their worth and something unforeseen Insull himself knew how much he'd have Such a lecture. of course. was wasted "Tveter, after explaining what had occurs, that optimistic appraisal backfires. co account for, and he and all his holdings on Henry. He might not ha\'e expressed happened, added, That is the end of my When those auditors reported to First collapsed." himself in such formal terms. but his own job.' 'Not at all, Tveter,' I said. 'I have your National that we were in good shape, Henry's association with Hugo philosophy of business dealings was. point promise that you would stay for a full two that saved us." Anderson turned out to be a hugely signifi for point, just the same. vears. Go back and continue with your ~-esponsibilities as if the incident had never "Insull had piled Yet behind the scenes, Henry's cant one: the most essential of all his occurred, and I assure you, you will never equities upon equities, company was still being threatened. wide-ranging business relationships, second Investors of the Consumer Company only, perhaps, to that with Conrad Hilton hear of it again from Mr. Crown.' When securities upon To help lift Material Sen-ice back were working hard to gain Anderson's following World War II. Both men, while Tveter finally left [Material Service] after securities," Colonel to a steady financial t<.)oting. Anderson confidence, trying ( as always) to discredit very different, shared fundamental princi two years, Crown not only tried to per Crown explained. recommended a man named Martin Material Service and keep the First ples. Anderson's training at the First suade him to remain, but also sought my "He'd issue preferred Tveter to serve f<.)r two yea,·s as comptrol National Bank from backing it. "But National Bank had imbued him with a influence.... to try to get him to return stock and then a ler. Tveter had worked the same job for these efforts boomeranged," Anderson strong sense of ethics. Honesty was better at a very substantial salary." second preferred stock Chicago's 1933 A Century of Progress remembered. "I became more determined than gain, he was taught. "It is better to As Anderson's regard for Henry and then a third world's fair, which, held as it was in the to help Crown save his company." be the best bank, rather than the largest increased, so too did his financial com preferred stock." teeth of the Depression. had gi\'en Tveter It was the Consumer Company's own bank." After two years of retaining Henry's mitment. "I called in Crown's largest ample chance to prove his mettle. soundness which was falling into question, Foreman Bank loans, Anderson decided competitors," Anderson wrote, "and told As he began his new assignment, mostly because, in the wake of the stock to transfer the debt, so that the notes chem that I was giving him a line of credit Tveter learned about the informal payment crash, Insull's financial empire lay in ruins. became those of the First National Bank sufficient for all of his company's needs, schedules afforded many contractors "lnsull had piled equities upon equities, of Chicago. It was, Henry knew, a major and that it was time for everyone to drop J:' Material Service supplied. Far tM informal. securities upon securities," Colonel Crown gesture of good faith; but along with it the 'dog eat dog' attitude that was ruining r-' in the new comptroller's eyes. He contacted ) explained. "He'd issue preferred stock and came a stern warnmg: the industry.'' Anderson suggested the one of MSC:'s longtime customers, suggest then a second preferred stock and then a "This is also a time we should come owners of the three largest material supply ing firmly that he bring his account up third preferred stock. When things were to a complete understanding of what we companies meet, to try to resolve their dif , to date. The customer complained to going well, that was fine. He could pay the demand of each other," Anderson admon frrences. They did so one week later at the Henry, who in turn confronted Tveter carrying charges on these junior securities. ished. "I am not trying to run a Sunday LaSalle Hotel. with Anderson himself with outrage. He'd built his business based He created a vast pyramid of nonworking School, but we must be clear as to what refereeing. After many hours of hearing on trust, not on rigid accounting. and trusts and holding companies, then mass we consider a lie. It doesn't matter whether the men air their gripes, Anderson con that approach wasn't going to change. marketed stocks in those firms while it's a white or a black lie. I might ask a cluded that the problem was simple. Not for Tveter, or the bank. or anyone using the proceeds to secure his control question which you could answer frankly. There was not enough business to support else, for that matter! of other companies. but you know in your own mind I have combined operating costs. Why not, "[Tveter's] reaction." Anderson "But when things started going badly," not received the information I was seeking. during chis economic crisis, agree to a remembered, "was something Mr. ( :rown the Colonel continued, "when maturities Under those circumstances I must have division of all monthly sales? The company had never experienced. ·hTtcr \'cry quietly on all these securities came together so more than a yes or no. I don't believe the closest to a customer would receive his told him never to enter his office without tangled, there was a question whether Mr. day will come when you would decei\'e me. business, therebv reducing the price ascertaining if he wcTT free to sec him bur you will never have a second chance. of transportation. and then, picking up his hat. ldt to should you try it." report to me.
IIISIIY < llll\V" He pointed out that thanks to their partic "I told him I was sure that if I hadn't boats would not be seen. I flew in an Army of course, is not to be interpreted as any reflection ipation in the war effort, Caterpillar and done it some ) , I I • - < nL c se wou d have some- plane piloted by a major general and we Allis-Chambers machines be in use 011 Century Steel, but far personal reasons purchases would where along ti,, 1· I t . ,1 ~ l Inc, on \" OCC1USC It maL1C took a dozen aerial photographs. After all over the world. The exposure to new are not to be made from there as long as I am in sense." Th O f-fi · c ICcr, however, no doubt developing the pictures we had people in this office. markets would be enormous; after the believed otherwise_ the offices come in and we'd ask them to "That last bite of war was over the companies would be The "personal reasons?" Colonel (±1 compare photographs of the rubber ships the apple was the flooded with new orders. For this reason, "That was a terrible and planes with the real rhino. Thev Crown owned stock in Century Steel. hardest to swallow," said the Colonel, Caterpil1ar should not - Id ' b , reminder to all of us cou n t tell one from the other." Bomber the Colonel remem only charge regular prices, they should give In addition to his work t<.1r the US. that the war wasn't Government c~ I I c~ · pilots, it turned out, were equally bered, (?Jut in the their government the 20 percent discount, • .o one .rown was rcspons1- over, that Japan still blc for F--irovid 1' · I · , perplexed. The Army and Navy used the end, the company fair reward for the bonanza they were ng n1atcna to A111cnca s In late 1944, the war in both theaters was had the capacity to allies includin I f.J · h · h Targets as decoys throughout World War leaders agreed." certain to reap. ' g t 1c ,ussian Ann\', w 1c , entering its final stage. In Europe, after hurt us." II, distracting the enemy from real assaults, "That last bite of the apple was the to his dismav, • r CCCJVCLI· J Its· supp 1JCS. ' 1.oc1ore £ suffering great losses in the Battle of the and getting them to waste valuable hardest to swallow," the Colonel remem any allocation was made to the American Bulge, America and its allies regrouped, weapons. bered, "but in the end, the company militarv, - "And , o f course, Luc:l to t h at moving inexorably into German territory. leaders agreed. They were decent men, priority for the shipments to Russia, some While Colonel Crown's industry In January of 1945, Franklin Roosevelt was knowledge and contacts helped him get quite willing to help their country in any of our own 111 1·1· Itary rcL1u1rc1ncnts- were inaugurated for his fourth term as presi better deals from manufacturers and way they could, but since nobody had ever reduced," the Colonel said. "But I had dent, then died shortly afterwards at specific orders that I followed rc compliment Colonel Crown for saving priority because rubber was in such short U nder 110 circumstanrcs ,ire vou to issue anv On August 6, 1945, the world was his government such an extraordinary supply, so we had to pursue all the rubber orders regardless C!f size tL, Cmtu,:v Steel C~111pa11v, stunned when a U.S. Air Force plane amount of money. manufacturers and keep after them to Chicago. - dropped an atom bomb over Hiroshima, provide us the rubber we needed. \Ve tested Japan. The resulting destruction was terri- those T~1rgcrs one cold JanuatT da,· in a {{ material rnn,wt possil,lv he ol1 ta111cd elsewhere deserted area of the Indiana d,une~ so the hv huvers, please sec 111c ;r tht1sr particular inquiries and I will attm1pt t,, _!!_ct thc, 11 filled f._,,- w,1. Tim, 11 ~ 111 'd 1111 < ,,1,,,1 I 11, I - Canal, ending up at Miami Beach by " I-le lo\-cd rhc ,>; 1111c ,·,) I , . ~ S<' r1,n1s ,frinb' r ... <..., nee. ;llltornaric for Jews at char time), and after :C- ·'' 11 lU C l ;JnL1 6 Ut I1 e was nev, 1 " · managing m at~)' successful campaigns, he way of H avana. When they returned to 1h\·ed ir .is w ild ;1s could b,, .. .. · J H ,, 1_-0 ]d . . · , u s<'d ru this nc\1 · soci;il F · ', S,llc! ,-, \vh· 11 e set ucrn n'- · 11 O Chi cago, Lester learned the "bad" news - Lipm.111 . another m ;1n whu s;iw 1-lernT . -. ,n\·tre,-l tn ;1 f'oliri c;1 ] was ele cted in 19 32 as an alderman of the Sc ene H cnt"\' w. 1!:> no more military school. H e was mortified , much .1ro und the card r;1bk ... I think ,h e funcc;o n , th~ .innu;1l d1n1wr held b\· rlw \ Vest Side's 2..j.th ward. Bue his success in yes. Bue thanks to the trip, the blow was would r.1t her vv in ;it pinuc-hk than make - • • I J· . . SocietT. Ir \\·;1s ;1 f-~J rm;il that \·ea r went much further still. Arvey Ptes r1 g1o us nut.111 ·1 - . sufficiencly softened. an Empire Sr;ne Building d cil. He just worked hard to cra in votes for Franklin "Nobody needs two of "He loved to play and afcr:a·1r,r cor n1 c11 I I I ' ,~ .., ( I~ l' \ \ ' \ ... I 1 I I l IR I \ I I\ I I 1 R I ...... I\\' -- EDWARD J.KELLY MAYOR OFFICE OF THE MAYOR CITY OF CHICAGO Letter to Hen1) C rown tion to the h otel busllless. , His (int i ng de~--.arrmcnt. These associations were from Edwa rd j Ke!{,, August 3., 1933 • introductio n h ;1d been wit li t Ill' L-,)ntr;inor certainly useful to his business, but not ma,wr ef Chicago, Arthur Lorenz. T()cTcr h er t lw t w, 1 men in ;111;· underhanded wa y. Material Service August 3, 1933 Thf -=- Colonel alway said that Mr. Henry Crown, had built the O;1k l\ 1rk /\rrns Hotel. where rarcl)' sold directly to government entities Ma terials Service Corporation, political clout counted 33 North La.Sa lle Street, "we had som e run." ;Kcordin cT l o Colonel but rather to the contractors handling Chica go, Illinois. ~ little 1n getting contracts. Crown, "since /\rrhur L·kcided lw',-1 :1l so gon' rnmcnt jobs. These contractors were H e did admit, however, Dear M.r. Crown: be the nig h t m ;magcr. He'd he ;H his c,)n chosrn by a scaled bidding process, so thatJrifllds in high places The members of the .American Association struction sites during rhe d :\\·. en dinner there was no way to help their cause even co11ld help whfll it was of Port Authorities are to be af'ficial guests of the City, of Chicago on September 2nd and 3rd this year. at five, then pur on his ru:'l:edo :llld ger t1111e to get paid. it - Henrv h:id vvanted to. \ V hen it was time behind the desk. Sometimes when lie cTor As you undoubtedly know, this organizatio_n - ' ~ for the co ntractors to be paid, however, is composed of officials from the principal ports of the United States and Canada. Many of the members are of tired, I'd L1ke a brid. period lwhind the political contacts could bear results. Art national prominence. Chicago is to be honored by their desk m yself. answering tl w ~,hone ;llld O'Conno r ( from sales) spent most of his visit and, as the leading port on the Gre at Lakes, shoul a entertain them in a fitting manner. passing out keys ro rhc g uests. Llln 011 time at county. state and city hall offices, In order to insure the complete success of in my life I bought ;md sold m ;1m· hotels . rr;1cking acco unts payable, pushing for ~ . the program of enterta inment, I am appointing a committee to take cherge and I am asking you to serve as a member. but I must say that w;i s 111\· (irs t ;llll1 onh- MSC 's contracto rs to be compensated I trust that I may have your a cceptance. tenure as a desk clerk. " ) c1uickly. Whr the concern? Since most The first meeting of the committee will be Democratic P:irt;,- h,-;1d ,1t urrcrs were contracto rs operated with a minimum of h eld in the Council Chamber of the City Ha ll at 4 PM. Monday, August 7th. I hope you will be able to attend. located at the M o nison Hotel. which in working capital. they could make up their With kindest personal regards, I am the early 1930s filed fl)r b :lllkn,prcr. Judge d chts to M ateri al Service only once they Very sincer ely yours, Michael l goe, who w;1s in ch ;ll'gc of rhc themselves had been paid. reorganization. knew Henr:· ;111d asked vVhcn Bill Armstrong started his ~ I that h e serve :i s one of the din-1..-tors. H enrv career at MSC in the financial department, agreed, as h e put it, "ghd to accommodate h e quickly learned how personal relation the judge." ships could be of assistance, and also Jim McC ahcy was pn-s idem of° rhe le arned about Henry Crown's mercurial M orrison Hotel. ;\ mai·or f1 )J'Ce in ( '. hica,To temper. " I was handling the accounts of -= politics, h e ra n the n:1tio11;1l ~, ;1 rt:· org:111iz;1- the C ity of C hicago and the State of tio n after the war. His pn-sc1Kc drew nor Illino is." Armstrong rem embered, "and o nly the likes of !\rve:·· D cnH K r;Hic boss l H enry] ca ll ed m e in and said. 