600 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS clerked in a general hardware store for about six months. He next went to Kansas, located at Wichita and took up government land, proved up on his claim and spent several years there. From 1871 to 1872 he was with the Santa Fe railroad working on construction from Big Bend towards Colorado. From the fall of 1872-1873 he was surveying land for the U. S. government in Indian Territory. In 1873 he returned to Cleveland but went on to Ravenna where his father was then living. He secured work as express agent but held the job less than a week, because, he says "I had to work on Sundays and had been severely dealt with by my father when young for so doing." In 1874 he was again in Cleveland, where he joined his older brother, Daniel R. Taylor, and they carried on the real estate business for thirty years over Marshall's drug store, and twenty years in the Williamson building. The brother died in 1924 and since that time Mr. Taylor has been located in the National City Bank building. His is one of the oldest organizations of the kind in the city and he specializes in inside business properties besides doing a general real estate business. Conservative and dependable, he gives his clients the benefit of his many years of experience and it is said of him that he has never sold a parcel of real estate to a customer who had to part with it for less than he had paid for it. In 1879 Mr. Taylor was married in Bloomington, Illinois, to Miss Belle F. Ferre and two daughters were born to them : Gertrude F., who is the widow of Willis White and the mother of five children : Florence, Henry, Jeannette, Victoria and Virginia ; and Jeannette E., who is the wife of Carlton F. Schultz and the mother of two children, Marion and Janet. Mr. Taylor is a Mason and a republican. He has traveled extensively in America as well as in foreign lands and win-ters in Florida or California. His rugged constitution and courageous spirit enabled him to cope with conditions on the western frontier and he enjoys the priceless possession of good health, appearing much younger than his eighty-seven THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS - 601 years. He has extracted from life the real essence of living and his breadth of mind, strength of character and high moral standards have drawn to him a wide circle of friends in the city which he helped to build and for which he has a deep and abiding affection. THE OHIO BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY (September, 1932) It has been a far cry from the first crude Cleveland telephones to the dial instruments of today. Back in 1879, when Cleveland's first telephone call was made by E. P. Wright, then superintendent of the Western Union Telegraph Company, the instruments were queer-looking affairs and the original list of subscribers contained only 76 names. They were being used by the few who had them and they enjoyed the novelty as well as the convenience. But to the public as a whole the idea was still regarded as the result of an inventor's fantastic dream. It was an interesting toy and one could get considerable diversion out of it, but as to its serious worth—well, it would go the way of all bursted bubbles when those few who had telephones grew tired of them. Mr. Wright opened the first telephone office in a room in the Board of Trade building on Water street, now West Ninth street. Later the office was moved to the attic of a building on Superior avenue, where all wires entered through a roof tower. The next move was in 1888 to a building at Seneca and Michigan streets, now West Third street and Prospect avenue. Ten years later there was another move and the telephone system had its headquarters in a building at West Third street and Champlain avenue. The present building of The Ohio Bell Telephone Company at 750 Huron road was placed in service in 1927. It was at that time the city's loftiest structure and has been - 603 - 604 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS called a "Temple to Telephony," for through its doorways there daily pass thousands of men and women who have devoted their lives to the attainment of an ideal. This ideal calls for providing voice communication facilities adequate to a great city's needs. It calls for planning and executing the telephone policies of a great state and for linking city and state alike with a nationwide Bell System. Vitalized by human personalities, this ideal has transformed stone and steel into an instrumentality of human service—a door to thousands of homes and places of business. This building is a monument to the past and a pledge to the future. It has 22 stories, reaching a height of 365 feet. It follows the perpendicular type of architecture, with the "set back" principle so extensively used in New York and other large cities. The building alone cost $5,000,000, and $6,000,000 worth of telephone equipment was installed. In the telephone's first years in Cleveland a traffic load of 100 calls a day for the entire Cleveland area was regarded as a bit of rushing business. Since then the daily average has been increased nearly 8,000 times. The present daily average of local calls is 792,000, or about nine calls every second, and an average of more than 31/2 calls a day for each of the 219,300 telephones in Greater Cleveland. In those early days, long distance telephoning was unknown. Today's daily average of out-of-town calls is 12,689 outgoing and 11,801 incoming, or a total of 24,490 communications between Cleveland and other communities, near and far. Cleveland's first telephone system was handled by eight employees. Today the Cleveland operating force alone in-cludes 1,368 local operators and 270 long distance operators, a total of 1,638. The original telephone system was no larger than that of the private branch exchange in a large mercantile or business establishment. On December 4, 1927, dial telephones started to function THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS - 605 in the Main and Cherry offices, covering most of Cleveland's business section. The fast and accurate service furnished by these dial telephones made them popular at once and today there are eleven dial exchanges in Greater Cleveland, serving 96,234 telephones, or nearly 45 per cent of the entire number of telephones. Today, in the Cleveland exchange, including the immed-iate suburbs, there are 1,103 miles of underground cable containing 952,796 miles of wire and 1,168 miles of aerial cable containing 212,864 miles of wire. In addition to this, there are 19,273 miles of open wire, making a total of nearly 1,185,000 miles of wire, or enough to encircle the world about 47 times. This does not include long distance wires entering or running through Cleveland. The Cleveland local service area includes 30 exchanges housed in 15 buildings and 2,521 private branch exchanges which serve the city's factories and commercial organizations. Including the executive offices and general offices for the northeastern area of The Ohio Bell Telephone Company's territory, there are 4,200 telephone employees in Cleveland. The Cleveland exchange forms a large part of the Ohio Bell system, which operates in nearly all sections of the state. On January 1, 1932, the system included 212 central offices, 5,076 private branch exchanges, 694,685 telephones, 3,243,533 miles of wire, and 11,166 employes. The limits of these facilities are not confined to our continent. As the result of developments in combining wired telephony with radio, an American subscriber can now talk to friends or business associates in many cities in Europe, Africa, South America, Australia, Java, Cuba, Hawaii, Bermuda, and Mexico, and to many ships at sea. All of this great medium of communication is dedicated to public service—a service to which Alexander Graham Bell devoted his life before and after he transmitted the first com-plete sentence by telephone in 1876. 606 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS The great inventor lived to see his creation expand into a nationwide system of voice communication—a system which spread from coast to coast, connecting the little hamlets in remote places with the great centers of population; a system which enabled one to talk to someone on the other side of the continent as easily as with a neighbor around the corner. C. D. DYER, JR. C. D. Dyer, Jr., is president and treasurer of Dyer Engineers, Inc., an industrial engineering corporation which he organized in Cleveland in February, 1924, and which now has offices in New York, Chicago and Pittsburgh. