The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-11-14
AMERICAN MILLIONAIRES
A Paris Papers Account Of Our
Men Of Money.
In Which Facts Are Somewhat Distorted
and Exaggerated Strange
Inaccuracy of the For
eign Press.

The founder of the colossal fortune,
a portion of which comes to France
with the new Countess de Castellane,
died about two years ago. He was a
prodigious speculator, a fnancier for
whom speculation was a perfect bat
tie. We refer to Jay Gould, the man
who left, in addition to his gigantic
fortune, an imperishable souvenir in
the financial history of North America
His name is legendary in the bourse
of New York, where they still remem-
Der him as he sat in his Office upon one
of the arms of his chair-his favorltc
position-sending and receiving hun
| dreds of dispatches during the bust
ness hours. He commanded a perfect
army of brokers and agents Two
hundred intermediates operated con-
stantly for him, unknown to each
other, and his Office was connected di-
rectly by special telegraph lines with
twenty-five offices of brokers.
His habits were remarkably simple
and sober. He never touched alcohol
in any shape and never smoked. J%r
Gould only knew one fashion-specuIa-
ton.
The fortunes of the Vanderbilts, of
the Mackays, of the BENEFITS and OF
the Astors are well known to our
readers and it is not necessary to refer
to them. We prefer to mention few
other millionaires less popular who are
still in the world of finance.
First we have Mr.. Russell Sage, who
was present at the marriage of Miss
Anna Gould and who four years ago
was the hero of an extraordinary adj
venture 1t was upon him that an
anarchist named Lord called and de-
manded one million dollars under the
penalty of an explosion. Mr.. Russell
Sage having refused to comply with
the demand, Lord did just as he said
he would do. He threw the bomb up
on the floor of the Office of the Amer
lean banker, but that machine, intel
llgent for once. only killed the an
archist.
Mr.. Russell Sage is not only one OF
the richest bankers of New York-he
is worth two hundred and fifty mill
lion dollars-but he is also the one who
has always on hand the most ready
money.
After having been one of the great
est spectators of Hall (sic) street (the
hourse of New York;, he at length con-
fined his operations entirely to dis
counting notes, and in order TO be able
to meet all sorts of eventualities he
has always on hand q running account
of considerable sums Mr.. Sage can
at any moment draw his check for
fifty million dollars. He was for a
long time closely connected with the
affairs of Jay Gould.
Beside Mr.. Sage stands Col. Hunt
ington, who is also worth two hundred
and fifty million dollars. He is the
son of farmer, formerly farm hand,
and he commenced his fortune in specu
lations in American clocks. He is now
one of the railroad kings and is also a
teetotaler, drinking nothing but tea
The other great spectators, with no
more than from fifty million dollars to
one hundred million dollars, are Mr.. S.
V. White, nicknamed Deacon White,
because he was formerly treasurer
in one of the churches of New York
and very aEable and very charitable;
Mr.. John d. Slaybach, who one day
lost more than million because he
left his Office to attend a religious lee
ture; Mr.. II. Victor Newcomb, young
man who was known as the boy presi-
dent" at the time when, before he was
of age. he was president of railroad
company; Mr.. d. o. Mills, etc.
All of them operate on a gigantic
scale. To give only one example, we
may mention that Mr.. S. V. White some
years ago made ten million five hun
dred thousand dollars in two days out
of one speculation.
Most of these fnanciers are also
church members The piety of Mr.. |
Sage is especially exemplary. But ts
has one passion, nevertheless, and that
is for horses. His trotters are re-
nowned in New York-Psris Figaro.