MARKETS: Ex-Messenger Boy

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A small, unassuming man—whose grammar is something less than perfect ("I never had no time for hobbies") but whose 37 years in the catch-as-catch-can grain brokerage business have made him widely known as the "honest Irishman"—was last week elected president of the Chicago Board of Trade.

John Gratin McCarthy, the "honest Irishman," went to work for a Board of Trade firm as messenger boy in 1903. He was 13 at the time and used to sneak out the back door of his home so the gang would not see him in his first pair of long pants. Before long he struck up a friendship with his boss's son, Walter Scoville, a lad of about the same age. In 1921 they formed a partnership, Scoville & Co. (now called McCarthy & Scoville). Broker McCarthy was one of the organizers of the Chicago Board of Trade Clearing House 13 years ago. Aside from Business, his only interest is his family in suburban Glencoe. His pride & joy is his son Jack, who was a Notre Dame halfback.