Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-24
RUFUS HATCH.
Sketch of the Career OF the welI-Known
Financier.


Rufus Hatch. whose death was announced in
Yesterdays STAR. was born In Kennebecport,
Ne. in 1887, and had a capital training for a
successful man. He was born on a farm, and
had good. firm underpinning Of physical
health. He struck out at the age of nineteen
from the modest Maine homestead. He tried
clerking il as grocer boy, got an offer Of
partnership in the store and, had he accepted
it, might have settled down to an income of
$500 per year. But he declined and went west,
naturally to Chicago.
lie held the surveyors chair when the route
OF one of the roads sfterward merged into the
Chicago and Northwestern was laid out. In
that way he got down to bed rock in railroad
ing and also saw the immense possibilities OF
the west as a grain growing country. In Chi
cago he became one of the boldest OF the grain
operators, but his opinions of the market we're
formed at first hand. He could take a lot of
weather reports, few reports Of acreage in
seed and form his own and correct notions. too,
of the crop output. On this knowledge he OPP
Grated and won.
War knocked him out. The Crimean war it
was, for 1t ended short of when the market eN-
pected it to keep up. Prices fell and Rufus
Hatch, as member of the firm Of Armstrong
X Co, was a bankrupt. He did not clear of
by the bankruptcy court method, but assumed
every penny of the firms debts, and paid every
one In tull, with interest
He came east with full knowledge of west
ern affairs, and, with Henry Keep, started in to
bull Northwestern, and made fortune. The
panicky times of 1869 found Mr.. Hatch vigor-
GUS bear, but he waited too long, went short
too ia r, and failure met him i'll 1873, with
a balance of nearly million against him. But
he was a leader in speculation, and was soon up
again.
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC.
The Northern Pacific was then going on and
blooms Of every sort were rampant. Mr..
Hatch went out to see the land struck the yell
lowstone Park. was entranced with its beauties
and its possibilities and set about securing it.
A spur of the Northern Pacific wa. to run down
into the park. and with the exclusive rights
granted. the park company would practically
have supplanted the United States in the own
ership OF the park. An opposition, headed by
Senator Vest of Missouri, started, and
Eufus Hatch was ousted from the park. on the
ground that he wanted 1t really as an exclusive
grazing ground for his own herds In the then
booming cattle ranch trade.
II was about this time in 1888 that he under
took to reach British capital through the British
stomach. He went to England and or
ganized party OF explorers, incud-
ing titled correspondents for the large
London dailies. They came here pre-
pared to be Toasted and were not disappointed.
They got to the park, after visiting Niagara.
Chicago. st. Paul and other cities en- route, had
a high old time and were rolling Oh grandlv
when news came of the Willard crash OF 1893 III
Northern Pacific. and Rufus Hatch was again a
ruined man. He got the Englishmen off his
hands az soon as he could and they went homo
mystlied, declaring this was great country.
but Of no very clear idea of what had hap
pened.
HIS LAST FAILURE.
That was the last failure. and from it Rufus
Hatch has not recovered. He went out of the
stock exchange, out Of the produce exchange
and took a membership in the consolidated.
which he held at his death.
He had two hobbies. music and books. Away
back in his Chicago days he PLAYED the organ In
the Rockford Church. and in his palmv davs
suppianted the whe"zy instrument by S15, 900
grand. In New York city he head Of the
music committee OF Christ Church. He paid
good PAR: of the bills. and enjoyed the noto-
riety of the effort. When the Yellowstone trip
was made he took along concert singers, and
lately he found his greatest consolation in the
very rich musical alcOve of his library.
When he was managing director of the Pacific
Mail Company he gave another exhibition of
his skyrocket ways OF doing things. The two
steamers City of Picking and City of Toxic
had jus: been bull. by John Roach and their
trial trips were sensations One went to Boston
with several hundred excursionists aboard
The other went 20 Newport. Delmonco did
tho catering. Gilmore furnished the music
and what with the President. the cabinet Con-
Eressmen and such on board it was dis
tinguished party.
Mr.. Hatch had special facility for getting
into lawsuits. Gould never liked him and fire.
q1ent!y warned those in deals and pools 10 keep
Fatch out. since there would surely be trouble
II he were let in. In the amagamation of the
American and Western Union telegraph cou,-
panies there was Just such a break
Mr.. Hatch had n great frieudshin for pava
paper men. well-knOwn newspaper man now
IN Congress was his scribbling confrere. and in
many efusions OF satirical sort 1t was difficult
to say which was Cummings and which was
Hatch. lie WIS capital at parody writing and
his celebrated burlesque edition of Wizards
high-sounding prospectus of the Northern Pa
cifc railroad was translated as far as it could
be into French and German.
For the past dozen years Mr. Hatch was n
vigorous writer. mostly i'll critiques upon the
market, and the mention of water in stocks
was sure to start him off in pungent talk on
that tender point.
osrRACIsED By OTHERS.
Mr.. Iiatch's disposition for litigation led to
his practical ostracization in many financial
lines. He was not of the modern type of Wall
street man-cool and calculating -but liked TO
operate with a full brass band as part of his
outfit.
He was high liver, and az an epicure in
eating and connosseur in drinking stood in
the front rank.
He leaves three children by his first wife.
who was Miss Charlotte L. Hatch and four
by his second wife. who was daughter of
Capt. Gray. the commodore of the Pacific mail
fleet.
Latterly he has been head of the Rufus Hatch
Qimited) Company, intended to operate in the
street, and WAS also interested in the ranch
business in New Mexico and Arizona
He died without any pouer in ,rono
where at time his demise wouId have
raised small panic. He had u small proup
of friends, who knew him we'll enough to know
that he had kind heart under his brusoue
exterior. and soft word as well as a cutting
cpigram.