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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (July 21, 1907)
x THE ; OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL PORTLAND, SUNDAY HORNING. JULY 2U : 1907 Sh ii 1 1 . i'IWi.i ij 1 , W Aw iat Ei . - . 7 up .JVS. US '-"fa S TbW THAT J iiHg'Tpmwini fe Victualif Oms Fx .Vj - ;4 t i if . i f , ' l 'OHN W. GATES, multi-millionaire, Wire Trust magnate and picturesque "plunger," has been credited xvith many ambitions. Of the great hobby of his later years, however, comparatively lit tle has been said or written. It is a hobby in brick and mortar and finely paved streets, xvith great piers and deep water channels, with terminals for oil pipe lines, big rice mills and every indication of sturdy, hustling growth. In short, it is a town the flourishing young city of Port Arthur, Texas which Mr. Gates has made important, which he practi cally owns, and for which he plans an ambi tious future. To this financier of remarkable achieve ments Port Arthur is to some extent a play thing; to plan new expansions and to watch it grow with magic strides is to him a diversion. He intends, if possible, to make it one of the most prosperous cities and best-known ports along thi American seaboard. Only a few weeks ago the statement went ,cut broadcast that Mr. Gates, although just x$2 and in prime health, had decided to with draw from Wall street for a season and to lead the simple life "for a year or so." No one, however, expects him to with draw entirely from a business career. His "simple life" will probably be full enough of activity to make real advocates of a placid ex istence dizzy. And if Wall street would miss him for a season, Port Arthur will doubtless feel the im petus of his genius and force, and will take longer strides toward that metropolitan great ness which is Mr. Gates' aim. III. " t it z , i a i 1 T A . t a. . M,i,in1 I,.,, i iii AvM it;v.- '; : . l i ,?C vn v L Th Stho pi PORT ARTHUR Is not quite 12 year old, but la one of the sturdiest youngsters for that age one can imagine Situated on the Texas gulf coast, twenty miles south of Beaumont, It has an estimated population of 8000 or 10,000. To say that Mr. Gates Is proprietor of the town lacks but little of being absolutely true. There is hardly a business or industrial enterprise In the place in which he is not Interested financially, but in king these numerous investments, it is said, he was nNMctuated with the idea that he would reap proms from them, at least not for the present. Possibly there is one exception to this general policy, and that is found in his oil Interests. He is said to be the largest stockholder in the Texas Company, one of the greatest oil producers and refiners In the Texas oil fields. The big refinery of that company is located at Port Ar thur, and, of course, it brings a tremendous net revenue to Mr. Gates and his associates. To Mr. Gates Is due the credit for locating the refinery at Port Arthur and In building up other branches of the enormous business which have added So much to the growth and importance of the ton. Port Arthur is lila pet hobby, and not alone because of the fact that he is czar there. Mr. Gates' attention was attracted to the town Hoveral years ago, when he first became financially inter ested in the Kansas City Southern Railroad.. That was about the time that Arthur K. Stillweli, of Kansas City, lost control of the road. Mr. Stillweli located the new Texas town about ten years ago and named it for hlm self. It was Mr. Gates' love for hunting and other kinds of sport which that section of the country affords that led him first to become Interested in the town. He had made a few trips to the section along the Neches and Sabine rivers where bear abound, and had always met with splendid success in these hunting expeditions. FORESAW FUTURE FOR PORT After he became a stockholder in the Kansas City Southern he realised that Port Arthur was most advan tageously situated to be the deep-water terminus of a great railroad, and at once set about in his usual ener getic way to carry out his ideas for a greater town. Ho has been the guiding spirit of the place ever since. So great are his Investments and personal activity in promoting its growth that the place has become known far and-wide as ''John W. Gates' town." ' So devoted is he to his hobby that be spends several weeks there each year. During these visits heJs a plain citizen of the town and Is ever ready to give his aid in udvanclng its material welfare. A few years ago he built a beautiful home there, and It is kept in readiness for his coming at all times. His visits are usually made aurmg the winter, when bunting a good, but it is not unusual for him to make