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Labor Relations in the Saginaw Valley Lumber Industry, 1865–1885

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2012

Anita Shafer Goodstein
Anita Shafer Goodstein
Affiliation:
Cornell University
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Extract

In the years after the Civil War, American industrial development was rapid. Mushrooming factory towns became, with the exploitation of timber and mineral resources, a characteristic feature even in frontier areas. The Saginaw Valley of Michigan mirrors this phenomenon. A lumberman's frontier, it grew to be a major center of lumber production for the nation.

An essential factor in this industrial expansion was the growth of the labor force. In 1850 a single mill of the Valley employed 12 or 14 men; by 1885 it required the services of 75 to 150 men and in some cases of 200. In 1885 over 4,000 men were employed in the mills of the Valley. Such growth of the industry and of the labor force introduced serious problems of labor relations.

This article is concerned with a description and analysis of labor relations in the sawmills of the Saginaw Valley from 1865 to 1885. Labor relations rest to a great extent upon attitudes; the attitudes of the employer, of the employee, and in some cases of the rest of the community. Presumably these attitudes have a basis in the conditions under which the industry is operated and under which the labor force works and lives.

Type
Research Article
Information
Business History Review , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , December 1953 , pp. 193 - 221
Copyright
Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 1953

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References

1 Saginaw Board of Trade, Third Annual Review (East Saginaw, Michigan, 1884), pp. 26–28Google Scholar; Leeson, , History of Saginaw County, Michigan (Chicago, 1881), pp. 399–400.Google Scholar Prices are quoted in terms of the three grades of lumber; opening quotations are those made in the spring.

2 Henry W. Sage to Dean Sage, Dec. 14, 1880. Henry W. Sage Collection. Library of Regional History, Cornell University. All letters cited hereafter are from this collection.

3 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., Toledo, Oct. 20, 1878.

4 H. W. Sage to Dean Sage, June 2, 1874.

5 E. g., The Lumberman's Gazette, III, No. 3, 67.

6 H. W. Sage to A. P. Brewer, July 22, 1874.

7 The Lumberman's Gazette, XXV, No. 7.

8 H. W. Sage to John McGraw, Oct. 28, 1874.

9 The Lumberman's Gazette for Apr., 1877, IX, No. 15, 245, offers an example of the way in which the cost of lumbering was computed. The figures represent cost per thousand feet of lumber:

10 Ibid., VII, No. 20.

11 Ibid., I, No. 3, 9.

12 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., Wenona, July 11, 1872.

13 Bay City Observer, Apr. 6, 1878.

14 Ibid., Feb. 9, 1879.

15 The Lumberman's Gazette, VII, No. 20.

16 Leeson, op. cit., p. 384.

17 Bay City Journal, June 8, 1865.

18 Ibid.

19 Wright, Chester W., Economic History of the United States (New York, 1941), p. 752.Google Scholar

20 Bay City Daily Journal, July 3, 1872.

21 losco County Gazette, Mar. 31, 1870.

22 Bay City Daly Journal, July 3, 1872.

23 H. W. Sage to S. A. Plummer, July 15, 1872.

24 Wright, op. cit., p. 752.

25 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., Wenona, Sept. 11, 1873.

26 Page, H. R., History of Bay County (Chicago, 1883), p. 52.Google Scholar

27 The Lumberman's Gazette, III, Xo. 3, 66; Bay City Tribune, Sept. 29, 1873.

28 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., Wenona, Apr. 22, 1874.

29 The Lumberman's Gazette, XI, Xo. 7, 100.

30 Ibid., IX, No. 20, 343.

31 Bay City Tribune, July 8, 1885.

32 Saginaw Daily Courier, Apr. 29, 1877.

33 Ibid.

34 Bay City Tribune, July 8, 1885. The figures are arrived at by dividing the monthly wage given by 26.

35 Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics, Third Annual Report (Lansing, Michigan, 1886), p. 16.Google Scholar

36 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., Wenona, Nov. 20, 1873.

37 H. W. Sage to J. H. Plum, Mar. 22, 1871.

38 Page, op. cit., p. 176.

39 From a speech of George X. Allen delivered to the Exchange Club of Bay City, 1950.

40 Ibid.

41 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., Wenona, Dec. 9, 1875.

42 Ibid., Dec. 10, 1875.

43 The Lumberman's Gazette, II, No. 11, 143.

44 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., Wenona, Mar. 22, 1873.

45 Ibid., Apr. 14, 1873.

46 Ibid., Mar. 22, 1873.

47 Ibid., Mar. 30, 1874.

48 Lynd, R. S. and Lynd, H. M., Middletown in Transition (New York, 1937), p. 76.Google Scholar

49 Bay City Journal, June 8, 1865.

50 H. W. Sage to J. G. Emory, July 12, 1867.

51 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., Wenona, June 17, 1872.

