Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-10
would have 81. 900. 600 inhabitants had 1t not
been for such combinations"
Rich Men q Good Thing.


Rich Men q Good Thing.
"Then you think trusts and rich men are
good for the country?'' said I.
1T depends on what the trust is and as
to how the rich man uses his money. If
he is a miser and boards 1t in his safe he
is curse, If he keeps it moving he is a
blessing. 1 do not look upon a man who
keeps his money in circulation as a miser.
1t is only the one who piles 1t up in his
strong box. and hugs 1t to him who is that.
Take Russell Sage. He has been called a
| miser, but he is, on the contrary, one of
the most valuable men of this city. He
has amassed millions, but his millions are
all working. They form an important part
of the life blood of the market and they
flow out from here through the veins of
our great industrial bodies Every day or
so one of Sages men comes here and asks
me If I can use 100000 or $780, 600 for
time on call. Perhaps I can. If so l
take it and pay him his interest, but the
money goes into the channels of speculation
and trade. If cannot take it, 1t is loaned
to some one else, who does the same. No,
there are many worse men than Russell
Sage. The money of the great trusts is
also kept in circulation, and it is so with
| most of our large fortunes. Such accumu-
lations are benefit. The only million that
is a curse is the dead million-the million
that is stored away in vault
Our Richest Men.
How much do you estimate Russell Sage
at Mr.. Clews?'
II do not know what he is worth, but I
should say at guess that he has SIS, 100000.
"Who is the richest man in the United
States?"
John D. Rockefeller"
what Is he WORTH
Probably $500, 900, 900 or $500, 100000 He
must have an income of thirty or forty mil
in n n &c n
He is probably the richest man in the
| world, is he not?
Yes, I suppose so. 1t is hard to realize
what $500,OO0,O0O means. The sum is so
enormous that the human mind cannot
grasp it..
But, Mr. Clews," said I, eff such fortunes
are possible is there not danger that all the
wealth of the country may some day be IN
the hands of one or two men, or, at the
most of half dozen or SOP?
Il think rot. We have an old saying here
in Wall street that 1t is only three genera
tieAS from shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves.
The first shirt-sleeve man accumulates a
fortune. His sons, reared to luxury and
idleness, eat their dinners in swallow-tailed
coats, but do not add to the pile. and the
grandsons spend the money so fast that they
are soon back in shirt sleeves again. 1t Is
not possible to entail q fortune, and
ones descendants soon dissipate 1t. You
must remember it takes much more ability
to save and invest money than to make it,"
The Vanderbilts, Astors, Etc.
But we have many rich families who
are now in or beyond the third generation?"
yes know we have the Astors and the
Vanderbilts. The Astors have invested
largely in real estate which cannot run
away; and they have also an unwritten law
by which the bulk of the fortune so far has
gone to the eldest son. The Vanderbilts have
also increased their fortunes, but these ac-
cumulations cover but a brief period. Where
those fortunes or any others of our present
fortunes will be an hundred years from
now is hard to say. The natural law of
life is change and in nothing is this more
evident than in the rise and fall of for
tunes.
Besides. there are other means of dissi
patton outside those of extravaganza or
loss. The great fortunes of today are
largely used for charity. Andrew Car
negie has given away something like
twelve or fifteen millions, John Rookie
Teller has scattered nearly the same amount
through the University of Chicago and in
other ways. Jay Gould gave to nothing out
side his family but his daughter, Helen,
is making up for that omission by devotng
her life and much of her money to helping
her fellowmen. A part of the Vanderbilt
money has gone into schools, and l could
give score of instances where great for
tunes are secretly used for the good of the
world at large"
Railroad and Industrial Stocks.
Returning to our great corporations,
Mr.. Clews, what do you think of industrials
as investments?'
Il am afraid Of them" was the reply.
THE most of them need to be tried in the
fire before they will be safe"
How about our great railroad combina-
tions?"
'oThat is a different matter" said the
Wall street financier "Our railroads have
gone through their period of experimental
ton, and one can judge their possibilities
and probable dividends. 1 believe that good
railroad stocks will be safer than ever from
now on. The various roads have had their
rate wars and have learned that a compro-
mise is better than fight. Railroading
has been reduced to a science and nearly
all the companies are so improving their
properties that they do business more
cheaply than ever before. The very best
brains of the United States are at the head
of our railroads This is especially so as
regards the Pennsylvania railroad whose
president is Andrew Cassatt. That road is
spending a vast deal of money, but it will
all come back in it's better facilities and
increased business
Cotton Wool for Stock Speculations.
DO you think Mr.. Clews," said l, that
a man with small amount of money say
$4,000 or perhaps 100000, can do anything
in Wall street,"
Il see no reason why not if he is the
right man. There is one thing, however, he
must do at the start. He must go into
dry goods store and buy a pound of cotton
batting and bring 1t with him to the stock
exchange. Before entering he must pick
out enough to make two thick wads and
stuff them into his ears to keep out the
rumors and wild stories which are gotten
up to scare fools. He must study the Sc
curities in which he invests and learn to
use his own judgment. Then, if he has
any business aptitude whatever, he has
fair chance of success. If he is swayed
this way and that by every financial wise
acre he meets he will surely fail. At the
same time it will pay him to advise with
Others but his final test should be his own
Judgment. He should not risk dealing ON
small margins. A respectable house will
hardly accept a margin of less than o per
cent and even then the risk is great. The
man who speculates on or per cent al
most always loses, and if he succeeds he
degenerates into gambler. A 10 per cent
margin Is better, and one should have
enough to back up such margin If the mar
ket goes against him. The man with the
10 per cent margin has, it is estimated, odds
of about 49, per cent against him. On a
ner cent margin the odds are considered
i2lh per cent and on a per cent margin 70
ner cent. The man who puts up 10 per
cent margin, and who has another ~ per
cent IL reserve, if he deals at all carefuily,
20 aImost sure to come out with proht
Wall Street as a Profession.