OF THE SADDLE AND SIRLOIN CLUB 71 



A WIZARD OF WOOL 



22. Possibly as wide an acquaintance as was ever enjoyed 

 among the sheepmen of America was held by Robert B. 

 Thomson. Mr. Thomson was a man untrained in husbandry 

 and previous to 1905 was unheard of in the wool trade. Never- 

 theless, in the last years of his life he became one of the most 

 widely quoted authorities on wool market conditions and his 

 amiable spirit won him hundreds of friends, both in the east 

 and west. Mr. Thomson was charged with the organization of 

 the National Wool Warehouse and Storage Co., and in spite of 

 intrigue, conspiracy and other troubles carried it to a successful 

 realization. When the undertaking was first launched, many 

 severe and unjust criticisms were made by the short-sighted and 

 partisan men who had been attempting to back the wool industry 

 previously, but nothing of criticism was directed toward the per- 

 sonality that effected the organization. 



Robert Boyd Thomson was born in Chicago, April 21, 1869, 

 of Scottish descent. At the close of his school training he 

 entered the employ of the Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., 

 remaining with them until his death. In 1889 he took up his 

 residence in Morgan Park, and was actively identified with its 

 development. He was one of the founders of the Morgan Park 

 Presbyterian Church and became an elder in it at the age of 21. 

 For many years he was a trustee of the Village Board and acted 

 as trustee of the Morgan Park Academy during the troublous 

 period of its financing. Mr. Thomson was a stockyards man 

 to the core, and was intimately concerned in its growth and 

 development. During his later years he acted as treasurer of 

 the Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., and of the Chicago Junction 

 Railway Co. He was one of the organizers and first president 

 of the Calumet Trust & Savings Bank in 1904, but resigned later 

 when the burdens of the Wool Warehouse began to absorb hi? 

 time. 



