LIQUID AIR IN WAR.
. It ta strictly within the range of
(possibility thnt before the nineteenth
Hccntury, already on the brink of ex
tinction, hnn ended, a United States
battleship lying In the middle of the
Atlantic or Pacific ocean may hurl Its
enemy to destruction with thunder
bolt power rammed Into Its guns out
of the Invisible air, fays the San Fran
cisco Examiner.
Liquid air may drive Its engines, nil
the shells In Us magazines and send Its
projectiles on their resistless course;
and every particle of this tremendous,
many-sided power may bo manufac
tured behind the steel turrets of the
vessel thut uses It.
Liquid nlr, the explosive and the
driving power of the future, bb there
Is good reason to bcllevo It will be, is
rlmpty air condensed to the last pos
sible degree. What Mr. Trlpler effects,
with almost mnglcal ease, Is the pio
ductlon of compressed air, packed by
the withdrawal of Its heat and by the
force of gravitation Into the density of
. liquid. When he shall have applied
It to hurl a projectile from n thlrteen
Inch rifle with more than the power of
prismatic gunpowder, he will simply
liave perfected the alrgun.
There can be no question that Mr.
Trlpler is entirely right In asserting
that this power now exists, waiting to
be utilized. His experiments have
rully demonstrated that. If he had
reached, say, two years ago, the point
that he has attained today, and If the
present war had then been foreseen
and prepared for, Commodore Dewey
could have smashed the enemy's fleet
And fortlflcntlons at Manila with ex
plosive energies generated from the
very air whose breezes rippled the
waters of the harbor, and might now
be entirely Independent of home sources
of supply for hlB ammunition. Draw
ing the atmosphere of the Philippines
Into his condensers, as Mr. Trlpler
draws the air of New York Into his
laboratory apparatus, Commodore
Dewey would have had an Inexhaust
ible supply of power to navigate his
ehlps, to bombard the enemy, and to
meet any fresh fleet that might be
cent ngnlnst him.
With the air of Manila liquefied, he
could have battered Manila Into subjec
tion; with the air of Hollo he could have
conquered Hollo, and with the air of
the China sea compacted In hln cylin
ders he would now be ready to crush
any armada Spain could assemble and
no thanks to supplies from home.
It 1b not necessary to point out what
could be done with the fleets around
Cuba and In the Cnrlbbean sea If Mr.
Trlpler had been a year or two earlier
with his achievement. No running
back to Key West to flit the magazines;
no need to spare ammunition In knock
ing the San Junn fort to pieces for fear
thut Ccrvera might come nlong and
catch our ships short of powder. And,
perhaps still some Important, no tow
ing of colliers or seeking friendly portB
(or precarious supplies of cool.
Mr. Trlpler says that with the aid of
machinery driven by liquid air and act
Atlng auxiliary turbines, many knots
can be added to the speed of our present
hips, and a saving of perhaps nine
tenths of their coal could be effected.
With fifty tons of coal a ship furnlBhcd
with liquid air power could sail as far
as a similar ship driven by steam power
can now sail with 450 tons.
The application of liquid air aa a sub
stitute for gunpowder, gun cotton and
other explosives could apparently be
easily effected. Mr. Trlpler believes It
crould not be difficult to construct cylin
ders capable of being Inserted Into the
breach of a thlrteen-lnch rifled cannon,
behind the projectile, that would eaBlly
and safely withstand a pressure of 12,
00 pounds to the squnrc Inch, which
would be the force exerted upon such
a. cylinder by the liquid air contained in
It after that air had assumed the tem
perature of the air outside. The front
end of such a cylinder should be so con
structed that when a given force was
exerted upon It from within It would
give way. The force that drove out the
head of the cylinder would then act di
rectly upon the projectile. The pressure
exerted by gunpowder upon a thlrteen
lnch projectile Is about 24,000 pounds
per square Inch.
If, then, the head of a liquid air
cylinder were constructed to yield
when a pressure of 24,000 pounds was
suddenly applied from within, the
power of gunpowder would be equaled.
The sudden Increase of pressure In the
cylinder from 12,000 pounds to the
bursting force of 24,000 pounds could be
produced simply by means of an elec
tric spark exploded In a wad of cotton
saturated with turpentine and placed
In the cylinder.
The experience of a piece of Iron gas
pipe that was blown Into atoms in Mr.
