Business: Old Grocery

A strong old man of 91 had a sad announcement to make last week. He was Franklin MacVeagh. Secretary of the Treasury under President Taft, president of Franklin MacVeagh & Co., 66-year-old Chicago wholesale grocery house. The announcement was that the Depression had been too much, the old firm would dissolve. ”My son, Eames, wanted to close the business some time ago,” said Grocer MacVeagh. “But I did not resolve to do so until a week ago. . . . We have gone through several panics and one great disaster, the Chicago fire. The present depression will end, but is the most in-correctable situation I have ever experienced. Never before has one been so difficult to control.”

Liquidation of the firm will be easy, since inventories are low. Some 400 employees will be jobless. Mr. MacVeagh, prominent in many a charitable and civic affair, hinted he may devote his time to writing.