The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1901-03-23
hAN0F MANY ODD TRAITS
j. S. ROGERS, OF PATERSON, N. j..
THE BUILDER OF MANY
LOCOMOTIVES .e..
HAS CLOSED HIS BIG WORKS
Many Myths and Some Facts About
Him-His Pet Deer-Esti-
mates of His
Millions.

If Jacob s. Rogers is not the richest
man in the state of New Jersey-and
probably he is--he at least Is the most
successful Of the prominent citizens Of
the state in keeping his affairs to him
self. Mr.. Rogers has recently been In
the public eye far more than he usually
is because he shut down the Rogers
Locomotive works, which had been turn
ing out good locomotives ever since the
machines were built in this country. The
stimulated curiosity and criticisms Of his
fellow citizens in the matter have not
apparently disturbed Mr.. Rogers further
than to make him say that he was not
a resident of Paterson anyway, but lived
in New York.
Jacob S. Rogers is great at minding his
own business Some folks say he Is
worth $S0,000,0Qn. Others say that he is
worth only ss000,000. Inas much as Mr..
legitimacy of the public curios-
ity in the matter he has not
yet told which figure is the more nearly
right. Nobody else knows much about it,
Mr. Rogers has one Or TWO good friends
among the strongest business men in
Paterson and they know a little about his
affairs. But they value the old gentle
mans friendship rather more, seemingly,
than they consider their fellow towns
mems thirst for GOSSIP about Mr.. Rogers
wealth. Mr.. Rogers has never appeared
to be greatly concerned as to any of Pat
erson's deductions. He has never taken
any pains to get public attention, and If
he choose to do thing that would cause
public comment he has never let thing
like little public comment hinder him. He
has stuffed deer on his front veranda,
and stuffed swans on his front steps and
a back yard full Of live deer.
OF late many people have been to see
Mr.. Rogers, but few Of them have enter
ed his home. When the reporter of a
Paterson newspaper succeeds in getting a
five-minute talk with Mr.. Rogers, the
newspaper fills up half its front page with
black type to celebrate the event. In these
rare public utterances Mr.. Rogers says
things which pain Paterson severely, be-
cause he does not seem to take his fell
low citizens seriously. The attitude of
Paterson toward Mr.. Rogers was al
ways rather stern and dicta torial until
quite recently. Lately the municipality
has been quite humble. 1t wants to open
the works and keep the workmen in the
city. Those who study Mr.. Rogers
most closely think that they discern that
he enjoys the new situation.
'~ BEGINNING OF THE BUSINESS.
Thomas Rogers, the father, of Jacob 8.
Rogers, went to Paterson in 1874. lie
had just been discharged from the United
States army. in which he had fought
through the War of 1872. For time he
earned his living as a carpenter. Tradi-
ton says that he was a good carpenter
but that a desire to be we'll paid for his
work kept him from great popularity in
the village. With capital Of SO he
started a machine shop. Twenty years
later the first steam locomotives were
brought to this country from EUROPE
The machine shop was then running I'M
der the firm name of Rogers, Ketcham &
Grosvenor. One Of their men said he
could build a locomotive. A purchaser
was found and the engine was built 1T
was called the Sandusky. The railroad
that ordered the engine would not take
1t, and the machine was sold to the Mad
1son River & Lake Erie railroad. The
roadbed had not been laid at the time
of the sale, and so the road was built
to fit the engine.
In 1856 Thomas Rogers died. BY that
time the works were making locomotives
as fast as machinery could turn then,
out They were good locomotives, and
they had a character of their own. SO
that there came to be known among rail-
road men a quality known as the Rogers
style. 1t did not refer to the mechanical
peculiarities of the machine, but to the
way in which they were finished and the
general, clean-cut lines which gave them
d uduulIlSO among raIQer
clumsy products of other works.
After Thomas Rogers death the style
of the business was changed to the Rog-
ers Locomotive and Machine works. ia
cob S. Rogers was made president of
the operating company. In the war years
the company made money at rate that
started the present stories about Jacob
S. Rogers $S0000.0O0 fortune in 1860 the
company made ninety locomotives in one
Cfv,<yo -
to one locomotive day. The factory
has always made money. Its situation
was disadvantageous geographically. The
works were at a distance from the near
est railroad tracks, those IF the Erie
Each finished To- ON tive had to be pushed
and hauled out through Market street
to the Erie tracks. This was inconven-
lent and expensive. Other concerns in
the neighborhood moved their plants to
more convenient situations.
The Rogers works. with a conservatism
characteristic of the head OF the con-
:ern, stayed where they were. They were
making enough money, and Mr.. Rogers
saw no reason to believe that it would
De profitable to try to make more money
by going somewhere else. So the lei
sure classes of Paterson's factory ds-
trict continued for year after year to be
entertained and instructed by the sight
ST the Rogers locomotives crawling slow
~ down Market street, and censured Mr.
Rogers severely because he dill not adopt
their views Ten thousand persons, it
was estimated, depended on the shops
for their support when they were run
.ng at full capacity.
In a burst of confidence Mr.. Rogers
oncc told man VINO was talking about
Duying the works that there was profit
Of about $1,000 or s1,500 on each engine
turned out Paterson went to figuring
and decided that the profits on the 5,6i5
locomotive engines the factory had made
must have amounted to about sS,O10,G0O.
Hence the lowest estimate that has been
made of his fortune.
CLOSING OF THE 5WCf.KS
Ten years ago Mr. Rogers retired from
active participation in the management
of the works. r. s. Hughes, who had been
closely associated with Mr.. Rogers since
tney went into the works together as
youngsters, Hughes as an office boy and
Rogers prospective owner, took CONF
piete charge. Last summer Mr. Hughes
heo. mo one had been trained up to take
ais place IN the management of the \
Works. no one had been trained into Mr..
rogers confidence TO such an extent
lha1 ME- Rogers would trust him with
me management of the works Mr. Rog-
srs let 1t be known that he was going
% close the works as soon as We until ed
prders We're completed At first Pater-
soil hardly believed him. Then as the
Wofh gradually decreased, and as one
gang OF men after another was released
from employment it was realized that