Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1904-07-27

GREAT
STORY
Tells of How Fortunes Are
Made and Lost

8rst instalment of the series proper
which is in the August number. The
forewOrd was portentous with prom
ise Of startling disclosures. The in.
itial chapters introduce the secret or.
ganization of Standard Oil and its ac
tual master who is a person almost
unknown to the public It is wonder
full picture Mr.. Lawson gives Of the
! huge business machine which has its
headquarters at 26 Broadway, New
York., and he paints for the first time
in his real colors the man he declares
to be the greatest business genius OF
the period, Henry H. Rogers Then,
with brutal directness, he describes
how in dividing the profits of the Anal
gama.ed deal the biggest financiers
in Wall street were tricked and de-
celved like the venest crowd of tyros.
It is the most sensational instance OF
the double cross in modern finance.
Thomas w Lawson had made $780,
600 and lost is before he was II years
old. His first 800 acquired when he
was an office boy from the Christmas
benevolence of his employers, he
spent at once buying presents for his
sister and two brothers. Only he
bought tne sisters presents first, and
paid SS7 for it, and was thrown into
state Of despair because he had but
$l3 left for the o.her two present.
These incidents hit Lawson's char.
acter He makes money furiously and
then tries to spend It before he can
lose It. II he doesn't succeed in get.
ting It spent he is likely to become in
terested in clay holes in Siam. Then
somebody else spends it for him But
somehow the money keeps going
round stagnant money annoyes Mr.,
Lawson.
The suction pipes through which he
draws stagnant money toward him are
as various as they are numerous. He
invented a substitute for playing cards
He wrote and published a booklet
called The Krank; His Language and
What It Means" Especially for this
book he invented a peculiar kind Oh
paper called blood parchment" Dur
ing the presidential campaign of 1885
he compiled a campaign history OF
! political parties. Then entire worl
was accomplished within 35 days -Four
hundred thousand copies were distri
} buted by national and state politica
/ committees. He developed the Gran(
River Land company, and went soutl
TO speculate in southern real estate
He tried to develop the iron and Goa
, regions in the state OF Kentucky. H,
, became interested In so many differen
things that he almost deserved to b,
regarded as the bagman of nigh fnan
ce But while he was making inveu
:. tions, writing pamphlets, and pokinI
his finger into every mud pie on tn
continent, he was still a Boston brob
er finding his main vocation in tn
stock market.
In March, 1899, he made his grea
coup in sugar clearing up about 81
100000 in four days This was afte
he had lost many hundred tnousan
dollars in previous sugar speculations
The money he had sunk in sugar h
had pumped up mainly from Genera
Electric Then after both sugar an
General Electric came copper and IN
deal by which in alliance with tn
Standard OIL interests he started Ia
Amalgamated He now proposes {
tell the world how Amalgamated stoc
= was juggled to the bewilderment an
~ impoverlShment OF investors.
n But the suction pipe through whic
Mr. lawson draws money toward hin
yield in number TO the blowpipe
through whica he watts It away fror
from him. He IS not a sport thouc
a sportsman, and not swell. thoug
an epicuyeau. This means that he can
Is spend his money on dissipation O.
osteDtation, The credit he deserves 10
getting u spent is therefore all IN
sweater. The devices he employs ar
horses yachts, dogs, flowers, bronze
paintings and books, His once O.
Boston is jungle Of telephones. ca.
nations, tickets, pictures. statues. an
ieigers Il is probable that he spend
more time gratifying his tastes tha
amassing the means by which 20 sra
Z ify hem Mr. lawson lives II ON
- can imagine the human soul as an o
sanism with tontacles OF appreciate
stretching out into the external un
verse iy may Jruthnly be said tha
Mr. lawson seems TO have more sue
tentaCles than any other promineu
hnancier in America
This Is the man who has sworn