Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1902-01-04
LAWSON AMAZES ALL.
Boston Copper Kings Career One
Of the Most Remarkable
on Record.

on Record.
Thomas w Lawson is the enigma of
the stock market Despite mis- assertion
that the great break in Amalgamated
and other copper shares is due 10 the
tactics of his opponents, who are trying
to encompass his ruin, there are many
wealthy spectators and investors who,
says Boston correspondent of the Chi
cago Inter Ocean, would pay literally to
know definitely which side Of the market
Lawson is on. For weeks the stocks
have been bombarded. The price CT
Amalgamated has been driven down from
40 to 80. Taking for granted the truth
of Lawson's assertion that he is the hold
er of 10000 of these shares, his loss
at one time was $9,100,000. This loss,
it is true, was in paper values only.
Lawson says he has his stock all paid
for and put away, and that the depre-
citation does not affect its diyidend-earn-
ing value.
Lawsons Boston firm in several spe-
cialties has for years been Il controlling
factor i'll the market. Despite this nei-
ther Lawson nor his partners are mem
Ders of the Boston stock exchange Their
applications for membership have been
repeatedly refused by the staid, conserva-
tive element that constitutes the majori-
t..
hoy TO NiItI1OnaIres
Lawson is the son of poor parents and
began TO earn his own living as mes
senger boy in a State street banking
house when he was II years cid. He was
bright, studious boy and made friends.
When he was not busy with his duties
as messenger he had his nose buried in
book. A few years later ne was
clerk in the Globe bank, and before ae
was II he was an operator ON Change
modest pnOnla tiL.pH him md
he got a lot of profitable customers.
When he was ii he was taken into big
deals and sat at the directors table with
millionaireS. Long before copper shares
became football in the market, Law
son was rated as a multi-millionaire, and
at fabulous prices, paid $4,000 for a car
nation and built costly yachts for pleas
IRE cruising.
But it must not be inferred that Law
son has always been wealthy since ne rot
into prominence. There have been times
when he was broke. but his recdperatiyc
powers are such that he seldom stays
broke for any length Of time.
Won Fame on Gas Deal.
1t was in the manipulation of Bay
State Gas that he won his greatest
fame, and incidentally laid the fOunda
tiOn of his greatest wealth up to the
time of the copper craze. Henry NJ.
Whitney of Boston, brother of Will
liam c.. Whitney, had undertaken, in
connection with other nillionaires, TO
manipulate gas stocks. 1t was q fight
in which such men as III. Ii. Rogers, the
Standard Oil magnate; \. c. Burrage
anad Gas" Addicks were interested. |
Suddenly Lawson got into the game in
some manner and astonished both sides
by the audacity and uniform success OF
his operations in gas stocks. One morn
ing the men interested woke up TO find
that Lawson was in control. He brought
about consolidation of the warning fac
tons and made fortune.
In this fight Lawson won the admira-
ton of y. c.. Burrage, whom he was
lighting. end friendship sprung up be-
tween them. The idea of forming the
copper trust, or Amalgamated company
followed: Lawson knew nothing about
copper, but some friends gave him the
tip that Butte Il Montana was Il pur-
chase even if the mine had been shut
down. lie investigated it. got Burrage
interested and together they secured con-
troll of the property by first beating
down the price to a. and then buying
III the stock. This was the start of the
trust with its capital of S135000.000.
Makes Money on Everything.
One of the assertions made against |
Lawson is that he resorts to bizarre
methods of advertising himself In proof
Of this his purchase of horses. yachts and |
flowers, made in a theatrical way. are
pointed to. The truth is that Lawson
enjoys all the pastimes in which these
articles are essential. He is an aduirer
Of the trotting horse and likes to possess !
the best money can buy. In fact. he
makes a profit on his horses. as he does |
on his flowers. When be bought the
Lawson carnation for $4,000 he was
called vulgar advertiser. but it turned
out TO be good investment. He has
extensive greenhouses and is selling
many thousands of the pinks yearly at 81
dozen, the output being now something
like 1900 dozen M year. Aside from
the Independence, which was built solely
as a racing proposition, Lawson buys his
yachts with the one purpose Of cruising
in them.
Lawson used to be patron of the ma
tional game and wrote Il booklet on The
Krank: His Language and What 1t
Means" He invented a paper called
blood parchment, upon which it was
printed. and the publication commanded
wide attention. In 1888 Lawson took up
the pen again and wrote a history of po-
litical parties. which was distributed by
the national and state committees of the
Republican party. Between 100000 and