Middletown transcript., 1916-04-01

| teacher for their district school. The
school was then olosed-a group of
the large boys having carried the
teacher into the road, slammed him
down in the dirt and warned him
never to return
Lick EN- and lick 'em good" the
prudentisl committee said. Wen
back you up if you do"
"The third day, Captain Weeks
told me, "a big, re3faced boy took
his pen in hand and labor1ouslJ be-
gan to write lette. that is, he was
seemingly engaged IN writing let
ter; as a matter of "a ct, he was show
ing off before the school and expert
menting with the new teacher. When
ordered to put his pen and paper
away, he smiled around the room at
the pupils, who hal stopped work
ing, and then resumed his writing.
Il took him by the collar, dragged
him out of his sea- and gave him a
thorough whipping He turned out
to be the son of th3 chairman Of the
prudential committee. The old man
never spoke to me again, not even
when I met him in the road, he rid
ing In buggy and 7 walking to or
from my work"
Went to Sea for Two Years.
On his graduation at the Annapolis
Naval Academy, young John Win
gate Weeks went to sea for cruise
of two years. Seventy men were in
his class, but there as room for only
10 of them in the navy. The navy
itself consisted of but five steam YES
sells classed as firstTates, and they
were obsolete and unfit for active
duty. George Barnet, his roommate
went into the Marine Corps and is
now major general and the COM
mandahtt eff ef that that bbE@4eh Of the naval
service.
In Florida, where he had been en-
gagged as surveyor On q railroad, the
late Midshipman v eeks learned that
an old hrm in BOst on was going out
of business. One 0 the partners had
died and another lad become blind.
Henry Hornblower, a son of one Of
the partners, and the youthful MIR.
Weeks bought the business, the lat
ter borrowing the money with which
to begin his career as a banker and.
broker
Hornblower acted for the firm on
the floor of the Boston Stock Ex-
change. Weeks kept the books and
waited on the custC ners as they ap-
peared. In few years the two young
men had offices all over New England
and in cities as far away as Chicago.
Il got my first valuable business
idea from a famous New 'ngland
dressm aker," CAPITA il Weeks said to
20 al mi
who came to spend .he night at our
house was talking to Mrs. Weeks
while | was reading a newspaper. l
heard her say that she had bought
dress in Boston, AM that soon after,
on returning to the store. the pro
prietOr. noticing her at the counter,
asked if she had pu chased the dress
she was wearing at hi3 establishment.
On learning that she had, he said:
1T is not right. Please give your
name and address to the clerk and we
shall correct the ma ter at once.
A Story of Great aIue.
But the woman replied the dress
is satisfactory to re. Whatever is
wrong is so small that it is not worth
mentioning
Small to you, adam, the man
answered, but very '7rge to us
"'And do you know, the woman
told Mrs Weeks. tn dress was not
only taken back, but it was kept and
| was given a new C0e.
Il repeated the st to my partner
next day." Captain eells said, and
from that time on rd We tried to
please our custoI2ers before we
thought of ourselves nd the probable
profits we could me- in our trans
actions"
Three years ago, .0lowing at once
his election to the upper House Of
Congress, Captain Weeks sold out to
his partners and dis cosed Of every IN
terest that might be thought, even in
directly. to influence his judgment as
a lawmaker 1t it sid in New Eng
land that he has s;Ways been very
careful about his rel tati0n as a busi-
ness man. An anecGOte told of him
in State street, the " all street of Los
ton, shows how his senSitiveness TO |
public opinion on one occasion proved |
highly profitable to his partner and |
himself
A run on bank in which Captain |
Weeks was a director, though he |
owned but 5000 of the stock, threat |
ened, so he feared, to injure his stand |
ing in the commur ty He spent q
day and night at tla bank, pledged |
two-thirds of all the property he and |
his partner owned f." the payment of |
the banks debts and 0ut through re- |
habilitating plan under which the !
shareholders were assessed so per
cent. on their holdings. The bank /
was saved, but solaa Of the fright |
ened shareholders sod, out. Their in |
terests were prom atly bought by |
Captain Weeks. I'll bank prospered |
and later was com in with other |
large banks. BostCu fnanciers say |
that MIR. Hornblowe and Mr.. Weeks |
ultimately made s25e 900 on the stock
which they purchase when the bank
seemed to be on the verge Of ruin.
When I asked Captain Weeks about
the matter, he said: Il was a young
man and couldn't arord to be a di-
rector in a bank that had closed its
doors in the faces of its depositors,
many of whom were poor and most
of whom were small merchants and
wage-earners."
How" l asked him, inasmuch as
he was sailor himself once, and is
now on terms of intimacy with many
high officers, would YOU describe the
navy Of the United tates?"
cat the outbreak = the war in Eu-
rope" he answered, cur navy in my
opinion, was the second best in exis-
Jence. Authorities for whom I f7e7s
great respect did not agree with me.
They ranked our navy third or fourth
some giving France second place
and some believing Germany was
stronger at sea than ourselves.
ssI still thinlr tI,nt N cI,ir,r n1o... - |