Triplet's yard by means of a few drops
of liquid air Inclosed in it, while the
miniature explosion shook the ground
like an earthquake. Is an earnest of
what Is to be expected from the ex
plosion of a heavy shell, torpedo or
mine filled with gallons of the Titanic
liquid.
Just where the limit of Its power
should be placed It Is difficult to guess.
But one Is tempted by the wonders al
ready solidified Into fact In Mr. Trip
lets laboratory to picture the scene at
Santiago harbor If Admiral Sampson
could now employ liquid air as he may
be able to employ It a few months
hence.
The Iowa or the Oregon runs within
range of the batteries, and the dls
charge of a great rifle In one of her
turrets sets the water around the ship
shivering and splits the air with
thunder. But no smoke comes from the
airy explosion that has hurled the
huge shell with Inconceivable velocity.
Against the blue sky Its rapid flight Is
silhouetted In a graceful curve that
seems to the charmed retina of the
watcher's eyes to be swiftly drawn by
an Invisible pencil. It rises above the
forts and over the Intervening hills,
devouring mile after mile of Atmos
phere In Its apparently endless career,
until suddenly It dips Into the narrow
basin of the harbor and swoops with
lightning speed upon its quarry the
big, steel-bulging flagship of th
enemy, lying In the midst of his fleet,
and In the fancied security of the pro
tectlng heights.
A downward, crashing stroke, which
breaks the backbone of the ship, nn ex.
plosion like the clap of doom, and th
luckless vessel flies asunder In a nun.
drcd pieces, while her consorts have
their masts shaken loose, thctr gnus
dashed from their mountings and
Jammed In the turrets or pitched head
long overboard by the awful, reverber.
atlng shock.
If this be thought too strong a de
scription to apply to the explosion ot
any projectile that could be hurled
from a gun, yet would hardly suffice
to picture the effects that might be
wrought with a mine or torpedo with
a hogshead of liquid aid and exploded
In the midst of a fleet of warships. In a
contracted bay like that of Santiago or
Havana the explosion of such an en
gine would bnro the bottom of the
harbor at the point where the energy
was applied, and hurl up the water aa
It leaped In the Hell Gate explosion o
few years ago, "In spectral hills," hun
dreds of feet high, while ships not
touched by the direct force of the blow
would be dashed upon the rocks or
bedded, half wrecked, on the sand
banks and shallows. hTe power of dy
namite would be cast Into the shade,
and bombs containing a pailful of
liquid air would suffice If dropped Into n
mined channel, to explode every Iron
devilfish that lurked beneath its sur
face. A Queer Lunatic.
"Aunt Harrlc" Is the "ghost" of the
large family left behind by Brlgham
Young, prophet, seer and revelator of
the Mormon church.
She la one of the few remaining
wIveB of the alleged prophet. She Is
the oldest of these, nnd the finger of
madness has been laid upon her brain.
She lives alone In the "Beehive," tho
old adobe house which once held the
prophet's harem of twenty-six wives
and their fifty-two children. The pro
perty has passed Into other hands, but
the present owner has no thought of
dispossessing her. She Is as much a
part of the house as the lintels of the
doors nnd windows. She lives In two
rooms of the old house, and Is never
seen outside of them, except on June 1,
which is the anniversary of the birth of
her one-time husband, shared with
twenty-five otherB.
The first of June is given over to cel
ebration by the descendant's of Brig
hum young. They meet in the Bee.
hive for a day of singing, speech-making
and fenstlng In honor of the dead
founder of the family.
Then only Aunt Harriet wakes from
her dreams of the past. She dons a
quaint gray silk gown, short as to
the waist and wide as to sleeve, fltB
her old feet Into the yellow-stained
high-heeled Bllppers of more thun half
a century ago, putB the first rosebud of
June Into her white hair and goes out
Into the great common dining room
once used by Brlgham young and his
family.
All look up lovingly and pityingly
when Aunt Hnrrlet, bent nnd totter
ing with her seventy-five years, comes
courtesylng nnd simpering Into the
room. They understand her strange de
lusion. She thinks she is a bride again
and that beside her BtandB Brlgham
Young, and that the guests are as
sembled In honor of her nuptials.
If by a rare chance any one not con
nected with the Young family is pres
ent, Borne one puts his finger signifi
cantly upon his forehead and sayB:
"Poor Aunt Harriet, she Is different
from the reBt of us. She has been a
little queer ever since the Prophet died.
She has forgotten all that happened
since her wedding day."
