xt7dnc5s7x9j https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7dnc5s7x9j/data/mets.xml  1920  books b92-63-27078611 English Privately printed, : Louisville, Ky. : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Brown, Thomas Martin, 1878-1920. Thomas Martin Brown, October 14, 1878, January 22, 1920 text Thomas Martin Brown, October 14, 1878, January 22, 1920 1920 2002 true xt7dnc5s7x9j section xt7dnc5s7x9j 
 






















































THOMAS MARTIN BROWN


 





Thomas Martin Brown



October 14, 1878
January 22, 1920


























  Privately Printed
Louisville, Kentucky
      1920


 
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            To
         "Game"
 and his Mother and Sister
   As a Surcease to Us
     And in the Hope
That it Will Help to Soothe
     Their Sorrow, too,
   This Little Booklet is
       Affectionately
         Dedicated
            by
     C. I. HITCHCOCK
     DUNLAP WAKEFPIL)
     CYRIL A. SCHAEFER
  JOHN WILLIAM GRAHAM
     CHARLES BARNABY
     NATHAN GRAHAM


 
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                      A Word


IT is intended that this little book shall be a tribute to
   our dear "old" friend Mart Brown, rather than a mem-
   orial as such, though we know he will live long in
the memory of all with whom he came in contact.
   Indeed, what we have tried to make is a volume that his
friends will keep under their night lights and review time
and again.
   Mart had a capaeity for friendship amounting to genius
and it has been an inspiration to review the beautiful trib-
utes that have been paid to his memory by affectionate
friends and business associates. It has not been possible to
incorporate even the major part of the hundreds of mes-
sages that reached those near and dear who were left to
mourn but the attempt has been made to translate their
composite sentiment into words-a difficult though loving
task.
   We feel that the world is better for Mart Brown having
lived in it and in publishing this tribute we earnestly hope
that we have been able to communicate to others some part
of the wonderful inspiration he has been to us.


 
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Captions of Text Matter



"My" Mart Brown .
Genius For Friendship.
As a Business Mtan.
In Madison's Valley.
A Few Public Tributes    



      Pages
.......... .11
.......... .21
.......... .29
......... 37
.......... .39



            Illuminating The Text


                                               Pages
Thomas Martin Brown ...................... Frontispiece
From Mother to Mother ............      ................. 19
One July Fourth at Black Bridge .................... 27
By Which Rolls the Beautiful Ohio ................... 35


 
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        "My" Mart Brown

THERE were no dark places in Mart Brown's life.
He craved brightness, light, cheerfulness and
when, by some act of thoughtfulness, he could bring
the reflection of an inward joy to the countenance of
even a casual acquaintance, to say nothing of a
friend, it gave him particular pleasure. For Mart
Brown always gave more than he received. It is
difficult to write of him without seeming to show a
sentimentalism that he thoroughly disliked. We
often talked of Friendship, Loyalty and Helpfulness
on little rides together-just we two-and I feel that
on these subjects I knew him better than others. The
little book I wrote several years ago about a friend-
who, praises be, is still living-was often his theme
when the subject of Friendship was uppermost. Mart
always felt that it sounded the clear note. "What I
like most about it," he said more than once, "is the
shining friendship that makes itself felt without any
mawkishness about it. I like to reread it often; it
gives me new courage at times."

   For all his success and his independence Mart,
too, had his gray days just as we all have them. Only
during those periods-which, strangely enough, grew
less and less frequent in late years-he withdrew even
more deeply into a natural reserve. When the Blue
Demons are dominant, most of us hunt for com-
panionship, but Mart would say he was not "fit com-
pany for man or beast" and became less responsive.
Of course he was depreciating himself; that was a



Page Eleven


 


way he had of doing. If he had a big fault it was
that selfsame self-depreciation-half deprecatory;
half apologetic. He apologized if he called without a
special invitation; or, if enjoying himself, he stayed
longer than he felt he should! Just as though we,
with others of his real friends, were not ready, al-
ways, to fight for moments of his time! But if there
was some little service he could perform-anything-
all was again rosy and Mart was back into the thick
of the enjoyment. That which he did for others so
constantly, was always unostentatious and done so
casually that it had no flavor of favor and would only
impress the truly thoughtful. They, indeed, will al-
ways hold a memory of him enshrined in some niche
with mother and father, or sister and brother who,
too, have joined that vast majority of the Silent Ones.
   Those little automobile trips with Mart! I shall
always cherish the recollection of them. We drove
away "out South" one hot Saturday afternoon and
discovered growing head lettuce! I told him of a
black walnut rail fence made from wreckage caused
by the cyclone of thirty years ago and he was not
satisfied until he had seen it and his pocket knife had
revealed the proof. Then, too, there was the never-
to-be-forgotten Sunday ride to Madison. We started
out just for an airing and finally decided to call ou
one of his father's old time employes in La Grange-
he was punctilious about such things. Then Madison
was suggested and we journeyed like pioneers, neither
of us knowing the road and losing our way and find-
ing it time and again. Mart waxed enthusiastic.
Madison was the best place; Madison had the best



