The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1886-01-13
ACHrcAGo MILLIoNAIRE.
Remarkable Career OF Philip ID. Ar
mour, . York State Farmer Boy.

Remarkable Career OF Philip ID. Ar
mour. . York State Farmer Boy.
Philip D. Armour, says the Chica-
go Herald, looks more like a min
ister of the gospel than a king OF
spectators. Forty years ago the
Armour boys were sons OF farmer
near Watertown, n. Y. They were
broad-shouldered, active, strapping
fellows, who looked alike, pulled
we'll together and managed to hold
the lines in all matters OF sports and
society in their neighborhood. PhiPs
first bid for fame consisted of car
riage ride with an estimable young
lady who attended the academy.
This carriage ride, all innocence 1T
sell, was nevertheless regarded as an
unlawful escapade by the Puritan
principal, and both young Armour
and his companion were expelled
from the school. The expulsion dis
gusted young Armour, and he resol-
we'd to go West and seek his fortune.
He became an Argonaut OF AS, and
crossed the plains with a six mule
team driven by himself. He reach
ed the gold-felds, found some dust,
though not tons of 1t, saved the most
that he did find, and few years lat
er returned to the States. Going to
Milwaukee about 1886, he engaged
in the grain and warehouse business,
prospering moderately and steadily.
For a time it was toss up with him
whether to go into pork or lumber,
but he finally bought the interest OF
Layton in the packing house OF Lay
ton & Plankington, and was thus
brought into the trade in which he
so qnickly rose to be the unrlyalled
leader. He was worth s5OO,OOO
when he became a packer, but he
soon saw an opportunity to double
or quadruple his fortune, and moth
| ing shows the character of the man
better than the manner in which he
embraced, or rather created and de-
yeloped, this first great opportunity.
During the war provisions were
scarce and in great demand, and IN
the winter of '64-65 pork was sell
ing at $40 barrel, with an upward
tendency. The pork business was
then largely in the East, with New
York as the centre. and most of the
large packers and operators were
buying literally for future use,
and were firm believers in the con-
tinuance of high prices. But one
night Phil Armour lay awake in his
bed, thinking of the pork market,
the war, the armies, and the Gener-
ais. He concluded that the end OF
the rebellion was nigh and that the
price of pork would fall. He went
to New York and sold pork short.
The spectators and packers from
Cincinnati, st. Louis. Buffalo and all
around took Armour's pork as fast
as he offered it at $40, wondering
why this green young man was thus
trushing to his ruin. Sid Kent was
there, too, and he joined Armour in
his raid on the pig. Nearly every
body else was bull.
Soon Petersburg fell, and pork be-
gan 10 go down SO fast that the bulls
were dizzy. Richmond was evacu-
ated. and pork collapsed. The
thousands of barrels he had sold at
$40 he now began to deliver at SIS.
There was panic among the bulls.
Many of them concluded to repudl-
ate their contracts. Even Armour's
brokers turned against him. They
had profted by his business when
he was making ventures. but now
that he was ready to reap his harvest
they Joined their bull friends and re-
fused to make the deliveries. But
Armour employed other brokers,
and, remaining in New York for
ninety days, early and late pressed
his debtors and forced them to toe
the mark. His profits were about
100000, and Armour d Plankln-
ton became the greatest provision
men in the world. To his old brok-
ers be merely said You have act
ed dishonorably and uncommercial-
ly toward me. and I'll drive you out
of business He meant what he
said. A year later the rival firm OF
H.O. Armour & Co. was established
next door to the brokers in question,
and in less than half a dozen years
the sign of the latter firm was taken
down.
With new prestige and greater
capital he enlarged the scope OF his
operations. He established packing
houses in Chicago and Kansas City,
and in 1875 became resident OF the
former city. His business was that
of a butcher of animals and packer
of meats, and he pushed 1t with all
his energy. Agencies were es;ab-
lished all over the world. His pro-
ducts became known in every city
and village, every army and camp.
OF course, he has been speculator,
but many of his operations have
been forced on him. For instance,
the "pork corner" of 1880 was
purely defensive. He was a large
holder of pork. His cellars were
full of it. Then it was that specu-
lators began raiding the price. They
would offer small lots, speculatively,
/ of course, at prices % per cent. be-
low what it cost the greatest and
smartest packer in the world. with
all bis capital and experience and
perfection of process, to put that
pork in barrel. The spectators
were raiding the price of Armour's
goods in store, and he determined
to protect his cellars" He put up
a clean 100000 before he could
check the hungry horde, but at last
the tide turned, as he knew it would
from his study of the conditions OF
supply and demand, and the raiders
got out of the scrape only by paying
100000 as tribute. The correct.
ness OF Armour's judgment in pre-
dieting q revival of trade and prices