The Saint Paul globe., 1904-01-31
OIL KING OPENS HIS
HEART TO INJURED
Rewards EmpIoye Who Saves
Millions With Part of a
Day Off.

fered in silence for many years the
taunts of unfeeIing jokers and the
gibes OF unthinking carteonists, John
d. Rock efelier, alias the Standard OIL
company, has at length decided to frit-
ter away his fortune by trying to be as
generous as some Of his fellow owners
of the United States Steel corporation.
This decision is not surprising in
view Of Mr.. Rockefeiier's recent at
tendance at his sons Sunday school
class, where liberality and generosity
are taught gratuitously to all who at
tend. The important fact In this con-
nection is that Mr.. Rockefeller does not
care If all the world knows that he has
turned a new leaf, and that instead Of
building new vaults in which to store
his hard-earned increment he Is throw
ing away money with a recklessness
that in his former unregenerate days
would have caused him to weep copiouS
tears.
Mr. Rockefei1er's press agents and
publicity promoters have not yet had
time to get their typeWriters in good
working order else the story of his first
benefaction might have appeared sew
eral days earlier, as it really took place
last Wednesday. Assurances are given
that hereafter there will be no such
delays and that every morning the
newspapers will be in position to
chronicle officially Mr.. Roekefeller's
generoSites OF the previous day. But
this is corporation secret and really
has nothing to do with the first in
stance of the oil kings generosity, It'd
ings of which have spread from Bay
onne to Viadivistok and thence to the
utternaost ends of the Standard oils
pipe lines.
Millions at Stake.
One hundred thousand dollars worth
of case oil was in the hold of the ship
Kentmafr as she lay at Mr.. Rockefe1-
ler's million dollar plant at Bayonne.
The ship itself is worth nearly 100000,
and the millions of gallons of oil stored
in the neighboring warehouse and tanks
is valued at many hundred thousand
dollars. All this valuable property is
highly infiar1rnable, and the tiniest
spark might lead to it's total destrue-
ton.
t Now it happened that reckless Wis
iter threw a lighted cigar into the hold
of the KentnIair. The hold being filled
with oil in wooden cases, and the wood
en- cases lacking ia fre-resisting quail
ties, a blaze resulted. Presently the
blaze was transformed into fame and
when there is no oil in the vicinity to
urge them on.
But John l.. Beaumont, a foreman,
saw that tfame and smoke and Instantly
OWNED that his employer, Mr.. Rookie
feller, could not afford to have the ship,
yards, warehouses and tanks go up in
smoke. 1T did not take Beaumont as
long to divine this fact asai it does the
junior Rockefeller to tell how million
Id In
swearing off his taxes.
What Beaumont did, after seeing the
panic-stricken crew make pipeline
for safety, was to dash into the hold
with bucket of water and try to douse
the flame. The first bucket did not
suffice and Beaumont rushed to the
deck for another. As he went back into
the smoke filled hold a second time the
foreman slipped, fell and spilled the wa
ter, besides injuring his legs and back.
But the thought that if he did not
extinguish that fire it would spread and
probably cause Mr.. Rockefeller the loss
of a million or two dollars, led Mr.
Beaumont to pick himself up and con-
tinue his work. For ten minutes he
rushed back and forth carrying water
into the dark hold, While the ships
crew and other employees were dashing
madly in the direction of Atlantic City.
When the last vestige of the fire had
been eXtlnguished and the smoke had
escaped from the hold of the ship,
Beaumont saw that the fire had almost
melted one of the cases open and real
lied that if the fire had reached the oil
there would have been an explosion
which would have made the report of
thirteen-inch cannon sound like that of
a popgun in comparison. Incidentally
Beaumont realized that IL the oil had
exploded he would have been enrolled
as a member of Kingdom Come
After Beaumont had satisfied himself
that there was no more danger of the
fire breaking out again, he determined
that his aching legs and back needed
attention. He found a Standard Oil
official who had not been able to run
very far after the alarm of fire was
given, and after assuring him that there
was no more danger. asked him for an
hour off to see a doctor. The official
heSitated for a moment and then said
he would ask headquarters. He went
into his private office and talked with
headquarters over the telephone. Mean
while Beaumont sat ON the Office step,
holding his sprained back with one
hand, patting his injured legs with the
other and trying his best to ward off
the zero weather by language almost
warm enough to melt the red tape nee-
eSSary to get an hour away from work
Finally the Standard Oil official re-
appeared. 1t was then $3.50 o'clock, or
within two and half hours of the end
of the $3.50 day.
YES" said the official, 'you can CO."
Thank you" said Mr.. Beaumont, as
he turned away painfully.
And" added the official, ''headquar-
ters says you needn't turn up again
today. You can have the rest of the
day OF, they say, because you did good
work down at the Ship"
THANK you," said Mr.. Beaumont, as
he fobbled out of the yards and paid
cents to a street car company to carry
him to a doctor who charged him So
for writing him a prescription that
called for 65 cents worth Of arnica,
liniment and bandages.