The Washington herald., 1919-04-12
STUNNED FAKE
STOCK SCHEMES
Holland Tells of James Still
man Who Made Only
Three Mistakes.

OF the estate which was accumulated
by the late James Stillman was made
when he died than is customarily the
case when a man of great wealth
passes away. for it vss commonly as
sumed that the Inventory of Mr.. Still
mans estate would show a money
value Of about saO.OOo.ooo That esti-
mate was an accurate guess, because
none but the late John W. Sterling,
who was Mr.. Stillman's most intimate
friend and who was named as one OF
the executors. could have had accu-
rate, Information respecting the
amount of the estate and the variety
OF items which entered into it. Mr..
Sterling survived MT. Stillman for
only "A few months.
OF course, it was the fact that
man had accumulated an estate OF
s4oOoOOon. presumably much of 1t In
the last twenty years Of his life,
which caused the publication OF the
probate inventory to attract general
attention. The amount was rather un-
usual. Some of the very rich men
who within the past ten or fifteen
years have passed away were found
to have left estates OF not more thar
so. .o'0 COO and in the case of William
c. Whitney and the late c. ?. Hunt
ington. something under S0o.oOo,OGo.
worthless InVestments.
The appraisal of other large cs-
tates has shown that few men ac-
cumuIated 100000 and very few.
ss for instance Russell Sage and Jay
Gould and J. p. Morgan, accumu-
lated in excess OF S7OONN. 900. But $40
10000 is A rare figure for an estate.
But after all the feature of the in
ventorv OF Mr. Stillman's estate
, which has caused the most comment
among men OF large affairs. some Of
whom knew Mr.. Stillman well. was
not that he had accumulated $40
100000. but instead that in the long
list Of securities OF which he died
possessed there were only three items
which represented worthless invest
ments. In fact one of these was
really a gift which Mr.. Stillman made
in order to establish with other rich
men the New Theater-an enterprise
which was a dismal failure.
II seemed almost incredible that
man as cautious and yet as coura-
geous and as farseeinE as Mr.. Still
man was should have so invested
his fortune in a variety Of stocks
and bonds as to make II possible for
the appraiser to report that only
represented Investments that were Of
no account.
When the variety Of Mr.. Still
mans Investments was revealed
through the publication Of the ap-
praisers' report. then men Of large
affairs spoke Of the estate as prob
ably without any precedent so far
as successful Investment was con-
Cerned. other men of great wealth
were after their deaths found to have
& accumulated . a considerable mass of
securities worthy of the colloQutal
description Cats and Dogs" Even
Mr Morgan did not escape mistake
ICr unfortunate investments. IL the
common understanding be correct
John d. Rockefeller has met with
misfortune Of this kind. f. II.
Hartman was found to have7 coll
Ircted a lot OF worthless securities.
the VanderbiIts were singularly
successful in this respect, it being
unnecessary according to Chaunce-
NJ. Depew, TO write of any con-
siderable amount Of securities
which were found in the estate of
the elder Vanderbilt and Of his
son, William H.. but they were not
as successful as Mr.. Stillman was.
Mr.. Stillman's field Of investment
was discovered by the publication
OF the report to have been con-
siderabIy varied. He ventured in
10 many investments in the stock
Of banks. and this seems to have
been one of his favorite forms OF
investment.
He Ala not begin his career as bank
g. until he was well past 40 years OF
age In fact. not until he was asked
nF
Bank to become president of that in
st-tIItio, did he ever contemplate any
other business career than that OF
cotton commission merchant. In that
he was successful. and it was in line
with the traditions as cotton merchant
which his father had established.
He carly saw opportunities which.
with only one or two exceptions, the
banking leaders of New York had fall
ed to perceive. for greatly enlarginS
the scope OF American banking. He
re.Uzed what the opportunities of the
future were and as he was from the
frst very successful in building up
thc city Bank TO A pre-eminent posi-
ZION. il was natural that he should also
take an interest in general banking
opportunities
some men have hesitated about in
TeStfnE IN ndnN SloCN. FiuiNlPdiiE Dt-
cause of the stockholders liability.
But Mr.. StiIlman never hesitated on
that account. and he became. before
his death. as is now revealed by the
report. the largest individual stock
holder. so far as the number Of banks
in which he was interested Is con-
carned. in New York.
lie was not greatly interested in in
dustrial enterprises, excepting the
Standard Oil Company. He had un-
doubted opportunities in that asso-
citation for safe and very profitable in
vestnenet Of money. partly. no doubt,
on account OF his intimacy with the
Rockefellers and other Standard Oil
leaders.
Mr.. stilIman had great faith in the
American railroads. believing that
ultimately the snags and disasters
which legislation and bad as we'll as
dishonest management caused would
be eliminated and the stupendous and
prcper relation of American transpor-
tation to the growth and prosperity of
the country would at last be firmly
and satisfactorily established. He
was fully as great an .optimist upon
the future Of the United States as was
the late J. P. Morgan.
Railroad Securities.
He made investments in railroad Sc
curfties apparently without any mis-
take. The number and variety of
these investments and the aggregate
money value OF them reveal his busi-
ness wisdom, his capacity to grasp
opportunities ad his unusual power OF