The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-11-17
CHARLES A. DANA's PROPERTY.
ne Leaves an Estate of Over Million
Dollars.

ne new York correspondent of the
nliauelphla Press, after careful exami-
AOioAi, ID ready to vouoh for the follow
ing stripped of its legal yerbiage. the
VIII leaves all of his real and nersonal
properly, with single exoention To his
"iuo"' Inc exception is his stock In the
gun corporation, and that is held in trust
ior she WIDOWS benefit, Paul Dana heino
trustee with full power of disnosition
Mr.. Dana's interest in the SIM while IL
was not a majority interest. was largo
and upon that interest there is ahso,r+oIv
no enoumbrance. Not a sbara Of bic
stock IN the Sun is hypothecated; it all
stands free and clear of any pecunjarv oh
legation. The real and personal nrone,tv
owned by Mr.. Dana, dncludine his heart-
iful place on the shore of LONG leland
sound and his city house, are uninopn-
bered. The property therefore as a whole
stands free and clear of any OBLIGATION
and at a conservative valuation made nv
those authorized to report upon the estate
represents something over 81 900 600
Mr.. Dana, therefore. as a result of the
business direction of the Sun in the 80
years that he was president of the corpor-
alton, was able to accumulate a fortune
OF over 81 900, 600, possibly nearly 81 $780,
900, the greater part of which came from
the appreciation in the value of the Suns
stock, and the accumulation of dividends.
1t is certainly as great a success as that
achieved by any Journalist of Mr.. Dana's
generation. 1t should be borne in mind
that, in addition to this estate, Mr. Da-
ma had received in the 80 years of his di-
rection of the paper in dividends and sal
airy, possibly 100000 more. Therefore,
1t is safe to report that in his career as
editor OF the Sun, beginning in 1868 and
ending in 1897 Mr.. Dana received as his
share of the profits and in salary, not far
from 81, 000, 600.
Only once during Mr.. Dana's direction
as president of the Sun corporation was
the market entered for loan upon the
sun property. That loan was secured at
per cent. interest, the amount borrowed
being a little over 100000 But the min
utes preserved show that the borrowing of
tnls money was mere question OF d.
nance. The trustees of the Sun had de-
cided to construct building adjacent to
the present Sun building, but in the rear
"a building SO concealed that the public
was not aware Of It's erection. 1t was to be
built upon new lines, and for the purpose.
OF enabling the Sun to set up large per
fectlng presses, for which there was no
room in the basement Of the old Sun
building. The idea, when first suggested,
was regarded rs an audacious one, since
1t entailed the establishment of giant
presses, one above another, upon i the
several stories of the new buildings 1t
was for the purpose of establishing this
plant that the money was borrowed, it
being deemed cheaper to borrow the
money at per cent. than to Withhold div
idends for year or SO in order to pay the
cost OF this new plant. M
That is the single exception in all Mr..
Dana'S career as president of the Sun cor
poration where an obligation for large
amount of money was entered into. The
examination shows that Mr.. Dana, at the
time of his last illness, was able to con-
template leaving q vast property, created
and developed under his direction, unen-
numbered, without obligation or an en-
arrassment of any kind for his success
sors to direct.
The control of the paper is today with
three okholders-Paul Dana, as trustee
of his mothers interest and possessor of
his own; Thomas Hitchcock, Mr.. Dana's
personal friend and business and profess
sional associate for 30 years; and Will
liam M. Laffan, who has been for IS
years publisher and manager of the pa
per. Threy control more than two-thirds
of the stock. and it is absolutely in their
possession without enoumbrance or obi
cation of any kind. There exists between
these three men the most thorough I'M
Outstanding and the most perfect conf
dence, as there earlier existed between
Mr.. Dana and them the same happy asso-
citation. 1t was in the perfect assurance
that these relations had been established
and would be maintained that Mr.. Dana
found one of the consultations of the last
weeks of his life. Paul Dana is as abso-
lutely in control as was his father when
he was serving as editor of the Sun and
president of the Sun corporation. aae !
This information here reported for the
first time and based upon examination,
Investigations and court records that
would bear the test of judicial interpreta-
ton throws suddenly a new light upon
that part of the Sun s development which
during. Mr.. Dana's life was not exposed
to public view. 1t reveals Mr.. Dana as
man as pre-eminently successful in bust
ness management of his property as he
was in the editorial direction Of his news
paper.