'I want you Pat Nash, and Mavor Ke lh. hut . in hrcr to 00 over and find out how much we can . . -=- years, a vis it from I-brr:· Trum;rn lrnnsclf. •A't in the month of December from the 0 H cnrr's rehtions h,p.., w1tl1 ~,uliric 1l cin·."' Such accounts weren't paid up ar fi gures continued t( , w 1,1c 11 . I le ,,·; 1s t"r,cn,h t) 1Kc. but over rime as funds bccan1c ava il w1t'h Mayor Kcllv. I );m Rnn h c:1d ()( the ;1blc. /\r111 slTllt1'Tb i·ourncwd, rn cin, · hall. met co unty ho~1rd ,. n1 cn1hc1·~ ,i( 1 Ii,- ,-,t ,·\ huil,1- w ,rh rhc l-,,171~,rrnllcr and u,lc ,1scd wirh II I '- l'1 < I< ll \\ , ! I I '-. I{ 'i I I~ l' \ \ ....,_ \ ..., I I I I l I I~ I \ I l ' ! l' R I ._,..., l \.. ' '- when \\'e g,J r b;1ck \\T ic;1rrll'c1 rill' basen1cnt On Decembn 7. 19 ... p . t h e da:· that was fl ooded w irh rhrcc l~-L-r of \\·;Her. President R oosc\-clt s;1 id "sh;1ll fo rL'\'L'r liff l: ver:·one sLl\Td up rhc rcsr of rhc nig ht, in infamy, " Pead H;1rbur w;1s ;1rr;1cked b:· rn·incr ro ucr rid of rhe m ess. " A nd this . b ~ the Japanese. ;111d in the ;1frLTm;1th A m eri ca scenario was re pcared 111 ;111\ · tin1cs that did go to w;1r. Bo b Crm,·n \\·;is L';1ger t o rake firsr \·c;1r. part in the conflicr. In 19 4 2. ;1 frw weeks ''\V h cn e\'L' r ir r;1ined \\'C l,;1d to go following his OLh1LL1ti o11 from Norrh\\'L'St- ~ 0 down there . \\'ading in that b ;1SL' J11Cnt." ern, he lefr for Ne\\'pun. RhudL' lshnd. to said Lesrer. "\Ve 1-'ush cd rhe v\·;iter into jo in a Nav;1I training ]-'rugL1m there. His rh e swimming ]-'Ool. tlwn hrcr drained father, too, h eld ;1 L1l' L'J-'· ;1bic1ing lo\'L' for the rh e swimming pool ;1nd scrubbed it d o wn. country o f his birrh. the countn· that had The h o use was rcalh- nnssi\'L' , ;1]! kinds blessed him with so much Oj-']-'Orru nit:· and of electric1l problems. but we h;1d fun. I rem arkable success. Henn· Crown frlr think even m:· mother L'nio:-cd that house." himself in A merica's debt. and had lo ng yearned to pa:· back wh;it he mvcd. \ V irh the war h e at List had his chance. The turmoil of w;ir that was engulfing Europe and Northern AfnL--; l ;1s wel l ;1s the Far East was barch·, t~-lt in n-cn, ·da:· Amnican lifr. The counrn-'s. eves, sta\'L'L1, fi xed o n the fi g ht for economic recover:· that FDR had b een wacT imT w ith mixed 2 ~ results for eig ht :·c;l!'s. Hitler didn't concern \ 'ct them, most A mcric111s rhoucTht0 - • !folw t Crow n. ra. 1')44 I lr 111:i s rldrst sc1 11 /,r.1;,111 hi s many Jews 111 the counrrr were sr;1rri ng ram,· 111a11ag111g t!:r r c1 111/hlll_\' s t11.i;/1c1<1t s. 1~ftrr thr 1,,1r h, to know better. mtrrcd thr 11111rr s,111rt11111 an d /,.-r,1111, l'11r ~( l:1s_(,11!:rr ·, "Ever:-l-iod:· w;mtcd pc;1cc so much." pr111npa/ adrn0rs Colo nel C rown rcmcmbercL1, ";1nd the:· wanted ro 1:ieli cn' it w;1s j-'Ossibk. But rhc reports we wnc gcrr111 g ti-rnn _Jewish com mu111 rics 111 Luru1-,c 111;1 L1L' us u11d cr~r;1nd rh e wa r h;1d ;1lrc;1L1\ · beg un. \Ve bcL-;linL' aw;1rc rh;lt it Wllti!d ,inh- l,e .1 111.Hl l'l' ()I· r1111 e b c l~nc 1-V l' vvcrc c11rl'L-lh- 11 1\·,1l\'l' cl " 1,,1 I I I , 1~ I , 1, \ ' \ \ , \ -.. I I I ! 1 , !\ ! \ I I I I 1' 1, I "" 11.' '\,,, C h i c a g o !.larch 17, 1942 General William H. Rose, Off! ce of General T. I.!. Robins, Construction Division, U. 5. Engineer Corps, PBilroaa Retirement Building, Washington, I-. C. Dear General: A frierul of mine, P.enry Crown, Chair!!le.n of the ard of Materiel Service Corporation, in Chic,;go, came in to see me t s morning. His And apparent I:· so did Rose. :\ fr\\' at home. Could he get them and come back company, which, es you tiay know, furnishes building terials, esnd, gravel, cement, etc., r.as been built up since 1919 t \one of the most weeks later, Henn·. \\'as c1lkd in b\·. the to take the test again tomorrow? The importsnt organizations of its kind in this Army for his f'h:·sical. He was careful with sergeant reluctantly agreed. Mr. Crown told me that in his present situation h~els tr.at he should give his services to the gove--,.:...... ,.,.::: -•~-..·°" the event ➔t he can be his health and he considered himself fit, Henry rushed immediatelv back to of value. Last Saturday in Weshi~g e s General Charles T. Harris, , ; of the Ordnance. P.arris Eent hit1 Colone rmstrong in Chicago; Arm- but just to be certain. Hem·:· \'isited Ed. strong being out of town he saw i Execut Officer who thought that E. ..fs office, cager for help in dealing with Mr. Crown woulc be more valuable he neers than with the Ordnance. at his downtown medical office. "Doc" With this I agree. the latest crisis. At first Ed was stumped. Crown confirmed the strength of his Henry Crown is a v~.....-S:BnNnl~ tic and competent, knowing Then he remembered: "There's an eye the building business one i he country. He is willing to give up his busine and doe.~; nc he can to help in this emergency. brother's constitution. but detected what doctor whose office is right across the I think the governmen should avai hemselves of his services and I know that he will he • valuable f put in the right place. he thought was a s:·stolic hean 111unnur: a street. I don't know what kind of eye ? y mild enough condition. but one that e\'en doctor, but he docs have some method so might keep him out of the military. of exercising your optic muscles. The "Ed jokingly rema1·kcd that v\'hen the improvement won't last, but if you want him, he will come to 1/ashington at any time. TH:. MAYui, If you are noi:---1.l..,..-,r.ait to interviev: him, let me know and I shall ~end doctor used his stethoscope. 1 should just to take a chance in the short run you him to whomever you designate. keep talking and maybe he wouldn't pick might get the results you want." With kindest regards, I am Jar.ue.ry 29, 1942 it up," Colonel Crown re1ne1nbercd. No Henry didn't hesitate. He learned the Yours truly, matter how frivolous his brother's advice. eye exercises, practicing them all afternoon JOHN A. P.OLABIRD Henry followed it. He chatted with the and into the night. Arriving at the Army JAH:MC Army doctor, and 111ade it rhroul.,.h the b clinic the next morning, he opened the lsor, or. Boar,J. physical, only to face a f.1r more onerous sergeant's book - and amazingly enough challenge: the eye exam. was finally able to read it. Later that day, Jear Dor.: Henry's vision was so poor he had Henry Crown was sworn in as a member T:'lP. bearer, Mr. H11r,rj' Cro·:,'n, i~· l"'re:-,iuent aIL•~- -::>rincip&l o-:mer o.i: tr:e Material ~~rvice Company worn glasses since age ft)UI". He had been of the United States Army Corps of ~·;hir:~. ha:.; lar.:;e boatL in u!;.;e on the 1.ak~:, anU .....:.oe;> a trerner•tlou:~ bu.iluir1t; mat~rial and coal bu~ine~s turned down for service in \Vorld War I. Engineers. Ahow: 1.ettrrJrom John ir1 our- city. :1e ic mor9 t=ia.r, ti'"ie ordinary patriotic .:;iti7.en, ha~... riatural ability and a v«ry i.nveritive miLJ.. How could he possibly pass the Army's Thanks to his position as an experi A. ffc,/a/,,,·d, 11c'led ard1- I am .sure that if t~.P.rc i!..i :;ome place test? But as he waited his turn in a long line enced, construction-related company tert, /Q l l il/ia111 Rc1sc. ,m/r fo: a m.M, of tr.at kind r.eedr;C:. ir. your or?.~Jli7at.iot~. you .-1.11 fi:-;C. him to oe of g:-~at r.one.'-)ty and ~incere of men, Henry saw his chance. He memo to Cmcrd I ,\,/ Rc1/,111s. nelp. president, Henry was told, he could expect ,\;fa,.,-/, I 7, !')42., Ill rized the eye chart and the unvarying I w1der::tand he is leavir:• for V,';:i,~,h1r~ .. ;ton to start his service as a Major. But when he mppor1 ~( I lmn Crcw11 ·, to<1ay a.ml "rill present thi.,; lettcer. to you. pattern of the young sergeant's L]Uestions. received his first correspondence from the 1111pmdi11,!; 1111!1tan Pl~at:B do not con::.;ider this ir. t:1e li.::-ht "I came through with fl:,ing colors, as far of a pnlitical s~;·P.stion; I r~alize: y0w- f)O~iti.on Anny. he found himself addressed instead <1551g11111t11/. anc e.rn H~tj n~- accordir11;ly. as distance eyesight was concerned. Bur as "Lieutenant Colonel." Now that was an Witt kir.d~r:t r9~;ar'J.~ ariU looi 11iir /'n1 d11rt1011 Hc,,1rd. Even with his gLi-.,sc-.,. he f~lllllli the f'rint The new Lieutenant Colonel soon 111 H1pp,,rt ,,( f lrnry '.1 in the book 111uch l r, I I l 1 . fl '1 I HI 1 \\ • f i ! I \' i , '' 1 I enough for me to know I needed to talk This teletyped message come back to the house and see her. from E. Re)'bold, chief to the surgeon who had performed the During those months she must have made, of engineers. indicated operation. I guess, a half dozen trips back and forth that the Corps regarded "I saw the doctor, who was an to the hospital. It was hardest for Bea Crowns service at Great UCDV V WCEB NR79 ·~n excellent surgeon at Northwestern Memor and hard on Les, who was left as the Lakes .\"ai-al Base as too ial Hospital." Colonel Crown said. "He man of the house. We lost Bea in October critical to let him be trans FROM REYBOLD OCE WASHINGTON DC 201952Z told me there was always hope, but, based of 1943." ferred elsewhere. He was TO GRF.. AT LAKES DIV ENGR CHGO -at this time responsible on his judgment, he was afraid Bea had for s950 mi/lien worth GRNC only three months. maybe as long as fi\'c of mpp[r contracts. SERVICES COL HENRY CROWN 0911533 HAVE BEEN RQSTD FOR OVERSF.AD ASGMT months, to live." Colonel Crown never truly got over Colonel Crown's wife - the woman PD RQST YOUR COMMENT OR CONCURRENCE END SPEA14 24 his grie£ Bonnie Tracz, his secretary in the he had loved and ,·elied on for 2.3 years - 1970s and 1980s, remembered once when 1953Z was dying of cancer. The Colonel was dev Bea's cousin sent a letter she had found, astated by the news. Still stationed in Los written by Bea during the months she Angeles, he tried to come cast as often as TO - CHIEF OF ffiGRS WASHDC had cancer. In the letter, Bea wrote about possible: not an casr trip before the advent Henry, whose feelings for her were so GRNC of jet travel. and certainly not easy in strong "he would give me the stars and the REURTT SPFAM 24 DTD 21 APR 45. SERVICES OF COL HENRY CROWN wartime. "He'd take unbelievable jobs to moon." Tracz was touched by the letter go from LA to Washington, in order to 0911533 CANNOT REPEAT CANNOT BE SPARED. IN VIEW OF INCREASED and went to show it to the Colonel. But he be in Chicago two hours," Lester Crown MIL SUPPLY ACTIVITIES P.IS SERVICES ARE URGENTLY NEEDF.D AND HIS begged her to put it away. "He said 'I can't remembered. "He would ride a plane, read it,"' Tracz remembered. "And when RFASGMT AT PRESENT TIME WOULD SERIOUSLY IMPEDE THAT PROGRAM. and it would have eight stops, or he'd get I looked there were tears in his eyes." bumped, and everything else. He was END GLDVM-5613 But as had been true in the wake of worried to death about my mother, and 1945Z IV Sol's death, Henry found little time to wasn't sleeping well at the time." grieve. With his change of rank had come The situation was ,nade even 1nore increased responsibility - as Colonel poignant because of the bravery with which Crown he was made Chief of Procurement Bea faced her terminal disease. Remem fl1r the Great Lakes Division, in charge bered Colonel Crown: "I wasn't there tix of purchasing 50 percent of all materials her first operation, but once she ldt the bought nationally by the Corps. It was, hospital she seemed t]Uite happ~·- She had he soon discovered, a monumental task. not hccn told what hn situation was. that In wartime the U.S. Government had she could be home fl)!' a couple of weeks become the largf'st business in the world. and then have to go b.1ek 11110 the hospital its dail~- purchases t'xcecding by far those for 1norc trc1t1nenh. But soon, of course. of the WJ-' corporations combined. Still. she began to undcrsL1n,i wh,1t I! was ,111 the ( :nll1m'I rc1lized, indlicic11e,· and wasrc ;:ih gn. 1f onh- fiir ,1 ,i.H .ll ,1 t111w. ,111d wmil,i I 111 , , 'I , '' I I ltlq .. 1 • cor~r:GENTIAl Telephone Conversation - Colonel Kittrell and Colonel Brown Washington D 3-18-44, 2130 Pel!. • • C. Transcript of a telephone were pandemic because there was a lack the Caterpillar Tractor Company in Peoria, conversation between Col. Col. Kittrell1 Hello,. Eddie, of uniformity in government procurement Illinois," Colonel Crown remembered. "I Kittrell and Col. Brown, Col. Brawns Hello, Colonel. Say I've got some disturbing news this . procedures. The various agencies competed knew the executives at Caterpillar Tractor March 18, 1944. The gist I think it will probably ef'f'ect you the same way. 1 doni:1orm.ni; and _ I'm going to make out on it. They called me f'ro1:1 lliilita t know h- with each other and, as a consequence, because Material Service bought a few trac is that Colonel Crown~ and indicated that on a top priority requirement that thry Personnel services were in demand 801118 time ago 54 of'f'i cers were selected f'or the job and ey had f:I. lled relinquished the benefits that came with tors from them. They were, along with time they've added one more officer who is supposed to bsince that throughout the army~ Storage, Transportation and Utilization expert of coal ~ea Production a large single purchase. Those agencies Allis-Chalmers, a prime producer of heavy a: coke. wartime procurement equipment, and they had distributors all Col. Kittrell: Production, Storage and what? employing the most aggressive expediters command. generally obtained the equipment they over the country. Before the war, those Col. Brcnm.1 Transportation and utilization of coal and coke, and t -· of' Henry Crown, your Col. Crown,had come up f'or that hat the name required, even though it might have been distributors had been given a discount of assignment. "From bis first expe Col. Kittrell, It just can't be, Eddie. more sorely needed elsewhere. 20 percent. Even when Material Service riences in the service," "From his first experiences in the needed parts or end items through the dis Col. Brcnm.1 Well, that's what I thought and I've looked through hi 0 55 Lester Crown explained, Is he the boss of' the Procurement Branch out there? s - s service," Lester Crown explained, "Dad tributors, we'd get a price discount off list ''Dad came to realize they Col. Kittrells You bet your lif'e, and we've got half' the whole Ohief''el came to realize they didn't have people in of at least 10 percent. Now, with the war, and he's doing a top-notch job, and I've got no second- hoad out here didn't have people there. ..., w o can go in the Army who understood the operations, more tractors were being produced for a in the Army who under- Col. BrC11'ills This 0-856,Ihave showed him second in command. I think people who were capable of negotiating. single customer than Caterpillar had ever . " probably before Hastings lef't. that was stoo d t b e operations ... He used to say when he came home that it sold before. They had canceled their Col. Kittrell1 And where is this to be? wasn't fair - that if he took the people he arrangements with their distributors and It• S - You know where General Dunn went? / {I) JV u • r, l_ J _., .I•.. Col. Browns \ \:_.,__· ~.,,.,._ t.