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Show i ! II The Boyhood e of Famous Americans ftM John J. Raskob The boys in l.ockport, X. 1'., snickered, snick-ered, back in lOitO, when they heard that John .1. Ras- i - 1 ft VJoe&etf-c n$ l. -yip kob had put a price of S1.000 a year on his services as a stenographer and secretary. W h y that, as they figured fig-ured it out. was more than SS3 a month. Young professional pro-fessional men were lucky to be making mak-ing as much money 1 n Lockport i n those days. If no man is a prophet in his own country neither is the youngster, with whom we play as a lad, generally conceded to have money making traits or capabilities above our own. That was the case in l.ockport when it became known that Johnny Raskob had written to the owner of an Ohio city street rail-, way company for a Job as secretary, estimating his value at a figure that seemed absurd to those with whom he had been raised. But John Raskob got the job and at his own price. The man who hired him was Pierre S. Du Pont, then owner own-er of the traction system lu Lorain, Ohio. Lockport residents thought that the youth was lucky in landing such a plum. Before he left Lockport young Raskob Rask-ob had been making $30 a month. He had asked for a raise to $10 a week. When this was refused him he decided that his talents were not appreciated. He made up his mind to seek fields in which he would receive better rewards. So he wrote to a friend, a young draughtsman. Sterling H. Bunnell by name, asking him tf there was any opening for hlra In Lorain. He received re-ceived a reply that Pierre S. Du Pont was seeking the right sort of a young man to act as his secretary and aid In the street railway business. When John Raskob told liis friends that he had applied for the job and had asked for a salary of $1,000 a year they thought at first that he was fooling. When they were convinced by the earnest young man that he actually had asked for such pay they were certain that he wouldn't get a reply even. But they were wrong and John Raskob was right. He invariably has tieen on financial matters ever since. The boy who surprised his Lock-port Lock-port companions in the matter of getting get-ting such a big salary was born In that up-state New York city In 1879. His father, a solid and substantial citizen, was in the tobacco business. John was an average student In school. His quick smile and pleasant manner made him popular. He early showed a liking for business and an aptitude for figures. His father died when John was in high school. Mrs. Raskob was left with four children. The future chairman of the finance committee of General Motors didn't try to complete his education by working work-ing In his spare time. He decided that the sooner he got a real job the better. bet-ter. He realized that he needed special spe-cial equipment to get ahead In the business world. He left high school and took a commercial com-mercial course In stenography and bookkeeping. He buckled down to his studies and soon qualified to take dictation and to keep a set of books. He got a job at $5 a week. That was considered fair wages for a beginner in Lockport in those days. After six months he asked for an Increase In-crease to $7.D0 a week. His employer agreed to give it to him, but it was some months before the raise materialized. ma-terialized. Following two years' work during which he became an expert stenographer, an excellent typist and a first class bookkeeper, he asked for $10 a week. His employer didn't think the youngster was worth such wages to him. That was the turning point In John Raskob's life. He wrote to Pierre Du Pont and went to work for him in 1000. The next year he represented his employer as treasurer of a street car line In Dallas, Texas. His salary sal-ary had been raised to $3,000 a year, proving to skeptical Lockport friends that he hadn't thought too well ot his earning capacity after all. Ue went to Wilmington, Del., In 1002, as assistant treasurer of the E. I. Du Pont de Nemours company. Later he became treasurer and then vice president of the big chemical concern. Mr. Du Pont joined him In buying General Motors slock and John Raskob soon became the directing financial fi-nancial genius of that vast corporation corpora-tion and one of the country's outstanding outstand-ing business leaders. (&.lj-Tbe Xorlh American Ncwsp.-ij.er Alli.ince.) |
