The Penn's Grove record., 1884-02-16
Phil Armour.

The Armour boys were born on a farm
in northern New York, not far from
Watertown. Perry Il. Smith was raised
on a farm Il the .neighborhood Of their
homestead. The best country tavern
Tor miles around was kept by Perry
Smiths father. Everybody IN the 10
caIlty knew the Armours, not because
they were rich or Influential, but be-
cause the boys had all OF them such
Swapping broad shoulders and looked
all OF them as much alike as peas in Il
pod. Phil Armour was going to the
county academy. A gentleman now IN
Evanston was principal. The boy
played hockey one afternoon, and, with
the rrettlest girl in the academy, took
a ride with a borrowed horse and buggy.
1t was an innocent eseapade; bat to the
mind OF the pedagOguea terrible breach
OF discipline. Botn the youngsters were
expelled. The boy pleaded iOr his COM
pauion. The pedagogue vas inexor
able. That night Philip told his mother
that il ne could get released from his
indenture he would start iOr CllifOr-
MA.
From the day he reached California
TO q day somewhere along IN the sixties,
when he entered into partnership with
Mr.. Plankinton, in Milwaukee, ne had
made money with amazing rapidlty.
He had gotten together about $500, 600.
1t was with him a tOss.up tUr awhile
whether to go INTO numbering or pork
packing. Finally he bought out the
interest OF MI, Layton II the firm OF
Layton Il PankiutOA.
During the war all the pork-packers
over the country made money. Half OF
them were kept going filling army con-
tracts, Chicago was not then the only
great packing city in the world. Gin
cmnati, st. Louis, Cleveland and New
York were the headquarters for the
great pork kings. The firm OF Plankin-
ton. Armour Y Co. were known as Il
wealthy and weIl-conducted concern,
but Its partners were scarcely spoken OF
in the same breath with some al the
millionaire partners at st. Louis and
Cincinnati. Pork was going just before
the close of the war at $40 a barrel.
Armour says he dreamed one night that
there was to be a great break in it. 1t
set him thinking. On the way to his
office he stopped at MIR. Planklntons
house.
Perks too high" sad the junior
partner.
81 think so, too, answered the senior
"take the train this morning for New
York and sell what you can"
81 can't get through" replied Ar
mour,
Meyer mind" said Plankinton, ''get
as far as you can"
Armour got to New York, went ''short"
of pork at $40 and never took it until
it was selling at SIS. This was his first
great strike. 1t made him easily a
millionaire; but that New York expert
ence, he said, was the most terrible he
ever had in his hfe-worse than the trlp
across the plains ten times over, There
was no Armour house in Gotham
III those days, The business was
done through Messrs. Wallace ~
Wicks, a great firm which ranked as
Bows & Co. does now. All the blg
packers in the country, with a very few
exceptions, were ''bulls' on provisions.
same time Phil Armour did, and was a
bear" too. But the Cleveland pack
ers, the Indianapolis, Cincinnati, st
| Louis and New York manufacturers were
| buyers. Messrs. Wallace a Weeks did
business for all, were bulllsh them
/ selves and loaded up with produce upon
which advances had been made. There
were conferences each night at the
Fifth avenue hotel, traps wera set, IN
vi.at1ons issued, dinners given, heaven
and earth moved to get young Armour
and Kent into the great provision pot.
Armour would not go near the meetings
and would baye nothing to do with the
pool. He insisted upon selling, but
found it no easy thing to do. He or
dered his agents to sell a large lot oi
pork. They asked him it he had it tc
sell.
II was none Of their business he said.
If they wanted margins, let them name
the sum. Selling ''shOrt" was, they
ielared, wicked business, They'd never
done II aud didn't approve Of it. They
tried to persuade Armour that he was
wrong, but would give no decisive re
fusal. Stepping across the street to
well known brokers' Office, he gave an
order to sell 0 1000 barrels, simply an
u~ouncing his name. Before l knew
that the order had been given, - said
Mr.. Armour, not long ago, in describing
this experience, ''the sales were re-
ported. / asked the broker what mar
gins he wanted. He said that he would
arrange 1t in the morning." This was
the first Of his short selling. He con
tinued it to the terror Of the whole
provision marKet for three months.
From morning until night, day IL
and day out, for ninety days he haunted
the Office of his agents, Customers
! whom they would refuse to sell TO he