Evening star., 1937-08-27


tduOrite portrait.
reSentative of big business and was
holding office in violation of law
prohibiting the Secretary of the Treas
ury from engaging in trade. Twice
efforts were made to remove him, but
his position proved unassailable. In
none of the congressional investiga-
tions were any of the charges sus-
tanned and no suit brought against Mr..
Mellon have been decided against him.
His attitude on prohibition was a
realistic one. Although devoting much
thought to reorganization of prohibi-
ton enforcement on a more efficient
basis, he pointed out in his annual
reports the great difficulties OF at
tempting to make wet States dry
against their wishes.
Born in 1855.
Mr.. Mellon came of Irish Protestant
stock. was born at Pittsburgh March
"a, 1855, and was the third of the five
sons of Judge Thomas and Sarah
Negley Mellon. His father resigned
from the Allegheny County bench in
1859 to establish the banking house
OF T. Mellon and Sons in anticipation
of day when the boys" would be
fltted to assume control Of the busi-
ness.
He received his early education un-
der the instruction of his father and
IN the public schools of Pittsburgh.
and attended the University Of Pitts
burgh as member Of the class of
1873.
After leaving college. Mr.. Mellon
engaged with his younger brother.
Richard B. Mellon, in the realty and
lumber business in Allegheny County.
Pa. In 1874. he became associated
with his father in the private bank
INK house of T. Mellon G Sons in
Pittsburgh: and upon the retirement
OF Judge Mellon from active business
in 1886, became senior partner Of
the firm. which in 1902 became the
Mellon National Bank with Andrew
w. Mellon as its first president. In
1889 ne was one OF the organizers and
became the first president of the
Union Trust Co, of Pittsburgh and
also helped to organize the Union
Savings Bank of Pittsburgh.
In the early 1905 he helped to or
ganlze the Mellon oil producing and
refining enterprises. including pipe
lines from the Western PENNSYLVANIA
Oil fields to carry oil to the refineries
on the Delaware River at Marcus
Hook, Pennsylvania In 1895 when
these properties had been disposed Of,
he organized the Gulf Oil Corp,
which has become an important fac
tor in the industry He was one of
the early investors in the Aluminium
Company of America and was active
in its development in the early days
when uses for the metal had to be
found. He was the organizer Of the
Union Steel Co. with wire mills and
other properties on the Monongahela
River, which later were merged into
the United States Steel Corp. He
also took leading part in organizing
and developing other large enterprises
such as the Koppers Gas and Coke
Co. of Pittsburgh; the Carborundum
Co. at Niagara Falls; the McClintic-
Marshall Construction Co., afterwards
merged with the Bethlehem Steel
Corp; the Standard Steel Car Co.,
later merged with the Pullman Corp,
and MANY other entorprisnS
Provided Gallery of Art.
One of his last great undertakings,
in which he remained keenly inter-
ested until his fatal illness, was the
National Gallery of Art, excavations
for which are now being made in the
Mall
Because Of that project he had re-
mained in Washington throughout the
Winter and during the excessive heat
of June until final decisions had been
made on the design and material for
the building and contracts let for
its erection.
During the Winter he rarely left
his apartment, except for short walks
on fine days, and on one occasion
when, at President RoOsevelts invita-
ton, he conferred with him at the
White House about the art project and
again in May when he went to Pitts
burgh to speak few words at the
dedication of the new building of the
Mellon Institute of Industrial Re-
search.
For years he had planned the Gal
lery OF Art personally inspecting the
available sites on the Mall; and all
through the busy years at the Treas
ury he continued to build up his COL
lection, adding paintings and sculp-
lures with the idea, as he later said
in his formal offer of the collection
to the President, that ultimately they
would become the property of the peo-
pie of the United States and be made
available to them in a national GAL
lery to be maintained in the city of
Washington for the purpose of en-
couraging and developing a study Of
the fine arts"
That collection experts have valued
at over $50.000,000 and have de-
scribed as the finest collection ever
assembled by any individual" It con-
tains only fine examples Of the great
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