Self-Made

A purse maker, a bronze maker and a railroad purchaser made news last week as successful, self-made men.

Purse Maker. Morris White of Manhattan, who makes more women's purses than anyone else--6,300,000 this year--decided to make most of his purses to sell in department stores for $4.95 and $7.50. Heretofore most of his output has retailed for $2.95. But housewives have been demanding better purses costing more money. Mr. White with his several factories, his own tannery and even his own sealskin works in Newfoundland can supply them. Ten hours after his designers see an imported purse he is imitating it in material of any value his customers want. He sells 57% of the purses made in the U. S. Twenty years ago with $50 of his own and a $200 wedding present he began as a manufacturer. Isaac Gimbel, now chairman of Gimbel Brothers department stores, and Mr. White's good friend, bought the first batch of purses. Next day the new manufacturer demanded payment in cash. Mr. Gimbel, charmed with the audacity, paid him, gave him another order. Now Morris White does $10,000,000 business a year, owns three Manhattan hotels (Fifth Avenue, White, Whitehall) and is worth $20,000,000.

Bronze Maker. Fifteen years ago John Polachek, Hungarian immigrant, started to make ornamental bronze and iron work on his own account in Long Island City, L. I. So excellent was his work that orders soon came from banks, theatres, public buildings. Architects as far away as Montreal, Tokio and Buenos Aires commissioned him to reproduce their designs. Last week he added the Renaissance Bronze & Iron Works (also of Long Island City) to his John Polachek Bronze & Iron Co.; named the $5,000,000 consolidation the General Bronze Corp.

Railway Purchaser. The first capital of Harvey C. Couch of Pine Bluff, Ark., was $150. With that he developed a rural telephone line in Louisiana. Later the Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. bought it for $150,000. Mr. Couch used his profits to develop Arkansas water power and to combine power corporations there. Now he supplies much of the power used by Arkansas towns. Last week, with Arkansas and Louisiana friends, he bought the 269.37-mi. Louisiana & Arkansas Railway--41 locomotives, 18 coaches, 9 combination passenger & baggage cars, 362 box cars, 595 flat cars, 90 coal cars, 20 cabooses and 75 service cars--for $10,000,000.