Checker Cab Manufacturing Co.

Among the thousands of immigrants arriving in America in 1913 was a 19-year-old Russian named Morris Markin. According to family legend, Markin had but $2 in his pocket, which was not enough for the $25 minimum cash assets required to enter the country, so a sympathetic janitor lent him the difference.

Markin moved on to Chicago, where he had relatives, and managed to land a job as a tailor’s assistant. He worked hard and saved his money, so that when the shop owner eventually died, Markin was able to purchase the establishment from the widow. He and one of his brothers partnered to grow the business, and in time expanded it into a pants factory. After landing a World War I contract to make uniform pants, Markin soon became a rather prosperous man.

Markin comes across as a shrewd fellow, but he also must have been fairly generous, because he loaned $15,000 to a friend who