The record-union., 1898-04-03

| That reminds me-, for he is partfcu-
larly apt in his illustration of a point
or a person.
| His massive and striking town house
| is filled with fine paintings from the
! brushes of old and modern masters,
chosen with that independence of judg-
| ment which seeks no confirmation from
others His large library is thoroughly
wei assorted, and its volumes are hand
somely appareled.
| Mr.. Huntington is fond of good books
| and fine bindings. Poetry appeals
Estrongly to this practical man of af-
fairs, who enjoys a well-turned couplet
| He always keeps in his Office desk set
| of George Crabbes poems, and in his
rare moments of relaxation likes to run
over the rhythmical stories of life
which have made that reverend poet
his favorite; for their attractive meter
! brings the truth home in a canter that
delights him. and he is quite likely to
bestow the set upon well-liked friend
| to whom he may have quoted some
| homely but trenchant verse
| q Let us follow him into this office OF
| his in the Mills building. He has just
opened the door and is greeting a call
err. There is the vision of an ample
\
Prince Albert coat, a, broad, deep chest,
and a head which speaks for itself. In
stature he is six feet one and of full
weight. He is putting on his black silk
| skull-cap but you catch the glimpse
| of massive Uranium, bald all over
| its upper surface, with fringe of griz-
zled hair below. A heavy mustache
| falls over his mouth like a waterfall
and unites with the full beard In con-
| cealement of the strong, square jaw.
/ He is a striking figure as he stands
| there, with lbs dark, powerful hand
| on the doorknob-a personality full of
force. dignity and magnetism, a pres
! enee that somehow stirs the atmosphere
of the room to consciousness and mo-
| ton.
The room occupied by the railway
magnate"-as the newspapers, perhaps
from a dearth of appropriate synonyms,
so frequently designate him-is not spe-
! cially attractive as an interior, nor at
| all suggestive of a bank presidency. The
disposition of the furniture and the lack
of a carpet on the clean floor suggest
the LIST of May rather; but the room
is bright with the sun, and good place
| for work. The large table desk at
which Mr.. Huntington sits is compare
| lively new being still less than twenty
years old. This is from the stand
point of Mr.. Huntington, who is pa
tient beyond description and who has
| himself said that nothing can beat him
waiting except the Catholic Church."
! This desk is Uttered with documents,
| pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and
| what not which exercise mild use
fulness in concealing faded table cover
| once brilliant red. Across the corner
of this desk transactions involving
more than a billion dollars have been
contaminated. Over it have been drawn
and studied carefully, inch by inch,
| profiles of thousands of miles of rail-
road. Plans and politics and combna-
tions have been whispered around it, 1t
has been the silent depository of heart
| breaking petitions from the loTly and
poor. who in utter friendlessness have
turned despairingly for help to the man
whose millions have been made IA
miliar to them through the newspapers.
Prominent and wealthy business men
| on the brink of ruin have rushed in
from a market feverish with panic to
beg for aid, sinking their voices i'm
| hoarse and hurried appeal that only
the old desk and it's owner should share
their confidence. 1t is a famous desk,
indeed, and if it could speak, what in
teresting tales it might unfold as it's
narratives touched familiar notes in
| the gamut of human emotions.
! Day after day week after week,
year after year, Mr.. Huntington has
! been coming to this desk with reg
ularity unbroken except by his peri
| odical business trips to California or
Europe. After sixty years of inces-
I SAINT toll, at an age when most men
are out of business--or out of existence
| he is daily at his post performing
his share of the laborious and re-
! sponsible work which devolves upon
| the employer of a hundred thousand
men. The years have told upon his
physical elasticity. as was inevitable,
but his experience of human nature,
which embraces field probably wider
than that of any other living Amer
lean, has softened and not embittered
his genial nature. Wherever he may
me, the skies are sunny. for of course
this man of energy and enterprise, to-
whom obstacles are invitations to bat
tie, is an optiuist. as =. 49,
Mr.. Huntington takes bright views
! of life, tempered only by a philosophy
| which seems to be equal to all occa-
sions. He never fights the inevitable
| or frets over the has been" and while
one favorite maxim is, What ought to
| be done can be done,' he is often heard
| to say: There is no use of talking
about it. 1t is behind usi'' A business
friend dropped into his office one morn
| ing during some cloudy financial wealth
er and gloomily predicted a fall in
stocks. Huntington turned quickly to-
the window. and, glancing at the flag
on the Produce Exchange tower re-
piled: You might know it, The wind
| is in the northeast"
80 you think" asked his visitor.
With an involuntary smile that the
direction of the wind has something to
do with it?''
why. certainly said Huntington,
| apparently in perfect seriousness;
when I come out of my house morn
| ings I can generally tell within a point
how the stock market is going People
are affected by the weather without
knowing it. Tomorrow the wind will
probably shift to the northwest. ard
then the market win go up. There is
generally a points difference between
the northeast and the northwest"
| The anecdote suggests Mr.. Hunting
! toms interest in the stock market: but
| it is misleading in that respect, for ne
| s not a Spectator, and it is safe to-
| say that no one in his Office has ever
seen him look at stock ticker" lie
is a railroad builder and operator. q
creator Of things that move and pro-
duce something. Naturally his path
! CONTINUED on Ninth Page)