The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1916-06-29

A MAN of fifty-four, who weighs less than 1870
pounds but has 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 man 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 Grape, who left Massachusetts,
made fortune in lumber in the Northwest and
who was Mchgan's governor. W. w. Grape,
long member of Congress from Massachusetts,,
was his uncle. Usually the Bue-stockings
not remarkable for their business acumen, but Du-
rant is the exception He has proven himself
genius builder, wonder as a manufacturer,
a marvel a 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 thrves on
work. Some days he gets to his office over there
on Eleventh Avenue at a. m. and does days
work before the ordinary business gets to his
desk He never hurres and he never seems to tire.
Durant was born in Boston and was taken out
to Michigan when he was a child. He lived in Flint
and when he seventeen he went to work as a
mill hand in his grand-fathers establishment. At
ter he had learned the manual part of the lumber
trade he was taken into the Office.
Before he twenty-one 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 it's feet. He successful in that
undertaking that several other corporations were
placed in his charge. He reorganized them and
set them straight.
At twenty-four he came to the conclusion that
the two-wheeled roadster had possibilities among
the farmers and farm boys far beyond any other
vehicle that the market. He went into the
manufacture of that class of conveyance extensive
". He called it the Blue Ribbon Roadster, and in
a few years his business had broadened much
that he had the largest vehicle carriage plant in
the world. 1t 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
sound. He saw that the high priced carriage would
not do so went into the manufacture of low priced
This departure pronounc-
I'd success. Within few years he manufacture
ng 100, 900 year. Finally this grew to 900
year.
Just as he saw that the high priced carriage
vas to be suppanted by the low priced so he saw
hat the horse drawn conveyance was to be super
eded by the automobile He of the first
o enter the field of manufacture of motor He
ounded the Buick. 1t fine success He is
treat for knowing what the people want The
Buick grew and grew and grew. In 1907, during
he panic, when all America in the throes of