The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1906-02-27
THOMAS Z. RYAN.
Loves Work and is Model Of
Courtesy and Kindliness.

financial columns has undertaken to
fix the place of Thomas IT. Ryan as
fnancier. AS Mr.. Ryan has been dis
cussed from almost every other point
of view, this new aspect of him from
such high authority is Of general inc
terest. This new analyst Of Ryan
says that "for brief period during
last summer Thomas f. Ryan figured
before the public as a benefactor, an
altruist, a rescuer of a few thousand
Of his fellow men from the ruin that
would have befallen them if he or :
some one had not checked the down
ward course Of the Equitable Life AS
surance Society. He was hailed far
and wide then as hero, master of
good works as well as of finance" The
writer goes on to say that before thiss
time Ryan's fame rested entirely on
his pre-eminence as manipulation Of
securities and q rescuer of disabled
properties, and concludes the discus
sion of the Equitable incident by say
ing that scoffers doubted whether it
was true that the purchaser of the
Equitable intended to do a great pub
lie service. However, as helping to an
understanding of this debated ques-
ton, he points out that Ryan, under
oath, told the Investigating Commit
tee, that his reasons for making the
purchase were: TO rescue the policy
holders from the hazards and wastes
of receivership, save the financial
community from the depression and
loss consequent upon bringing a gigan-
tic institution with over $4O0O00,O00
of assets into the hands of court
officer, and finally, to Create name
for himself" In addition to this Ryan
has agreed publicly to sell back the
stock to the Society, If it desired to
buy, for the price he paid, that is,
$2,500,000 and interest.
In searching for the causes of Mr..
Ryan's high efficiency, the writer at
tributes it to great concentration,
which he is enabled to exercise owing
to fine health. This fine health, it
appears, he has been able to maintain
up to his fifty-fifth year by habits of
singular regularity. In discussing his
habits the fact was developed that he
goes to bed regularly at ten O'Clock,
and as he Enthusiastically puts it,
II am not only in bed at ten o'clock,
but | am actually asleep. There is
nothing like good days work for
securing that for a man."
A new acquaintance recently in
CURED Of Mr.. Ryan whether he ever
took time to amuse himself. "They
tell me-" he said 10 the financier,
"that you never stop working long
enough to have any amusement
Amusement" repeated Mr.. Ryan,
Il like amusement as much as any
body. If / could only find time for it
1 would have plenty of it. To tell you
the truth cannot shake off my work.
Every day / am tied down more tight
ly than before
Mr.. Ryan's legal residence is on
1000 acre plantation at Oak Ridge,
Nelson County, Virginia, near which
place he was born in October, 1851.
He has another country seat called
"Montebello,p at Suffern, Rockland
County, New York. His residence in
New York is at No. 60 Fifth avenue,
where he owns one Of the few surviv-
ing old time mansions which was or
iginally the home of one Of the Aspin-
walls. All his homes and his office
are remarkable for their simplicity.
A curious fact, not generally known,
is pointed out in this critical review,
relating to Mr.. Ryan's first entrance
into the insurance field. 1t was not
until the legislative Investigation was
set on foot that the public generally
was informed that Mr. Ryan was in
the insurance field as early az 1904,
when, in company with Governor
Levi P. Morton and others, he became
interested in the Washington Life.
1.-THE Washington Life Company"
says the Post, was about to go to
pieces. Ever ready to reorganize any
thing that could be recognized prof
itably, the man from Nassau street
laid his skilled hand upon the wreck.
AS has been the case with other OBJ
jects of his magic touch, the Washing
ton Life was born anew. The cate
legislative insurance investigation, less
than year after the reviving process 4
began, showed the company to be on
a firm footing, ready to compete with
the strongest and to make money as
surely as the liyeliest Of its COMPETE