~T · i ..11,U,,, lw.~e ~ had in the Anny sales and service area and were selling these huge quantities directly Col. Kittrell: Well, this f'ellow won't leave Chicago. ~~j1+ put them up against the vice presidents of to the government. Yet despite the elimina Col. Browns Well, I was just bringing my figures up to date cause I w that purchasing and the presidents of compa tion of the distributors and despite the •t di · as sure h e wasn secon n that place, but he was your top man. nies, the people the Army had negotiating quantities, the companies were charging Col. Kittrell1 He was the top man when we took Hastings aw~. and he can do u 1 sam wouldn't have the experience or knowledge the government the full list price. In the a whole lot more good right where he is now, than on any oth ncj : they could put him. er 0 for the job." case of Caterpillar Tractor and Allis Col. Browns I 1 ve already spoken to General Robins and he said "Well •t , E• Colonel Crown frlt that if it wasn't Chalmers, this amounted to millions of th d tha " • • we can ,..._ em o t to us. And I just wanted to bring myself' up to date to dollars over the term of the contract." and be sure 'Ill¥ f'acts were oorrect, Colonel. logical take a business executive at the age of 50 and expect him to embark on Colonel Crown arranged meetings -t:ol. 11:ittrells And I feel quite sure, Eddie, that if' he were given that assignment he would request relief' from active duty. a career as a military strategist, it didn't with the chief executive officers of both Col. Browns I see. make any more sense to expect a West Allis-Chalmers and Caterpillar Tractor. Colo Kittrells Point graduate - no 1natter how brave Sitting down with these men he heard out B~cause of some f'amily trouble he has here. CONf !DENTIAL ~------· - on the battlefield - to become an expert their views. By producing exclusively for :Col. Browns Well, I understand his wif'e has been 111 - critically ill for a lang tima. business executive. The Colonel found a the government, the executives insisted, chance to correct this situation when, in his they were losing their customer base, and Colo Ki~reUs He lost her. first weeks with the (1rcat Lakes District, to compensate, the government should pay Colo Browns Oh, I didn't know that. he oversaw the purchase of tractors and them full price, plus a premium. How else Colo Kittrells He lost her and now it's a question of hie family. other heavy equipment. could they protect the interests of their Col. Browns I see. "Among those manufacturers for shareholders? But Colonel Crown got the Col. Ki~trells He' e quite well-off' and doesn't have t~5': for the Government, and whom we wcrc g1\'c11 rcspnnsibilir~- was executives to view the situation differently. there's a lot of politios to it so that,r.uc'ii.e is trying to get him out right now, and he's sticking with me just because I need him and 1' want him. JIO Hl'NIIY <.IHlWN I 111 < <' I l >'-I I 111 He pointed out that thanks to their partic "I told him I was sure that if I hadn't boats would not be seen. I flew in an Army of course, is not to be interpreted as any reflection ipation in the war effort, Caterpillar and done it some ) , I I • - < nL c se wou d have some- plane piloted by a major general and we Allis-Chambers machines be in use 011 Century Steel, but far personal reasons purchases would where along ti,, 1· I t . ,1 ~ l Inc, on \" OCC1USC It maL1C took a dozen aerial photographs. After all over the world. The exposure to new are not to be made from there as long as I am in sense." Th O f-fi · c ICcr, however, no doubt developing the pictures we had people in this office. markets would be enormous; after the believed otherwise_ the offices come in and we'd ask them to "That last bite of war was over the companies would be The "personal reasons?" Colonel (±1 compare photographs of the rubber ships the apple was the flooded with new orders. For this reason, "That was a terrible and planes with the real rhino. Thev Crown owned stock in Century Steel. hardest to swallow," said the Colonel, Caterpil1ar should not - Id ' b , reminder to all of us cou n t tell one from the other." Bomber the Colonel remem only charge regular prices, they should give In addition to his work t<.1r the US. that the war wasn't Government c~ I I c~ · pilots, it turned out, were equally bered, (?Jut in the their government the 20 percent discount, • .o one .rown was rcspons1- over, that Japan still blc for F--irovid 1' · I · , perplexed. The Army and Navy used the end, the company fair reward for the bonanza they were ng n1atcna to A111cnca s In late 1944, the war in both theaters was had the capacity to allies includin I f.J · h · h Targets as decoys throughout World War leaders agreed." certain to reap. ' g t 1c ,ussian Ann\', w 1c , entering its final stage. In Europe, after hurt us." II, distracting the enemy from real assaults, "That last bite of the apple was the to his dismav, • r CCCJVCLI· J Its· supp 1JCS. ' 1.oc1ore £ suffering great losses in the Battle of the and getting them to waste valuable hardest to swallow," the Colonel remem any allocation was made to the American Bulge, America and its allies regrouped, weapons. bered, "but in the end, the company militarv, - "And , o f course, Luc:l to t h at moving inexorably into German territory. leaders agreed. They were decent men, priority for the shipments to Russia, some While Colonel Crown's industry In January of 1945, Franklin Roosevelt was knowledge and contacts helped him get quite willing to help their country in any of our own 111 1·1· Itary rcL1u1rc1ncnts- were inaugurated for his fourth term as presi better deals from manufacturers and way they could, but since nobody had ever reduced," the Colonel said. "But I had dent, then died shortly afterwards at specific orders that I followed rc compliment Colonel Crown for saving priority because rubber was in such short U nder 110 circumstanrcs ,ire vou to issue anv On August 6, 1945, the world was his government such an extraordinary supply, so we had to pursue all the rubber orders regardless C!f size tL, Cmtu,:v Steel C~111pa11v, stunned when a U.S. Air Force plane amount of money. manufacturers and keep after them to Chicago. - dropped an atom bomb over Hiroshima, provide us the rubber we needed. \Ve tested Japan. The resulting destruction was terri- those T~1rgcrs one cold JanuatT da,· in a {{ material rnn,wt possil,lv he ol1 ta111cd elsewhere deserted area of the Indiana d,une~ so the hv huvers, please sec 111c ;r tht1sr particular inquiries and I will attm1pt t,, _!!_ct thc, 11 filled f._,,- w,1. Tim, 11 ~ 111 'd 1111 < ,,1,,,1 I 11, ~======~ - fying in irs magnitude ._ \ V lwn ;rnothc-r bomb was dr o ~'F'e,➔ ;1 fn,· d;l\'s Luer on Nagasaki, Jap;rn's mil1c1n· realized their cause was losr. By this rime IZo berr Cro,vn had been promoted ro rlw rank o f Lieutenant "I did my share of Comnunckr. He w;1s ;1ssigned ro thL' J;1pa taking orders. I also did my share nese invasio n fo rces which would h;ivc had of / -· to make rhe first-w;l\'e ;1ss;ndr o n J;1pan. instructing and giving His ship was o n rhe hig h seas when word orders. And I m1tst was received that the bombs had been say one of the most dropped. ;111 d rhar rhe long. blo odr conflict important lessons I was Finallv over. Bob's ship. alo ng with learned through that I others in rhe assault fl eer. returned ro po rt. period of military Bob was reassigned to rhe isLrnd o f Ler tc, experience was how in the Phi11~-,pines. where he remained until not to do things - his discharge fro m the Navr in 1946. which made it easier Meanwhile. a few days following the to know how to do Japanese surrender. Colonel C rown wenr Legion cf J\lfrrit , United Stairs, t hmgs. better. " to W ashi1wton, vi sired rhe C hief of the Drrmd'tr I 7, 1945 b Corps o f E ngineers. and requested his own disch arge. His job was d o ne. vVith the natio n n ow safe again, he was anxious ro return to his business endc;1vors and to be h o m e with his rwo young sons. The C hief was sorry to lose such a valuable le ad er. Rut h e understood the Colonel's reasons and agreed ro immcdi;Hclr reli eve hin, fro m duty " I traveled baL·k to Ch1L·a00b the nex t d ay." the Colonel said. "and we nt in to sec the doctor in charge of se paratio ns - After lhnlrl llar II, I lmry rrm 1•rrl ,n.,.,.,,/ 10 '\'1 ,, a Caprai n, H e cx ;rn11n cd me careful!)' for awarrls. 1/ 11,,,11g 1hn11 1Vas 1/,,,- l.r,g"'" c( \/,·,·11. ,11, ,,,.,{,-,/ m ore than ;1n h II -J I I 11 < l' I l "' I I 1 " J han'n'r gnr ;1 gl)O L1 rq,ort tor \ "O U •. But of course his experience meant the Captain s:1id. 'You\-c dcrcri o rateL➔ ;1 much more than that. For the rest of hi s lo t. Comp;ll'ing rour lw;1lrh now with the life. Colonel Crown took great pride in havi no aided his nation and the world report when :·nu entered sen·ice. rherc is b durino the time of one of its oreatest crises. a terrific diffrrcncc. Your en'sighr is worse. b b your hearing h;1s d ecre;1se d .· an1..i \·o u 've ,>ot Shortly after his discharge, the government a heart mu1~nur. \ V h ar I \-H)tdd like ro do of France recoonized the Colonel's contri "' bution, makino him a chevalier de la 1s sign you into rhe hns},iul for a couple b oF weeks so th n· c1n run added tests and Leo-ion d 'H onneur. And from Greece, b see wh:n we c1n do ro hd}' :·ou.·" Colonel Crown received the Gold Cross, The Colo nel smiled ro himself of the Royal Order of the Phoenix. From his own countrv he was issued a citation knowing fu ll we ll rhe re;1I rc1so n for rhis I ,1111erica11 Campa,g11 , ll ir/d 11 ;,,. II I i,Nn. _\,-/ •,f n·,· .\ OT /1 ·,· .\ f,·,/,i/. 1 for the Leo-i on of Merit, the United Stares precipitous "decline." He po lite!:· turned b G·nited States, 1941- 1945 l ·,111;d S1,11rs. 11;p - 11J // ). l 1111,·.I \1,il,·'. _\/,i r,·I: .!. insisted thar ;1frer such ;111 exam. the o nh· read in part: way he could discharge rhe Colo nel nm: In dealing with marry of the nation 's outstanding was if h e waived all rights to medical care in dustrial firms, he displayed tact and forcefulness and rel e ;:i sed the U.S. A nnr from anr ti.1ture that overcame ma1ry co1nplex problems in connection responsibility. Much ro the Captain's sur with contracts and ,Mith the expediting of production. prise, Colo nel Crown agreed. T he Captain Colo11el Crown's tenure of d.rty was characterized by tned ro dissu;1de him. but rcaliz ina it ws1s b , , his un1.1s1ial ability, reso urcefuln ess, and loyal devo h opeless . finalh· si,med the disclnrae I b C b tion to duty His achievements materially aided the papers. A nd rhe Colo nel lefr his offi ce. nation's war effort. a civilian :wb ain . "M )' service. in the miliran· was an In the years after World 'vVar II, even informative ex },cri en ce." Colo ;1cl C rown m any of his closest fri ends took to ca lling H enry Crmvn by his military title. H e tried reflected. "I did mv, share u f- rakinab o rders . I also did m r share nf instrunino and discouraoino this habit. but the)' couldn't b ' b b giving orders. !\nd I must sar ()Ill' of rhc help themse lves. T he titl e had a ring to it most important kssrn1s I learned throu,,h - it fit. And so. for the rest of hi s life. that period of mili r;ir:· C-'< }'l'ricncc was h:v\' that was how most of hi s fr iends and busi 11 0 1 to d o rhings - whid1 made 1t c;1sicr ness associates knevv him. Not as H enry. or to know h ow t\l do things bcrrn." M r. C rown - but simpl)'· emphatically, "the Colonel. '' /.~~1c111 d I fo11 ,, ,·_ h ,11,.-r ( ),-,/,-, ,•/ k 11/·, II /),/ .v/ay _ \ 11/'i'J. \ 1. fld:.._'lltl \f I ,,, /• 1f J 1 t t 11( 111 '- 11 1 < 11, I\\'- IHI l ,11 ,,, II ... RISING WITH THE NATIONAL TIDE H enry Crown at his desk business interests already expanded into at 300 f#st Washington In the United Statl'S d1l' first ,n';1rs aftl'r Street about 1949, al World \ Var 11 wcrl' a rime l)r aswnishing transportation. resource production and a time whm he /)(Id growth and product i,·irr- The nation's real estate, che Colonel and his family were i11terests i11 hotels, real military efforrs had unk:islwd irs manufoc perfect!:· poised not just to cake part in estate, railroads and also turing mighr; t·,·cn after rhe ,\ llil-d ,·icron rhis economic surge but co play a vital role i11 staying out of the the American cconomr shrnvcd fr"' signs 111 crcatmg tt. spotlight. of slowing dmvn. Thousands of factories went into Of...,e ration. rurninl1,::, our <'nodsb to m eet long pent-up dcm:md. Refrigerators Before hr began his military stint, Colonel and v;:icuum cle:mers. rdcvisions and stereo Crown. to safeguard himself from any sets; train cars. trucks, bulldozers. automo conflict of interest, resigned from every biles, airplanes - t he list of new products business he ran, left every board on which seemed endless. Stn'l was needed to fabri he served, and even gave up his member cate these goods; iro n and coal were mined ship with the Masons, an organization he to nuke the steel. ""fall buildings were had jo ined n-venty years before with Sol. rn1 erected to sc-r,-c rlw :=, bankers, insurers. corF...,01·ate 1na11aoersb • . These new "organizarion men" eschewed Jrubent£ 1fiohge ~ o. 958 apartm ent lifr, preh-r ring to raise their A. F. &.A.M. famili es in s inglc- fomilr houses, located in suburbs far o utside rhc city center. So that people could reach rhcsr dist;mt suburbs. commuter tracks were h id, as well as whole new networks of mulrilanc higlnvars. The viralit)' nf J\mcrica afrl'r \Vorld War II was a phenom rnon rhe likes of which mar ne"cr be rqwarcd. The ridal wave of prospc-rit:· L1 1scd rn;ll1)' bo.irs. bur / /,-,1rr ( ·.-,,w11 ', \ /. 1,,,,11, / /1 tt t\\'1,l 11'nth1 ,, t11 l ,11!