176 THE PORTRAIT GALLERY 
HEAD OF THE HOUSE OF ARMOUR 
69. On the death of P. D. Armour in 1901, the responsibility 
for the great business of Armour and Company fell upon his 
eldest son, J. Ocp—en ARMour. Mr. ARMouR possesses in high de- 
gree the masterly characteristics of his father, and with quieter 
methods he has secured as firm a grasp on the business as was 
held by his paternal predecessor. 
Mr. ARMourR was born in Milwaukee, Wis., November 11, 1863, 
but came to Chicago in 1875 with his family. He was educated 
at Harvard school, Chicago, and entered Yale college in 1880. 
Owing to his father’s desire to give him early training and experi- 
ence in the business of the firm, he sacrificed his final college 
year, and returned to Chicago for duty in 1883. His apprentice- 
ship began at once, and after serving a year in subordinate posi- 
tions, he became a partner. He early showed the necessary energy 
and close attention required by his father and advanced steadily 
in leadership. 
Since his accession to the business in 1901, the annual gross 
income has grown from $182,000,000 a year to $1,065,000,000 in 
1919. The company activities were greatly developed and ex- 
tended by original and modern means. Economy and business 
efficiency were applied both to manufacture and distribution, 
enabling lower prices to the public and higher values to the pro- 
ducers. His work has been essentially that of development and he 
has built numerous plants in the near vicinity of the livestock 
producing regions in order to eliminate the necessity of long live- 
stock shipments. Today he operates at logical points some fifteen 
plants in the United States and in addition has several in Canada 
and South America. Under his guidance the number of branch 
houses distributing Armour products has reached over four 
hundred, while the refrigerator and tank service in 1918 totalled 
5,435 cars. He has succeeded in increasing the utilization of 
byproducts; has paid great attention to educational and informa- 
