Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1904-02-25
SOME MARK HANNA ANECDOTES
The Mckinley Taught Him His Employees and Why They
Calc Him Uncle Mark"As Business Hand He Was Thorough
and Made Himself Familiar With Details
whom Mr., Hanna was supplying fuel,


One of Senator Hanna's marked
characteristics was his inststence to
know everything about anything IN
which he was interested, and to find
It out for himself
In 1880 he bought for $4,000 tho
Euclid Avenue operahouse, In Cleyo,
land, which had cost $l96,0 600 to build,
and had proved a failure from the day
of its opening He put nephew, l.,
c, Hanna, in charge rs manager, and
through him let Il be known that the
opora.houSo would present the best at.
fractions &ad make every effort TO
please the public.
Financial success attended the new
management from the start, That
was omineutiy satisfactory to Mr.,
Hanna, hrtt 40 wanted to find out just
how the money was mSde. SO night
rrtcr nigh found nim on the stage talk,
ms with the carpenter the property
man. and the stage manager and
everybody else employed thereon, AS
y result. he soon began making sug'
Eestiuns lrout this piece Of scenery
or the metuod Of operating some par.
ticular meyhvn,' m,
why don't yAu do Il this Way" he
would begin then outline his idea,
and close with, Would that be an Inn
Irovcment?"
VI the carpenter thought the idea n
a I ~ -
argument was suro to follow mtil
one ar the uthcr was convinced that he
was wrong Sometimes II would be
The carpenter, sometimes Mr. Hanna,
nut Hanna must have carried hts
point good many times, according
Ia the stories told of him to this day
back az the Euclid Avenue opera-houso
curtain These recltals also tell how
MARK knew just about as much about
scene shifting as the rest of us fel.
fellows"
Nor was Mr. Hanna long In forming
ideas OF the kinds of attractions that
he wanted at the oporahouse, This
was shown In 1882. when his nephew
thought II would be n good thing to
book n wrestling match between Dun
can Ross, the Scotch athlete. who was
then touring the country, and a De.
troit wrestler of the name OF Nc
Laughlin.
Mr. Hanna held different view,
"lt's not the right sort Of thing for the
opera house" he said Don't hook
It,"
The nephew ignored MIR. Hanna's
advice The match was booked and
pulled off. A few weeks later the
Iopora.house had new manager
Hanna could do an immense amount
of work in little time; he saw every
body he had an appointment with OK
actly on the minute; he was pleas.
ant and agreeable to all with whom he
came in contact, he never failed to
laugh at Joke cracked by yisitor--if
there was really a laugh in it-but he
rarely tried to be humorous himself,
and he never wasted time In argu-
ments.
He listened intently to what one had
to say, asked questions If he thcnEht
he had not put his project In the bost
possible light, and ut the end rendered
his decision at once with simple, al
most curt word. II the word was
yes" he added sometimes:
Now. Mr. Blank, shall leave the
carrying ont of this idea to you en-
tirely,' and after that he never gave
a thought to the details OF the scheme
He looked for results though, and II
they were not forthcoming. your next
proposition was likely to ret scant at
tention.
He was particularly impatient when
any one went to him with plan only
half worked out II was always tho
anne IN his business affairs. and all
his lieutenants In street rallroading
iron, coal and banking know this very
well
Senator Hanna liked man who
could do things Above all, he liked
a man with initiatWc, and equally he
disiked a man who made excuses and
hadn't a plan when called upon 10 DC