Empresses of finance
are figures of mighty im
portance in the industrial
scheme of the twentieth
century. In the United
States their hold is
strongest. The grip of feminine im
perialism has been vastly enhanced by
the recent succession of Mrs. Mary
M. Harrington, wife of the late rail
road Napoleon, Edward H. Harriman,
to practically complete control of
$100,000,000, representing holdings
over almost the complete railroad
skeleton of the United States. She
is now the world's wealthiest woman,
and in the etiquette of the court of
doHar marks, she marches to the van
of an auriferous galaxy of money
queens.
The female sovereigns of history
who ruled and" practiced despotism
over millions of subjects, declared
war. surrounded themselves with pan
oply and display, and through caprice
caused the death of thousands, had
no such amount of power for good or
evil, as these modern women mon
archs. They w«ield sceptors over mul
titudes of industrial workers with
even more completeness of authority,
so far as the aim of bread-winning
goes, than the debt-ridden queens of
old who measured force by a count
of swords and lances.
THE stupendous figure $36S,000,000
sums the resources of a dozen of
America’s wealthiest widows. It
is impossible, of course, to give the
exact figures. The public statements
are not to be relied upon, always, and
it is believed the estimate here given
would fall under instead of over the
mark. A dozen other names might
!*■=* added to the list, almost doubling
its totals.
it is hard to imagine what could be
' done with this stupendous sum of
money. The mere figures are too great
to be grasped. It is only when com
parisons are made that one may un
derstand what $368,000,000 means.
•These 12 widows could buy all the
re&l estate of Chicago at its assessed
valuation of $344,399,927, and have a
* trifle of more than $20,000,000 left
: with which they could place a gold
. wire fence around the great city in
.order to keep out the trespassers.
•They might, if they owned the city,
legally evict all its inhabitants and
turn the metropolis into a deserted
village—unless such an extreme ex
.ercise of the privileges of ownership
‘should create a revolution.
At six per cent, interest as a total
income on their combined fortunes
they could keep the city running, in
i eluding the fire and police depart
ments, and have houskeeping money
left without intrenching upon their
capital. The expense of operating all
the schools in the city would hardly
take their pin money. t
•P
GETTING away from Chicago, and
seeking a broader outlook, out
of their estimated income these
12 women could with ease shoul
;der the interest on the national debts
of any of the following countries:
New Zealand, Bulgaria, Canada,
Denmark, Egypt, Greece, Mexico,
Netherlands, Norway, Roumania, Uru
I«uay.
They could assume the total debt
of this combined array of nations:
Switzerland. Bolivia, Nicaragua, Sal
vador, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Persia,
Peru, Siam, Venezuela.
Their wealth is greater than the
whole of the real estate property and
improvements in any of these states
in the union:
Vermont. Delaware. Indian Terri
tory, Idaho. Wyoming. New Mexico,
Arizona, Nevada.
They could purchase all the man
ufacturing machinery, tools imple
ments and equipment of the great
manufacturing group of New England
states. With the exception of New
York, Chicago and Philadelphia this
combination of woman-controllel
wealth outweighs the value of the
manufacturing product in any city in
the country. St. Louis, fourth in the
list, measures barely more than ha.f
this feminine total in its manufactur
ing output.
THE queens of old maintained
bands of men a* arms whom they
hurled at rival powers for gain
and glory, as well as using them to
keep their own subjects in a humb’.e
mood. But what an army and navy
could be retained by these empresses
of to-day! See what Holland accom
plishes for scarcely more than one
half the annual income of these worn- i
en. It maintains an army which has
a war footing of 68,000 men, and a
navy of 72 ships, manned by 10,7;50
sailors.
In the cause of mercy and peace the
energies of these women mostly are
directed, and the above estimate is
offered only for purposes of compari
son. This court of sovereigns could
launch a publicity campaign in the
cause of peace and disarmament such
as the world has never seen. They
could erect temples for the propaga
tion of peace with greater facility
than Andrew Carnegie built his wide
spread libraries. In time of war, com
bined. they would be the greatest fac
tor in supplying the needs of both
land and sea for the hospital corps.
