not feel justified in furthering extending matured loans, and when other banks to whom the company then owed no debt hesitated to make new loans. Certain un-mortgaged assets, including most of the cash and current assets of the Lumber Company, were transferred to the newly-formed Sales Corporation, whose stock was wholly owned by the Lumber Company, thus assuring the return to the Lumber Company of such assets when the Sales Corporation’s bank debt was paid. The Sales Corporation was able to borrow more readily from the banks than was the Lumber Company, due to the fact that the Sales Corporation was a subsidiary that did not have the bonded indebtedness which the parent company had.

By the end of 1931, however, the intensity of the depression had increased to such an extent that reorganization was deemed necessary. The purposes of this plan as given by Long-Bell were: (19)

1. To design a capital structure as free as practicable from fixed financial burdens;

2. To make an equitable distribution of new securities among those entitled to participate;

b. The opportunity to realize on their investment as soon as conditions warrant;

d. The opportunity to protect themselves against the effects of inflation should it come;

4. To provide an extension for the payment of bank debt over a sufficient period to enable an orderly liquidation thereof; and

5. To avoid destructive litigation and retain working capital and going concern value.

The actual control of the company was little affected. The bondholders of the Sales Corporation were given preferred stock in the reorganized company in exchange for their bonds, and so were assured control of the reorganized company until the preferred stock was retired. The same officials of the company were retained, and so, no change of policy was apparent as a result of reorganization, except that all salaries were reduced and there was an attempt to cut down all overhead expenses.

At the time of the reorganization, Long-Bell’s indebtedness to the banks amounted to $4,000,000, which was to be repaid over a period of ten years. During the first three months after the reorganization became effective, Long-Bell was able to reduce this indebtedness to the banks by $650,000. In addition to this, the company set up a reserve of $100,000 for the purpose of buying any preferred stock that was offered at a sacrifice. (20) As the company planned to retire all preferred stock at some future date, all of this stock purchased at a sacrifice price meant a saving to the company.

Incorporated in Missouri in 1884 and engaged, primarily, in the manufacture of lumber, the Long-Bell Lumber Company entered Southern forests and by 1920 had attained the rank of being one of the largest lumber manufacturers in the country. This success was due, in part, to the fact that Long-Bell began operations at the time the demand for Southern lumber increased. This increase was occasioned by the depletion of the Northern forests. The settlers moving westward also demanded Southern lumber for their homes, and Long-Bell was ideally situated to supply their demands.

Long-Bell’s move into the Northwest was a result, not of a particular desire for greater achievements, but because of being confronted with the alternative of going into the Northwest or of abandoning business. Built on the crest of the business cycle, Longview, Washington enjoyed a brief period of prosperity, which was quickly followed by the depression which culminated late in 1929. The company and its subsidiaries commenced reporting losses, and a reorganization was brought about in 1935.

With its going concern value retained and with the great need for more building after the depression, Long-Bell has an equal chance to meet its obligations and to again take its place as one of the successful lumber concerns of the nation.

In order to carry on his business, the American lumberman has been forced to acquire large tract of timberland. In many cases he has been forced to move his operations from one to another of our great forested regions. The object of his search has been timber, and because of the highly competitive character of his business, he could not do with inferior raw materials. Neither could he pause to grow new forests in the face of a tremendous virgin timber supply.

In recent years the lumberman has realized that the rapid rate of depletion of the forests must be slowed down, and that reforestation is necessary if America expects to have a timber supply for its future generations. This fact was first brought to the mind of the lumberman in 1900 when the northern and eastern lumber regions began to show signs of exhaustion. At that time it became necessary for the lumber companies in that region to buy timberlands in the South and West, and so the price was driven up by their competition.

Because Long-Bell had its beginning a number of years prior to this great demand, the company was becoming well established, and so profited by the development of the lumber industry in the South. In fact, the period of the most rapid expansion in the history of Long-Bell began with the establishment of the King-Ryder Lumber Company at Bonami, Louisiana in October, 1900.

As the virgin forests of the South were depleted, Long-Bell began to concentrate on expansion into new territories, not losing sight of the fact, however, that it had hundreds of acres of cut-over land at its disposal. Long-Bell attempted to utilize this land to the best advantage of the company, and so, three methods were employed, namely: (1) that land capable of growing produce was sold for farming purposes; (2) that land best suited to the growing of timber was subject to reforestation; and (3) that land which could neither be farmed nor reforested profitably was returned to the state for taxes. To date, however, Long-Bell has not been able to realize a profit of any size from the cut-over land, whether it was sold for farming purposes, or retained for reforestation.

The World War, which took place about the time Long-Bell was beginning to cut out in the South, was partially responsible for the rapid development of Long-Bell’s expansion into the Pacific Northwest. During the war the construction of buildings was curtailed, and so immediately following the war an extensive building program was put into effect in order to fill the shortage incurred during the war. Long-Bell, as well as other lumber companies, attempted to meet the demands made for lumber at that time so that its profits might be increased. Accordingly, Longview was constructed during a “boom” period just before the panic; therefore, the entire plant and city were built on a scale too large for normal times.

