THE JONES STORY (1845 - 1958)

CHAPTER FIVE - Edward Archie Jones, President,1904 -1928. 

December 30, 1904, marked the end of a career; Mr. E. D. G. Jones, at eighty, had been active almost to his end. For fifty-nine years he was in business. He started off with a box of tools and training as a wheelwright. He became a millwright, builder, designer and entrepreneur. There is no record that he had financial assistance along the way, but there is every indication that he understood finance. By saving and reinvesting in his business he made it grow. He was extremely zealous that his reputation encouraged people to come to him and that it spread is attested by the geographic location of his customers. During his long service to the paper mill industry he saw many changes, many mills which he built had long since disappeared or had been replaced with larger ones. The type of equipment also changed; beaters which were a prime product line, became larger, they used more power, and as a result were more productive. This product line, due to replacement business in bedplates and roll bars was contributing substantial continuing volume.

E. D. Jones weathered many ups and downs of business activity. The effect in every case seemed to have little lasting hindrance on the industry he had selected to serve. If he ever had to curtail his gradual expansion it was not recorded. From Ohio in 1845, he might very well have gone west to seek his fortune instead of returning east where he made his fortune and left a thriving business.

Photo at left-Edward Archie Jones. Click photo to enlarge. 

E. A. Jones was elected to the dual position of President and Treasurer early in 1905 and in these capacities he would continue for many years. At this time he had eighteen years of continuous association with the business and was familiar with every phase. Also he became involved with various affairs in business life of Pittsfield, both private and public. "In 1903 he was elected to represent Ward 4 in the City Council and served efficiently on Finance, Fire Department, Fuel and Lighting, and Almshouse and Poor Committees for the full term of two years. Later he was elected by a large majority as Alderman from the same ward."

There was no hesitation of pace or changes in policy. Plant facilities were constantly being improved; in 1906 and 1907 the main foundry was entirely rebuilt.

EDWARD ARCHIE JONES

At the annual stockholders meeting in 1910, Mr. Jones addressed himself to the stockholders in the following manner, as recorded in the minutes:

"Gentlemen,

I have been aware for a long time that I have been very inadequately paid for my services since my father's death, as I can now and could have since that time commanded more than double the amount I have been paid. I request, therefore, that action be taken at once on this matter, and that I be given adequate compensation at least so long as the Company can afford to pay it.

Yours very truly,
Signed, E. A. Jones

"On motion it was unanimously voted that in consequence of the foregoing communication dated Nov. 1, 1910 --pay be doubled starting January 1, 1905."

At the time of this meeting there was no question of who was running the Company or doubt its achievements. E. A. Jones was a typical business leader of the era, a strong man who thoroughly knew all phases of operation.

A man of great energy, who concentrated all his efforts on achieving results. Other stockholders beside E.A. Jones at the time of this meeting were; Miss Margaret Jones (later Mrs. Benton) daughter of Harley E. Jones and Mrs. E. D. Jones, (mother of S. Ralph and stepmother of E.A.) with about equal ownership. S. Ralph Jones was also in the business at this time, but only with a minor assignment. A comfortable working arrangement never developed between the two men, they always seemed farther apart in their thinking than either their ages or relationship (half brothers). In any event, E.A. Jones won his point at the 1910 stockholder's meeting and saw to it that no one ever had occasion to question his direction of the Company.

Photo at left - Typical Jordan built from 1910 to1930 was direct connected and the motor moved with the plug. Click photo to enlarge.

By 1911 plans were made to tear down the original shop which housed the woodworking machinery and power plant. This was the plant into which E. D. Jones had moved in 1867 when he came from East Lee to Pitts-field. The new plant was constructed of brick and steel, it was 60x150 feet, three stories high with the center story a clear span, high head, served by a single crane and was the finest woodworking plant in the industry.

Tank work and beater tubs were the main products of this new plant. For their construction large quantities of cypress and Georgia pine were carried in inventory. The ends of the beaters were made of either 3 x 6 or 4x6 cypress, the sides a corresponding thickness of wide planks, bottoms and backfalls were constructed of Georgia pine planks or timbers. In addition oak and maple in thick planks were used for beater and Jordan filling, and small quantities of lignum vitae in full stump diameters were always stocked for waterwheel step bearings.

Lumber, raw materials and castings storage required more space than was available at the McKay and Depot Street location. So a site was obtained, about one and one-half miles east from the center of the City north of East Street along the Boston and Albany tracks. In 1913 General Electric Company had absorbed the Stanley General Insulating Company (transformer manufacture) and needed this land for their plant expansion. So arrangements were made to swap this tract for one south of East Street and they moved the railroad spur track and lumber sheds to a new location at the corner of East and Newel I Streets. Here more lumber was carried than by all lumber dealers in town. Without this reservoir of materials the main plant would have ground to a halt. To generations of JONES people this storage facility was known as the "Farm". More than once through the years that followed consideration was given and plans develops to move the entire operation to this location. When the move to Newel I Street was made there was a total of 26 acres, most of which lay along that street and astride the east branch of the Housatonic River; it was then mostly country.

In 1910 a contract for a complete mill was completed for the Chinese Government Mill at Hanhow, 1800 miles inland along the Yangtze River. Men were dispatched to supervise construction and setting up of the machinery. When these men returned they related tales of civil unrest, massacres and other terrifying incidents. This was one of the last major mill contracts in which the company assumed complete responsibility. Change was inevitable and there was a trend toward specialization which had nothing to do with experiences encountered on this particular contract.

