St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-05-13


help him out of his difficulty made him
loan of a cool 100000. Then he came
to North Carolina, where | was, and
told me what he had done simply to
0blige Sabin' he said. | thought $780,
GOO to be good deal of money to loan
any one man or firm, and so stated to
the commodore. 1t did not seem to
worry him much, however. He got
back $3.50, 900 of the amount in govern
ment bonds, and then made deal
with his debtors which closed up the
matter, and left the commodore loser
to the extent of about S125,000. He
friend, and closed out at a loss, probably
with the same idea in mind"
HIS BUSINESS METHODS.
The late Commodore KittSOn was so
quiet and gentle in all his movements,
and so patient to stand and listen to
long stories without nub at the end of
them that few people who encountered
him had any idea what q busy man he
was. His business habits were perfect.
1t was never necessary for him to go
over his work twice. Once done it was
completed, and there were no mistakes
about it. To get through all his work
and keep it straight and right it was alb
solutely necessary for him to be alone,
always kept his office door locked while
he was inside till he finished his work.
While to all outsiders his desk and
papers Indicated ineXtricable confusion,
10 the commodore every paper was III
its place, and he could place his hand
upon each Ole as it was wanted. But
one man could get inside that door
while he was engaged in his work, and
that man was his faithful friend Dan
Woodmansee. The latter had private
rap that the commodore recognized and
always responded to. Some of the COM
modOre'S friends thought they had
learned what it was and tried it, but
the trick did not work, for the sole Oc-
cupant of the Office detected it at once
and kept quietly at his work. Wood
mansee was the only man that could
give the peculiar rap, land the utmost eff
forts OF others to initiate it never de-
ceived Mr.. KittSOn. This secluSion pro-
tected him from flock of applicants for
aid and borrowers of money that always
swarmed around the Office as soon as it
was announced that he was in town.
ONE OF GODS NOBLEMEN.
The people of this state do not yet
know the great work Commodore Kilt
son did in the way of improving our
stock" said w. l.. McGrath, the we'll
known lover of horses. when the
state was unheard of in all this line
Mr.. KittSon brought fine horses here.
This fact was sent all over the country.
Minnesota was known as the home of
the finest horses in the world. This
advertised the state as nothing else
could. [ knew Commodore KittSOn for
twenty years. No man ever asked him
for help and did not get it. There are
any number of men i'll st. Paul to-day,
who are successful business men, who
owe their start to Commodore Kittson.
His heart was as large as the hearts of
dozen ordinary men. He was one of
Gods nOblemen, and he will be missed
by more men in all walks of life than
would any other man in the city.
REMEMBERED OLD SETTLERS.
Among the cOmmOdore'S intimate
friends of outstanding was Col. AL
warren Allen. In the days when the
commodore resided at Pembina Col.
Allen operated stage line to that
point. 1t was Col. Aliens delight to
tell of the good qualities and generous
deeds of the commodore. He says:
The commodore never forgot the old
Settlers-the boys who had been with
him in the wilderness aud who had
shared hardships side by side. His
great wealth and position never changed
MN III the least ana lie always enjoyed
an hour here in the Merchants hotel,
exchanging anecdotes with the old
timers from the up-country whom he
met. A great many of the boys who
are in hard circumstances have told
their story to him and he has put them
on their feet again. He was the most
generous, whole-souled man | ever
knew. When he met any of his old
friends here it was his habit to stop at
the Office before going out and settle
their bills without saying a word about
it. | have known him TO pay a mans
bill month in advance and invite him
to stay in the city and enjoy himself at
his expense. Many times, remember,
when he found out that an old settler
wanted to visit his home in the East
the commodore volunteered to pay the
expense. He was so unoStentatiouS
and bestowed his gifts in such way
that the recipient was never embar-
rassed,"