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 13, 1885, his parents being C. D. and Belle (Smith) Dyer, the former deceased, while the latter is still a resident of Pittsburgh. C. D. Dyer, Jr., was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with the degree of Civil Engineer in 1908 and was identified with various firms prior to February, 1924, when he organized his own business in Cleveland under the name of Dyer Engineers, Inc. He has been a resident of this city for about twelve years, taking up his abode here in 1920. Dyer Engineers, Inc., are manufacturers' consultants in the reduction and control of manufacturing costs, with offices in New York, Chicago and Pittsburgh. Mr. Dyer has a staff of thirty engineers and operates in nineteen states, his clients including many of the largest and most influential corporations in the country. In 1916 Mr. Dyer was united in marriage to Miss Mabel Keig, of Chicago, and they are the parents of three children : C. D. (III), Marshall and Margaret Belle. Appreciative of the social amenities of life, Mr. Dyer has membership in the Union and Country Clubs of Cleveland, the Duquesne Club of Pittsburgh and the Cincinnati Club of Cincinnati, Ohio. - 607 - RICHARD J. FORBES Left an orphan early in life, Richard J. Forbes has depended upon his own resources for advancement and is responsible for the inception and success of the Forbes Ink Company, a Cleveland corporation, controlling a business which covers five states of the Union. A native of Ireland, he was born December 8th, 1887 and when but a year old was brought to America by his parents, Jeremiah and Mary (Hurley) Forbes, who settled at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1888. When Richard J. Forbes was a lad of ten years death deprived him of both of his parents. His education was acquired in parochial and public schools of the Queen city and his first money was earned as a paper salesman. After learning the trade of a printer he became interested in the ink business, finding this a congenial and profitable field of endeavor, and has continued therein. For five years he was in the employ of the Ault & Wiborg Company of Cincinnati and during that period became thoroughly conversant with the various processes used in the production of ink. Coming to Cleveland in 1910, he associated himself with Charles E. Johnson & Company, ink manufacturers, and remained with them for a number of years, having charge of the work of production. On the 1st of February, 1924, he entered the field independently, forming the Forbes Ink Company, of which he has since been the president and manager, and in eight years has made this one of the foremost organizations of the kind in the Buckeye state. Acknowledged experts in their line, the company manufactures printers' and litho-graphers' inks and all kinds of special inks for intricate pur- - 609 - 610 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS poses. They sell direct to the trade and there is a wide demand for their high-grade products, which are shipped in large quantities to customers throughout the states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. In 1917 Mr. Forbes was married in Huron, Ohio, to Miss Lulu H. Somershield, by whom he has a daughter, Jane Patricia. They reside at 11517 Harborview drive and Mr. Forbes' business address is 1277 West Second street. He belongs to the Graphic Arts, Advertising, Cleveland Automo-bile and Westwood Golf Clubs and to the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. For twenty-two years he has featured in the business life of the city, progressing with its growth, and the sterling qualities to which he owes his enviable reputation as an ink manufacturer have won for him the respect, confidence and esteem of his fellowmen. CHARLES FARRAND TAPLIN Charles Farrand Taplin, lawyer, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, December 13, 1879, a son of Charles Grandy and Frances (Smith) Taplin. His father was vice president of the Standard Oil Company of Ohio at the time of his death in 1922. Mr. Taplin was graduated Ph. B. at Western Reserve University in 1901 and LL. B. at the Harvard Law School in 1904, and since the latter year has been engaged in the practice of law in Cleveland, Ohio, being at the present time a member of the firm of Taplin & Fillius. For a number of years he has had charge of the legal work of a number of coal companies and railroads operating in Ohio, Penn-sylvania and West Virginia. In recent years he has been a central figure in a notable struggle for control of the Wheeling & Lake Erie, an important key railroad in Ohio, the contest involving various proceedings before the Interstate Commerce Commission. The contest was initiated when, after Mr. Taplin and his brother, Frank T. Taplin and their associates had purchased control of the Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway in 1923, they conceived the idea of building an extension of the railroad to connect it with the Western Maryland Railway at Connellsville, Pennsylvania, which would supply the missing portion of a direct route from Baltimore, Maryland, to the Great Lakes via the Western Maryland, the Pittsburgh & West Virginia and the Wheeling & Lake Erie. In pursuance of this plan the Messrs. Taplin and their associates purchased control of the common and preferred stock of the Wheeling & Lake Erie in the open market, only to find that three trunk lines, the New York - 611 - 612 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS Central, Baltimore & Ohio, and "Nickel Plate," had acquired the prior lien stock and, due to its failure to pay dividends, were about to assume control of the Wheeling & Lake Erie by electing a majority of its directors, a step which required the approval of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Mr. Taplin, in behalf of the Pittsburgh & West Virginia, filed a petition of intervention in this interlocking directorate plan and eventually accomplished its defeat. In the meantime he petitioned the commission to proceed against the trunk lines for violation of the Clayton act in acquiring the stock of the Wheeling & Lake Erie, which is a competing line. In this also Mr. Taplin was successful, the commission in 1929 issuing an order directing the New York Central, Baltimore & Ohio and "Nickel Plate" Railroads to divest themselves of their stock in the Wheeling & Lake Erie. Meanwhile he petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission, on behalf of the Pittsburgh & West Virginia, for the right to acquire control of the Wheeling & Lake Erie and the Western Maryland, and to construct the thirty-eight mile Connellsville extension, thus making possible a coast-to-lakes line. The applications for control of the Wheeling and the Western Maryland have been held in abeyance pending a decision concerning a proposed consolidation of various important eastern railroads, but authority to build the Connellsville extension was granted and it is now completed and in operation. The above is reprinted from "The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography," published by James T. White & Company in 1930. Mr. Taplin is now vice president and general counsel of The North American Coal Corporation and The Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway Company ; treasurer of the Inland Coal & Dock Company, the Powhatan Mining Company and the Standard Island Creek Coal Company ; and a director of the United Coal & Dock Company, the Wellman Bronze Company, the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company, the Pursglove Coal Mining Company and the Wilson Transit Company. THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS - 613 On the 8th of September, 1908, Mr. Taplin was married to Elsie Holliday, daughter of Benjamin Whitley Holliday, a successful practicing physician of Cleveland. They have two sons, Charles Farrand, Jr., and Benjamin Holliday Taplin, and reside at 13485 North Park