Evening star., 1901-05-18
Wall Street Magnates as Viewed by
New York Yellows.
IN REALITY THEY'RE NOT SO BAD
Some Effects of the Recent Ac-
tivity in the Market.
HURT THE DIAMOND TRADE
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star
NEW YORK, May Il. 1901
The ecru press of New York just rolled
and wallowed I'm this recent financial furry
Never before did it attain such heights-or
depths-of imbecility. The stuff that some
of the yellow newspapers printed when the
stock fever was in full fux-that some of
them are still printing-might well cause
one of those Easter Island busts at the Ma
ttonal Museum to explode into fragments.
Such undiluted idiocy as has been thrust
into type about Messrs. Morgan and Hill
and Hartman and Vanderbilt! They have
been at each others throats. endeavoring
to choke each other to death. 1t seems. Nor
gan, 1t would appear. personally despises
the mild. bovine-eyed willie" Vanderbilt
tthats S the intimate, me-and-him way the
yeiiows speak of him), because-wen. be-
cause his name is Vanderbilt. Hartman.
We find, loathes and detests Jim Hill
(he's Jim" to all of the yeilows) because
MIR. Hill-wel, because 1t is more than
whispered that Mr.. Hill partakes of pie
with the aid of knife. Vanderbilt. it is
discoverable, scorns and vituperates Nor
gan because Morgan is a real sassy thing
and SO on ad nauseam.
The whole note of the financial warfare
according to the yelIows. has reposed upon
theme of personal animosity between the
qulck-thinkfng men of finance arrayed on
the side of opposite interests. And yet,
when Morgan gets back to the country in
a couple of weeks, it's just as like as not
that the four deadly enemies will be
seen taking chicken sandwiches and min
eral water together at luncheon at the
Savarin as they've been seen many times
before, and not so long ago.
Hard to Understand.
The utter inability of the New York yell
lows to disassociate the merry wars of
| business from the personal likes and dis
likes of it's more notable men is hard to
understand.
Supposing the Washington papers were
to take it for granted that because the
leader of one side of the House of Repre-
sentatives thunderingly reproves the leader
of the other side of the House of Repre-
sentatives. and chides him, and makes
merry at his expense, and satirizes and
sarcazzes him. and hands him many real
hurtful jolts in the neighborhood of his
pet eaknesses-supposing the Washing
ton papers were therefore to take Il for
granted that the two leaders hated each
other like vipers, and that out in the lob
bies they had to be held apart from each
other by the main force of friends to keep
them from biting each other? Well in that
case the Washington papers would fall
into the same sort of an egregious and in
excusable blander some of the New York
papers do When anything approaching a
public combat for supremacy occurs be-
tween Its men of distinction. Needless to
say, however, the Washington papers know
better. They are too fully aware of the
nature of those little tea" seances in the
committee rooms after all of the terrific
thunderings-devised for the universal pub
lie ear-have rumbed away into the dis
tance.
Place Them on PedestaIs.
And yet, for all of their portrayals of the
bitter animosties that are alleged to ac-
tuate the famous financial captains. the
yellows almost defy each and every one
of them. Morgan, We are given to under
stand, is being almost supernatural in
his attributes. He is supposed to sit
gloomily upon a high Olympus of his own
building, emitting growed edcts that
shake the foundations of society. Mr.. Nor
gan, as matter of fact, is big man. who
aided by the prestige of a famous financial
name and a fine constructive and admin
istrative head of his own. has gained
great name, not to speak of pot of
money, as doctor of sick railroads and
other corporations. But he is not Charlie
magne and Caesar and Necker and Dan
ton and Cicero and Napoleon all rolled into
one. Himself. he makes no claim to being
an Olympian His bearish manners pro-
ceed from a natural and unconquerable
shyness. and he has an almost pathetic
appreciation of the joy of being let alone
and permitted to mind his own affairs,
which are large, as may be believed. Ten
years ago, when Morgan was Just a solid
banker and the son of his father, and long
before he had achieved his fame as a re-
organizer, he said to the writer who was
not trying to interview him:
Yes. the liberty of the press is all right.
believe in it. But l also believe In the
privacy of the individual"
Morgan has never talked for the news
papers. And yet the pages of the New
York yellows are always printing long
foolish interviews with him. Right now
they are printing columns of Interviews
alleged to have been granted by him to
their London representatives And
matter of fact, the man is as silent as
Won Moltke, as inscrutable as the Sphinx
just because he is retiring, somewhat
clumsy man. because he hates oraculariz-
ing, and because he has never habituated
himself to the practice of talking of big
affairs in which he is interested, either for
private or public quotation.
Vanderbilt Dodge. Work.
AS for Mr.. Willie Vanderbilt, whose
fingers. according to the yellows, are just
twitching to be twined in Mr.. Morgan's
hair. he is as mild. wide-eyed, complaisant,
ruminative a man as ever spent the great
bulk Of his time in a consistent and highly
successful effort to dodge work, even unto
the management of his own mammoth es-
tate. He likes yachts, and sumptuous cars
and autos. and wine In moderation, and the
delights of France. 1t would seem that a
triumph Of his chef moves him to a greater
state OF exaltation than a jump of fifty
points in one of his own stocks. For TWEEN
~ years ne mas Deen SO Shrewdly pur-
sued by frenZied agents in his employ who
have desired him to do little work In con-
nectton with his own interests that he has
been compelled to pass the major portion of
OF his time in Europe to keep them away
from him, the poor man. When he is in
New York he keeps one of his yachts moor
ed at convenient spot, with steam up aud
fires banked, so that whenever one of his
estate stewards besieges him in a frantic
endeavor to get him to indorse few checks
or perform some other such arduous labor
he is enabled to flee by secret routes to
the dock, Chamber aboard, pass the "AIl
hands up anchor!' word along the deck and
get under way before he is nailed Picture
such man desirous Of mixing himself ND
In a hand-to-hand imbrogiio with anybody
whomsoever for the control Of a paitry
railroad or SO.
Not Really BlOodfhirsty.
As for Mr.. Hartman, be smokes cubebs.
That is about all that need be said Of him.
gentleman who smokes cubebs can have
but few malignant enemies. and IL he had.
he Is not one of the type to rush about
shrieking for their blood. Cubeb is the
short synonym for inocuousness.-
Nor is Mr.. Jim Hill any more blood
thirsty in looks, manners or mental proc