The Meeker herald., 1913-12-06
Gates A SPEEDER
UNTIL HIS DEATH
Many Exciting Experiences 4
His Short Career.
100000 A YEAR III TIPS

AI~ays . Piunssr. He Delighted In
Lavish Expenditure.
Charles G. Gates. dead at thirty-sev-
en-, lived up to his motto. speed Is
life" Following in the footsteps Of
his father. John W. Gates. In the law
lsh distribution Of tips. ginning for
high stakes and plunging in the stock
market. he made himself conspicuous
also in the last few years for bis rec
ord breaking dashes across the conti-
nent In special trains. 1t was on one
Of these occasions that friend asked
him why he spent thousands Of dollars
to get to New York few minutes
sooner. aaa be replied. Speed is life"
1t was not until he went to New
York ten or twelve years ago that he
began to loom up in the news columns.
Al youth he had been In the steel
and wire business with his father and
later had entered Chicago brokerage
firm. where he learned the detnils Of
the business. Then be went east and
bought seat OIL the Stock Exchange.
Did q Huge Wall Street BUSINESS.
The heavy operations Of John ".
Gates were transferred to Charles q.
Gntes Il Co.. In which the father was
a member. and In the boom times that
preceded the panic Of 1907 1t did tire
mendUis business. It was nothing un-
usual for the firm to carry at times
more than 100000 worth Of stock
for its 1900 customers. and John w.
Gates said that for three years 1t did
about 8 per cent Of all the business
transacted on the Stock Exchange.
In May. 1907. the nrm went out Of
business. and the two Gateses. who
were constant companions. left for Eu-
rope. The house had been bullish at
the top Of the market In 1906 and was
supposed to he greatly extended. Wall
street figured that 1t dissolved with =
loss Of $4,000. 900. but John W. Gates
sturdily maintained that he and his
son were quitting at a profit How
ever. the elder Gates suddenly return
ed at the height Of the October panic
and. In common with other holders.
Esold his Tennessee Csal and Iron stes&
to the Steel corporation. z.
Little was heard Of Charles g. Gates
for two years or more. but In July.
1910. he returned from Paris. where
he had fallen III. and was operated on
for appendicitis. from which he soon
recovered.
The next fall he figured in story
that he had lost $4,000 in q gambling
house in New York. and. slthough he
poohpoohed the story. 1t was generally
credited He had long been familiar
figure on the race tracks and at gam
bling resorts. md on one occasion was
said to have won $4,000 at q sitting
In Reno.
Record Drsakins Train Trip.
His drst record breaking trip was
made in February. 1011. when he rode
to New York In special train from
Yuma. Ariz., 1900 miles. In seventy
four hours and nineteen minutes. In
Guiding stops. 1t was admitted after
ward that the purpose Of this trip was
to attempt reconciliation with his
wife. but the explanation made when
the train arrived was that Mr.. Gates
was suffering from an injury to his
ley received while he was crnnking a
fractions automobile In California and
that he had hurried to New York for
the surgical attendance he preferred.
The trip averaged about forty miles
an hour. including stops and the final
dash from Albany was made mt exactly
u mile minute. The fastest time was
from Toledo to Cleveland. 1903 miles. In
ninety seven minutes. The run from
Chicago took sixteen hours and forty
nine minutes. an hour and Ave minutes
less than the Twentieth Century lin
tied.
About six weeks after Mr.. Gates ar
rival It became known that his wife
was to sue for divorce. She was
Miss Mary W. Martin of st. Louis. and
they had been married thirteen years.
The details of the testimony were not
made public. but Mrs. Gates got her
finai decree on Aug. s. 1911.
Just a week later. while Mr.. Gates
was In Paris in connection with his
fathers funernl. the news came from
Minneapolis that he was to marry Miss
Florence Hopwood. and the wedding
took place on Sept. q. 1911.
Beastsd Of 100000 Yearly Tips.
He was noted for the enormous size
Of the tips he gave out wherever he
went. point about which he was ex-
ceedIngly proud. Asked about It once.
after the trip mentioned. he said:
81 give 100000 away in tips every
year. can't take It with me when
die. believe In spending It while I'm
alive. don't know how much 1t costa
me to live have more money now
than what father left me. work hard
the greater part Of every day. and !
believe in spending my money.
".rhis is life Of speed" he said. re-
ferring to his trip. 1.-THE faster the
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