boulevard, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Mr. Taplin gives his political support to the republican party and in religious faith is a Presbyterian, being a trustee of Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa honorary society and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, while along strictly professional lines he has membership in the American, Ohio State and Cleveland Bar Associations. His appreciation for the social amenities of life is manifest in his membership connection with the Union, Mid-Day, Mayfield Country, Ain-tree and University Clubs, of Cleveland. RUDOLF ANGIER MALM Devoting the best efforts of his life to the service of the Cleveland Trust Company, Rudolf A. Malm has occupied the office of vice president since 1922 and, like many of the city's business and financial executives, he is a self-made man who has relied upon the essential qualities of honesty, industry and perseverance for his advancement. He was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania, September 11, 1882, a son of L. Louis and Wilhelmina (Peterson) Malm, the former a native of north Sweden. The father was born December 15, 1850, and when a young man came to America in the hope of bettering his fortunes. He secured a situation in the Titusville gas plant and when it was controlled by L. H. Severance was made superintendent at Titusville, afterward having supervision of the gas works at Marblehead, Massachusetts, for seven years. He remained in the east until 1891, when he came to Cleveland to take charge of the construction of the Cleveland Arcade, and afterward was superintendent of the building for several years. He was self-educated and became one of the best penmen of his time. His political support was given to the republican party and he was a member of the Swedish Lutheran Church and the Marblehead Lodge of Masons. In Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1874 he married Wilhelmina Peterson, who was born in Umea, Sweden in 1853 and came to America in young womanhood and together they journeyed through life until 1920, when Mr. Malm was called to his final rest. They were the parents of eight children : John Lawrence, who was a mining engineer of Denver, Colorado, and died in 1926 ; Helen, who became the - 615 - 616 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS wife of W. G. Oswald, an insurance agent, and passed away in 1928; Rudolf A. ; William E., who served under his father as assistant superintendent of the Cleveland Arcade and is now manager of the building; Harold S., an electrical engineer with the Arcade Company of Cleveland; Royal D., who lives in La Grange, Illinois, and is a civil engineer with Clay-ton, Mark & Company; Irma, who became a teacher in Min-nesota and is now Mrs. J. B. Lackamp ; and Douglas Robert, who enlisted in the United States Army and was assigned to duty with the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Regiment of Field Artillery, and is now with the Wenco Products Company of Cleveland. When a lad of nine years Rudolf A. Malm came with the family to Cleveland and here pursued his education until his graduation from high school with the class of 1900. He then started to work as office boy for the Western Reserve Trust Company, which was merged with the Cleveland Trust Company four years later, and he has continued with the institution to the present time. From office boy he was promoted to a position in the clearance department, where he handled a set of the commercial books, and was next assigned work in the receiving cage. Afterward he was transferred to the trust corporation department, acquiring the experience which qualified him for the responsibilities of assistant trust officer, and in 1922 was elected a vice president of the company. In years of continuous service he is one of its oldest representatives and has made his untiring, systematic and well directed labors an effective element in the upbuilding of this institution. In 1904 Mr. Malm was married in Cleveland to Miss Clara Arnold, a daughter of Philip and Catherine (Leuhr) Arnold, who still make their home in this city. Mr. and Mrs. Malm have three children. The eldest, Webster A., who was born November 16, 1906, completed a course in Duke Uni-versity, Durham, North Carolina, and is with the Equitable Life Assurance Society. On December 31, 1930, he married THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS - 617 Miss Elinor Maier, a daughter of E. J. Maier, of Cleveland. Marion Catherine, born March 17, 1910, is a graduate of Sweet Briar College in Virginia. Janice Eleanor was born September 11, 1912, and is a senior in the kindergarten course in the school of education of Western Reserve University. The residence of the family is at 2683 St. James Parkway, Cleveland Heights. Mr. Malm was vice consul of Sweden from June until September of 1908. His father served as vice consul for Sweden and Norway at Cleveland from 1895 to 1916 and later was reappointed to represent his native country here. He continued as vice consul of Sweden until his death, serving for more than twenty-one years, and was very active in behalf of his fellow countrymen, aiding them in establishing homes in America and befriending the Scandinavian people in many ways. Rudolf A. Malm belongs to the Cleveland Athletic Club and votes with the republican party but has never aspired to political office, although he cooperates in those movements which make for civic growth and progress and for the uplift of the individual. He is a member of the Fairmount Presbyterian Church and carries its teachings into his daily life. FRANZ CHILDS WARNER For nearly a quarter of a century the creative labors of Franz C. Warner have been centered in Cleveland, although he has done considerable architectural work outside the city, and is especially well known as a designer of college, school and city and county buildings and churches. Born in Paines-ville, Ohio, September 6, 1876, he is a son of F. G. L. Warner and a member of an old colonial family of English origin. His great-grandfather, Daniel Warner, was born in Con-necticut and came to Ohio in 1796, settling in Hamden. It was not until several years later that Ohio attained the dignity of statehood and only here and there had a town been built to indicate that the seeds of civilization had been planted in this part of the country. Possessing the courage, energy and resourcefulness of the true pioneer, Daniel Warner hewed a farm out of the wilderness and bore his full share in reclaiming the wild region. His son, Field D. Warner, was born on the Hamden homestead in 1837 and became a large property owner of Painesville, where his death occurred in 1892. He was the father of F. G. L. Warner, who was born at Painesville in 1856, and there engaged in merchandising for many years, prospering in business. In religious belief he was a Congregationalist and his political support was given to the democratic party, while fraternally he was a Mason. As a young man he married Isabelle Childs, who was born in Ashtabula, Ohio, in 1856, and both are now deceased. They were the parents of three children : Franz Childs, Wurt and Childs. Reared in his native town, Franz C. Warner there pursued his education until graduated from high school with - 619 - 620 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS the class of 1896 and then enrolled as a student in the Case School of Applied Science, a Cleveland institution, which awarded him the A. B. degree in 1900. At Youngstown, Ohio, in the office of Owsley & Boucherle, he studied architecture and afterward was in the employ of Frank L. Packard at Columbus, this state. In 1908 Mr. Warner entered upon individual practice in Cleveland and has succeeded beyond his expectations. He drew the plans for Rainbow Hospital, St. Mary's Seminary, Cuyahoga county criminal court and jail buildings in Cleveland, which feature in the architectural adornment of the city. He designed St. Thomas Hospital in Akron ; the city hall, fire department, police station and several high school buildings in Painesville ; the Andrews Institute for Girls group at Willoughby, Ohio ; public schools in Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights and East Cleveland, and more than a hundred school