The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1916-07-13

A MAN of fifty-four, who weighs less than 100
pounds but has an astonishing capacity for work,
has an Office way over on Eleventh Avenue at Fiji
ty Seventh Street. From his office windows he can
look far up the broad reaches of the majestic Hud
son and out upon the towering piles that form the
skyline of New York. The great structures are
monuments to the energy and genius of various
men, but few of these men have done anything so
wonderful as the slender in that little Eleventh
Avenue structure He is the master of the motor
world, the genius of the automobile field. He is
William C. Durant.
Most captains of industry had rather humble
beginnings. Durant hadn't He is blue-blooded
Yankee His grandfather that distinguished
New Highlander Crapo who left Massachusetts,
made fortune in lumber in the Northwest and
who was Michigans governor W. W. Grape,
long a member of Congress from Massachusetts,
was mis- uncle. Usually the Blue-stockings were
not remarkable for their business acumen, but Du-
rant is the exception. He has proven himself
genius as builder a wonder as manufacturer
a marvel as distributor, and, perhaps the greatest
salesman America has produced. His mind works
like the finest and most delicate piece of machin-
cry. He looks too robust but he thrives on
work. Some days he gets to his office over there
on Eleventh Avenue at g. m. and does a days
work before the ordinary business man gets to his
Durant was born in Boston and was taken out
to Michigan when he was a child. He lived in Flint
and when he was seventeen he went to work as a
mill hand in his grand-father's establishment. At
ter he had learned the manual part of the lumber
trade he was taken into the office.
Before he was twenty he gave evidence of
unusual ability. The Flint City Water Works Com
pany was in bad shape. He took hold of it and
put it on it's feet. He was so successful IN that
undertaking that several other corporations were
placed in his charge. He recognized them and
set them straight
At twenty-four he came to the conclusion that
the two-wheeed roadster had possibilities among
the farmers and farm boys far beyond any other
vehicle that was on the market. He went into the
manufacture of that class of conveyance extensive
w. He called it the Blue Ribbon Roadster, and In
a few years his business had broadened so much
that he had the largest vehicle or carriage plant In
the world 1t was called the Durant-Dort Company.
He made fortune.
One fine thing about William c.. Durant lie
that he has vision. He always looks ahead. He
doesn't cling to ideas when he knows they are I'M
sound. He saw that the high priced carriage would
not do so went into the manufacture of low priced
vehicles-buggies. This departure was pronounc-
ed success. Within a few years he was manufacture
ing 100000 year. Finally this grew to 10000
year.
Just as he saw that the high priced carriage
was to be suppanted by the low priced so he saw
that the horse drawn conveyance was to be super
seeded by the automobile. He one of the first
to enter the field of manufacture of motor cars He
founded the Buick. 1t fine success He is
great man for knowing what the people want. The
Buick grew and grew and grew. In 1907, during
the panic, when all America was in the throes of