Evening star., 1924-10-20
FLO W E. r S
For the Living
Frank A. Vanderlip
BY JULIAN STREET


As an antitoxin for radicalism and
, a tonic for youthful American am
| bitions know Of nothing better than
| a little dose Of the life story of Frank
A. Eanderlip.
( Vanderlip's childhood was that of
| the typical barefoot boy on Il little
| Illinois farm, with a two-mile walk
| to the little country school and Il
two-mile walk home. When he was
thirteen his father. who had been IL
blacksmith and superintendent of d
| wagon factory, died, leaving the fam
| lily very poar, and that summer Van
| derlip went to work on a farm AT
| sixteen he was doing "a ten-hour day
! at lathe in IL machine shop and
was at the same time studying John
Stuart Mill and teaching himself
| shorthand. He has told me that in
| odd moments during the day he would
| practice shorthand in chalk on the
iron base Of the lathe. Hungry for
| education. he started for the Uni
| versity OF Illinois with 1925 which
| he had saved. Recently his wife
| showed me, as one Of her chief treas
ures, the account book of his college
! year--he could afford but one year
| and ] thought to myself that the
! many young men and young women
! since educated by Mr. ard Mrs. Van
derlip owe good deal to that little
! book and the struggles It records.
| lie wanted to study electrical en-
, giusering, but forty years ago there
! was no such course at the University
| OF Illinois. and his subsequent appli-
cation for work with the rising
young genius, Thomas A. Edison, was
answered by discouraGing form
| letter.
! At twenty journeyman machinist.
| equipped with some knowledge of
| economies and the then unusual ac-
complishment Of shorthand, he went
| to Chicago, where. after some years
! in the office of a well known econo-
| mist, he graduated to the financial
editorship Of the Chicago Tribune.
The Tribunes fight against Yerkes,
| the corrupt traction magnate, was
Nanderlip's fight, and it remains a
monumental episode in the history of
American journalism.
At 81 he was appointed private Sec
retary 10 Lyman j. Gage, Secretary
| Of the Treasury IN Mckinley's cabi-
net, but within few weeks was pro-
moted to be Assistant Secretary of
tho Treasury, Il post which he held
for four years, after which the late
James Stillman. who admired his
dr
loan, made him vice president Of the
National City Bank OF New York.
When, eight years later. Tanderlip
! became president of the bank it's de-
| p"sltS were two hundred millions;
when he retired. in 1919. after ten
! years as president, the statement
| footed a billion. Yet in the meantime
| he had found time to perform many
public services, chief among them,
| perhaps. the planning and establish
ment or the war savings stamp cam
paign OF l9l7-lS, which in one year
! raised a billion dollars in competi-
ton with the Liberty loan.
! Energy, originality, resourcefuiness
| and courage are the qualities which
have made Eanderlip not merely a
man OF wealth, but an outstanding
! figure in world economics and in all
manner or philanthropic movements
Particularly education.
To mo the most wonderful thing
about him is his faculty for turning
! dreams into realities. Most of us are
satisfied with castles in the air but
Nanderip air castles have way of
turning, into brick and concrete Now
one finds him spending a fabulous
sum upon "a school at Scarborough
y. Y, where he lives, in order to put
into practice certain of his ideas on
| education; now his interest in the
! drama leads him to build a complete
! ly equipped theater on his Scarbor-
/ ough estate: now one hears that he
| Is buying up an old. diIapidated viii
lage, rehabilitating il and transform
| Ing 1t into model community; again
one sees him setting up in Washing
| ton bureau for the study OF execu-
! tive branches Of the Government and
| their administration. or again one
| finds him writing book
! In the early part Of 1919 he went
abroad. visited seven countries, OBJ
served conditions. talked with states
| men and economists, and after three
| months sailed for home Wall Street
| was then talking optimistically of
conditions in Europe, but Vanderlfp
| saw a black picture. and, believing
| that what he conceived to be the
| truth should be put before the world.
determined suddenly to write. His
prophetic What Happened to Eu-
| rope" book of $4,000 words. was
dictated in five days on a transat-
! lantc liner. and. though his prog
nostications at the time irritated the
| financial world, their accuracy has
| since been demonstrated.
The book is dedicated to his six
| children, and there is in the dedica-
! tion, with its expression Of kindli-
ness, good sense and patriotism. A
key to the man.
To my children" the inscription
runs. with the hope that they and
| their generation will grow ,rp nos
sesSed or an abundant sympathy with
their fellows and a sufficient knowl
edge OF economic law to enable them
TO make a liberal and wise contribu-
| ton OF service to society"
Copyright. 1ss4D