The Washington times., 1924-07-23
Gums Greatest Cash Business
n World, But Is Failure As
Husband, Wife Says

John a. Hartford, Head of
A. e P. Stores Sued for
$4,000 AIimony. Does
Cash Business Of Over
1920, 900, 900 a Year and
Conducts 10000 Stores.
May Fight Wife's Legal
Action.
NEW YORK, July "a Has the
man who owns and conducts the
greatest cash business In the world
proven d failure ais husband?
His wife. Mrs. Frances Hartford.
says that he has ana has entered
Isuit for separation and alimony
against John a. Hartford, guiding
genius ana proprietor Of the Great
Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company
stores. She wants $4,000 year
alimony and $4,000 for the expenses
cf her counsel and Supreme Court
Justice William r. Burr win pass
upon her application on August
when q preliminary hearing win be
held on her petition.
Mrs. Hartford feels that her ali
mony application is modest one,
inasmuch as her husband earns over
100000 q year and has been accus.
toned to living at the rate Of $I25.-
600 annually. She says he has !
salary Of $4,000 year as president
of the business he owns and. con.
trolls. in addition to an income Of
$26O,OOO more in dividends from the
stock he possesses.
Were Married IN 1929.
The couple were married June %.
1928. at Danbury. Conn. she was
Frances Bolger before her marriage
Hartford left her last December az.
cording to her complaint, and sub
sequently wrote her that he no.
longer cared to live with, her. she
admits he provided liberallv fo, bar
while they were together, giving her
S1V,UVO q year for clothes and Sc .flfll
annually Just for pin money. ys'sss
The marital difficulties have
turned the spotlight rllomentariIy
on one Of the greatest Romance
OF the business world. ..
It Is the Great Atlantic & Pacific
Tea Company, otherwise known as
the IA. & p" of which John IA.
Hurtford is now president and con.
trolling stock holder.
This concern did a cash business
last year in its 10000 stores of
1902 ,0O0, 700.
Yet probably not one person in
10000 knows who owns the "a. &
r: stores, or how they started or
who directs them. The story lis
one OF the greatest business ro-
mances in American history and
one of the least known. People
know about Ford, Rockefeller, Nor
gan, Gary, Schwab, Wannamaker,
WooIworth and other beacon lights
OF business. but the "a. & p. !"
founder successfully kept his name
and his fame from the public.
Were Started in 1859.
The "A and Pr stores were
started in 1859 by a "Downeasr
Yankee" from Augusta. Me-. named
John Huntington Hartford. He
opened a small tea and coffee store
at Veasey and Church streets, New
York. There were two striking
things about the store. one was the
mouth filling name, THE Great At
lantic and Pacific Tea Company"
and the other was a particularly
brilliant shade of red paint with
which the front of the store was
decorated. He introduced the sys-
tenn Of dealing strictly for cash.
The growth Of the concern was
steady but slow. AS soon as the
first store got on its feet others
were established.
Mr.. Hartford's reason for nam
ing his concern 1.-THE Great Atlantic
and Pacific Tea Company was due
to the fact that about the lime he
started the railway construction
linking the Atlantic with the Pa.
cific had just been put through.
Mr.. Hartford had a horror Of
publicity. Although for years one
Of the great millionaires of the
country, his life was passed almost
in seclusion. Few employees OF the
company ever saw him. As the
stores piled up millions for him he
acquired all over the world tea and
coffee plantations, salmon fisheries,
canning plants, fruit orchards,
sugar plantations-a whole network
of allied industries.
Wall Street and the financial
world never knew him. He had
vast amounts OF cash from his own
business and did not reed to bor-
row money. Indeed, it IL only in
the last few years that the finan-
/ No. ToM1ouT A. e.ee