They lend her to the head of the
table and there the strange old woman
nods and smiles, especially to a shad
owy figure she always sees beside her,
In acknowledgment of toasts to her
beauty and wishes for her happlnesB
offered by men and women long since
dead.
She la a veritable spectre of the feast.
And she Is the only woman who ever
truly loved the Mormon leader.
It doeB not follow that the man with
the greatest number of wives is the
moBt beloved.
Lost Dog Insurance.
A new kind of Insurance Is that of
lost, strayed, stolen or Impounded
dogs. The dog Insurance company
registers the dog to be Insured, with
its full description, and provides a
tag of the Insurance company bearing
the number by which It Is registered,
which tag must be constantly worn,
together with Its city license tag.
The Insurance company keeps a man
at each pound to release any dog bear
ing a tag of the company and return It
to Its owner. This Is a great conveni
ence to the owners of valuable pets,
and saves the doga from contracting
the diseases which are so numerous
and contagious In such a place. It
also saves both dog and owner much
misery and anxiety, to say nothing of
the expense and tiresome red tape
which are necessary to release a dog
from the pound.
Detectives are regularly employed by
the company to trace any dog the mo
ment It Is reported missing.
Every person pledges himself to re
port to the association any dog which
he finds wandering about apparently
lost and bearing a tag of the company.
Phllanthro Look here, my fine fel
low, do you.work? .
Weary Yes, sir, when I can -work
the right person. Boston Courier.
TALMAGES' SERMON.
"Then said they unto him, say now
Shibboleth, and he said Slbboleth; for
he could not frame to pronounce It
right. Then they took him and Blew
him nt the passages of Jordan."
Do you notice the difference of pro
nunciation between shibboleth and sib
boleth? A very small and unimportant
difference, you say. And yet, that dif
ference was the difference between
life nnd death for a great mnny people.
The Lord's people, Qllead and Ephrnlm,
got Into a great light, and Ephrnlm was
worsted, and on the retreat came to the
fords of the river Jordan to cross. Order
was given thnt nil Ephralmltes coming
there be slain. But how could It be
found out who were Ephralmltes? They
were detected by their pronunciation.
Shibboleth was a word that stood for
river. The Ephralmltes had a brogue
of their own, and when they tried to
Bay "shibboleth nlwnys left out the
sound of the "h." When It was asked
that they say shibboleth they said
slbboleth, and were slain. The Lord's
tribes In our time by which I mean
the different denominations of Chris
tians sometimcB magnify a very small
difference, nnd the only difference be
tween scores of denominations today Is
the difference betwen shibboleth and
slbboleth.
The church of God Is divided Into a
great number of denominations. Time
would fall me to tell of the Calvlnlsts,
and the Armlnlnns, and the Sabbatar
ians, and the Baxterlnns, and the Dunk
ers, and the Shakers, and the Quakers,
and the Methodists, and the Baptists,
and the Episcopalians, nnd the Luther
ans, and the Congregatlonallsts, and the
Presbyterians, and the Spiritualists,
and a score of other denominations of
.religionists, some of them founded by
very good men, some of them found ?d
by very egotistic men, some of them
( founded by very bnd men. But as I
demand for myself liberty of conscience,
I must give that same liberty to every
other man, remembering that he no
'more differs from me than I differ from
him. I ndvocote the largest liberty In
all religious belief and form of worship.
In art, In politics, In morals, and In
religion let there be no gag-law, qo
moving of the previous question, no
persecution, no Intolerance.
MEN WILL THINK.
You know that the air and the water
keep pure by constant circulation, and
I think there Is a tendency In religious
discussion to purification nnd moral
health. Between the fourth and the six
teenth centuries the church proposed to
make people think aright by prohibit
ing discussion, and by strong censor
ship of the press, and rnck, and gibbet,
nnd hot lend down the throat, tried to
make people orthodox; but It was dis
covered you cannot change a man's
belief by twisting off his head, nor make
a man see differently by putting an awl
through his eyes. There Is something
In a man's conscience that will hurl
off a mountain that you threw upon it,
and, unslnged of the fire, out of the
flame will make red wings on which the
martyr will mount to glory.
In that time of which I speak, be
tween the fourth nnd sixteenth cen
turies, people went from the house of
God Into the most appalling iniquity,
and right along by consecrated altars
there were tides of drunkenness and
licentiousness such as the world never
heard of, nnd the very sewers of per
dition broke loose and flooded the
church. After awhile the printing press
was freed, and It broke the shackles of
the human mind. Then there came a
large number of bad books, ind where
there was one man hostile to the Chris,
tlan religion, there were twenty men
ready to advocate It; so I have not any
nervousness In regard to this battle
going on between truth and error. The
truth will conquer Just as certainly as
that God is stronger than the devil.
