The Price of a Loose Tongue
A logger learned the hard way that when you negotiate a premium price in secret, you better keep it a secret.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A. J. West, of Aberdeen, once agreed to pay a talkative logger $5.50 a thousand for his logs when the market price was but $5.00. He made a proviso in the contract that the logger should say nothing about the price. The next day he was approached by logger No. 2, who inquired what he was paying for logs. Mr. West said '$5.00.' The logger replied that 'you bought yesterday and agreed to pay $5.50.' 'Yes,' Mr. West said, 'but the man has broken his contract by telling the price, so the bargain is off.' The next spring the logger who could not keep his mouth shut sold these logs for less than $4.00. In the words of Mrs. Partington, he opened his mouth and put his foot in it.
“The logger who could not keep his mouth shut sold these logs for less than $4.00. In the words of Mrs. Partington, he opened his mouth and put his foot in it.”
This anecdote reflects the informal, high-stakes nature of the early timber economy in Grays Harbor, where reputation and discretion were as vital as the timber itself. Modern contract law and transparency requirements have replaced these handshake deals, but the risk of being 'undercut' by information remains a core anxiety in local industry.
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