The Seaforth News, 1957-01-10, Page 7The Last of the . Great 'Tycoons
A cheer went up from the
dense crowd of mill hands stand-
by there in the raw January,
geld. A school band played
"Happy Days Are Here Again!"
Some women and older 'men
wept.
Two little girls moved shyly
from the crowd and presented.
tldwers to an erect, impeccably
tressed, white-haired gentleman
standing ° under ' a ' sign reading
"Welcome"- His usually frosty
slue eyes tender, he bent, deeply
novas, and kissed their hands.
"Thank you, thank you," he
nurmured.
The man was Cyrus Eaton, one
tf the most colorful yet mysteri-
sus figures in the world of high
finance.
Eaton had • just saved the small
West Virginia community of Fol-
lansbee (pop. about 4,435) from
being turned into a ghost town.
flit the pleas of local workmen
and officials he had stepped in
and prevented the Follansbee
Steel Company from being torn
down and its machinery removed
lay a huge steel corporation.
At the thanksgiving supper in
the big silent mill that night, he
told :thegrateful citizens: "It's
small cities like Follansbee that
are the heart and strength of
America.. When you build plants
In small communities and give
jobs to people in their home
towns, you strengthen the capi-
talist system."
This isn't just talk with Eaton.
Twice before, he had steeped in
to save local industries in small
towns, He calls this "creative
capitalism."
Cyrus Stephen Eaton is an ex -
L, • fry person. Almost 73,
he looks, acts and thinks like a
man 20 years younger writes Tris
Coffin in Coronet.
In many ways, he is a study
in contrasts. Though he is re-
putedly one of the 20 richest men
In the U.S., John L. Lewis is a
TAW„' dose friend.
In Cleveland, from his Ter -
pini Tower office overlooking
take Erie, he directs an industrial
empire that streches from the
Arctic to the tropics, and includes
railroads, utilities, coal, iron,
gold, steel and paints. Yet, he is
an honored member of the Am-
srican Philosophical Association
arld American Council of Learned
Societies.
He is a witty essayist and a
prize-winning farmer (his spe-
falty is Scotch Shorthorn cattle).
ire skis every Christmas with his
grandchildren.
"Do what you want to do," he
lays, "and work • will be fun."
(Ire works from 12 to 14 hours
A day.) "Learn to understand the
• bonders of nature and the glories
++..� tf literature. Get eight hours'
deep a night." (He neither
irinks, smokes, nor uses coffee,
tut drinks hot water with every
heal.)
During the Washington probes
if subversives, he announced
scornfully, "The way to combat
sommunism:'isn't by witch -hunt -
ng and : wire -tapping. Common
stocks owned by all the people,
Ind .common sense by business
end political leaders is the best
uarantee of a dynamic capital -
stn." •
When the going is tough and
esser men would back out, he
smiles gently, discusses early
Greek culture like a scholar, and
bangs on.
Cyrus Eaton is a product of
Pugwash, a small lumbering and
Irshing village in Nova Scotia,
where his father was a farmer
end small shopkeeper. His deeply
religious mother, Mary McPher-
son Eaton, wanted him to devote •
Isis life • to helping others, and at
ane time he considered the min -
retry as • a career.
His ,practical side developed
while working in his father's
store. The elder Eaton 'once said
to him: "When he was six years
old, I could leave him alone in
the store for hours."
After callege, young Eaton was
a 'cowpuncher, in northwest Ca-
nada, a store clerk and a lay
minister. But once he went into
business he wasted no time. His
big opportunity, and one that•
would have frightened off a lesser
man, came in 1907 when he was
sent by a utility syndicate to get
franchises • for local gas and elec-
tric plants.
A panic developed in the U.S.
that year and left the syndicate
without money to continue the'.
project. Eaton' was only 23, but
he walked confidently into a
bank, argued that electricity, was
coming, and secured funds to
build a plant himself. Two, years
later, he sold the utility fora`
good profit.
With this as a stake, he went
into the utility business through
he Midwest and Canada. Always
willing to take a risk, he moved
on into steel (he'created Republic
Steel), into paint and rubber and
paper. He was a multi -million-
aire by the time he was 30.
A typical Eaton operation was
the way he broke into steel in
1925. First he studied the in-
dustry with all the thoroughness
of a laboratory scientist, search-
ing for a weakness he could ex-
ploit He found it in the founder-
ing Trumbull Steel Company and
withthemasterful timing that
marked many of his operations,
went into action.
Cyrus Eaton, an unknown in
steel, appeared boldly before the
three - man committee running
Trumbull and told them, "I know
you're in trouble, andit will take
$18,000,000 to get you on your
feet. Here's a cheque."