Let error run If you only let truth
run nlong with It. Urged on by skeptic's
shout and transcendentallst's spur, let
It run. God's angels of wrath are In
hot pursuit, and quicker than eagle's
beak clutches out a hawk's heart, God's
vengeance will tear It to pices.
IT IS NOT RELIGION.
I propose to speak to you of sectar
ianismIts origin, Its evils, nnd its
cures. There nre those who would make
us think that this monster with horns
and hoofs Is religion. I shall chnBe It
to Its hiding place and drag It out of
the caverns of darkness, and rip off
its hide. But I want to make a dis
tinction between bigotry and the lawful
fondness for peculiar religious beliefs
and forms of worship, I have no ad
miration for a nothingarian.
In a world of such tremendous vicis
situde and temptation, nnd with a soul
that must after awhile stand before a
throne of Insufferable brightness, In a
dny when the rocking of the mountains
nnd the flaming of the heavens and the
upheaval of the seas shall be among the
least of the excltements.to give account
for every thought, word, action, prefer
ence and dislike that man Is mad who
hna no religious preference. But our
early education, our physical tempera
ture, our mental constitution, will very
much decide our form of worship.
A style of psalmody that may please
me may displease you. Some would
like to have a minister In gown and
bands and surplice, and others prefer
to have a minister In plain citizen's np.
parel. Some are most Impressed when
a little child Is presented at the altar
and sprinkled of the waters of a holy
benediction "in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,"
and others are more Impressed when the
penitent comes un out of the river, his
garments dripping with the waters of a '
baptism which signifies the washing
away of sin. Let either have his own
way. One man likes no noise In prayer,
not a word, not a whisper. Another
man, Just as good, prefers by gesticula
tion nnd exclamation to express his de
votional aspirations. One is Just as
good as the other. "Every man fully
persuaded In his own mind."
George Whltefleld was going over a
Quaker rather roughly for some of his
religious sentiments, nnd the Quaker
said: "George, I am as thou art; I am
for bringing all men to the hope of the
gospel; therefore, If thou will not quarrel
with me about my broad brim I will
not quarrel with thee about thy black
gown. George, give me thy hand."
STARTS AT HOME.
In tracing out the religion of secta
rianism, or bigotry, I find that a great
deal of It comes from wrong education
In the home circle. There are parents
who do not think It wrong to caricature
and Jeer the peculiar forms of religion
In the world, and denounce other sects
and other denominations. It Is very
often the case that that kind of educa
tion nets Just opposite to what was ex
pected, nnd the children grow up, nnd,
after awhile, go and see for themselves;
and, looking In those churches, and find
ing thnt the people nre good there, nnd
they love God and keep his command
ments, by natural reaction they go and
Join those very churches. I could men
tion the names of prominent mnllsters
of the gospel who spent their whole
Uvea bombarding other denominations
nnd who lived to see their children
preach the gospel In those very denomi
nations. But It Is often the case that
bigotry starts In a household, and that
the subject of It never recovers. There
are tens of thousands of bigots 10 years
old.
SPRINGS FROM IGNORANCE.
Bigotry is often the child of lgnor
nnce. You seldom find a man with
large Intellect who Is a bigot. It is the
mnn who thinks he knows a great deal,
but does not. That man Is almost al
ways a bigot. The whole tendency of
education and civilization Is to bring a
man out or that kind of state of mind
and henrt. There was In the far cast
a great obelisk, and one side of the
obelisk was white, another side of the
obellrk wob green, another side of the
obelisk was blue, and travelers went
nnd looked at that obelisk, but they
did not walk around It. One man
looked nt one side, nnother at another
elde, and they came home each one
looking nt only one side; nnd they hap
pened to meet, the story says, and
they got Into a rank quarrel about the
color of that obelisk. One man said
It was white, another mnn said it was
green, nnother man said it was blue,
nnd when they were In the very heat
of the controveresy, a more Intelligent
traveler came, and said, "Gentlemen, 1
have seen thnt obelisk und you nre all
right, nnd you nre all wrong. Why
didn't you all walk around the obe
lisk?" Look out for the man who sees only
one aide of a religious truth. Look out
for the man who never walks around
about these great theories of God and
eternity and the dead. He will be a
bigot Inevitably the man who only
sees one side. There is no mnn more
to be pitied than he who has In his
head Just one idea no more, no less.
