The sun., 1919-08-08
.ADDICKS, NAPOLEON
OF CAS- DIES POOR.
Spent Millions in Effort to
Become U. S. Senator From
Delaware.
MARRIED THREE TIMES
Jail and Poverty Followed
His Spectacular Career
in Finance.

John Edward o'Sul1ivan Addicks, who
started life as an errand boy In a Phil
adelphia department store and later
made millions out Of manipulation OF the
stock Of gas companies throughout the
United States-and who spent a fortune
trying to be elected United States SEN
ator from Delaware---died here yesterday
afternoon. His death came after four or
Ave years of comparative poverty. which
for time reached condition OF actuai
want.
Mr.. Addicks was born In Philadelphia
in November, 1871. the son Of the Health
Ofiicer of the Port OF Philadelphia, and a
prominent politician of that city. He
was educated in the Philadelphia public
schools, and was graduated from high
school. When lie was IS, after having
worked for several years in store, ne
entered the flour business OF Levi
Knowles, and WIS made a partner In the
firm when he attained his majority. He
abandoned that after a few years. how
ever, and engaged in real estate opera
tons in Philadelphia. dabbling mean
while in politics 10 a certain extent. and
In 1877 he moved with his family to
Claymont, Del, where he lived for many
years.
Mr.. Addicks first became somewhat
Of a national figure In the financial and
commercial world when he introduced
the spring wheat from the Minnesota
districts to the farmers of the East. But
later his attention was called to the pos
sibiiities OF the then infant industry OF
producing water gas for Illuminating
purposes, and from that.tlme on most OF
his business activities were In that field.
although he occasionally took flyer In
railroads.
He made a fortune OF several million
dollars by his activities in the gas pro-
ducing field and became known through
out the United States as Gas" Addicks'
and was variously called by that name
and by the title of 1.-THE Napoleon OF
Gas" His activities received consider
able attention from Thomas w. Lawson
in his book. "Freuzied Finance" and by
many inanciers he was blamed for the
heavy financial reverses that overlook
many gas companies.
He built gas works in Jersey City and
| in Boston, Brooklyn and Chicago, OBJ
tanning franchises for the laying of pipes
| and the producing of gas and then sub
letting the contracts for himself. BY
| this means he was able to make tire
| mendous profits on whatever original in
vestment he put into the gas schemes
HIS was the prime mover in what wa.
known as the Chicago Gas Trust In 1882
He organised the Bay State Gas Com
pany in 1884. making fortune through
| that one operation. The great majorit!
of his operations In the gas field, how
ever, proved 20 be boomerangs and on
Of them grew litigation that finally mad
him a poor man and which kept hin
lodging subpoena servers and attach
| ment servers from one end of the coun
try to the other.
These troubles, added to the fact tina
his martial life took on TROUBLESOME
turns, soon depleted his fortune. and b.
1908 he had started down hill towar
poverty IL not actual want His forum
dwindled so that for several years afte
he had given over his ambition to con
troll the political fortunes of Delawar
and had been driven out of Delawar
politics by the du Pont interests. he wa
unable to raise the few thousand dollar
denla nded by the courts as bail in al
tachment proceedings and spent som
time in Ludlow street jail. He is sal
to have spent 100000 on his politics
lights in Delaware, which lasted froI
1883 to about 1905.
After his DISASTROUS encounter wit
the political force of the du Fonts /
Delaware ana the subsequent acSuhu
lation of legal troubles Mr.. Addicks wa
lost to view for a considerable time. al
though the legal fights against him con
tinued and judgments and attachment
piled up. The process servers at lengt
located him in Hoboken, where he wa
living in an exceptionally cheap tent
ment house, without gas or light--hi
light and heating gas had been turne
of by the same company he had former
ly controlled because he was unable
pay his bills--and he fled through III
window to escape them. This was
1907, and he kept effectually out OF the
way until 1918, when he was finally ar
pretended on a judgment for $4,000 oil
tained In 1910 by Hiram NJ. Burton.
Burton's attorneys and detectives ha
spent three years searching unsucces'
fully for Addicks, and when he appeare
in court before Justice Blanchard he In
the case put over two weeks and wa
released on $4,000 bail. But he nevs
appeared and the bail bond was forfeite
! and the $4,000 applied TO payment G
, Judgment Little more was then hear
, OF the former gas magnate until 1s1
when he was again taken into custod
/. - ,ha purton tud0ment Sinca than !