Daily Honolulu press. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1886, 1886-01-18
LONG WORTH'S LUCK.
THE PECULIAR HISTORY OF THE
CINCINNATI MILLIONAIRE.
The Man who Made Cincinnati-The Pc
culiAr circumstance which Sent
Him to the Future Porkopolis
His Later Life.
r.Halston, in New York rImes.l


Coming over from Newark the other day
met descendant of the late Nicholas Long
worth, the man who made Cincinnati. The
young man told me the story of how the
spilling Of few casks of wine by irate
Philadelphians pushed an Insignificant Ohio
village into consequence as a western city
Old Nicholas Longworth who, by the way
was the father-in4aw of the late Governor
Ward, of New Jersey, was so queer that
many people thought him crazy, but with oil
his cranky notions he was smart enough to
amass an estate valued at $4,000, 600. At
the time of his death, in 1868, he was one of
the richest men in America. He was born
in Newark in 1882 and the old homestead
which sheltered his youth still stands at the
corner of High street and the thoroughfare
bearing his name and intersecting the home
lot Of the Longworth farm. In early life be
ran away from home and hired out
to an Ohio farmer But he soon tired
of the existence on Buckeye farm.
Agriculture in Ohio reminded him too
much of the New Jersey scenes he had quit
ted. He therefore took summary leave Of
his patron. When next heard from he was
making wine from wild grapes His business
soon increased 50 that in a few years he was
recognized as the leading wine manufacturer
of the country. He was the first man to put
Ohio wines ON the market.
On one of his speculative trips he had no.
ticed the little village laid out by Col Lud-
low in 1889. This miniature Cincinnati
Ludlow had fondly hoped would loom up as
a rival to staid Philadelphia. Eventually it
did loom, but its first start was the result of
a peculiar circumstance. In an excess of
fanaticism Quaker city mob seized cargo
of Longsworth's wine, broke open the casl1
heads and allowed the ruby burden to flood
the cutters. Nicholas Longworth wasn't
the man to stand such an affront His heart
was in the magnificent industry he had
reared as anxiously as q parent watches a
child. He determined to have his revenge
With a population Of 1900 souls at that
time it offered about as much inducement to
investors as the average New England coun-
try town Of to-day. Nicholas, as / have said
was strong-minded, crochetty old chap He
had noticed the fine position Of the Ohio
town Without further ado, carried COM
pletely away by his desire to "get square"
with Philadelphia, he purchased 200 acres
within the boundaries Of the future Cincin-
natl This area he cut up into streets and
lots, built houses, and improved his purchase
in all possible ways. With Nicholas went
his Philadelphia wine stock He erected
warehouses in the western town and calmly
turned over to its authorities half Of the
10000 remaining to him for the purpose Of
establishing a court house and otherwise en-
bellishing the center Of mushroom Porkopolis.
In less than twelve years Cincinnati had go 900
people around Longworth's warehouses.
Real estate ran up to enormous figures for
those days Nicholas Longworth's invest.
ment of 800, 900 had swollen to colossal pro-
portions. Before he reached his 5Oth year
he was one of the twenty millionaires of the
land, and the old Philadelphia score was
wiped out. In his latter days old Nicholas
became careless, and his slovenly habits
were famed all over the country. / am told
rather good story about him at this stage
of his life. The old Aston was his favorite
New York hotel One day, after partaking
of one of the meals for which the hostelery
was even then famous, the millionaire
perched himself out on the stone steps In the
sunshine After hopping his brow with a
big red bandanna, he carelessly placed the
handkerchief in his dilapidated old hat lying
beside him, and then calmly went to Sleep
Passing out of the hotel, a gentleman noticed
what he took for a tired-out beggar, one
of the fraternity frequenting every public
place. He charitably dropped a coin into
the old fellows hat and others followed the
example Nicholas, in waking up, discov-
cred the pennies. A grim smile stole over
his features, and he quietly picked up the
hat with its burden of pence and walked in
to the clerks desk. "Oh, hol" quoth he "sc
they took me for one of your beggars. Well
as this contribution was intended for beg.
gars, beggars shall have it" So saying, he
dragged the astonished clerk out of the hotel
and up Broadway. At every turn almost
some unfortunate was met, and as long a.
his coins lasted be wrapped them up one by
one in dollar bills and distributed them. But
that wasn't much for the owner of half OF
Cincinnati was itl