Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1885-12-18
A MILLIONAIRE'S MONEY.
STORIES ABOUT bonanza KING
MACKAY's WEALTH.
Exaggerated Statements About HIs
SncOme-NeYer Worth More shan


Exaggerated Statements About His
SncOme-NeYer Worth More shan
100000. OOO-His Wife's Expenses.
There Is more nonsense written about
John Mackay than perhaps any other
rich man in America. Most OF the
twaddle about his wealth is the vcriest
romance. He is in truth very rich, riches
than almost any American who, without
the aid of such advantages as may come
from pure chance, can ever hope 10 be-
come, but the fashion that many have of
ranking Mackay with the Monte Cristos
of the earth is absurd. There are scores
of men in America richer than Mackay,
and who have their wealth better in.
vested and more in hand. The great
bonanza firm reached its climax of its
golden romance in 1876. Their stock in
the bonanza mines was then worth per
haps 800, 900, 900. The mines in which
they had controlling interest were pay
Ing $4,000, 900 a month, but this went
gradually down and went rapidly. That
frm, as firm, never realized more
than $500, 900 month profit. This was
enough to give romance to the silver
cave, and if it had held out in treasured
would no doubt have made Mackay,
Flood, Fair and O'Brien the richest PEG.
| pie on the earth's surface.
But it did not hold out. O'Brien dieo
in 1878, while these stocks were yet
paying dividends aud while their market
value was yet away up. His stocks were
disposed of at market rates, yet his
whole estate settled up but 1000, 900.
| Every bonanza interest tumbled after
that. Its stocks, stamp mills, wood and
water interests and all went to the dogs.
Mackay, as is we'll known, had twice
what his other partners had. Therefore,
! if he had died in place of O'Brien at the
time the latter did his estate would have
come to $50, 200, 10000, or thereabouts.
That was the very climax of bonanza
wealth. Mr.. Mackay never was richer
than $40, 600, 600 even on paper. He has
been known as the poorest investor of
any of the bonanza irm. He never yet
made an investment except in govern
ment or State bonds, that yielded dol.
lar of income. All his speculative in
vestments have come to naught. He
gives away vast sums, squanders other
vast sums, and we all know what Mrs.
Mackay accomplishes in the way of ex-
penditure.
One day in front of the Nevada bank,
in San Francisco, Mr.. Mackay read in a
paper handed to him an absurd state
ment that Mr.. Mackay had offered to
| buy the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris, for
1000, 900 francs. "You may say" said
John W. in his broad north OF Ireland
accent, ''that Mrs. Mackay is no fool,
and neither is John Mackay. That is
a lie, sir. An you may say, mon, that
if John Mackay was fool enough to pay
for that arch or any other arch, begad
sir, he don't know where the money is
comm from. They've bled me, sor,
like lot of wolves. They say Mrs
Mackay has spent half million year
in Europe. It's a lie, sir. She lives
like lady, and l want her to do so,
but begad, $50, 900 year pays all hei
expenses, balls and all, for whole year.
They said the other day she spent $5O,-
600 on a single ball to Grevy or some
body, but that is lie, sor. She don't
spend $50, 600 in a whole year in Paris.
Say that, will you, sor9"
MIR. Mackay was sincere in this. Mrs.
hoShdy 10 uOI uOdI tu0 bp6uuIurllG THAT
a lot of romance writers try to make
her out. Yet Johns own admission
that her expenditures were $50, 900 8
year, or thireabouts, is enough to make
workers growl and people of small means
weep. Fifty thousand year to idle
away Just for woman and woman's
pride A woman, daughter of bar
ber-a barber in Dow melville, CAL, in
1856, now "Coloner' ]. II. Hungerford,
of the Boulevard DIES Malesherbes-th
knightly father-in-law of the great
American Midas" as the French love
to call Mackay. After all, it is stu.
pendous joke. And the Prince Telfeu-
ner, of Italy, who married the youngest
Of the BARRIERS daughters, and the Prince
Colonna, heir of the greatest house of
Italy, who married Mackay's step
daughter-her father was poor little
druggist in a mining camp in Nevada
City. Could any rough or. vigorous
'omance ever find such expression2-