Evening journal., 1914-01-16
NEW MEMS OF YESTERDAY
HOW the Texas State House
at Austin Was Built
BY Holland.

/ was present one afternoon. two or
three years ago, at little informal
gathering of business men in New York
city and heard some very interesting
anecdotes OF the narrow chances by
which this or that business man had
either escaped bankruptcy. or on the
other hand had failed to realize an
enormous fortune when it was uncon-
sciously within each.
- have often thought said j. NJ.
Requa, who was for many years asso-
ciatcd with one of the largest CONNER
ci0l houses in New York which was en-
gagged in the China and East India trade
what Charles Farwel would have said
or what his brother. j. Y. Farwell. the
great merchant of Chicago, would have
thought had anyone said to them that
they had in their hands at one time
the possibilities OF fortune OF many
million dollars.
-. v Farwell was one of the clever
cst-headed OF business men. possessing
remarkable capacity for accurate lore
sight. His brother. whom everybody
calls Charlie" was United States
Senator IN Hayes administrati n. lie
was most delightful companion
Essly ybody liked him.
y. v. Farwcll, and / presume his
brother also. secured a contract from
the State OF Texas for the erection of q
State House at Austin. The agreement
was that it was To be paid for with "a
yery large amount of Texas land sew
fulfilled by the Farwells in generous
measure. and il was presumed that
they would be adequately paid by this
grant of state land
But it SO happened that just about
the time these lands were acquired
there was setback so far a. the csti-
mation of Texas land property was
concerned For that reason the Far
weils found it impossible to sell the land
10 an English syndicate, so that they
decided to organize q company which
should utilize these ranches. That
however. did not succeed very wen.
AT last the Farwells were able to
make what they thought was an eN-
tremely good trade They snapped the
Texas lands for some mining properties
in Northern Minnesota, which were pre-
sumed to have more marketable quail
ity than the Texas lands. These mining
lands were bonded and in that way
gradually disposed Of So that al last
the farwel-. in this indirect manner
realized upon their Texas contract.
"lt was not until some wears later
that the discovery was made OF the
enormous wealth which was in these
iron mines. Some of them passed into
the possession OF John ID. Rockefeller
have heard it estimated that the min
eral lands which the Farwclls possessed
would have yielded them, it they had
been living mt the time of the great
development of iron mines of Northern
Minnesota, from thirty to forty million
dollars
"fhat. OF course, is rough estimate
but there is no doubt that these mines
were worth many millions. although
their extraordinary richness and money
value were not demonstrated until some
years after the Farwells parted with
their property-n fact. / think, not un.
iii some years after the death of both
brothers.
But said Mr.. Requa meditatively
"there are a good many cases OF msus-
peoted wealth which men Of good
Judgment and excellent forecast hav,
let Slip through their hands only TO be
discounted little later by the rcaliza.
tion OF their lost opportunities.