tHef vis ts at otner. time, upon nia latest flvlnff visit. onla few weeks ago.'he arranged for extensive lm- ements wnicn win aaa to tne Business aavancement the cltv. gOXlgeniBI lllUHUfl IIVUI HIP unci ,ivilll BIUII mm him, and they are given a tip-top tlme He is a lavish spender of money, and his coming is always welcomed by the citlaens . No ono keeps, in closer touch with the needs of the town than her aiKT'when ha' sees that anything hould be done to improve or advance existing conditions he Uu the matter over with tie business roe and plana are set on foot to accomplish the desired end. There is no attempt to dominate the affairs of the town in the sense that he dictates the policy of the mu nicipal government, but he Is looked upon as the chief builder of Port Arthur, and as his views upon municipal questions are well known, the poller adopted generally conforms to his ideas. When Mr. Gates first became Interested In Port Ar thur it ran a place of a few hundred Inhabitants. Its prospects were not encouraging. He studied the physi cal assets of the place, and came to the conclusion that It should become a deep-water port and that the building of a city upon model lines should be undertaken. Good streets and sidewalks and complete systems of sewers and water works were the things which were first needed, he decided. He set about to have these publlo works accomplished. His initiative resulted In the construction of a sewer system at a cost of 175,000. A water works system was also put in. He beaded a movement which resulted in the construction of more than ten miles of shelled streets and roads in and around the town. Another notable Improvement made at the suggestion of Mr. Gates was the construction of more than five miles of granitoid sidewalks and many miles of plank walks. It Is claimed that no othrir town of 10,000 popu lation in the country has better municipal Improvements. The town Is kept clean, and nothing Is overlooked that would add to its sanitation and healthfulness. FREE FROM GRAFT As well as In the establishment of her publlo works, Port Arthur has been fortunate in the selection of her publlo officials. They have all been men of business abijlty and honeaty. MV. Gates Is not a believer In mu nicipal ownership of public utilities. For this reason the city dnes not own the sewer, water works or elecfrlo light plants. Each of these public utility concerns Is owned and operated by private corporations. In each of these companies Mr. Gates Is the largest stockholder and the dominating Influence. It is stated that he does not operate the concerns with the view of making profits. The sewer, water works and electrio light rates are lower than in any other town of cor responding size in the state. It Is asserted. Mr. Gates owns a large amount of town property, both vacant and Improved. He Is the principal stock holder In the big rice mill located there, as well as In a wholesale grocery company recently organized. This company has Just let the contract for the construction of a new building to coat $150,000. It was when Port Arthur was striving to be made a port of entry that Mr. Gates showed his friendliness for the place. In fact, he was the chief promoter of the ' yt 7"i Ar4-. f ? AX'!jr Jit U v k 11 f Jua I re-Jit v'-vY'V m' ' , Jilt . -it xJri:-.--'i'.,i;i- ? ill v Mill v - ill 1 'llW 1m"f:'! If III c ' aim. v , jj j.r: ' u .'...'.. -r ' s. a;t V vXWIMlK'.C'A. ll ""-.-I, $ itiftBsr ---WsWJRait-iiJ-Ljr movement that Anally led to the enactment of a law by Congress making It a port of entry. The proposition was strongly opposed by Sabine, Texas, which was seeking to be made the port Of entry Instead of Port Arthur. Mr. Gates spent some time in Washington, where he worked unremittingly In support of the Port Arthur proposition. As a result of his efforts his town captured the plum. Shipments of oil through the port are enormous. Their value during 1901 was $1,890,689. There baa been a steady Increase year by year since, until the value of the shipments last year exceeded $16,000,000, and for the cur rent year will exceed $18,000,000, It Is expected; MT. Gates and associates are building an oil pipe line from Tulsa, I. T., to Port Arthur. The line will be over 500 miles long and will cost more than $6,000,000, Inoludlng the construction of pumping stations and other necessary equipment. This line will vastly Increase the volume of oil poured through the place. The Guffey Petroleum Company is also building un oil pipe line from Tulso to Port Arthur. Records show that more than 200,000 gallons of oil, re fined and crude, were shipped out of Port Arthur during 1306. In addition to the large oil refinery of Mr. Gates and his associates, there are two other refineries there. The oil fields of Sour Lake, Saratoga, Splndletop, Humblft, Batson and Dayton are all connected with Port Arthur by means of pipe lines. The docks at Port Arthur are connected with the Gulf of Mexico by a 25-foot channel. It Is claimed that the ship canal there is the deepest artificial waterway in the United States. It la a sea-level canal, without locks. 