\ tr,,"i'/1.,.,,,,!. {f'°''' l1t 1 11~:., I I," I.I I l .1 • II 1<1,1,,, 111111 11 11 ,,,1,,,,1 111'1 "And chat was complccelr from that he found difficult co completely Yet Gladys never meddled in Colonel profit-sharing," Colonel Crown empha dispel. Three years later he was able to find Crown's business, and even at home she sized. "Noc a dollar had been paid in by some solace from his relationship with was wary of pushing her will too far. Sid Marks, or by any other employee. The Gladys Kay. his executive secretary - ;rnd "They had kind of a love/hare relation plan was the best thing we had ever done, his sons soon noticed a change in their ship," said Byron Miller, who as attorney father's routine. in charoe of Crown crusts in lacer years and it all started the day Jack Rose .:, "Bob was never a kid," had as close a perspective on the marriage decided co retire." "Everv/ niohr0 the same conversation Lester Crown remem began to occur between my dad and as anyone. "There were times when Henry bered, "not at all myself." Lester Crown remembered. "I would bawl the hell out of Gladys. And flamboy ant. He had After mo1•i11g lo Edgemere would get home from school or whatever she took ic. Noc from anybody else but the kind personal Court w!:ere the Crowns of "The private investor in a high tax When Colonel Crown cook back the it was, I'd call his office and ask, 'What she took it from him.,, had a pool, Henry became ity just right for an bracket, who has to pay full income taxes helm at Material Service, people who had Meanwhile, with the war over. Colonel au avid swimmer, 1950s. time do you want Ken down there?' And administrator. " on his dividends, naturally wants low-yield known him before saw a difference. H e he'd answer, 'Oh, Miss Kay will give me Crown's interaction with his cwo eldest growth stocks," the Colonel explained. was the same hard-driving dynamic leader. a ride home.' Then Gladys would come sons increased profoundly. "A fund chat is exempt from income taxes just as willing to work endless hours. jusr home and have dinner with us." Bob had worked for MSC during should include stocks with a high yield as eager to cut through co the unvarnished Colonel Crown's three sons were less his high school and college days. Before and a chance for growth besides." facts; but his military experience had than happy about their father's burgeoning joining the Navy, he helped manage the The plan produced an additional smooched out some rough edges. Whereas romance, nor were they delighted when company's interest in the Great Lakes benefit, one Colonel Crown had hoped for before he paid scant attention to the clock, it resulted in marriage. in 1946. While they Towing Company, a firm whose lake tug from the outset: increased employee loyalty rarely arriving to scheduled meetings on recognized chat "Gladys would do anything boats provided harbor and docking services and morale. So striking was this phenome time, after the war Colonel Crown was in the world for dad," they were concerned to steamships. But now. with three years non that Time magazine took note of it, absolutely punctual. His cloches improved, about her impulse to keep him distant of military leadership under his belt, Bob in its business section of June 22, 1959. too. First National Bank executive Bob from the rest of his family. \Vhen Lester moved into a small office next door to his "The plan's performance," reported the Abboud considered him "a sprighcly man. returned from his honeymoon in 1950, he father, assuming an overall management magazine, "has cue employee turnover to in terms of his appearance. He was a lways tried co use his key at the Edgemere home role, and emerged as one of Colonel a trickle. Said a girl clerk, The only thing neatly tailored and distinguished." So - and discovered that Gladys had had the Crown's most crusted advisors. that would make me quit my job now is notable became chis characteristic chat the locks changed. \Vhen Lester o r Bob went "Bob was never a kid." Lester Crown a marriage proposal, and I'm not even Colonel often appeared on C hicago's on business trips with Colonel Crown, remembered, "not at all flambopmt. H e sure about that."' best-dressed lists. rhey were disturbed to sec how G ladys had the kind of personality just right for Perhaps rhe most remarkable proof Contributing to his trim appearance. had packed their father's suitcase. All his an administrator." And Bob km·w how to of the plan's success was the benefits as the Colonel left his equestrian years clothes were nearly o rdcrrd according to see beyond mere derails. He was a young earned by Sid Marks, who had been hired behind, were almost daily swims in the her plan: what he would wear for each da~•• man of vision, nor jusr wirh regard rn 1 in 925. Marks withdrew over $200,000 pool at his Evanston home, and his usual thr najanus for each ni<.lht - rvervthing M :Herial Service hut other cnrcr~,ri~cs r C' I \.. during his term of employment, yet at the vigorous walking. But in spire of rhc rnbusr wraprcd in separate plasric ba~s. as wel l. Like his fotht'r. he 1Tcti::!n1zed rh.11 rime of his death in 1967, Colonel Crown health he enjoyed, after rhc w:ir the C1)loncl ··c~hd)'S lovC'd [);1d .rnd was ,k,·orcd o pf~orr11n1n· could come 111 111,1m· h)rm~. presemed his widow with a check for was often plagued by sleeplcssnes:,. Rea ·s as ,-nukl be ... s;iid Lester. "bur she nude s8oo,ooo. d eath had lefr him with a lingering a1 1xict :· h 1111 rn,) ,.kpcndcnt ... (' 111 -..; ll ) I JI, l\l. , 1-1,1,, 111111 1111 '-111•''-11 IIl•I Mer·cantile Bid~. Sold- $2,500,000 The 19-sf.o c-y Mercantile Exchange Biilc1·liiag at 110· N. out any different. As with his first two finished my clerkship with Justice Clark Franklin st. has be~n "l contacteL:I the owner," Colonel rough t for $2, 500, 000 cash Chicago Daily sons, Colonel Crown gave John an early I went to work at the Justice Department Crown reme1nbered, "who was a n1an hy the Ma~~rial Service Tribune, Ortc,/,fr 16, taste of life in the materials industry. "I in the tax division. I did that for two years. Corp., one of the city's with familr in Evanston. We quickly agreed 1948. Hm,-:-,· Crc1w11 s often went with Dad on Sundays," John By that time the Material Service-General largest s u}1) p 1 i e r.s o f p11rrhasc ~f th, Chiragc1 to a handshake deal on the purchase of remembered, "sometimes with Lester, Dynamics merger was underway. Both Bob building materials. .\frn-,mtil, Ex,hangt the building - the price was about s11 sometimes with Uncle Irv, sometimes and Dad wanted me back in Chicago to Co 1. Henry Crown, ·board b11ild111g ,ms ,1 11w;or million." Next, the Colonel visited Edward cha.innrn of the corporation, just the two of us - we would drive help on the legal side of the merger, so llf\\'S f\'illf fc'r all Eagle Brown, the president of First -;aid consu·uction of three fora/ papers. around checking on the yards. We would I left the Department and returned to addit1ona.l stories would National Bank, to make sure that he would take Bob's car and Dad would drive - be with them." begin next spring at a cost back the loan. Vvhilc his trust in Colonel he preferred it on nice days because it was His work on the merger brought of about $1,000,00'0-, to Crown ran as deep as Hugo Anderson's, house the firm's offices.. a convertible. The trips I looked forward John into the law firm of Jenner & Block "Brown was not at all entl1usiastic," Ne,• r,rPsent tenants-, in to most were the ones out to Thornton (Thompson, Maher, Jenner and Bloom recalled the Colonel. "He couldn't help cluding Mercantile Exchange Quarry. On our way we'd stop for lunch stein at the time he joined it). John members who trade in more but remember the trouble Sam lnsull had at a roadhouse where they had the most practiced litigant law for the firm, never than a billion dolla~s had because of that building." (Insull had wo r th o f but t er, eggs, wonderful barbecued beef. again handling cases involving Material poultry and other products commissioned its construction in 1928, "Once I took a .22 rifle with me to Service. In 1974, John Crown topped his annually, will be asked to to serve as a combination opera house and Thornton. While Dad was going around career with an appointment to the bench, nove. 0 ffice · b u1·1:1· L mg. By the time the structure looking at machinery I set up a target. He serving as a judge in the Circuit Court was complete, the Depression was well Prudential Sells got back before I shot off the gun and told of Cook County, a position he still held underway, and with it Insull's incurable Seller of the building, me that maybe it wasn't such a smart idea, more than 20 years later. financial woes.) erected in 1927 with a since I had set up the target right where ,fro_ntage of 180 feet on So the Colonel looked elsewhere, they stored their dynamite." .. h Frankl-in st. and 100 feet on t e rebound" purchasing the Mercan- .on was John attended college through the Washington st. , -cne As business boomed in the years after tile Exchange building, at {oo West ioortgage loan department of ROTC, studying economics and account the Prudential Insurance the war, Material Service's office space at Washington. With eighteen stories (MSC ing at Stanford University. After serving ':o. of America. 33 North LaSalle began to feel more than used four) and 225,000 SL]Uare fret of floor his stint in the Korean War, he returned Present offices of Mater a little constrained. Colonel Crown, mean space, the structure more than met the to Chicago to attend Northwestern's Law ial Service Corp., dealers while, had grown tired of the constant growing companr's needs. The price was in limestone~ sand, coal School, where he distinguished himself to battles over rent and other matters he right too - s2.5 million ~ since the sale and other products, are at such a degree that he was offered a position 33 N. LaSalle.st. often had with George Lurie, whose San was the result of a bank foreclosure. The as clerk at the United States Supreme Mer-·mr·I [" j -- Offices of its subsidiar Francisco-based family owned the build L, 1 e :xc 1ange even oftcreL:I a senti- Court, under Justice Tom Clark. John's ies, the Freeman Coal ·M111ing ing. Rather than look f<)r new office space mental advantage: it had been built on decision was now clear - he would make Co. at 208 S. LaSalle st., to rent, and possibly face the same difficul t_he ex;ict same locuion as the suspenders and the Marblehead Lime Co. his life's career in the law. ties later, the Colonel decided it was time tacron· where Ane ( '.rown had roiled at 5 S. Wabash av., also Colonel Crown had hoped all his sons will be moved to the Mer for his company to buy its own office over fifry years bdt)IT. would join him in the family business, but eantile Exchange Building. property. With this plan in minc1. lw \\'1th the deal c.·omplcte, as office more than that he wanted them happy in learned the Civic Opera Budc1mg w,h space w,1s being reconfigured. Lester and their chosen careers. "Dad didn't press me coming up for sale. lw, f'v1arhlchcad Lime g;·oup set ui, a loneh- in any way," remembered John. "After I 12 I! I ~ I '. < , \\ I I I I I I I I '. \ I I <, , \ I I I I , I outpost on one of the building's top floors. "Connie" Hilton was a rail. sttird~· were being ll':1s,,d ar ;1 premium. So Hilton It was a big, open space, without any parti man nine years older rhan the Colond. put rogethcr his first group of inn::stors tions. Every man found a desk, set up a He had grown up in New Mexico. bur and bnughr tlw ramshackle. 4t,-room telephone line and proceeded co swelter began his innkeeping career in Texas. He Moblc:· Hord. was often mistaken as a narive o f rhe st;itc. through the hottest of summers. From rhc firsr. Hilron's ,~enius,:;, as an because he possessed rhc big. open person Meanwhile, he shared The acquisition of the building was innkeq,n shon,' through. \Vith the opera- a significant one. Colonel Crown and his ality and oversized approach to lifr of a tional Sa\T\. :111 ln ·ino C rown. he shut the Crown philosophy . or ,:;, brothers were no strangers co real estate, Texan. On the surface, Hilton and Colonel down tlw Mobk;-'s dining :1re:1. di,·iding 011 service: "You 're C rown couldn't have been more differL'nt. the only ones who can but before the war they had bought land ir with p;-irririons to ..-:Teare additional sleep On a closer look, however. the two men give smiling service," first and foremost as a source of materials. ing rooms. Hr ordered the reception desk shared much in common. The w;1y ther Hilton instructed his The purchase of a downtown office build cut in half. installing a news and tobacco had been raised by their parents. for staff "Clean rooms, ing was something very different: an early stand. A pon,,d phnr made war for a instance. Hilton's father, like Arie Crown. spotless halls, plenty step down a new commercial path. Yet it no\'elry ston'. Mcamvhik. he shared the was a "trafficker and trader," ;1lrhough his offresh soap and was not the first step. That had been taken Crown philosor,hr o n s,,n·icc: "You're the first dealings were in beaver pelts from linen. Ninety percent in 1945, while Colonel Crown was still emir ones wlio can gi,-c smiling scn·ice," frontier trappers. Hilton's m o ther. like Jd;i of the Mobley's serving in the Corps of Engineers. Hilton instruct~'d his staff "Clean rooms. Crown, was a strong, supporrn·e woman. reputation is in sporkss halls. pknrr t)f fresh soap and and she was deeply relig ious, though in your hands." linen. Niner~· f'crccnt of the Moblcy's her case the ri?!igion was Catholicism. The reputation is in ymir hands." William Friedman had known Colonel two men even shared an educational back After his inirial success, Hilron bought Crown for almost ten years. His law firm ground. Just as Henry had gained ,·ital more hotels in Texas. including his first of Gottlieb, Schwarz and Friedman had skills through night classes in accounting. "Waldorf." a 15t1-room hmel in downrown served as trustees of Moulding-Brownell, Hilton, in college, concentrated on calcu Dallas. Hur the Depression hit the hotel MSC's onetime competitor, and when that lus, noting in his autobiographr: "rhc business hard. Hilton's operatio ns went company went bankrupt in the late 1930s, ability to formulate quickly, to resolvc an;· deeplr into debt. just ,ls his bank credit the Colonel worked with Friedman to problem into its simplest, clearest form. was drring up. l Ar ()Ill' f'Oint Hilton was purchase its remaining assets. As was so has been exceedingly useful [in business l " bailed ow br .1 pnsonal. uncolbteralized often the case after such negotiations, After leaving rhc U.S. Arm)', where loan from a Jewish hotel 111;111, Harrr Siegel Colonel Crown emerged with not just a he had served as a lieutenant during \ Vorld - an ,let of ,>cnerositr t hat kfr a bsrinQ I J,,. Cl.,,.-,"',' .\ /..,-.-11111il.- /:'.-..:d:,111~.- /,111/,/11~~- ,11 h m,k/111 ,, ' deal but also a friend. The two men stayed ::-- ' ~ War I, Hilton traveled rhc tovvn ,111./ I l.1,/:111,,r.,11 .\'1,.,-,-1_, 111 C.1:1.-,1~,,:, f ,,,,p, 11·,1, 1•11r,l.-.u,-,i ro oil llllf'H' ssion. ,, ' in contact even during the war. And when of Cisco, Texas, prepared co invest all his i)y rlw t illlr h ·icdman met him in /,, .\ /,11.-n,i/ .\..,.,,,,·.- C~•1p,•mt1,'fl ,111,I /,.-,-,1111.- 11., 11.-11 Friedman said the Colonel stayed away savings in the purchase of a bJnk. \Vhcn i,,111,· tfl 11.1-18 l'n.-.- m1., .' .!. , /111/11,'11 /1 .-11,,l,/.