The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-10-09
Thirty-two Years Ago He
Was a Lad Of Fifteen, Who
Had Just Gone Into Business
for Himself
Before That He Had Been an
Erraad Boy IN a Bank-He
went Broke" the First
Time at Seventeen

tions of his own books, the rarest
flowers in the world these are only
a few of the media through which Law
son gets rid of his money. Even the
telephones in his private office in State
street, Boston, are of solid silver.
The first cost of his steam yacht,
Dreamer, was 100000, and large sums
have since been spent upon it. He
paid out over million dollars for
a country seat and almost as much
for his house on exclusive Beacon
street, Boston. But of all his remark
able expenditures, none has aroused
so much public attention as his pay
ment of 100000 for the famous Law
son pink"
Thomas w. Calvin came into pos
session of this beautiful cerise-colored
carnation pink 1t was something
new in the horticultural world, and
he named it the Mrs. Thomas w.
Lawson pink
Harlow w. Higginbotham, Of Chi
cago Worlds Fair fame, offered Gal
vim $4,000 for a single slip. A New
York florist house thereupon offered
ST., 900 for half interest in the plant.
Lawson stepped in with a proposal
to give $1,000 for a single plant or
100000 for the whole stock. Calvin
accepted this offer and agreed to grow
the plant only for Lawson.
The Monte Christie of New Eng
land" was always a great spender.
When he was twelve years old he
received $Ioo as a Christmas pres
ent. He promptly spent $87 on
present for his sister, and the rest
on a present for his brother Even
at that time | had an expensive appe-
tite,' he says.
He will even spend his time with
apparent recklessness. There is no
financial magnate more accessible 10
newspaper men and interviewers of
ali kinds. He will sit and chat with
them for hours. But this waste of
time is more apparent than real.
Once, an interviewer stayed an un-
usually long while. He noticed that
Lawson studied the tape now and
then as it unrolled from the ticker,
and that he occasionally stopped the
conversation to give an order in an
undertone to his secretary.
As he rose to go, the interviewer
apologized for having wasted SO much
time.
ooh, don't mention it, said Law
son. '1've made $4,000 on the New
York Stock Exchange while | was
talking to you"
Like most spectators in stocks,
Lawson is said to be superstitious 1t
is declared that he Believes that three
and its 1nultiples are lucky numbers
~ .,,I, 1,
1000 shares; he would buy 900. He
is said to buy in blocks divisible BY
three, such as 80, 333, 600, and ooo
His office in Boston is in suite 33 of
the building, and his telephone num-
Der is 1888. He has carried lucky
ffty-cent piece in his pocket for years,
and whenever he is in doubt as to a
speculation he tosses a. gold coin
thrice. If it comes down "heads"
twice, he buys; if tails" he leaves
the stock alone. But the occasions
when it is in doubt what to do are
infrequent.
As BELTS so daring speculator,
he has plenty of nerve and physical
courage. His yacht was once run
down by a Nantucket steamer while
going out of Boston harbor in fog.
He was in his cabin, writing the menu
for dinner.
"Is she much damaged?" he asked.
"Cut to the water-line"
rs she flling?"
No, not yet"
Lawson scoolly went on writing the
menu.
He is tall, we1l-bui1t, athletic
looking man, with ruddy complex
ion and a mass of black hair, keen
eyes, strong jaw, and remarkably
small and slender hands. His tastes
are artistic, and his knowledge of art
is extensive and thorough. His pri-
vate office looks more like an art
museum than business mans sane
tum. 1t is filled with valuable paint
ings, statues, bronzes, and other OBJ
iects of art. A thin green vase, filled
either with beautiful roses or some
Of the Lawson pinks, stands always
between the two ticker machines by
his desk. 1t is typical of the mans
Thomas w Lawson is only forty
seven.
Copyright, 1904, by T. c. McClure.l