Levi Z. Leiter

Biographical Sketches of the Leading People of Chicago

Chicago Tribune, January 27, 1881

The trade and commercial circles generally were startled yesterday forenoon by a rumor that Mr. L. 2. Leiter had determined to withdraw from the great dry-goods house with which his name had been so prominently connected for the past sixteen years, and that at the time the rumor was in circulation the parties in interest were actively engaged in putting the finisbing touches to the negotiations. Shortly after noon a Tribune reporter called at the headquarters of the firm, and asked to see the two principals. He was informed that they were busily engaged in one of the private offices, to which access could not be gained without running the gauntlet of about 100 persons, and would not be seen until late in the afternoon.

Shortly after 4 o’clock the newsgatherer returned to the barge, and found Messrs. Field and Leiter in the main office attending to the usual run of business with just 83 much sangfroid if their protracted interview had relation to the extension of a customer’s note, or the drop of a quarter cent a yard in domestic cottons. As the reporter approached both gentlemen smiled. They evidently divined the nature of his errand.

“Is it true that there has been a diisodution of the firm?” queried the newsgatherer of Mr. Field.

“Yes. You’ll find it in the evening papers, and an advertisement in The Tribune of tomorrow morning will notify its readers.”

And the new firm will consist of ————”

“Oh, you’ll find that in the advertisement.”

“This is a genuine surprise to the trade.”

“Yes, we kept it very quiet.”

“And the terms ————

“Are strictly private. Mr. Leiter retires from the business. He has been anxious to do so for some time.”

“And the name of the new firm is?”
“Marshall Fieid & Co.”

Mr. Leiter, who was sitting near and evidently enjoying the situation, was the next subject of reportorial attack.

“Now that you have retired from the dry-goods trade, is it true that you are about To Engage in Banking?”

It is currently reported this afternoon, Mr. Leiter, that such is your intention.”

“Not at all. I know nothing about banking and if I did and should engage in it I would have to work as hard as I do now. No. I am not going into any active business. For two or three years I have been desirous to retire from business. I have made enough to live on, and the time has come when I should take a rest. I have a good many outside investments that will occupy as much time as I care to devote to work. Some of my leisure time I shall devote to trout-fishing.”

“And boating on Geneva Lake?

“Probably.”

“The public, by whom the firm of Field, Leiter & Co. have long been regarded as one of the greatest commercial landmarks in the Northwest, will without doubt figure largely on the financial interest involved, and this thought suggests that I should ask what are the terms of the sale?”

“They are strictly private, and perfectly satisfactory to the parties in interest, and this is all I desire to say on the subject.”

“But ————”

“Oh, it is enough to state in your paper that I have retired from business. The house will be
carried on by the gentlemen with whom I have been so long associated.’

For about a quarter of a century Marshall Field and Levi Z. Leiter have been intimately associated in the Dry-Goods business in this city. Mr. Field was years ago regarded as one of the best salesmen in the old house of Wadsworth, Cooley & Co…the founders of the present house of John V. Farwell & Co. After Mr. Farwell was admitted to an interest in the frm, Mr. Leiter became bookkeeper, and subsequently “credit-man.” In this latter position he came to know the standing at that time of almost every retail dry-goods dealer and jobber in the Northwest. Mr. Wads-worth was the first to drop out of the firm, which was reorganized under the style of Cooley, Farwell & Co., and remained in existence until January. 1852, when Mr. Cooley retired, and the firm became Farwell, Field & Co.. Mr. Leiter being taken in as junior partner. This firm continued for two years, when Messrs. C. B. and Simeon Farwell purchased the interest of Messrs. Field and Leiter.

At this time Potter Palmer was gradually withdrawing from the retail and jobbing dry: goods business, as his time was largely occupied in the handling of real estate, of which he had purchased large quantities om State street. His retail store was the fashionable dry-goods house, and by jobbers and dealers throughout the country he was favorably known. Messrs. Field and Leiter and Milton D. Palmer, Potter’s brother, purchased the stock and good will, and the firm became Field, Palmer & Leiter, With Potter Pal-Palmer as special. This firm remained in existence till January, 1867, when Milton D. Palmer withdrew, and the partnership was reorganized as Field, Leiter & co., Henry J. Willing and Henry Field being admitted in consideration and their services in extending the business of the firm.

About this tine Potter Palmer was building of Rutland marble, on the corner of State and Washington, that dry-goods palace which was regarded as the only rival in the world to Stewart’s New York store. On its completion it was occupied by Field, Leiter & Co. who paid therefor a weekly rent of $1,000. The basement and first floor were devoted to the retail trade, and the four upper floors to the wholesale department. On the completion of the Drake Block on the corner of Washington and Wabash avenue. several of the upper floors were rented by Field, Leiter & Co. as a warehouse for the storage of domestic cottons, woolens, etc., and when this block was destroyed by fire on a Sunday afternoon in the summer of 1870, it contained a large stock of domestics, the greater portion of which was saved by the exertions of the employes and the Fire Department.

