The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-18
HETTY GREEN CORNEREO.
Tax Commissioners Have Finally Got
a Hold On Her.

Ing " non 01G LO6l4ASQ HILL
ton ST, $50, 900 on the Stewart Build
ing-aow Her Fortune Was Aooum-
dated.
From the Philadelphia Times
New York, Feb. l1.-Mrs. Hetty Green,
the richest woman in America the story
of whose peculiar manner Of living and
mysterious disappearance was told in the
Times few days ago, is again the sub
iect Of discussion, The wheareab bouts of
the woman who owns 100000, 900 and
whose income is estimated at not less
than So, 200, 000a year, does not figure in
the present story, as this is entirely lost
sight of in the fact that at last the board
of commissioners of taxes and assess
ments have a chance to compel her to
pay at least small fraction Of the tax on
personal property which she has owned
In this city and county for so long.
The board of commissioners of taxes
and assessments have on their books the
name of the Title Guarantee and Trust
Company as trustee for mortgage on the
Stewart building amounting to 81, Dot, 900.
1t is a well-known fact that Hetty Green
is the holder of the mortgage, the terms
of which were dictated with her charac-
teristic sagacity for driving hard bar
gain.
This mortgage is personal property, and
will be assessed as such. The tax on it
will b. somewhere in the neighborhood of
SIS, 600 to 500, 900. If the trust company
does not reveal the name OF its client, the,
company will have to pay the tax to and
seek reimbursement from the party for
whom it is acting as trustee
JUDGE HILTON "sQUKEzBD."
Last summer ex-Judge Henry Hilton
borrowed 81, $50, 900 to save the great dry
goods firm of Hilton, Hughes & Co. from
embarrassment or worse. He gave a
mortgage on the Stewart building, at
Broadway and Cham bers street, and the
holder of the mortgage is the Title Guar
antee and Trust Company as trustee.
The mortgage is matter Of record. 1t
has been tiled in Register Levy's Office
and the commissioners of taxes and as
sessments have copy of it. If the cor
pOration delivers Mrs. Green into the
hands of the tax commissioners her
plight will be sorry one indeed. They
know to almost moral certainty that in
her strong boxes at the Chemical Bank
are nearly $50, 100000 worth Of bonds, Sc
curities, mortgages and diamonds.
On the other hand, If the Title Guar
antee and Trust Company does not reveal
her name as that of the holder of the
Stewart building mortgage, the company
will have to send its own check for the
tax, and Mrs. Green will have to pay
them. This little sum of $40, 900, which
will surely come out OF Hetty Green's
pocketbook at the beginning Of next year,
will be the first personal property tax she
has ever paid in this country. She has
been as successful in evading tax col
lectors as in lodging newspaper men
and concealing her residence from the
public.
1t would be curious thing indeed If
the mortgage on the Stewart building
should prove to be the means Of Hetty
GREEN'S undoing in the matter of tax
lodging AT the time the mortgage was
given it was generally admitted that Mrs.
Green had driven very hard bargain
and had made an. excellent Investment of
her Sl.250, o00y wi tn "a abundant security,
but at that time nobody knew what an
extraordinary document the mortgage
itself was. 1t is bond such as Shylock
himself might have been proud Of, and it
was drawn up, every word Of it, by Mrs.
Hetty Green,
TERMS OF THE MORTGAGE.
The mortgage runs for FIVE years at 6
per ceut. interest, payable semi-annually.
In case of thirty days default in the pay
ment of interest or of any taxes or assess
mentS on the property. Mrs. Green may
step into the Stewart building and collect
the rents and sell the white marble
palace which Alexander T. Stewards
widow gave TO ex-Judge Hilton ten years
ago.
Perhaps the most extraordinary clause
in this most extraordinary document ever
filed for record is that which gives Mrs.
Green the right to demand the whole
sum of money loaned exzJudge Hilton the
very instant that the legislature passes
any law increasing the amount Of taxa
tion on the mortgage. In order to save
his building in such event ex-JudRe Hill
ton must "place and keep said holder in
same position as If no such law had been
passed" The late A. I. Stewart spent
millions in lawyers fees. Ex-Judge
Hilton got some Of them. Mr.. Hilton
himself has had to spend more millions
for legal services since he secured possess
sion of the Stewart fortune.
This indenture was made on August 90,
1898. and was filed for record in the reg
ister's office on August 81, 1893.
HOW THE FORTUNE WAS ACCUMULATED
The query, "How did Hetty Green ac-
cumulate such vast fOrtune?" is per-
tineut one; 1t is also easily answered
Some one else prepared the groundwork.
Mrs Green then stepped in and piled up
millions on top of millions in three ways
VIZ, AISI, Wy uAlNluE udI0 EdIBdlnos 49,
for instance, the transaction with ex-
Judge Hilton second, by failing to pay
the state and federal government their
Just dues in taxation and third, by keep
ing her lawyers poor.
Next to making a dollar or saving a
dollar Mrs. Green's greatest delight has
been to throw down" lawyers. She has
been engaged In htigations OF various
sorts for twenty years, more or less.
Dozens Of lawyers have had to sue her
for their fees. Very few have ever recov-
cred.
The negotiations between Ex-Judge Hill
ton and his sons and Mrs. Hetty Groom,
the money-lender, lasted nearly q month
last summer before the Stewart building
was finally mortgaged. She had law
yer, and for two or three weeks he had
daily conferences with the Hlltons. 1t
was hard blow TO Ex-Judge Hilton to
put mortgage on the white marble
palace that a. T. Stewart built.
Mrs. Green knew she had Hilton under
her thumb. When at last the ex-iuigo
had swallowed his last remnant Of pride
and consented 10 give the Stewart build
ing as security Mrs. Green made q
characteristic move.
She discharged her lawyer on the
ground that he had wasted two weeks
and accom- plished nothing She refused