The sum was exactly what the,
comnzitee had privately esti-
mated. _But the chairman coldly
stated that he did not know Mr.
Eaton or his credit rating.
The relatively young man (he
was 41) replied pleasantly, "If
you doubt my ability to under-
write this sum, please telephone
the Cleveland Trust Company
and ask them whether this
cheque for $20,000,000 will be
honored."
The cheque was good and he
gained control of Trumbull
In the stock market crash
Eaton's empire fell and he lost
$100,000,000. Other men were
jumping out of windows but, as
-an associate recalls, "He came in
to settle up and signed one of the
biggest cheques ever written. He,
made only one comment, 'Tttr
morrow is another day'."
Cyrus Eaton is the only, one of
the big tycoons of the '20s who
lost everything and . came back.
He launched an attack on Wall
Street's control of industry fin-
ancing
in .ancing which revolutionized Am-
erican business. Previously, when
a railroad needed funds to build
a new line, it called up its favor-
ite Wall Street banking house
(two were known as the railroad
financiers) which set its own
price for the bonds offered.
Eaton coolly took $30,000,000
of Chesapeake & Ohio financing
away from Wall Street by paying.
$1,500,000 more for the bonds.
This bold and daring raid stun-
ned Wall Street and won Eaton
the friendship -of many other in-
dependents, including Robert R.
Young who was then trying to
take over the Van Swerigen rail-
road empire. •
An observer remarked, "It was
a beautiful. maneouvre. Wall St.
Was caught napping. Eaton fig-
ured his margin down to the last
penny. If he had bid less than
his opponents, he would • have
looked• like a fool If' he had bid
too much, he would have lost
his shirt."
This operation re-established.
;Cyrus Eaton as one of the top
financial genuises of the post -
Depression 'era.
The modern young'man doesn't
leave footprint's- on the sands of
time — just tire' tracks.
Indianapolis Times
!o
141IREGULAR
t TIRES
100
150
zoo
DRY PAVEMENT
REGULAR TIRES staix
SNOW TIRES >,
REGULAR TIRE CHAINSrap•
REINFORCED
TIRE CHAINS 44,
ICE AT 20° F.
sirript REGULAR TIRES
SNOW TIRES
+Leif. REGULAR TIRE CHAINS
38•
REINFORCED TIRE CHAINS
LOOSELY'
PACKED
SNOW
WITH OR WITHOUT CHAINS.. GO SLOW Port of the hazards
presented by snow and ice can be overcome with the use of.
snow tires or chains on your car. Chart aboVe, shows ,'compara-
tive stopping ability at 20 miles per hour of regular tires, snow
tires and standard and reinforced chains. Distances do not
allow for driver's reaction time, which averages three-fourths
taf a second, and adds another 22 feet •to figures shown. Even
with tire chains, slower than normal speeds are .a 'must on
snow and ice.
"AND I SAY TO YOU" — Perched on a stone to deliver his
oration. a distinguished member of the Rock Penguin clan, at
London, England. Zoo gives his views on world affairs. Judging
by the hair-raising effect, his fellow birds are quite agitated
by it all.
Very Odd Jobs
Some jobs are so extraordinary
that one wonders how they start-
ed. In France the government
employs six official viper catchers
who rid the country of some 2,000
vipers a, year. Carrying a large
bag, the catchers creepup behind
the reptile and grips it by the
neck, then thrusts it into the. bag.
In addition to their official
salary the catchers make money
by selling vipers to country folk
who believe that viper fat is a
cure for stomach disorders, and
to gourmets who turn the snake
into a tasty dish kown as "An-
guille de Montagne" (Mountain
Eel).
It doesn't matter how strange
your job, there's someone some-
where in the world who has one
queerer. Tax officials in Stock-
• holm grew suspicious when they
discovered that the sale of dog
foods had risen and the number
of dog licenses fallen.
So they engaged an old actor
who would imitate dogs to go
from house to house barking. On
receiving an answering bark, he
jotted down the number of the
house and the name of the street.
It was surprising how profitable
the scheme turned out—for the`
tax authorities.
One of the queerest jobs was
held by James S. Kelly, whose
duty it was to sympathize with
men and women condemned to
death in the State of New York,
and comfort and keep them
•'cheerful when on trial.
"I had to sit with the prison-
ers," he said, "when the jury was
debating whether to send them
to the chair. It was my business
to make them thinkthat he case
was, coming out all right. It was
up to me .to keep their nerves
steady and not to let them get
frantic."
When Edward Johnson, the
Canadian -born manager of the
Metropolitan •Opera House in
New York, took over, he vowed
he'd break the applauding racket,.
then a feature of certain per-
formces. 'The members of these
'claques were paid x$25 a week to
give a rousing welcome to new
and nervous performers and the
leader, who gave the cue, was
paid $100 a week.
