The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-12-19
HOW JOHN SHERMAN COR KIoH.
He Was n Bold Inv cstor and Not a
Spectator in the Common Use of
that Term.

He Was n Bold Inv cstor and Not a
Spectator In the Common Use of
that Term.
Everyone knows that the late John
Sherman died u rich man, out few are
perhaps, acquainted with the industry !
aud practical far-sightedness whicb
made this accumulation on the part OF
toe old statesman possible.
Mr.. Sherman, according to one who
knew him from the earliest period of
his life, acquired saving habits when
he WAS u boy and very poor. He also
at that time gained a reputation among
his relatives and ~neighoors for his sue.
cess as u collector, End persons having
bills outstanding in his neigh borhoOd
against debtors who were slow pay
used to employ him. even while he was
still u barefoot lad, to dun the delin-
quents. He always came back with the
cash. Although his fret speculative
venture, with a cargo of salt, was
wrecked by an accident, he had accu-
muiatcd before he was "A years old, the
snug sum OF $4,000. The greater part
OF this money went into one or two
budding manufacturing enterprises,
one OF which developed into u sash and
blind factory ana was often referred to
by him as ore OF the most prOtitai'.
direct investments OF his life.
Shortly before he entered Congress
having u few thousand in ready money,
he put most OF it into mortgages on
The outskirts OF what was then the
small city Of Cincinnati. The panic
u 1857 found almost all his debtors un.
aoie W keep up their payments, and
Mr.. Sherman, fearing that under the
hammer the property would not bring
the face value OF the incumbrances,
went TO the sher Ms sale himself and
bid IL all in. Before he had fully made
up his mind what to do with IT, the
city's population began TO spread into
the SUBURBS, and his and rose in value
week by week. The result OF this
whole transaction was a very large ad-
dition to his fortune.
he foresaw at u very early day the
future success Of the ~Piit3burg, FL.
Wayne and Chicago railroad and be.
came one OF it's strongest hackers, gain
Ing a handsome profit from his invest
ments IN It's took and bonds. He has
also had great faith in the smaller
manufacturing industries started in
/, Onlo after the civil war, and had con-
siderable money invested in these, in
small lots standing in the name OF the
stockholders, who shared the profits
with him on a basis previously al
ranged between them.
IL mas generally Deem supposed that
MIR. SHERMAN bought government
bonds largely during the %refunding
period but, II so, there are no records
In h treasury department to indicate
IT, and the subordinate officers VINO
served under his secretaryship are
generally OF the opinion that he made
no investments In these funds at that
lime He did, however, build block,
OF 46 brick houses Of a size which
WOMB rant fnr an aunrnnn al GDh n
month, o. Of which PROBABLY cost
him more than 81 600, In the ncighbOr-
mood OF the government printing Office.
Inc expansion Of the public printing
plant OF course greatly enhanced the
value OF these houses, which were
rented to. printers.
Directly after the close Of Boss Shen
ards regime in Washington, MIR. Sher.
man became convinced that suburban
property here was a safe investm Snt.
He accordingly bought two large farm
tracts on the nor vhern border Of the
city at low prices, by the acre, Que of
which was afterward plated as "Joan
Sherman's subdivision OF Mt. = casant,'
and the other as John SnermaD's
subdivision OF Pleasant PLANE" Thesr
are known now as Meridian HUI and
Columbia Heights. They nave become
extremely valuable. Mir. Sherman Of
Tered to some Of the thriftier members
OF the treasury statf q chance to In vest
IN lots In these subdivisions at 10 aud
II and 10 cents a square foot. Toe
same property now sells at from 81 80
to $2 square foot, and Mr.. SnermsD
probably netted u million or more from
1T.
For a long while his Columbia
Heights property lay comparatively
Idle, owing to restrictions which he
had foreseen to put into the deeds.
These required, for instance, that "a
building line should be observed which
would make each OF the streets 10
feet wide, and prohibited liquor
saloons, manufacturing establishments
and all forms OF n]ulsances. The wis.
dom OF such provisions became ay-
parent later when some other subdivI
sion failed to amount to anything snu
Mr.. Sherman's began to forge straight
ahead.
Most OF Mr.. Sherman's friends who
know anything about his affairs dis.
card the notion hat he has ever made
anything by speculation liz the oral
nary sense Of that term. He has been
a bold Investor, they say, but an in
weston In the meaning tina his stocks.
bonds, deeds, etc, could be locked up
In q sale and lett there until he got
Ieauy W sci. iDey Also rcfcr, rs he
used to in his lifetime with much glee,
to his wonderful luck" Ia several In.
stances.
A notable one was his Mansfield
farm. The capitalists Of Mansfield
were organizing q bank q good many
years ago, and Mr.. Sherman took some
stock in it.. He afterwards wanted to
Increase his holdings, and while look
Ing about for some one who wished to
sell, he came across u stakeholder who
said. 81 will not sell my stock, but /
Will buy yours, If, In paying for it, you
VIII let me turn over to you ny farm
on the edge OF the town, for which
nave no longer any use."
Mr.. Sherman had not thought of
buying a farm up to that time, but the
terms offered by his friend we're such
that he could hardly bear to let the
bargain go, and he consented. A year
or two later the bank went ali to
pieces, but the farm had begun to
grow more valuable by the Increase of
the town. Mr.. Sherman further added
to its value by presenting q piece from
one end OF It,, which he could spare
Just as well as not, to the city for a
public park. The farm ia today worth
probably 10 times the money repre-.
sented by the stock he gave for it.
Washington Times.