Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-12-19
ANECDOTES OF BLAIR.
Some That Are Told About the Fla
nous Railroad Magnate.

nous Railroad Magnate.
The first money the late John l.
Blair. railroad builder, earned was by
trapping muskrats and rabbits and
selling their skins at 81 for 16. Before
he was Il years old he was n clerk in
the general store of his brother at
Hope, y. j. At IA he was considered
the best storekeeper in that part of the
country. He thought so himself. and
at Il he owned a store of his own.
Many are the stories still told in
Blairstown, \. j., of John l. Blairs
early experiences in trade. says the
New York Sun. One of these is about
the first money he made quickly. 1t
was when the Morris and Essex canal
was being built and large numbers of
men were employed upon the work.
The great market for their supplies
was at Paterson. Blair was trading
cotton yarn for butter and selling the
butter for a shilling a pound at Pater-
son. His drivers reported to him that
the workmen on the canal preferred
strong butter to sweet. Immediately
upon receiving this report Mr.. Blair
bought all the rancid butter he could
find and mixed it with good butter. He
found ready sale for the mixture and
made 81 600 clear in one year.
Any number of stories are still told
IN Blairstown which illustrate the char
acter of John l. Blair. One refers to
the only active part Mr.. Blair ever took
in policies. In 1868 the Republicans
of New Jersey nominated him for gov
ernor. He was defeated. and the cam
paign was said to have cost him 500.
600. a good part of which was alleged
to have been pocketed by those Tho
posed as his supporters. After the
election some of his friends were SYM
pathiZing with him over his defeat and
telling him what 4 dastardly lot of men
the politicians were.
"Oh. don't worry about that said
Mr.. Blair. I'm not worrying 4 bit
/ have had the benefit of lot of eXpe
rience. 1 wouldn't begin to part with
that experience for what it cost me-
You see, l was like the fellow down in
Missouri who raised hogs. He had al
ways marketed them in st. Louis.
Somebody told him that he could get n
good deal more money for his hogs in
Chicago. So he set out to drive n lot
of hogs to Chicago. When he got there,
lie found the market had just switched
around, and hogs were worth much
more in st. Louis. When he found this
out he remarked, We'll. if l haven't got
any money, I've had the society of the
hogs 1 wasn't elected governor. il is
true, but 1 have had the society of the
finest lot of hogs you ever saw"
One of the mans most striking char
acteristics was the rigid economy re-
garding personal expenditures. This
characteristic was illustrated in a Strik-
ing way about year ago. For three
or four years it had been necessary to
have n trained nurse constantly in at
tendance on him. One day early last
winter he called the nurse to him and
said, Il feel very grateful for all you
have done for me. and l would like to
have you stay but can't afford to I'M
dergO unnecessary expense, and now
that I'm feeling better l think / shall
have to let you CO."
The nurse reported to the family
what Mr.. Blair had said, and it was
then arranged that she should tell the
old gentleman that. rather than leave
a place she had held so long. she would
work for nothing. Mr.. Blair would not
consent to this arrangement. but he
finally agreed to accept the nurses
ministrations until she could find an
other place. And so the nurse remain
ed until the end.