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To ,znc out whether young Rogers should be
entrusted with ' his estate, the late H. H.
Rogers started him in on a little nine-mile-long
railwayM. C D. Borden, (he largest
inaiwauai jactor in
industry, worked
-a wee.
OF course. It's more or less Just plain,
every-day human nature for us who
are not burdened with the cares of
great wealth to say as in the case of
Henry H. Rogers, Jr., to take a recent
illustration that a rich man's son be
comes the head of a great business, or
businesses, on the death of hl father,
simrily because he Is the eon of his
father, and regardless of whether or not
he. is fitted to assume the responsibilities
of managing a great property or prop
erties. But the truth of the matter is. that. '
since the day of old Commodore Vander
bilt from which dates most of America's
rreat raptain-of-industry history most of
the son-bleat famous wealth builders of
the country have striven hard to fit their
male offspring for the headship of great
enterprises by making them learn at the
very bottom the tricks of running rail
roads, financing kingdoms, keeping the
wheels of great manufactories humming,
forming and upbuilding trusts, and do
ing what not that engages the attention
of great dollar-making ability.
"There Is no son of a rich man who Is
now controlling Important properties
who did not. begin at the bottom." said
a retired railway manager of great
wealth some time ago. And he might
have added that not a few of the sons
' of wealthy fathers who today are classed
among fhe "idle rich" are not engaged
in directing the great properties built
up by their respective fathers simply be
:auee. when they were given their chance
to learn at the bottom how t'o become
great captains of Industry or finance,
they failed lamentably, and so were
shunted aside by their parents in favor
of outsiders There Is a marked differ
ence between leaving a son millions and
placing nim in charge of a business of
millions and no one Is quicker to realize
th:a vast difference than the' multl
millionaire father.
M. u. D. Borden, today the world's
largest individual factor in the cotton
print industry; Louis J. Hill. George J.
Clould, II. H. Rogers. Jr., younger Pler
pont Morgan (likewise the "old gentle
man"). James Stillman. Jr., and William
R. Grace are all sons of wealthy fathers
aho tried them out before they put them
'.n the way of assuming the direction of
rreat enterprises. On the other hand,
"the Vanderbilt boys." as the social"
world calls them, are splendid examples
of that other class of rich men's sons
r. noi put in charge of their fath
.-t.- properties simply because they do
a"P"y even a common or garden
i Business judgment.
ine case of the present-day Vanderbllta
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the world s cotton print
and lived on five dollars
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Is all the more remarkable from the fact
that until they came upon the scene, at
least one Vanderbilt was always found
to be capable of running the Vander
bilts' railroads.
The Commodore tested successfully his
son William H. by putting him in a sub
ordinate position upon a little railroad
in Staten Island. William H., in turn,
found out, by placing his two oldest
boys in humble positions' that they would
make likely successors. Cornelius began
his career upon a stool before a desk in
a isew York bank; his younger brother,
William K.. was a clerk of the lowest
grade in the New York Central offices,
and both earned their promotions by hard
work and mastery of the details of their
various positions. It is a notorious fact
that "the Vanderbilt boya." when it came
lime tor mem to be trained after the
manner of their forefathers, showed
themselves utterly Incompetent ultimate
ly to manage great properties. So, as
far as their directing them Is concerned;
inucrmii roaos are sucn m name
only a. situation that doubtless would
cause the founder of the family fortune
to use most pictureeque language, were
it possible for him to visit the offices of
tne New York Central tomorrow morn
ing and behold no Vanderbilt there run
nlng things with a masterly hand.
" nrsi ntuaeni to uwb a
Horse.
Probably no living son of a millionaire
father ever had a severer course of train
ing at the bottom than did M. C. D. Bor
den, the present head of the famous fam
ily or that name.
