Evening journal., 1888-07-20
RICH MEN or CHICAGO.
Walter Neliman Writes of tho Million
aires W.-o Lives in the City by the Lake.
Especial Correspondence


made his money on the Board Of Trade, and
he was broker and not a speculator John
Lester is worth million, and perhaps Nat
Jones and Norman Ream are, but the first
named is the only one whom the cashiers
gave that rating when they made up their
little list. Lester has made some big
deals on his own account, but the bulk of
his fortune has been acquired by commits
SONS on other peoples deals. B. r.
hutchinson has, doubtless, made a good
deal OF money on the board, where he is
an inveterate sealper, always ready to quit
as soon as he gets profit, no matter how
small, but he first got rich in the pork
packing line. He has also done we'll in
real estate. ! should say that two-thirds
of the millionaires here are men who
had the good luck to make a lot of
money some years ago, and, putting
their surplus into real estate. have
become enormously wealthy through the
wonderful increase in the value of Chicapo
dirt. Only the other day Senator Leman
told me his father-in-law, Mr.. Dole. had
sold for $50, 600 lot which cost him ST5
thirty or forty years ago. This same Mr..
Dole, who perhaps would have been a.
millionaire but for his liberality. and is al
most one as it Is, started Nelson Morris in
business a long time ago. Dole was a
cattle buyer and Morris was doing com
mon labor about the stock yards. One
day Morris went to Dole and said he
knew where he could buy nice lot Of
cattle and make some money on them if
he only had the capital Dole lent him
the money, and now Norris sends out a
train load Of dressed beef every dav.
Gustavus s. Swift. the king of cattle
killers, whose establishment works up
10000 head week and sends the biggest
part Of 1t to the east in refrigerator cars,
once kept little seven by nine butcher
shop In the town Of Barnstable, Mass.
Not few Of our millionaires were
country storekeepers, like Potter Palmer.
This is a great commercial city, and vet
if we except dry goods and clefhine. few
of our rich men have come up to afluence
In mercantile pursuits. Edison Keith, a
milliner and hat maker, is rich, but he
has made more money In real estate than
in millinery. William Blair and David
Kelley got rich in hardware, NJ d. Wells
has made million out of boots and shoes,
and John w. Doane has made two mill.
ions out of groceries. but this is about the
extent Of millionairedom In regular trade,
aside from dry goods and clothing. n.
Is. Fairbanks, one of the best known, most
intellectual, most aristocratic millionaires
in town, has made his fortune In about
the most dismal looking lard refinery there
Is in this city Of pacleries and refneries.
x%#
Lumber has been fruitful source of
wealth in this city, as one might expect
from the fact that Chicago is and long has
been the greatest lumber mart on the con-
tinent. Big money has been made in
railroads, too. Francis Hinckley, a Young
man Of 40, has just turned a round mil
hon in one railroad operation. He built
line with other peoples money and sold it
to the Santa Fe. The Keeps, Albert and
Henry, Of the Northwestern, and very
rich men, used to be country store keepers
up in Wisconsin. 7. B. Blackstone,
lawyer, helped reorganize a road and came
out of the deal its president. r. r. Cable
and H. II. Porter are other millionaire
railroaders.
Levi z. Letter, the Washington aristo-
crat who lives in Blaine's house. made his
fortune in the dry goods business with
Marshall Field, with whom he quarreled
and has ever since been at law with
about some real estate. George NJ Pull
man, as every one knows, came from the
Erie canal, moved and raised houses in
Chicago tried mining in the west, hit on
the idea Of the sleeping car, acted as con
ductor Of the first car, begged people to
ride with him, and is now one of Chicagos
richest men. He is worth seven or eight
millions.
One of the youngest millionaires in Chi
cagO is Charles Hutchinson, son Of "old
Hutch, and good one. lie Is only 33,
and president of the board Of trade; he is
also at the head of the one great art con
Germ in the west, the Art institute. He
runs bank and other important concerns.
Our richest bachelor Is Albert Munger,
who inherited his wealth, which was made
in grain elevators, line that has turned
out half o dozen millionaires. Munger,
too, is interested in art, and has half a
million dollars in fine pictures. Columbus
K. Cummings, the head of the Chicago
gas monopoly, has been In a good many
things. He started out a country mer-
chant, took railroad contracts, was in the
nickel plate scheme, owned the Lake Erie
and Western, put few hundred thousands
into O dry goods store, and finally came so
nearly swapping himself in gas stock that
wouldn't sell and gas bonds that people
were afraid Of that he had to sell out
everything except his bank and make a
bitter fight for life Now he is all right
! again, and is still president of the Union
National, one Of the largest banks in the
city. -
There arc several very rich bankers
here Mark skinner, a Vermont Yankee,
has grown rich making private loans and
shaving notes. Samuel Nickerson got
rich in the distilling business, and is now
at the head of tho First National bank,
which, by the way, has larger deposits
| than any other bank in the country. Mr..
Nickerson also owns rock crystal, which
is the most gorgeous thing Of tho sort the
world has ever seen. II is as big ns q
goose egg, and is worth $4,000. He
leaves it on tho parlor table Of bis North
Side residence during tho day, butseare-
| fully locks it up at night along with his
collection Of crystals, said to Be the rich.
est in existence. One OF Nickerson's
neighbors Is Joseph Medill, Of Tho Trib-
une, the only millionaire editor In the
city, though John r Walsh, who owns
! The Herald, is worth several millions
Walsh used to sell newspapers, started
the Western News company, is at tht
head Of bank, and The Herald alone hos
made him millionaire.
The oldest millionaire In Chicago i
Matthew Latin, who has gone way up IL
the millions on real estate. His favorit,
method IS to lease valuable piece o.
ground for q long term Of years, put
building on it, and grow rich off thu
rental. Ho has bought extensively, too
and there is hardly ward in the city il
which he does not own all the way from
ono to fifty houses. Potter Palmer, VIII
came near going bankrupt after the grea
fire, and who but recently paid OF tn