52 Ibid., July 1, 1872.

53 H. W. Sage to Dean Sage, June 17, 1872.

54 Bay City Daily Journal, June 28, 1872.

55 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., Wenona, July 3, 1872.

56 Ibid.

57 Bay City Daily Journal, July 3, 1872.

58 Ibid., July 7, 1872.

59 Ibid., July 10, 1872.

60 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., Wenona, July 8, 1872.

61 Ibid., July 5, 1872.

62 Ibid., July 6, 1872.

63 Ibid., July 8, 1872.

64 Bay City Daily Journal, July 9, 1872.

65 Ibid., Oct. 30, 1872.

66 Ibid., July 12, 1872.

67 Ibid., Nov. 28, 1872.

68 Ibid., July 9, 1872.

69 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., Wenona, July 9, 1872.

70 Ibid., July 13, 1872.

71 Bay City Dcily Journal, July 17, 1872.

72 Ibid., July 19, 1872.

73 Ibid., July 10, 1872.

74 Ibid.

75 Ibid.

76 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., Wenona, July 11, 1872.

77 Ibid., July 10, 1872.

78 Bay City Daily Journal, July 19, 1872.

79 The Lumberman's Gazette, I, No. 1, 4.

80 Bay City Daily Tribune, Oct. 2 and Oct. 17, 1873.

81 Ibid., Oct. 17, 1873.

82 Iosco County Gazette, Dec. 18, 1873.

83 The Lumberman's Gazette, VII, No. 20.

84 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., Wenona, Nov. 28, 1876.

85 Bay City Chronicle and Tribune, Oct. 8, 1879.

86 Bay City Daily Tribune, May 9, 1882.

87 Ibid., June 13, 1882.

88 The Morning Chronicle, Bay City, Feb. 11, 1874.

89 Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics, op. cit., p. 119.

90 Bay City Tribune, July 14, 1885.

91 Glazer, Sidney, Labor and Agrarian Movements in Michigan, 1876–1896 (Ann Arbor, 1932), p. 96.Google Scholar

92 Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics, op. cit., p. 110.

93 Bay City Tribune, July 9, 1885.

94 Butterfield, G., History of Bay County (Bay City, Michigan), p. 28Google Scholar.

95 Bay City Tribune, July 16, 1885.

96 The Labor Leaf, Detroit, July 15, 1885.

97 Bay City Tribune, July 18, 1885.

98 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., West Bay City, July 10, 1885.

99 Ibid., July 9, 1885.

100 Ibid., July 10, 1885.

101 Bay City Tribune, July 11, 1885.

102 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., West Bay City, July 10, 1885.

103 Ibid., July 9, 1885.

104 Ibid.

105 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., West Bay City, July 10, 1885.

106 Ibid., Aug. 6, 1885.

107 H. W. Sage to Dean Sage, Aug. 3, 1885.

108 Bay City Tribune, July 16, 1885.

109 Ibid., July 30, 1885.

110 Ibid., Aug. 2, 1885.

111 Ibid., Aug. 7, 1885.

112 Ibid., Aug. 23, 1885.

113 Ibid., Sept. 1, 1885.

114 Ibid., July 14, 1885.

115 The Labor Leaf, Detroit, July 8, 1885.

116 John Swinton's Paper, New York City, Aug. 16, 1885.

117 Bay City Tribune, July 14, 1885.

118 Ibid.

119 Ibid., July 15, 1885.

120 Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics, op. cit., p. 92.

121 The Labor Leaf, Detroit, July 15, 1885.

122 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., West Bay City, July 11, 1885.

123 H. W. Sage to Thomas Cranage, Aug. 21, 1885.

124 Bay City Tribune, Aug. 13, 1885.

125 Ibid., July 15, 1885.

126 Ibid., July 16, 1885.

127 William Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., West Bay City, Aug. 21, 1885.

128 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., West Bay City, Aug. 15, 1885.

129 H. W. Sage to L. L. Hotchkiss, Aug. 24, 1885.

130 Ibid., Aug. 24, 1885.

131 H. W. Sage to H. W. Sage and Co., West Bay City, Aug. 19, 1885.

132 H. W. Sage to Dean Sage, Sept. 3, 1885.

133 Bay City Tribune, Sept. 20, 1885.

134 Ibid.

135 Ibid, Oct. 13, 1885.

136 Ibid., E. G. Smalley and Co., e.g.

137 The Lumberman's Gazette, XXV, No. 7.

138 H. W. Sage to Dean Sage, June 10, 1885.

139 Bay City Tribune, July 12, 1885.