The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1911-08-10
JOHN ". GATES IS
TAKEN BY DEATH
AMERICAN MULTlMIl.
LlONAIRE DIES AFTER L.ONG
ILLNESS, SURROUNDED BY
ti' FAMILY.

IaFlS, fTance.@JOun W.. Gates
Ii of the most famous of American
millionaire, who has been i'll here fol
six weeks, died this morning, sur
rounded by his wife and family. TIL.
body will be brought to New York fol
burial, on the steamer Kaiser Will
helm Dor Crosse, August 18th.
John w. Gates, famous the worlt
over as observation-disclosures Gates
the best-advertised 'gamb1in' man
in America, on December 10, 1909
astounded the seventh annual con
ference of the gulf division of the
Methodist church, at Port Arthur
Tex, with the following spectacular
"Dont's'':
Don't gamble.
Don't play cards.
Don't bet on horse races.
Don't speculate i'll wheat.
Dent speculate OF the stock eX.
change.
Don't throw dice.
+. Don't shirk honest labor.
Dent be a gambler; once a gam
Dier, always one
The ministers agreed these
"don'ts' were all right, coming as
they did from a man whose heavy
betting on horse races aroused the
Jockey Club of New York to warn
him TO modify his wagers; whose
spectacular gambling at draw polk
err and bridge are famed in song and
poetry; who matched pennies fol
$1,000 throw, who cornered corr
and bucked Standard Oil and United
States Steel "off the boards" in the
stock exchange.
Gates Career.
The death of "Bet-You-a-Million'
John W. Gates, perhaps the best self.
advertised multi-millionaire in Am.
erica, brings to an end a financial and
personal caree that has probably
never been equalled..
Worth probably s25,0O0,0OO o,
$50, Doc, 900 at the time of his death
John w. Gates, 1.-The forgetful man
who stood not in awe of Morgan O.
Rockefeller or, in fact, the whole com
bined Street." wanted the worlt
q. know he had money. He wasn't
ashamed of it. Once he had his
private secretary write to the New
York Herald: Let it appear in youl
financial page that during the lat,
rise in railroad stocks, j. w. Gates
mas made between $3,OO0,O00 an(
1000, 900, principally in Baltimor,
& Ohio and Union Pacific, both grea'
4favorites of his"
Gates was born in Turner's juno
ton, ILL.,, or what is now a part o.
South Chicago, on May s., 1855. HI
was as poor as poverty. But, IL
south-side tradition be true, Gates
was an early financier. He farmed
ION shares" and usually bought out
his partners. He was a most ex-
cellent "hoss snapper When he
was 1S he was married .t0 a farmers
daughter.
After running a small hardware
and grain business lii Turner's juno
ton, Gates became a drummer, and,
he admitted himself, he was a
peach" He Travelled for Isaac l.,
Elwocd, founder of the barbed wire
industry, and introduced barbed wire
in Texas, proving a wonderful adept
at the art Of talking a man into buy
ing. Later he eXempliied' this in
selling to the United States steel cor
1~poration at a price far beyond the
value Of his works.
Started as Drummer.
~ hadn't travelled long before !
found more money could be made
manufacturing wire than selling it
at 500 a month";" he said. With
seven others he invested $4,000 in a
wire manufacturing company and
cleared up so per cent profit pei
week. Ellwood, owner of the
patents, objected. When they served
Gates with legal papers in st. Louis
he moved his little plant by ferry in
to Illinois and made more wire. By
the time legal papers reached him
there he moved back to Missouri. In
the end he beat Ellwood and the own
err OF the patents had to make Gates
his partner.
BY 1892 Gates had consolidated all
his holdings into the Consolidated
Steel & Wire Co., with s4,O00,o00
capital. In 1895 he put 100000
into the Illinois Steel Co., and was
elected president. In 1898 the IL
linois Steel went into the Fedora!
Steel Co., and under the kindly guild
ance CT Roswell P. Flower, Gates and
Ellwccd sold out at a large profit.
That year a wire war started in
P%ittsburg. Gates and Ellwood rush
ed there and bought a steel wire mill.
for 1000, 900. Just 43 seconds
later they bought another for $780,
900. Gates jumped a fast train and
rushed to Cleveland, where he took
over the Cleveland rolling mills, as
a base of operations" for IS, 000,0 900.
Gates and Ellwood were buying
mad" Gates went to Massachusetts,
and bought. Ellwood. went to Gin
cinnati ana bought. In the week be-
tween. Christmas and New Years they
bought $l2, 100000 worth of wire
mills.
Ole week later the American Steel
e Wire Co., of New Jersey, capital
500, 100000, was launched.
Went into Market.
Then Gates went into the market
From 1897 to 1901 was his prime
His profits have been swollen by
runner. Gates was a grand stand
performer; a self advertiser" off thu