New-York tribune., 1911-11-29
JOHN JACOB AsTOR.

t University. graduating IN tho class OF w
After devotlng considerable time to travel
: no settled down to learning the details Of
/ the management of tn" great Astor estate
Since the death of William Astor, in 1892
he has had supervision over city property
, OF which four generations Of Astors had
been extensive buyers and improvers and
which they seldom sold. In his admins
tratiye policy Colonel Astor has been
swayed by the highes; ideals of public SER
vice and in all the structures erected upon
his properties has had in view their archi-
tectursl symmetry and their function as an
aGo~nmcnt 70 The city Ne has been cspe-
cially successful in tho building Of hotels
and his initial effort in this direction was
the erection Of the Astoria, which now.
consolidated with the Waldorf, is one OF
I the most famous hostleries in the world.
/ Later he built the St Regis and the Knick-
erbockcr. which. with their palatial sp-
pointments and UneXcelled service inme-
diately took high rank among the leading
hotels Of the city.
+ Colonel Astors military ambitions ars-
ing from the same desire Of serving his fel-
low citizens that found its expression in the
erection Of ornamental buildings on his
properties early led him into the field Of
military exploit He was first appointed a
member Of the staff OF Governor Levi y.
| Morton; then. on the outbreak of the Span
/ ish- American War. In 1898 he entered active
military service. The day after war with
! Spain was declared Colonel Astor's services
! were offered and accepted by President Nc
Kinley His experience on Governor NoT-
! toms staff had been valuable. and he was
appointed to the post Of inspector general
OF United States volunteers, with the
rank OF lieutenant colonel lie landed at
Tampa with the first army sent out. went
TO Cuba and so great was his efficiency at
the battles and siege Of Santiago that he
was recommended for promotion by his
/ chief General Shafter. After bearing inn
portant dispa atches To the President he was
/ discharged from the army In 1898 with the
brevet rank of colonel for faithful and
meritorious service"
/ During this war. also, Colonel Astor re-
| cruited. equipped and presented to the
/ United States government the famous AS
/ tor Battery of light artillery. This bat
/ terry complete consisted OF 1902 men and six
twelve pound Hotchkiss guns, which had
been imported from France at an expense
/ Of $1,000. This battery was sent to Ma
Mia by way OF San Francisco, and arrived
in time TO take part in the final capture of
that city.
Colonel Astor's ambitions TO be of helpful
service to the world have not been confined
entirely to the structural OF military ideals.
His scientific Investigations at Harvard had
] hat Law haf
tirelcss student vast realm OF utilltarian
invention which would be OF untold practl-
cal value. With this broad field in view,
he has devoted much time and original
genius to the construction and design of
many inventions OF general usefulness. one
of the first of these to attract attention
was his Pneumatic Road Improver. This
machine. which was designed to facilitate
the removal OF worn-out material or refuse
from the roadbed was exhibited at the
| Worlds Fair in Chicago in l>9S and won
first prize.
Some few years ago Colonel Astor made
uubIic a marine turbine engine which cor
rects many disadvantages Of the extremely
high speed required in other turbines, and
which is greatly reduced both in size and
weight
fling problem of practically utilizing peat
bogs 10y generating producer gas has been
taken up by Colonel Astor, and he has
produced very important and interest
ing invention which he terms d vibrating
disintcgrator This device utilzes the eN-
pansive force OF the gas occluded in peat
TO disrupt the mass, so that the peat can
be thoroughly and uniformly heated, and
the producer gas generated from the peat
utilized a power for gas engines. Besides
this method Of extracting power gas
from peat. Colonel Astor has taken out
patents on an invention which utilizes its
fertlizing principle HIS latest invention
is steamship chair which may BE- held
firmly 10 the hcor by means of vacuum
cup so mounted that it may he pressed .nto
engagement with the deck or floor by sue
ton The vacuum broken. the cup may bc
liftcd. the chair released and moved To any
part OF the deck. a decided advantage over
the steamer chair. which must Of necessity
he rigidly screwed to the floor.
Colonel Astor seems bent on penetrating
not only the secrets OF the physical world,
but has made exhaustive researches i'm
speculative science. including astronomy
and celestial mechanism Ills book. "A
Journey In Other Worlds. q Romance of
/ the Future" published in 1894. is novel
/ based on these sciences. on account OF the
/ literary merit OF this work Colonel Astor
was elected to a membership IN the Au-
| thors' Club.
/ Colonel Astor IS director Of the Astor
| Trust Company Illinois Central Railroad
Company, Mercantile Trust Company. Ma
| tional Park Bank. Plaza Bank, Niagara
/ Fails Power Company. Western Union
Telegraph Company Long Island Motor
Parkway Onc). Niagara Junction Railway
Company. Niagara Development Company
and Chicago. St Louis & New Orleans
Railroad Company. trustee Of the Title
| Guarantee and Trust Company. New York
Life Insurance and Trust Company and
Hudson Fulton Celebration Commission:
member OF the board Of managers OF the
Delaware e. Hudson Company. board ~
governors Of the Automobile Club OF Amer
lea. Turf and Field club. Newport Casino
| ana board Of founders OF The New Theatre.
He is well known az a yachtsman, hav-
Ing made cruises In all parts OF the world
and he is also fond Of motoring and tennis
His club and society memberships include
the Metropolitan club. Union club. Knicker-
booker club. city club Army and Navy
Club. Automobile club of America. Au- /
thors club the Press club. The Pilgrims. .
Church club. Delta Phi Fraternity. The /