San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-01-07
However, He Says He Neve,
Killed Steers for ]
Living. !,
STARTED AS A CLERl
Left S70-a-week Job
Work for S18 in
Chicago.
BY MARGUERITE NORR,x,s.

Ds -hAhUtERIIE NOhhI&3@.fe
Copyright, 1928, by The San Antonio LigF
Chicago, ILL.,, Jan. CT hate |,
smash all popular idols, but / new
killed steers for living" Edison With
newly elected president of Armour ah
Company, sat in his luxuriousi
equipped rose mahogany office whd
windows overlook the pes and slaug,
ter houses of the Union Stock Yards !,
day and smiled genial smile. {.
i know steers from the nos. to d,
hoof," he said. That's why I'm hel
Ii when | came to Armour and Cor.
pany, 1 was far less conspicuous thl7
the butcher. L was an SIS a w9s
clerk. But that was so years ago." d
This is the man who has been chos
from among a half dozen vice presideId
to succeed J. Ogden Armour as pred
dent of the largest packing house in t.
world. Breadth of vision and exte-
sive knowledge of the business in u
smallest details coupled with, remaf-
abs executive ability and an Infection
personal magnetism, were the qualifid-
tons which won him the office. p
Hitch Your Wagon" b
Il was never contented to be a lsI
frog in little puddle" he continue
Il wanted to be in the biggest pudeI
and then l wasn't content 10 REMIT
a little frog. That's the real secret D
success-have your ambitions and thFI
pursue them for all you're worth" b
In harmony with this theory of t9
big puddle, Mr.. White at the age of
left $40 week job in a San Frdy
cisco packing house TO apply to Armot
and Company for work. He was givfl
the clerkship at SIS week, a w3l
which scarcely equals his preseL
come for each working hour. N
Il wanted to get at the source
things" said Mr.. White. II knewI
could never be president of Armour al
Company if j stayed in San Francisl
50 l gave up the job out there and cat
here"
Came Of Good Family.
The new president of Armour a,
Company harmOnizes well with the Id
uriOus surroundings OF his office. Hell
built on a big scale will rudy I'D
and wealth of snow white half whn
at first glance makes him appear old
than his 40 years. His eyes are gfy
and very keen under shaggy, gT3I
brOws, and as though the better to 81
centuate his unusual coloring, be VII
dressed in light grey even TO tie, al
spats. when he left a directors meeti
to submit to a few moments of Until
viewing. To say that Mr.. White
risen from the ranks is not quite tri
Although he began work in his teel
foregoing a college education to
ahead in his job, yet he came of exd
lent family.
My father was a big feeder
Peoria. ILL.," said Mr.. White. y
earliest recollections are of driving I
stock over the prairies. Those wS
the good old days before Mr.. Volste'
had thrust his morals upon the wol
and Peoria was the home of vast dis
leries. Quantities of corn from viii
the sweet juices had been squeezed
Stsls were thrown to the farmers, ms
ing cheap food for stock and PeoI
was the stockholders haven.
Refrigerator cars were unknown
those days so stock was sold to To-
packing he uses instead of being shipI
to Chicago as now. My first job VI
keeping books for Godel and COmpat
a small packing house in Peoria.
took it purely as vacation job,
t,,een terms of business college,
continued it instead of returning
school when they made me their q
salesman"
At the age of is, White was cal
to San Francisco where in two ye!
he became manager of the dressed b
department of the Western CompanytV
But | wasn't contented there" S;
Mr.. White. Il saw that il | real
wanted to succeed / must go to
fountain head of the business ratIII
than TO the outskirts. so back / ca
and offered my services to Armour az
Company.
This was in 1895 and wasl-gS,
Halcyon age OF ~"
Public Not Informed.
But even in concern so vast as I'll
Of Armour, genius does not lie idle
der barrel. 1t SOOL was discove1|
that the clerk knew meat. He
made manager Of the dressed beef
partment. Soon he asked for PERM
an innovation in the firm. This pSI
mission was granted and from then
his rise was not only steady, but swt
"The public at large has the wrd
conception of the packing business,
pecially of the stock yards said y
White. Popular fancy paints pool
conducted, foul smelling place such
Upton Sinclair described in The ]
GLE But there's no jungle here's.
more-there never was one such as
painted it 16 years ago. This indusI
has kept pace in improvement with
other industries.
last week a bunch Of New Y{
bankers came TO see me. They ente
our main office and shifted the air
the corridors with wry noses. 'Whed
the smellY they asked me in surprs
icy didn't realize that all the air
all the offices of the yard is thoroug
washed and far cleaner and purer Il
Tat in any of the other business
trictS of Chicago.
"The stock yards are paved
lighted and kept clean and the peol
who work in them and have their hor
in this neighbOrhOod ere thrifty 4
well cared for. It's just improved q
ditiOns in industry with which pack
have kept pace as well as the others.
Mr.. White has lovely wife and {.
daughters and son, GertrudeAEss-s.
and Edison Jr. Gertrude is the ED
Of the three children. has just return
from a school in Rome.