The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-11-30
Women Are Financiers.


| The popular supposit;on that the accu-
mutation of pretty pennies is a purely
masculine accomplishment is reflected by
fiippant character in one of Balzac's
| books, who says enthusiastically: ''Wo-
| men are sublime in one tning-they never
understand anything about money; il
doesn't concern them. and they don't med
die with 1t, except TO spend Il. They are
invited to the banquet Of life"
Not every woman can be a Hetty Green,
with Ettle leather satchel stored with
stocks and securities, to be sure, but al
| most every woman is a mastery manipu-
lator OF moneybags. Millions of women,
in other words, are the shrewd sponsors
nowadays Of millions OF dollars.
Two notable instances stand in direct re-
futation TO this much-discussed failacy of
the fair financ:er. One IS the woman's
department Of the worlds fair, which con-
Guided its work with $4,000 in the treasury,
while the men managers came out at the
little end of the financial horn. The same
creditabie work of women was repeated
by the daughters OF the south at the At
lanta Exposition with a snug balance of
$1,000 though the men were compelled to
bear the burden of a considerable def
cheney in funds.
That the fair sex is a capable care-taker
of coin is everywhere evidenced. not only
in the feminine financier of the family
exchequer, but In the collection and careful
application of immense sums for philan-
thropic purposes, as well as in more pre-
tentous undertakings in the commercial
world. In the first instance, women may
not always have followed faithfully the
admirable edict OF Ruskin-"starve and go
to heaven, but don't borrow'-but all
along the line she has shown a wholesome
d:sinclination to running in debt.
There are fully two dozen women in this
country each of whom has more money
than any one of the crowned heads of Eu-
rope except woman-Queen Victoria, the
richest OF soyereigns. And what is more.
there are at least a half dozen American
women who possess as much money as the
wealthy ruler of England.
High and mighty Hetty Green is by no
means feminine freak i'm the financial
world. Her twenty millions have FORM
liable rival in the money of the New
York s2inster, Miss Mary Garrett, which
amounts to forty millions Mrs. Mark
Hopkins also possesses five millions more
than the industrious Mrs. Green, and equal
Il
daughter of the multi-miliona:re of San
Francisco; Miss Julia Rhinelander of
Gotham and Mrs. Marshall o. Roberts, of
the same city. Mrs. D. P. Morgan of
Washington has a bank account of ten
millions, while Mrs. Charles B. Alexan-
der of New York has six millions. And
there are many other minor millionairesses.
The richest woman in world &c he
Sonora de Cousino of Chile, whose annual
income is no less than eight millions. The
immense wealth of this widow is doubtless
due to her financiering, as she has doubled
the original amount of her inheritance. 1t
is not unlikely the sonora, who is gifted
with good looks as well as good gold
could marry again If she chooses, though
thus far she has remained welded to her
almost untold wealth.
The story of her money sounds like a
myth. Among her belongings are three pal
aces fit for as many Processes, silver
mines, affect of ships, vineyards, stock
farms, potteries which supply with earth
enware all South America, all the copper
mines of Chile and Peru, houses and lands
and little Of everything else under the
sun.
The feminine inancier has finally made
a break into the banking business Down
in Peoria, Ill, is bank run entirely by
the fair sex. The president, Mrs Lydia
Bradley, has petticoated assistants all
about the place. even to the directors.
There is also bank at Mount Crescent
Texas, presided over by woman. Mrs.
Anna Mores. One of the Oldest private
banking houses in Paris has had for twen-
ty years woman at its head. In this
connection 1t is interesting to know that
the par value of the shares in national
banks owned by women in 1893 amounted
to NS0, 6S1. 4S5 in this country.