Page Twelve


 


people; the view from Madison was the best; one
could get the best candy in Madison! We visited all
the "old-timers," not the successes as the world holds
them, but the happy families of home folks who were
his especial delight. "They are the real people," he
said, "and get more genuine happiness out of life in
a day than we do in a year." Mart was at his best
and the incidents he told were legion: incidents of
boyhood days, of youthful pranks, of Madison "char-
acters," of the old home with the church beside it
where the door was always open and he was either
going in to or coming out from "sociables," his
arms loaded with dishes; of Hanover College on the
high Indiana hills West of Madison where he grad-
uated. The "boys" we visited gave us sandwiches to
eat on the trip home down the Indiana shore and in
the dark we pulled up by the roadside to regale our-
selves. Both set our teeth at the same time ! Both
exclaimed together! Those sandwiches were made of
half chickens between slices of bread and together
with those first bites and laughter we nearly broke our
jaws! Unless it was last New Year's day, when for
an hour or more without a pause he reeled off the
drollest and wittiest sayings while a dozen of us were
weak with laughter and he not cracking even the
ghost of a smile, I never knew Mart in a happier
mood than on that, my first trip to Madison.
   I'm not writing of Mart Brown with the thought
that it will give a wide audience any deep insight into
his character, but rather because of a mournful satis-
faction in recording my impressions of his measure
as a real man and a real friend. There was no half



Page Thirteen


 


way house to Mart Brown's affection. You were ac-
cepted into his innermost heart and it was your home
always where you were as welcome as the springtime
itself-or you were only an acquaintance. He was
quiet, modest and reserved and one really had to seek
him. Yes, he was too quiet, too modest and too re-
served to be widely popular. He had no social aspira-
tions whatever, though business successes and per-
sonal charm would have admitted him to any circle.
What he wanted was friends-every day, true friends
-and "you can't seek them," he once said. "They
just come or they don't come !" So it was that Mart's
friends were among those who trod the simple paths
and kept step on the treadmill of the day's work.
   What we all particularly admired in Mart Brown,
and I can speak for a wide circle of those who shared
my feelings, was his complete devotion to his brother
"Game"-a devotion as completely returned-and
an unusual consideration of his mother. The latter
quality indeed was so ingrained as almost to pass un-
noticed but the occasion was rare indeed that pre-
vented a periodical visit to Indianapolis and a tele-
phone chat every morning with her who was always
his first consideration. Whatever else there was to do
was always secondary. Frequently we, who had been
admitted to the inner circle, could not but comment
upon the cooperation of the "Brothers Inseparable"
so complete as almost to make it uncanny. And what
might be said of one could be said of the other, too.
Such devotion even between brothers closely allied in
business and living together as bachelors, is so rare
as clearly to be marked as an exception well worth



Page Fourteen


 


recording. If they had differences no one knew of
them.
   I have mentioned how fond Mart was of Madison
and Madison home folks. He was always declining
some invitation or other because certain "Madison
folks were in town" and he wanted to show them
some attention. Just because he was successful he
didn't wish them to feel he was "stuck up"-and he
wasn't. He had certain intuitions that were like
those attributed to women, and fine instincts for nice
things. Though living a bachelor life his home was
in the best of taste, and the dinners he gave showed
fine discrimination and were always "just so" affairs.
Though not widely read in the sense of being a stu-
dent, he was unusually well informed on the causes
and effects of current day affairs and we who knew
how fully occupied he was, often wondered where he
found the moments to do it all. Because his nature
was kindly, and his loyalty was a predominant factor,
his benefactions were many but he was of the type
that never permitted his left hand to know what his
right hand did. So those real helpful and downright
charitable acts I came to know about must not be
paraded now that he has moved on into another
sphere. He was fond of children and to a coterie of
childless modern married women friends once made
a proposal. "You are not fulfilling the mission for
which the Creator intended you," he said. "If it
is the expense, as you say, I promise you now an
education for every child you will bring into the
world !" It was said in a tone of badinage of course,
but he meant it-every word.