E. D. JONES AND SONS CO. was definitely being recognized as the foremost builders of stock preparation equipment, in particular beaters and Jordans. Other items that continued in this field were: dusters, for a variety of uses; stuff chests and rag washers. Water turbines, pumps, elevators, mill line shafting and many other special items were either dropped or surrendered to others.

Along with a very active business schedule E.A.Jones found time to assist the City and serve on its Water Commission. "In 1909, after two years of drought, the waters of Onota Lake had to be pumped into city mains that were being extended in all directions". (The number of times Onota Lake has been used since

is fairly well related to prolonged dry spells.) E. A. Jones served this Commission as Secretary. The result of the Commission's effort was the construction of the Farnam Reservoir on October Mountain in 1912.

In 1913, Jones' sales manager was sent to Europe to investigate certain stock preparation equipment, this resulted in a license arrangement with James Bertram at Leith Walk, Edinburgh, for their screen. Also at the same time a kneader type pulper was acquired from England. The Leith Walk screen, as it was called, generated a fair amount of interest and production started. The pulper was laid aside for many years.

The years just before and during World War I were very active, the company entered a period of increased volume and had greater prosperity than it had ever experienced before. This was to continue without let-up all through the twenties.

In February of 1918 word was received from the War Department that the only son of E. A. Jones, Charles Edward (1894-1918), a member of the A.E.F., and an air cadet, had been killed in an aviation accident in France. This young man had graduated from Yale Sheffield School of Engineering with distinction and he also had specialized in chemistry at MIT for a year. In 1916 he volunteered and was trained at Plattsburg, N.Y. During his college years he had spent vacations working in the plant and in these brief periods earned a reputation that was sure to have made him a welcome addition to the organization. There can be little doubt that this loss changed the course for the Company. How mucty one can only speculate from remarks made and the actions taken by E. A. Jones. Here was a strong, dynamic man used to making all essential decisions in operation of his business, fully expecting his son to return with enthusiasm of youth and courage to carry responsibility. Certainly father and son had talked many times of future plans;investments to be made in new machinery, additional engineering, more space, added products and increased sales organization. All of this had been dealt a shattering blow.

Although he faced the road alone, E.A.Jones realized that of the choices available, the only one he could accept was continuing leadership of the Company. It would be unfair to say he did so with any less determination,but the objective had a change of emphasis. A higher percentage of earnings was distributed to stockholders than might have been deemed advisable for future good of the Company. Certain steps were taken to strengthen weaknesses in the younger team. His nephew, Stanley P. Benton, was one of the young men who left a promising financial career to join the Jones organization. Training younger men, for authoritative positions, and being patient while they were being tested was not one of E. A. Jones" best gifts. He already had an organization with which he felt comfortable, and one that was most loyal to him, but strengthening this organization by injection proved nearly impossible. However, equipment was not entirely neglected, in fact there were a few new additions which proved most far-sighted.

Photo At left -"Farm", Located at East and Newall Streets( circa 1955) Click photo to enlarge.

A laboratory was built in 1921-2, and it was one of the first in the industry. The main purpose of this laboratory at the time was to improve beater performance. Even though for years there had been no change in beaters, and the type of pulp that was being used leaned more and more towards chemical wood cellulose, which generally required less beating than rags, the increased output of paper machines demanded larger beater rooms. So, in the early twenties, there was an awakening interest to improve this machine, as well as all other devices used in the industry.

Business generally was so good that major effort was directed to processing orders and little was spent in examining new machine concepts, or attempting to engineer improvements. Roller bearings had been applied to beaters some years before but the unsatisfactory results discouraged further application for a long time. However, now roller and ball bearings were beginning to find acceptance in other industries and it was inevitable that they would be tried on paper mill equipment. Jordans were the first major equipment line where this improvement was applied. Today, some forty years later, it is difficult to appreciate problems which needed solution before dependability was achieved. Bearing manufacturers were just beginning to learn about bearing load carrying capacities and there was a complete void of knowledge relative to the loads imposed by the machines on which they were being applied. Also there was almost complete absence of data concerning alignment, shaft finishes, tolerances and many other factors essential to obtaining reliability.

The many technical developments sparked to meet necessities of World War I were becoming realities to industry in the twenties. In retrospect one can only wonder what might have happened to E. D. JONES AND SONS CO. if only greater efforts had been made to capture and use more of these innovations. However, it is the purpose to record and not speculate, and the evidence is that E. A. Jones applied himself equally diligent to both business and to public service. In business his objective was to remain small but highly prosperous. He had teamed with Steward Lansing of Bagley and Sewall Co. of Watertown, New York, leading manufacturers of paper machines, and together they often landed the best contracts. The record is clear that his objective was realized. He did, however, come to appreciate that the future of the Company depended upon technical development and he made moves to correct a trend in organization weakness which was becoming evident, but not in time for him to realize the effect.

In public service he was active on the Board of Trustees of several organizations both in and outside of Pittsfield. His biggest endeavor was to head an endowment fund drive for House of Mercy Hospital (now Pittsfield General). In this effort he had great driving force and secured the support of the whole community.

Photo at left-Chinese coolies carrying six ton beater from riverboat on Yang-Tse River. Click photo to enlarge.

 

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