It was In 18G4 that Matthew C. D. Bor
den was graduated from Yale College. He
had made a creditable career as a etu
dent, but it was also said of him that he
had probably had the best time in college
of any one who ever received a degree
from President Woolsey's hands. He was
noted among his fellow-students as the
iirsi young man ever matriculated at
Yale who owned and drove a sDirited
horee. or was able to keep a good riding
iionsc. xauieuver, w 11110 in no sense
dude, young Borden nevertheless knew
wnat tne latest styles for a well-tailored
young man were, and he was looked upon
by his fellow-students as a model as far
as clothing was concerned. He .was
happy student, everybody's friend, and
though a ricn man s son, he was a per
fect uemocrai, regarding every man in
college as his equal so far as college life
was concerned.
After commencement day young Borden
suddenly realized that his career in the
world was just about to begin. He had
not the slightest idea what his rich father
, Intended to do with him. He presumed
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that he would have a chance in the of
fices of the great mill aJ: Fall River,
which his father was instrumental in
building up.
A day or two after his arrival at home
from college, his father said to him. "Mat.
do you owe any money In New Haven?"
"Yes. father, I owe quite a little," was
the reply. I
"Well, do you know what the items are
and to whom you owe bills?" his father
asked again.
Yes, I think I can account for every
dollar that I owe in New Haven."
Well, now. Mat," the father went. "I
want you to bring me an itemized state
ment of all you owe. After you have
brought me the statement we will see
what is best to be done."
As soon as possible after his father made
that request young 'Borden went to the
office ot his father and put before him a
tabulated list of his debts. The old gen
tleman scrutinized the list carefully. . The
aggregated indebtedness was abont i4000.
At last, holding the list in his hand and
looking searchinglyj and yet not unkindly
at the young man, his lather said. "Well,
Mat, every one of these bills must be
I?r CHARGE OF" DIVISION OP
FAR K ASTERN" AFFAIRS IX
STATE DEPARTMENT.
WUIard StraUcht.
NEW YORK, June 86. (Spe
cial.) WMllard Straight, who has
been in charge of the Division
of Far Eastern Affairs in the
State Department for some
months. Is now in New York in
consultation with the capitalists
who expect to participate in the
Chinese loan. Mr. Straight was
Consul - General of the United
States at Mukden for some time.
and knows the conditions in I
China thoroughly. He may be X
expected to look "closely and In- f
telligently after American inter- t
ests in the Chinese Empire. !
These involve not alone the rail-
way, for which the present loan
is being raised, but also other J
railways which are planned, and T
general commercial relations. i
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srac? OttA'oz: G-ouzD suvj ruro o2- Tyfjrssz csrsz,2?i?jv
paid. Some of them show that you were
foolish, but there's nothing in the list
that shows you have done anything to
be ashamed of, or to cause me to be
ashamed of you. Now I will give you
some money and I want you to go to New
Haven, pay every bill, set receipts, and
bring them to me as soon as possible."
9 it happened that a few days later
young Borden re-visited New Haven,
squared accounts with all his creditors,
and then returned to his father's home. In
Fall River. He still wondered what his
father had in mind for him to do. but
was certain that he would be compelled
to show whether there was any good
Ftuff in him, any firmness, industry, se
riousness, and concentration of purpose..
Living on $5 a Week.
fie soon discovered what his father's
purpose was. In New York City, the
great manufactory at Fall River main
tained a large commission house or job
ting nouse. where a considerable part' of
the products of the Fall River mills were
marketed. The elder Borden said to
his son: "N'- I am going to see wlieth-
er you have got anything in you. You've '
hAd good time all your life, and have
never had a. reasonable want which was
not gratified. Now you must begin to
work for yourself. ,
"I am going to send you to the com
mission house , in New York. , You are
going to begin at the bottom of the lad
dev. If you're worth anything you'll be
able to work your way up. but -ou'll
only work your way up on your own
merits. No favoritism Is to be shown you
because you are my son. '
"Your salary will be J5 a week. I have
secured a nice boarding place for you in
Brooklyn. You will pay 3 a week for
your board. That will leave you J3 a
weeK tor your personal expenses, and
you'll have to make that do. for I shall
not add one cent to your income."
"All right, father." replied the young
man who had been - spending thousands
a year; "I'll undertake to live on 16 a
week, and you can be certain t that I
shall not involve you or myself In any
debt. I am ready to begin tomorrow."
