Show I How > I interviewed John Wanamaker I 0 I J t I r I I y Charles BatteU JLoorois I My interview with John Wanamaker was not a pleasant one for him I was riding through Central park on my wheel when I heard 3 cry of Runaway Run-away Stop that horse and looking over my shoulder I saw John Wana maker coming toward me like the wind His hat was on the back of his head his knees were braced against the dashboard and he was going like dress goods at a bargain sale His thoroughbred thorough-bred had taken fright at a new woman and was running away I reflected that this would srobably refecte be my last chance to interview the biz man and so I wheeled over to him and leaping from my bike I sprang I into carriage What was the loss of a wheel compared with such a unique interview I in-terview I Wanamaker was so occupied In holding hold-ing on to the reins that he didnt notice I I me at first Mr Wanamaker I want an interview for the Big Men series What do you think of Central Dark compared to Fairmount park The horse narrowly escaped running us into 3 park carriage and Mr Wana maker did not seem to hear me Again I asked him and he said very courteously courte-ously Oh I beg pardon When did you come in Just after the horse bolted said L I want a little Interview before this affair gets into the papers Oh do you think it will he said anxiously Id hate to get into the newsDaners Well we may not be in 3 position to care much one way or the other I think were in a pretty tight box But now to the interview Its likely our time is limited I want 3 few short chapters of your life and what led to your success Well I remember that when 3 babe of two summers I spelled depart all these stores I was no better off than before because they were scattered allover Wana John over Philadelphia but maker never let anything feaze him S I bought a large vacant lot and had It moved into the very heart of the citv and then I moved all the stores I had I gotten Into this lot until I had a collection col-lection sufficient to carry out my Idea and then I roofed the whole thing over and ocened the doors and Wanamak ers sprang Into existence ers sprng Just here the carriage swerved so In turning a corner that we nearly went out I caught my breath and offered to catch Wanamaker Werent you mixed up In the post office too I asked I Yes I kaftk was in Clevelands o Harrisons administration that I became be-came postmaster general and there I scored my first failure That was a narrow shave shouted I We had just escaped breaking off a I t I 1 f L 2 E view What was the loss of a wheel compared with such a unique iater lamp post and were nearing the limits of the park at a 150 gait What was the failure Mr Wanamaker I asked Why I told President Harrison I it was Harrison wasnt i who made me postmaster general Yes I believe so I said Well I wanted to carry out my centralization cen-tralization idea with the postofllces and have them all under one roof say at St Louis or some other moderately central rtolnt but the resident objected I ob-jected to i on the score of its mavirr i easy for St Louisiarians that isnt the way to call em is i Well you know who I mean He seemed to I think It would be inconvenient for In dianapoliticians He thought i would be convenient for them and Chlcasats to go to St Louis for their mail but I think it would have saved the government gov-ernment millions of dollars I gave up the scheme although it was a pet idea But I have another one that I will put into operation if we ever come out of this accident alive maza We were both thrown out and the horse w stopped by a poiice I ment store with my alphabet blocks I may have been an accident but I never forgot it and I think that that was the seed that led to my success suc-cess Then when I was four years old I used to be sent to run errands Theyd I give me some money and tell me to get needles and paper and drugs and a I dozen other things and as the stores were scattered all over Philadelahia I I thought that I was wasting a lot of time and I wondered why there wasnt j some store where a man could buy anything he wanted from a mastodon to a mousetrap So whenever I had any money given to me to spend instead in-stead of spending It I laid It aside until I had enough to buy a store In this way I soon had enough to buy a dry goods store and later I purchased a book store and bo month after month I added to my purchases until I had fifteen or twenty stores at a time when other boys are still thinking about tops and marbles But after I had bought What is It I asked Just then the carriage upset We were both thrown out and the horse was stopped by a policeman What is that Idea I reseated as soon as he came to Why I intend to buy all the stores in New York and place them up herein here-in Central park and put a big roof over the whole shebang and if it Isnt the biggest thing on earth I miss my guess Ill buy the park carriages and visitors to my store can ride all over it In them Ill devote the lake to its present use only instead of carsIll have bargain sales to make the boats go and If all the world doesnt come to trade at Wanamakers Central park departmer store it wont be the fault of Honest John Just then the ambulance came up and we fainted together as if wed bcr drilled to it But I got the internet all riilit CHARLES BATTELL LOOMIS |