JOHN WANAMAKEB By Ida £ii4iZABBTH Bilby PEBHAPS there are few men to whom the term * * public- Bpirited is more applicable than to John Wanamaker. His mind is a net-work of plans for improving business methods and human conditions; the plans work out and the net-work increases beyond expectation. The Quaker City is justly proud of this man to whom people in every part of the country turn for advice. His interest in social and economic conditions in the city of Philadelphia, as evidenced by gifts of money supplemented by personal attention and time, is a good illustration of his trait of self-spending for the good of the commonwealth. As long ago as 1876, he helped make a suc- cess of the Centennial Exposition held in that historic city, and in 1882 was an enthusiastic worker for the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the founding by William Penn of that city which may be called the birthplace of Amer- ican freedom — the city in which the Declaration of Inde- pendence was signed, the First Continental Congress met, and the Constitution of the United States was framed. He shows a healthy interest in clean politics and is an active factor in all phases of the progress of his native city. His capacity for feeling and helping to relieve distress is shown by the active part which he took in the relief work during the Irish famine, the yellow fever epidemic in the south, the recent Ohio river flood, and the great Bussian famine. Mr. Wanamaker has re- ceived recognition in various ways in his own state and coun- try. He has been offered many political nominations, most of which he has declined. In 1911 the French government made him an Officer of the Legion of Honor. On February 22, 1913, was dedicated at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York, the Indian Memorial of which Mr. Wanamaker was the donor. It was an event fraught with meaning for the nation. The thirty-three full-blooded Indian chiefs, who participated in the dedication, voluntarily drew
