The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-02-25
From the New Yorl; sun.

rracticallv me owner of the town, and
bntb are interesting. John Inslee Blair
is interesting because Of the years lie
has lived and the work he has done
The town which he founded ana III
which he lives is interesting because OF
its inacCessiblity to the rest ot the
world and because from IL one man
has directed the building and operat-
ing of more railroads than any other
one man i'm this country has ever pullt
ur controlled. Perhaps if John /. Blair
had a notion when he was yolhg
man Of the work he was to do III the
world he would never have settled
down at Blairstown.
II is quite possible that thousands of
men with whom Mr. Blair has had 10
do business have wished more than
once that he could have looked further
into the future when he chose his abid-
ing place. BlairstUwn is in the nOrth-
western corner OF New Jersey. Really
a stranger ought never to go there at
all. He runs long chances Of never
being able to return to those who love
him. He ought certainly never to so
there in winter The site of the town
is little valley among the New Jer-
scy hills on the Susquehanna and west
ern railroad. Il may be that the rail"
road connections between the town and
the outside world are good in sum-
mer To reach ii in winter it is dol
lars to doughnuts that one will have
to ride OH a freight train, in a sleigh,
or go afoot But, as with Dartmouth
college in the days of Webster, there
are probably those who love Blairs-
town. 1t is absolutely certain that its
founder believes it to be the paradise
of the world. 1t has been said of
John /. Blair that he is he only one
of the very rich men in this country
who has directed all his affairs and
accumulated a vast fortune from head
quarters outside Of a great city. BE
that as it may, there are few men who
have had a wider knowledge of this
country, its possibilities and it's de-
Velopment than he.
BEGINNING OF A CAREER.
John Inslee Blair was born on Aug.
%. 1902, at what was then a little set
tlement in the woods. two miles below
Belvidere. y. j., on the Delaware river.
His ancestors We're Scotch Presbyter-
ians. The founder OF the family in
this country was John Blair, who came
from Scotland and settled in New Jer-
sey in 1920. He and his brother, Sam
uel Blair, who came TO this country a
year or two later, were both clergy
men and We're among those who pro-
cured from Governor Belcher the or
iginal charter for Princeton college.
John Blair became the professor of
moral philosophy in the college and
Samuel Blair vice president and pro-
fessOr of rhetoric. John ]. Blair's
grandfather, Samuel Blair a son of the
Princeton professor, was the manager
and one of the owners of the old OK
ford iron furnace in the centre of War
rem county, n. j. The iron from the
furnace had to be shipped by Delaware
river boats. Somebody had 10 attend
to the loading of the boats and the gem
eral shipping of the iron, and so SAM
uel Blair sent his son. John ]. Blair's
father, to the point on the Delaware
river where the iron was put on the
boats. This was known as Foul Rift.
WANTED TO BE RICH.
When John !. Blair was old enough
he attended "A school IN the neighbor
hood for a few winters. He was far
more interested, however, in the busy
life about the iron furnace and the
shipping place than in an education.
The one thing that he desired was to
make money. One day, shortly after
his tenth birthday, he said to his moth
Mother, l have got seven brothers
and three sister. That's enough in the
family To be educated. I am going 10
get rich"
I l..
trapping muskrats and rabbits and
selling their skins at 81 for sixteen.
Before he was II years old he was a
clerk i'm the general store Of his cousin
at Hope. At IA he was considered the
best stOrekeeper in that part Of the
country He thought he was himself,
and at - he owned a store of his own.
The store was situated on what was
known as Grand Hill, which is now
within The confines of Blairstown. He
took his cousin John for a partner and
they opened a general store. 1t is said
that the capital put into the business
was $500. A couple Of years later MIR.
Blair borrowed some money from his
mother and bought out his cousin. In
two years he was able to keep a clerk.
and he brought his brother James from
started a branch store at Marksbor-
Ough, where he made James his part
ner Then he opened another store al
Johnsonburg and put Robert, another
brother, in as his manager. BY 1890 he
had five general stores in operation
The others We're at Pauiins and Hunts
vile. In each of these stores he had
some Of his brothers or brothers in.
law employed,
PLAN OF BUSINESS.
His plan of doing business was this:
There was no ready money in thai
ueighborhOod, products being the cur.
rency. Mr.. Blair would buy the crops
Of the farmers in all the surrounding
counties as cheaply as possible, pay,
Ing for them in merchandise from hi.
stores. Then he would market tht
grain and other crops in this city oi
m Newark. To do this he had to EN-.
poy great number OF teams and hi!
wagons were always on the road. Hi
drivers We're also supercargoes, and 4
they could make a successful deal ur
the road they were instructed 10 az
so. 1t was not unusual for them q
buy load of pork or bucIIwheat wheI
only half way or less on the road HON,
from market. Immediately upon load
Ing the grain or the pork, back the,
would start for market again.
Many are the stories still told Il
Blairstown of John /. Blair's early ex
periences in trade. One OF these a
about the first money he made quickly
1t was when the Morris and Esse,
canal was being built and large mum