More light, leEP sectarianism. There
Is nothing that will bo soon kill bigotry
as sunshine God's sunshine.
EACH HAS A MISSION.
While each denomination of Chris
tians la to present nil the truths of
the bible, It seems to me that God has
given to each denomination an especial
mission to give particular emphasis to
some one doctrine, and so the Calvln
Istlc churches must present the sover
eignty of God, and the Armlnlan
churches must present man's free
agency, nnd the Episcopal churches
must present the Importance of order
and solemn ceremony, and the Baptist
churches must present the necessity
of ordinances, and the Congregational
churches must present the responsl
bllity of the Individual member, and
the Methodist churches must show
what holy enthusiasm, hearty congre
gational singing can accomplish. While
each denomination of Christians must
set forth the doctrines of the bible. 1
feel it is especially incumbent upon
each denomination to put particular
emphasis on some one doctrine.
Another great damage done by the
sectarianism and bigotry of the church
is thnt it disgusts people with the
Christian religion. My friends, the
Church of God was never Intended for
a war barrack.
Francl8 I. so hated the Lutherans
that he said that If he thought there
was one drop of Lutheran blood In his
veins he would puncture them and let
that drop out. Just as long as there Is
bo much hostility between denomina
tion and denomination, or between
one professed Christian and another,
or between one church nnd another, so
long men will be disgusted with the
Christian religion, nnd say, "If that is
religion, I want none of it."
Again, bigotry and sectarianism do
great damage In the fact that they hin
der the triumph of the gospel. Oh, how
much wasted ammunition I How many
men of splendid Intellect have given
their whole life to controversial disputes
when, If they had given their life to
something practical they might have
been vastly useful! Suppose, while I
speak, there were a common enemy
coming up the bny, and all the forts
around the harbor began to Are Into
each other you would cry out, "Na
tional suicide! Why don't those forts
blaze away In one direction, and thnt
against the common enemy?" And yet
I sometimes see In the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ n strange thing going
on: church against church, minister
against minister, denomination against
denomination, firing nway Into their
own fort, or the forts which ought to be
on the same side, Instead of concenirat.
ing their energy and giving one mighty
and everlasting volley against the
navies of darkness riding up through
the bay!
Besides that, if you want to build up
any denomination, you will never build
It up by trying to pull some other down.
Intolerance never put nnythlng down.
How much has Intolerance accom
plished, for Instance, against the Meth
odist church? For long years her min
istry were forbidden the pulpits of Great
Britain. Why was It that so many of
them preached In the fields? Simply
because they could not get In the
churches. And the name of the church
was given In derision and as a sarcasm.
The critics of the church said, "They
have no order, they have no method In
their worship;" nnd the critics, there
fore, In Irony, called them "Methodists."
I am told that In Astor library, New
York, kept as curiosities, there nre 307
books nnd pamphlets against Metho
dism. Did Intolerance Btop that church?
No; It Is either first or second nmld the
denominations of Christendom, her
missionary stations In all parts of the
world, her men not only Important In
religious trusts, but Important also In
seculnr trusts. Church marching on
nnd the more Intolerance ngalnst It the
faster It marched.
What did Intolerance accomplish
against the Baptist church? If laugh
ing scorn and tlrnde could have stopped
the church It would not have today a
disciple left. The Baptists were hurled
out of Boston In olden times. Those
who sympathized with them were Im
prisoned, nnd when a petition was of
fered asking leniency In their behalf
all the men who signed It were Indicted.
Has Intolernnce stopped the Bnptlst
church? The last statistics In regard
to It showed 44,000 churches and 4,000,000
communicants. Intolerance never put
down anything.
In England a law was made against
the Jew. England thrust back the Jew
and thrust down the Jew. nnd declared
that no Jew should hold official posi
tion. What came of It? Were the Jews
destroyed? Was their religion over
thrown? No. Who became prime min
ister of England? Who was next to
the throne? Who was higher than the
throne because he vas counsellor and
ndviser7 Disraeli, n Jew. What were
we celebrating In nil our churches as
well as synagogues ci-ly a few years
ngo? The one hundredth birthday of
Montefiore, the great Jewish philan
thropist. Intolerance never yet put
down anything.
