Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-28
J. W. WRIGHT'S CAREER
COLD MINES WERE THE SOURCE
OF HIS FORTUNE.
Began as Mining Expert in Colorado
and Afterward Went to
Australia.

From the New York Tribune.
Among the great promoters of financial
bubbles the name of J. Whitaker Wright
will rank with those of John Law, Ernest
Terah Hooiey and Nine. Therese Hunbert.
His career was one of sudden and surpris-
ing experiences. but nothing was more
dramatic than his death at the moment OF
sentence. Authorities differ as to whether
he was an Englishman or an American oy
birth. but he was reported as saying OF
himself that he was born in Cheshire. Eng
land, in 1916. His parents gave him a good
educa ton. especially in chemistry and min
ing engineering. When he was twenty-one
his father died. leaving his mother only an
annuity, and the young man decided 10
seek his fortune in this country. He went
to Colorado, securing work as an aSsayer,
and soon began to make and save money.
He said after he had amassed a fortune
that IL easy work for any one 10 40
50 after getting the first $l0,OOo. AS 10 the
way he secured his start he said at the Tune
he was in the Ludlow street Jail, IN TINS
city:
How did l get that start? Why, l went
west. and as l made little money saved
it and bought few shares ia mine that
looked as if it would be profitable. 1t was
only a few dollars at first. but all the time
| was adding to my investment Dousnt
mining claim outright for $aoo, anu sou
back my original investment and proVlde
working capital. The mine proved prohta-
BILE ard little later sold out my remain
ing half interest for good profit. Inen L
did the same thing with other properties
and kept on doing it. until l was dealing IN
amounts that made a profit worth While.
Endured Many Hardships.
Some O. the hardships I endured while
prc specting were almost as great as at
present only then l was free and a good
many years younger than | am now. In
the early days of Leadville l lived one
winter in Il shanty built of tongued ana
grooved boards. backed up with logs ana
lined on the inside with cotton sheetihg;
while the thermou eter Went down 10 ~
degrees below zero and got stuck thefe
/ was one of the pioneers in the LeadViile
boom, and spent the winter of 20 there, put
l can't say that l made much money IN
this speculation. In fact, lost lot; ana
when you talk about the money l have
made don't forget that have lost fortunes
time and time again.
At I.eadville | lost two fortunes, the one
l invested in a mining property ana the
one l didn't make by paying some other
persons a song for an adjoining property:
| don't believe in lucl-it is all a matter of
good Judgment a clear head and knowing
how to take advantage OF opportunities
Wen, about this luck in Leadville L had
a property in which my friends and l had
invested million dollars and more we
had sunk shafts three hundred feet deep
and had drifts and levels in all directions,
but we did not come upon any ore r1ch
enough to pay for the mining of 1t. Adj
joining US was property of fifteen acres.
on which three hundred foot shafts had
likewise been sunk without satisfactory re
suits after the owners had spent several
hundred thousand dollars. They wanted
ne to buy it, and offered it to me for al
most anything l would pay, but one of our
shafts had been sunk close to their bound
airy and | thought | knew what they had
on their side.
Gentlemen | told them, Il wouldn't
give YOU II 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 gone they struck
a vein of ore which paid them S.0OoO0o.
failed to take advantage of that opportu-
nifty, and yet | never heard any of my CO.
workers there threaten to throw me into
Jail because l failed
Speculator in Stocks.