236 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May I, 1 90 1. 



assured him that " he would notify him if his building was in 

 danger." And to all appearances the fire was a good distance 

 away, when it was discovered that a large firebrand had been 

 blown upon the roof, which caught fire, and before any one had 

 observed it the upper floor was in flames, soon after which the 

 rubber goods were reached and quickly consumed. Mr. Clapp 

 did succeed in removing a few cases from the lower floor to a 

 place beyond the range of the fire, only to find their contents 

 stolen a few hours later. The goods had been insured largely 

 in local companies and consequently the loss was almost total. 

 In addition to the loss of stock, Mr. Clapp had given a bonus 

 to his late partners. 



Nothing daunted, Mr. Clapp, before another day passed, had 

 secured part of a store on Oliver street, had telegraphed to 

 New York and elsewhere for goods, and by the following morn- 

 ing had started again in business. By running his mills day 

 and night he was enabled to fill the large orders which he soon 

 received for blankets, coats, and 

 other rubber goods. In six 

 months after the fire he had 

 made a clean profit of $46,000. 

 He next leased the new building, 

 Nos. 183-185 Devonshire street, 

 which extended through to 44-46 

 Arch street, and for a number of 

 years occupied the entire build- 

 ing. 



In July, 1874, Mr. Clapp went 

 to Europe with his family for the 

 purpose of placing his daughters 

 in school at Fontainebleau, 

 France. Before his return he vis- 

 ited the large rubber establish- 

 ments in England, and thereby 

 gained information which proved 

 of advantage in his own work. 

 In June, 1875, he revisited Europe, 

 and spent four months in travel- 

 ing with his family in England 

 and on the continent. In 1878 

 he went abroad again, visiting 

 the Paris exposition and touring 

 in Ireland and Scotland. With 

 these exceptions Mr. Clapp was 

 rarely absent, for any length of 

 time, from the daily management 

 of his business. He continued 

 on Devonshire street until he be- 

 came obliged, by failing health, 



to gradually relinquish the details of business, and give it his 

 daily personal attention. Then, for a short time, the business 

 was carried on in a small way at No. 7 Otis street. It was a 

 great cross to bring his mind to the belief that he must give up 

 his plans for the future, but after a few years of experimenting 

 in various ways, without satisfactory result, he gradually dis- 

 posed of his stock of goods and retired from the city business. 

 Two years before his death he sold the factory buildings. 



It will have been seen that Mr. Clapp's business life was by 

 no means all smooth sailing. The many difficulties and dis- 

 appointments he had to overcome and the great losses he bore 

 would have utterly discouraged and wrecked many others, but 

 he never lost courage. For many years he was a leader in the 

 rubber business, and eminently successful. He was conserv- 

 ative in method and a strict disciplinarian in business rule, and 

 always insisted in having his wishes carried out by his clerks. 



Some of the men in his employ have since expressed their 

 deep gratitude to him for their early business training. 



Mr. Clapp's last illness was the indirect result of an accident 

 which occurred in 1864, when he was thrown to the ground by 

 a refractory horse, his left knee being injured. Dr. Hodges, 

 an eminent surgeon of Boston, told him that some time trouble 

 would develop from the injury, and ordered him to remain in 

 bed for six weeks at least. But his active spirit rebelled, and 

 in two weeks after the accident, he was carried to a carriage 

 daily and was driven to his office, where he spent a large part 

 of each day thereafter. By slow degrees he regained the use of 

 the injured leg, and for more than fifteen years it was appar- 

 ently as strong as the other. In 1879 he sprained the ankle of 

 the injured leg, and from that time he was never free of trouble 

 from it. In July of 1889 Mr. Clapp had a slight congestive 

 attack, which did not confine him to his bed. He continued 

 to drive to his factory and office, and seemingly was gaining in 



RESIDENCE OF C. M. CLAPP (ROXBURY, MASS.) RETAINED BY HIS l-AMU.Y. 



Strength, when in October following he again sprained the 

 ankle, and from that time he had little use of it. His mind re- 

 mained perfectly clear, however, and continued as active as 

 ever. He kept informed of the events of the day and attended 

 to the general routine of business, while through his intimate 

 relations with leading business men he contributed much to 

 the success of many public movements. 



Some time in October, 1890, Mr. Clapp had another slight at- 

 tack, from which he quickly rallied. But in the June following 

 he suffered from a very serious attack and for weeks his life 

 was despaired of. It was at this time that he fought the great- 

 est struggle of his life. When the crisis had passed he began 

 rapidly to improve, and in six months beseemed to have taken 

 a new lease of life. He took frequent drives, received and en- 

 tertained his friends and also attended to the winding up of 

 his business affairs, personally making sales of merchandise, 