-,/ I/\( 19 17. Hilton h:1d 0 11 cc a,r:1in,:;, sreadied his from his office all during that time, he illl) 11, ,rrb'11l1t1r1t' h' ,~,,n r,:~Nl·o· 111 ,l ,·11,gk \.. (t,., the owner reneged. Hilron was bridlr dis b,1hncc sheer ,111,i w:1s h.1ck rL) :Kquiring l•wt.l,11,, l'h,,,,, t,d·m 1fl lt),1, noted one significant exception: a night •' appointed, until he recognized ,1 f'ossibl~· t'Vl' ll more hot els. I :ricdm:lll had gone as meeting, called by the attorney himself. more lucrative opporrun1r;·· In ,1 <"ommu t lw 1\' l)IT~L'llLll jq, or ,l vroun l)( Chicavo so char Colonel C rown could meer with r ~ r c- nity besieged by oil men and f~>rt t11w 1111T:-t11r~ wl1<> w,-rc 111 t Crt': 111 '- II) r I<11\\ , 11 1-. I , 1 \I I I I I I I 11 '- \ I I • ' '- \ I I I I • I I ,..J . c;v :I· - ' t I I ' . , I -, I. I • . t ··~ , , ~' ·'/· ;;,·/ ' I: ;--,,, C ·I "But L'\'Cr:· 1i111L' \W 1hrn1~h1 \\\' had .1 d c:1 I." Lma from Co11rad /1' - I , I / and \\'ith rlK war still in progress. Healr Hilton to Hmry Crow11, I Friedman t'L'mL'tllbcrcd. "(~ nnniL' Hilton cmb:1rkcd o n his g rand. new undertaking. 1r . 1 -._ Daembcr 4. 1944. ln was thl'l'L' Cir:-r." Hiltun L'll,kd llr' hu:·ing C 1rpcnrrr :111d plumbing crews. electrical this /mer, Hilton derails thl' hotel w11/., die Chic:1::,!u:111s. bar::,!:lining \\'orkers :m d painters swept through the /)is dealings with tl:e ow11- hard ft)r :1 n 1/ , l'crcc111 sh:1rc. L:11cr. he structurc. k :l\'ing in their wake a miracle ers of th, Stew11s Hotel, rold h ·icd11n11. "You'rl' till· i'irst l:l\\'\Tr l'w nf renm·arion. Two months after Heah-'s which Hiho11 would I purchase 1111d m111111, tl:e met whn has :111:· businL'SS abilir:··" :\ long }'Urchasc. he had reopenl'd the 3.OOO-room Hilton. Crown was 11 rclario nshit' cnsuL'd. \\'it h FriL·,1m:m :Kring Srcwns H ore!. B:· 19 ..1-'5, it was running J-/ilto11 co11Jid1111t 1111d as H ilron's prin,·ip:il L·ounscl ltir thL· IlL'xr :ir n early wo percent of capacitr, bonrd member, as w,/l )o years. \ V hich brought it ro the attention as close family fnmd, So wlir lud I ;riedm:m ,irr:mgcd rill· of Conr:1d Hilton. Hilton had. in fact. for many )'ears. night meet i1w-:, bet \\'L'l'll Hilton ;rnd Colonel admired rhe Stevens H otel for quire some Crown? T he ;1ns\\'cr kacis the stor:· in riml'. Before the war he started burincr, ;::, another direct ion. rn the C olo,wl's d L)S L' rhc ho rel's defaultl'd mortgage bo nds and friend and l01wti11ll' customn Sten· 1- kah-. SL) On :Kctm1Ubred so manv char he held a 2 , I During the \1•;1r dw i11n·ter:11e tunnl'l 111:111 primary srake in the Stevens H o tel Corpo- had f;lC'l'd h:ird l imrs bcc:1t1sr municit,al rarion. Hilton was awestruck br the result construction \\'as dcrnwd 1H1 nesSL'11rial of Hcah-'s efforts . but wondered now if ro the war crft1rr. 1--k:il:· \\':IS lookin~ f·c.)r the " G roundhog" ( as tunnel men proudlr ;:i wav, ro keenr his crews bus,·, . :rnd \\'hen IK rerml'd themseh-cs) was growing tired of learned that tlil' f;1111lH1S S tl'\'L'llS Hotel - the tedium of daily hotel management. the nation's lar~e:-l - was :1bn111 to be pur He rricd to meet with H eah- but found out up for sale. he saw his d1:11Kc. Its ll\l'lll'l' from Friedman that this was no easr task. w;:is the U .S. ~rn·n111rn'11l. \\'hicli had been "Billr Friedman said co Hilton. 'Steve using the Ste\'l'n:-- .1~ ;1 tr:1i11i11 ~ l:icilit;· fc.)r Hl'alr is a diff-1cult man to gee to.'" rrmcm ;\ir Corps Sf'l'Ci,dist :,;, h illcl i11g up to IL) .PLH ) ben:d Lester C rown. "·The o nlr person vourn} soldier~ .ll ,1 time. Such h.lrL-1 dun· I know who can talk with Heal:· is H enr:· , /;:' , h.1d take n ir:- toll. .md 0111:· tllf'· lo-b o rrrnn C rrnn1 - ~-ou oughr to sec him firsr. · Rut bdc.m' Hilro n mer Dad. he said. 'All ri,.1hr work wot1ld k:1\'\' th,· hotel re:llfr fc.ir 2 c ivilian g t1c:--l ~ .1~.1i11. rhrn. marbc instc:i~i I should rhink about Stc\T H c:1 h- 11·.1:-- 11<1 IHllrl m.111. b ut bu,·in,, rlw Palmer H,) use. Hnw would l . ::-- he wa:-- ,111 r,f'LTl,·11 ccc1 c,n1tr.h·t,ll· wli,l c'n .1h)t1t dnin~ thar,· '\\'ell.' sa,·s Fril·d- ~ ~ I unckr:--l <>< >cl l1< 111· l u tlll'L' t n'<'ll l lie llHl:-- t 111.111. 'till' P:ilmcr Hnusr is Lll\'11L'd b:· rl1L' d.n1nt111LT cli ,1ll c 11~,·,. 1 k ,-kc,,kd I ll re:--l ,r, I I I '-. I< ' < H l l I\ °" ,. , , \\ t It I • ( I ' \II • ' \ Henry Crown 111eeti11g asked if I had annd1n nwntT minutes. in several places. He ended up in a small, wilh Hugo A11derso11 because he w,rntt·d 10 show 1;1c something. local hospital for almost two weeks. so reenter) , vice prmde111, So ,-ve went in his alrnosr brokcn-do:vn his son Bob arrived from Chicc1go to a11d Edward Eagle old. Brown, president, of Rolls-Royer c1r. and ...-!ron' ro rlK New help complete the deal with Zcckendorf the First National York stockrards on rhe Manhattan side Bob's presence was appropriate. since cl1e Bank if Chicago. of the- East River. S""ift and Armor still Crown money for chis purchase was being had pl;:i1irs rhcre. Ir \\'asn't nearh- as blighted raised, not throuoh0 Material Service, as the sroch·ards in Chicago. b ~·ca usc ;hr,· bur a recenrlr created financial entity didn't do a/ma1w kil lings.~but it was , called "Areljay.'' b;:id enouoh · ~ b . "It was a name I concocted from "7-eckendor( said. 'Let me rd! ,·ou the f,rst initials of my sons' names: R, L, what I have in mind. \Ve can bu:· rl~is prop and _/," Colonel Crown expbi.ned. "Ardja:··• c-rcy and remove rhis blight and build a lll'W became necessary as the Colonel's net neighborhood here. 'vvirl1 high-rise aparr spread far past the confines of the m;:iteri rnents and offices and parks. You're in rhe als businesses. He became increasingly building business. This is riohr down vour frustrated with Ed and Irving's relentless thought that sounded like a good idea, and meal - I'll never forget chis - Connie 0 , when I walked into the office, he asked if turned to Dad in absolute seriousness and alley.' And I said. · Let me correct you. Bill. questions, posed everr rime he embarked I wanted to join chem. The result was that said, 'Henry, how can anybody compbin we're not in the building business. We cttT on a new transaction. This Socratic Connie called down to the hotel and asked about the service here?' Dad couldn'r in the building material business. But ctpproach, which served Irving so well as for a cable for twelve. Of course, they stop laughing." frankly.' I said ro him. 'this intrigues me.· " operational head, was too ponderous for didn't have one square inch of space co So Zeckcndorf continued his pitch. the kinds of fast-pctced decisions the spare. When we got down there the cable The propnrr could be purchased for s22. Colonel w;:is now making on a regular was in the middle of the dance floor - million, wirh six million dollars down. He basis. Sometimes he didn't have all rhe Colonel Crown's relationship with Conrad the dance floor was then half the size it would put up rhe f1rsr rwo. another partner answers. While Colonel Crown was always Hilton only deepened over the next thin~· the second, and the Colonel would have to was supposed to be. well informed, he often acted on sugges years, and so did his overall involvement corne up wirh the rhird. hnancill(r could rions from men he crusted, or even - "Connie was the greatest hotel man 0 with real estate. In 1946. fc.n instance. rhc rhen be found f~)r rhe bc1bnce. of all times, but he did have certain blind more disconcerting to Irving - on Colonel rook Hilron ro New York Cit}' Colonel Crown a,,rred ro the arrange- instinct. Not char lrving or Ed didn'r spots. During the show every waiter in the 1:- to introduce him ro William 7-rckc-ndorf. rnenr. Still in New York on his 5nth trust rheir brother's insrincts. They most room was serving us. One would put a a noted real estate developer hr knew binhday. he decided ro celebrate by going ccrtainlr d id, and Colonel Crown knew glass down, the second would put ice in through the materials business. Zeckendorf horseback riding. a pkasun.· he had enjored rh;:ir if he insisted on a famil; i111Tstmenr. it, the third waiter would fill ir. Well, they owned a 10 percent sr;:ikr in rhr h1irm()unr for ton little since rhc bc,1i11n ino of the his brothers would go forward in spire didn't hire any more help that night, so t-, b Hore! in S;:in h ·,rncisco, ,111d Hilt,)17 w;1s war. While ~allo~,1ng through some vvoods o f rheir l1ualms. Bur the Colonel didn't the guy up in the corner probably waited inrerested in buvino it. in Long ls bnd. rhc Colonel's mnunt like ro for.:-e rhc issue rhar wa~-- And Sl). 45 minutes to get a par of butter. Ir never , b "The three of us h,1d l1111cli rnocrlwr. .. stepped Ill ,-1 g\iphcr hole. The cl)lonel was rn invest wirh more ,lllfl)ll()Illr, he decided occurred to Connie rhac this was so. And 1:- rrrnernbcrC'd rhr ( :o lonel. ·· .1nli 1d1c11 11 hurled frnm h1~ ~.1ddk. l.111din~ on rhc ro srr up Arelja:·· three quarters of the way through the was over 1/.eckcndorf rurn('li to lllt' .llhi ~n,und wnh -;ud1 llllf',1,-1 1liar his leg; broke 11 l :, In ( fl l1 II '-: But in the case of Zeckendorf's East ''I'd feel very good," Colonel Crown architect, but on!~· two men were willing assistance. much of the Colonel's own River deal, Areljay's coffers (along with replied, "but we aren't doing that. of to risk an initial i,westment. One of the money would be lost. Yet this argument Colonel Crown's private funds) were course. We're going ahead with it and the men was Colonel Crown. had little effrct. s800,000 short. To find this extra cash, very beautiful development, which I think "The Colonel had a rare ,·ision," So Klutznick took another tack. "The Colonel had rather than going to First National Bank, is a hell of a lot better than just selling Klutznick later said. "an ability to mon' If Park Forest went unfinished, he said. . . " a rare vzszon, where he was worried about Ned Brown's to make a profit." boldly where other men might haw been its inwstors •.vould only lose money, but Klutznick later said, characteristic caution, the Colonel turned "I thought you would sav that," said cautious." When Klutznick asked how Klutznick himself would lose his reputa "an ability to move to someone who had backed him once Zeckendorf. He then described how large an interest Material Ser\'ice might tion. his honor. After all. he had pledged boldly where other before. More than twenty years before. Nelson Rockefeller had fi.)lmd him at a take, Colonel Crown explained that it that the project would not fail. This appeal men might have been "I thought of Mr. Klein," Colonel restaurant the night bd(>re. He wanted couldn't take ,11~\' interest. Instead he would 1110\'cd the Colonel in a way the notion cautious." Crown remembered. It was the same Mr. to buy the property, Rockdcllcr had lend Klutznick money. junior to his of lost mone\' never could. He instructed Klein who had scolded him in 1922 when explained, so he could donate it to the other financing. lr\'im-Y to find the needed concrete, divert he asked to borrow money from a friend U.S. government, to serve as a site fi.>r "We were often offrred participation i1w o:1antitics fi·om other jobs wherever ~ 'I of Bea Crown's, and then ended up lending the newly created United Nations. in the development of offices, shopping he could find it, until Park Forest was him the money himself. Klein had kept in 'Tl! never forget my answer to that." centers and nunr other businesses," finally completed. touch with Colonel Crown over the years, recalled the Colonel. "I said, Bill. I wish Colonel Crown explained. "but we made In the years following the project, though the Colonel never did dare to use to hell I had thought of it first." it a policy not to accept those invitations, the Crowns joined Klutznick in a company his first name. At the time he started partnering with on the premise that we would then be called Urban Investment & Development "I picked up the telephone and called Hilton and Zcckendorf~ Colonel Crown competitive with our customers ft)r Company, which went on to create Water Mr. Klein, whose office was on LaSalle began investing with another man in real materials. If we were their competitors, Tower Place and River Oaks shopping Street, between Washington and Randolph. estate, perhaps the most visionary of them why should they buy from us? With Park complex, and buy and manage the Oak I said, 'I will tell you why I'm calling.' He all: Philip Klutznick. Trained to practice Forest, we would have done far better had brook and Old Orchard shopping said, Tm glad for you to call me for any law as a young man in Omaha, Nebraska. we taken the stock interest, instead of centers as well. reason.' I told him I wanted to find out Klutznick had been put in charge of the making the loan, but I frlt we couldn't how he was, but also because I needed city's New Deal program f;_)r slum clear do that at the time." money. He said, 'Well, I'm not surprised. ance. During the war he was enlisted to Construction of the Park Forest During the war. Colonel Fred Sherrill You've been in that position before. What oversee national cffi.>rts to build temporary development spanned 1s years. After hun had been assigned ro Washington, respon do you need?' 'Oh, not much,' I said, housing for defense workers; it was this dreds of concrete foundations had been sible f;_)r procurement of spare parts for _ 'about a million dollars.' He asked when role which led to his interest in real estate. poured, Klutznick nearly had to suspend the Arm\'. Out of the constant stream of I needed it. I told him in the next fifteen One afternoon Klutznick called his operation because, in the booming rq,orts l~e received, one pattern emerged minutes." together a group of prominent business 1950s, he faced an imminent shortage of which intrigued him: in Chicago. a man Klein made the loan and the deal men to share with them his idea for wh;H concrete. Klutznick urgeli ( '.oloncl ( :rnwn . , i ('ol:mcl HcnrY Crown was bll\·ing 11,1111 lL , , , L went through. he called "Park Forest": an immense. to provide him .1 larger .1llotment. but the more parts for less monn· t!un any other Several months later, Colonel Crown self-contained citr-within-a-c1t\· to he ( :olonel demurrel1. I fr w.ls obl1gated, he . . \)fltffr in the countlT. Colonel Sherrill was received a phone call from Zeckendorf. constructed in ;! cornricld west of ( :h,l-,1~0. explained, to his other l()ngt 1111c l-us1on1tTs, ci~cr t\) meet this phcnomcn\m and thank who was in Chicago. He asked: "Henry, Klutznick's audience was 1111prc,scl1 h\· many of wh()m he h.1ci ,t1t't'l1cd s11Kc the ht;n t:1<-e-ro-focc for his su~,crhttff cft~)rts. how would you feel if we were to sell that his ft>rvor and the h()ldncs, 1 -q HISRY < H<>\\':-S J< 1, I,, , \\ I I 11 I 111 , \ I I 1 ', \ I i 11 I But although they corresponded often, "How 1nuch n1one,· ,1o ,·ou 11-.111t ' . the cwo men's paths never crossed during and when do you want it:·· rlie C\)lu ncl high points or his rc:ir: a titlll' to rejun' for companies. for industries and for the war. Then one day in the late 1940s asked Walden. Stan led by th is di rc,:r. nare his spirits through dirc,:r intL' raccion management. Management was the most a visitor stopped by at the offices of J.G. no-nonsense approach. \ Vald,-11 ,iskcd f~H wirh n:iture. important, because of his feeling for Boswell Company in Arizona, where more rime ro cons ider. Thn-c ,fa1·s later, . '"Being :i former. rou're in partnership people. H e came to know many of the with God,' Bob would sa1·," remembered "'B . fi Colonel Sherrill, now a civilian, was in a cashier's check arrived at Sherrill's offi ..