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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES

soon w as remedied by the stem fiber and loyal hearts o f its citizens. A s the son o f R ohr M cH enry, who de­ scended from one of the families who were the first to move into the upper sections o f Columbia county, John G. M cH enry early in life displayed signs o f unusual busmcss abil­ ity and creative instinct. F o r many decades Kohr M cH enry had coitducted the business of distilling whiskey. T he product had long en­ joyed a local reputation and the “ Still House," back o f "W hiskey H ill," perhaps a mile and a quarter from the village, was the objective pomt o f many farm ers, who filled their ju gs with spirits whenever they were in the vicinity. T he first M cH enry engaged in the manufacture and sale o f whiskey at Benton had established the business in i8 t2 and the product gradually gained a r^ u tatio n for purity and medicinal qu^ities. *rowards the end of the nineteenth century M c llc m y whiskey, because of these qualities, began to be known far beyond the confines of the county. Rohr M cH enry recog­ nized the commercial possibilities o f his pro­ duction to a certain extent only, and under his ownership the plant grew steadily but slowly, in amount o f output. Meanwhile, his sons were receiving excellent educations, and John G . w as preparing to fulfill the functions o f his subsequent successful administration of the plant. During the closing days of the nineteenth centur)' and the early part of the twentieth changes in the business were manifested. Plans for a greater future production w'cre discussed and the advertising pos.sibilities of the long and honorable career of the firm were devcluped. T h is w as due to the active association in the firm o f John G . M cH enry, who cs.scntially w as of the modem type o f business man. M r. M cH enry at once appreciated the value of the phrase “ Bom 18 12 ," and began the e x ­ ploitation of the term by comprehensive and nation-wide advertising. W'hen the death of his father occurred, he naturally assumed the sole jurisdiction of the (hen rapidly growing business, and began to increase the daily out­ put, necessary to meet the additional demand, in a careful and systematic manner. H e cre­ ated an executive organization o f high efficiency to handle the selling end, administer the finan­ cial affairs and supervise the manufacture of the product. M r. M cH enry maneuvered his advertising campaigns with bold and success­ ful strokes. H e distributed enormous sums o f money all over the United States. Orders more than the plant could handle rolled into the offices in a golden stream. Even the in­

creased facilities could not take care of them and it w as necessary to replan and build other utilities to accommodate the increase o f busi­ ness. in 1905 the concern, which had been in­ corporated under the name of the K ohr Mc­ H enry Distilling Qim pany, w as booming and faced a future o f infinite promise. Its adopted trade mark, "B o m 18 12 ," w as aiding in bring­ ing in the results— results that naturally ac­ crued througl) the superiority of the product over others o f a sim ilar nature. H ad its young executive continued to devote his singular busi­ ness talents and acumen to the further devel­ opment alone o f this proposition—a business which had come to him, through his forefathers and one o f long and honorable record— the ex­ tent o f still further growth w as immeasurable and only the hand o f time could have marked the limit. But he w as a man o f altruistic vision, a mod­ est and unassuming philanthropist in some w ays, and eveit in the days o f his greatest busi­ ness promise o f a decade ago his mind w as planning visionary schemes, which he Itoped would better the living conditions and financial status o f his community. Casting about for a way in which he could ^ s t attain the necessary )Osition o f power, from which he could put lis ideas into effect, he decided to enter the field o f politics. A t the conclusion o f a mas­ terly campaign he w as elected to Congress in 1906. He served his constituency with the utmost brilliancy and efficiency and his abili­ ties were early recognized by Democratic House leaders, who appointed him to service on the important Congressional committees. Mr. M cH enry’s business success and his rise to power as Congressman materially aided h is popularity, and he grew to be the most beloved man in (he section. Ills well known progressiveiiess attracted further investments in his business. H e had a natural aptitude fo r bank­ ing and finance, and one o f his earliest achieve­ ments w as the founding of the Columbia County National Bank, ot Benton, an institu­ tion he served in the capacity o f president fo r many years. H e was the factor that estab­ lished a scries o f Grange banks throughout the State, planning them as nuclei fo r sim ilar banks to be founded in every State and com ­ munity, and thus build up a money power con­ trolled by agricultural interests which in time would equal the capitalization o f State savings banks. A singular commentary on the fa l­ lacy o f human endeavor is that these banking institutions which he founded at the expense o f great personal endeavor and investment su r­ vived the crash of the later financial ruin in