The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-08-16
FIELDS WEALTH.

Orchard Linthicum in Ainslee's)
The supreme achievement of Marshall
Fields life has been the accumulation
of an immense fortune
when the variety and magnitude of his
business operations are considered, it is
marvellous that one man in his waking
moments can exercise even a general SUI
pervision of them.
His wholesale and retail dry goods
business is in excess of $50, O000 600 year.
He manufactures large percentage of
the goods he sells, and the rattle of his
looms is heard in the manufacturing CEN
tiers OF both hemispheres. He has facto-
ries in England, Ireland and Scotland, in
France, Italy, Spain, Japan and India.
His wooden mills furnish a local market
for the Australian wool.grower, and the
revolutions of his spindles in South Amer
lea run races with the governments of
that part of the world.
when J. Pierpont Morgan organized
the United Steel corporation, commonly
known as the Steel Trust, there was no
public mention of the name of Marshall
Field, although he is one of the largest
stockholders in that corporation
The extent of his holdings in the great
lines of railroads is not definitely known.
1t has been stated with some color of
authority that he has 100000 invested
in Baltimore and Ohio, and his holdings
in Milwaukee and ST. Paul and the North
western are known to be large In the
Pullman Car company he is the largest
individual stakeholder, and has controlled
the affairs of that great corporation for
a number of years.
I'm real estate alone his wealth ex-
ceeds that of many multi-millionaires who
are more widely known than himself A
owned by Marshall Field in Chicago
alone, including land in the vicinity of
the Calumet river peculiarly adapted for
manufacturing PURPOSES. places it at $40
600. 900. In addition to this he has a great
deal of valuable iron mining land in the
northern peninsula of Michigan.
Although not known by the titles of
banker or financier. his banking and pure
ly financial interests are large
"Conservatively stated, Marshall Field S
wealth exceeds a hundred millions of dol
lars; how much in excess can only be
himself knows.
I'm this. age of enormous Individual
man should have acquired this great sum.
as it is that it is all clean money, made
honestly in a legitiimate ,,, business. To
ness methods of its owner would be an
error, though MIR. Field takes pride in
success is cash. His entire business is
conducted upon a cash basis There is no
it is certain that he never borrowed one.
He never gave note mortgage,
never bought or sold a dollars worth
of stock on margins. His nearest APP
proach to speculation has been in mining
investments.
Although heavy investor in stocks,
Wall street methods are as obnoxious to
him as those of any other game of chance.
THE intoxication of the wheat. pit is
as unknown to him as any other form of
drunkenness. In an indirect way the
Titanic struggles on the. board of trade
have been of profit to. him, for he has
supplied the victims of wheat. ribs and
lard corners with the cash to settle their
losses by buying their inside, ,gilt-edged
downtown real estate and adding it to
his lucrative permanent Investments.
Another foundation stone of his sue
cess has been business integrity. The
house of Marshall Field & Co. is far
above suspicion Caesars wife The
great merchant has escaped the sobriquet
of Honest Marshall Field. but the adj
jective is indelibly stamped upon his bust
ness reputation Although much of his
Yankee instinct for barter and trade and
to sterling mercantile methods, the ele-
ment of chance had much to do with it,