Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1911-07-15
A FEW THINGS
ABOUT JOHN D.
ROCKEFELLER

nuring this month John D. Rookie
,.,Ior will be 70 years old. He is to-
Ior L. %reckoned the richest man in the
nrld uaI lust how much of the worlds
oods HV, This twentieth century Croesus
sOoSsesses is not known to himself,
his money is invested in so many
~ Od such varied enterprises, that it
a. Titb great difficulty that he is able
teen track of it. Like so many of
.Ie multimillionaires of America,
pockafeller was born in New York
tote but when he was still a boy
Sis family settled in Cleveland. 1t
was in this city that he was first
omnloved in the grocery business, at
tbe small salary of SO week. He
carly demonstrated his commercial
ocrmen for in less than two years
from his business start he was cashier
and bookkeeper in the grocery store,
md a very short time afterwards,
having accumulated $1,000, and be-
ing able to borrow like amount,
with a partner, he engaged in the
nroduce commission business.
Then came his first great oppor-
tunitv-the discovery of oil at Titus
vile Pa. With an additional part
ner the firm started in the refining
of netroleum. Into this business Mr..
Rockefeller was able to place $4,000
and his partner an equal sum. With
in a year the advance to the refinery
amounted to $1,2O0,000 and by 1866
the business had increased to so great
an extent that Mr.. Rockefeller sold
ont all his other interests and de-
voted his entire attention to the oil
business. constructing the famous
standard Oil works at Cleveland,
Ohio.
New York officers were shortly af-
terwards established, and in less
than 10 years the famous Standard
Oil company, with capitalization OF
100000, was started. The bust
ness grew to such enormous proper
tions that in 1872 the company in
creased its capitalization to $2,5O0,-
600. and 10 years later the Stand.
ard Oil trust was formed with g
capital of $4,000, and in few
years this gigantic octopus absorbed
neallN al IllC Oll lClllllhS WIN pu4AlSs
in the United States,
In addition to his oil property, Mr.
Rockefeller owns extensive tracts o.
land in several states, iron mines, {
number of vessels plying on the grea
lakes, close to 10000 grocery stores il
different parts of the country, so mucf
of the New York Central railroad tina
he could take absolute control ant
turn the Vanderbilts out tomorrow
and huge blocks of Pennsylvania, Lake
Shore and a dozen of the other bis
railroad companies of the country.
The Rockefeller income is so large
that John D. could, out of it, buy con
trol of one great system, like the I'm
ion Pacific, every year and never toucl
a penny of his principal. His income
today is the most colossal in tn,
world 1t is more than twice as larg,
as that of a. the crowned heads o
Europe combined. 1t is 50 times al
great as that of the king of England
and five times as great as that of tn,
czar Of Russia, the richest ruler O
any nation.
A recent calculator notes that th
Rockefeller income is at least $2.05
second, Sl2366 4-5 minute, S74200
an hour $17S, ,OS2.0S a day, S1,246.574.5
a week, and $65, 100000 year
With every tick of the clock ther
drops into the Rockefeller strong bo.
more than 50.
Resistless, like a Niagara, none,
pours towards John D. Rockefeller
Did he not provide outlets for it, /
would Overwhelm him. His creates
difficulty seems to be to find channel
into which to turn the money flood
If the daily income were paid t,
Mr. Rockefeller in $40 gold pieces the.
would number a little more than 5000
These, piled, one on top of the other
each one-tenth of an inch in thickness
would reach "a feet two inches int
the air, the height of a six-stor
building.
Placed on scale, the daily pile O
gold would show weight of TAI q
pounds, or more than five times hi
own weight. He has to buy a railroa
every week." one man said in explain
ing figuratively the volume of tn
Rockefeller income, and he didn't eX
aggerate much in saying this.
In spite of the fact that Rockefel
ler's charities have been enormous
his pile does not seem to diminish
Upwards of $150,000,000 has alread
been distributed by Mr.. Rockefeller t
the general educational board the CHI
cago university, the Rush Medical CO..
lege, and to research work, institu
tions, and religious work of every de
scription.
John D. Rockefeller is one of tn
descendants of Johann Peter Rockt
teller, who was born in Germany
1852 and emigrated to America wit
his wife. He is the oldest son {
William A. Rockefeller, who was Dor
in 1921.
To Investigate Rates.