Omaha daily bee., 1915-10-03
ODD FADS OF FINANCIERS
Peculiar Hobbies Of Men at the
Forefront Of the Business
World.
NOVELTY IN RAILROAD BUILDING


Every man, they say, likes anybody
else's business better than his own. The
corporation lawyer thinks he would make
good bank president, and the railroad
man signs for the pleasant career of the
stock broker
There Is some deadly attraction In
pursuit other than ones own. Men tire
OF the humdrum OF their work and ideal
re the callings OF others. The buster =
man is the more energy and enthusiasm
he throws into his favorite diversion
That's why II IL truism in Wall street
that a man Is less likely to ruin his bust
ness than be ruined by hts hobby.
There was once a man in Wall street
who had a great contempt for railroads
as they are built today Railroading
was not his business he hadn't the slight
est experience in It; he was in the oil
trade. But in his spare moments he used
to dream about building the model rail-
road. He was convinced that he could
construct better railway than anybody
else had ever done before,
Years advanced and the impetus only
grew stronger In the oil man. So when
he eventually became interested I'm a coal
property in Virginia he determined to
construct his highly exceptional road in
order TO carry the output of his mines to
tidewater; hence he called hts proposed
line the Tidewater railroad
The oil man adopted the most advanced
methods Of road building He used a
specially invented grading machine and
the roadbed was as smooth as ballroom
floor. Ninety pound rails were laid, the
locomotives were of the most modern
type. The newest form Of coal car was
put in use; In word. there was not an
Innovation, an attachment. novelty, an
Improvement suggested in railroading
that was not quickly utilized in the con-
| struction and equipment OF the Tidewater
road. 1t was the oil mans especial fancy,
his JOY, his hobby. his obsession.
Secrecy in Everything.
A small suite or rooms was engaged in
a Wall street building as the executive
office of the road but none OF the officers
was ever visible. Secrecy surrounded
everything connected with the ideal rail-
road. The oil man refused to borrow q
dollar in the building of his pet line or to
| issue q bond, note or share of stock. II
was his pride TO advance personally every
dollar that was needed for the cost of
construction.
Ill lne TthllTOau men In the
country were deeply interested In this
| rich mans hobby. They waited expect
antly for the road to be opened to traffic.
Finally the great day came The trains
on the model railroad moved from the
coal mines to tidewater. where they de-
livered their black diamonds
Then the shocking discovery was made
that on the road that had been builded
~ he
important requirements had been over
looked. Return freight A roar of Ho-
meric laughter came from the railroad
world. Loaded cars ran all the way from
tho mines to the ocean. but there was
nothing to fill them with on their return.
Dismal lines of empty cars crawIed all
the way back to the coal region.
! The railroad men called II the Road
to Nowhere. They said that Henry H.
Rogers had better stick TO Standard OH
for the future and let railroading alone.
There were only words OF ridicue for
! the oil mans whim
! Then came the trying financial crisis of
! 1907 and brought in its train another
sensation. Wall street was filled with q
story of the biggest loan that had ever
! been made to an individual in the street,
history. Henry H. Rogers had borrowed
100000 on his personal note. He had
at last been compelled to borrow II for
his railroad. And the collateral security
for the note was Standard OIL stock.
! Well, fortunately his hobby didn't ruin
Mr.. Rogers, and his road has since been
taken over by others and has developed
into a splendid property Nevertheless
the old Tidewater is still recalled in Wall
street as the most dangerous example of
a rich mans hobbyhorse.
Fads of Wall street Men.
The fads of Wall street men are va
riegated assortment and run the whole
sequence of human tastes and emotions.
General Thomas H. Hubbard. the banker
and railroad financier. has a hobby that.
so to speak. takes him to the end of
the earth. IT lie Arctic exploration, and
many capes, peaks and tablelands in the
frozen north bear his name. He is de-
voted to the study OF polar exploration
and identified with nearly all the so
cieties that are organized in its interest.
No one can be In the offices of Bernard
| M. Baruch for many moments without
realizing that this successful market
operator. probably the most successful
in the Street. lie an enthusiast over motor
boating. Photographs on the walls de-
pict him as the central figure In his more