Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-17

A few instructive observations may be
deduced from these lists.
Firs.-That none of the millionaires were
boomers or made their millions by
what Is known in the East as speculation.
They got the land for cash or credit or from
the Government as squatters and just
patiently waited and grew up with the
country and let the Eastern fellows come in
and do the developing while they did the
accumuiating.
Serand-That no new milliouaries have
been added to these lists within the last
few wears.
Third-That, with trifing exceptions,
that only prove the rule, all these million
sires made their pile in land.
Outsiders Can Do the Booming.
Fourth-That instead of now specializing
in Land, when a panic or reaction might
throw them back on their ''uppers," these
far-seeing monev-getters and ''holders there
Of are planting their surplus in business
blocks in wholesale mercantile business
banking. etc, kindly permitting outside
capitalists and Eastern adventurers to go up
or down with the booms.
As the preacher said to Dorothy: 'There
j. yerv much Of a moral in all this" They
all started from humble beginnings, and they
realize that while land is the 'basis of all
wealth. there is'a time TO hold it and a
time to let it &c. They have let go enough
70 feed" the East and retain the ''yelvet." ="
The elder Ladd who away in the 50's dug
out tree stUEps for a living, and traded
around in land and such, is now the second
richest man on the Pacific coast, Leland
Stanford, L. :. Senator from California, be-
ing considered the richest man on the coast.
Ladd is rated at S17 ,000, ,00G Oh Wall street,
bat member of the Chamber of Commerce
here assured me that he is easily worth
$40 n0G. 69G, ana his two sons are each mill
ionalreS. He is a paralytic, and does not
seem 10 enjoy his millions, but takes great
pride in Portland, and is considered very
liberal toward new home enterpris IS. His
specially is corner lots and holding on to
"tracts" with a future.
Ho. They All Got There.
As q specimen of how his land grew a
plot is shown iii the center of the town,
stark and First streets, which he bought for
S25lO in 1850 and for which $4,000 was
in land and wool. Kahn in steamboating
and land, Thompson in land, johnson in
cattle and land, Dekum in corner
lots, Reed in land and mining,
McCleary in land and groceries and bank
ing. Flanders in shipping and land, Stow
bridge drove an o1tcam in 40, but subse-
quentiy dropped teaming for Investments in
realty. p. A. Marquam made most of his
in land. Woodward in land and banking,
Lowenburgh in land and banking, Markle
in land ard street cars, Van de Lushmalt in
mining and land, and so on-land being an
integral part of all their fortunes. They
rot land one way or the other, and, after
many backsets, some of them trying to sell
out at half price with no takers, the boom
came and behold the miliionaires. None of
them bought land with view to future
s'boom. They were mere tenacious land
holders who simply held on while the land
went up in phenomenal jumps. They did
not believe in ''hooms" then. Neither do
they believe in them now. Despite their
immense wealth, they are not buying any
futures in land now
Conservntiye but Hospltable.
If the city is to grow again In the same
ratio as it did since 1888, and if there is anv
biz money ii buying Land now, clearly they
do mol know It, and AT present writing they
are NOT in ii. =" They are quite willing to
lei outsiders come IN and make Portland a
metropolis with q million Of inhabitants
in the next ten years. but their faith in that
direction is not strong enough to induce them
10 .G,aDh' heavily on that future. The past
growth Of the city was quite mysterious
enough 20 them, and they were simply
borne up by the rising tide when it came
sa'llE- bLt t4lClC - liOb 0AN "a VI C'iOCACC
or assertion 10 show that any of them went
our side Of normal holdings and ''specula-
ted" On the big rise that was apparently in
sight and actually came. Hence they are
not branching out as purchasers at present
prices, as a reaction might visibly dissipate
5hc contents of their strong boxes Hence
they are conservative-great wealth always
is-but they are bospitable-very-
the latch string is out-step in
and take something" they seem to say.
The prospect for making million here for
obvious reasons diminishes every day, and
the policy of the present millionaires is
rather TO hold what they have than to risk
any in the shuttle for more.
The city has enjoyed phenomenal jump,
but It Is net likely to grow as fast in the
future ten years as in the past ten. The
efforts Of ambitious rivals--the completion