But now, my friends, having shown
you the origin of bigotry or sectarian
ism, and havtng shown you the damage
It does, T want briefly to show you how
we nre to war against this terrible evil,
nnd I think we ought to begin our war
by realizing our own weakness nnd our
Imperfections. If we make so many
mistakes In the common affairs of life.
Is It not possible that we may make
mistakes In regard to our religious af
fairs? Shall we take a man' by the
throat or by the colar because he can
not see religious truths Just ns we do?
In the light of eternity It will be found
out, I think, there was something
wrong In all our creeds, nnd something
right In nil our creeds, but since we
may make mistakes in regard to things
of the world, do not let us be so ego
tistic nnd bo puffed up ns to have an
Idea that we cannot make any mis
take In regard to religious theories. And
then I think we will do n great deal
to overthrow the sectarianism from our
henrt. and the sectarianism from the
world, by chiefly enlarging in those
things In which we agree, rather than
those on which we differ.
THE GOSPEL PLATFOM.
Now. here Is a good gospel platform.
A man comes up on this side of the
platform and saya: "I don't believe in
baby sprinkling." Shall I shove him
off? Here is a man coming up on
this side of the platform, and he says:
the salnta." Shall I shove him off? No.
I will say: "Do you believe In the
Lord Jesus as your savior? Do you
trust him for time and for eternity?"
He says: "Yes." "Do you take Christ
for time and for eternity?" "Yes."
I say, "Come on, brother: one In time
and one In eternity: brother now,
brother forever." Blessed be God for
a gospel platform so large that all who
receive Christ may stand on It!
I think we may overthrow the severe
sectarianism and bigotry In our hearts,
and In the church, also, by realizing
that all the denominations of Chris
tians have yielded noble Institutions
and noble men. There Is nothing that
so stirs my soul as thlB thought. One
denomination yielded a Robert Hall
and an Adonlram Judson: nnother
yielded a Latimer and a Melville; an
other yielded John Wesley and tho
blessed Summerfleld, while our own de
nomination yielded John Knox and the
Alexanders men of whom the world
waa not worthy. Now, I say, If we are
honest and fair-minded men, when we
come up In the presence of such
churches and such denominations, al
though they may be different from our
own, we ought to admire them, and we
ought to love and honor them.
Churches which can produce euch
men, and such large-hearted charity,
and such magnificent martyrdom,
ought to win our affection at any rate,
our respect. So come on, ye COO.ooo
Episcopalians In this country, and ye
1.400.CCO Presbyterians, and ye 4,000.000
Baptists, and ye 5.000,000 Methodists
come on: shoulder to shoulder we will
march for the world's conquest; for all
nations are to be saved, and God de
mands that you and I help. Forward,
the whole line! In the Young Men's
Christian association, In the bible so.
clety, In the tract society, In the for
eign missionary society, shoulder to
shoulder, all denominations.
One nrmy of the llvlns f!od,
To his command we bow;
Pari of the host have cro.ed the lood,
And part are crossing now.
And 1 exDect to see the day when all
denominations of Christians shall Join
hands around the cross of Christ and
recite the creed: "I believe in God the
Father Almighty, maker of heaven
and earth, and In Jesus Christ, and
in the communion of saints, and In
life everlasting. Amen." ,
FEUD BETWEEN MILLlONAIHco
The purchase by Marshall Field of the
most valuable business corner In thin
city, says a Chicago special to the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch, from his former
partner, Levi Z. Lelter, for $2,100,000,.
addB another interesting chapter tc
the feud which has existed between
these two multimillionaires since they
ceased to be members of the same firm-.
in 1881.
It Is a sharp bargain which the head,
of the greatest dry goods house out
side of New York City has driven with,
his old friend, the fnther of "Joe" Lel
ter, famouB for having run the great
est wheat corner ever known, using up
In his collapse many of his father's
millions.
When the deal wub first announced
there were approving words for Mar
shall Field for having come to the re
lief of Levi Lelter, with whom he has
been on the most unfriendly terms for
17 years, every court in the city hnv
ing had some phase of their quarrels
to adjust. It was supposed that the
troubles which "Joe" had heaped on
his father's head had softened Field's
heart so that he had forgiven.
But no sentiment entered into the
trade. All the stories of a dry goods
prince going to the rescue of nn old
friend Just because the son of that
old friend had doubted nature's ablllty
to produce more than a certain amount
of wheat, read well but lack truth.
