The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-03-29
some friend to advise him to come in.r

MI. ktOCheIelieT HAS TOUR D3L.t
one in New York city. one in tie /
cantico hills. near Tarrytown. y. y.
one at Lakewood, y. j.. and one at
Cleveland. o. 4 man with as many
6oniciles as that and with telegraph
and spy system reaching over the en-
tire country has certain advantages in
skipping out of the way of court Of
fcers. but he cannot thus evade public
opinion. and that. after all. is the SUI
pceme arbiter in this country. 1t is
very pervasiye and ever active II
may be lu!,ed by gifts to educational
institutions and charities. but il is
ready to spring up again at 4 moments
notice. The king of the Standard
should not forget the Importance of
public opinion.
Carefully Guarded From Strangers.
Despite the fact that he has houses
and lands scattered ABOUT promiscC-
ously this Plutus of petroleum lives
very simply. Society knows him not.
His only recrea tons are golf and pray
er meeting. AT Pocnntico. where he
lives when not being chased by court
officers, he potters around his estates
like any old fellow. sees that his en-
ployees are well housed and cared for
talks to the children and seems very
much like a human being. He is called
by his neighbors 1.-The old gentleman"
while John D.. Jr.. is referred to as
''the young fellow" 1t is worthy of
more popular of the two. He rides
about his immense estates. generally
standing on the step of his buggy. Civ
ing an order here and there and keep
ing a close watch on all that is going
forward. While democratic with those
he meets, the oil magnate Is very care
fully guarded from the intrusion Of
strangers. They might have bombs
concealed about their persons or, worse
still, subpoenas. One day stranger
managed to get by the guards. John
D.. who was playing golf with
friend, saw him first and broke for
cover. The stranger followed at
good clip. holding out n package.
Rockefeller proved swift Splinter for
one Of his years and finally succeeded
In concealing himself. A guard caught
the stranger, who proved to have nell
Their an Internal machine nor court
summons, but only a harmless bottle
of hair restorer.
Mr.. Rockefeller can tell a story on
occasion and is not without an appreci-
alton Of humor. He Is fond OF asking
his friends how long q mans legs
should be, and If they cannot answer
the conundrum he tells them gleefully,
Long enough to reach from his body
to the ground" The fact that Lincoln
originated that saying does not seem
to detract from the oil kings enjoy.
ment in repeating it.
"Fieaviest Hole ! Have Ever Known"
The president of the Standard Oil is
fond of telling about the heaviest hole
be ever heard of. 1t appears that In an
earlier day he ordered from a foundry
some castings, one solid and one with
q hole. The bill was rendered for two
solid castings. Mr.. Rockefeller called
attention to this and received the fol-
lowing credit:
u. D. Rockefeller. Cr., by l hole.
weight 432 pounds, $12.50'
THAT" chuckled John D., was the
heaviest hole have ever known"
There Is another and an earlier story
that shows another phase Of Rockefel-
Ier's character The late Amasa Stone
of Cleveland was the heaviest stock
holder in the Standard Oil company
back In the seventies. Stone. who was
a man of Importance, later becoming
the father-in-law of Colonel John Hay,
had q habit of laying down the law.
One day he was engaged In that occu-
patton in a directors meeting Of the
Standard.
Just q moment, Mr.. Stone" said
Rockefeller. II want you to know be-
fore this discussion goes any further
that you can ruiz your rolling mills and
banks as you please, but you can't run
Standard OIL"
II presume" said Mr.. Stone after a
moments painful silence. you stand
ready to buy my stock, Mr.. President"
Certainly"
"Well. I'll take 100000, and my offer
holds good from 10 o'clock tomorrow
morning until quarter after" Where
upon Stone left the room.
Rockefeller was not very flush In
those days, and no one knows how he
raised the money, but at the stipulated
time be sent friend to buy the stock.
A Man Of Mystery.
John D. Rockefeller is much stron-
ger man physically than is generally
believed. He is above the medium
height, has good pair of shoulders
and a vigorous step. The peculiar dis
ease that caused him to lose all his
hair gives him a very ancient and un-
canny appearance. Recently the wear
ing Of wig modifies this strange as
pect. His head is large and high, his
lips thin and almost. cruel and his eye
like a blank wall. 1t looks through
one without telling anything in return.
When the man is deeply stirred it fash
es with a cunning and almost maIevo-
lent CLEAN. but these occasions are
rare. If the eye is the window of the
soul John D. Rockefeller knows how
to veil his soul so that the world may
not see the Utmost springs Of his ac-
ton. He has ever been a man Of mys-
terry. keen to find out the business Sc
crets of others, but cautious about Civ
ing his own, even to bis most intimate
associates.
For nearly thlrty-fve years the
Standard Oil company has been the
subject Of numerous judicial inquiries.
The interstate commerce commission
To-