The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-09-01

PAID an annual Sdldry OF SoVUO as a SUI
perintendent. At the disqualification OF
the Standard Oil Company his $500 of
stock was exchanged for new shares,
having a face value OF $4,000 and a
later market value of more than $780,
900. Neither Col. Payne nor the German
baker, crushed competitors. is on rec
crd with harsh statements about the
men who squeezed them out Of bust
ness.
But Mr.. Rockefeller was in an auto
mobile at the opening paragraph of this
article. 1t Is in the afternoon. He
played golf in the morning. assisted by
three Italian caddies from a neighbour
ing settlement. One of the caddies car
ried his clubs. Another trlndled his
bicycle. After Mr.. Rockefeller makes
one of his long drives, say $50 yards.
he climbs on the bicycle. puts his feet
on the coasters, and the caddie pushes
him over the links to the waiting ball
in the grass The third caddie follows
with a rubber blanket bottle OF milk
and some crackers. II the ground is not
punk dry, Mr.. Rockefeller, when he
thinks he requires refreshment. care
fully seats himself on the blanket. and
peacefully nibbles his crackers and sups
his milk I have the hest of authority
for saying that he never eats, pic,
though he likes 1t. especially II made
OF lemons or cherries. In the language
of the New England transcendentalists.
he is n plain liver.
Years ago group of the importan.
sales agents OF the Standard met in
Cleveland for stimulation and confer
ence They were privileged to visit MIR.
Rockefeller one hot afternoon. Forest
HILL his favorite home contains 400
acres of land and eighteen miles Of
roads. The building IS OF hodgepodge
tof--r
sanatorium. The furnishings are 4 mix
ture of odds and ends. 4 painting Of
merit may hang between two chromos
OF Civil War scenes. Mr.. Rockefeller
loves to show his grounds to callers
and friends. They Tide in two-seated
buckboards: he in a low phaeton drawn
by 4 fat gray pony. The sales agents
were delighted. as they should have
been, because Forest Hill'' is a beau
tiful park. wherein 100 men are working
most of tho time. Still. 1t was a hot
day.
One of Mr.. Rockefeller Treats.
And now" Mr.. Rockefeller said when
the party had returned to the house.
II suppose you are thirsty and would
like to have something good to drink. y"
There was A general murmur OF pleas
ure and assent. Some clearing OF rusty
Threats besides And visions of iced
champagne. no doubt. With beaming
face and hospitable stride. Mr.. Rookie
Teller led the sales agents to the family
Wen.
Nowadays Mr.. Rockefeller motors in
the afternoon. Once in the country
away from knowing and staring eyes, he
ceases trying to make people believe he
is some one else. He may stop a farm
er to talk about the crops. Or he will
ask 4 country woman for glass of
milk. Likely as not he will inquire
about her church. II the Sunday school
Is to have picnic or the missionary
society is to hold a festival. he may
give the woman a dollar and tell her
to accept il as n little contribution from
Mr. Rockefeller Then he drives away.
happy in the thought, probably. that he
has done a good deed in a quarter where
It was entirely unexpected. He is re-
ported to have once said that he would
rather lose s1.oO0 than to be swindled or
wheedled out OF cents.
The man does not live. so far as Is
known, who ever got anything from John
D. Rockefeller without giving back an
equivalent Of one kind or another. Waste
is a moral delinquency and an economic
tragedy in his opinion. He saw the
Cuyahoga River greasy with the refuse
of his refineries. Chemists were ordered
to work and a score or more Of valuable
by-products further increased the fabu-
lous revenues of the Standard Oil Com
pany. 4 wealthy friend once threw away
a half burned cigar in Mr.. Rockefeller's
presence. Were I a smoker" he said
in seriousness. Il could not afford to be
that extravagant."
No detail of life. of religion or business
is too small for his notice. He sees
everything, he thinks for and about every
one with whom he Is closely associated.
short discourses on economy and mo-
rality. Formerly, and it is probably so
now, his days were divided among tasks
and diversions down to the very minute.
Throughout the day. from the moment
he arose in the morning until he went to
bed at night, he lived by time card. So
did his children. System has been the
law Of his existence. He began as a boy
of fifteen to contribute a certain proper
tion of his money to religion and charity.
But he has never given penny or a
dollar unless he has believed that 1t
would be spent prudently and to the pur-
pose for which 1t was solicited.
Two Ladies' Who Went alleging.
"I remember that two well known
ladies came into Mr.. RockefelieTs Office,
more than forty years ago. and asked
him to help the Woman's Christian Asso-
ciation." a Cleveland man told me. It
happened to be present, for 1 was an
humble worker in his company. Mr..
Rockefeller cross examined the women
for fifteen minutes. He asked them what
they paid for coal, how much they spent
for rent and all about their work. going
into the most insignificant details at great
length. Then he gave them n check for
$780, which was a handsome donation for
a person in his circumstances. After the
women had gone, a man in the office
whose name is of no importance, said:
John, why did you haggle with those
ladies'? You know they are all right.
Tho contribution you made was fine in
spirit and very generous but you almost
spoiled it by treating those good women
like professional beggars.'
Il wanted to find out Mr.. Rockefel-
Ter replied. II they were using their
money wisely"
his practice OF keeping his opinions and
difference toward everything except his
household, his business and his church,
have made him a riddle even to his
neighbors and his fellow occupants OF
the amen corner. He has said that he
learned human nature while helping COL
lect 5000 with which to pay church
debt. He was a young man then, and
his lesson must have been brief. It is
true, perhaps. that he understands hu-
mainly better than humanity under
stands him. As a boy, he Is said. to
have put a note of humility into his
musical voice. MY good brother" is
one OF his favorite phrases of saluta-