Page Fifteen


 


   Mart Brown was full of life-one of those well
rounded men who found relief from close application
to business in the good healthy battles among men.
He was fond of wrestling and boxing and rarely
missed a worth-while contest. Baseball however was
his most enjoyed diversion and he would make great
sacrifices rather than miss a World's Series. He knew
the record of every player of note, and never was ab-
sent from his particular corner of his particular box
over first base when the home team was playing in
Louisville. Once he was ambitious to own the Louis-
ville franchise but was glad afterward that his offer
had not been accepted because bigger things came to
occupy his mind, such as the development at Broad-
way and Fourth where "The Inseparables" had ac-
quired property. He gave liberally to every worthy
civic improvement and no deserving one left the un-
pretentious business office of the Brown boys empty
handed. There was only one stipulation ever: "No
publicity !"

   Of the lumber business I know nothing, it may
be said with perfect frankness, except as to the at-
mosphere surrounding Mart Brown. It was his great
occupation; his constant thought.  Sometimes the
problems to be met were so big and so important that
he took the pains to explain them and their effect and
I could but be interested in the wide range of thought
that brought about certain conclusions. His position
in the counsels of hardwood contemporaries was as-
sured and they, who knew of his capabilities better
far than I, have told me of their great admiration for
his ability, for his keenness of perception and for the



Page Sixteen


 


fighting qualities that gained their respect and won
their cooperation. For they tell me, too, that he al-
most single handed, advanced and had adopted one
idea or one rule, or whatever it was, that saved the
hardwood lumber people from themselves! I do not
pretend to understand just what it was all about; I
only know that it is so and that the business will owe
Mart Brown its best and highest thought for many
years to come.

   When the shocking news came that Mart Brown
had passed on in Chicago and almost alone, it
caused a momentary mental paralysis, almost impos-
sible of understanding, to that group of friends of
which I had the honor of being one. But a few days
before he had left in happy spirits for a trip to New
York to meet "Sis" as he affectionately termed his
sister. From there he had gone on to Chicago for a
conference with his brother, and had remained over
for another day for a lumber meeting, intending to
follow "Game" to Louisville the next night. He had
been feeling badly in New York but no one thought
it serious. That is almost all of the story. The
physicians who were called, and who did their poor
best, of course, pronounced it cerebral hemorrhage
but we who knew that Mart had long suffered from a
stomach disorder believe that the end came from
something more deeply seated than even he realized.
And we who would have shared with him our all,
anytime, are now steeped in regrets that we did not
insist upon his consulting specialists. What vain
regrets! His own Madison is his last earthly resting
place-elsewhere would have been a sacrilege-with



Page Seventeen


 


the mound yet covered with the flowers he loved;
flowers strewn by friendly hands from North, East,
South and West. I never attended services more
simple or less ostentatious. They were in the "church
next door" to the old home that he talked so much
about. I could not but recall then my other visit
there with Mart, and the joyousness it held, and how
he had radiated life and happiness. There were two
points in the service I shall always remember: the
simple introductory words of the minister who of-
ficiated saying that ever since he had lived in Madi-
son he had "heard of Mart Brown" and always
wanted to know him and the hymn "Lead Thou Me
On" repeated as a prayer by the "minister cousin" of
whom Mart often spoke with so much pride. A hun-
dred friends from Louisville had gone there to pay
their last tribute to him, and even the railway people
showed unusual respect by "taking down," from the
high hills into the valley where Madison lies, and by
which ever rolls the beautiful Ohio, the first Pullman
car in fifteen years or more. From the "church next
door" we wended our way to the Place where father
and brothers lay-not a cold tomb but a bed of flow-
ers.
   I, a brother in affection and association, could
think of only this short homely benediction as I
offered a twig of acacia to the evergreen memory of
my friend:
   "Goodbye, Mart Brown. We will miss you."
                                   C.I. H.
   Louisville, Ky., February 4,1920.



Page Eighteen




 

















A Mother is a Mother still,
The holiest thing alive.
                   -Coleridge.



From Mother to Mother



APIA_    4, 17;ow
r,_        d ke a,


 
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      Genius for Friendship

        God, who made me such as I am, who put
     me in this tumultuous and complicated scene,
     and who day by day, in fortune or calamity,
     leads me through a variety of deeds to the
     complete possession of my own soul and body,
     help me, 0 God, and spare me, that I may be
     neither broken in body nor soured in mind, but
     issue from these tribulations cheerful, serv-
     iceable and unambitious, as befits a human
     man among men.-From recently discovered
     and hitherto unpublished letter of Robert
     Louis Steveneon.