Young Borden's boarding place in
Brooklyn was a comfortable but modest
home. In order to save money, or to
make his little surplus of $2 a week go
as far as it would, he usually walked
from the boarding-house to the ferry,
and then walked home at night. He never
went out evenings, excepting to take a
little exercise. His noonday lunch fre
quently consisted of a bowl of .bread and
milk. He was bound to make the $2 a
week over and above what he .paid for
his board carry nim through the
week, and even tried to save a littie. Not
until long afterward was there
that possibly his board bill was greater
than $3" a week and that It had been
privately or secretly met by some under
standing with his father.
He was at the commission house as
soon as the porters unlocked the doors.
No manual labor was too severe for him.
He undertook to master every detail, and
finally became expert in judging of the
quality of goods, in knowing when con
signments were to come and what they
were to be. in keeping track of markets
and in the shipping of orders.
At last, after a year or two. young
Borden was promoted, and he had the
satisfaction of knowing that the promo
tion was entirely upon merit. He had
thoroughly disciplined himself, and in do
in? so had become fascinated by his sense
of business opportunity. After three or
four years his advance was rapid, and
he had the additional gratification of
knowing that his father was highly
pleased with his business development.
In such fashion was Matthew C. D.
Borden trained to become the head of
his father's business. Because his train
ing was of this sort is the reason as
signed by Mr. Borden for his individual
supremacy in the cotton orintf Industry
of the world: and this same training
doubtless was back of the audacious un
dertaking which brought him into prom
inence not only in the United States, but
In all the world's markets where cotton
Is supreme.
It was at the time of the depression
consequent upon the passage of the so
called Sherman silver law. Business was
stagnant throughout the United States.
There was a currency famine. But Mr.
Borden ventured into the market, risk
ing nis creait. nis reputation and hla re
sources upon his Judgment, and bought
so great an amount of cotton that as
much as a million dollars was necesrary
to pay for it. He bought when It was
cheap, relatively, but he believed that he
could see far enough into the future to
detect the return of business prosperity
and his judgment was perfectly vindi
cated wifhln six months.
Ever since then the name of Matthew
C. D. Borden has been one to conjure
wim in lh wui m couon marts.
H. H. Rogers, Jr., Trained aa Wae
William H. Vanderbilt.
When H. H. Rogers. Jr., was graduated
from Columbia University with the class
of 1901 he knew that his father intended
to put him under a course of training
which would fit him for the direction of
some of the properties which Mr. Rogers
exclusively controlled. At that time the
senior Rogers was contemplating the
building of a railroad from the coal fields
of West Virginia to tidewater at Norfolk.
Va. It was to be as perfectly constructed
as any railroad In the United States, with I
a length of 450 miles approximately. And I
it Was to be hllilt slmnot n-hnllv n'Uh Via i
money credit furnished by Mr. Rogers
himself.
This railroad was completed only a few
weeks before the death of H. H. Rogers,
Sr. It passed immediately under the di
rection and absolute control of H. H.
Rogers. Jr.. and other heirs of Mr. Rog
ers. In the construction and operation of
this railroad is found the explanation of
what sflsmed to be a somewhat eccentric
beginning for young H. H.' Rogers.
His father, having majority control of a
little railroad on Staten Island, put the
young man in charge of it. He became a
sort of railroad poobah. not using the
word offensively. He was president, sec
retary, treasurer and practically general
manager. The little railroad was only
nine miles in length, and young Rogers, in
his capacity as president and general
manager, brought vividly to mind the
manner in which Commodore Vanderbilt
bear. the training of his son William H.
Vawierbilt to see, as the Commodore ex-,
pressed it. "whether Bill had got any
thing in him or not." For William H.
Vanderbilt begran his career as the presi
dent, treasurer and general manager of a
little railroad upon Staten Island which
his father built.
