The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-07-10

enanters of the strictest sort, and his
father had to do with tho shipping of
iron from tho Oxford IN. j. furnaces.
In 1916 the old gentlemen died, leaving
his widow with eight sons and three
daughters ON her hands. John I. was
barely IA. Ho had been working in q
country store for a cousin for nearly
four years, and he told his mother that
his brothers and sisters might got an
education" if they wanted to, but he
was going to get rich. Then he set about
it without delay.
His first dollars were earned, when he
was very young, trapping muskrats, the
skins Of which he sold at the rate of
eight for 80 cents. All the millions he
has made since that time have not
pleased him as much as did the proceeds
of those skins. When he was II, he
went to Buttstown, now Blairstown, N
j., and opened store as q partner for
his cousin. Two years later he bought
tho cousin out A little later he started
the Belvidere bank, of which he has
been president now for more than three
score years. Then he made $15, 900 ON
one cargo of supposed to be damaged
cotton which he bought "on spec" By
1914 no was ready for larger enterprises
than he had heretofore attacked, and
the chance for which he sighed shortly
came to him. II vas furnished by hard
coal and iron. He was laughed at when
he said he could make the latter by the
aid of tie former, but he went ahead,
supplied the Erie railroad, then build
ing, with rails, and under the title Of
"Legget's railroad laid the first few
miles of what is now the Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western railroad.
The extension of the D., L. and w.
property helped the development of
Scranton, Pa, and it, in turn, helped
the railroad, and from them both and
the anthracite mines Blair drew trib-
ute.
In 1860 he turned his attention to the
west as profitable railroad field, being
melted to do so by his observations of
the resources Of the states he passed
through while on his way to and from
Chicago where he was delegate to the
Republican national convention. He
was laughed at for his belief in western
railroads, as he had been for his conf.
dence in hard coal, in iron rails and the
future, but he kept right on, and when
12O miles of the Chicago, Iowa and Ne.
braska railroad had been laid it began
to pay, and very well too. Then he went
into the construction of the Union Pa.
cific with Cakes Ames and others and
was later concerned in the building oi
many western roads, some short ant
some long, and now most Of them parts
of the Chicago and Northwestern arc
other trunk lines. III no case was Mr.
Blair frozen out when these short line!
were transferred. He made money ou
of every transaction and was popularlJ
supposed to be worth $50, 900, 900 few
years ago. He says $50, 900, 900 is near
er right, and it is enough for one maj
at all events.
In 1876 he built q railroad 10 mile
long to Blairstown for the convenienc,
Of students at the Blairstown academy
In 1868 he ran for governor Of New
Jersey at cost to him Of $50, 900
He lost. He has since then aspired t,
nothing higher in politics than tow
committeeman. He never built rail
road on credit, and he never speculated
He said the other day to an inquire
that all our present financial trouble
are due to our speculation Though h
lives very plainly at Blairstown, hi
son lives splendidly at Belvidere. Ono
when he was asked about this differ
ence he said, "Oh, he has rich father
and l have not. ="