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T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
June 1924
m ent over yonder takes in, in ten m inutes, more th an the receipts of th a t little store for its en tire first day. “T h ird Act. Who remembers when on th e site of the g reat W anam aker Store th ere stood the old Pennsylvania Railroad F reigh t Station? I remember it well. As a child I heard Moody preach th e re and Sankey sing. Young W an am aker bought th e entire property in 1875 and proceeded to develop upon it a new kind of store. Who helped him? Nobody. T h at is, no hum an being. How did he do it? He made it a ru le to streng then his position each day, so th a t on the morrow th ere was a reserve for progress. He was always preparing for th e next step. “The principle of the store was simple. Everything th a t a norm al person wanted to buy, all under one roof,— a fixed price, liberty of exchange and lots of intelligent ad vertising. The story of th is act is the story of a match less contribution to American indu strial development. “F o u rth Act. Up goes the curtain! W hat shall we look a t th is time? Why, th ere is the Capitol— and Pennsylvania Avenue! It is in W ashington th a t th is scene is laid. The persistent little boy, th e ambitious clerk, th e adventureous m erchant has become a ;Cabinet officer. He is P residen t H arrison’s Postm aster General. If you study our national postal system and trace its best featu res back to th eir source, you will find th a t most of them originated in the brain of John W anam aker. Some day we shall get back into use the pneum atic tube service which he conceived. Its resto ration to service has been tem porarily blocked by sho rt sighted people who ought to know better. The theme of th is act is “The Public Recognition of D istinguished Service.’ “The la st act, is in a way, th e best of all. It discloses the far-reaching influence of the life of th is rem arkable man. Two g rea t in stitu tion s in Philadelphia and in New York firmly established; notable reform s achieved which transform th e indu strial practice of thousands of mer chants; a steady pressure maintained for th e promotion of organized Christianity, popular education and useful citi zenship, an extraordinary combination of the imagination of the a rtist and the practical adm inistrative capacity of a railroad president. “The climax of the dram a is th e disclosure of th e man himself,— the strong, patriotic, far-seeing American citizen, wearing his honors lightly and influencing all about him for good. “The sculptor is a genius. By the simple device of rep resenting John W anam aker as standing erect w ith his over coat throw n lightly over his arm , J. Massey Rhind has suggested two of the distinguishing characteristics of th is g reat citizen,— uprightness and readiness for th e next move. It is not a figure a t rest, nor yet a figure in motion. It is John W anam aker pausing for a moment before he strides to fu rth e r achievement. “As he pauses he happens to be standing a t the very center of th e 'c ity which he loved and served. He is su r rounded by the members of his talen ted family,-—daughters who have inherited his ability equally w ith his sons. Near him are gathered th e Mayor and other municipal officers.
JOHN WANAMAKER, “Citizen.” The principal speaker at the dedication of the Wana- itiaker Memorial (shown on opposite page) was George Wharton Pepper, United States Senator from Penn sylvania. His address so succinctly and sympathetic ally delineates the character and career of Mr. Wana- iaaker that we are printing it in fu ll: SENATOR P E P PE R ’S ADDRESS “ John W anam aker spent himself in th e service of the people of th is community. It is fitting, therefore, th a t the statu e erected to his memory should represent th e friendly offerings of m ultitudes of people who feel th a t they have a debt of g ratitud e to pay. “It is not worth while for the speaker on an occasion like th is to urge his h earers to follow the example of the distinguished citizen in whose honor we have assembled. Such a man’s life speaks for itself. His record makes its own appeal. If he struggled for his education, if he began his fight w ithout much backing, if he overcame countless obstacles of all sorts, if he attain ed high place, and if suc cess did not spoil him,— the mere record of these facts is more eloquent th an a speaker’s exhortation. “W ith the exception of four memorable years, John Wan am aker lived practically his whole life w ithin a few hun dred yards of th is spot. The stages of his career were like acts in a well-conceived drama. Each was more in teresting th a n th e last. Unity was given to the .whole by his powerful and unique personality. “We can review his life in a few words. More than eighty years can be condensed into tw enty m inutes. .■‘He th a t h ath ears to hear, let him h ear.’ “The cu rtain rises on th e first act. We are told th a t the scene is laid in Philadelphia, but, as we look, everything is strangely unfam iliar. In bew ilderment we ask what year it is. ‘1838’ is the reply. Then we understand. It is scarcely more th an a village upon which we are gazing. Martin Van Buren is President. Lafayette, the friend of W ashington, has been dead but four years. Lincoln, Grant, Roosevelt,— two are' as yet unheard of and the th ird unborn. “E n ter an industrious and p ersisten t small boy. His fath er owns a brickyard. This fact suggests solid founda tion and sub stan tial superstructures. A determ ined and trium ph an t struggle for education is th e theme of the first act, ending w ith a clerkship in a small clothing store a t F o u rth and Market S treets a t a salary of $2.50 per week. “Second Act. The storm clouds of civil war are gather ing. The lad: will presently offer himself for m ilitary ser vice, bu t meanwhile he keeps pegging away a t his daily work, and presently— a t the age of 23— he opens a t Sixth and M arket a little store of his own. I t is th e 11th of April, 1861, th e very day upon which they fired on F o rt Sumter. One way to preserve th e Union is to strengthen the foundations of industry. The venture a t Sixth and Market, however does no t look very important. A single saleswoman a t any of the counters in th a t g reat establish
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