Professional applauders still
eltist and are well paid by the
organizers of film premieres; and
first nights. There are also men
who make a living by coming
forward to• "be saved" when
evangelists call Mr' penitent sin-
ners -to
inners•to repent.
Think of. the most improbable
job; .and'you'Ij find someone who
.does it. The National Physical
,`Laboratory employs-' a "rough
weather assistant" who, apart,;
from scientific ' qualifications,
,:must be a man who is never
seasick. His job is to go to sea
in the •roughest weather the
Meteorological -Office can provide,
to inspect every part of the ship,
measure the angle of roll, esti-
mate the height ofthe waves
and note .other details. As 'a
•result-of,this fortitude ships are.
made more stable,
But how bored Mr. John Fehr
must••be, for he has spent a life-
time dropping pins so that others
can hear them.. Fehr is the cus-
todian of Salt Lake Tabernacle,.
Salt Lake City, Utah, and when
he has 'finished ' taking people
round he demonstrates the .mar-
vellous acoustics' of, the building
by standing on a platform 200
feet from the sightseers and drop=
ping a pin which lands on the
marblefloor with quite' a crash.
Visitors are invariably impressed.
Then there is. Dick Collier,
known in the U.S.A. as. Mr. Jolly.
He is large, fat, happy and can
laugh in more than 100'diffeent`
ways. Night club comedians pay
him as much as $100 a night just
to sit among the diners and laugh
and laugh and laugh.
And you know how infectious
that can be.
Customers laugh so uproar-
iously with Mr. Jolly that an
excellent impression is made on
the management and this has
helped many a comedian to a
five -figure contract.
You can turn a gift or even a
disability to good use sometimes.
A man named Frederick Hoelzel
was cursed with an incredibly
weak digestion,. and it was this
peculiarity which made physiolo-
gists at the University of Chicago
engage him to eat pellets of
metal, glass beads, strands of
knoted string and small hard
objects like pieces of rubber and
gold, so that they could see what
effect they had on the human
digestion. Hoelzel was cured of
his complaint, but continued for
years as a paid guinea pig.
In the town of Freiburg, Ger-
many, stands a clock tower with
a spiral stairway on each side
leading to the street. The builder
of the clock designed it to be
wound by balance weights, so
one of the corporation employees
is paid a small annuity to go up
into the tower every week -end
by one stairway and sit on one
balance weight till it lowers him
to the ground, then climb up
again and sit on the other. After
which he goes home.
Before the war in Soochow,
China, there were a number of
men and women who sat. about
and did nothingJand got paid for
it. Their contracts stipulated that
they would not be paid if they
did any work.
All that was required of them
was to let their nails grow, and
when they were about an inch
long they were pared and sold
to a local chemist who, using a
secret formula, compounded them
' into a powder for sore throats.
It is doubtful whether this pro-
fession exists under the present
regime, which demands produc-
tive labour.
Then there is the man who
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
AGENTS WANTED
GO INTO BUSINESS for yourself.' Sell
exciuslye bouseware -products and ap•
pllances wanted by every householder.
These items are not sold In stores.
There is no competition,- Profits up to
500%. Write immediately for free color
catalogue with retail prices_ shown,.
Separate confidential wholesale price
will: be Included. Murray 'Sales,. 3022.
St, Lawrence, Montreal.
ARTICLES FOR SALE
IMPORT Duty Free! On Paintings of
highest quality. Only $8.25. Literature
free; J. L, hi. Enterprises 9 Grand '
Canal Rbr., Dublin, Ireland.
FARRELL Clipper. Cleaner, NO. 39,
good condition, priced low. O-Pee-
Chee 'Co. Ltd., 430 Adelaide St„ Lon-
don, Ont.
ARTICLES WANTED
WANTED — Heavy duty gasoline
motor electric Welder good condition.
Write particulars to Ilrbaitls, P.O. Box
387 Geraldton, Ontario,
BABY CHICKS
CHICKS. Hatching regularly. Special
laying strain pullets. Cockerels, broilers,
Wide choice of chicks for best produc-
tion on any market. Bray Hatchery,.
120 John N. Hamilton.
BOOKS
MAGNIFICENT NEW BIBLE
AUTHORIZED King James. Version
bound in flexible Wortex, two page
family register. In gift box post paid,
92.00. Box 152, 123 Eighteenth St.,
New Toronto
FOR SALE.,",
T.V. Lamps $3.00, Tabltt7'Lamps. .1.
Thorne, 2471 St. Antoind,'0lontreal.