In the name of charity they would
be the most powerful combination on
earth. It is quite likely that they
fying their soul yearnings for Paris
gown creations is unlimited as space
itself. The hand-painted, gold-thread
ed glories of their dress opportunities
would thrust into shadow all the at
tributes of a female Aladdin.
Not all of these women nave butter
fly inclinations. Mrs. Hetty Green is
the star exception. Her fortune is
largely self-built and was not inherit
ed or deeded, as is the case with most
of the 12. A cumber of them manage
their possessions under the careful su
pervision and counsel of trained ad
visers. A few, including Mrs. Potter
Palmer, deem the cares of sordid busi
ness a minor feature of life, and turn
to the signing of checks and docu
ments only when such matters are
pressing. Society represents their
world, and the financial tumult beyond
its purlieus has no interest for them.
Mrs. Russell Sage, perhaps, is better
known than the rest for her activities
along charitable lines since the death
of her husband left at her disposal
wealth amounting to many millions.
Mrs. Phoebe Hearst also is widely
known, particularly in California,,for
her benefactions in the aid of higher
education.
ALL EYES now are turned on Mrs.
Harriman, who has mounted the
throne left vac-cant by her hus
band and holds the reins of his power
almost completely.
Mrs. Harriman was Miss Mary Av
erell, daughter of the late W. J. Aver
ell, a banker of Rochester, N. Y. She
has railroad antecedents, for her fath
er built up his tidy fortune in the
Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Rail
road Company. The Harrimans' 36
years of married life was ideally hap
py. Mrs. Harriman brought her hus
band financial aid in his early strug
gles in the market. It was assistance
which came when it was most valua
ble to him. He never needed it again,
for his administrative ability soon
won him the support of Kuhn, Loeb &
Co., the National City bank and the
powerful Standard Oil clique. There
after the help of his wife did not lie
FOUR OF THE RICHEST WOMEN IN THE WORLD.
I
YW.&.
\Zm>s
r~
\\Z?JETTr’ ^
Mistresses of Millions of Dollars That They May Expend as Their Fancy
Dictates.
have done more individual good in
this line than any other dozen per
sons now alive from the strictly finan
cial standpoint.
THE mind totters at the unlimited
opportunity presented to these
women to indulge themselves in
the foibles of their sex. They could
corner the millinery output of the
world. They could swerve the fash
ions of the planet to suit their own
individual complexions and prefer
ments. The amount of ribbons and
furbelows they could purchase might
reach to the moon and back.
The leeway they possess for satis
In the line of financial assistance.
On Mrs. Harriman’s shoulders now
will rest the management of the 43,
000 acres of the Arden estate, the com
pletion of the great house on which
Harriman had spent J2,000,000 without
living to see it finished. It is possible
that Mrs. Harriman will carry out in
detail those plans of public benefac
tion—parks, forests and reservations
—which it is known Mr. Harriman
cherished, though he makes no men
tion of them in his will.
It has been pointed out that, by
making no bequests to children or rel
atives. Mr. Harriman avoided a large
share of the enormous inheritance tax
&®©©©©©©£$©$<5©i£©©®©©©©©©©©
£ ESTIMATED WEALTH OF 4
X 12 AMERICAN WIDOWS. j|
£ Mrs. E. H. Harriman..$100,000,000 ^
'X Mrs- Russell Sage.. 70,000,000 X
X Mrs. Hetty Green... 60,000,000 X
X Mrs. Wm. B. Leeds.. 30,000,000 £
X Mrs. Phoebe Hearst. 30,000,000 £
X Mrs. Jas. H. Smith.. 18,000,000 X
X Mrs. G. M. Pullman. 15,000,000 $
X Mrs. Cornelius Van- $
X derbilt, Sr. 15,000,000 f
X Mrs. Morris K. Jesup 10,000,000 X
£ Mrs. Wm. K. Thaw 7,500,000 ©
X Mrs. Potter Palmer. 7,500,000 A
X Mrs. H. H. Rogers.. 5,000,000 «
X ' y
X $368,000,000 X
£ Assessed Vaiua
X tion of all Chica- £
X go real estate for £
X 1908 .$344,399,927 $
which, under the laws of New York,
otherwise would be imposed. Mrs.
