The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-11-06
b. JAMES B. MoRRow.
NE MashinEtnn Herald.

father and was shippiT .arge part OF
his merchandise by cat
When John D. Rocket er, aged nine
teen, was a oommissiGl merchant on the
shore of the Cuyah 81 River. in CleVe-
land, and was ent.tt his contributions
10 charity and the church in a little &C
count book.
When Henry H. Rogers had quit clerk
ing IN village store for s. a week and
was a baggage master on a railroad In
Massachusetts,. being paid $1.16 a day for
his work.
When Henry NJ. Flagler was a country
merchant in Ohio and was sending Rock
efeller consignments of butter, eggs, and
grain, a safe business he abandoned TO
make salt In Michigan, at which he
failed, lowing $4,000" he told me. ito
81 5000 Irishmen."
Days of Long Hours,
Back In those days Clement Acton
Griscom, son o. a Quaker physician in
Philadelphia. was learning all about
crockery in the house OF Peter Wright &
Sons and was being prid 50 a year for
hard toll that began err: in the morn
ing and only stoppel a the edge OF
night.
Groceries. produce. baggage, general
merchandise. and crockery-diverse and
scattered interestsl And embryonic mill
lionaires personally unknown to one an
other; but they were to come together at
the call OF trade, some as partners and
some as friends In the loyal and sympa-
thetic intimacy OF money making
one link led to another in the chain
Of commerce that Joined the oil OF Rock
efeller, Flagier, and Rogers. intended for
The foreign market, 10 Griscom's ships,
and finally TO Hanna's Senate BILL writ
ten by George F, Edmunds. providing
and authorizing a government subsidy
70 vessels of American registry. The
hurly smith that forged the links was the
PENNSYLVANIA Railroad, seeking freight
and an outlet. From the first TO last.
changing the figure. 1t was mostly a
brotherhood OF business.
Buys from Hanna.
Hanna, specializing In coal and iron.
was not concerned. except by sentiment
and political doctrine. with ships upon
the ocean. His ships were on the Great
Lakes. After Griscom left pottery for
shipping. he bought kerccene OF Hanna. |
So began formal acquaintance by letter
that blosSomed ultimately into an affec-
tonate friendship But Hanna's refinery. |
a rough shanty against a hill. burned |
down.
Now" said his father-in-law. Daniel |
Rhodes. father Of James Ford Rhodes, |
the eminent historian. quit being a fool |
and come into my coal business"
The dual command and proposal was /
reluctantly obeyed and accepted. Spec
a. d lit ~.
might have happened 70 Rockefeller II /
Hanna, dominating. intense and & CEN |
tralist by instinct, had raked away the I
ashes and built again. As 1t was How
ard Melville, his brother. continued in !,
the business. My rich brother" Marcus /
A. always called him. From oil, Mel" /
he is known to his associates. went /
into tobacco, as a promising trust prod
uct, and now he Is quoted at Sl6 o00.oOO In |
Wall street.
There were also purchases by Girls
com from Rockefeller and Flagler As /
a matter Of fact, his first ships were in /
tended for the oil trade. A boy In years,
he had crowded Peter Wright's imported /
crockery into the loft and made the get
ting of cargoes the principal business OF
the hOuse-was doing with ships. in /
fact. what Rockefeller was doing with /
rehneries and what Carnegie. a few
years later. was TO do with blast-fur-
naces and steel works.
Heads Shipping Interest.
Beginning with a few chartered sailing
vessels-one a month the first year or
two-Mr. GTlscom has bought and sold
quilt and combined. until he easily stands
al the head of the shipping interests in
the United States and has become one Of
the great ship owners of the world.
Abroad. he has been the friend and part
ner of kings. Some OF the richest men
in Great Britain are associated with him
in business. Helped by j. PIerpont Nor
gan. he organized the International Mer-
camille Marine Company, with SEQ COO 900
of common stock, S60000O00 OF preferred
stock, and S65.000.000 of bonds The COM
pany owns more than 100 ocean liners
and frelghters, sailing from ports In this
country TO make countries in Europe
Mr.. Griscom was president of the cor
poration. On resigning 10 be chosen
chairman OF the board of directors, he
named his own successor, J. Bruce Ismay,
son Of Thomas Henry Ismay. founder of |
the White Star Line. About the time of
Griseom's clerking for 81 a month. the
elder Ismay was a boatbuilder's appren-
tice in Liverpool. He died worth SC. Coz. 600
Partner OF the late King Leopold OF
Belgium. member of a London club with
Edward VII when Prince OF Wales. hon
orary member of the British Institute of
Naval Archltects-as is the Grand Duke
Constantine. OF Russia-chevalier of the
Legion of Honor in France. and Knight
of the Ordes Of Orange-Nassau,, in Hol-
lond, decoration conferred on him by
Green Wilhelnina; the personal friend
or William Mckinley. banker. manufac-
turer, and director of the Pennsylvania
Railroad for twenty-six years, Mr.. Girls
com owns two herds Of fancy cows and
peddles milk among his neighbors
What do you get for your mike I
asked
Ten cents a quart" he replied. smok-
ing cigar that must have cost at least
half a gallon.
DO you belong to the trust?'
NO, but l keep an eye on its prices
and regulate my own with a true pro-
ducer's sagacity.'
Honesty In Business.
Seventeen stories up. in a big ONCE,
where he can look over the city in which
he was born and came to fortune, Mr..
Griscom talked to me about honesty in
business. the perils that threaten pros
perity, the accusation that rich men are
robbing the public, and somewhat lacon-
ically. about himself. An American, GO
Ing backward for three centuries, he
started his millions under the protection
OF foreign hag. Tho ensign OF Bel
GUM huttered from the mastheads of his
ships FOR many years, and does vet for
all that He told why.
Although he is slzty-nine years old.
Mr. Griseom is still a man of the world.
not alone in work and thought, but IN the
urbanity Of manner and in a knowledge
If aytd /,