The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-03-01
(By Francis Phillips)


! ing told here of the life of Edwin
| Hawley, the millionaire railroad
magnate who died here recently. They
relate principally to his handsome out
| of town estate, 1.-THE Towers" On Long
| Island, where he and his ward, Miss
| Margaret Cameron, a beautiful WOm-
! an now about thirty years of age, liV-
| ed in regal splendor for many years.
| Outside of few of his more intimate
business friends, none knew of the ex-
istence of Miss Cameron until after
| the death of the master of the man
sion. According to the stories now
being banded about, Hawley who was
often referred to by Wall Street finan-
ciers as ''the human icicle," because of
his uniform coldness purposely de-
sired and planned that no one should
know of her. 1t is said he had Sc
cret staircase built in the big house
to facilitate her disappearance when
ever any one visited him at 1.-The
Towers" Since he was a bachelor and
not accountable to any one for his
conduct, such extraordinary precau-
tons to shield her from the gaze OF
his callers are difficult to explain,
| even by those who were aware Of his
secret. Hawlev never allowed any
one to get close to him and never ex-
changed condolences with any human
being on earth, unless it was the
woman, who is to make a fight for
substantial share of the $40,0O0,O00 es-
tate he left on his death.
| And there is a suspicion that she
shared in few of his condolences, for
she is apparently as much up in the
air as to whether he made a will as
are his married sisters and nephew,
who have made claim for his property
on the assumption that he did not.
With the possible exception of the
chauffeur who took the railroad man
a
drives and the army of servants en-
ployed in the mansion, no one recalls
ever having seen Miss Cameron at
close range. The closest she came to
being caught in the presence OF
Hawley was on one occasion when they
pilgrimages into the country and
found a business friend of the mil
lionaire in the library awaiting his
| return. On learning Of his presence
the woman quickly disappeared
| through the secret passage. Where
to know for even the servants are
said to have never explored it. That
the chamber to which it extended
| was the retreat in which the young
woman immured herself whenever the
millionaire, entertained his financial
as highly probable. Stories are re-
lated of how Hawley ana the woman
frequently quarrelled over money
matters. On these occasions, it is re-
ported he was "stingy'' with her to
the point of parsimony. But when
they would make up he made
amends by lavishing on her jewels
and other extravagances fit for
| Queen. Who she is and where she
came from is as much of a mystery
| ass that concerning her life at "The
Towers" In this she is vastly differ
ent from Emily Grigsby, the beautiful
ward of the late Charles T. Yerkes.
| the Chicago and London railroad
! builder who was touted around Europe
| by the latter and proclaimed every
where as her friend and protector.
Yerkes, though he had beautiful
wife in New York, seemed to take en-
| tirely the opposite view of it to Haw-
| ley and encouraged his ward to fra
| ternize with other women. He estab-
| lished her in a big mansion of her
| own, appointed with the munificent
] appurtenances of a Duchess and took
! pride in her friendly intercourse with
the children of King George sand other
members of the royal family and the
| peerage.
| Roberta Johnes. the attractive
young ward of Robert Hoe, the mil
| lionaire printing press manufacturer.
who has been suing the Hoe Execu-
| tors for bonds she alleges he set aside
1 Tor Q6T, was similarly 6XplO1tou TDy nor
| protector. But then the friends OF
| Hawley say Hoe and Yerkes were in
-discreetly frank in taking the world
| into their confidence concerning their
! prediction for their wards, a thing
| Hawley never did in either his bus
mess or personal relations. To his
| great secretiveness in business mat
| tiers he owed much of his success in
| the railroad world and he evidently
! ina gined that what was good in one
| field must be wise and good in the
other. Inevitably the sisters of the
dead man are disposed to look upon
| Miss Cameron as usurper and to re-
| fer to her status in 1.-The Towers as
that Of a servant, but the facts dis
| closed since the death of Hawley
contradict this and show conclusively
that she was the admired and honOred
all the administrative privileges of a
| wife.
| Gentlemen who are hyper suspicious
about everything to which the name
Rockefeller DIS attached are curious
| about the purport of the plan inaugu-
rated here the other day by John D.
Rockefeller, jr., through his bible class,
/ to foster and stimulate marriage
among young couples. Those who
pretend to be psychic divine that it
has something to do with accelerat-
|
| and one other by-products of Standard
| Oil, including the much discussed but
ter made from kerosene, hailed as the
greatest discovery of the age, next to
| Mark Twain's patent corn cure.
| Young Mr.. Rockefeller thinks that
| the proper age for marriage is between
| % and 26 years After that the man
| or woman who sidesteps Dan Cupid's
darts is apt 20 get grouchy and sell
fish and become intractable to the re-
sponsibilities Of the married state. Mr..
| Rockefellers propaganda is proclaim
ed as q sincere desire to arrive at a
better understanding of the problems
of marriage, to the end that members
of the human family, who have
doubts as to it's advantages, may
come to TealiZa ton of its desirable
| ity. The first of the meetings to
! propa gate the idea, held the other ev
| enine under the personal supervision of
the Oil Kings son, brought out the
fact that he has some notions about
mother-in-laws that are not altogeth-
er in her favor. One of the speakers
| suggested that the best way for a man
to guage the availability of a girl as
a life partner, is to judge her mother,
who the speaker said generally moulds
| the character of her daughter.
mo! MOI" cried Mr.. Rockefeller,
| wheeling around. II don't think
you can judge her so. It is however,