AS BEFITS a human man among men" offers
     in its way the keynote of the relations of
Mart Brown  with those who were privileged
to have his acquaintance and friendship. It is not
too much to say that he possessed a positive genius
for friendship. The evidence to this effect is remark-
able in many respects. It is a time honored rule from
the ancients that "nothing but good should be said
of the dead" but it is to be questioned whether there
is a living man or woman who would have even the
inclination to say anything but good in the case of
Mart Brown.
   When the news of his sudden taking-off was
flashed over the wires and communicated by letter and
newspapers throughout the country it caused a dis-
tinct shock and a very peculiar sense of personal be-
reavement to men and women widely separated and
occupying widely different stations in life. Those
upon whom the duty and melancholy pleasure fell of



Page Twenty-one


 


rendering intimate service to Mart Brown's loved ones
at the time of their bereavement were profoundly
impressed with the character of the tributes to his
memory which poured in by telegraph and through
the mails. Even those who were most intimately as-
sociated with him in life were astonished at the ex-
tent and the character of the tributes of affection and
respect paid to him. It was not at all as if he who
had passed on were a modest private citizen but as if
some man of high public prominence were concerned.
The mere fact of fame in such instances results in a
volume of expressions of condolence but in the nature
of the case they are largely perfunctory. Here they
were genuine and spontaneous expressions of real
personal grief. This note was unmistakable even in
those messages which came from purely business as-
sociates and acquaintances who in the ordinary course
of events would not be expected to form personal at-
tachments.
   One is struck in reading over these letters which
came to the members of his family to note the singular
repetition of the phrase that "he was the best friend
I ever had." When reflecting that assurances of this
sort came from all sections of the country, from men
and women, and from those of high and low degree,
the essential democracy and fineness of Mart Brown's
nature can be appreciated.   One dear woman in
writing struck a poignant note when she quoted her
son as saying: "No one was held in higher esteem
than Mart Brown and his going will take a great deal
out of the lives of many people, high and low." The
same note is heard in another letter which remarks



Page Twenty-two


 


that "his splendid life meant so much to all his
friends." We read a message from the chief executive
of a great American city: "He was always a friend
of mine a real friend, a friend worth -having" and
as a companion to this we have the same tribute from
a woman of modest station who wrote from the heart
that he was "true friend to me and mine so very
many times had he come to my rescue and assistance
in my troubles and misfortunes." A gentleman of
large affairs in his grief could only say, "Dear old
Mart," and this same affectionate use of "old" is
found in the letter from a woman who out of heart
declared that "no man was ever a truer friend or
finer man than dear old Mart Brown."
   Strong men but rarely have the capacity for ex-
pressing tenderness and in a measure shrink from
declaring affection for a man, but so strong was the
hold that Mart Brown had upon the hearts of men of
this character that they lost their habit of reticence
and spoke of him in unreserved terms. An example
is found in the case of a high railroad official who
declared that "in all my years I never knew a dearer,
nor one whom I so loved as I loved and respected
him."
   Possibly one of the most touching examples of the
deep character of the friendships Mart Brown in-
spired is found in a letter from far-off California.
One reads this tribute: "He was such a royal pal
with business associates" and then the letter abruptly
stops. We turn the page and find that the man who
was dictating this tribute was compelled to discon-
tinue because, as his wife explained, "Mr. B. is too



Page Twenty-three


 


weak to dictate longer-he wants you to know that
our physician at home and others here have pro-
nounced his condition hopeless-it is unspeakably
hard to write this but he has requested me to do so."
   Mart Brown was loved by many women who re-
garded him as a fond and indulgent brother. One
of these writes from a foreign country: "For many
years Mart has been to me a wonderful friend-the
friend one has but once in a lifetime and never a
memory to mar the beauty of that friendship." Still
another woman writes: "I have lost the real friend
of a lifetime" and the sense of desolation which the
news of his death created is indicated by still an-
other who wrote: "There is just nothing, nothing,
that I know how to say to you, for I loved Mart, too,
and the pain and the loss I feel are the only things
that I know" and still another writes: "He was so
big in thought, deed and achievement and I know
that truer devotion never existed than between the
two of you" [the brothers].
   All men upon some occasion cast their thoughts
to the beyond and at some time recognize the validity
of the conception that this life is but a brief span and
a preparation for a life to come. When those who are
dear to us pass on the thought comes that the manner
of living this life will determine one's condition in
the beyond.   Measured by this conception Mart
Brown's friends give wonderful testimony as to the
fineness of his living. One gentleman expressed this
when he remarked that "there is much solace in
thinking of the remarkably productive life he led
and the interests he showed so materially in others."