·c. heads of corporations, and understood erng a armer, his w · (i J .. ' charge of a large cotton-farming operation. written co Walden in the amount u( 1 e, oannl'. He would rd! me wn· from rhat knowledge whether or not a you're in partnership "There's someone here by the name s500,ooo. often char if lw had known as a roung ;nan comp,rny was well managed. with God,' Bob would of H enry Crown," Sherrill's secretary "What should I do with ir?" Colo nel what he knew larer in life-. he would han' "\,Vhat was wonderful was the way say," remembered his st announced through the intercom. Sherrill wanted co know. udied agriculture or foresrrv." he could bur a stock at the last rick down, wife, Joanne. "He "If that's Henry Crown from Chicago, "Send it back!" \tValdcn ins t:111 1h- The Waldcns srs1e111ariciillr planted would tell me very buy it just about when it hit bottom. Just send him in!" came the delighted reply. replicd. , sample crops alo ng rhe road ro Tucson. incuitivclr he would say, 'No, we aren't often that if he had Colonel Crown, it turned out, was to sec which would thrive best and which going to do it today.' H e wouldn't discuss k11own as a young Instead, Sherrill put the monl':· in a would reap rhl' most rewards in available that with Bob or Milt [Falk.off] or me. H e man what he knew on business in Tucson. He coo had been trust account, accing as rrusrcc himself curious about meeting his onetime fellow And indeed, after thinking :16out it Vhldcn markers. Based on the results from such played with the marker and did che buying later i11 life, he would teSri ng. Bob he I ped the 'vValdcns decide, :111d selling himself, so a lot of our portfo have studied agriml officer and had stopped by on the off d id use the funds to invest in the new land. in rlie early 196~,s. to focus their efforrs ture or forestry." chance that he might find him. On that repaying Colonel Crown with s to,:k in his lio acquisitions which arc hccerogeneous day Colonel Crown and Sherrill struck Farmers' Investment Comp;iny ( FICO). on g rowing and processing pecans. FICO and which in some cases had absolurelr up a warm, personal friendship, which - Farming wasn't entirely new to the shell_ed, packaged and sold rhe product: no rhyme or reason were his own inruirive typically for Colonel Crown - led to a Crowns, bur never before were rhe,· nor JLISt its own crops. bur pecans grown Feel of the market. H e had a story on everr J new kind of business opportunity. Colonel involved on such a sc;1lc. T he FICO o n °ther forms. The operation became the securiry and why he had purchased it." large ·r O f · k · J · I Sherrill held a position o n the Arizona investment appealed especially t o Hob s trs tn1.1 111 t 1c world. One of the most curious stories - State Water Board and carpooled to Crown , who took a personal inrcn'st in and certainly chc longest running - began meetings every month with another board all the family's land holdings. ln /\pril or in 1946, when Colonel C rown suffered his member, an ambitious young farmer 1953, W alden gar a telephone call t"rom rlw horse riding accident. Returning home to In addition co these pmchases in farming named Keith Walden. E l Dorado Ranch in Arizon,1. where Hub convalesce, he busied himself by reading and real esrare, Colonel Crown continued "You know, Keith," Sherrill cold him was vacationing with Joanne. histories ;.1nd biog raphies. as well as finan buring in rhe stock and bond markers. during one of their drives, "you could "I believe we're partners ... f\ob told cial marerial abour various companies. Beyond invesrmcnts for M;ircrial Ser·vicc·s handle more land. If you want a tinancial Walden, and made arrangements to visit from a broker in New York came inform;i profir-sharing plan. he began to accumulate rion ;ibour rhe Rock fsland Railroad, whid, partner I know a man who could be a very his farm later char day. 1 • wide-ranging portfolio for 1he Crown was going rhrough a bankruprcr reorgani excellent one - Henry Crown." A few "One of Bob\ g rC'al loves w,1<; fomily itself months later Walden discovered rhe Conti Farming," Walden remcmbrrcJ. "I IL- h:1<.1 z:ui; n. A... s a rcsulr of this dire- financial " Instead nr goi !llY t ll rhe r·1cC'tr,1 ck " nental Farm, prime acreage for sale 25 miles a natural inquisirivcncss .1hout hn\\' plant,; condirion. the railroad's bonds were selling I- esrnCro· • \\, n exp~I a11H'1..· -=- i "[)a ..; ··s hm· was· south of Tucson. When Sherrill lea rned of g rew and the most minute d etails .1bnut for as low as ;o l'.'rnts on the doll:ir. And 111 gambling in thr sro.-k market. He h:1d his imerest in the property he said, "!er me raising animals. l : vcr:-· v.h· ,11 ,,,,1 IH· c 1i11 ld. Colonel Crown w:1s inrrigut'l1 . He c 1ku ·1 ~cnsitivity for st 11 1 , 1n 1 '" n•. ~ I< 1, I , , , II I I 1 I I 111 ' I I 1, •' \ I I I I based on ;1 coupk or uncommonlr good polirics per sc. But when it cam e to men years. But Colo n el Cruwn bm1ght on. and causes in which he believed, he was Nor becau:--e of rhe Rock bland':- cur!'l'nr not at all shy abour lending his support. pcrform:rnce. but bcc1u:,;c. in spite' of irs A case in point was the Colonel's liabiliries. t he railro:1d's ;1:--scr:-- wcl'l' srill rcbtionship with Adlai Srcvrnson III. large enough ro balance off its debr. T he nvo mrn had met during the war. "There \Vas a railroad Unril 19+9. Robe'rt Young was the when Stevenson was serving as assistant team track 11ot Jar secretary of the Navy. Though they came Rock Island's largest singk sh~ire•holdcr. f ro111 011 r house 011 A renowned railrn;1 d investor. Yo ung from almost opposite backgrounds '/l[ilwaukee Avenue," (Stevenson was a blueblood from down dreamed of one' d;1,, · combini1w;:,, his !10ld- Colo11el Crown ings inro a firsr-n•cr rransconri1wnral line'. state Illinois whose grandfather had been remembered. "I would And when rhis pLm no lon,,er indu ckd vice p rcsidc•nt of the United States from lie i11 bed awake, the 1:Z.ock lsbnd, he sraned~dling off his 189~ ro 1897 and who could trace both heari11g the whistles stocks - co Colonel Crown. who, unircd sides of his family co pre-Revolutionary and the bells of the with Norris and tr:icror manufactu!'l'r days). they became good friends. corre locomotiws, and think Charles Deere \ Vim:111. soo n ,-onrrollcd 2:; sponding occasionally and sometimes how exciti11g it would Hrn1)' Cr,11\'II 1,ark row percenr of rhe' nilroad. v\/hen bankc·r Ned meeti1w for lunch o r dinner. The more be to drive them back se;o11d from right, wit!: however, the venerable old railroad - charge of Material Service in his absence, :::, Brown. a Rock bland directo r. discovered Colonel Crown oor to know him, the andforth across the 1hr /,oard ~( the Rock begun in 1846, and the subject since then and Bob would telJ him, "Anorher bushel C, the s iz e of rhc Colonel's stake. he asked more he respected Stevenson's d eeply ( Ollnf1y. ,, Isla11d Railm1d. Crown of so much legend and song - appealed basket of chose railroad bonds arrived qw et~\' lw,1111t the sao11d him to take his o\\'n posirion on the board. held f'rooTessiw beliefs and valued h is co the Colonel's imagination. From his in the office today!" ~ largcst slork/;o/da 111 1hc in o rder to help with rhe railroad's reors1a- wide-rang ing talents. earliest boyhood, he had been fascinated As part of the prof'it-rnaking srr;ircgy . b R,,ck lsla11d 111 195r,. n1zario n. Colonel Crn'vvn resisted assumim.r Stevenson had attained h is government by railroads. for this massive investment, on December su ch an ;icri\'ist role until John Farringron~ position rhanks ro Frank Knox. the cantan "There was a railroad team track not 31, 1947, Milt Falkoff ;ind Lester Crown prcsidrnr of the R..ock lsL~nd. added l~is kerous owner of the ChiragC' Dai{v News. far from our house on Milwaukee Avenue," watched the new year arrive in the vault cnrre;:ities ro rhnse o f Brown. and rhe Both men came our e,1rlr in support of Colonel Crown remembered. "l would lie of the First National B;ink of Chic1go. Colonel fin;-1llr agreed ro become a dircc A merican intervention in Europe. in spite in bed awake, hearing the whistles and the as they litera!Iy swapped their Rock Island ror. Ir was. as ir turned o u r. a fateful of rhcir orherwise immense polirical bells of the locomotives, and chink how p aper for that held by Jim Norris. presi decisio n, 1he (ull conset1ucnce'S of which diHL'rcncrs: so when Knox was appo inred exciting it would be to d rive chem back dent of Norris Grain Compan y. ·1" he ! Wl) wou ld not be klr !t)r 111.1m· \T;:irs. sccrctarv of rhe Nav~·- he asked the and forth across the country." investors were selling def:1ulied bonds tu ,·nunoe,: man ro serve wirh him. Sre1-c nson H e had already ac9uired substantial each other, because rhe bonds were ~oi1w '.igrecd. earning a national rq ,urarion from holdings in several other railroc1ds, includ robe redeenwd the ncxl yc;1r. and c ;.: f,iral his srrong, eff,·crrw performance. which ing the St. Louis-San Francisco and the gains rates would be lower I h.m tlw r.1 x C:nloncl C: rm\'n·s pos1t 1,)11 ,1s one t)f wok hirn nn cunsr,rnt missio ns arnund rlw on 111te r<.>s1 income. B & 0, which hauled 9uarry producr out C h1 c,1gn's 111u,1 prnrn1nc11t ci1izc ns kd ro ,,lobe. Bur when Knt)X d ied from .1 hc:1rt ::, o f T hornton. And now he srarred buying Soon the ( :olorlC'l's l1olc1m~s 1~;1:--,;cd m ore th.111 Jll SI nc1,· bus111css 01'f'Orlt111it 1cs. .1n.1ck in 1c)44. ~rn ·cn:-t)ll SOt)n .1frcrw;ird:-. up the Rock Island bonds. Still bedridden rhe ~4 million mark. < :arl Nr,,u,:--1 . ,lie r.11! f 11:-. fncndsh,f':-. w11h Ilt'l\'Sf' ,lf'l'r cdirt)rS. rcs1~11 rd his f'')Sll 1t 1n. l't"rt 11·n1n',! ,)11,-c ~ ' at horn<.> with his broken l<.>g, ( :o lonel n )ad \ 1rc;1surer, ,l\Jrnoni,lwd li,111 1;)!' f'<> l11 ,,-,ii f°i~urc, .11 1 I f I ... I' ·, ' ,~I l \\ '· I.: ' \ 1 11 I I ! \ I II ' Arvcy had sen·,·d in the miliran- duri1w rion, finally decided co throw his hat into \1/orld \1/:1r II. attaining the r;11~k of li~1- the ring, the Colonel quickly concribured tenant colund. I nspircd b>· his cx~,cricnce. to his friend's campaign, in spite of he decided rhar i( he did return ro politics believing victory was unlikely. it would be on his own tLTll1S, "wirh ~ood "Illinois was known as a Republican candidates." The first nr such candid~ircs stare," Colonel Crown remembered, he found was Mart in Kcnndk. whom "bur Adlai fouoht.:, hard aoae inst an incum- he slated for maror in phcc ,;r Ed Kelly. bent governor and ended up winning by a ooodl)' maroin. H e was an cxCef1tional the man who had !wk! rhc position sin~c C, ~ the dearh o( l\nron Cermak. man and made a fine governor." Among "Ed Kel l}' was :1 rcrn:irkabk 111:111." the reforms Srevenson instiwred during Colonel Crown said. "He could haw his term was reducing political patronage served still :rnorhn rnm. bur afrer the war jobs. Arvey helped to push the legislation he had taken an unpo~,ular stand on open through. in spire of the flack he rook housing in rlw cit)', and rhe Democrats. from fellow parry members. fearing a backlash. turned ro Kenndlv." In 1952, when Stevenson was recruired Henry Crown with The Colond knew Kennelly was a bt:si by the Democratic Parry to run against former Chicago mayor Meanwhile, the editors of the Chicago Knox had let it be known rhar in nessman nf llllllUL'Srioned integrity because General Owio-ht 0. Eisenhower for Edward j Kelly at a Daily News were hoping to form a syndicate the wake of his death. he w;rnted the Dailv b he had run rhe Colonel's main competitor. president, Colonel Crown was yet again priz~fight. f-fmry's r,•la to purchase the newspaper from Knox's News sold to those most able to serve its .. 'r· . tionships with politiml ~cc,onsun1crs . ,.ompanr, SIJKe the l<..){OS. a frrvenr supporter. The Colonel was widow. They wrote a letter to Stevenson, community. Knox's widow. however. saw leadrrs were primanly Bur. noted the Colonel. "Kennelly was an heartbroken by Stevenson's defeat, and asking him co lead chem in their efforts, social, and hr was the sale in less idealistic terms. She decided nrwr meffcctive 111:111 in term of gertirnr thirnrs on November 6, just a few days after the and once successful!y completed, co serve 11111ddird by his closmw to consider offers from the Kniohr-!Ziddcr::,, cl ' -. ., '- b b Ont:, bcc.1us, he had no b:1ckoround election, he let his feelings be known in to th,, cmtcrs ef power. as the newspaper's publisher. The role newspaper group - he:1dquarrcrcd in I:' or experience in how rhc ciry worked a letter: was not improbable, since beyond being Detroit - as a way of stirring up compet poliricall(' an experienced attorney, Stevenson had itive bidding. Colonel Crown Ul·ged My dmr Covemor: For the posirion o( gowrnor. Arvey also worked for a time as a journalist. Stevenson to match Knighr-Ridder's bids. turned to Adhi Stevenson. After his failure tvfay I nvnil mysc!f of this opportu11i~y to pHt into His family owned the downstate Pantagraph, but as they kept rising higher Stevenson wr;"ting "vhnt [ n111 crrtni11 millions qf Alllerirn11s to purchasl' rlw [)11,/v News. Stevenson had for which he had served as a reporter, balked, considering ir irresponsible rn w k,ww. Yo11 nrc grmtrr i11 d~fcnt than 111ost 11/fll gone hack ru .1 gm·c;·11111cn1al rok. hclpi1w 110 0 even traveling to Russia to get the story let his backers pay too high a price for Cflll possi/,(y be i11 g/c,rio11s t•icto1)'· Brgi1111i1ig, with ro establish the United Narions ( and on the nation's transition to Communism. the newspaper. thr arrtptanrc sperrh ,,11 tbr 11ight ~f.w1rr 11,,1111111111011. helping ro loc:irc irs lll':1cil]ll:1rrcrs in Knowing this background, and respecting Threr years hrcr. C()loncl ( :rown that 1hrillrd t,,,,h Dn11t1rmts 1111d R,p11Nir,111s 11/ik, New Ynrk ..1 d1•c1sio11 which rur ncd our Stevenson's overall ability, Colonel Crown again supporrcd /\dLii S 1cvcnsnn: this tlm)//gh,,111 the 1111/H'II, ,111d mdmg w11/., thr_f,rrndr so fonllitnus for rlw C()l,)l)dJ. Ir was rhc believed his friend would make a First-rare rim<: wirh a far more s.11 is/~\·in::! rc-.;u]r. The ,-hi1t ,, ,·lrrt h>11 rw, v,,11 rltvarrd th, ltv,-1 ,,t ,·, 1111 - S('l' ITl,lr>· or St.1lC l:1mes i:_ l\n1ws. who 11 publisher, and he pledged his financial Colonel's (rirnd Jaco[, /\rn·~- h.1d n ·,· c11 1 h· J,/11>111110 to hn,,hts hn·.