The Portland daily press., 1899-01-06
wsooNsIN's sLespLEss MILLION
ARE.
Elaborate Daily Routine Fostsred the
MaIsdy of Insomnia for Fifteen
Years.
(From the Chicago Tribune. }

(From the Chicago Tribune.)
For fifteen years Edward Balm, the mil
lionaire wagon manufacturer OF henosha,
Wis, who died on Sunday at Pasadena,
CAL, never occupied bed or wooed sleep
by assuming reclining posture sitting
bolt upright In o high-backed chair. or
by lying back in chair which tilted at
n slight angle, he let his head fall upon
his brenst and dozed away for the few
minutes OF half slumber which ~ seemed
his body was generally content with bav.
ing.
Sometimes he did not sleep more than
thirty minutes in the course Of q night,
dividing this into snatches Of i've, seven,
or ten minutes, and rising In the fire.
quent intervals TO take long walks about
kenosha. There was however, nights
when he secured nearly the average quota
Of sleep, possibly an hour at time, ris-
ing at tho end Of that time for relaxation
to entioe forgetfulness.
Four times millionaire by the esti
mate Of his friends, he did not use his
Golfers TO help him In the contest he
wnged against tine hourglass. He did not
seek variety; instead he assigned to very
part Of the day a particular routine, Il
schedule which be never broke IL was
this peculiarly of method. the result OF q
mercilsss self-discipiine he brought on
in the first instance, says his physician,
DR. G. h. Ripley, the malady which
was destined to be his constant compan-
ion. by method, also, he in all proba-
bility fostered the disease. Always a
nervous man, he found after sixty years
OF hard LABOR that he could not sleep
Previous TO that time he had never tried
TO sleep.
Then suddenly he found himself a man
of leisure. The Balm Wagon Company
became In 1889 a corporation and he Its
President. AS Edward Balm, the proprie
tor, there had been never-ending employ
ment for him; as Edward Balm. Presi-
dent, he had nothing to do but attend
an occasional meeting Of the Board of
Directors and draw his dividends DIR.
Ripley asserts that insomnia was not the
result of any discernible physical i'll. The
mechanism Of the mans brain appears
simply to have undergone a subtle change
that made IL an example OF continuous
motion,
Mr.. Balm constituted himself his own
doctor, and seems to have reasoned that
system might again restore him to a
normal state. He did lot care to return
to work, but he set about celebrating n
daily time card. For six months II the
year. the period he spent at kenosha,
there was no shifting of the programme
for any cause whatever.
Awakipg from his nap with the appear
ancs Of the first light in the east. he was
hurried by his attendant to bath, then
rubbed vigorously and dressed In fresh
garments. In matters of attire he was
scrupulous to the last detail. After n
light breakfast he walked from the house
. short distance to horse block, where
his buggy awaited him.
On the outskirts Of kenosha Mr.. Balm
owned large tracts Of land fenced in to
farms, and for the most part cultivated.
The gates opening from one field to an
other were Of the sort IA man in a carriage
or wagon can open without alighting
For nearly four hours, Mr. Balm drove
FROM farm to farm, looking at every OBJ
jeot, but never speaking to bis tenants.
At 10 O'Clock every morning he was set
down on the platform at the Chicago and
Northwestern depot. An employee took
the rig home and Mr.. Balm and the at
tendant came into Chicago. At 1l.30
O'Clock, the time Of the trains arrival at
the Wells street station, until o'clock In
the afternoon, he was on board street
car. He rode for one hour and forty i've
minutes In one direction, timing himself,
and then returned by the same route TO
the depot to step upon the train which
bore him back to kenosha.
During his street car rides Mr. Balm
sat always on the right side Of the car.
At the halfway point he secured his
lunch, a glass OF some mild beverage, and
a sandwich. When he reached kenosha at
about 4.30 O'Clock In the afternoon the
buggy was awaiting him at the plat
form. He climbed into 1t and made the
same round OF the farms he had made In
the morning. de took dinner with his
family in the evening and after tine meal
| came down town. going either TO the
Grant House or TO one OF the saloons. He
did not drink, but took a seat and tai ked
with his friends and neighbors.