The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-02-19
WANAMAKER INTERVIEWED.
Culver Makes Him Say All sorts of
Queer Things.


New York. Feb. 17.-My interview with
John Wanamaker was not pleasant one
for him. ! was riding through Central
Park on my wheel, when / heard a cry
! OF Runaway! Stop that horser' and
! looking over my shoulder, / saw John
! Wanamaker coming toward me like. the
wind. His hat was on the back Of his
head, his knees were braced against the
dashboard and he was going like dress
goods at a bargain sale His thorough
bred had taken fright at a new woman,
and was running away
| | reflected that this would probably be
my last chance TO interview the big man.
and so 1 wheeled over to him, and, leap
ing from my bike, l sprang into the car
! riage. What was the loss OF wheel com
| pared with such unique interview!
| Wanamaker was so occupied in holding
| on to the reins that he didn't notice
me at first. "Mr. Wanamaker, / want
an interview for the Big Men series. What
| do you think of Central Park compared
| 10 Paramount Park?"
The horse narrowly escaped running us
! into park carriage and Mr.. Wanamaker
did not seem to hear me. Again / asked
| him, and he said very courteously:
! ooh, beg pardon. When ala you come
| in?"
| Just after the horse bolted," said. /.
| L want a little interview before this af-
| fair gets into the papers"
"Oh, do you think IL will?" he said.
| anxiously, "Id hate to get into the news
! papers"
Wen, we may not be in a position 70
rur IN s4HH
| think were in pretty light box But
| now TO the interview. It's likely our
| time Is limited. ! want few short chap
tiers OF your life, and what led to your
| success"
| "Weu, ! remember that when a babe
of TWO summers / spelled d-e-p-a-r-t-
m-e-n-t STORE with my alphabet blocks.
| IL may have been an accident, but l
never forget It, and / think that that was
the seed that led TO my success. Then
| when / was 4 years old l used TO be sent
TO run errands. They'd give me some
| money and tell me 10 get needles and
paper and drugs and a dozen other things.
and as the stores were scattered all over
Philadelphia thought that / was wasting
a lot of time, and I wondered why there
wasn't some store where a man could buy
anything he wanted from a mastadon TO
| a mousetrap. So whenever l had any
money given to me 10 spend, instead OF
spending 1t I laid II aside until | had
enough to buy store. In this way
soon had enough TO buy a dry goods store
and later l purchased o book store, and
so month after month added 20 my pur-
chases until had fifteen or twenty stores
at time when other boys are stnl think
ing about tops and marbles. But after
I had bought all these stores / was no
better off than before, because they were
scattered all over Philadelphia but John
Wanamaker never let anything feaze him,
so j bought large vacant lot and had IL
moved into the very heart of the city
and then / moved all the stores I had
gotten into this lot until l had a collec-
ton sufficient 70 carry out my idea and
then / rooted the whole thing over and
opened the doors and Wanamakcr's sprang
into existence"
Just here The carriage swerved so IN
turning a corner that We nearly went out.
1 caught my breath and offered to catch
Wanamaker.
"Weren't you mixed up In the postofice,
too2H / asked.
eyes. think It was in Cleveland or Har-
rison's administration that / became Post
master General, and there 1 scored my
FIRST failure" f
THAT was a narrow shave" shouted I.
We had Just escaped breaking off a lamp
most and we're nearing the limits of the
park at 1850 gait What was the fall
ure. Mr. Wanamaker?" I asked.
why, / told President Harrison-it was