The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-02-24
RUFUS HATCH DEAD.
One of the Men Who Had Con-
quered Wall Street.
But the Street Had Its Revenge, and
He Was Left Almost Perni-
less at Last.
Special TO THE MORNING CALL.

New YORK, Feb. 23.-Rufus Hatch, the
once-fam0us Wail-street magnate, died this
afternoon at his residence in Spuyten Duy-
vii. Hatch was 62 years old. He retired
from the street two years ago and has been
failing in health ever since. The immedi-
ate cause OF death was complication OF
kidney. heart and liver troubles, which had
confined him to his room for several weeks.
Rufus Hatch was born In Welles, Me-,
and in his day was n leading operator on
the floor of the big exchange. and when he
went into 1t from his little c0al-hole ex-
change. as the open board was STYLED when
it was housed In Broad-street cellar he
marched in not because the Stock Exchange
wanted him but because it could not keep
him out.
He had capital training for assuccessful
| man. He was born on farm and had a
good. firm underpinning OF physical health.
lie struck out at the age of 10 from the
modest Maine homestead. He tried clerk
ing az gr0cery-bUy, got an offer of part.
| nership in the store, and had he accepted 1t
might have settled down TO an income of
$500 per year. But be declined aud went
West, naturally to Chicago.
He held the surveyors chair when the
route of one of the roads afterward merged
into the Chicago and Northwestern was
laid out. In that way he got down to bed
rock in railroading. and also saw the i'm
mense possibilities OF the West as a grain
growing country. In Chicago he became
one of the boldest Of the grain operators,
but war knocked him out. The Crimean
War it was, for it ended short off. when the
market expected it TO keep up. Prices fell.
and Rufus Hatch, as a member of the firm
OF Armstrong u Co, was a bankrupt. He
did not clear off by the bankruptcy court
method. but assumed every penny OF the
firms deDts and paid every one in full, with
interest. He went back East with full
knowledge of Western affairs, and with
Henry Keep started In to bull Northwestern
and made a fortune. The panicky times of
1869 found Mr.. Hatch vigorous bear, but
he waited too long, went short too far, and
failure met him in 1873 with balance of
nearly a million against him. But he was
leader in speculation and was soon up
again.
The Northern Pacific was then going on,
and boOms OF every sort were rampant.
Mr.. Hatch went out TO see the land. struck
the Yellowstone Park, was eniranced with
Its beauties and its possibilities. aud set
about securing it. A spur of the Northern
Pacific was to run down into the park, and,
with the exclusive rights granted, the Park
Company would practically have supplanted
the United States in the ownership OF the
park. An opposition, headed by Senator
Vest OF Missouri, was started, and Rufus
Hatch was ousted from the park on the
ground that lie wanted il really ms
an exclusive graZlng-ground for his own
herds in the then booming cattle
ranch trade. 1t was about this time.
In 1885, that he undertook to reach
British capital through the British stomach.
He went to England and organized party
of explorers, including titled correspond
ents for the large London daiies. They
came prepared TO be feasted. and were dis
appointed. They got to the park after Wis.
iting Niagara, Chicago, st. Paul and other
cities EN- route. had high old time and
were rolling on grandly when news came Of
the Willard crash of 1883 in Northern Pa
cific, and Rufus latch was again a ruined
man. He got the Englishmen off his hands
as soon as he could, and they went home
mysti6ed, declaring this was great coun-
try. but with no very clear idea of what
had happened. That was the last failure,
| and from it Rufus Hatch never recovered.
He went out of the Stock Exchange, out OF
the Produce Exchange, and took a men,
| bership IN the Consolidated, which he held
when he died.