Evening journal., 1888-07-13
cHlcAoo's NEWLY RICH.
Interesting Facts About Some of Her
Millionaires.
[speciaI correspondence.1


Especial Correspondence1
CHICAGO. July 12.-Chicago hasn't as
many millionaires as New York, and vet
she has such a great number that it is
almost impossible to count them. met
two bank cashiers one evening last week.
and when the conversation drifted on rich
men. as it is very likely to do when you
talk with bankers, the pair Of them sat
down and hurriedly made a list OF Chi
cago's millionalres. The list Is too long
to print. as it contains the names Of 101
persons. many Of whom are obscure even
in the community whore they reside.
Poor men should take announcement
from the fact that man worth his mill
ions is Of no more consequence In this
world, except to his banker his heirs and
the tax collector, than the merest no
body. still, there is something about
man wke has a million or more
dollars thaA attracts general atten-
tion. We like to read and talk about
millionai~ss. and sometimes IL Is a con-
venience te know them personally, and
be on good terms with them. Very few
men have the moral courage to snub on
cut nnlio@aire- There is this peculiar
fty about the millionaires OF Chicago. enc
which surely distinguishes them from the
millionairss sf Boston. New York or
Philadelphia, and that is the small num-
Der OF thsm who inherited their fortunes
OF any considerable part thereof. Lenv-
ing out tbs rich widows, not moro than
half a dozen Of Chicago's millionaires
gained their wealth in any other way
than the regulation western fashion of
knocking it out for themselves. Seven
out Of ten Of them started in life without
.Arra.
majority OF them are still men Of but su-
perhcial education.
"a
Marshall Field is undoubtedly the
wealthiest man ia Chicago. He used to
be clerk in Potter Palmer's dry goods
store, and IS now worth not less than
fifteen millions, and perhaps q good deal
more. lie is also the greatest dry goods
merchant in the world, his sales exceed
ing thirty millions a year His wholesale
store, covering q whole block and built Of
granite, cost above q million dollars.
and is the finest mercantile building on
the continent if not in the world. His
retail store, on State street, is probably
larger than any dry goods store in New
York. The stable in which he keeps his
horses aud wagons is four stories high
and covers nearly half block He is
only 50. and personally supervises his
vast business. deing so with the greateet
ease and freedom from worry. His wife
is a society leader, and woman Of sense
and culture. She is not ashamed Of the
fact that when Nr. Field WAS a clerk she
kept boarders.
Next to Field the richest man In Chi
cago is Phil Armour and some think him
richer than the dry goods king. Phil
Armour 10 the citizen of Chicago best
known abroad. He is the king Of pork,
and also the prince Of good fellows No
body knows how much his pile is-proba-
bly, fifteen or twenty millions lie gives
away fortune every year. and works
like q hired man, making three or four
small fortunes in the same time. Rheuma-
tism and other unpleasant things are
bothering him of late years, and he is
learning how to rest. He now takes fire.
quent vacations Armour's money is in
packing houses, railroad stocks and gov
enment bonds and banking shares. He
never took to real estate, and probably
doesn't own S50000 worth Of ground
aside from his very modest residence and
his business property. Marshall Field
has great part of his savings ID read es-
tate, owning acres and acres Of boulevard
property and many valuable down town
lots. Phil ATmour's pride is the Armour
mission, n splendid charity started by
his brother and completed and en-
dowed by him. Armour has large ready
resources. It is said he could in an hour
have two OF three millions cash in hand
almost any time. Field is also a man of
wonderful resources. One day some years
ago partner in his business became dis
satisfied. Field took him aside. and after
short talk handed him q check for three
millions in purchase Of the partners In
terest. Eoze time later another partner
gets restless. Field starts him of with
check for a million. To a brother in poor
health he gives check for another mill
ion and sends him to Europe. All this
tiras he Is buying real estate on magnih-
cent scale. Armour works like a cart
horse when he works, and entirely drops
business when he goes on a trip. Field
takes it easy all the time. He gives three
or four hours day to business and dimes
leisurely at the Chicago club, something
Armour never thinks Of doing. Armour
IS much ths more liberal man Of the two.
50
/ There is an impression thnt about all
the rich men in Chicago made their
money ia pork or lard or butcheling Of
some sort. That is net true. Thirteen
I Chicago millionaires including Potter
Palmer, one OF the richest Of them all
made their money in dry goods The
Farwells, John b. and tho senator,
amassed their fortunes in that trade The
Farwells came here from an Illinois farm
forty years ago, and for long time
Charles, now tho senator, was clerk in
o public Office at $40 q month r. j.
Lehman, the owner Of "Ihe Fair. which
is place good deal like the establish
ment Of tho Universal Provider in Lon
don, where you can buy anything-from
garden hos to q locomotive, or from a
| pet dog to an elephant-used to be 8
peddler and go about the country with q
pack on his back Before that he was q
bell boy In hotel. lie doesn't claim 10
be universal provider, but he comes
pretty elose to It. His store covers a
block Of ground and makes a fortune
every yeAr. There pre- half dozen or
more Hebrew millionaires in Chicago who
made their money in dry goods, aud sew
eral who amassed riches in clothing Ii
is a rather singular fact that Chicago has
not only the largest dry goods dealer ia
the world but the largest clothing dealer
The latter is Henry W. King. who has q
great factory hero and scores Of stores
throughout the Country. OF course he is
O millionaire.
as for pork packing and kindred trades,
there ars only nine OF ten millionaires
here wh0 became rich in that business, or
in some branch Of it, Sam Allerton, one
Of these, was O cattle buyer on the prai-
ries OF Illinois before the days Of rail
roads, and made rather romantic mar
fs. III