buildings throughout Ohio and adjoining states, among them a group of eight buildings for the University of Kentucky at Lexington and a group for the Ohio Wesleyan University. One of the outstanding commissions he executed was for the United States Embassy building in Buenos Aires, S. A. He excels in his particular line of work and the extent and importance of his clientele attests the confidence reposed in his ability as an architect. On July 12, 1904, Mr. Warner was united in marriage with Miss Hazel Virginia Ward, of Youngstown, Ohio, and they reside in the village of Hunting Valley, while Mr. Warner maintains his offices and studio in the Bulkley building in Cleveland. He enjoys outdoor life and horseback rid-ing is his favorite form of recreation. He is a Mason, holding membership in the lodge, chapter, commandery, consistory and shrine ; his college fraternity is the Beta Theta Pi and he belongs to the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, the Union Club, the Cleveland Athletic Club, the Cleveland Engineering Society the Professional Club and the American Institute of Architects. HOYT W. GALE Insurance int,erests of importance are under the capable direction of Hoyt W. Gale, a Cleveland business man whose success is based upon close application and broad experience in this line of commercial activity. A product of the south, he was born in Valdosta, Georgia, December 17, 1875, but his parents, Alvan Davis and Amanda (Hoyt) Gale, were natives of New Hampshire, whence they removed to Georgia about 1842, when the former was nineteen and the latter sixteen years of age, and were married in New Hampshire. The mother of Hoyt W. Gale was a second cousin of President Grover Cleveland and a distant relative of Moses Cleaveland, the founder of the city of Cleveland. Alvan Davis Gale served as a chemist for the Southern Army in the Civil war. As a young man he took up contracting and while engaged in that business was a student of medicine and of dentistry. Preferring a professional career, he abandoned the work of a builder to become a dentist and practiced in various parts of Georgia, finally locating at Brunswick, where both he and his wife passed away. Hoyt W. Gale is the youngest of thirteen children and the only surviving member of the family. After acquiring a high school education he gained a knowledge of newspaper work as a printer's devil in the office of the Brunswick News, published by Sam Small, at that time an editor of note. Mr. Gale was next in the employ of the Brunswick Bank & Trust Company, proving so. adaptable and dependable that he was advanced to the office of cashier when but twenty years of age, and remained with the institution for ten years. On the - 621 - 622 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS expiration of that period he entered the general insurance business at Brunswick and in 1908 went to Huntington, West Virginia, as general agent for the Columbia National Life Insurance Company of Boston. In 1910 he was transferred by that corporation to Columbus, where he spent two years, acting as their general agent for the states of Ohio and West Virginia. On the 1st of January, 1913, he severed his connection with the Boston concern to become general agent for the Home Life Insurance Company of New York, establishing his headquarters in Cleveland at that time, and has since been with the corporation. He is in charge of their interests in northern Ohio, and has materially augmented the business of the company in his territory. His own organization, known as the Hoyt W. Gale Company, of which he is president, has also prospered, handling a large general insurance business. In 1902 at Cartersville, Georgia, Mr. Gale was married to Miss Louise Purse, by whom he has five children : Hoyt W., Jr., Alvan Davis, Ben Purse, Frank W., and Louise. In the management of his insurance interests Mr. Gale is as-sisted by his sons, all of whom have inherited his business sagacity and enterprise. He is a member of the Mid-Day Club, the Acacia Country Club and the Aintree Riding Club. On the island of St. Simon, off the coast of Georgia, he has his winter home, and his business in Cleveland is located at 1010 Euclid avenue. WALTER EMORY COFFIN A consulting engineer of marked ability, Walter Emory Coffin followed his profession continuously in Cleveland for a period of thirty-five years, and was also widely known as an inventor. Born in Dunreith, Indiana, May 13, 1861, he was a son of Emory Dunreith and Elvina (Foster) Coffin, who were natives of North Carolina. The Coffins were Quakers and on emigrating to this country one branch of the family located on the island of Nantucket, while others of the name were among the pioneers of North Carolina. Gifted as writers, the forbears of Walter E. Coffin won dis-tinction in the field of literature, and among the representatives of this old and prominent family was one of the organizers of the "underground railroad" during the Civil war. In his native town Walter E. Coffin obtained his early education, continuing his studies at Philadelphia, where he became identified with a wholesale grocery house at the age of eighteen years. He went from the Quaker city to Marshall Texas, to take charge of car construction for the Texas & Pacific Railroad Company, devoting ten years to that work. On the expiration of that period he came to Cleveland, arriving here in August, 1896, and formed a connection with the National Malleable Castings Company—an association that was maintained for many years. From that time until his death on June 25, 1931, Mr. Coffin was a consulting engineer whose services were in constant demand, the nature of the projects with which he was connected indicating the con-fidence reposed in his technical knowledge and ability. His work .took him to all parts of the world. A successful in- - 623 - 624 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS ventor, he called upon transportation executives in various countries and demonstrated to them the use of the railroad coupler. It was Mr. Coffin who aided in bringing the present coupling system to its high standard of efficiency, thus rendering service of great value to railway interests in many lands. Among the railroads which he equipped were the South Manchurian line with its present coupling system, and practically all of the railroads of South America and other nations. On the 21st of September, 1910, Mr. Coffin married Miss Antionette Axe, who was born in central Pennsylvania, a daughter of Reuben and Eliza (Johnston) Axe, who were also natives of that part of the Keystone state. The father was of French and German descent, while the mother came of Scotch ancestry, and both were representatives of families long established on American soil. Liberal educational advantages were accorded Mrs. Coffin, who was a teacher for a number of years before her marriage. She lives in the suburb of Cleveland Heights, residing at 2494 Stratford road. Mr. Coffin was a Scottish Rite Mason and Shriner, also a member of the Acacia Club and the Cleveland Athletic Club. He was an adherent of the republican party but never sought political office, preferring to remain a private citizen, for he felt that his work required his undivided attention. He had a keen appreciation of home life but this he was able to enjoy only in his later years. Ever an untiring, systematic worker, he made his labors count for the utmost and was accounted one of the foremost representatives of his profession in this country. Chivalrous, kind-hearted and courteous, Mr. Coffin was a true gentleman of the old school and his passing at the age of sixty-nine years was mourned by all with whom he was associated in the varied relations of life. ELMER E. CRESWELL Among the men of prominence in banking and business circles today, there is none better known than Elmer E. Creswell, a vice president of The Union Trust Company and one of Cleveland's outstanding citizens. He has fought life's battles alone and unaided and deserves much credit for what he has accomplished. He was born in Iberia, a small town in Morrow county, Ohio, August 3, 1867, a son of Robert Johnson and Margaret (Hammond) Creswell. The grandfather, James Creswell, was a pioneer of Morrow county and a mill-wright by trade. Robert J. Creswell