The New York herald., 1922-07-23


by . chronicle OF the doings or say
ings of some individual apparently
impregnable to the assaults Of time
-. some one whose mental and
physical vigor have long outlasted
their contemporaries; a hardy peren-
nial such as Chauncey NJ. Depew or
John A. Stewart, the financier, or
DR.. Stephen Smith. Father of Medi-
cine In America"
I The interest in these invincibles
and others of their astonishing
breed and the attractiveness of
their truly marvellous resistance to
the wear and tear Of existence is
such. indeed. as might suggest that
the persistence of very old men in
active affairs is common enough;
that business and Wall Street are
well supplied with them. OF course
this is not the fact. They are rather
rare and are entitled to even more
of the admiration than an occa-
sional mention evokes.
Depews are rare. Stewards and
Smiths are not found in every street.
And such a brisk old gentleman as
James H. Whitehouse. the hero, if
one may put it so, of this article, is
as uncommon as wild flowers in
Broadway. Not that Mr.. White
house suggests a wild flower in the
least. for his fersonality is of the
orchid family. the cultivated orchid:
but let the simile stand. It's stanch
enough.
The extraordinary old gentlemen
whom we are accustomed to acclaim
upon the reminiscent occasions Of
their birthdays are seldom active"
in the exact meaning OF the word.
Mr.. Rockefeller at s3 plays golf,
goes steadily to worship and takes
infinite care of his health but he has
long since, we are told. retired from
the cares of business. Mr.. Depew,
1t is true. is to be found about every
day at the desk Of the chairman of
the board of the New York Central
Railroad, pretty much occupied, but
In sheltered way. and DIR. Smith
at the century mark appears only at
times. Few of their great age are to
be found in the toll and mol Of bus
ting business. still engaged in the
give and take of moneymaking. Mr..
Whitehouse. however. Is one of this
unconquerable few.
!. The Spryest Young Fellow.
Behold him at the threshold of his
.SSth birthday. a keen smart figure,
most modern: not looking within
twenty years Of the nonogenarian;
clothed in the most correct garments
that a Fifth avenue tailor can turn
out; always with a boutonniere at
the lapel of his coat He moves
spryiy among the throng of brokers
upon the floor OF the New York
Stock Exchange, senses as perceptive
and as alert as are owned by the
youngest trader of that aggregation
e~the spryest young fellow among
u.s." says Major Harrison K Bird OF
the Big Board. Not an important
movement or f1uctuation of the list
OF stocks escapes his mind, a mind
that has been swiftly disposing Of
such problems for sixty-five years in
fhat rapid company.
man might stand up for more than
IN ordinary lifetime in some mod
erateiy active occupation. such as
merchandising or one of the profess
eions, but it is patiently astonishing
that anybody could go through six
and a half decades of the violent ex-
btence of Wall Street. with all the
panic stresses and worries and all
the nerve strain Of thousand finan-
cial combats, and still retain a nota-
BILE measure Of youthful vitality
both Of mind and of body. But be-
cause he knows how to play, because
he has an all absorbing hobby"
which thoroughly refreshes weary
body and mind, he moves about at
the age of 50. and after sixty-five
years of strenuous labor with the
4nrinpiness nf a roufh This. -tatn-