7H miles long. 183 feet wide and 20 feet deep at mean low tide. The federal government Is now excavating a chan nel 150 feet wide, 9 feet deep and 12 miles long along the lake shore. In front of Port Arthur, for the pur pose of connecting the ship canal with the Neches and Sabine rivers, thus making the water traffic of those two great streams tributary to tho new seaport. It is claimed by Mr. Gates that morally and social ly Port Arthur is the peer of any city in this country. That Is why he likes to visit the place so much, he says. He Is a liberal contributor to the various church organizations. There are eight churches, and each has a large membership. An army of laborers is employed In the oil refinery and other business en terprises operated by Mr. Gates and his associates. He takes a personal interest In the welfare of these men. He has seen that they are provided with comfortable homes, and that they are in all respects well trained. He has done much In the matter of providing good schools for the children. It is stated that Mr. Gates is a strong believer In organization among laborers. Port Arthur has the reputation of being the strongest labor union town of its size in the country. It has been the custom of Mr. Gates to take life asy when on his visits to the southern town. He knows the choice bear-hunting grounds of that re gion, and he frequently spends days at a time during the winter in the Jangles along the rivers haatla big game. His home is profusely decorated with trop blast Two or three years ago, while on one of hU pa rlodlcal visits, he went into the "Big Thicket oa hunting expedition, accompanied by several New TwH friends. At that time he came near losing Ms ltM through art attack made upon him by a bear. Mr. Gates came suddenly upon the bear In a natx row trail in the canebrake. He was within a few fert of the animal. Retreat was out of the question. Th lear raised Itself upon its hind legs and mad fog Mr Gates. Without a moment's hesitation, he ralswd his gun and fired. The bullet went true to its aim a&4 the animal fell dead at Mr. Gates' feet Had nil ta missed fire or his aim been bad he would doubtless have been killed. The adventurous spirit of Mr. Gates is seen at tt et while he Is enjoying the freedom of a visit to Mai . nuthern home. He has his own private yacht, an4 cruises along the coast and fishing in the waters oC the gulf and bays are favorite pastimes. If the careaj of Wall street ever worried him while on these out Ings he never showed any signs of It. Aiijscii vi 11 iiv icii ilia ui uuouiVM uoftiiU um m hind, and seemed to get genuine pleasure out of dlaW' cussing and planning for the advancement of Port Arthur and the development of his oil Interests) id Texas. His abiding faith In the future of the oil lzM dustry was shown recently when he Invested $1,000,004 in i no purvuacv vi BauniviiBi v 11 prvpvi uw j VAST OPPORTUNITIES IN RICE 1 Several years ago It was stated that Mr. Gates) cherished an ambition to become the rice klnr o4 America. At that time he owned 20,000 acres of rlosj land In Texas, and the report doubtless had its orlgta when he began bulldlnar at Port Arthur th large! and finest rloe mills In the country. What the possibilities of American rlc cultural are maye told in the figures of Government Bxpcrf Talmage. who estimates that In eight of th southRf states there are 70,000,000 to 90,000,000 aeres of waat land suitable for rice cultivation. Louisiana contains more land particularly aultatM for rice cultivation than any other state except Txs Were all of this waste land brought under ttllag UM United States could rival the Orient and produce front 70.000,000,000 to 90.000,000,000 pound of rlo annual)? Here, then, is a field almost as Inviting; a that fj the magic oil wells that spout mighty column fj dollars. If, In addition to being csar of Port Arthax, Mr. Gates becomes the American rice king, hi ae cumulation of titles will be following hard upon th heels of his growing million. , Vice President 'terfatAs m Speaker Cdrmxr OerAaura trntior 3everr&e ta3 dJt &ejrtarZsreffe & C AN you conceive of "Uncle Joe" Cannon, speaker of the House of Representatives, Btanding behind the counter of a country Btore dispensing: drygoods and groceries! Or Senator Albert J. Beveridgc, the fiery young orator from Indiana, astride a log, coming d6wh a