Harriman's dower rights are subject
to no tax whatever, and the remaining
two-thirds of the estate to a tax of
only one per cent., as against a graded
classification which in some instances
runs to five per cent.
Besides Mrs. Harriman, those who
survive the railway king are Mrs. Cor
nelia Gerry of Newport, R. I. and
Misses Mary and Caroi Harriman,
daughters; and William Averell and
Edward Roland Harriman, sons.
IT IS interesting to view the extent
of Mrs. Harriman's railway holdings
which place her well at the head of
the world's rail magnates. In the ab
solute control of the Harriman estate
are the Southern Pacific system, the
Union Pacific system, the South
ern Pacific of Mexico, the San Pedro
Los Angeles & Salt Lake, the St. Jo
seph & Grand Island, the Illinois Cen
tral and the Central of Georgia. Dom
inant interest is held in the Baltimore
& Ohio: Cincinnati, Hamilton & Day
ton, and the Delaware & Hudson. In
terest of importance is maintained in
the Erie, the New' York Central lines,
Wheeling & Lake Erie and the Wa
bash Pittsburg terminal. Minor hold
ings are retained in the Atchison, To
peka & Santa Fe, the Chicago &
Northwestern, and the Chicago, Mil
waukee & St. Paul.
The extent of the Harriman money
empire further includes securities in
the Pacific Mail Steamship Company,
the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company,
and the Wells-Fargo Express Com
pany. The latter corporation now has
the largest individual express monop
oly in the republic of Mexico.
The real estate holdings of the Har
riman estate measure less than $5,000,
000. Most of this is represented in
the great estate at Arden.
It is expected that this galaxy of
the world's wealthiest' women will go
on in much the same old way, further
ing their financial interests, climbing
the rungs of society, or alleviating the
sorrows of the world, without giving
a thought to the extravagant possibil
ities of the aggregate of their for
tunes.
Wins the Prelate’s Prize.
Archbishop P. J. Ryan of this city
owes the children at the orphanage
maintained by the Altoona diocese of
the Catholic church a treat of candy
and they are impatiently waiting for
him to return here so he can buy the
best.
The archbishop, who was there at
tending the ruby jubilee of Bishop E.
A. Garvey, was taken to the orphan
age at Cresson by the bishop, and de
lighted the little folks with his fa
mous stories.
“Why is a stick of candy like a
horse?” he suddenly asked.
“I know," piped a bit of a lad.
“ Cause the more you lick it the
faster it goes.”
The joke was on the archbishop,
and he graciously promised to send
home the candy as soon as he re
turned home.—Philadelphia Record.
Fine Brazilian Orchid.
lirazi) is the land of orchids. Plants
of eight leaves are sold for nine cents
apiece: of 15 leaves for 18 cents: 20
to 30 leaves, 32 cents. Above 40 leaves
special bargains are made. This sea
son a remarkable plant of 206 leaves
was brought to market strung on a
pole and carried 40 miles by two men.
Such a plant has a blooming capacity
of 500 flowers. It was sold in Per
nambuco for $5; value in the United
States, $150.
NEWYORK 1 cJifc&GG | PHILADELPHIA I -sr. lows
SIpAY IN MERE WANTONNESS
Birds, Wolves and Others Animals
Seem to Delight in Butchery of
Weaker Brethren.
____ #
While usually our carnivorous ani
mals kill to supply their immediate
wants, still there are some species
which often kill for mere sport and
there are a few kinds of which some
individuals do not at some time kill
wantonly.
When 1 was a boy and there were
wolves in Maine I have known four
or five wolves to kill over 40 sheep
in a single night.
Some birds also kill for sport. All
orpithologists know of shrikes hang
iing up birds and mice which they do
not need. I have several times seen
sheldrakes kill scores of small fish
just for fun. They bit them, dropped
them and passed on.
I once saw the skins of a mink
which a. loup-cervier had killed. The
person who had It said that there was
a light snow, so he could see every
motion. The loup-cervier had appar
ently met the mink by accident on the \
ice. He had bitten it through the
back, dropped It and walked on.
Red squirrels will kill more young
birds than they can eat. I have known
an otter to pile up a large lot of suck
ers which he must have caught just
for sport. Lately a mink got into a
bait tank near here and killed nearly
all the live baits. The owner estimated
that there were several thousands.
