When a Swedish-American attains extraordinary success here in this land of tough competition, nobody is more glad to hear about it than your editor and publisher. We are glad for the individual's sake, and also because we feel that his achievement reflects credit on the Swedish race.

The young man we are going to present today cannot be said to have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he belongs to the class of men who possess the magic touch of Midas, everything they lay their hands on being transformed into gold without, however, suffering the unpleasant consequences which overtook that mythical Phrygian king.

When a man makes an outstanding success of himself in his chosen work, the common run of people is apt to cry, "Luck!" Maybe so. But certainly luck directed by concentrated energy and will power, good judgment and a thorough understanding of the factors which affect one's business.

The name Anders Edward Anderson is as Swedish as can be, and the man himself takes pride in his nationality, unlike some upstarts who become Americanized to such an extent that they even forget their mother tongue, or at least pretend to have forgotten it. Yes, Anders Anderson is a Swede, and proud of it, and this in spite of the fact that 95 per cent of the people with whom he does business are of nationalities other than Swedish.

Some twenty years ago, there were few people in the southern part of Sweden who did not know or had not heard about the building contractor Anderson. This widely known and popular person was the father of the man we have been talking about, and on his farm, in Skane Tranas, Anders Edward Anderson was born, January 11, 1866. Skane Tranas is located not far from Ystad, and in that city the photograph which is reproduced on this page was taken when Mr. Anderson, a couple of years ago, visited the old home.

The contractor, Anderson's father, did most of the construction work on the Piper estate and other large estates belonging to the nobles of Skane; both he and his sons thus had the opportunity to observe the aristocracy at close 3range, and acquired a sincere disdain for the same. His utter contempt for the aristocratic bureaucracy, which at that time was prevalent in Skane, probably made Anderson what he is today, a democrat, a democrat in the Swedish meaning of the word.

In 1889 Anderson decided to try his wings and set out for America. He worked first on a farm in McHenry County, Illinois, but soon tired of that, and went to Chicago. Here he went to work in the building trade, and after some time he managed to put over a couple of real estate deals, which netted him a few hundred dollars. This was the turning point in Anderson's life. He decided to make real estate his field, and with a persistence typical of the sons of Skane, he has stuck to this business, which has brought him success and proved so profitable that he is today the biggest Swedish property owner in Chicago. He has discontinued the commission end of the business, and is now buying and selling exclusively for his own account.

To start this business with two empty hands and build it up to its present status requires personal qualities of high order, not merely luck. A great Swede once said that "the people of the North possess inborn possibilities, 4greater and of a wider range than those of most other races, but the inner warmth necessary to ripen the latent seed to complete fruition is lacking." However, this deficiency in the Northerner is often remedied when he is transplanted to this country, and comes under the influence of the restless activity which prevails here, and particularly if he has within him that priceless Swedish heritage, the genuine steel of the soul, which emerges from misfortune and suffering ever sharp and untarnished.

That is how Anders Anderson arrived where he is today. America provided the necessary stimulus for his latent business talent, and we congratulate him on his accomplishment.

His roomy, well-appointed offices in suites 208, 209, and 210 of the Unity Building are dignified and quiet; business is being transacted without loud talking, and almost the only noise one hears is the busy clicking of typewriters.

Mr. Anderson claims that he has not had time to get married. He is a member of King Oscar Lodge and Mystic Shrine Medinah Lodge, and is also a 32nd degree 5Mason. As befits a financially independent, unattached bachelor, he makes his home at the comfortable Lexington Hotel, 22nd Street and Michigan Avenue.

When you leave Mr. Anderson, you carry away with you the memory of a man possessed of an electrifying personality, good humor and plenty of energy.