The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-04-18
MORGAN Is Sc.
Great Financier Spends His Birthday
at Work.

New York, April 1S.-Yesterdav was J.
P1erpont Morgan's seth birthday. He
was born April II, 1887, and, according
to a horoscope made by an eminent as
trologer as. recently as 1892. was born
under a lucky star" 3 circumstance
which for a long time had suggested
itself to others than those who write
horoscopes.
Mr.. Morgan celebrated his birthday
quietly. He does not like dinner par
ties, or the presentation of loving cups.
SO ne went down to his Office in the
morning at the usual hour and put in
BUSY day. regardless of the fact that 1t
was his birthday.
It is a curious fact and one but little
realized that the great successes of Mr..
Morgan's career have been achieved
since his 60th birthday-or within the
last SIX years. He first became Droml-
neht IN the financial world about twen~
" years ago, when he went to Europe
ana sold rs million dollars worth or
New York Central stock This made
oId nnanciers gasp. By this piece Of
work Mr.. Morgan won the lasting
friendship Of the late William H Van~
derbilt, and incidentally cleared one
million dollars for himself
AIS second great venture was leas-
ing the West Shore railroad To the New
York Central for ninety-nine years
William H Vanderbilt was so pleased
with this coup that he made Mr.. Nor
gan present of silver service THAI
Mr.. Morgan next undertook the fnan-
cal rehabilitation of the Baltimore &
Ohio railroad and made 2 million dollars
out OF 1t. He bought the Pennsylvania
Coal company and sold it to the Erie
railroad, making s million dollars profit
he bought the jersey Central and sold
it to the Reading His profit was mill
lion dollars. He organized the Ameri-
can Mating company the General Elec-
trio company, the Federal Steel COM
pany, the National Casket company the
National Tube company, the American
Bridge company, the International and
Mercantile Marine company, better
known as the shipping trust and,
and, greatest of all industrial combina-
tons, the United States Steel corpora
ton.
On this last venture alone Mr.. Nor
CANS profits were enormous, he receiv-
ing 1216 million dollars as a gift for
his services in engineering the deal He
reorganized the Northern Pacific Rail-
road company and, with James J. Hill,
organized the much talked of Northern
Securities company.
There are but two downright failures
attributed to Mr. Morgan-one the IA
nous elephant on Coney Island on
which he lost many thousands of dol
lars, and the other an attempt to re-
WITTY the Long Island railroad In this
matter he was unsuccessful and turned
the road over to Austin Corbin.
Mr.. Morgan is director in many
corporations. Among them are the
Cleveland. Cincinnati, Chicago & st
Louis railroad, Clearwater & Raquetg re
Lake railroad. Columbus, Hope &
Greensburg railroad. First National
bank of New York, General Electric
company, Harlem River & Port Ches-
ter railroad. Lake Erie & Western rail-
road, Lake Shore & Michigan Southern
railroad. Madison Square Garden COM
pany, Metropolitan Opera and Real Is
tate company and Mexican Telegraph
company.
He is a patron and director of the
following institutions. to all of which
he has made large contributions: Ly-
ing-in hospital, New York trade school,
Metropolitan museum of art. American
museum of natural history, Bronx bo-
tanical gardens and the Hartford pub
lie library