The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-06-11
OLD LUCKY BALDWIN.
His San Gabriel Ranch Is Worth
Ten Million Dollars
HOW he RUNS HIS GIG HOTEL.
He Knews Moro About Hssses TAaa
About women. rAough He Has
Studied Both.

spondence. His farm Is worth $40 GU.
ma 1t contains more than 5000 acres.
Every foot Of n is aimee, rs rich as the
valley Of the Nile. and come Of it produces
fair interest on $1,000 per acre. refer
20 the msgnihcens estate Of Lucky"
BALDWIN. which lies about seventeen miles
from Los Angeles. and which takes in the
cream Of the San Gabriel valley. There 10
no land in the world 30 rich o. this couns
try about Los Angeles. Lying right un.
der the shadow Of the Sierra
Madre mountains. il 10 % located that
it can b we'll irrigated. and from I'VE 70
twenty acres make . farm. Land about
here sells for 500 and upw ard per aere. and
improved property planted with oranges
often brings - much a 81, 600 and upward.
l can give you no idea OF the produc.
siveness Of the soil have seen trees iJ0
feet high which were less than . dozen
years old, and you can grow . forest here
in . decade. ! drove yesterday through
mile after mile Of orange groves. lemon
trees and orchards Of Engiish walnuts. and
saw oranges on trees which were only two
years old and great crops being raised on
trees between four and I'VE yeara
One tract Of six acres Of orrnges pro.
duced last year GO boxes. which sold for
81, 10. making net profit to their owner
Of over tl.0oA The trees Of the orchard
were only four years old. and the owner
cleared this amount OF Of ak acres in =
single year. Another man cleared 81 500
of Of three acres Of oranges last year. and
! was told Of another case in which six
acres produced &, 90 worth Of oranges,
In one of Raid wins orchards WAS shown
trees which Melted him 81. so per acre,
and there are thousands of new trees be-
ing Get out in all parts of this region.
A great many Of the orchards are
planted by Eastern men. and . great many
Of the rich men OF the East have their
homes here. Joseph Medill. Of the Chi.
cago Tribune. has winter home at Pasas
dena Studebaker, the famous Qaeou
man, owns an estate which he bdaght
from Lucky" Baldwin, and this whole
valley is spotted with cottages built after
land Of flowers. Roses grow everywhere.
Geraniums become trees. and Arc grown in
hedges. Gala lilies are - common -
daisies. and saw . single rosa bush yes.
terday which i was told contained l00. 600
blossoms.
This will give you some idea Of this vast
estate Of Lucky Baldwin. The soil II -
rich - guano and ~ black - your hat.
1t will produce anything under the sun.
and 81, zoo acres Of IL belong 20 this one
man. Five acres Of land in this region
will support . family we'll, and this estate
ought TO support 1000 families. Still Il
belongs to but one man. What kind Of
man u hef l met HIM yestsrday. lie
VAS seated surrounded By fountatns and
flowers under the trees which shade the
beautiful ground surrounding his cottage.
A lean. straight. thin-faced old man with
silky white hair standing ont from under
white straw hAs. and the keenest Of basel
eyes looking Gus from under eyebrows Of
gray. HIS iiorid face Wa smooth shavcn
win the exception Of the upper lip, upon
which silvery mustache grew. He looked
moro like scedy, unsuccessful business
than prosperous millionaire. and have
seen his type here and there over the
world In club rooms and at the head Of
charitable associations, holding places
which have been given them Tor what
they have done In the past
different from the man l expected 20 sss.
He 10 not extraordinary In any Of his fea-
lures, but behind his plain face, am told,
exists one Of the brightest business brains
In the country. And his little bsad-like
eyes can Gee further into big speculation
any other man in California. He came to
California comparatively poor and began
life in San Francisco ~ the keeper Of =
livery stable. From the keeping Of horses
he went TO the selling Of groceries. and
understand that he gos . lot Of stock in
He carefully fled the certificates Of his
stock away and awaited developments.
He has always been fond Of the theater.
and ho got the idea that ne might make .
fortune by going over 20 Japan and bring.
ing . japanese troupe back 70 the United
States. He did 20. but before hs lefs he
gathered up his mining stocks and put
them away in one Of the banks. He was
gone several montha When he returned
he found that the Comstock lode had been
discovered and that the mining stock thas
he had in this WAS worth considerably
come valuable and he landed in America,
% the story goes. millionaire.
ldon't know how his japanese show
turned out. but ] am told that he took
them about over the country, and doubt
not he made meney out Of them. He
made more money BY reinvesting this for
tune, and he 10 now said to Be worth from
fifteen 10 twenty million dollars. He
owns these vast ranches in Southern Calf
fornia, hotel ~ Lake Tahoe. the Baldwin
theatef and hotel In San Francisco and two
or three valuable gold rainesL One Of HE
gold mines that he has held for years has
Just been reopened. Lucky Baldwin vas
paying no attention To IL until he found
the other day that some outsiders had
gotten in and were opening IL up on thsiP
own account They had taken ont SIS, 90
worth OF ore before he discovered them.
And he now proposes 70 work this with
the most improved machinery for Ill IL 10
worth.
Lucky Baldwin II said 20 know how 70
run . hotel. cannot speak from personal
experience. - have never stopped q any
OF his houses. While 1T Saa Francisco
lived ~ the Palace. which - the biggess
hotel, the finest hotel and By oil odds the
worst managed hotel In ths United States.
Lucky Baldwin's friends say that tho
Baidvin y better managed. Idcn't know.
Bat I do know something about his
methods. He runs the thing - . mo-
nopo.y. and he don't propose to b fesced.
by anybody. Not long ago he found he
Was paying 3, 90 psr month for gas. He
pas IN his own gas works and now sells
enough gas to give him his own light free
dition. IL was the same With electricity
and about the same with his water. He
Vas getting his water from the wate. com.
pany and one month bill a. brought in
for 81 90 alter rent He paid the usli. but
q, once began putting down artessan wells.
These co.t him only 81 800 and he naved
juss u 90 per month in that var. At HE
ranch here he makes all the butter used ae
his hotel, and his diaries turn out 2. 100
pounds . week Of what they call .ts.it-
edged t1;fes." All the vegetables used At
his hotel come from h.s farms. and 10
manages everything on business principles,
beard today the story Of Bald y n's
purchase Of one Of his ranches. !, BE-
les. and Baldwin wns anxious TO get hold
Of IT, he came TO the grocer and asked
him his price The grocer replied that hs
could have II for 3iS40 I'm l3aadvin aaid