The evening world., 1920-09-04

champagne, is a noted polo player.
Edgar Gibbs Murphy, who is now
associated with the Fred J. Wagner
Tire and Rubber Company, in which
he owns a substantial interest. is the
picture Of health. He was probably
the foremost champagne salesman
to clubs and society.
George Kessler is a millionaire
with wide business interests. Harry
Lehr, who was given his first cbanca
to promote the sale of champagne
by Kessler, married a wealthy wid-
ow and Is now a man of affai1HL
Conrad Peters, the son of Carl Otto
Peters, whose reputation as a. cham
payne salesman was woFddAwide,
has retired and is living in Paris.
Ned GFeenway, who was almost as
weh known in New York as in his
own city, San Francisco, is, accord
ing TO the best advioes available, in
the banking business on the Pacific
Coast. Goo"
The business Of promoting the sale
Of champagne by publicity methods
grew up in the last decade OF the
last century. Frank Pommer who is
well remembered by the old-timers
who used to frequent Madison Square,
DelmOniCoS, the Brunswick Hotel
at 26th Street and Fifth Avenue, tho
Hoffman House and Jim Breslin's ho-
tells was the daddy OF them all. He
set q pace which compelled every
body In the wine business to hustle.
Contempt with Pommer
were George Fahrbach, prominent in
Tammany Hall, Frank Bricklemeyer
and others who achieved transitory
fame and dropped out Of sight. They
made OF the business OF .popularizing
champagne a sort of profession into.
which hundreds Of men were drawn
But, as in the case with all lines OF
endeavor where personality counts,
the stars were not numerous. The
successful men lasted for many years
in fact II was not until SOME four
or five years ago that the veteran
wine agents began TO die off.
or the best known-the men who
were seen everywhere aud COM
manded large incomes and unlimited
expense accounts-Hector Mckenzie
and Jim Campbell are about the only
survivors. Mckenzie lives in San
Francisco, and is as big and striking
in appearance as ever, although his
LIE was despaired of when he went
West some twelve years ago
Bob" Nernon's smiling counte-
nance was familiar 20 hundreds OF
thousands OF readers OF the sporting
pages OF the newspapers because he
always made It a point to be present
when articles were signed for cham
ponship prize fights. When the pho
tographers took the pictures Pom
mery Bob" was Invariably in the fore
ground and cOnsplcuously grouped on
the table were bottles Of the cham,
pagne he represented with the labels
pointing toward the camera
Almost as we'll known in New York
were Vic Mcclure and Morris Quin-
Ian, who were among the first OF the
timers 10 go.
Prominent in the ranks OF the big
stars were julius Kaufman Joe Gar
neau and Jim Burns. Tho house of
Francis Draz, which is still in exist
ence but not engaged in the cham
pagne business, furnished some OF
the best known. agents.
A few old timers, talking last night
over the days when wine fowed like
water, recalled the hlstoric-in a way
business battle between George Kessler
and the Du Barry Arm for the estab-
lishment of the record of selling the
largest number OF cases Of cham
pagne in a year. The fight lasted
two years and cost each side about
Sl,400,000 in expenses.
During the last few months of the
bdttle the heSsler ana Du barry
for res were represented literally by
hundreds OF boosters. Politicians
saloonkeepers head walters, walters
and men about town were subsidized
right and left
Tho Du Barry house won with sales
Of 10000 cases The KessleT outfit
sold 131 900 cases, but had ord ers for
more than 5000 cases in addition
which could not be delivered before
the end OF the year because the ship
with the last Kessler consignment
was held up on Sandy Hook and at
Quarantine for some reason that no
body could remember
We'll" remarked one OF the old
timers, ~ used to be addicted to the
grape TO considerable extent in
those times, but II | had a case Of
champagne here right now I'd trade
Il for a keg Of real beer-Lf could