The marble store, which was known all over the West as “Field & Leiter’s,” was destroyed in the big fire in October, 1871, but not before a very large portion of the stock was saved. While the fire was raging west or of State street and was rapidly eating up the North Side, the firm had purchased from the South Side Railway Company their two-story brick car-barn at the corner of State and Twentieth streets.

All the Company’s horse-cars were chartered and used in transporting the stock from the dry-goods store to the barn. Field & Leiter’s trucks and delivery-wagons were engaged in a similar duty, and when the fames veered around and struck the store about 70 per cent of the goods had been safely removed.

As soon as the embers of the big fire had cooled the firm purchased the site of the Garden City Hotel, on the corner of Madison and Market streets, and at once proceeded to put up the five-story brick building which now stands gloomy and massive. On its completion the firm moved from the State and Twentieth street store. In the meantime, Potter Palmer sold to the Singer Sewing-Machine Company of New York the site formerly occupied by the marble-front dry-goods palace. On this lot the Company rebuilt a massive marble structure, less ornate than its predecessor. Into this, on its completion, Field, Leiter & Co. moved their retail department, the wholesale branch remaining on the corner of Madison and Market streets. In November of 1877, shortly after the store was closed for the day, fire was discovered in the roof, where some plumbers bad been repairing a leak. Notwithstanding the efforts of the firemen the building was gutted, and the standing walls had to be subsequently taken down. In this fire the ultimate loss was comparatively light, as the insurance was good and a great deal of the stock was saved, though a considerable portion was damaged by water and smoke.

The firm reopened the retail store in the Exposition Building, which they temporarily fitted up for the purpose. The idea that the retail trade would follow the firm to the lake-shore proved erroneous. It was too much out of the way, and the consumers refused to breast the cold breezes from off the lake in the dead of winter.

The Barke Building and several other stored on the west side of Wabash avenue were leased by the firm early in 1878, and, as soon as they were fitted up, the retail stock was moved from the Exposition Building.

In the Wabash avenue quarters the firm remained until the spring of 1879. In the mean time

THE SINGER COMPANY had rebuilt the premises destroyed in November, 1877. It was supposed that Field, Leiter & Co. would immediately take possession on its completion, but they did not. They heid off, with the idea that they could purchase the property on their own terms.The Singer Company was asked to sell. It demanded $700,000. The former occupants offered $500,000, which was rejected, and the premises were leased for five years to Carson,
Pirie, Scott & Co. at an annual rental of $70,000. This move on the part of the Singer Machine Company excited a great deal of surprise in the trade, and when it became known through the
investigations of the Commercial Agencies that the Company had agreed to back Carson.
Pirie, Scott & Co. to the extent of two millions, Field, Leiter & Co. came to the conclusion that they had to do something, and they did it. They paid their younger rivals in the trade a bonus of $100,000 to cancel the lease, and disbursed $700,000 in solid cash for the building and lot. They immediately proceeded to fit it up, and in June, 1879, took possession.

SOME INSIDE HISTORY.
Mr. Marshall Field, the head of the new firm, was born at Conway, Mass., and is now 44 years old. Mr. Leiter, who came from Pennsylvania, is 43. Both came to Chicago at an early day,-Mr. Field twenty-five years ago,-and before long went into the house of Cooley, Wadsworth & Co, as stated above. Prior to his connection with this firm, Mr. Field was a
traveling man, Edson Keith, another wealthy Chicago merchant, having been his companion during those early years. In February of 1865 the firm of Field, Palmer & Leiter was started with a capital of $600,000, $100,000 of which was contributed by Mr. Field, $100,000 by Mr. Leiter, $75.000 by Milton Palmer, and the rest by Potter Palmer, who became a special partner. Before the first six months of 1865 were over the new firm had sunk its entire capital. Mr. Field disposed of $25,000 worth of his interest in the house and took a short trip to Europe. During the last part of the year things grew brighter, and their capital was nearly all regained. During the second year, goods, which had been very low, began to advance again, and, with the able management of Milton Palmer in the retail department, and the judicious advice of Potter Palmer in the selection of goods for the wholesale house, they did a fine business. In 1866 it was understood that the retail department should pass into the hands of Potter and Milton Palmer, and the wholesale department should be carried on by Field and Leiter; but finally the latter purchased both departments, canceling their indebtedness off-hand, with the exception of notes for about $100,000,—$30,000 being due to Milton and about $50,000 to Potter Palmer.

