The Sunday globe., 1901-08-11
The Chicago Millionaire Now il
London.
AN ENGLISH PEN PICTURE
And Some Introductory Remarks by The Globe
on This Celebrated Convict Chcagn News.
papers, KOhIsaat, McAulIff, the President
and Other Irrelevant Topics all Grouped in
a Complete Composite Picture.

nate, who is revolutionizing the Lon
don rapid transit system, was sent
New York newspaper by its English
correspondent
Whether the correspondent was
aware that Mr.. Yerkes late of Chicago,
is an ex-conyict, the Globe is not ad.
vised. 1t is inferred, however that the
English writer is in ignorance of the
fact or he would have paraded it as
an object-lesson.
Mr.. Yerkes illustrates in his person
some of the features we have been
pointing out in our prison Reform"
papers, viz: the class of men who
sometimes, and lately more often than
ever before, get into our State prisons.
The Globe knows many of the Yerkes
type at liberty now who wore the
stripes, and while not as prominent as
the great Philadelphia-Chicag million
aire they are, nevertheless fairly well
off and engaged in enterprises varying
from brokers in New York City to con.
/ Quoting large manufacturing enter
| prises. Mr. Yerkes was sentenced to
five years i'm the penitentiary and serv-
ed the greater portion Of his sentence.
He is not subjected to any particular
| ostracism, although his crime was EN-.
/ bezzlement, either i'm England or the
Emitted States. Besides his personality
/ as described by the correspondent, his
| many millions, made since his release
| a few years ago from a Pennsylvania
| prison in Chicago Traction and street
| railway enterprises are the open ses-
| anne to the best society in London,
| where his wife, by the way, is ambi-
| tiOus to shine as a social leader She
was decidedly snubbed in Chicago by
the Mrs Potter Palmers (whose hus.
bands ought to have been in the peni-
tentiary) Of the select circles of the
! Windy City. Mr.. Yerkes is the pro-
prietOr Of the Inter-Ocean newspaper
| property Of that city, which he pur.
| chased from KOhlsaat, the man who
saved President Mckinley from decid.
ed embarrassment at the time Of his
promiscuous endorsement of notes, for
a get rich quick Ohio firm, Of which
| the President was an interested parti-
cipator in boosting. Kohlsaat was re.
warded by the President who made his
| brother Judge of the U. s. Court in
Chicago. KOhlsaat himself was not
bhblAllNh " III q lllEu DOnlllOu, uS ne
is pie baker by trade although mon.
keying at present with a newspaper
property he has about wrecked. sailed
the Times.Herald and edited by an
Irishman named McAuliff, but who in
sists on spelling it McAlif to please
KOhlsaat, no doubt Here Is the Eng
lishman's pen picture of Yerkes, which
we had almost forgotten in our reml-
niscenCes:
"The arch,milliOnaire interests me;
and | sit down to the study of him
with strange and absorbed curiosity |
When l first saw Mr.. Yerles enter the |
hall of the house where | met him |
was at once pleased and surprised |
had heard 50 much Of the relentless |
resolution, audacity and multiform !
victories associated with his name that |
/ could scarcely believe that this was |
the dread and dreaded man whom so |
many had tried to beat, who had walk |
ed over so many wrecks Of competi- |
tion, hatred, envy, popular hatred and |
condemnation. For there have been !
few men Of his time, even in America,
who have had more bitter enemies
have fought more terrific fights. In |
1886 he came,to Chicago from Philadel.
phia, unknown and not very rich; last !
year, when he left it with millions in !
his pockets, he had practical control !
Of every tramway line i'm it, scores of |
miles with their millions Of passengers |
in that vast, teeming, marvellous city. |
And for every day of all the fourteen
years that he had been engaged in !
this gigantic work he had been called .
every name in tie vocabulary Of abuse; |
he had been fought, assaled, vilified. |
A man rather below the middle |
height, with a heavy, snowwhite mus |
tache, a pale complexion; with that !
slight tendency toward an enlarged !
girth that comes with middle age; |
with white hair, with fine dark eyes, !
and with a soft voice and a subdued !
manner-such is Mr. Yerkes The |
first, indeed, the supreme and most |
lasting impression that he makes upon !
you, is serenity He comes, | believe !
OF Quaker blood, and the face is |
Quaker face; with that 'quietism
which is and always remains the eX
preston of the man or woman who has
begun life amid the prolonged silenCes
and the stern selfdisciplne and self
control of the Society," Of Friends. The
/ yoice-soft low, never raised above a
minor KEYS in perfect accord with
the expression and the eyes-with
their curious immObility and a certain
sweetness and just the least touch OF
mocking humor-complete this picture
/ Of one OF those silent, quiet, iron men
that rule the storm and ride the cy-
/ clone i'm the elemental and Titanic
wars Of american history
"The pallOr Of the complexion. ivory
i'm its intensity, still indicates health,
not fragility-a certain distinction
and refinement as of a man who has
/ always exercised severe self-restraiB
ard who has never poisoned his sys-
TEN and cosored his cheeks with the
flowing wine Of the over-bOunteOus,
overhden table And Mr.. Yerkes Is
indeed a man who has sternly control
led himself He never takes tea or
coffee, and be never smokes, though he
may be tempted into q couple Of
glasses Of champagne at dinner.
And yet with all this impression Of
supreme serenity, you can not be with
the man for more than half an hour
without becoming conscious Of all the
irOR strength that there Is behind the
ivory cheek, the soft brown eye, the
low voice. Tie speaks slowly with
something Of the characteristic Ameri-
can drawI; and he seems much more
disposed 10 listen than to talk-unless
he finds that the atmosphere is sym
pathetic and appreciative and that he
. can reveal his inner self
"And then you do hear talk worth
+ listening TO- Cold easy, with every
word spoken slowly and with every
word coming out as clear cut as II
fitted to the word that has preceded
and will follow, as though he were