Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-11-02
COCHRAN, SPHINX,
BUT CASH TALKS
Sportsman Who viii Defend
Americas Cup Worth
S4O,OO0,Oo0.
,eeisi Corrpsrondence Of Tho STAR.

Special Corrpsunndenoe Of Tn" Star.
NEW YORK. October 81. 1919
II probably happened about Ike this,
Alexander Smith Cochran, the Sc onf
richest bachelor in the world AMI the
inventor OF the only system Of pauci'o~uv
look II up in the bic book-that ever
worked. walked into the Office of WI lam
GARNER Sesi~ner OF Yachts Guaranteed
10 sal in ri ate geCmetr:cal eg Tres around
other yachts Mr. Cochran sad:
"'Mornine.'
Mt Gardner said. Morning"
Mr.. Coo hiram said. Blu Id me a sloop TO
beat Upton
Mr.. Gardner ga d. How bie?'
Mr. Cochran said Seventy five footer.'
Mr. Gardner sad All right.''
Mr. Cochran said Good by"
Whereupon Mr. Cochran iSelv walked
out feeling that he had thro n away a
fine. pearly morning in die bahb Fo X
used to say of certain senator that ne
was as noisy as a dumb Kitten n four
feet of snow Cochran would make that
senator sound like a fire arm on Sat
urday night So far rs the records show.
he never talked of h mself but once. Then
ne was compelled to 20 on record He
which covered all the hard facts he
thought the pubic was EMIT. ed to. He
hasn't talked since
Never SAD a Word.
For nine years Cochran has been a
member Of the New York zach. Club
During those years many dukes and lords
and dubs have been entertained at the
club II Cochran ever en- ertasned any.
ne meyer told. Every now and then dur
ing those nine years Sir Thomas Linton
would come to hard boil tn al that
cup lifting enthusiasm W thin him Then
there would be columns in the payers
Cochran never peeped When Upton chal-
benged this year no enc thought OF
Cochran as possible cup defender.
That's what he gets for being cussed
noiseless Other members OF the club
made up a grouchy syndicate. and to
Herreshoff to go ahead, dang t. and
build sloop to defend the Americas
Cup once more against the surging Sir
Thomas And they hoped II would be
for the last time. md still Cochran
hadn't so much as whispered.
Is Silent Sportsman.
Folks might have thought of him. at
that. He Is one of the real sportsmen OF
the country as well as the most untalka-
tive ones. asst year his schooner West
ward cleaned up everything on the other
side of the Atlantic. The previous year
she had coasted arouni everything on this
de Cochran sold her when he found
she was too fast to find a fair "a e. He
wants nothing more than an even break
when he goes suorting. Horse racing
had been faded hack to the county fairs
two years ago The men who had been
making monev out of IL had mostly gone
TO ticket specializing and gypping aItos |
So that Cochran started In with fresh
enthusiasm. He bought gooi stable-he
pa s210O for HIS Majesty. among 9TH
e-s-contr buted heavily tn the fund which
made racing possible in New York state
and also gave to the replenishment sub
scr'ption .und. the purnose of which is
10 import topnotch breeding stock for the
governments rernount farms.
Fond Of Other Sports.
But all the time that he did things he
said nothing He aeroplanes and arto-
mobiles and plays polo and other games
But he doesn't talk. So that not many
people know anything about him. Now
that he has rallied-siIertly. speechlessly
mutely. but still a rally-to the defense
Of the Americas cup It's time that foias
found out
He is thirty-n'ne years cd. tall very
far. slender. gray-eyed. and democratic
Guessers say that he has Si0Gm.0U-
and 1t is known that he has no wife, He
Is the head of the larges' carpet factory
In the worid-sa.d factory being in
Tonkers-where 7.efn men and women are
employed under almost local conditions.
He pays good wages. the physical condi-
lions of his plant are good, and with
out prying into the part cular little
secrets of his employees he has helped
them TO provide themselves with means
of pleasant social intercourse. In some
shops they call that welfare work.
lie plays many games fo- exercise.
Yachting Is the s0ort n which he is in
terested heart and soul. Any one with
&y ~
time. and he Is friendly as can be. Bur
he is also very reserved and very
dign.1ed man. No one ever attempts to
become familiar n repose his clear-cut
features seem decidedly cold. He Is
rather pale and we'll set up He did not
go in for athletics at Yale, and yet he
is an athlete.
Is Third Generation.
Cochran Is the third generation of the
carpet Cochrans of Yonkers, When he
left Yale no member of his family tried
20 influence him. The Cochrans do not
talk very much anyhow. Neither do the
Smiths OF his mothers family. and the
principal owners OF the carpet works The
colleg an might have devoted himself to
arboriculture. tangos. Greek roots or So
ciety and no Smith or Cochran would
have commented He bought a suit of
overalls and went to work In the carpet
factor AS fast as he cleaned up one
branch of carpet knowledge he started
for another. BY and by he entered the
selling end-and some OF the old timers
admitted that he was worth q larger
salary than he ever received II his
carpet ia tory were to teetotaliy blow
up tomorrow he could still make a good
living as long as the world uses carpets
So by and by he inherited the works.
He's there yet.
Chain Lightning in Action.
He decides problems rather quickly