The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-02-25
RYAN'S PLACE AS 4
 GREAT FINANCIER The True Character of the
 EquitabIe'S Owner NOT A GOLD HEARTED MAN Shows Uniform Courtesy Toward Those With Whom He Is Brought
 In contact-Worl< With
 Him a Recreation.
NOT A GOLD HEARTED MAN
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
 For brief period during last summer Thomas F. Ryan figured before the public as a benefactor, an altruist, a rescuer of few thousand fellow men from the ruin that would have befallen them if he or some one else had not checked the down. ward course of the Equitable Life Assur- ance society. He was hailed far and wide as a hero; a master of good works as well as of finance.
 But both before and after the short term of the halo. Thomas F. Ryan's fame rested entirely upon his pre-eminence as manipulator of securities, a reorganizer of shattered corporations for the benefit of his own pocket. a stock juggler with out an equal. After his purchase of the Equitable, if any particular action on his part was needed to restore to him his old reputation, he had only to carry out his recent plot with August Belmont for the boldest of stock watering schemes-the Interborough- Metropolitan merger. How ever hard, however bitter and unrelent- ing he may be in business, he is agree
 
 quaintances, gentle and affectlonate in the midst of his family. The public in general has heard about the unpleasant side of the manipulator without having had the opportunity to observe the other equally prominent aspect of him. To those who see him at home, or who visit his office on errands. not of bus- 1,aa a nf md kindliness. His '1ooks," in the first place, are prepossessing. Tall and proportion ately we'll built, with a mouth easily re laxng from pronounced firmness to smil- ing affability, bright gray eyes that glow softly as often as they reflect sternness or severity, grayish hair carefully brushed from part far down on the side, a broad and rather low forehead, and q deeply dimpled chin that is trife too short for symmetry he gives the impression of a gentleman from the ground up. His man. ners-people who meet him for the first time call them "courtly"-are reminis- cent of the old times and even if one has heard the harsh stories, it is not easy to reconcile them with his easy bow and graceful greeting.
 new acquaintance having listened to the manipulator's enemies and met him through d friend, recently ventured to in- quire of MT. Ryan whether he ever took time to amuse himself
 ''rhey tell me-" he said to the financier that you never stop working long enough ] to have any fun
 "Fun?" repeated Mir Ryan. "I like fun as much as anybody If I could find the time, I'd have plenty of it; but, to tell you the truth, I just can't turn loose my work. Every day I'm tied down moro tightly than ever before"
 Running Farms His Diversion.
 When he does go in search of fun" Mir. Ryan betakes himself to one of his farms. l There are two of them. His legal resi- dence is the 4000-acre plantation at Oak Ridge, Nelson county, Va., near which he was born on October 17, 1851 His other country estate is at Suffern, in Roclkland county. this state. and he calls 1t Mon tebello.' To the Virginia place he gener- 1 ally travels when he steals away from the city for a weekend. To Suffern he retreats fer an overnight outing in sum mer time
 The town houses owned by the stock l operator are at No. 60 Fifth avenue this city, and in Washington. He seldom goes to the capital. So the Fifth avenue home | is where he spends most of his time. His | surroundings there tell the story of his tastes. Comfort, roominess and simple elegance distinguish the house, which Is one of the old-fashioned brick residences characteristic of the lower section of "the avenue" Neither outside nor within Is there any grandeur or show that would be easily within reach if they were | wanted.
 A caller at No. 60 is not met by a liveried lackey. The Irish maid answers the bell. The visitor, upon entering. is rather as- tonished at the lack of expensive furnish ings in the hall and reception room, and on reaching MT. Ryan's "den," one flight up he finds that the unpretentiousness of the front extends throughout the house. Like the fnancier's downtown office, which is a room in the quarters of the Morton Trust company at Nassau and Liberty streets. the "den'' Is remarkable for it's simplicity. There is no display. The large cushioned chairs are of the sort that arouse within one who sits thereon a longing to tarry, but they are as plain as the quietly papered walls. The desk, like the one in the office near Wall street, is heavy, solid and capacious, but unornamented and inconspicuous, ex- cept for the right orderlness of the books. periodicals and papers laid upon it. On the sides of the room hang a few por- traits of old friends, including Elhu Root and the late William C.. Whitney. There is an open fireplace on one side, broad window on another. From floor to cell ing Is not an ornament or establishment to distinguish the "den" from the pri- vate study of a tasteful man of moderate means.
 Likes to Stay at Home. Except on rare occasions, Mir Ryan goes straight to the Fifth avenue house from his office at , o'clock in the after noon after having worked downtown since 9:3O or 10 in the morning. Some times he rides to and fro in cab, some- times in his automobile. When, upon re- turning from Nassau street. he is en- sconced in the "den," tired by the days labors In 'hign finance" he Is not to be begued from his fireside until the next morning After a modest dinner he gen orally reads, or receives his friends in formally, or chats with Mrs. Ryan. It is an event in the household If he goes abroad after dark.
 How do you keep your health and work so hard?" some one asked him not long a