Page Twenty-four


 


He added that "it would be hard to measure in words
the good he did for others." Here we have the echo
of the greatest thought in the world for many cen-
turies: "Even as ye do it unto the least of these,
my brethren, ye do it unto me." A close relative
with great feeling declared that "Mart surely made
the most of his life." Still another woman friend
also speaks sympathetically of the "great adventure"
and exclaims of her dead friend: "And who wea
more fitted "
   There is still a further phase of the friendships
and affections which Mart Brown inspired. It was
not only that he endeared himself to the companions
of his lighter moments, and as well to men with whom
he had business relations, but he made instant appeal
to the hearts of good women whose sons were his
familiars. Writing to Mart's mother one dear good
woman said: "So fine, honorable and upright, so
lovable, I was so glad for my son to have such a true
friend with such characteristics" and she added with
deep feeling: "Mrs. Brown, your son left a most
beautiful memory-indeed it is a legacy to his
friends."
   It has been said that the tributes to Mart Brown
came from those of high and low degree. It is un-
fortunately not given to all to be able to express in
fitting terms what one feels but the brilliant chief
executive of a great state most beautifully summar-
ized Mart Brown's character in a letter of sympathy
to his brother in which he said:
   "My heart is with you in your great grief, and I
know that every friend who loved you and who loved



Page Twenty-fi


 


Mart thinks of you, sympathizes with you and hopes
that some power will help you bear your great sor-
row.
   "We all loved Mart because he loved every living
thing and bound his friends to him by his kindness,
thoughtfulness and devotion. There is so little at last
that one can say in such an hour of affliction, but I
know from my own experience that a word from a
friend and the consciousness of their sympathy
softens the blow, lessens the pain, and by bringing
the sense of friendship to us, does much to lighten
the blow which cannot be understood. There is one
thought which always comes to me of my dead-
that kindness, nobility, generosity and love never die;
that somewhere they still exist, and I have always
felt that the dead from the skies bles us, are round
about us and are with us in our hours of joy and
pain. So it is-and so it will be with you."



Page Twenty-s8i




 


























             . . . Children know,
Instinctive taught, the friend and foe.
                           -Scott.



One Fourth of July at Black Bridge


 
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As Business Man



      Seest thou a man diligent in his business
      He shall stand before Kings.
                -Proverbs of Solomon, XXII, 29.


I T IS NOT the purpose in this little book to pre-
    sent any detailed record of the life and business
achievements of Thomas Martin Brown. What he
accomplished is known to all men engaged in the
great business to whose advancement he gave freely
of his energy and great ability. Lumber business
papers, in sympathetic personal tributes and expert
estimates of his character and achievements, have
given signal recognition of the elements of his career
and his fine, constructive influence. Here it is only
intended that some glimpses shall be given of the
part he played in the great arena of business-an
arena in which deeds are being done today which
rival in daring, resourcefulness, fortitude and knight-
ly generosity the storied records of romance and war.
   One need not be old to recall the day when the
rule of caveat emnptor-"let the buyer beware"-pre-
vailed in business. In those days sharp practice was
excused on the plea that "Business is Business," the
implication, of course, being that while the rules of
honor and consideration for others might be regarded
as valid in purely personal and social relations, such
rules had no place in the marts of trade. It was a
fallacious and infinitely mischievous assumption that
one might be an honorable gentleman in one sphere



Page Tweenty-nnhe


 


of life and in another sphere be free from the
obligations of courtesy and fair dealing. It was,
therefore, not the least of Mart Brown's claims to the
respect and affection of those who knew him that in
his business relations he was in nowise different from
the man he was in his private life. Indeed, his
career completely refutes the rule that "Business is
Business" if that phrase is interpreted to mean that
it condones selfishness and unfair practices.  He
proved on the contrary that Business is Character.
When Character is the essential basis, the qualities of
courage, resourcefulness, far-sight and shrewdness
have the opportunity for legitimate exercise. No re-
sults, however imposing in extent, are enduring or
constitute Success in any proper sense if they are
secured at the expense of Character.
   It is to be doubted if Mart Brown ever formulated
any code of business ethics or sought to evolve any
philosophy of business practice. As if by instinct he
knew, however, that in the complicated matter of life
there are, so to speak, no leak-proof compartments
in which the acts done in one bear no relation to the
acts done in another. Thus it was he so conducted
his business affairs as to number among his most
devoted personal friends many men who in business
were his competitors. That he should, with his
brother-who at all times was as his other self-ob-
serve the rules of courtesy, consideration and fair
dealing and so richly improve the business heritage
from his father, constituted e genuinely notable
achievement in one of the great basic industries of
American business.