DISTRIBUTOR for lifereuty Chain
Saws for Ontario. New saws and parts
arriving from Wisconsin . every week.
Dealers for 1!omellte, LE:L., Mall. Ser•.
Vice on same, Sold on easy payment
plan. Nixon's Chain Saws Watford.
TRACTOR. PARTS
WE have spare parts for Caterpillar,
Allis Chalmers, International -Tractors
and Bulldozers, Genuine new parts at
a saving. Inquiries Invited. Ailatt Auto
Supply Ltd., 187 Queen St. E., Toronto.
LIVESTOCK
FOR Sale five Aberdeen•Angus bulls
eleven months to sixteen months.
Kenneth Quarrie, R.R. 5, Belwood, Ont.
MEDICAL
IT'S IMPORTANT — EVERY SUFFERER OF.
RHEUMATIC PAINS OR NEURITIS
SHOULD TRY DIXON'S REMEDY.
MUNRO'S DRUG STORE
335 Elgin . Ottawa
S1.25 Express Prepaid
POST'S ECZEMA SALVE
BANISH the torment of dry eczema
rashes and weeping skin troubles,
Post's Eczema Salve will not disap-
point you. Itching, scaling and burn.
Ing eczema; acne, ringworm, pimples
and foot eczema will respond readily
to the stainless, odorless ointment re•
gardless. of bow stubborn or hopeless
they seem.
Sent Post Free en Receipt of Price
PRICE 92.50 PER JAR
POST'S REMEDIES
2865 St. Clair Avenue East.
TORONTO
earns his living by shouting, and
he's no town crier, either. Ger-
hard Wufgram is known to thous-
ands of seamen as Captain Bye -
Bye, for it is his job when a
foreign ship is about to leave
the port of Hamburg to shout
greetings to the captain and crew
through a megaphone and then
play a record of the appropriate
national anthem. If possible, the
greetings are bawled in the lan-
guage of the country where the
ship is registered, and Captain
Bye -Bye has a knowledge—for
greetings only—of more than 20
tongues.
Mrs. Calhoun was slightly
obese. One day her cleaning
lady, inclined to be overly in-
timate, asked, "Just how much do
you weigh, Mrs. Calhoun?"
"I never get weighed, Nora. It
is so much more refined to be
able to say, 'I don't know' than
to say 'It's none of your busi-
ness'!"
—Capper's Weekly
OPPORTUNITIES FOR
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Branches;
44 Ring St.,Hamilton
72 Rideau St., Ottawa
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quality articles priced to -match ens
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You buy at wholesale price and beneal:
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''OPERA JEWELS"
Wholesale Division, 8685' Casgrain St.,
Montreal, Que.
OPPORTUNITIES
MEN and WOMEN
AGT-TELEGRAPHERS In demand. Mes
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SPEEDHAND ABC Shorthand qualiae
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study... Free folder. Cassan Systems.
7 Superior Ave..' Toronto 19.
PATENTS
FETHERSTONHAUGH & C o m Pa n y
Patent Attorneys. Established 1890
600 University Ave., Toronto. Patent
all countries
PERSONAL
SAVE YOUR HAIR!
FALLING hair? Itchy scalp? Ugly clan
druff? If Munley's Formula does no•
stop all of these troubles then we wil
refund your money in full. Write to
day for free facts. Tantall Company
50A Weber Street West, Kitchener
Ontario.
$1.00 TRIAL offer. Twenty.ave deluxe
personal requirements, Latest catalogue
Included. The Medico Agency, Box 22
Terminal "Q" Toronto Ont.
SWINE
LANDRACE Swine 950.00, Chlnohllia
from show stock 950,00. Allen Craig
Wawetg, N.B.
AT aur recent sale of .Registered
Landrace Swine held in Edmonton
last month our pigs sold well and
we were complimented onthe high
havetree ivedrnia ykorders. Why? Bee.
cause Landrace is the breed of the
future in. Canada and we have some
of the best breeding stock that money
will buy. Weanling sows and boars
4 month old sows and boars, guaran-
teedin pig sows for immediate dollv-
ery. Send for new catalogue
FERGUS LANDRACE SWINE FARM
FERGUS ONTARIO
ISSUE 52 — 1956
FALLEN ANGEL — An alert photographer caught this whimsical portrait of the end of anera
in Detroit. Sleeping peacefully amid the rubble, the sea -going plaster cherub symbolizes the
end of.the "Steamboat Gothic", school of interior decoration. In happier times, ,she adorned
one of•.the elegant public rooms of the D & C passenger steamer City of Detroit II, whichused
to ply Lake Erie and is now under the wreckers' hammers. Today's •ship designers work with
aluminum, stainless steel, plastics and new fa.b, is A