Evening star., 1896-08-08
PIERPoNT MORGAN OFF DUTY.
Hours Spent on His Magnificent Yach,
An Unsocial Spirit.

Hours Spent on His Magnificent Yacht
An UnsOcial Spirit.
From the New York World.
The ferry boat Magenta. that leaves Bay
Ridge at o'clock every morning brings to
this city a man who Is supposed to domi
Late the money power in Wall street; the
man above all others against whom the
people who are shouting for cheaper money
are particularly incensed.
J. Pierpont Morgan sleeps his mag
nificent yacht Corsair inside the Narrows
He leaves his office between 4 and ) in the
afternoon. walks to South ferry and picks
out a comfortable place on the main deck
of the Bay Ridge boat. He never climbs
the stairs to the cabin, and he always tries
to avoid a crowded boat. Going home in
the evening he reads a novel. Coming to
town in the morning he reads the newspa-
pers.
A naphtha launch awaits him at the ferry
house. From the moment he sets foot on it
Mr.. Morgan Is carefully attended to and his
wants eagerly anticipated. He has a we'll
trained corps Of English servants. Dinner
is ready for him when he arrives on board
the yacht, and. as a general thing. the Cor
sair cruises in the lower bay or steams up
the Hudson while he is eating it.
While Mr.. Morgan Is on the yacht the So
licitude of the entire crew is for his COM
fort AS a rule the yacht is at anchor by
10 o'clock at night, and the deckhands then
wear cloth slippers so as not to disturb the
slumbers of the great financier when he
goes to bed. He is an early riser. Break
fast is ready al o'clock, and the New York
morning newspapers are put near Mr.. Nor
gan's favorite chair on deck. He lights a
Perfecto cigar, carefully adjusts it into a
papier mache mouthpiece and hurries
through the papers while the launch is put
In readiness to take him to the ferry boat
He carries a red pencil in his pocket. and if
there is any article that he wants to read
at his leisure he marks it and stuffs the
paper into the pocket of his skeleton coat.
Then he opens his letters and dictates for a
few minutes to his secretary. who has come
from the city on an early boat.
When Mr.. Morgan steps into the launch
to begin his journey to the city he is the
personification Of well-groomed man. The
square-topped derby hat that he wears in all
seasons is as neat as when it left the finish
er. His soft leather shoes are so free from
dust that the persistent bootblacks on the
boat fail to shout shine" when he comes
down the gangplank. One Of the deck
hands on the Magenta, Jack by name
knows Mr.. Morgan's wants and is ready for
him. He places two camp stools by the
forward stanchion on the main deck. Mr..
Morgan acknowledges this service with
nod. He puts his papers and letters on one
stool and stretches his legs over them.
Fine morning. SIR" observes Jack
Mr.. Morgan mods acquiescence, and leans
against the stanchion to read. The trains
from Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach
and Bath Beach come in loaded with brok-
ers who know Mr.. Morgan very well by
sight. but he never lifts his eyes from his
paper. Some people who have tried to en-
gage him in conversation have given 1t up
as a hopeless job. One morning lot of
larkish young men placed their camp stools
around the stanchion that Mr.. Morgan had
appropriated. and. affecting ignorance of
his presence, indulged IN remarks of more
or less personal nature.
Mr.. Morgan looked up and caught sight
of Jack leaning over the rail. He signaled
to him and Jack promptly responded.
Move my chairs inside" said Mr.. Morgan;
there is too much wind here"
When the boat reaches South ferry Mr..
Morgan makes bolt for the gate. 1t is
hot his fault If he is not the first man
ashore. He wedges his way through the
crowd with a persistency and skill that
suggests experience on a college foot ball
team. If there is plenty of room on n
Broadway car he utilzes it to reach Wall
street. If the car is crowded he calls a
hanson. BY 9:45 he is at his desk. and the
luxuries Of the Corsair are forgotten until
he goes to the ferry boat at night
A friend once asked Mr.. Morgan: ''Why
don't you come up to the city in your
launch?"
presumably for the same reason that
you do not swim up was the reply. Il do
not wish to do So"