Marchant shouldered the burden

Meanwhile as superintendent, Marchant had acted as the real helmsman, plotting a careful course through the troubled waters of panic and depression. Having impressed his associates with his abilities in both the administrative and manufacturing phases of the business, Marchant was thereupon elected president as well as superintendent.
While economy in salary outlay was a factor in giving virtually complete direction of the operations to Marchant, more important were his competence, his energetic and forceful personality, and his ambition to make the mill a success. The move proved a wise one. As much as one man could, Marchant shouldered the burden of the factory for thirty-five years, and its ultimate success was in large measure his personal accomplishment. --Harry Poindexter