Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1900-03-13
THE WAYS OF HETTY GREEN.
Chicago Financier Tells of His Trans
actions with the Millionaire.


every little WHILE" said a Chicago
fnancier, you'll see in the papers long
articles about Mrs. Hetty Green. All
are of about the same tenor, and deal
with her RIGHTEOUSNESS, her keenness and
shrewdnesS as q business woman, her
enormous wealth, generally placed at
S5O,OOO,0 900, and her career as a society
belle before she Inherited a great for
tune. [ know Mrs. Green well, having
transacted business with her for years,
and wish to dissent emphatically from
many of the views thus expressed.
LAS to her penuriousness there is no
doubt She is shabby in her dress and
careless III appearance. For some years
| gave her deskroom in my office, and she
used it always when in Chicago on bust
ness. At noon she would call in the office
boy and send him out for ) cents worth
of peanuts and that, with q glass of wa
ter, would compose her lunch. Save
your money, boy she would say to the
little fellow as he would lay the peanuts
on her desk. Don't squander your
money on lunches and other things, and
you'll be rich man some day
But as a business woman Mrs. Green
is much Overrated. She is sharp and
cunning, and drives hard bargain, but
she trusts no one on earth, and this Sus-
picion and her utter lack of system in
the conduct of her affairs are continually
impossible for anyone to continue doing
business for her or with her any length
OF time. L used to loan q good deal Of
money here for her. Occasionally a Dor
rover would come in and pay a note. ]
would send the money to the Chemical
bank in New York, whence she trans
acts all her business, requesting the re-
turn of the note. Sometimes it would
be year before | would ger the note
back, and the piece of property on which
it was a lien could be clea ed. In thu
meantime, the owner of the property
could not use it as cola teral, and it
worked a great hardship upon him. Mrs
Green didn't know just where she had
stuck the note, wouldn't employ anyone
to keep her affairs in order. and wouldn't
pay any attention to letters ON the sub
ject. When she happened to run across
the note we would get it back, and not
before. In consequence Of this lack of
system and method half dozen con-
Germs in Chicago hae been compelled TO
decline doing business for her.
Mrs. Green is probably worth from
S20,00000O to S25,0O000O. Her fortune
has continually grown, but in nothing
like the proportion Is would have grown
had it been properly handled. The es
Inmates of S50,OOO,0OO and even more
placed upon it are entirely erroneous.
Neither in her younger days was Mrs.
Green ever a social belle. She was Il
handsome girl, and is today a fne-l0Ok-
ing woman, despite her attire, but her
younger years were spent in asSlduouS at
tentiOn to the aunt who finally be-
queathed her her fortune.
1.-The papers also occasionally relate the
circumstance of Mr.. Green's failure in
Wall street and say that since then he
has been a pensioner of his wife. This is
only partly true. Mr.. Green lost the
greater part of his fortune in the failure
of a New York banking house, with
which he was connected, but he has never
been dependent upon his wife. He is
an able and reliable business man, and
has today a great many interests Of his
own, to which he pays close attention.
Some of these interests are in Chicago,
and | know that he derives handsome
income from them alone. He lives at the
Union club in New York. one of the
most expensive clubs in that city, and
transacts all his business from there.
Mrs. Green's affections and ambitions
are centered in her son Edward, who is
new living in Texas, running a railroad
which she bought for him. He will I'M
doubtedly get the greater part of her
fortune, and it is her desire to put him
financially in the same class as the
Goulds and Vanderbilts. That is the rea-
son she bought the Texas Central road
and Ed is there acquiring an expert
ence that will fit him for the larger af-
fairs for which his mother has destined
him.