THE PARTNERS AND THEIR INTERESTS.
Following the retirement of the Palmers other partners were gradually taken into the Mr. Henry Field, a brother of Marshall Field, is understood old, to have an interest which has made him worth about $1,000,000. He was an invalid for some years and spent most of his time along the Mediterranean, either in the south of France or up the Nile. It is understood that be will now return to Chicago, and take an active part in the reorganized firm. Mr. Joseph N. Field, another brother. also has an interest. He resides abroad, and does nearly all the European purchasing for the house. Mr. H. N. Higinbotham, the credit man for many years, received for a long time $20,000 a year, and was finally given an interest a year ago. Mr. Lorenzo G. Woodhouse, the New York buyer, is aiso interested. but how much is unknown. These five minor partners own between them one-third, while Mr. Field and Mr. Leiter had each a third.

The business of the firm has increased enormously of late years, , and the profits have gone up correspondingly. The business done in 1878 was the $18,000,000, in 1879 and $20,000,000, and in 1880 $24,500,000. The profits are estimated to be about 10 per cent, which for last year would make $2,450,000, or $800,000 a piece for Messrs. Field and Leiter, and $800,000 to be divided among the five junior partners. Two years ago $65,000 in bonds was sent to Mr. Woodhouse at New York as his share of the profits. The value of the stocks in their wholesale and retail houses averages $3,000,000 a year, sometimes approximating $4,000,000.

The firm has been remarkably successful in all its ventures, with perhaps three exceptions.
One of these was the purchase of the old car-stables at Twenty-first and State streets, which still remain on their hands. It never paid. The temporary use of the Exposition Building was equally unprofitable, as was also the lease of the property on the northeast corner of Van Buren and State streets. This the firm leased for ten years, not knowing at the time where the centre of the retail trade would ultimately be. After carrying it for six years, the lease was canceled by paying Mr. Gregory, the owner, a bonus.

WHAT MR. LEITER GOT.
It was impossible to get any information from either Mr. Field or Mr. Leiter as to the amount which the latter receives for his share of the business, but it is estimated by those acquainted with the subject to be from $2,500,000 to $3,000,000. The goods owned by the firm, both in the wholesale and retail stores, are worth from $3,000,000 to $4,000,000. Mr. Leiter would receive, therefore, a million and a third from that source, and it is judged that he would be entitled to as much more for his share in the good will and for his agreement not to allow his name to be used hereafter in the dry-goods business in Chicago; for if Mr. Leiter, with the wealth he possesses, which is put at about $5,000,000, with another capitalist, were to go into the dry-goods business here he would prove a most formidable competitor of the old firm. Something, therefore, undoubtedly had to be paid him for his total withdrawal from the business, and the estimate of $2,500,000 cannot be far out of the way. It is supposed that the sum paid was not in bonds or cash altogether, but that Mr. Leiter received in part the interest in the property owned by Mr. Field and himself in common. They own jointly their present wholesale house, the retail store, the warehouse a the corner of Franklin and Randolph, recently erected, and their stables on Pacific avenue. A large number of

THE BEST CORNERS IN THE CITY
are the property of Mr. Field or Mr. Leiter. The latter owns the building on Madison street occupied as a clothing store by Barbe, Schoenbrun & Morgenthau; the store Gossage & Co. on
State occupied by Charles street; also the stores on Washington street occupied by the same firm; the corner of Clark and Madison occupied by Chambers, and the fine building on Clark
street, opposite the Court-House, where the Baltimore & Ohio has its offices; the southeast corner of State and Madison,—the land but not the building; and also the northwest corner of Fifth avenue and Monroe, occupied by a large clothing house; also a great deal of acre property and unimproved lots. Mr. Field owns the fine stone-front buildings on the northeast corner of State and Madison and the northeast corner of Monroe and Franklin streets, and has a great deal of other property on Fifth avenue and Jackson street, together with several hundred feet of boulevard property, and is continually purchasing good real estate whenever he gets an opportunity.

It is said it has long been the ambition of Marshall Field to have his name the only one in the great dry-goods house. If that be his desire, he has now succeeded. It is also reported
that there has for some time been a difference of opinion between the two chief partners as to the advisability of carrying on a retail store. Mr. Leiter being opposed to it and Mr. Field favoring it. If this be true, there is no prospect of the closing of the retail department, which, though it would gladden extremely all the retail dry-goods dealers in Chicago, would bring great sorrow to all ladies who have occasion to do shopping. The agreement as to the change in the firm was made Tuesday night, and the consultation yesterday was simply for the purpose of having the lawyers draw up the papers necessary to carry out the dissolution of the partnership.