-ft1t;,,-,- 1t11kll(>\\111. );,If,- 111vst sllg~cst ed Stn·c1bu11·~ c.111d id:1,-1· 1<) .-\ rvn·. (."'t ..... 0 - support to the syndicate. assumed the posirion ()( d1.11r111.111 () ( th~ ,-,1p,1blc·. dfi-,-11,·.-, /.,,,11,-st ,111rl tt1111p,11,~11 1,,,- h.iiling him .i:- .1 "\:!<)Id 1111g\:!l'l ··,_ and , ' .,,11,.,.,.,- Cook Collnrr f k 1llt )l."i",HI C ( () 11111111(\' l', ( u l, )ncl Crn\\'11 ()f ,-<>ur~,: l1c:1r1ih- .1grecd. th,· pr.-_-,dm,·r ,·st,1N1sh,-d ,1 /'ff<'1·rlmt that ll'rll \\' h,•n S1c\'\' 11s,111 . .1ftcr 11111,-h cin~t111~St' <'< - ffll/tl/11 cl ,/,,1111I(!!, t'\",1111/''c' r,,,. ·l m,·•·1c',III ,.,,,trnt,· 1--11 '- JI Y r Jtt>W ..._. Rt~1,, , 111 111 11 11 ',,\JI, ',,\I 111>1 correspondence dating from the 1950s rhar long ago char he'd been called from rhc Renee 111c1 l.,'SL,'r ;1!011~ \\'ilh his (1thcr. was at least 10 years ahead of its t ime," formal parrr and had drin'n supplies 10 and rhnc was Ill) ,1u,·::-1 i,m \\'hu c1u~ht lit' r Susan said. "Uncle Bob funded all sorts a job site, still wearing his ruxcdo. Bur now attention ar firs!. .. I d1ou~h1 I knr:· Crn\l"n of civJ rights causes, all sorts of open the tuxedos were worn for m ore nfrcn, ;111d was terrific." Rene,- J\'llll'll1 hcr,-,-l. .. He housing work. He was funding the other men were in place who could r;1ke mesmerized me. He \l":1s jus! 1h:u kind NAACP, the United Negro College Fund Gire of such emergencies. c()loncl Cro\\"11. of charismatic man - fro111 his sin(nit 1·. - it was clear chat racism was foremost in fact. was often gone from rhe ci1 ~-. on his modesty. He h;1d ;1 1,·(indc1-!'ul " ·a1· ,if on his mind." business trips to New York. \Vashingcon. talking to you, nf rc;ill:· m;1king rnu 1~-d Sr. Louis, and Los Angeles. Durim--r winters ou were cc mer sLl~L'. ·· l)11t .1s the n·,·ni11,~ For Bob, giving money was just .,_, ::- Y ~ ~ the start of his community service. He he began regularly vac;nioning in I :lorida. wore on, Lesrcr had his cha11t·,· Ill LlL'llHrn- H e sent his mother. Ida. ro Miami for rhc stratc his own ch;11"111s. He ;1nd Renee bL•,1;117 became personally involved in many of ~ his causes, no matter how local or small. whole winter season . Sometimes Lesrcr and to sec each or her oficn 1"1"\rn1 ! 11:11 1imc. and If he arranged for the family co fund a Bob would fly down, meet rheir forhcr and in 1950 rhe two ,vcrc married. Boy Scout camp, he would visit the camp ship out for some deep-sea fishing - ;1 ln spite or his st:1rurc in th,· busiJlL'SS and walk the land. When the family gave new favorite sport. Orher rimes Colonel communi1y, Colonel Crown rcnuincd the funds co create a new gallery within Crown and Gladys visited Boca Raron. in unknown ro rhe ge1wr:d public Few t)f Chicago's famed Art Institute, Bob the 1940s and 1950s one of rhc counrn.'s his accomplishments were rq,()rtcd in the reviewed the plans himself with the most elegant resorts. Ir was there rha1 press. Hm,v manr rcackrs. af"1er :111. were museum staff. "He was a quiet hero," Lester m er Renee Schinc. interested in rhe building m;Hcrd trade, said Susan Crown. Renee was the daughter of Merer or in railroads. or lime and coal ~,roduc No matter how the Crown charities Schine, another self-made m;m who had tion? Horels and rc;1l cs!:Hc fired till' public were generated, who decided what to give worked his way up from n othing. building imagination, bur in those cndcan)rs the or who oversaw the giving, the funding a large E;ist CoasL morion picture rhcarer Colonel's partners, cspcci:illy Hil1on, always came from one place: the family. chain. When an antitrust suit w:1s brm1ghr received the lion's s hare or rhc ;l!"tl'llt"ion. As in rheir business, while there was room against him by drive-in theater owners, Which was /"inc with Colonel Crnwn. for individual ideas and initiative. philan Schine shifted his invesrmcnrs to hords . He loathed public spc1king. and whik thropy for the Crowns was a cooperative purchasing the Roner Plaz;i in Miami he could effor1ksslr charm :1 roomful of pe<>f'>lc, ar an1· gatlKr ing he w:is alwa)·s concern, and it remained so with each Beach, the Ambassador Hotel in 1~m , L ~ of the succeeding generations. Angeles, rhe Boca Rotan Hore! :rnd m;rn~· am o ng 1hc first to k:1n-. I fr didn't need o thers. Schine knew Colonel Crown from rhe spotlight an,1 in f:ict did his bes! 10 sLl)" h is work with Conrad Hilton. ;ind .1lso o ur of ir. Bur as the decide or 1hc ll)')LlS because che Colonel h ;1 d r;1kcn ,1 sell un progrcs<;rd. ,ind h1, ht1-.;111<•-.;-.; t' 1llc1Td No matter how his life changed in rhc a dari1w 1~c n od ,,( 1r,111-.;111,1n. ( ·lll,H1cl the Columbia Pictures Ro:1r,1 of" f ) inx 1nrs. /:' years after the war, Colonel Crown srill saw Crown f~>u n,1 ,uch ,111< 111,·m111 much k1r,kr Famed movie men H :11-r,· C:oh n .rnd ),ic / ,,tr'' il'IJ N.,,,,,·, \ i•,11, ( l,'\\I' "H 1/y, , \\'(,/,/,,~!. Iii\ himself in modest terms. He was, aft<'r all. I Schenck were jusr some of" 1li e fril' Jhi, rl w (() lll,1i111.1i11. '--.,Hlll . Ill<' \ 11.1hh. th,· "f'<)tl1~h1 I ) (,1"11' '1 t 1 \ f ,, /,'!_'1fl·,-• ,1y, ;.,,.; ,,,,·,, l•q,J,·(" still a ;'sand-and-g ravel man." It wasn'r so rwn men sh:ircd in co11111H 111. 1\ 11-1 ,, >nn hcg:111 10 ,w11l"-', 111 Iii, d1rc,t1ll1l. . ' thq · wot1ld ~hare ,1 Int lllorc. 111 '- 11 ', t HIii\''- As highway construction around determined to discover just the right com Chicago exploded, Material Service kept bination of colors - colors which would pace by expanding its network of Redi define the new Material Service. Mix plants. "That's when I saw the "Irv grabbed me one day in the Colonel for the very first time," Lauwereins hall," remembered Colonel Crown, "and remembered. "We were rushing to get told me he had finally solved our paint a plant up at Yard 41, sometimes working problem. He brought me into his office, seven days a week - six was normal. And where he had bright panels of red and one Saturday, George Lenzie came by, and yellow paint set up on his couch. And you he said to me, 'Morrie, have you ever met know, it just hit me. I laughed, telling Irv, the Colonel?' I looked and there was this 'It looks like a whorehouse!'" fellow in an old Marblehead Lime cap - 'Then that's what we'll use," Irving the kind they used to give away. H e was responded. The description pleased him. a legend by then, and I was amazed to see He wanted colors with impact, colors such a down-to-earth guy." that people would remember. In later years, In spite of MSC's ahnost continual red and yellow appeared not just on the expansion, the Crowns had, until Redi omnipresent Material Service trucks - Mix, stayed with their policy of hiring over 350 by the late 1950s - but o n the out needed delivery trucks, leaving the company's boats and plant structures as responsibilities of ownership to the owner well. The colors became part of MSC's drivers. But with the advent of Redi-Mix, identity, almost a trademark - as bold Christm111g par(r_f,.,r this approach could no longer be sustained. and direct as Colonel Crown himself asked him to start work on a long-term said, '.Arnold. you knew us in the days th,· NII · 1n•ing Crown. la1111rh,-d August 29. The time had come for Material Service As with trucking, before the war the solution, beginning with an ;issessment of when we couldn't afford a boat like chat - 1952- L,ft h' ni1t· to acquire its own fleet. Colonel and Irving had thought it wisest to Material Service's Marine Department. you go out and build the best boat that Cla~vs C1"0w11. Ch,mg(' 'The first trucks we bought cost charter watercraft from outside operators, "' "I took a couple of weeks and looked money can b uy. 111ar0r ,\lar/111 /-/ sro,ooo each," Colonel Crown remembered, construction of the MV lvf.aterial Service and over all the equipment ;ind operating con So construction began on the MV 1'm,ll'llr. I l,11 Y\' Cn,11·,,. "while our trucks today [in 1982] cost purchase of the tug Sol R. Crown being, in ditions," Sobel remembered, "came back frvi11g Crow11 at Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding, .4 ,.,,,,/,,{ _\,/,,-/, Rmt'f s75,ooo. Of course those first trucks were fact, only notable exceptions. But in the and said, 'Colonel. the first thing we ought the same site where the Material Service had Cn,1v11. Rmt .\,,/,,·/ not as large, but they were the biggest early 1940s, the company from which MSC to do is build a new boat.' He asked what been built more than 20 years before. The trucks we had. We bought 25, then there leased its barges became financially insol it would cost and I said. '\ .Veil. if we used goal this time was to create a pusher tug: was a question of what kind of paint vent. Irving stepped in to take control war surplus engines. if we used surplus a vessel powerful enough to push as many would easily identify them. Irv handled of the outfit, and Material Service began pumps. we could build a boat for about as eight barges. loaded with 11,000 tons that decision, and every so often I would operating the barges on its own. After the s2.25,ooo. On the other hand.' I said, 'if of material. walk into his office and he'd show me some war ended, Colonel Crown sought out we were ro build a man's boat co rc;ilh- do "We had the Irving Crow11 designed J Arnold Sobel, fresh from militarv service samples." In fact, Irving showed everyone I an eff,cienr job and have a good lire span. to our exact specifications." Sobel remem samples. Methodical as always, he was in the Coast Guard ( where he had com- it would cost us about ~;00.0<.x,.· The bered. "'vVe rold the naval architecrs vvhat manded his own tank-landing ship . ;:ind Colonel pur his arm around me and he we wanted and we nurtured every nur 11 1 'II\ t !Ill\\, I II I \ 11 \\ I I«' \I I 11 1 , 11 1 I I , '1 Ill I' and bole. That boat was built like a brick boasted its own shipyard with mainren;111cc reporter from rlw Chir,1<>,'.,, D,1i/\'. 1\i,·ws. "V./c you-know-what and its operating history shops, dispatchers and radio equipment, made the go\'crnmcnr a $1:;n.,1,>o offrr. proves it." (The boat was stil1 in operation and a commissary. Arnold Sobel wa.s put in which was s10,,.oon n101T th:1n ;111,·onc J in 1996.) charge of rhe entire operation. supervising else had bid.'' Like the MV Material Service, the a crew of 125 men. While the Marine The Colond next turned ro rlw major MV Irving Crown was launched ( on August Department's primary function w;is to utility companies. foremost among them 29, 1952) with considerable fanfare. Mayor serve MSC's transportat ion needs. it oper Commonwealth Edison ( once the domain Kennelly was present, as were many of ated in many respects like an autonomous of Samuel lnsull) . establishing ,·onrracrs Sobel's feUow Coast Guard officers. Sobel's unit, leasing idle boats to any company chat for purchase or dic co:1I. He rlwn sank wife, Bette, christened the vessel, while needed them, the boats sometin--ies going s 10 million inrn tlw new Crown M ine - Mayor Kennelly, Colonel Crown and as far south as St. Louis. Nugent insisted on rhc name - crc:1tino :::- Gladys stood with her on the pilot the nation's largest air-washin,T coal nl:int, 1-· Q r house deck. along with 7cx, new jobs rt)r miners. The And this was only the beginning of St. Louis Post-Dispatrh 1Wted rhe ironr d " B,rg ~f Cr,1 11·11 .\ fas,,ns · While they strengthened their core busi MSC's marine expansion. During the war the Crowns' investmen t, comin,1 at a rime arms ef a 111echa11ical loader drew the coal chunks L1111r. 195 i- .\for/,/,l-rad ness at Material Service, the C rowns kept Irving had acguired surplus barges from a ( 1952) when "other coal mines [ arc] dosing 011to its ro11vcyor !,cit and jro111 there i11to a sh11ttle l.1111r c,,111p,11~\', ,1 expanding the rest of the resource group. s11/1s1,-ltar\' d .\lSC local defense contractor. Because of short right and left, in the focc of lowcri1w l>11ggy waiti1,g right llfhi11d. After the war, under the supervis ion of :::, 111tr,,,l11r,·rl a 1/11,· ~( ages in steel, the vessels were constructed consumption. Frank Nugent, Colonel Crown invested All these 111arhi11cs operate 011 rul,lier tires or caterpil hrdrat,d d,,1011111.- 11111, from wood, "and they sure were a pain in "They [ rhe other financiers] polircly millions of dollars into the Freeman Coal lar /,ands without fixed rmrks. They are low and ill 19')1. the neck to operate," said Sobel. "They call it bold," Colonel Crown told the Mining Company, to rehabilitate its two 111ovc almost a,~ywhere at rerrific speed. Nowhere had a habit of sinking - I can remember p aper. "\Vhat they mean is it's a damned existing mines. For Financing he went to did lm111a11 hands touch coal. No shovels were in use. seven-to-eight specific jobs where we had fool thing to do." "Hut ar clt)se range," the Continental Bank instead of First N,1 /,arks wer/' bmt e.xcrpt when 011c ef the helpers to go out and salvage barges that had gone the Post- Dispat[h decided, "it doesn't look right to the bottom. The joke around the National, since Continental had a history ,j a 111adii11e occasio11alfy graMed a pick to hack 1111 so foolish, putting out ,i; tons [ of coal] of lending to Freeman. (Colo nel Crown 11111m111/{y la,gr lm11k ,j coal into smaller pieces. whole marine fraternity was 'Irving and his per man-day; at mosr mines 1t1 is good. cook the same approach with Marblehead wooden barges.' So the next thing I said to Scienrific m ethods and 'push button ln 1954, with coal profits soaring. Lime, retaining its previous association the Colonel was, 'We need to build new mining' have made the diffrrcncc." The the Crowns enLirged their holdings in the with Harris Bank.) In 1948, the Colonel barges.' He said 'Go ahead,' and we started paper described "a lesson in modern field even further. paying s12 million for purchased 26,000 acres near Farmersville, building heavy-duty steel barges." technology." pro"ided hr ,1 visir to rhe an :ilready fully mcch,111ized company. the Illinois, land which had sat unused s ince Material Service's fleet, which stood Crown Mine: C hicago. Wilmington & Franklin Coal Co. World War I, when it was abandoned by at 30 after the war, was modernized and Thar :amc rear Marerial Ser\'icr began the G erman company that previously ( it l /,ega11 _Vi6 jrrl 1111,-lnxn,1111,I, /II sh,!fts expanded to 90 barges and seven pusher bm·ino stock in chc Unired Ekcrric Co;il • i:-, owned it. Below this land lie thick veins prevw11s(v 111,1de srr11 rr ,1·1th ti11i/,rn11g lll,1d1111rs tugs by 1954, when 30 barges were added C o 111 ~,;rnies, a surface mming operarion. of bituminous coal, but it was accessible 1111d 111erha11ir,1l 1"<'~( {,t,!trr.,. 