Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1911-01-27
PAUL MORTON
DIES SUDDENLY
President Of Equitable Life
Victim CT kpop''ssxy.
WAS STRICKEN IN HOTEL
His Family Was Summoned, But He
Died Before They Arrived-Was Sec
rotary of Navy Under President
Roosevelt

|
! rotary of Navy Under Presiden
| Roosevelt.
| Paul Morton, president of the Equi
| able Life Assurance Society, wa
stricken with apoplexy just after h
had gone to the Hotel Seymour, i
| New York, for the purpose, his friend
said, of keeping an appointment wit
Paul L. Herman, the lawyer.
Mr.. Morton died an hour and hal
later in an apartment just vacated b.
Mr.. Herman earlier in the day an
just few minutes before his wife an
brother, Joy Morton, of Chicago, reach
ed the house.
Coroner Feinberg, who is a physi
clan, and Coroners Physician OHan
Ion agreed after they had examine.
Mr.. Morton's body and had talked witt
Joy Morton concerning his brother
condition that death was caused b,
apopleXy due to rupture of bloot
vessel in the brain, which resulted
from artero-sclerosis, from which MI
Morton was found to be suffering with
in the past month.
1t was explained that hotel mait
had noticed Mr.. Morton APPARENT,
in faint in the hallway outside O
suite 55, on the fifth floor. This suite
mad been vacatd by Mr.. Herman ant
maid notified the telephone operator
and the manager of the hotel rushed
up to the fifth floor. He helped the
maid to assist Mr.. Morton into the
vacant suite. Word was sent for DR.
Henry Pearson.
j.. When DR.. Pearson reached Mr.. Nor
toms bedside he was unconscious, ani
it was apparent TO DR.. Pearson that
he had suffered a stroke of apoplexy
Then word was telephoned to Mr.. Nor
toms house and 10 the Metropolitan
club. Mrs. Morton was informed over
the phone that her husband had faint
ed at the Seymour, and was asked to
come to the hotel at once. but he was
dead before she arrived.
Paul Morton was born in Detroit
May p, 1857, and went to Nebraska
Hith his parents six months later. He
began his railroad career in the land
department of the Burlington road in
Iowa. In May, 1873, he was employed
in the general freight Office of the Bur.
lington road at PlattsmOuth, Neb., and
from there he went to the general
n: yI, in Haf
pointed assistant general freight agent
of the Burlington in 1878 at the age O.
lwenty-one. He occupied this and bet
ter positions in the freight service I'm
til 1885, when, at the request of the
management of the Burlington, he took
the position of general passenger
agent
From the position of general pas
senger agent he was selected for the
general freight agency, and remained
With the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
in that position until 1890, when he en-
gagged in the coal and iron business as
president of coal company operating
in Iowa and Illinois, and vice presi.
dent of what is now the Colorado Fuel
and Iron company.
He remained with these companies
until the end of 1895, when he accept.
ed the vice presidency of the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe railway, in charge
of its commercial affairs.
In 1904, largely owing to his per
sonal friendship for President Roose-
welt, he accepted the secretaryship OF
the navy. In doing this he sacrificed a
salary of $4,000 for one of $4,000.
Mr. Morton was credited with pos
sessing an independent fortune. vari
ously estimated from $1,000,000 to s.
100000, having made nearly s1.0t0,G0j
on the sale of the Indiana, Illinois 1
Iowa railroad to the Vanderbiits. H.
deciding regarding President Roose
yelt's offer, therefore, the monetar.
consideration did not enter into tn,
question.
In 1905 he was elected president o:
the Equitable Life Assurance society
at a salary of $4,000 year.
Mr. Morton, in 1880, was married to
Miss Charlotte Goodrich, An accom-
plished and popular young woman OF
Chicago. They had two daughters.