was a native of Pennsylvania and served in the Union Army during the Civil war, receiving injuries from which he never recovered. The burden of caring. for the family early devolved upon Elmer E. Creswell, whose youth was a period of hard and unremitting toil. Through strenuous effort he managed to secure an education, attending the public schools of Iberia and Muskingum College at New Concord, Ohio, and in 1893 came to Cleveland. Here he took up the study of law and was preparing. himself for an opening in a law firm when he was advised by a friend to accept the position of private secretary to E. H. Bourne, cashier of the Union National Bank of Cleveland. He did so, and in 1911 was appointed assistant cashier of the bank, becoming' its vice president three years later. In 1921, when this bank, with several others, merged with The Union Trust Company, Mr. Creswell was elected a vice president of the larger institution and has so continued. His keen mind enabled him to readily assimilate the intricate - 625 - 626 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS details of modern finance and his repeated promotions were the merited reward of earnest endeavor and proven ability. Under the caption of "A Much Traveled Banker," the editor of The Cleveland Banker said of him in the issue of February, 1930 : "Mr. Creswell probably enjoys the distinction of calling on more bankers during the year than any banker in the United States. For three months prior to the National Air Transport placing in operation the night flight air mail 'service from San Francisco and Los Angeles, May 1, 1929, he called on two hundred and fifty banks from Seattle, Washington, to San Diego, California, also Mexican border cities to El Paso, Texas, including Arizona and New Mexico. "The object of this trip was to induce the western bankers to clear their eastern transit items through Cleveland, using the night flight air mail service, thus reducing the time schedule from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Cleveland from four days to twenty-eight hours. "Through his genial personality and host of acquaintances, Mr. Creswell, based on the strategic geographical position of Cleveland, has been an important factor in placing The Union Trust Company of Cleveland in the front rank of collecting banks, in volume of business handled." In 1896 Mr. Creswell was married in this city to Miss Sue Westhafer and they have one son, Edward Johnson, aged twenty-six years. He was graduated from the Staunton Military Academy at Staunton, Virginia, in 1922 with the rank of lieutenant adjutant and spent the year 1925 at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1926 he received the Bachelor of Science degree from Harvard University, graduating with honors, and in 1927 took a post-graduate course in that institution. During 1928 and 1929 he was a student at the Harvard Law School and in 1931 won the degree of LL. B. from the Western Reserve Law School. Mr. Creswell belongs to the Cleveland Athletic Club and THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS - 627 the Clifton Club. In Masonry he has connection with both the York and Scottish Rite bodies and with the Mystic Shrine. He has developed his powers through the exercise of effort and his is a record of continuous progress and important achievement. WILLIAM H. KELLY William H. Kelly, president of The Kelly Company of Cleveland, has during the past forty years been successfully engaged in business as a wholesale dealer in nuts and seeds, principally peanuts, and also as manufacturer of various nut products, conducting one of the largest enterprises of the kind in the United States. He was born in Newton, Iowa, January 23, 1864, his parents being William H. and Elizabeth ( Cannell) Kelly, natives of Newburgh, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, whence in 1862 they removed to Newton, Iowa, where the father operated a sawmill. In 1864 the family returned to Newburgh, Cuyahoga county, this state, where William H. Kelly, Sr., devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1873. His wife, who survived him for four years, passed away in 1877. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Kelly of this review, who also bore the name of William H. Kelly, was a native of the Isle of Man and settled in the state of Ohio in 1825. William H. Kelly has made his own way in the world from the age of thirteen years, when he was left an orphan. He acquired a public school education and received his initial business training in the employ of R. M. Burrows & Company, wholesale produce dealers of Cleveland. In 1888, when a young man of twenty-four years, he embarked in business on -his own account as a wholesale dealer in fruits and produce on Prospect street, near Sheriff street, and in 1892 moved onto the latter thoroughfare, which is now Fourth street. In 1905 he removed to his present location at 755-61 Central avenue, where he owns a modern plant comprising three - 629 - 630 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS buildings, four stories in height, covering one hundred by one hundred and ninety feet of ground space. As stated above, he has been a wholesale dealer in nuts and seeds for the past forty years, handling principally peanuts, and also manufactures various nut products. He sells to dealers by mail, furnishes employment to one hundred and twenty-five people and has developed one of the most extensive business enterprises of the kind in the country. The Kelly Company disposes of several hundred carloads of nuts annually. Mr. Kelly was responsible for the establishment of the peanut industry in Texas a quarter of a century ago, being called to that state by a committee to give advice on a "money crop" to take the place of cotton. Aside from his activities as president of The Kelly Company, he is a director of the Metal Stamping & Manufacturing Company of Cleveland and the Doan Savings & Loan Company of Cleveland. The prosperity which he now enjoys is indeed well merited, for it is attributable entirely to his own efforts and his sound judgment and keen sagacity in business affairs. In 1890 Mr. Kelly married Miss Zella Snow, of Cleveland, who passed away in 1892, leaving a daughter, Zella Snow, now the wife of Spencer D. Corlett, of Hudson, Ohio, and the mother of three children, Suthard, Forest and Jane. In 1900 Mr. Kelly was again married, his second union being with Miss Jane Osburn, of Cleveland, who died in 1917, leaving a daughter, Eleanor Louise, who is at home with her father. Mr. Kelly is a member of the Rotary Club, a past president of the Manufacturers & Wholesale Merchants Board, a past president of the Cleveland Athletic Club and a member of the Acacia Country Club. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar Mason who has also attained the thirty-second de-gree of the Scottish Rite and has crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. FREDERICK WILLIAM GEHRING Successfully following in the business footsteps of his father, Frederick William Gehring, more familiarly known as William or Will Gehring, became one of the foremost rep-resentatives of the brewing industry in Cleveland and also attained high standing as a financier. Born in this city on the 16th of October, 1859, he was a son of Charles Ernest and Anna Barbara (Fornoff) Gehring, who were natives of Germany. The father was born in Jabenhausen and in his youth worked for a maltster, becoming thoroughly conversant with that line of work while in Germany. About 1848 he came to Cleveland and about ten years later organized the C. E. Gehring Brewing Company, remaining at its head until his death, which occurred about 1893. He was among the earli-est brewers in Cleveland and the beer made in his plant was noted for its high quality. William Gehring was one of a family of seven children and supplemented his public school education by attendance at Calvin College. At an early age he started to work in his father's brewery and was identified with its operation until the consolidation of most of the breweries in the city under the name of the Cleveland & Sandusky Brewing Company. Elected it§ president, he wisely and successfully administered the affairs of the corporation until failing health compelled him to retire from business. In