Young Rogers was thought by many to
look upon his little railroad as a play
thing. He certainly was fond of the open
air riding across the Island that his
property made possible, and he used often
to look yearningly at the deep, and the
sails and the incoming and outgoing
steamers thereon. But despite his love of
the sea inherited from his father he du
tifully mastered the details of railroading,
and with a characteristic quierness that
kept most of the line's patrons from
learning that he was the son of a famous
Standard" Oil magnate. Practically his
whole period of training was spent under
the stern, yet kindly eye of his father,
who doubtless would have taken great
pleasure in a little item of railway news
which appeared in the newspapers early
in June. It was to the effect that the
Virginia Railway, under the management
of H. H. Rogers, Jr., had broken all rec
ords for hauling coal to tidewater, bring
ing in one train of 80 cars about 5000 tons
of coal from the mines.
Iiover of the Outdoors.
Mr. Rogers' love of outdoor life and
outdoor sports is almost a passion with
him. He is an expert yachtsman. He
knows every channel, every eddy and cur
rent in Buzzard's Bay and in the danger
ous passages between the Massachusetts
mainland and the islands off the coast.
Largely because it would keep him in the
SHOCKS NEW JERSEY ARISTOC
RACY BY ENTERTAINING
KM. MA GOLDMAN.
A Id en Freeman.
NEW YORK, June 26. (Special.)
Aid en Freeman i th man wko
hocked the Oranges in New Jersey
by entertaining- Emma Goldman. He
first invited tier to a society dinner,
and later arranged to have her de
liver a lecture In a local hall. The
society requested Mr. Freeman to
resign and the police refused to let
Emma hare the use of the public
hall. But Mr. Freeman brought her
audience to his father's home and
thene gave her the use of the family
barn, where she spoke to 1000 per
sons. Mr. Freeman belonia to n
old and wealthy family of Orange. J
ib is i ucu bo peculiar Because
of his liberal views.
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Difference in the training received by George
Gould and that which he is giving
Kingdon William R. Grace as a mechanic
The apprenticeship of HilVsboys Yourig
Morgans training similar to that of his
father s Humble tasks to prove an heir's
fitness for succession:
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open a part of the year he became a
member of, the New Tork National guard;
and becanse he has been in the habit of
getting out of doors at every opportunity
ne nan a bronzed skin and clear eyes that
often cause him to be pointed out bv
strangers as a picture of perfect health.
It was the good fortune of Mr. Rogers
to marry a young woman Miss Mary
Benjamin who had gained high reputa
tion lor brightness of intellect, vivacitv
and energy, and especially as the possess
or oi me saving grace of good common
sense. She, too. is an intense lover of
outdoor life, and nothing Dleases her
more than to engage in some exciting.
though not dangerous sport.
it is said of her that no woman, and
but very few men, have'ever been able
to cast a fly farther or with more ac
curate aim than sne. From her Mr.
Rogers gained his knowledge of flv-
casting, and the two have often spent
weeKs in tne Maine wilderness.
A year ago Mr. and Mrs. Rosrers were
at their Maine camp, and one morning
sianea out ror a day's snort with rod
and real. Mrs. Rogers took her place
in the canoe and cast a fly. as It
seemed, farther than she had ever been
able to do before. In a moment a trout
rose to the bait. There followed a bril
liant battle, that lasted half an hour.
At times the rod bent almost double,
but Mrs. Rogers played with the skill
of a veteran of the wilderness; and
when at last the trout was brought
from the landing net Into the boat it
was perceived that it was one of the
largest fish ever taken in those waters.
When It was weighed it made a rec
ord, being- the largest trout ever cap
tured there.
Now that he lias succeeded his fath
er as head of some of the Rogers prop
erties, young Mr. Rogers will doubtless
continue to find his surcease from bus
iness cares, on the sea and in the woods,
both of which the elder man loved.
Training of Two Goulds.
Probably because George Jay Gould
has discovered that his son Kingdon
is best- fitted by natural ability for
success upon the financial side of rail
way management, he has recently
brought the young man Into the board
of directors of one of the railway com
panies which Mr. Gould controls. In
that sense Kingdon Gould ' Is not to
begin exactly at the bottom. If he had
ambition or ability for competent di
rection on the. operating side of the
railroad, undoubtedly he would have
been placed in the shops in a subordi
nate position under some of the master
workmen and have been thus trained.