House cats often kill birds which
they do not eat; they also often bring
in moles, frogs and snakes, which they
kill for the fun of killink. I have no
doubt that sable and fisher would kill
poultry just as mink and raccoon do
if they had the same opportunity.
Goshawks kill for sport I have
known a goshawk in one morning to
kill five ruffed grouse and leave them
after tearing them in pieces. Last
winter a goshawk was given ine which
had just killed two large Plymouth
rock hens.
It seems as if many animals and
birds take as much pleasure in killing
things for mere sport as many ot our
sportsmen and fishermen do.—Forest
and Stream.
HOW MUCH OF US IS ALIVE?
Scientists Have Discovered That a
Great Deal of the Human Body
Has No Vital Quality.
Everybody knows that not every
part of the living animal is alive.
Bones, horns, tusks, teeth, hoofs,
■claws, nails and hair are more than
half dead. The bile and digestive
juices are dead fluids. Milk, chycle
and blood itself are dead, despite the
Scriptural utterance that"*the blood is
the life thereof.” The ‘Dfood cor
puscles are truly alive, but the plasma
in which they float is as inert as any
other chemical substance. The lymph
and all the special fluids of the body
ilack the vital quality. The cells alone
live.
The cells do not surely die when
the Individual dies. In the Popular
Science Monthly for September Dr.
A. F. A. King notes that the liver con
tinues its functions when the man has
;ceased to breathe. The skin of “dead”
persons, their internal organs, bones
and joints may be successfully trans
planted into the living. In such cases
"the prevelent error that everything
must be either dead or alive, with no
intermediate gradations, becomes pro
nouncedly manifest,” Dr. King says.
What is life? Dr. King rejects Spen
cer’s definition, "the continuous ad
justment of internal relations with ex
ternal relations,” and defines life as a
temporary bundle of atoms or ions
capable of generating electrical en
ergy for its own uses. Dr. King be
longs to the school that points to the
phenomena of the electric fishes, such
as the torpedo, the electric eel, and
the skate, which shock and capture
their prey by their organic electrical
apparatus, and who think they have
evidence of electric currents that pro
duce the contraction of the muscles
and explain all phenomena of life in
motion. But Spencer’s definition of
life will serve to account for the con
tinuous adjustment of groups of cells
within the body after it has, as a'
whole, ceased to react upon its envir
onment.
Aeroplanes lie low when the wind
blows, but they defy wet grounds.
COACH OF MICHIGAN’S FOOTBALL ELEVEN
Fielding H. Yost, who shows the
Ann Arbor boys the proper way to
play the gridiron game, adopted a
new system in practice this' year.
Formerly “Hurry-Up,” as he is known
in the athletic world, did not put his
players through any scrimmage be
fore the middle of the first week, but
this season, with several hard games
ahead of the eleven, Yost decided to
take no chances and used his best ef
forts to prime the men for the work
they have to do. He expressed ap
proval of the way the men showed
up in the first attempt at trick plays,
and predicted a successful session.
GEERS A QUEER CHARACTER1
Veteran Reinsman Says to Pick a
Horse as You Would a
Friend.
‘•Horseman” takes rank with ' bank
er” or "merchant” in one’s mind after
talking with Edwin F Geers, the
greatest driver of racehorses of all
time. His appearance ignores chan
ticleer ties and strident trousers. His
speech is straight Noah Webster, soft
ened by a slight southern accent. And
his manner is the outward expression
of a man wholly absorbed with the
work he chose ’ because he loved it.
You never forget Ed Geers, once you
meet him. A man of medium stature,*
whose gray eyes look out from a ra
diant rim of squint furrows.
Geers, who stands out among the
famous horsemen of the country be
cause of his splendid driving and the
fact that he will not stand for any
“fixing” of the day’s schedule, was
returning from a day’s work. His
best horse. The Harvester, is valued
at $40,000.
.“The only way to pick a horse is
just the way you’d pick a friend,” he
said. “Beauty doesn't count. You
look him square in the face, and if he
has a good head, full face, a fine eye
and a good natiired ear, he’s all right.
If he looks like a convict let him
alone.”