financial circles of Cleveland he made his influence felt as the second president of the For-est City Bank and was one of the directors of that institution when it was taken over by the Cleveland Trust Company, of which he also became a director, continuing on its board - 633 - 634 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS throughout the remainder of his life. He was likewise a di-rector of the First National Bank before it was acquired by the Union Trust Company. With Stephen E. Brooks he was a charter member of the Forest City Savings & Trust Com-pany and when he tendered his resignation as its president the directors of the institution moved that a vote of thanks be tendered Mr. Gehring "as an expression of their high regard for his standing as a citizen, an associate in business, and his useful services to those interested in the bank and its patrons, and as a token that their best wishes be and remain with him." On the 19th of June, 1884, Mr. Gehring was married to Miss Nettie Yungling, who died, leaving a daughter Ruth Nettie, who attended the Woman's College of Western Re-serve University and the University of Michigan, and married Carl R. Edson, by whom she has a daughter, Charlotte Gehring Edson. In 1889 Mr. Gehring married Miss Emma Motz, who was born in Wooster, Ohio, a daughter of Henry M. and Sarah (Schwartz) Motz, natives of Freeburg, Pennsylvania, and of colonial ancestry. When their daughter Emma was very young Mr. and Mrs. Motz removed to Akron, Ohio, and her education was acquired in the schools of that city. By his second wife Mr. Gehring had four children, of whom Carl Ernest, the first born, was graduated from the University of Michigan and is now music critic for an Ann Arbor newspaper. He married Hester Reed, by whom he has three children, Frederick William (II), John Reed and Barbara. Hulda Barbara, the second in order of birth, attended Vassar College and also the Woman's College of Western Reserve University. Emma Roberta, a graduate of Wellesley College, is an instructor of music in the Laurel School at Cleveland. Clara Louise completed her studies at Bryn Mawr College and is a member of the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music. The three daughters were graduated from Laurel School of Cleveland. Mr. Gehring traveled extensively but considered Cleve- THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS - 635 land a most desirable place of residence and loyally supported all movements for the good of his city. He loved his home and found his greatest happiness in the society of his family. He was a lover of music and the arts, paintings and bronzes and made a fine collection of canvases and statues during his travels. He was a member of the Colonial Club and the Century Club. Unbiased in politics, he placed the qualifications of a candidate before party ties, and his influence was ever on the side of measures for reform, progress and improvement. His breadth of mind, his kindly philosophy and broad outlook upon life drew to him a wide circle of friends, who entertained for him the highest esteem. At his passing on the 2d of July, 1925, the following resolutions were adopted by the board of directors of the Cleveland Trust Company : "In the death of F. W. Gehring the directors of the Cleve-land Trust Company have lost an associate who possessed in a high degree the qualities of mind and heart that in all times have destined exceptional men to posts of honor and responsibility. As head of a great industrial enterprise for many years, as an incorporator and for many years president of the Forest City Savings & Trust Company, and in many other positions of service in the industrial, financial and civic life of his community, his conspicuous ability, rare judgment and scrupulous performance of every obligation distinguished him among his fellows and earned the high regard of his asso-ciates and friends." Mr. Gehring is survived by his widow, who resides at 11427 Bellflower road. She belongs to the Woman's Club of Cleveland and figures prominently in the social and cultural life of the city. CLEVELAND—CRADLE OF THE OIL INDUSTRY A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE STANDARD OIL COMPANY OF OHIO By Leslie G. Smith The steady thump-thump-thump of the drill bit punching its way into the earth's crust in the Pennsylvania hills just outside Titusville sounded the death knell of a thriving New England industry, and rang up the curtain on the spectacular and farflung. drama which has been the development of the world's petroleum industry and in which the city of Cleveland and its men have ever played major roles. Had it not been for the fact that there already existed some conception of the commercial possibilities of petroleum products and especially if the rudiments of the refining process had not been previously developed, the Drake discovery would have had little or no value or significance. At the time, sperm oil was the best lamp oil known and tallow candles were in general use. The popular demand for whale, or sperm, oil upon which the thriving New England whaling trade was built, was exceeding the supply. Scientists were already at work attempting to find satisfactory substitutes. A Scotchman had developed a process by which he extracted petroleum from Scotch shales and had refined it into a good lamp oil. In this country a Dr. Gessner had, in 1854, developed an illuminating oil obtained from coal and known as kerosene. The bringing in of the Drake well in the summer of 1859 made crude petroleum available in commercial quantities for - 637 - 638 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS the first time, providing the raw material from which kero-sene, wax and lubricating oil could be produced. Men were quick to see the possibilities in this discovery. The rapid drilling of other wells followed and the great days of the whale oil industry were ended. Geography foreordained that Cleveland should become an important refining center. Although distant almost two hundred miles from the Pennsylvania wells, Cleveland enjoyed a strategic location with regard to markets. It was, furthermore, blessed with trunk line railroad transportation to east and west, in addition to water transportation by lake and canal. Consequently, the city swiftly rose to a dominant position in the refining industry. Throughout the thrilling days of the genesis of the petroleum industry, Cleveland ranked as a leader. During this period, the chief petroleum product of value, of course, was kerosene. Cleveland may well be said to have sent its light into the far, dark corners of the earth. For not only the "coal oil" refined here, but also lamps in which to burn it, constituted no inconsiderable portion of the nation's total export trade at that time. Two young commission merchants in Cleveland watched with keen interest the developments that followed swiftly on the heels of the completion of the Drake well. Two years later, in 1862, these two young men, John D. Rockefeller and M. B. Clark, invested a portion of the profits from their commis-sion business in a small Cleveland refinery built by an English engineer named Samuel Andrews. As early as 1865, nearly a half hundred crude refineries were in operation in Cleveland and by 1870, barely ten years after the opening of the Pennsylvania pool, Cleveland refin-ery plants boasted a total capacity of approximately eleven thousand barrels per day. At that time, the firm of Rockefeller, Flagler & Andrews, the largest single operator in Cleveland, was handling fifteen hundred barrels a day. In that same year, a new company was formed in Cleveland by THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS - 639 these famous pioneers for the express purpose of manufact-uring a standard grade of oil. This company was given the name of The Standard Oil Company. Two years later, this young but lusty Cleveland industry had increased its refining capacity to ten thousand barrels per day. This was one-fifth of the total refining capacity in the United States and was actually greater than that of any other single company in the country. In the sixty-one years of its existence, this famous Cleveland enterprise has had four rather clearly defined stages. First, pioneer days, a twelve-year period of