The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-01-07

covering from pneumonia, that for three
weeks had threatened his life
Mr.. Armour was surrounded by ms
family when he died. Those at his bed
side besides his physician and nurses
We're his wife, Mrs. Philip D. Armour,
jr and Mr.. and Mrs. J. ogden Armour.
and Rev. Frank w Gunsaulus- The
millionaire retained consciousness until
within an hour of his death.
During the day he had realized that
death was near. To those around him
he had said: Il know 1 am very SICK
and am ready for death when 1t comes
Soon after luncheon and just before the
physician forbade his talking more, Mr.
Armour in feeble tones, said he would
like to hear the Lords prayer read
One of the trained nurses who had
been attending him drew a chair to the
bedside and slowly read from the Bible
the prayer for which the dying man mad
asked. 1t was read sentence by SEN
tence and each was repeated by Mr. Ar
naour When the "amen" had been re-
peated by him he sank back on the pill
low and closed his eyes restfully- 1t
was the last word the great f1nancier
spoke except feeble farewells to his
family little later
LONG ILLNESS.
The end came after two years of ILL
ness during which time Mr.. Armour Wis
tied German baths, passed the cold
months in southern California and de-
voted himself largely to an attempt to
restore his health, which, however, had
been broken never to be regained- For
several weeks he had been living at the
old family home in Prairie avenue, the
usual trip to southern California not
having been taken this winter He came
down to the Office in the Home in
surance building but seldom, and as the
cold increased he did not go at all. It
was understood in the office that he had
an incipient attack of pneumonia, but
it was given out no later than a week
ago that he was on the road to recovery.
f,rxr hot <hn
stant attendance of DR.. Frank Billings,
the family physician, did not corrobo-
rate the favorable reports of the down
town Office.
For several days death had been
feared as the outcome by the close asso-
ciates of the great captain of industry.
They realized that the decline from day
to day did not cease, and that there
came his grandchildren, who had so
close a place in his heart, were at the
family residence, as was J. Ogden Ar
mour the surviving son.
Mr. Armour had lost strength steadily
from day to day since the commence
rnent of winter The pneumonia was
checked. but strength was not regained.
The firm grip he had so long maintained
upon the business of Armour & Co,
whether at the office or thousands of
miles away, steadily relaxed Reports
no longer interested him as they were
wont to do during the first months of
of his son nearly a year ago hung heav-
lily upon him during the closing months
of his life. In fact, he never recovered
from the shock he experienced from that
event 1t stopped his progress toward
recovery in his winter home at Pasa-
dena and its sorrow remained fresh un-
til the end.
His treadmill of work and his firm
grip on affairs were maintained until the
spring Of 1899 Then the machine began
to show signs of breaking Mr.. Ar
snour was reported to be a sick man.
and these reports We're confirmed when
he sailed for Germany to take baths
at Bad Nauheim. He spent most Of
the summer at the baths, and was suf-
ficiently restored to health to take a trip
to Switzerland, where he remained a
month ia the mountains.
When he returned to Chicago that fan
he was looking well, and his friends