The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-10-25
Willy HETTY GREEN.
IRREGULARITIES or A WOMAN WoRTH
s6o,ooo,ooo.

She In Old Fashioned I'm Appearances, SEE
vereiy Plain In Dress. but the PersoniH-
cation of shrewdness when Financial
Transaction Are Involved.
Not a small part of thefame of Brook
lyn can be iaid to the credit of the re-
markable women who have lived and
live now within its borders-women who
have taken rank and honor in almost ev-
cry walk of life. 1t is a well known fact
that a very large proportion of the real
estate of the city is held in the names of
1t is not a widely known fact
that the who is reputed TO be the
richest in the United States lives in the
City of Churches and right i'm the clas-
sic section known as the heights too.
Her wealth is variously estimated sat
from $40, 0OO, 900 to 900, 000, 900, and her
name is Mrs. Hetty Green. Her name
and personality are more familiar to
Wall street than they are to Brooklyn
society. That Is because Mrs. Green has
chosen to devote all her time to the man.
ipulation of her fortune and has let So
ciety get along without her. Hetty
Green at an I~hpetonga ball would Gre
ate a sensation indeed, but it is not like.
ly that such an occasion will ever be re-
corded by society writers.
Hosts of people have brushed elbows
with a shrewd and rather calm faced
woman, apparently so years old, rather
short, wearing a plain, old. fashioned
shawl and a bonnet SO far. beyond fash
IONS pale that no one would ever suspect
it had been in it, even years ago. No
body ever saw her with a dress which
was not severely plain, and seldom has
she been noticed when she did not carry
an old style and well worn black satchel.
Her appearance would never cause the
uninitiated to think that she was any
thing more extraordinary than an old
fashioned woman of moderate means
and simple tastes, who wal ON her way
to the corner grocery or the bakery on
the block below. Yet, if money is pow
sr. this same staid looking person is n
of the most powerful human beings in
the country.
In an old fashioned house on a corner
in Pierrepont street Mrs. Green and h :
daughter Sylvia have lived for several
| years. The modest apartments they oc-
cupy are hired from a pleasant faced
woman, who keeps the house and who
has an admiration for Mrs. Green,
which she does not conceal. The rich
est woman in the United States has a
son, who has been spending some time
in Florida seeking to improve his health.
Mrs. Green has been a widow for many
years, and her daughter is about 20
years old. Since the death of her hus-
band Hetty Green has become a fnan.
cier of unusual s~hrewdness. She has in
dictated by her actions that she has small
faith in brokers, and that if she wants
anything done the best way is to do il
herself.
The weather beaten satchel has carried
securities representing millions of dol
lars. 1t has knocked about New Yorl
and Brooklyn and other big financial
centers with precious burdens, and Het
ty Green has always had a tight grip OF
it. She does dot believe in spending hel
money on things she does not want, ant
as she wants very little she spends bu'
little. Her children and her fortune ar
the sole objects of her solicitude. Mrs
Green is said to be very anxious to hav'
her daughter become n OF the leading
actors in the famous Four Hundred O
Manhattan island. Something of al oh
stacle in the way of this is the daughte
herself, according to report. Miss Greer
is credited with caring as little for tn
dazzle and newspaper notoriety of q SO
cial career as her mother. She is a cir
whose tastes are quiet and to WHOM
dress is a matter of little consideration
Mrs. Green, by way of a foundation
for her daughters social debut, som
time ago settled a large sum of none
on that young woman in government
bonds. The amount is stated to b
3 5000, 900.
/, Incidents in the career of this remark
} able woman have stamped her as a Dol
! yet cautious operator In stocks and q
, curities. When the financial panic {
{ 1884 occurred, Mrs. Green had q larg
J deposit in a firm of Canadian banker
named Cisco e. Co. of New York. II
; formation reached her that the ban
I was in an unsafe condition, and withor
waiting to hear more she went to the II
d stitution and withdrew her entire d
posit. The firm had no alternative. an
after paying her her money was con
. PEELED to suspend and finally failed con
pletely. Hetty Green is the large
property owner in the city of ChicaG
4 She holds title to block after block
land in the business section, and her &C
q assists in looking after her interes
there. For many years she lived In Il
western metropolis, and she spends mus
of her time there when away from Broo
lyn.
% Her characteristic bargain with 9
! Judge Henry Hilton Is fresh in the min
'e OF financiers. The money which t
i Judge wanted so badly is generally co
is ceded to have been used in buying o
n the interest OF his son. Henry G.. Hilto
in the dry goods firms of Hilton, Hugh
% q Co. and Hilton Bros. He went
Mrs. Green, or his lawyers did, and ma
% q renuest for a loan Of OIL csc. 600 In cas-