mountain stream with a gang of drivers I ' Or Senator George 0. Perkins, of California, in blue blouse and trouBrs and round cap, climb ing the mast of a vessel, swabbing the deck or at tending to any of the other dutie of a Bailor! , Perhaps you may imagine Senator La Follette, of .Wisconsin, on the stage as an actor! Yet these thinas-jou might see, if these men had continued the vocations of their early years. What some other men of prominence in public life might have been is fully as surprising. o F all things, would Senator Beveridge, of Indiana. matte one ining or a lumoerjacfc? He la essentially a man ...fit. .tha-c'tle; he llkeBTobtok"Defore"CTt ntharlnm In tK crowded oenters of population; to-- bombard tho city reader of newspaper and magaainea, -1 Wouldn't he seem out of place bossing a longing crew, or himself wielding an axe or eanthookT Ye at th age of 14, h had Utile idea, perhaps, of ever lelng anything else. He started to earn wages when very young, k a farm laborer. At the age of 14, on a railroad construc tion Job, he was driving an old-fashioned scraper. . At IS h waa placed la charg of a lagging oamn. j Young Beveridge was a practical, expert logger. H could chip a tree so as to make it fall in any desired location; could spud the bark off; could construct or" J break a landing, and knew how to drive the logs down r a stream. In this business he underwent perils, displaying Jn ; Kenultv of no mean order. Sometimes, when an ava---'' , lanche ;of tossing, rearing logs is crashing down, mountain stream, there Is an unaccountable Impedi mentone log becomes stuck; then others pile on top of. It. and in a few minutes there is a Jam, which constantly becomes mors perilous. . ,. To break a log Jam, one must climb over the moun tain of logs releasing one here and there, and . when, the avalanche starts on Its way again the driver must do some remarkable skipping from log to log to escape. Many Uvea are lost In this way every year la th "iSutJ'and und iudgmant did Bevaridg flj-. .- play that he never cam to any harm la th loggtnf operations. Strongly evident during his lumberjack day war th ability for hard work, trie close application to duty the earnestness that have characterised his triumphal since. out of bis day wage he saved some money, and on day the impulse aelsed him to get an education. &4 lie went to college; later studied law; became ranked ua one of the leading lawyer in Indiana; was a stumpj speaker, and developed such strength that, although never before a candidate for any offlce, he was eleot4 In 1899, at the age of 36, United States senator from In diana. Vi President Charles W. Fairbanks is an Inter lng example of a man who has changed his life work. Born on an Ohio farm, he went to college at the cost of some sacrifices. Had his college work failed, he could at that time have made a living as a carpenter, for h ; possessed great adeptness with tools, and, indeed, did odd jobs of carpentering to help earn his way through) college. , , But another vocation was cut out for Mm. He b came eoitor of the college paper, ana, owing to tn training which he received In this work, was able ta ' act as an expert newspaper reporter afterward, whCsi pursuing th study of law. He was an attache of the Associated Press at Pitt burg and Cleveland, and was very fond of th work. Had he determined at any time to turn aside from th law, he could have made his mark in th newspap business. On of the big men who have changed their pYo fesslons at least looks the part of the discarded re , cation. That Is Robert Marlon La Follette. United f State senator from Wisconsin, and formerly governor of that state, who, in bis youth, desired to shjn hefor th footlights. ., . A section boss of a railroad construction ganV, . John A. Johnson, governor of Minnesota, might b a 'only th fates ruled otherwise. , H started in life at 10 a month clerk In store. In cold winter weather h wore an alpaca coat, and It was much against his protest that hi em iployr once gave him an overcoat out Of th atom. as ne was suppv" There are plenty of examples, Almost as intertlnif a these, to show how on may change hi Uf work, and suoceed. There Is the tact that Jo Cannon ono rail -, country srore. - ..v . ' " e s . Senator Charles Curtl. of Kansas, was a Jockey, i ' Senator Perkins, of California, wa a practical 4.'W "for year.' --In time he saved enough money to inf the mercantile business,, and alnco then hi rise iiMl Foraier Senator Patterson, of Colorado, was a frint -,r'a devil, and afterward, for flv years, an r.ji t :;U; in a watchmaker1 shop. Senator Teller, of Colorado, .was country .ho; v Senator Weldon B. Heyburn, of low, ws a Qua j farm boy la Oalawar county, Pa, : , f And o o,
