The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-03-22


! Gals and At the other end a large organ,
the whole surmounted on great columns by
an observatory, In which Is one OF the
largest telescopes in the country.
Picture this mansion surrounded by rose
gardens and terraces. statuary by eminent
sculptors placed here and there. from which
gush nmpid streams Of water; pagodas ano
summer houses at artistic intervals: one
eye resting on beautiful hills In the middle
distance. on which are set specimen trees
OF many choice and rare varieties: streams
running through the grounds and little lakes
stocked with rainbow and Loeb Leven
trout, the whole making an eStats OF
couple OF thousand acres
That Is my house, where my wife and
children are living. On 1t I have spent my
money, and to identifying IT have given
all my spare time for years. It Is mine; 1t
will be my children's. IL It likely that
would run away from 1t when no charge
was made against NO. when the highest
officials In the land had determined after an
inquiry that my hands were clean?'
When l first saw Whitaker Wright IN
tho Jail he was sitting at q wooden table
In his cell-No. 6. on the second tier
writing the dispatch to the official nquidator
of the London and Globe Company, which
he sent last Monday. His light came from
two tallow candies. which he had bought
with the last cent he had In his pockets
Since then tho condition has been improved,
but the chance OF his being set free. unless
he consents to return to England q prison
er. seems as remote az ever.
ALWAYS COULD MAKE MONEY.
''Win you tell mo something about your
start in life. Mr.. Wright" 1 asked him.
Il didn't have any start" he said. "At
q was cast entirely on my own resources,
without penny OF capital My father
died. leaving nothing except an annuity for
my mother. But he had given me good
education, and, as had been much inter-
ested in inorganic chemistry and In assay
Ing, came to this country to try my for
tunes as an assayer.
There never was any difficulty about
my making money. / had struggle al
drst, Of course, as any young man without
capital has. but after I made my hrst
$4,000 the rest was easy. In fact. 1t Is my
experience that any man with fair insight
into human nature. q clear head and abso-
Lutte integrity ought to make comfortable
competence. at least II he can once &C
cumulate $4,000.
How did / get that start? Why. went
West and as I made q little money saved
II and bought a few shares in mine that
looked as II 1t would be profitable. The
mine proved profitable. and little later
sold out my remaining half in the mine at
. good profit did the same thing with
other properties and kept on doing It until
was dealing In amounts that made a
PROFIT worth while.
MILLIONAIRE AT 81
'"Then after awhile came back East and
made q lot Of money on the New York
Stock Exchange. When ! was 81 I was
more than a millionaire. and when re-
turned to England. In 1859. when I was q
years old. I expected to retire from buxi-
ness.
Would that never had left Americal II
I had remained here have not the slight
est doubt that by this time ! would have a
snug little nest egg Of $500 900 OF SO as the
result of the boom OF the last few years.
when Americans speculate and lose.
knowing that they very likely will lose
when they make the speculation. they new
er 'sQueal.' In all New York I don't think
a Spectator could be found like those in
London. who made and lost fortune and
cannot take their medicine"
Interesting stories are told Of your ad-
ventures while you were In the West pros
pecting,' was suggested
Il was one Of the pioneers II the Lead
vile boom, and spent the winter OF 1879
there, but ] can't say that / made much
money In this speculation. In fact. lost
q lot and when you talk about tho money
I have made don't forget that have lost
fortunes time and time again.
cat Leadvills I lost two fortunes. the ono
invested in mining property. and the one
/ didn't make by paying some other per-
sons a song for an adjoining property.
don't believe In Iuck-it IL all a matter Of
good Judgment, q clear head and knowing
how to take advantage OF opportunities.
MISSED ONE OPPORTUNITY.
well, about this luck In Leadville. had
q property In which my friends and had
invested a million dollars and more. We
had sunk shafts 800 feet deep. and had
drifts and levels In all directions. but We
did not come upon any ore rich enough to
pay for the mining of II. Adjoining US was
q property Of fifteen acres. on which 300
foot shafts had likewise been sunk with
out satisfactory results. after the owners
had spent several hundred dollars. They
wanted me to buy It. and offered It to me
for almost anything I would pay. but one
Of our shafts had been sunk close to their
boundary. and thought knew what they
had on their side.
Gentlemen. I told them. wouldn't give
you Is cents for your fifteen acres Then
they had to raise more money. and work
their property. and within three feet of
where they had already sone they struck
vein Of ore which paid them 100000.
failed to take advantage Of that opportunity
and yet I never heard Of my coworkers
there threatening to throw me into Jail be-
cause failed"
..Please tell about that Pocahontas episode
in your life. when you were saved by Q
squaw."
Snake River. in Idaho the summer before
/ went to Leadville." he said.
1.-THE Indians were on the warpath. and
several parties had been massacred near
where ] was, when an Indian and his bride
pitched their tent near my shanty. was
called to see them. and noticed that they
enyied the good smoke was having. SO
took a big plug OF tobacco to them.
IT had hardly returned to my shanty
when q war party Of braves rode up. Their
chief started for my hut and in about a
minute, I guess. 1t would have been all
over, but that squaw ran up to the chiefs