Business: JOHN ANDREW BARR

Modern Retailer

JOHN ANDREW BARR, 51, handsome Hoosier, is the best proof in U.S. business that ugly ducklings do indeed turn into swans. As a vice president, secretary and legal counsel for Montgomery Ward & Co. under depression-minded, penny-pinching Chairman Sewell Avery, Barr was as undistinguished as a duckling; his chief claim to fame was that he showed a rare ability to survive the purges and resignations that cost Ward's five presidents and 30 vice presidents in 23 years. Barr managed to stay by avoiding open conflict with Avery, kept quiet about things that...

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