The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1899-10-10
CLEANED UP
A BIG sum.
Scrap Dealer Who Made a Rich
Strike in Old Iron.
HAD ACCUMULATED A PILE
And Held 1t Till the Market Price Rose
When He Closed It Out at An Inn
mense Profit and Pocketed
the Cash,

when He Closed It Out at An Inn
mense Profit and Pocketed
the Cash,
Thirty thousands of dollars is quite a
large amount of money to any ordinary
citizen, but to a Russian Jew it means
a large sum and it's owner is by no
means a poor man. Illustrative of this
statement is the fact that the recent
advance in iron, while 1t may have
caused dismay and anxiety to con-
sumers and mill owners, 1t possibly re-
acted to the good fortune of local iron
monger. 1t is not to be said that
George Dreyer, the iron merchant re-
siding at 4O6 Douglass street, holds this
amount of cold cash in his pockets Oh
even in the bank, but close figuring, de-
spite his denials to the contrary, show
that he has aggregated somewhat
princely fortune nevertheless, and all
through the iron which he had bought
and resold within the past ten years
and lately through the recent advance
in the iron market of from So to $12 pei
ton. The difference on single ton may
not eonsummate fortune but when one
has handled hundreds of tons and cal
loads at fair profit, it is conspicuous
that the amount would run into high
figures.
| A NewsDemocrat reporter on learn
ing that Dreyer had accumulated this
exhorbtitant sum approached the gen.
tleman Friday afternoon at his resi-
dence to learn just how he made the
money flow into his Golfers.
81 understand, Mr.. Dreyer, that you
have made 100000 ont of your iron
eals" questioned the reporter by way of
starting the conversation with the
otherwise reticent iron monger.
This seemed to stagger Dreyer, but
only for a moment, and then a faint
smile lit up his face, and he replied:
mo, didn't make that much money.
/ have made considerable money in this
business and through the raise in the
price of iron. / bought immense piles
of it when iron was way down and
happened to have some of it when iron
went up, and 1 then sold it, 1 ought to
have held more for the raise, but I
didn't. do not call myself rich; am
making good living, but can't say
that I have made the amount named
by you, that's awfully big"
"The fact is Mr.. Dreyer that you ac-
cumulated your scrap piles for this
raise, is not that SOP" was asked
mot exactly" he replied. II had
considerable iron, many tons, on hand
then and sold it at big profit"
IT came to this country from Russia
about sixteen years ago and settled in
this city fifteen years ago. 1 used to
go around selling notions and peddling,
but afterwhile 1 saw that there was
more money in handling iron and be-
gan buying and selling that. 1 have
handled iron for about ten years now,
and send away a car load of about
fifteen tons to the car well say about
one every three weeks. I send some to
Cleveland and Pittsburg or wherever 1
can sell it. I secure the regular quota
tions on iron and keep posted and know
just when to sell it. / employ several
men to buy and collect it and this keeps
me busy all of the time looking after
my work. My health has failed and /
cannot work as much as 1 used to, but
still help my workmen."
There was most interesting collec-
ton in that heterogeneous mass Of
scrap iron in different piles about the
back yard. 1t was separated, the
wrought, hard, soft, and other grades
of the iron being assorted separately.
There was anything and everything
from tablefork to a cook stove or a
bath tub, with a few old rusted and
broken bicycles sandwiched between.
There were broken iron toys in great
numbers, there were wheels and axles
and hubs and rusted gearngs, broken
sewing machines, water pipes, water
heaters, and such an intermingling of
shapes and fantastic forms that the re.
porter was fairly bewildered. Just
then the workmen entered the yard
with an old cook stove which they un-
tremendously flung with great energy
upon pile Of similarly broken kitchen
stoves, and there was a crash which
was loud enough to be heard squares
away, as the iron flew in fragments
Some old iron roofing was pitched upon
a similar pile of that kind of iron
Small pipes were also thrown separate
ly aside and care was exercised that
none OF 1t was wrongly assorted.
George Dreyer and his huge iron
scrap piles are the wonderment of the
southeast end, and his countrymen re-
FER to him with reverence almost when
they speak Of him. He is capitalist,
monopolist and book keeper as well as
his own clerk and he controls the iron
scrap interests of the town, it is said.
Mr.. Dreyer, despite his wealth, is a
pleasant gentleman, well liked by his
neighbors, always assists his country
men when in need and withall a shrewd
merchant. At the present rate of his
|gainings he will likely be an exceeding
ly wealthy merchant in a few years
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