The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-11-13
ROCKEFELLER AS He IS TODAY
eJonas Howard. in Chicago Tribune.)


in the world.
nv the same token he is one of the
baIdest men on he globe. destitute of
hair. beard. eyebrows, and even eye
lashes.
Put to the extent that he is proud
of his financial pre-erninence and am
bilious to become the first Millionaire
i'm he history of the world. he is ex-
tremely sensitive as to his unusual
hairleSSness. Yet, as If in the irony OF
fate not all the uncounted millions IN
his possession and under his control
will Sprout one eyelash for his Keen
gray eye. Surely there may be the
ring Of genuineness in the eplgfanl
credited 70 him. 1.-The poorest man IN
the world is the man who has nothing
but money"
More columns and more pages OF
printed matter have been devoted 10
the subject of Rockefeller ana stand
ard Oil and to the octopus OF all oc-
toni. than have been devoted TO a SIN
gle combined subject for thousand
wears The word Rockefeller has a
significance in the English speaking
world beyond the name of any other
man living and beyond most OF those
dead Yet the question, what and
Who is this man Rockefeller! couId
not be smiled at indulgently by any
body to whom it might be addressed.
Jnknoun to Employees.
Nobody in the offices of the stand
ard oil Company at 90 Broadway, IN
New york. will profess or confess to
knowing.
II have worked in the office of the
company for five years as the nldlla-
ger of department. and never saw
John ID. Rockefeller. is one man s
testimony.
81 never saw him in the twenty
six wears | have been with the COM
nany.' said Il chief clerk of depart
ment at might be suspected that he
comes to the office frequently, but II
he does, nobody knows it.
But, according to tradition, it is the
strict duty of every employ in the
gloomy building in Broadway not to
know of the comings and the goings
of him who has earned the magazine
appellaton OF the human mole.
This tradition has it that che of the
fundamental propositions in the con-
duct of the general offices is that an
cmploye. leaving the company fol
another trial at life is impressed that
he may return to the service of the
company at any time thereafter, pro
Vided he has been discreet Why
should an employe know anything?
Rockefeller himself does not know
Time and again he has not known i
the Standard Oil Company keep
books lie has been under a mere
impression that it does keep records
but frequently he has not know wher,
they can be found. He does not know
how much money he is worth. No
long ago he said in answer to a ques
ton that he did not know James Fl
Keene, the man with whom his bus
mess interests have FLASHED time anC
again.
Stranger to His Brother.
His brother Frank. in Cleveland
close as the tie of blood might be, i
unknown to him.
There is a light on the man Rock
efeller in this arrangement from hi
brother. For years there has been
Rockefeller lot in q Cleveland GENE
terry. At the time of the estrange
ment of the brothers, over a none
matter, two children of the brothe
Frank We're buried in the family 10
in which John had erected out O
hand a monolith costing $4,000
Four years ago Frank Rockefelle
moved the bodies of his two childre
from their graves to a new lot, an
the bitterness between the brother
seemingly was beyond even the pow
ers Of time to sweeten. All over
deal in money, the amount of whic
would not be missed from the purs
be $2.06 a second and $65, 000 900
.'car.
But if this be considered light O.
the characer of the man, it does no
harmonic with an incident in whic
friend of the writer a. few week
ago figured near Tarrytown. Thi
man, with a companion out of New
York, was walking over the hills, re
gardless of fences, and Suddenl
found themselvAs in a beautiful gol
ground. They We're admiring it whel
man of peculiar general appearance
approached, asking if they did no
think it a fine ground They sait
thev did.
But you can't appreciate it from
here-I wish you would so up to tn
house and go into the tower; it i
worth While''
The visitors suggested that it Nigh
not be agreeable to the proprietor o
the grounds. or to the club. or t
whoever owned the links.
''Oh, that's all right; just tell tn
man at the door what you want"
The visitors rang the bell wer,
shown to the tower. looked over tn
wide sweeps of hills, lakes. river
roadways-and as they left the hous
discovered that the richest man il
the world had invited them to tn
outlook.
Face Resembles q Potato.
Ray Stannard Baker, paSsin;
through Chicago the other day. spok
of McClure's expose of the STANDARD
Oil Company and of the Rockefelle
personality.
Looking at the man. the impress
sion of the head and face is like moth
in:s so much as a clean Early Ros
potato" said Mr.. Baker THE com
parison is instructive. and it grow
upon one as he studies the face.
'In spite of all that we have show
against the man and his methods,
is the impression of those in toucl
with Mr.. Rockefeller that he thor
oughly believes in himself-that II
finds no moral lanses in himself o
in his methods. Certainly the credi
has been given him that he is tn
power and the brains of the organ
Zation.
Yet in spite of this, too, it has beer
charged against Rockefeller that n
has designs upon thousands of acre
of Sleepy Hollow, made famous b,
Washington Irving and classic t
American literature. Blacksmiths
col AL boo c..