The Irish standard., 1896-05-23
He Is the Hardest Working Man of,
Any in His Great Estab-
lishment.
Pays His rlen Well and Insists
That They Shall Keep Out
of Debt.


900 people, and it amounts to $1O0, ,000, ,00t
every year. Four thousand railroad cars
are now speeding over their iron tracks
loaded down With his merchandise He
Z has his establishments in every city OF
/ the United States and his agents are al
work for him In every part Of the globe
The cable and telegraph wires which
come into his Office are daily loaded with
private news for him as to wants and
supplies OF the nations Of the world, and
by telegraph he sends forth orders which
are to make or lose millions From the
wheat fields OF Russia, from the grain
bearing plains Of North India and from
the markets of Australia and Europe
come the reports Of his men, and every
morning he has, as it were, a map Of the
actual condition of the world before him
and can tell from whence his products
will be IN demand, and where and why
prices will rise or fall. s.tE CHS. 7fs.', u:
refer to Phillip D. Armour the Ma
poleon Of the Chicago capitalists, the
baron of the butchers, and the king Of
the pork packing and grain-shipping
products of the United States: have
heard much Of him during my stay here
In Chicago, and / had an interesting chat
with him in his cage-like room, where
he manages his immense business, writes
Frank G. Carpenter.
But first let me tell you something of
the man. He is, you know, self-made.
Horn in New York about 60 years ago, he
started West to make his fortune. He
was, I think, still in his teens when the
gold fever caught him, and he worked his
way across the plains and over the noun
talns to- California. His journey was full
OF hardships, and he tells many inter
esting stories concerning 1t. At one time
his shoes had worn out. The sage brush
and cacti cut into his feet, and he was al
most wild to obtain some kind Of con-
veyance to carry him onward. At last,
upon nearing a. town in the Rockies he
met a man riding a very fine mule. He
stopped him and asked him If he would
sell the animal Te man replied that he
did not care to sell, but If Armour really
wanted it he could have it for 5000. This
was, however. more than young Armour
could spare, and a trade was finally made,
by which young Armour got the mule for
$160, which was about all the money he
had. In telling the story Phil Armour
describes the delights Of riding the mule,
and how Light his heart was as he trotted
onward. He rode gaily into the town
and was passing through the main street
when he was met by a man who in fierce
tones asked him where he had gotten
that mule. Mr.. Armour told him. The
man then said:
'''Why, man, that mule belongs to Den
mis- Hanks. 1t has been stolen, and / ad-
wise you 10 give 1t up at once, and get
out of town, or you will be in the hands
of the vigilance committee
Tho man succeeded in thoroughly
frightening Armour, who gave up the
mule, and sick at heart, hurried on his
way. "A day or two later he came to a,
miners camp in the mountains, and
there spent the night. He was, asked
how he had come, and he told OF his adj
ventures, iucludfng the swindle of the
mule. AS he did SO, the miners burst
out laughing, and one Of them said
"Why, man, bought that id mule
myself. It has been sold over and over
again and fully 100 men have been taken
I'm by it. The man in the town is CON
lfederate Of the seller of the mule and
they are making a living by taking in
the tenderfeet'' i Il. II. Is. # Al
si It did not take long, however, for Phil
Armour to get his eye teeth cut. He
finally got to California and there made
Y the little money which formed the foun-
dation Of his fortune. a h.
ARMOuR's FIRST BIG STRIKE.
Mr.. Armour is a far-sighted man. He
4 looks ahead and is not afraid to trust his
own judgment. He is broad gauged ia
his ideas. There is nothing Of the pessi-
mist about him. He Is always a bull in
the market, and never bear. His great
fortune has been made largely through
! faith In the United States and its PROS
poets. His first big strike was, In fact
u o bold bet on the successful outcome Of
4 the war. He had made his little pile in
California, and had gone into the pork
packing business with old John Planking
ton, Of Milwaukee, One day he came in
to the office and said: fs.@3 So
Mr.. Plankington. am going to New.
ork at once. The war is over. Grant
i has practically beaten the rebels, and
we will have peace in a few weeks. 4 i am
going on TO New York to buy all the pork
Ican get" ma s., Z a d
Mr. Plankington at first questioned the
plan, but he finally consented, and TgAr-
!; sl1our' went East. He bought right and
lett The New Workers were despond lent.
4 The They had lost faith in the Union, and
prices were away down The news from
sSthe Held, however, soon changed matters.
Sltf soon became apparent that the warwas
4 really real over, and the result came ont al
Il SaATmo,lr had predicted. Prices went away
Il lpj and out OF that deal Nj. Armour
& @SCleaIed something like q million dnllars
leip are several other stories ofSa IKE
At1Te which I have heard con tarrliI1gp
i armour. He thinks uiickly. q ani
B pn his own judgment 8 %a3s s
SSIs lTlnour is not afraid Of a bir Thing
81 he fs ready to fight to hold his o,p,lm,
Ssfiistance of this o.ciI ,Sssf la, q, ~,