The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-02-09

days time. Mr.. Field made it a
rule not to advertise in the Sunday
papers. He felt that this, with the
practice of lowering the curtains of
their display windows from Satur-
Day night to Monday morning made
for better citizenship.
Knew Employees.
"On becoming the head OF the new
firm he al once made 1t his bust
ness to become acquainted with
every employe in the store"
In the autumn OF 1871, Field, Lei
ter and company, as the firm was
then known, was wiped out in the
great Chicago fire, but the concern
bought the car barns Of the Chicago
City Railway company and within a
little over a fortnight, again was in
operation.
Down State street to Twentieth"
the writer quotes an account ap-
pearing in a Chicago newspaper at
the time, land here is the largest
drygoods store in the city or the
west-Ffeld, Letter and company.
Here are hundreds of clerks and
thousands of patrons a day busy
along the spacious aisles and the
vast vistas of ribbons and laces and
cloaks and dress goods. Yet this
immense bazar was, six weeks ago,
the horsebarn of the south side
railway. Here, where ready-made
dresses hang, then hung sets of dou-
BILE harness. Yonder, where a rich
ly robed body leans languidIy
and offered hospitality to a discon-
ISOLATE horse"
Letter Leaves Company.
In 1881, Mr.. Letter, who with Mr.
Field had bought the Palmer bust
ness in 1865, left the firm which
then became Marshall Field and
company.
I'm the management of this rap
idly developing business, Mr.. Field
surrounded himself with a success
sion of capable lieutenants," writes
Mr.. Goodspeed. He seems 10 have
been always on the lookout for such
men among his employees. When
ability and efficiency were discov-
cred they were rewarded by pro-
motion. TheJnen who became part
ners all rose from the ranks. Money
could not buy a partnership. AS
the partners grew older and accum-
ulated wealth it was Mr. Fields GUS
tom to purchase their interest that
he might give younger men of out
standing ability and promise a
place in the firm"
Mr.. Fields death in 1906 was
| caused by pneumonia resulting from
a cold contracted while playing golf
on snow covered field. Mr.. Good
speeds account reads.
Cause of Death.
"On New Years day, 1906, James
Simpson, now vice president of the
corporation, and Stanley Field went
out to Wheaton to play golf. The
| snow was nearly knSe-deep and
they played with red balls. Soon
Mr.. Field and Robert T. Lincoln ap-
peared and played round the course.
| The very vigorous exercise in the
deep snow. had greatly exhilarated
Mr.. Field and all the way back he
seemed m an unusually cheerful
| frame of mind. But it soon became
apparent that he had taken cold.
He had arranged to go to New York
the first week in January. Mr..
Simpson seeing the hold the cold
had taken, told him he ought not
to go. 'Pshaw,' he replied, I am
as young as you are, and made light
of il. But it grew upon him and he
reached New York a sick man. He
rapidly grew worse, and died on
January 16.
According TO the best estimate
have been able to secure his estate
at the time of his death amounted
to about S12O,000, 900"
An interesting light on Mr.. Fields
personality is thrown by the WEiter,
who says:
Prosperity never made him vain.
Wealth did not make him proud.
He was, fond of good horses and
handsome carriage, but he would
never permit his coachman to drive
him to business. He would, when
ne used his carriage, leave it and
return to it at some distance from
the store to avoid the appearance of
ostentation.
when in Chicago his ordinary
daily routine was as follows: He
left home at about nine o'clock to
walk down town with his coachman
driving the carriage behind him.
Walking a block or two north, Mr..
Pullman Joined him and they walk
ed down to the Pullman building to-
gether. Here he stopped for few
minutes and then went on to the
retail store. From the retail he
would go on to the wholesale Of
fee. Here he spent the rest of the
day until 4 o'clock