1f s11p,·n·is,,r w,11d1r.1 at a cost of s50,ooo each. The Marine B,- 19~9 ir ownrd a ;4 ~"'ercrnr share: in 1966 only by d eep-shaft mining. rhr 11<11Tt'II' strrl t,,11 011r ,,[ ,1 ,,-IJ -1>rt'/)<"llr,I ,1111111,1 Department itself was expanded, too. o h GC'licr;il l ):·11:1mi ·l ·I 111 '- II ) I II ll\ \ ' '- 1111 \ 11 I\ II"• \I I 111 I Ir 11 1'1, stock, which resulted in United Electric it.' They were building the homes because "The Crowns said ir loo h-d good and becoming a wholly owned GD subsidiary. they'd run in to a guv who w;is makino I ~ they showed my proposal to M i!t Falkoff. In 1974 Lou Lincoln, then head of all coal something called cellular concrerc. They'd and he said, 'lt stinks.· l)ut the Colonel's mining operations, merged the two into the build the form of a house. windows. doors was the final decision. He asked . 'Do \"O u Freeman United Coal Mining Company, and everything, and then they'd pour it think it'll work, Brron?' I said. ·1 know a division of Material Service. within the forms and it would rise like it will work.' We bought th e tnminal and When he began his career after serving dough. Tc's the only house I know in the that's what made the business take off" in the Army in World War II, Byron Weil U.S. chat in 1955 cost sro,ooo and rodav I With the ability to store 2.:; million gallons decided that, li.ke his father before him, costs s6,ooo." of oil and to move ir on rhe ri\'l'rS br barge. he would like to find work in the coal Weil got his s50 back. He sprnt a Material Service began selling o il to ste1.-I business. Frank Nugent put him through year in his new position. but found ir a mills and other heavr industr>· in a prof rigorous training, sending Weil into the frustrating experience. He couldn't get itable business that lasted until the mines, then having him work as a traffic out from under his father's shadow. Eicher mid-198os. manager, finally assigning him to regional customers bought coal because he was Joe sales, operating out of Sterling, Illinois. Wed's son, or they didn't buy coal for the For ten years Weil traveled north to the very same reason. "So I went to Lester W isconsin border, west to Iowa river Crown. I told him, 'Eicher you've got to Colonel Crown, meanwhile. was pressing towns, south to Decatur, Illinois. Finally fire me or let me sell something other than outward from C hicago. moving still further he decided he had saved enough money; coal, I can't do it.' 'Why not?' 'My father.' into hotels and real estate. Part of the it was time he and his family purchased And Les looked at me and kind of smiled reason, of course. was his continuing their own house. and said, 'I've got a father too.' Ir never relationship with Conrad Hilto n. The "Someone was building tract homes," occurred to me that anyone else might have two friends grew even closer in the 1950s; Weil remembered. 'They were s50 down the same problem. Lester said, 'Go find Colo nel Crown sac o n the hotel board as and s50 a month. So I put my s50 down and something your dad hasn't done.' I started a director, but more rhan thar. he was the that night Irving calls. 'How'd you like to the oil business that very day.'' one man Hilton trusted ro support his come to Chicago?' And I said, 'What's up, Weil began brokering oil for MSC. soaring ambitions. the one man in whom Irv?' He said, 'Well, your dad is 67, he's got selling mostly to customers who were he could confide his bold dreams. And the two salesmen and they're both 70, we need converting from coal. The operatio n was. boldest of those dreams was ownership some new blood in our coal department."' in other words, similar to the Crowns' first of the Waldorf-Astoria. After discussing the offer with his wife, approach to the building m,ncrials business No ho tel in America had ever been LaVerne, Weil decided he would be foolish itself, and as it grew \Veil re-ached rhc same built with such m::ignificenr sq·k: a priv;ite not to accept it. But first there was his s50 crossroads: the need to conrrol his own railroad siding in rhe basement. ;1 private down payment to consider. How was he source of supply. When in the mid-19(,l,s hospit;:il for guests. six kitchens. 2.nn cooks. //.-,,,,· CJ','\\'ll Ill r/.,,- 19,0.>. / 11 It))\ ( ·,.,,,,,11·, going to get the money back? Atlantic Richfield Company. one of \Veil's 5uo waiters - not lo menrion rhousands /-.,1./11·,,,, \\'ff( ,·.,11111,11,-.I ,11 \ ,o 11111/i.111 h· \: ,lrl Ulll' "frving said, 'Describe the house to suppliers, put its C icero, Illinois. tcr-111111.1! of rooms - rhe hnrel cuuld buasr u( all ;11,1i,,1 11;~11t" S,,lt", ,ll \l.1tcT11d .\nTl1.'t" H'fff ' l~( > ,,,,1/h'fl me,"' continued Weil. "I did and he said, up for sale, Weil propnscd rha1 MS(' this and much more. H ilt,rn fi rst lt-ar·ned 1/:,11 \"<'1/1, ,111,I ( l\' \\'11 f:,1,/ 1/,,,- '<""'11,1 /,,._1;t". ',1 ,,111,/ ,111,/ ,('•II'<"/ Fll,111 , Ill ,·fly •HP\\, 11 11 \1 1 11 111,> \i 1111 ' Ill l l<'<'il C. N. HILTON . .P~fS10EN 'l' OFFICE OF THE PP.ESI0ENT HOTEL ROOSEVELT NEW YORK 17. N . Y. October 24, 1949 the American Le:igut' f'Cnna,H. Tht' l'\n) world. Its first official lighting ( President Crowns gbdlr joined him . :rnd laic in rhc Hoo\'cr pulled the switch) was like turning in nings the game rnok :1 (1td.ul rwisr - on a beacon of hope in the gloom of the at least as fa r as Colont·l Crown was Ct)n Dq'lt'ession . Bur the beacon from the start cerned. A batter chippt't1 :l shon f~Hil back began losing its luster. Tenants discovered Colonel Henr-f Crown into the srands. hining Conrad H il ron. its mam· d rawbacks: elevators with "Raskol, said he had 33 Nort n La Salle Street I Chicago, I llinoi s whom Vv'ebb had :1lso i11"ited. The papers inadequate speed. poor hearing, no air decided to sell the ran a phoro the follo\\'ing day, which ~,ic conditioning. Even after 'World War II. building on behalf of Dear Henry: tured both Hilrnn :rnd rlw Colonel. J\rnold w ith the economy booming, the occupancy his family, that they Here is your certificat e for the 1.•ialdorf-Astoria Grant saw the phoro. realized Colonel rate remained less than 70 percent. Yet were willing to sell it stock. Crown was visiring rhc cin·. called :rnd it was still. after all. the g reat Empire for the same price it ~ , I wi ll never forget the great role you played and convinced him to mcer with Colonel Stare Bu ilding. had cost to build. Dad the assistance you rendered in ma.king this possi ble. Raskob in person. "Some time after we met," remem- told him, 'Colonel Remembered Lester Crovvn. who bered Colonel Crown, "I turned on the Sincer ely yours, Raskob, you've just jo ined th e Colonel ar the ml'cting: "R..askob radio and heard an announcement chat paid me one of the said he had decided to st·ll the b L~ildi,w on Jacob Raskob had died. A few months greatest compliments later read in a Chicago paper chat a group C. N. HILTON behalf of his familr, 1kn rhey were w illing I I have ever been paid, includino Rooer Stevens had signed a con- President to sell it for the same price ir had cosr ro a o rnggesti11g that I build . Dad told h im. 'Colond Raskob, tract to buy che Empire Seate Building. So would be able to raise you've just paid me one of the greatest l put any thought of it out of 111}' mind. S)O till·l1 1011.· '" 1 8 K.: /'~·. com p limen ts I have ever been ~;,id, sug "This was during the Korean War,'' gesting that I would be able to raise Colonel Crown continued, "and perhaps C:lH : ow s50 m illion."' six monrhs lacer, I was in California when E..nc:i. . ------Yet the prosp ect of owning rhe world I got a call from Arnold G rant. who asked famous lan dmark hc1d finally begun to if~ f mioht still be interested in the Empire intrigue Colonel Crown. Like rhc Waldorf. State. {raid him J understood that ir had the Emp ire State Build ing !,;id opened in been sold . H e cold me that the contract w-~s 1931 ( in fact it was cnnstrucrcd o n th e sire , ...... , io-nedb but the investor who was going of rhe first W;i]dor f- /\storia} I )esigned ro take a large part of rhe project, 24 by rhe ttrm of Shrew. Lamb and Harrison . percent. had apparently walked awa~,. rhe building was immediardy h:1ilcd as ;in T here was ;in additional problem abou r ;irch irectural marvcl ;m d l:ncr u nderstood who would become chairman of rhc build as perhaps the mos! magnificc111 :ind ing. The R ;1skob famil~· knew rhar Raskob prrhaps the most cssent 1al evoc;l! ion of ha~d ralkcd wirh me. so rh;H ..ilthnu~h rhn· I ,1/t'I' f,w11 ( ,111nul I /1/1,,11 It> I lmrr Crow11, ( >rto/,r, /\r1 I )eco design. /\t 1u 2 stories. 1.2:;,, fret didn'1 know 111c. rhc)' as~umed I would he i ,J, l')//'J 11:, f,,rn1,d1t\' ,,f 11.-,· 110/f d,d 111>1 m•ral 1/;r h igh. rhe Empire S1;ue Build111g was b~· s Ill , II, < Ill>\\''- I I 11 \ I I \\ I 11, • \ 1 I I 11 ' I I I I I , ',' 1, In 19 :;;. rhe s:111w n·:1r he :-rood ll'irh in Pomona, California, the missile plant Colonel Crown on th~- Rainbow Room was one of the largest and most efficient $ 100 d;iis. Hopkins mm·l·d to ,·asrl:,· l'Xpand in rhe counttY./ doinO'0 million worth General Dynamics ll'ith a si ngk bold of business a year. Meanwhile, the Electric , ~ stroke: he bnughc Cl)ntrnlling i11tcrcst. Boar di,·ision had de\'cloped che Polaris from financin~l :lnn-l Odlun~. in Cnnsoli m issilc.:._l:nmching missile submarine, pan datcd Vultec. k1H)\~'11 more l;imiliarh- ;1s of a truly revolutionarr weapons sysrem Convair. Hopkins's hubris r:1isl'c1 m;:m- e1-r char csrabliid,ed Electric Boat as a leader brows, since Co1w;1ir irsdt" ll'as aln·ad~- a~ in the field. In less rhan cen rears, Hopkins industrial gianr. The cnm1,an:· ran pL;nts in had worked ;:i corporate miracle, rrans fu 1953. I lmry Cr,,wn Fort \Vorrh. Tex;1s. and Southern C 1li for- formin.::,o- a narrowlv, focused maritime '1111ddlt m,•:, s,,wr,-!Jr,'111 Electric Boat's contracts and finances. crafr and submarines. So.. 1rmcd wirh 17r a, manuhnuring f\ir Fnrcc t"io,:,:htl'rs. manufacturer into a foll-service supplier the ,~r,. \\'tlS ,1111c't,g During the war the company builr not only cash (rorn rlw recent prnducrion boom, bombers and miss~iks. Com·air ;,·as bigger of the nation's modern arsenal. Now. with rwp,mts Sf' 1/;; pm11g1,'11s submarines but the famed PT boars, as Hopkins sc:irdwd f<)J' 11·:1:,·s rn o:p:111d rhc than General D\'lumics. \'Ct using ;1 C;)711bi- Pace and Johnson's help. he hoped to widen , , ~ H,1 r,11,,, A~o- ,h·,ir.l. well as submarine chasers. Meanwhile, its com1x1nr's scope. nation of Elccrri,- Boat srock ;rnd borrowed his companr·s scope still further. inco g1rm ,-.uf. y,',H" 111 1/;,11 civilian li nes of rechnologic.11 products. pmcd ,~ l.w 1,'r 111.-lm,f11a/ s Electro Dynamic division served as the His first mo\'<: w:1s 10 purchase rhc moncr, Hopkins l<>und the wherewithal co w/.-<, r,,stjiw11 htrmb/c U.S. government's primary manufacturer Canadian aircr:ifr m:1nut:1C1urcr C:111:idair ac9uirc ir. ,\nd chis was onh· rlw beginning. Bur rhcrc was a fatal flaw to the way /•,;g11111mgs. :fol,'ltg ,,1/.,;, of motors and other marine components. l':.0:11 In 1955, Hopkins established the Ge~1cral General Dn1amics had been created. Limited, takino0 Ekcrr ic inrn ;l\·iation. ~ J /.w1cJYffS rl:at _1·,-,ir ,1 rr, World War II ended, and with it Hopkins hclncd m;111a,1c11w111 r,·org:111ize Atomic Divisinn, to undcrrakc the basic Because most of rhc dil'isions had been r ~ .... Th,,11111s II ats,,11 .\r. the company's heyday. Or so it seemed. Canadair, and soon rlw nc\\' dil'ision was resear' ' c I1 . ,lt'J vc Io~ ,1nen1 and prouucnonJ · ot- purchased. thcr operarcd as autonomous 111,ddk mw._(,.,unl: Electric Boat's top executives, Lawrence generating the lion's shan' of rlie company's nuclear cncrg:·· Nl'Xt. because each of his unirs. each with irs own accounting and J1w11 ngh1 . /C /hmrr. Spear and Henry Carse, both retired in compan).'S existing divisions - sub- sales dcparrmenrs. Thcr were like small /,,,d n1 w, }ir ngl,t,. profits. Military orders incrc;1scd with , l c/,,/pJ., l uk,,r 111uldf. 1947, leaving H opkins in sole charge. the outbreak of w;1r in Korc:1: C:1nadair's m;irin' cs. a1rcra. 1·t. rnissi 1c s . nuc1 l'ar l'ncrgy fiefdoms rather than follr integrated pan s r,,"'· /;u• rig/:t a11J j,,/:11 While recognizing his company's economic profits conrinucd to climb. Mc:1nwhik. - relied hcl\'ih- on the nascent rcchnolo,,,· of ;1 corporate whole. This loose confeder f,1y I f,,pk111s lwl· rrn. vulnerability in the postwar era, the new in 1950, Hopkins accq,1cd a ch:dlcngc of electronics. 1-lopkins ar r:rnged ( with ::, ation held togaher while Hopkins was (ffl111d_f,w11 /~ft president also sensed opportunity. The from Admiral H1·m;rn Ricku\'l'r 10 build the :iid or ncwh· hired exccuril'l's Fr.rnk in charge. \Virl1 remarkable abilirics and I United States was the world's g reatest the world's firsr nuclc:11·-1'll11·cn·,i sub111a- Pat-e Jr. and L1il lnhnson ) rn ~,urchasc the sccminglr inexhaustible cncrg}', he exercised power, and what with the rising Commu Srro1nbcrg-C:arlson comPam·. ,,aining its p:iternal le:1 dcrship. ro,11ning from d ivision rinc. a rask his engineers ·'l'f'l'll:lchc,i with ... r . ~ .._ ro division. kcq,ing his execurives akrr nise threat, the nation was unlikely ro revert brilliance and zeal. Cin·n I licsc dcn-ll1 ~1 - unil1 uc and sophist il-;ltc,1 skills in this al'l'a. to its isolationist past. Even in peace, the menrs, Hopkins f<, lr I lie n:1111c Lice! ric Boar This rcmark,1bk c,pansiun seemed and insisting the:· function coopcrari,·cl:·· United States would have to mainrain a no longer :1drl]ll,llcl:· dc:--c-ribc,i his ~n)wing ro par off ,1uil-kh-. 1\s c.1rh- ;JS l<)';l, N 1\S1\ Bur Ho.,kins's ho ld began ro slip b:· rhc 1 strong Navy, Air Force and Army ;ind enterprise I fr ciHl:-l· ,l nevi' 11;111H'. (~cncnl · he Nat rnn,d ,\ l,;.llll,llll 1cs, .1nd Space m id-rl)'i<'S. He had .ilways been a man sray on the curring edge of technological D:·n:11nics C:orpur,111ur1. tn ,-p11jt1n· tlf' :111 l\dmin1s1r;ll1lrn b c~:m crn plo:·ing the who pLircd a:- h;1rd ,IS hr workl'cl . . \n advancement. Electric Boar could be part 1111 ;1ge o{ din·rsit:· ,111d ,,-ic11 1,f,,- k1Hn1·- hnw. /\rL1s rocket. 111 ,111uf :h·turcd b,· Clm1·;1rr. as ,n id golfrr. Hopkins jcnc...-1 un impulse lll ,1.1:· 1m 1:1n)l'cd COlll''-l'~ - ~l,rn~ ,b fir ,b of rhis new era, Hopkins thoug ht, hut· Thl'n l· lopkin., ,,n·,-. 1·,i 1;lrw.1rd Ill 111,1kc I I~ prim,11'1' buo:--lcr ()r ~1,,1cc,-1·.il·t. Loc;11ed 1 not if ir stayed limited co making sm;1ll rh,s 1n1;1~c re.ii. ~l-nl l.111d. He \\';1~ ,1 h.1rd ,innkn. tn 11 J ,, ' I fl I I\'. ' I I I \ I " \ \