Semi-weekly herald., 1911-06-01


broken by the explosion of charge
which had been placed about five feet
from the house.
A number of attempts to destroy
negro homes with dynamite have been
made here recently in the districts
where white residents resent the in
trusion of negro neighbors.
NEW YORK, May William
Rockefeller who, next to his elder
brother, John ID. Rockefeller, is prob
ably the richest man in the United
States, quietly celebrated his seven
tieth birthday anniversary today. Mr..
Rockefeller was born in Tioga county,
New York, but removed with his par
ents early in his boyhood to Cleve-
land and attended the public schools
in that city.
The faculties of perception and ac-
quisitiveness were the most conspcu-
Gus traits in his character, when at
the age of II he dropped his school
books and became a bookkeeper for
miller Before he was 81 he had
formed connection with rival flour
mill and had just turned 81 when he
became partner in the concern. In
1864 he went into the oil business in
a modest way with his brother, John
n ~
had associated with them Samuel An
sdrews, veteran in the oil business,
built little refinery which they call
ed the Standard Oil works. This was
the modest beginning of tn. siesantin
corporation which the supreme court
of the United States recently decided
was too powerful to be permitted to
exist and ordered that it be dissolved
within six months.
William Rockefeller's personality,
his millions and the interests with
which ne is identified, nave always
bee ovs rshadowed, in a ncs sure, b,
the great wealth of his brother. New
crtheless, the wise on,s in the tinan
oial wofln have been heard to declare
more than once that William was the
brainiest member of the Rockefeller
family. He has been the speculative
member of the Standard Oil group oil
capitalists and has engineered al of
the vast deals of that combination in
the stock market. Since he became
vice president of the Standard Oil cor
poration many years ago ne has been
intimately associated with all the
ramifcations of the gigantic monop-
ely, and, while his name is not as
conspicuous as that of his brother, he
is said to possess a wider knowledge
in detail of the corporation whose
power has been spread to all the coun-
tries of the world.
Mr.. Rockefeller has lived under u
strenuous nervous strain for more
than forty years. His early associates
ir Standard Oil he has followed to the
grave one by one. Five of the heads
of the great corporation have passed
away during the last two or three
years, including Henry III. Rogers,
whose lamentable taking off is at
t,ibuted by his friends to the worry
and mental strain resulting from the
government suits against the Stand
ard Oil That William Rockefeller has
been able to withstand the terrific
strain of his position is all the more
surprising when it is remembered thai
more than five years ago the cables
brought word from Europe that his
death was regarded as imminent. Al
that time he was reported to be SUI
fering from an incurable malady-
nothing less than cancer of the stom
ach-and it was not believed he coult
recover. Today, however, Mr.. Rocke
Teller is apparently as we'll as he has
been in many years and to all appear
ances he takes as keen an interest in
business affairs as he ever did.
In addition TO forming part of tn
directorate of the Standard Oil, ant
the great National City bank, William
Rockefeller is a director in a dozeI
trust companies and in many of tn
largest financial and industrial cor
porations Of America, He is not a
wealthy as his brother, but manage
to worry along on the income from
fortune estimated at between $4,000,
900 to $s5, 900, ,0G0. He is Baptist
and a regular church attendant. H
has not acquired his brothers habi
OF distributing millions for education
al purposes. His best known gift wa
100000 to Wellesley college.