Lezl Z. Lelter needed ready monejr
and offered a good piece of real estate
for It. Several men wanted the prop
erty, but they did not have the neces
sary cash.
Marshall Field has a corps of men
who do nothing but look out for real
estate investments They heard of
Lelter's desires. Mr. Field had the
cash, nnd he made what Is regarded as
one of the very best investments ever
mnde In Chicago through his brokers.
There was no personnl meeting of the
prlnclpnls no dramatic rushing lnto
each others nrms of long-separated prt
ners. The most thrilling part of the
trade was the slgnlncr of a check for
J2.100.000 and the affixing of the neces
sary two-cent wnr stamp thpreon by
Mr. Field nnd the cashing of the check-
hy Jlr. T.Plter. w-i-n will ohnrce It un
to the account of hi son .Toe. The cold"
facts In the rncp nre thnt the ground
which Mr. Field purrhnsed. ennMnHzPd
nt ?R0O.00O: on n 5 rpr cent bflf. 2 -?40
0n0: either of which would be th
Inrn-pct sum ever rnld for a trnnt of
lnnd in tb' cltv. Pohleselncer & Mayer
nnMinv tp prnnnd under a M-yenr
lonpp for 112.000 n venr, or per cent
nn $2.M0OO which 14f000 more
thnn Mr. Ffpld pntd for It. All the
exnerts ronldpr the nrW pqld "too
low," nnd thnt Mn-ohnll Fipld has cot
n htptrer bargain than he has ever ad
vprtlopd. Mnrshnll Field nnd T.pvI Z. Le'ter both
nnrenred as emnlovp In the drv prondr
trade here In the fifties. Potter Pal
mer was in the trade then. The young
men became business nsoclnte In 1851,
when the firm of Fnrwell. Field & Co.
wns formed, with LeltPr as partner. Tr
1867 It became Field. Lelter & Co.. and
so continued until 1881, enjoying years
of increasing prosperity.
Tn the last years of their alliance it
wns understood thnt their personnl re
lations wer under n strain. Mnrshnlf
Field had yet one hobby. He wanted
hlB name Impressed on the mercantile'
business Just ns he has since Impress
ed on the Columbian Museum. In the'
Chicago University and elsewhere. Tf
was buy or sell. Both were men of
millions. Lelter at the time had se
lected Washington for a place of res!-'
dence, nnd besides his heavy Invest
ments In Chicago was rich In Colo
rado mining property. His social am-,
bltlons were high, and he was willing
to get out of "trade." He sold.
The dry goods business became again
so attractive, at any late, that Mr.
Lelter put up a magnificent office build
ing for Slegel, Cooper & Co., In which
that firm conducted a great department
store, a very Important rival to the
business Mr. Lelter's old partner was
doing a few blocks nway on the same
street. The serious differences between Mr.
Field and his former partner were not
brought to the public attention until
In January, 1883, when the courts were"
called upon to take a hand In their'
trouble. The old firm occupied a big;
building at the southeast corner oC
Washington and Market streets, which
waB used as a wholesale store. It had
been bought by the two principals of
the firm and leased to Marshall Field
& Co. After Mr. Lelter withdrew from
the firm he wanted a brick wall built,
through the center of the property.
This the court finally decided should be
done, Mr. Lelter In the division get
ting the corner lot, but paying Mr. Field
a bonus, which was fixed by the court..
For a year there was a truce In the
courts.
Then the war was resumed over a
party wall between property owned by,
the two old-time friends In Monroe
street. Mr. Lelter owned the property
next to the corner on which now stands
the magnificent Woman's Temple. Mr.
Field had long contemplated the erec-,
tlon of this structure, and entered into
a cotnract with Lelter to Increase the
strength of the party wall to support
the new structure. The contract dldj
not specifically give Mr. Field the right
to extend the foundations under the
building on the Lelter lot, but he did
bo, Invading the basement of Mr. Lei.
ter's building. Mr. Lelter promptly be
gan ejectment proceedings. The court
held for Mr. Field.
During all these contests Mr. Fleia
displayed no animosity, while Mr. Let
ter was not always conservative. In the,
ways of the two men there were always
great differences, though equally great
In business affairs. Mr. Letter was al
ways referring to hla big street rail
way holdings and hla ownership of real
estate. No man was ever prouder of
any possession than Levi Z. Letter was,
of bis son "Joe" during the wheat deal,.
j ' ' " " "
- - o
.
1
Y