The evening times., 1900-03-05
HENRY HARq'S CAREER
The Former Third Avenue Presi-
dent Saved From Poverty.
James II. keene, the Wall Street
Bear, Wards OF Bankruptcy for
the Aged Financier Formerly
Worth $1O.OOO,OOO, He Has
Seen His Fortune Ebb Away.

Henry Hart, the magnate of the Third
Avenue Railroad Company, was worth $780,
OoO. 600. Within the last week he has seen
this wealth-the savings of sixty years Oh
hard toil-disappear Judgment OF
81, 500 900 might have been hanging over
his head today but for the deal made with
the active bear of Wall Street, James K
Keene Some friends of Magnate Hart
claimed that Keene's support Of the prin-
cipal owner of Third Avenue Railroad
stock in the hour of adversely was char
liable act Financier Keene has made
fortune for himself and has saved Hart
from absolute bankruptcy. Henry Hart
is now eighty eight years old.
This sudden change from affiuence to
comparative poverty makes one of the most
romantic stories OF New York's rich busI-
ness men. Henry Hart started early in
life TO become rich. lie was born in Rut-
gers Street of poor parents. He worked
in clothing store on Chatham Square and
was thrifty. He was watching at all times
tor profitable investments. and before he
was twenty-one years of age started TO
buy railroad stocks.
He foresaw the rapid growth OF the city
anu also the enOTHOuS Ndlue u d Al 'iu~iioC
10 operate a street railroad forever on the
streets of New York. Every dollar of his
earnings he placed in the stock oi the
Third Avenue Railroad Company. In 1893,
after years of hard work. Henry Hart be-
came the controlling factor in this COM
pany.
For nearly fifty years this railroad has
been his mania. He has spent night and
day working to make the road d success.
IN the early sixties Henry Hart became
president of the company. Every detail
was personally supervised by him. lie
rode in the cars hour after hour watching
the conductors and the horse car drivers
TO see kow they were doing their duty. II
a conductor acted insoiently TO pascal
ger or a driver whipped the car horses 100
hard. Prl sident Hart would dismiss him
from the service.
This was long before the period Of pat
ert bell punches and fare registers. The
company had TO depend on the honesty O.
their conductors, and President Hart saved
hundreds OF thousands OF dollars by watch
ing his men himself, and discharging th-.h
for the least violation of the company
rules.
Every share Of Third Avenue Railroad
stock placed On the market which Presi-
dent Hart could buy was put in his strong
box
His faith in the road was absolute. He
would never sell 4 share Of stock. This
constant accum ulation Of stock for twenty
five years was making President Hart
very wealthy man. He was ranked with
the great financiers of Wall Street. he
would borrow large sums OF money by
putting uD Third Avenue stock as security
and then go into the open market and pur-
chase some more thousands CT. shares. thus
~ yE,.rlr ~, h. nv
change.
The top price OF Third Avenue stock was
9iO. reached about three years ago. Then
Henry Hart owned over 10000 of the i60.-
CO0 shares of the stock of the company
Mr. Hart was one OF the first railroad men
TO see the advantage Of the cable system.
and equipped the road with that motive
agency at cost of $4,000, coo. AS soon as
il was demon strated that the underground
electric system was superior to the cable
he set about undolng the costly work OF
seven years before.
President Hart watched the formation
of the Whitney syndicate and their efforts
to get a monopoly OF the street surface
traffic of the city. To block this plan Hart
advised the Third Avenue directors to pur-
chase the Grand Street and FOrty-secOnd
Street line and also the Union Railway
Company in the district above the Har-
lem.
The Whitney syndicate offered large in
ducements to the Third Avenue system TO
consolidate. Henry Hart refused all offers
and said he was convinced that the Third
Avenue system would in time to come be
as powerful as the Metropolitan company
Henry Hart was forced by old age to re-
tire from the presidency of the Third Ave-
nue. company six years ago. He, however,
x.sa.. Efnn
He kept aloof from politics, but was al
WAYS thought to be a Republican. His
friend ard confdant is Edward Lauter-
bach. who has for years acted as counsel
for the company.
Henry Hart has been for half a century
a picturesque figure in the financial cen
tire. He is undersized-about feet
inches in height Slight Of figure. but
with quick, nervous ways. His eyes, large
and bulging. make him look like one OF the
little marionettes used by ventrlloquistS
on the stage. He would drive down from
his home on Madison Avenue in Tickety
old coach drawn by old grey car horses
veterans of the car line. AT first the old
coach was drawn by a single horse, but
in later years two were rigged 20 the odd
vehicle 1t seemed for years as If this
old coach would fail to pieces on the street.
1t was mended with hay wire, was scratch
ed and battered so that even an old night
hawk cabman would hesitate before look
ing for people to ride in such a fehicie.
Henry Hart was a friend of Horace Gree
lev. He had suite OF offices in the III
bune Building for many years
He is a bachelor and lives with niece
in the large house, 739 Madison Avenue.
It is furnished very simply. There are
no costly pictures or bric-a-brac about the
parlors. The furniture is of the old
fashioned kind, worn and ragged On the
second floor of his home Mr.. Hart mas a
library and sleeping rooms
He has been very economical all MS
life. He belongs to no clubs, does not care
for society, has few friends, and takes no
interest in politics.
During the last fifteen years Mr.. Hart
has. developed peculiar habit. With the
going down of the sun he retires to his
sIeeping apartments and goes to bed.
Winter and summer this routine has been
kept up He will receive no visitors nor
will he talk about business matters after
he retires.
The ordeal through which Henry Hart
has passed during the last two months
has made no change in his habits or ap-
pearance. He has become little more
nervous, and that is all. He does not
lie awake nights thinking about his mis-
fortunes but sleeps from nightfall to sun
rise as If he were still a millionaire.
The men associated with Henry Hart
in the affairs of the Third Avenue Company
blame him for forcing it into the haGts
of a receiver. They wanted to issue and
sell stock to meet the obligations of the
company because of the change OF motive
power from cable to electricity. Mr.. Hart
formed another financial scheme. He
wanted no more stock Of the Third Avenue
sold because he had not the ready money
to buy it in He was confident that enough
4 IrriIh hnf1t lnftirln fho