Page Thirty


 


   The merely biographical details of Mart Brown's
life may be briefly outlined. Born October 14, 1878,
at Madison, Indiana, to William Pool and Mary
Graham Brown, he came of sturdy Scotch stock, his
father being a native of Dumfries, Scotland, where he
was born in 1841, and was brought to America in
his infancy. The father made a widely known and
honorable name for himself in the lumber business,
operating extensively in Eastern Kentucky. He lived
to realize the joy of seeing his sons grow to clean
and vigorous manhood, ready and capable to carry
on and expand the work his brain and hands had
created. Thus in time the organization known as
the W. P. Brown  Sons Lumber Company came into
being at Louisville, Ky., in 1902. The Brown boys
conducted a wholesale business for ten years and in
1912 a daring policy of expansion was inaugurated.
Large timber holdings were successively acquired in
the Southern field until now the company is running
eight hand mills at Fayette and Guin, Ala., Macon,
Ga., and Brasfield, Allport and Furth, Arkansas.
These operations brought the need for changes in
organization. At first it was a co-partnership 4e-
tween the father and his two sons and then, upon
the father's death in 1914, a co-partnership between
the estate and the sons. Later, in July of 1919, the
business was incorporated for 500,000 with J. G.
Brown as president and T. M. Brown as vice presi-
dent and treasurer. This corporation now enjoys in
the hardwood industry the distinction of being one
of the few largest organizations of its kind in Amer-
ica and is everywhere known for its enterprise.



Page Thirty-one


 


   The standing of the firm and the prestige which
Mart Brown enjoyed in the business is demonstrated
by the part both firm and he individually played in
the important associations within the trade. It is prob-
ably true that he spent as much of his time and
thought in the promotion of the interests of the busi-
ness as a whole as he did to the firm to which his first
allegiance was due. In this he was far-sighted be-
cause he was wise enough to know that there is more
real progress for an individual in advancing the in-
terests of those similarly circumstanced than there
is in a policy of selfish aloofness. This participation
in the concerns of the business as a whole was illus-
trated not only in his immediate environment of
Louisville but in the nation as well. He was a domi-
nant spirit in the Louisville Hardwood Club and this
organization enjoys more than a merely local fame
by reason of the perfect frankness which has at all
times marked its meetings and its activities. It has al-
ways provided a forum in which, due to Mart Brown,
the members discussed with perfect freedom even
those trade problems which ordinarily are considered
as purely the concern of the individual. In this way
trade harmony was established upon a sound basis of
frankness and mutual trust and every member bene-
fited proportionately. As illustrating Mart Brown's
influence it is told that the Hardwood Club, in some
periods when he was not able to give it his personal
attention, was disposed to hold meetings at less than
the intervals which he favored but every time his in-
terests permitted him to return to the organization he
succeeded in re-establishing the weekly basis.



Page Thirty-two


 


   In the nation he was one of the directors of the
National Hardwood Lumber Manufacturers Associa-
tion whose meeting he was attending in Chicago at
the time of his unfortunate death. He was a mem-
ber of the executive committee of this organization
and was also a director of the National Wholesale
Lumber Dealers Association and the Southern Hard-
wood Traffic Association, as well as all the minor
associations affecting the business in which he was in-
terested. He was largely instrumental in launching
the influential Traffic Association which he served as
vice president in clharge of Louisville operations.
   The same modesty which marked his personal as-
sociations also characterized his attitude toward his
business associates and he consistently declined of-
ficial preferment. As one of the newspapers of his
business, the "Hardwood Record," says: "When mat-
ters of interest to any branch of the hardwood indus-
try were at stake his shoulder was always at the wheel,
modest, interested, willing to do anything, willing to
argue it out, but always with the desire to act for the
greatest number rather than with selfish motives."
   Lumber men, who alone are capable of passing an
intelligent opinion, unanimously pay tribute to the ef-
ficient organization of the business of the W. P.
Brown  Son