The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-08-09


 had to rent good many safe deposit vaults to hold his securities. In 1898, after a plan between Judge E. H. Gary, Garritt H. TenBroek and Gates to combine steel and wire mills into a great trust, had failed, Gates and Gary organized the Consolidated Steel & Wire Co. of Illinois, Gates taking one-fourth of the capital stock of $4,000,000. This he later sold out to the American Steel & Wire Co.,, re- ceiying ss,5oo..ooUo. for his original in vestment of s1.0oo,00o. Gates him self underwrote s20,000,00O of the stock of the American, admitting that he received large profit for the un- derwriting, but forgetting how much it was.
 Gates was really forgetful, so he said. Once he carried a check for $1,250,000 around in his pocket until requested to cash it so books might be balanced. In 1902, after astonish- ing Europe, Gates came back to New York with barbaric pearls and gold. he paid s1,500 duty; on a dog collar of pearls and diamonds S6,000. He was going away rejoicing when a collector asked about a $35,000 pearl necklace, That's true" said Gates, "I forgot to declare the darned thing" His forgetfulness cost him $21,0OO.
 Of the seo,O0O,O00 stock of the Am erican Steel & Wire O., $2,000, 900 dis appeared and Gates had forgotten" where it went. He never remembered.
 Seemingly harsh judgments of Morgan really told Gates: You will not be taken into the directorate of the steel trust, MT. Gates; you have made your own reputation and must abide by it." Morgan may have meant that so forgetful a man wouldn't be safe. If after Gates descent upon Louisville & Nashville, Morgan de- clared Git was necessary for the f1n- ancial preservation of the road" to buy Gates out, it may have been that a man of so unstable memory was not safe as an efficient railroad manager.
 Gates would go to any extreme to aid his side of the market. Tn 1900 Gates was short" in the market. He shut down 12 of his steel mills, throw ing thousands of men out of employ ment and causing a panic. Stocks tumbled and Gates cleaned up.
 His operation in Louisville & Nash vile was spectacular The road was. under the conservative management of August Belmont. Gates formed a syndicate to! get control. Belmont awakened to the fact too late. Within six weeks Gates and his associates had 100000 shares and controlled 100,- 900 others. Morgan, objecting to gen. tlemen "buying railroads over night, had to save the situation" It Is estimated the profits of the Gates pool were s5,000. 900.
 Gates always claimed credit for be- ing the master brain who evolved the United States steel corporation, whose bitter enemy he now is. SeIf-impor- tant and almost acting as a braggard, Gates appeared recently before the Stanley steel Investigating committee of the House of Representatives in Washington and laughed as he told forced to turn to him for support in organizing the billion-dollar concern.
 ''In 1899-1900 the steel business was in a demoralized condition as a re- suit of the, activities of Andrew Car negie. Morgan" eGates referred to the money king simply as Morgan ."was making a lot of money out of the National Tube Go. and was heav- fly interested in railroads Carnegie threatened to build a big tube plant at Ashtabula, O., and to build rail- road to connect his various plants, and thus avoid paying freight charg- es.
 'This worried Morgan a lot and he sought the advise of James J. Hill. Hill told Morgan that I, his good friend could save the situation. Nor | gan and aren't on good terms and Morgan and he, and Hill came to my house. They were scared of Carne- gie I told lem Charley Schwab was the only man who could get to Car negie and I arranged it with schwab. [ evolved the idea that finally was accepted-the holding company scheme Carnegie got s32O 900 for his steel holdings, of which he per sonal1y owned 60 per cent"
 Gates admitted that he received $46,- | 100000 in preferred stock for s4o.000o 1000 worth of preferred stock in the Am 1 erican company, and between $50.000,- | poo and s60Oe0,O0O common stock. 1
 Morgan Swung back" at Gates and landed in the famous Tennessee Coal & Iron deal, in which, Gates declares President Roosevelt was fooled into permitting the transaction in the hope l of averting a panic.
 Gates swore that, with a dozen Oth- CT men, he entered a pool to absorb the T. c. & l., Gates personally talk | ing 100000 shares. Morgan wanted | T. C. & l., Gates swore. The plung- | .r declared that $10.000,000 worth of | this stock had been hypothecated with the Trust Company of America, and | that when this bank. needing money, appealed to the clearing house for funds, Morgan was notified and of- fered to loan the money providing | the T. c. & I. stock were turned over to him. In this way Morgan secured control of what Gates declared to be one of the most profitable businesses m the world, giving s96 worth of Uni ed States Steel for every $100 share of r. c. &I. A short time before, Gates admitted. Morgan had offered $150 a share for the stock. It was this fam ,us deal which President Roosevelt Q k'd" upon the statement of Judge Gary. H. C. Prick and others that T. '. S, I. was in financial trouble. Gates declared the company was absolutely sound.
 Of late Gates and his son Charley nave been investing heavily in Tex IS oil fields and bucking the Stand ard Oil Gates was one of the heav- est stockholders in the Republic Steel & Iron Co.,, which has remained aloof from the steel trust and fought t consistently.
 Gates was a thoroughbred sport. He owed horses and horse racing and his ,ets were always in the thousands. Ie played poker for immense stakes md was reputed to have lost $25,000 ,nce on a trip from New York toI 
 Gates was an art collector, said to lave been the possessor of the finest private collection in the world.
 Gates once went in' for military how and for time was colonel of Illinois militia. His home was in lew York. Chicago and Texas.
 Mrs. Gates was Miss Dellora R. Baker of St. Charles, ell. lie is sur ,;vo6 bv .one son Charles Gilbert