But his special gift is understood to
be In the direction of financial man
agement, and undoubtedly his father
thought he could learn that thoroughly
through immediate association with
those who are directors of the Gould
rai iroaas.
Thus young Kingdon's training will
differ widely from that received by his
xatner.
when Jay Gould was satisfied that
his son George Jay had 1 ecelved all the
schooling: that was necessary, the fath
er determined to become his immedi
ate daily and personal teacher. There
fore, he brought the young man into
the tiouid oinces In the Western Un
ion Telegraph Company in New Tork
t;ity. ine latner instructed the son in
the mysteries of the Stock Exchange
tape. e ungni nim wall street hu
man nature, and It was said by the
late Marcellus Hartley, who was long
an' associate of Mr. Gould's, that Jay
ijrouia couia pui into a word or an ad
jeciive a periet-i aescription or every
man prominent in llnar.ee in his day.
The boy had a desk near the one used
by his father, and he was Initiated
into the mysteries of the railway fi
4 !2y.
1.
S if'
nance and railway construction. He
was compelled to read and master the
statistics telling of the creation and
development of American railroads.
Furthermore, he was taught telegraph
ing. '
When the days were hot George
Gould still sat at his desk, coatless
and without waistcoat often, the sleeved
of his shirt rolled up, plodding away
at his tasks, so that at last he became
not the scholar, but the associate of
his father.
James Stillman, Jr., whose close resem
blance to the late Richard Mansfield in
private life, never escapes any one who
knew both men. began as a humble and
hard-working clerk in the great bank of
which he is now vice-president. His
training took him through every denart-
went, and because he proved himself ca-
ptiDie oi oeing trusted, ne is his father's
financial eye. Young Pierpont' Morgan.
who lately was added to the directorate
of the Steel Trust, was trained after the
manner of his father, in the London of
fices of the family banking house, begin
ning: there as a clerk, and remaining
abroad until he had shown clearly his
ability to finance important enterprises.
Young Mr. Morgan's training in the art
of keeping silent has been particularly
noticeable since he returned to this coun
try; and partly because of his ability to
hold his tongue he is looked upon as a
regular chip of the old block.
College graduaTes like Rogers and Bor
den. Stillman and Morgan, the two sons
of James J. Hill, are other good examples
of sons of rich men trained from the bot
tom up to take care of great properties. .
Louis J. Hill, wlfo has succeeded' his
father, not merely nominally, but act
ually. In the leadership of the Hill rail
road property, has much of his father's
energy and tenacity of purpose. How
skilfully he was trained by his parents
was revealed in the brilliant railroad di
plomacy and sagacity by which he was
enabled, to put an end to the friction upon
the Pacific Coast caused by the purpose
of Harriman to enter what is called the
Hill railroad territory
Mastering a Great Industry..
One of the big" figures in the great
American industry of supplying the world
with compressed air apparatus and rock
drills without which implements such
wonderful works as thd under-the-river
tunnels around New York City might
never have been undertaken Is William
R Grace.
For some time after he had reached
young manhood it seemed as though tills
son of the late Mayor of New York, who
made his millions trading with South
America, would become noted chiefly for
his devotion to outdoor sports, polo par
ticularly. But there came a day when
he appeared at the great rock drill works,
in which his father was interested, to do
the work of an apprentice.
He was not afraid of grimy hands, nor
did he disdain to wear overalls; and in
the works he remained until he h.id
learned how to make drills and other ma
chinery. Then he took a place in the
business office. Here be studied the
world's markets. He learned all aboui
the great railway building in Siberia and
South America. He became familiar with
the gigantic work done at the Iron Gatee
of the Danube.
This training over, he turned his atten
tion to finances, and began all over again,
at the bottom. And not until his financial
ability was demonstrated was he permit
ted to assume any of the responsibility
of conducting this particular property oi
his father. Copyrighted, l&09,"by the As
sociated Literary Press.
A Clioice of Two Costs.
Atchison Globe.
Question for the Lancaster Literary
Society: Which cosfs the more, a visitor
or a spell of sickness?