Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-06-22
JOHN |. BLAIR IS VERY ILL.
New Jersey Millionaire With Exten-
sive Kansas City Interests Mt
the Point of Death.

New York, June H.-John 1. BAR, new
Jerseys greatest millionaire, who has been
for months in delicate health, IS seriously
sick, and trained nurse is in constant at
tendance upon him. He spends most OF
his time in bed, but he has well days as
he good-naturedly calls them, when he is
able TO sit for a short time in his fayorite
chair on the porch of his house at Blairs-
town, n. ]. These are followed by danger
Gus sinking spells, during which II Is very
difficult 10 keep him from dying.
Mr.. Blair will be 80 years old August =
IL death shall not claim him before. lie
kept up his interest in business so long as
his strength held out. He was born in lsJ2
on a farm near Belvidere. y J., and began
his business career by working in a store
and then operating one. He went into
banking then cotton manufacturing and
engaged in he seemed TO be successful re
bought Scranton coal stock was connected
with the Delaware q Lackawanna and was
associated with OakeS Ames IN the Union
Pacific At one time he was president of
twenty railroads and Improvement COM
panies in the West; In 1906 his 1riends OF
ernCr He spent about 10000 in the cam
paign and was defeated. He has given
more than $5O00O0 to Blair college. He gave
$4,000 each TO Princeton and Lafayette. lie
rebuilt Grinnell college. Iowa, when II was
blown down by a tornado. Hundreds OF
other institutions have been helped Dy MN.
John l. Blair is well known to many. peo-
pie in Kansas City. as he has visited the
CITY many times and has made many large
investments in and near the city. He owns
practically all of the stock of the Blair
line of railroad, running from mere 70 Us Us
hut nine miles of IL built and completed the
line. He was the owner OF much OF the
stock of the old Ninth Street Gable RAIL
way Company. and made large proht
from that investment. lie owns over 5VO
acres known as the Schafer tract IN the
East bottoms over which there was long
litigation. He has a fine farm Of 600 acres
near Raytown, owns the East Ridgeway
addition TO Sheffield, several hundred acres
of land, including Waldo park, and a
ranch of 5000 acres in Vernon and Bates
counties. Nearly all of his investments in
this locality have been good ones, and he
original investment. His hrm OF Blalr ~
Company owns an entire issue of sewer
bonds of the city and also a very large
number of the city hall Improvement bonds.
Mr.. Blair frequently made trips to the
city during the SOS, and stopped at the st.
James hotel and then at the Coates House,
where he was well known. He was quite
active, and got about the hotel with little
inconvenience ten years ago when in the
and his son who came with him was
white-headed old man. He was plain and
unassuming in his manner. and would al
ways order a comfortable room at a medi-
UNI price. The other men who were here
with him usually took expensive rooms
and lived in style, but he paid little at
tention to the style so long as he was COM
Portable. He was here for several weeks
in 1891, when the Blair line company was
city in 1892. At that time he was taken i'll
while in the city and was hardly able to
travel One of the Burlington officials ten
dered him a private car to return home in
and he used II as far as Hannibal. when
he felt himself recovered and sent the car
back He owns railroads all over the
country. but never owned a private car
and would not take trips in them if he
could avoid it.
When Mr.. Blair was a witness in the
celebrated litigation with Theo Schaffer,
the agent he claimed had defrauded him,
he was asked what was the amount of his
fortune. He replied that he did not know.
Shortly after that New York paper pre-
pared list of wealthy men, and in that
put Mr.. Blair down at $0.O00000. That is
said to be n conservative sum.
His investments were confined to railroad
stocks and bonds of approved value, short
lines of railroads, and choice real estate
near cities. He owns one large warehouse
in ST. Louis, but it was taken in settlement
and was not an investment made volun-
tarily.
Mr.. Blair was induced to invest in the
stock and bonds of the old Ninth street
cable line by Johnson & Lucas, attorneys
for that line. He found It such choice
investment that he at once retained that
firm as his attorneys, and they have looked
after all of his Western interests since
that time.