This over-expansion is generally considered as the cause of the reorganization which became effective in 1935. Had Long-Bell purchased only the tracts of timber desired and begun operations in a city already established, rather than to have constructed an entire now city, the reorganization might not have been so imperative, as the engineering feat alone took the entire revenue from the remaining southern mills. This was not done, however, and so it became necessary to either reorganize or liquidate the assets of the debtor. It was the choice of the stockholders to reorganize, and so the reorganization became effective in 1935. The first three months under the reorganization were the best the company had had in a number of years.

If Long-Bell will continue doing business on a somewhat smaller scale as it has done for these first three months, the company will undoubtedly find itself back among the top-ranking lumber companies of the nation in the next few years.

Adams, Arthur B. Economics of Business Cycles. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. New York. 1925.

Brown, Nelson Courtlandt. The American Lumber Industry. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York. 1923.

Chapman, Herman W. Forest Management. J. B. Lyon Company. Albany, New York. 1931.

Defebaugh, James Elliott. History of the Lumber Industry of America. The American Lumberman. Chicago. 1906. In two volumes. Vol. II.

Ise, John. United States Forestry Policy. Yale University Press. New Haven, Conn. 1920.

Jones, Arthur F. Lumber Manufacturing Accounts. The Ronald Press. New York. 1921.

Kinney, J. P. Development of Forest Law in America. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York. 1917.

Pratt, Edward Ewing. International Trade in Staple Commodities. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. New York. 1928.

Zimmermann, Erich W. World Resources and Industries. Harper and Bros. New York. 1933.

Zon, Raphael, and Sparhawk, Wm. N. Forest Resources of the World. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. New York. 1933.

Dawn of a New Construction Era. Report of Cut-Over Land Conference of the South. New Orleans. 1917.

From Tree to Trade. The Long-Bell Lumber Company. Kansas City, Missouri. 1920.

Long-Bell Lumber Operations in the Pacific Northwest. The Long-Bell Lumber Company. Kansas City, Missouri. 1924.

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Longview, Washington - The City Practical that Vision Built. The Long-Bell Lumber Company. Kansas City, Missouri. 1923.

Consolidated Balance Sheet. The Long-Bell Lumber Company and Subsidiary Companies. Kansas City, Missouri. Jan. 1927-1928; Jan. 1930-1931.

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American City Magazine, The. “A Small City Whose Growth is Aided and Controlled by a Plan.” B. L. Lambuth. New York. August, 1926. Vol. XXXV.

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Log of Long-Bell, The. The Long-Bell Lumber Company. Kansas City, Missouri. December, 1919 - November, 1929.

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Helene King was born in Ludington, Louisiana on September 2, 1914. She entered the third grade in Ludington Grammar School in September, 1921, and she transferred to DeRidder Consolidated School in September, 1923. Helene entered Helena High School, Helena, Arkansas, in December, 1926 and graduated from that school in May, 1931, due to the fact that Arkansas schools have twelve grades.

This student began her college work at Hollins College, Hollins, Virginia in September, 1931. She remained at Hollins one year, and the following September she enrolled in the College of Commerce at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Helene received an out-of-state scholarship for four years at Louisiana State University. She received a Bachelor of Science degree June, 1935, and was given a fellowship in the College of Commerce at Louisiana State University, where she is a candidate for a Master of Science degree in August, 1936.

(1) From Tree to Trade. The Long-Bell Lumber Company. Kansas City, Missouri. 1920. P. 4.

(3) Brown, Nelson Courtlandt, The American Lumber Industry. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York. 1923. P. 1.

(4) Hiley, W. E., The Economics of Forestry. Oxford at the Clarendon Press. 1930. P. 81.

(5) Zon, Raphael, and Sparhawk, Wm. N., Forest Resources of the World. McGraw-Hill Book Co. Inc. New York. 1923. Vol. II. P. 33.

(8) Louisiana Court of Appeal Report. “The Long-Bell Lumber Company vs. Louisiana Tax Commission.” Vol. 13. P. 561- 564.

(9) The Americana. “Forestry as an Investment.” American Corporation. New York and Chicago. 1936. Vol. II. P. 484.

(10) “Development of Forestry,” Commerce Monthly. July, 1926. P. 30, as quoted by Zimmermann, E. W., in World Resources and Industries. Harper and Bros. New York. 1933. P. 417.

(11) The Why and the How of Forestry in Louisiana. Dept. of Conservation. New Orleans, La. Jan. 1922. Bulletin 7. P. 33-34.

(12) Kinney, J. P. Development of Forest Law in America. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York. 1917. P. 201.

(14) Longview, Washington - The City Practical that Vision Built. Long-Bell Lumber Company. Kansas City, Missouri. 1923. P.11.

(16) Adams, Arthur B. Economics of Business Cycles. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. New York. 1925. P. 75.

(17) American Economic Review. “The Business Depression of 1930.” Joseph Demmery. Vol. 21, 1931. Supp. 191-93.

(18) Southwestern Reporter. “State v. Long-Bell Lumber Company." 2^nd Series. Vol. 12. P. 64 - 87.

(19) Plan of Reorganization. The Long-Bell Lumber Company. Kansas City, Missouri. March, 1935. P. 5.

(20) Annual Report. The Long-Bell Lumber Corporation and the Long-Bell Lumber Company. Kansas City, Missouri. Dec. 31, 1935. P. 8.