“I was thinking of the horse that
gave me my start,” he said. "He was
as hairless as a mangy dog, and his
tail was a scraggly affair, but 1
coached him for a race and I sold him
for $225 more than 1 bought him for.
CRAWLEY OF THE MAROONS.
Considerable apprehension was felt
at the beginning of the season when
Crawley, the right half-back of the
Chicago university eleven, was hurt in
practice. It was feared that the in
jury to his foot would keep him out of
the big games. He was forced to miss
the Purdue game, but the injury mend
ed more rapidly than expected and
ti.e star was again if the Uno-ut when
the next game came on
A Fairy Story of To-Day.
They were going to the theater. He
had reached home at 6:30 o'clock, and
an hour later was ready to start
There was just time to reach the play
house by eight. She had had nothing
to do all afternoon except to dress,
yet it was 8:1 when she came from
her room with her hat and coat on.
"I am afraid we shall be late," Bhe
said.
“You look so lovely," he replied,
kissing her, “that it would have been
worth waiting another hour for yon.”
GREAT PLAY BY COLLINS
His Feat of Throwing Out Three Men
on One Batted Ball Never
Duplicated.
Billy Purtell, Lee Tannehill Harry
Sleinfeldt, Jimmy Collins and several
other big league stars are high-class
third basemen, but it is a cinch that
not one of them ever accomplished
the feat chalked to the credit of one
Jimmy Collins. Collins performed the
wonderful feat of throwing out three
men at the plate on one batted ball,
which is something never before
equaled in the annals of big league
baseball.
Ft all happened in the year 1902 when
Collins was a member of the Boston
team. The scene of the feat was the
Boston American league park and
three Cleveland players were the vic
tims. Bradley was on second and
Jack McCarthy on first, when Goch
nauer sent a short single to left.
Collins got the ball and shot it to
Catcher Farrell a yard ahead of Brad
ley. McCarthy was scooting toward
third at this juncture, and Farrell
threw back to Collins to get Jack. The
toss was poor and McCarthy tried to
score. Jimmy proved a good retriev
er. He chased the ball to left, recov
ered it, and spun it home in time to
get McCarthy.
Goclinauer, who had been having a
nice time on second all this time, now
started for third, and again Farrell's
throw was poor. The coacher at third
took a long chance and waved the
' go home” signal to Goch. Johnny
kept on, if going at the speed he used
to travel can be called “keeping on.”
“Make it three,” yelled the crowd,
and Jimmy did. He found; the ball
somewhere out in left field, and by a
long and accurate throw to Farrell
retired the third and last Cleveland:
runner.
SPORTING ITEMS
Abe Attell, the featherweight cham
pion of America, had the better of
Charley Miller of Philadelphia in six
rounds at the Douglas Athletic club.
Attell had not trained any for the
bout.
Robert Millington, manager and
half-back of the Pottsville high school
football team, was fatally Injured in
a fottball game with the Shamokin
high school eleven at Shataokin, Pa.
The University of Wisconsin base
ball team lost a chance to tie the Keio
university nine at Tokio, when the
visitors went down to defeat in the
fourth game of the series, three of
which have been won by the Japanese.
Col. W. H. Mosby, the well-known
trainer of the Valley Farm stable,
died at Hamilton, Ont. He was re
lated to Col. Mosby, who fought on
the side of the south during the Civil
war.
Rube WTaddell is still crowing over
the hold he retains upon the Ameri
can league fans in Philadelphia. On
the day he recently pitched against
the Mack men a crowd of 8,500 turned
out in the face of a threatened down
pour. Ordinarily the attendance
would have been less than 5,000.
The Phillies were the only team in
the National league to lose a game by
forfeit in the season just closed. The
players, following the benching of
Moren and Dooin, refused to resume
play. Umpire Mullen gave the game
to New York.
In winning the Future stakes at the
Southern Circuit meet in Memphis,
Blank S., a Missouri pacer, established
a new record for the track—a mile in
2:06.
No. they were not bride and bride
groom. They had been married ten
years. But what is the use of telling
you any more? As you can »ee by
this sample, you wouldn’t believe It,
anyway.
Miss Knox—What was It you aald
about Miss Gidday?
Mr. Goodley—I said .her age sur
prised me greatly. She doesn't look
30, does she?