swift growth and development. Second, the trust era, when Cleveland's "sphere of influence" was expanded to world-wide dimensions. Third, the dark ages, a difficult and trying period immediately following the Federal court dissolution decree. And, fourth, the renaissance, which is the present period of rejuvenated aggressiveness which has reestablished this company as the outstanding leader of the industry in its marketing field and has turned the eyes of the petroleum world once more upon Cleveland. Pioneer Days During the eight years between 1862, when Rockefeller and his partner, Maurice B. Clark, first entered the oil business, and 1870, the foundation had been laid upon which The Standard Oil Company was later built. Before giving up the commission business, Rockefeller had visited the booming "oil regions" of Pennsylvania, had investigated with characteristic thoroughness, and had foreseen something of the possibilities in oil. Clark's interest in the new venture was acquired at auction by Rockefeller and Andrews in 1865 for seventy-two thousand five hundred dollars. The firm name then became Rockefeller and Andrews. This was the Eng-lish engineer, Samuel Andrews, who had built and operated that pioneer refinery on the identical site in Kingsbury Run where Sohio's great Cleveland plant stands today. In 1867, 640 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS the firm name was changed again, becoming Rockefeller, Flagler and Andrews. At about this time also, Rockefeller's younger brother, William, was employed. Henry M. Flagler came into the firm to represent Stephen V. Harkness, his uncle by marriage, whose financial assistance had been enlisted to assist the fast-growing enterprise. Thus, we find the five men who founded The Standard Oil Company already associated together. That they sensed the opportunities in the new industry is indicated by the fact that the company was originally incorporated for one million dollars, a large capitalization in 1870. The Standard Oil Company of Ohio was incorporated under the laws of the state of Ohio on January 10, 1870. The signatures of the five Cleveland men who launched this great enterprise more than sixty-one years ago appear upon the meticulously hand-written articles of incorporation. Here are the names that have made history—John D. Rockefeller, Samuel Andrews, Henry M. Flagler, Stephen V. Harkness and William Rockefeller. The twelve-year period from 1870 to 1882 constitutes the "pioneer era" of The Standard Oil Company of Ohio. It was a period in which the new Cleveland concern steadily and swiftly forged ahead until it had achieved a position of major importance. Competition was of the keenest and came from other Cleveland oil concerns as well as from rival companies in Pittsburgh and other points in western Pennsylvania and on the Atlantic seaboard. The acquisition of interrelated or complementary concerns and active competitors was one of the fundamental Rockefeller principles and accounted in large measure for much of the company's swift early growth and expansion. In the single year 1872, for instance, twenty-one of the twenty-six competing refineries operating in Cleveland were brought into the organization. Struggling against widespread and aggressive competition, the company, nevertheless, grew rapidly and Standard Oil products "made in Cleveland" soon found their way into all parts of the world. THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS - 641 By 1882 Rockefeller and his astute associates had, by a series of daring and shrewd moves, achieved for Standard Oil a position of outstandingly dominant leadership of the petroleum industry of the world. During this period also, other famous Clevelanders became associated with The Standard Oil Company of Ohio—such men as Truman P. Handy, Stillman Witt, Amasa Stone, Benjamin Brewster and O. B. Jennings—and the company's capital was increased to two and a half million dollars, then to three and a half million dollars. The Trust Era The famous Standard Oil trust agreement of 1882 was based upon the fundamental principle that separately operated companies should look after the refining, the transportation and the selling of oil. The stock of these individual companies was held by nine trustees, and the trustees themselves, or men of their choice, actively directed the operation of all the individual companies. The trust agreement had the tremendous advantage of effecting extraordinary efficiency and economy in the operation of the various companies, with resultant noteworthy increases in profits. During the ten years from 1882 until 1892, antipathy to "Standard Oil" began to manifest itself, gradually becoming more and more violent and widespread. There were state and federal investigations by the score ; there was vitriolic denouncement in the press ; limiting legislation was passed in state after state and by Congress as well ; and finally, dissolution of the trust agreement was compelled. However, in 1899, The Standard Oil Company of New Jersey was designated as a holding company and for a number of years its directorate functioned as a central body for Standard Oil operations in practically the same manner as had the trustees under the trust agreement. In 1911, the supreme court of the United States decreed that the status of The Standard Oil Company of New Jersey as a holding company must be terminated. This famous decree ordered the breaking up of 642 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS "Standard Oil" into its original units—this, of course, entirely heedless of the fact that many of those individual companies were almost wholly unfit, economically, to operate as independent units. The Dark Ages After the supreme court decision of 1911, The Standard Oil Company of Ohio once more became an Ohio corporation in the truest sense of the words. Its active direction was returned to Cleveland and its operations were confined to the state of Ohio. Vexing difficulties beset it, however, for this was one of those former subsidiary companies that were ill fitted to prosper as independent competitive units. It was solely a refining and marketing company, had no crude production and was, therefore, seriously handicapped when forced to compete with companies that controlled their own crude supplies. Furthermore, Ohio soon became what it has continued to be—a battleground for the most violent of competition. Its location with respect to producing areas and the pipeline and railroad freight rates therefrom, together with its rapid industrial development, have made it so. Hence, it followed that the seventeen years between 1911 and 1928 were lean and ever leaner years for this pioneer of the petroleum industry. These were the "Dark Ages." The proportion of the state's business enjoyed shrank steadily—in spite of the swift increase in consumption of petroleum products which came with the meteoric growth of the auto-motive industry. Renaissance The Renaissance era for The Standard Oil of Ohio dawned in the spring of 1928. At that time, a new president was elected and in a few succeeding weeks an entirely new board of directors followed. W. T. Holliday was the new president. Once more a native Clevelander took the helm. The new directors were : A. M. Maxwell, vice presi- THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS - 643 dent in charge of general sales; George A. Burke, vice president in charge of general lubricating sales (he sold lubricating oil for the first internal combustion engine ever operated in this country) ; Howard C. Jones, vice president and treasurer ; and J. S. Harrison, vice president in charge of manufacturing. Wallace Trevor Holliday was born in Cleveland March 10, 1884. He was educated in the Cleveland public schools; in Western Reserve University for a time; in Cornell University, from which institution he received his Bachelor of Arts degree; and in Harvard, which conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Mr. Holliday started the practice of law in Cleveland in 1906 in the law firm of Kline, Tolles & Goff, attorneys for all of the Standard Oil Company interests in the central states. From 1908 until 1921, he represented as attorney various producing companies, pipe line companies, refining companies and marketing