Miss Knox—No, not non-. I suppese
she did, though, at one time.—-Stray
Stories.
1 POSSUM OF '
i
Lord Northcliffe Says Germans ^
Are Getting fleady.
_ »
' Most Powerful of British" Peers De*
Clares England Sleeps While Kais
er’s Country Is Arming for
an Emergency.
Chicago.—Lord Northcliffe; other
wise Alfred Harmsworth, publfsher of
the London Daily Mall, and London
Times, the Overseas Daily Mall and
41 other important publications in the
I English language, favorite of King Ed
ward VHL, and perhaps the most in
fluential man in modern* British
thought, in an interview in Chicago,
declared Germany Is preparing for
possible war, while England sleeps.
“The Americans are so busy with
the affairs of their own gigantic con
tinent that they have not the time to
study European politics.
"There is an impression in this
country that some hostility exists be
tween the peoples of Great Britain
and of United Germany.
“I know the Germans intimately.
Prom childhood I have traveled ex
tensively thoughout most of the Ger
man states. I have many German
family connections, and I venture to
say that, outside the usual body of
Anglophobes one meets in every coun
try,. there is little hostility to the
British on the part of the Germans.
And, on the other hand, there is in
England no dislike of Germany. Au
contraire, our statesmen are adapting
German legislation to our needs, and
if imitation be the sincerest form of
flattery the Germans must be pleased
with our proposed reproduction of
their workingmen’s insurance, their
labor bureau, and a great many other
legislative improvements that it ap
pears to me, would be just as vital to .-A
the United States as they seem to be
to Great Britain.
“Why, then, if so happy a state of
affairs exists between the two na
Iv X\\ I I
Lord Northcliffe.
tions, should there be any section of
people in England to suggest the pos
sibility of war? Turn back to 1869.
Was there any friction between
France and Prussia? There was no
hostility on either side. But any
reader of Bussche's Bismarck, or oth
er standard authority on the great
German empire binder, will acknowl
edge there was immense preparation
on the part of Germany—a prepara
tion that was kept secret as far as
possible and which also, as far as pos
sible, is being kept secret by Germany .
to-day. p
“As to that which is transpiring; in
the German shipbuilding yards, wo
more or less know that by 1912 Ger
many, in ships of the super-Dread
naught class, will be the equal o€ Eng
land.
“If we were in your position, able
to grow our own food on our own acres,
it would matter little to us if we had
merely an ornamental navy sueh as
Ambrose Bierce describes this month ,
in Everybody’s Magazine—an article i
which every American ought to read. I
But how few Americans realize that
our food is brought to us from Aus
tralia, Canada, much of it from this
city of Chicago and your western
wheat fields, from the Argentine re
public—nearly ail of it from over the _
sea. —
two or tnree days ago i was at
San Francisco, where your govern
ment has spent an immense sum of
money in fortifying the Golden Gate
against an imaginary Japanese attack
Throughout the greater part of your
Pacific slope the Japanese, depleted
as they are by a great war. Infinitely
Inferior as they are to you in popula
tion, situated an immense distance
from you, with no coaling station oi>
your shores, are looked upon as a
dangerous opponent.
“Even if It were possible for them
to cross the Pacific to attack you—a
more than ridiculous assumption, hav
ing in view a hundred and one con
tingencies, including the Anglo-Japan
ese alliance—what damage could they
do?
“I see it suggested in the Ameri
can papers that there is some kind
of a scare in England. I wish there
were. Our public has been warned
by the prime minister, by the minis
ter of foreign affairs, by many of our
leading men, such as Mr. Frederick
Harrison and Lord Roberts, by prom
inent journalists, including Mr. Stead,
and by others, but they have not yet.
as you say, begun to sit up and take
notice.
Australia Seeks Meeting. .
The meeting of the British Associa
tion in 1913 will in all probability be V f
held in Australia. The effort is being \
made by the officials of the University ,
of Melbourne, who are now in corre
spondence with the various education
al and scientific bodies of the south
ern continent.
Appropriate Decoration.
‘‘I see where ‘Cook hats’ are to be
all the rage this winter, f wonder
how they will be trimmed.”
“I should judge with'wreaths of the
ice plant.”
-