companies, formerly subsidiaries of The Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. During that time, he also represented The Standard Oil Company of Ohio and in 1917 became its general counsel. He continued the gen-eral practice of law with his law firm until April 21, 1928, when he was elected president of The Standard Oil Company of Ohio. The law firms with which he was associated were a continuous succession, with various name changes, however, and the present name of the firm is Holliday, Grossman & McAfee. It was a natural thing for a lawyer representing a large corporation to be drawn into its business affairs, and for several years prior to his becoming president of The Standard Oil Company of Ohio he had been drawn more and more into all phases of the company's activities. The step, therefore, from the practice of law to the executive work was a rather gradual one in a way. Since the induction of these new officers, the progress of the company has been spectacular. Almost the first move was 644 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS the adoption of a liberal and aggressive marketing policy. Red, white and blue paint appeared almost over night on the company's service stations and dealer outlets from one end of the state to the other. Large space newspaper advertising was begun ; a series of radio programs were inaugurated ; neon signs blossomed ; outdoor advertising on a spectacular scale was employed ; and definite sales training programs for service station personnel were launched. And, most import-ant of all, a new price policy was adopted. This policy was predicated upon a determined intention of meeting competitive prices and seeking increased earnings through increased gallonage and consequent reduction of manufacturing, dis-tribution and marketing costs. Time has conclusively demonstrated the soundness of the new policy, for gross sales, which had fallen to less than thirty-eight million dollars in 1927, reached a peak of nearly sixty-three million dollars in 1929, and were over sixty million dollars in the "depression" year of 1930. Hand in hand with the new and aggressive marketing methods adopted have come equally significant changes in manufacturing policies. Production facilities, instead of being held to a minimum, have been utilized to capacity. New and improved processes, some of them exclusive Sohio developments, have been perfected. Today one of the finest and most modern oil refining plants in the world is located in Cleveland. The high-pressure refining, or "cracking," equipment developed here constitutes the last word in modern refinery practice. Here also, for the first time, a commercially successful process for the manufacture of asphalt from paraffin base crude oil has been developed. The quality of Sohio products has been constantly improved, and new products have been added to the line. At present, the company has four subsidiaries, namely : the former Latonia Refining Corporation in Latonia, Kentucky, where modernized refinery equipment now provides Sohio products to Cincinnati and vicinity; Fleet-Wing Oil THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS - 645 Corporation; Caldwell and Taylor, Incorporated; and Refiners, Incorporated ; all of which are important distributing and retailing organizations. More recently the properties of the Solar Refining Company in Lima, Ohio, have also been acquired to provide still further refinery capacity. The present combination of high-quality product with progressive marketing policies, backed up by adequate and effective sales promotion and advertising programs, has again won for The Standard Oil Company of Ohio a position of dominant leadership in the state where its products are marketed. Cleveland is once more "on the map" of the petroleum industry, both because of the remarkable success of the new marketing policies instituted under Mr. Holliday's leadership and because of the spectacular advances in refinery practice which have been made in Sohio plants. CARMI ALDERMAN THOMPSON A man of versatile talents and forceful personality, Carmi A. Thompson has achieved distinction in varied walks of life. Before coming to Cleveland in 1917 he had figured conspicuously in state and national affairs, also winning success in the legal profession and in the field of business, and is now chairman of the board of the International-Stacey Corporation—a ten million dollar concern. Mr. Thompson was born in Wayne county, West Virginia, in September, 1970, a son of Granville and Mary E. (Polley) Thompson, and obtained his higher education in Ohio State University, which awarded him the Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1892 and that of Bachelor of Laws in 1895. Admitted to the bar in the latter year, he chose Ironton, Ohio, as the scene of his professional activities and while practicing there organized the Iron City Bank, becoming one of its directors as well as attorney for the institution. He was also made a director of the Central National Bank and chair-man of the board of the Continental Stove Company of Ironton. Mr. Thompson's first public office was that of city solicitor of Ironton, in which capacity he acted from 1896 until 1903. During the period from 1904 to 1907 he represented his district in the general assembly of Ohio and was speaker of the house in 1906. He next became secretary of state for Ohio, serving for four years, from 1907 to 1911, when he was called to Washington. He was assistant secretary of the interior from March 6, 1911, to July 1, 1912, when he was made secretary to President Taft, and so continued until November - 647 - 648 - THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS 20, 1912. At that time he assumed the duties of treasurer of the United States and occupied that high office until April 1, 1913. With an enviable record of public service, Mr. Thompson reentered business life, becoming general manager of the Great Northern Iron Ore Properties, a James J. Hill interest, president of the Cottonwood Coal Company, and also the administrative head of the South Butte Mining Company of St. Paul. In 1917 he came to Cleveland as president of the Tod-Stambaugh Company. Following his removal to the Forest city he became chairman of the board of the Midland Steamship Company and recently was made chairman of the board of the International-Stacey Corporation, created by the merger of the International Derrick & Equipment Company of Columbus and the Stacey Engineering Company of Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania. With keen insight into business affairs Mr. Thompson combines executive ability of a high order and his name has been a valuable asset to the various commercial and financial organizations which he has represented, serving as a guarantee of their soundness and stabil-ity. In 1925 he organized the law firm of Thompson & Smith and they have successfully handled much important liti-gation. On the 3d of May, 1899, Mr. Thompson was married to Miss Leila H. Ellars, of Bement, Illinois, and they became the parents of a daughter, Gladys, now the wife of E. L. Holmes and the mother of three children, Thalia, Carmi and Christopher R. There is an interesting military chapter in the life record of Mr. Thompson, who saw active service in the Spanish-American war as captain of Company I, Seventieth Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In 1921 he was a member of the advisory committee to the American delegation at the conference for limitation of armament in Washington, and in 1926 he was appointed by President Coolidge to the office of special commissioner, in which connection he made a sur- THIS CLEVELAND OF OURS - 649 vey of economic and internal conditions in the Philippines. In 1931 he was selected as a member of the Ohio building commission for the erection of a state office building and has conscientiously and acceptably fulfilled every trust reposed in him, whether of a public or private nature. His political support is given to the republican party, and his fraternal affiliations are with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias. He belongs to the Union Club of Cleveland, the Columbus Club of Columbus, Ohio, the University and National Press Clubs of Washington, and the Minnesota Club of St. Paul.