Inter Ocean, November 3, 1894

LEVI Z. LEITER IN TOWN.
The Well-Known Millionaire Visits Chicago After a Long Absence.
Levi Z. Leiter arrived in town yesterday morning after a long absence. The millionaire spent most of yesterday at his office at No. 81 Clark street. Mr. Leiter spends very little time in Chicago and his visits are generally associated with his large property interests in the city. He is one of the largest security holders in the Alley “L” Road, and holders of stock in that enterprise connect Mr. Leiter’s coming with the movement to secure a down-town loop for the South Side Elevated Road. Of his plans, however, Mr. Leiter refused to speak yesterday, contenting himself with the statement that he was not opposed to the down-town loop scheme, as had been represented in some quarters. He also said that Drake, Parker & Co., proprietors of the Grand Pacific Hotel, would be offered a renewal of the release, which soon expires. He has no intention. he said, of tearing down the present building. It will be leased just as it now stands.

Chicago Tribune, June 10, 1904

Levi. Z. Leiter of Chicago died suddenly early yesterday morning at the Vanderbilt college, Bar Harbor, Me., where he was spending the summer with his family. The end came suddenly, following an attack of heart failure shortly after midnight. At his bedside were Mrs. Leiter and his daughters, Daisy and Nannie. Joseph Leiter, his son, who was in Ziegler, Ill., was summoned east by telegraph. A cablegram was sent also to Mr. Leiter’s married daughter, Lady Carson, wife of the viceroy of India, announcing her father’s death.

While the date of funeral will not be decided until after Joseph Leiter reaches Bar Harbor, it was announced last night that the services will be held in Washington, D.C., where the family has a winter home.

Mr. Leiter, who was 70 years of age, had suffered from heart disease for some time. On Tuesday, however, he took a twelve mile drive with his wife and spent the evening walking about the estate. When the attack seized him Mrs. Leiter administered restoratives and summoned a doctor, but her husband died before the physicians arrived.

One of Chicago’s Builders.
Mr. Leiter was one of Chicago’s foundation builders. He was one of the men to whose foresight and energy is due the city’s rapid rise as a commercial center. He helped to build up a great business, then he helped to build up the business section of the city, then he helped to build up the city’s culture. With at least five institutions that occupy a conspicuous place in the life of Chicago his name was connected as one of the few who fostered them from their beginnings.

These are the Commercial club of Chicago, of which he was the first president; the a href=”https://chicagology.com/goldenage/goldenage023/”>Chicago Art Institute, of which he was the second president; the Chicago Relief and Aid society, in which he served as director during the days that followed Oct. 9 1871; the Chicago Historical society, for whose renaissance he was largely responsible; and the Illinois Trust and Savings bank, of which he was one of the original stockholders.

From its beginning to its end the story of Mr. Leiter’s life was interwoven with romance. Even his name concealed a family romance. His young aunt, Barbara Zeigler, loved Levi Jordan, a young farmer, and they were engaged to be married. A short time before the date set for the ceremony Miss Ziegler was taken ill and tuberculosis developed. The wedding never took place.

Romance in His Name.
One of this young woman’s last requests was for permission to name the child of Mrs. Leiter, her sister, and her wishes were promptly acceded to. In almost her last hour the name of Levi Zeigler Leiter, thus petuating her own name and that of the man she was to have wed.

The village in which the builder of the Leiter fortune was born was founded by his ancestors. James Van Leiter came from Amsterdam to Baltimore in 1700. He purchased a large and beautiful tract of land in the western part of Maryland from Lord Craven. Henceforward Skipton-on-Craven was known as Leitersburg. In this village Levi Z. Leiter was born on Nov. 2, 1834. His father was Joseph Leiter.

Twenty years later three younf men who had been following humble pursuits in different parts of America came together in Chicago, resolved upon with that rapidly expanding but then comparatively small city.

Without any particular aim beyond that of an eagerness to succeed they set themselves resolutely to do the best that was in them to make their fortunes. These three young men were Potter Palmer, Marshall Field, and Levi Z. Leiter. Mr. Palmer was the first on the scene. Mr. Field and Mr. Leiter arrived during the next two years, the latter in 1854.

Establishes Himself in Chicago.
In his native town Leiter had obtained a good education, as country town educations go, and had spent several years working in a store. He was 18 when he started west. He was full of ambition and zealous to carve out his own destiny. The first stop in the westward journey was made at Springfield, O., where he entered the store of Peter Murray, a merchant of prominence in that city. He remained there some time, and then pushed on to Chicago. Arriving in this city, Leiter had no difficulty in securing employment with the firm of Downs & Van Wyck.

In the meantime Potter Palmer had launched out into a trade of his own. He opened a small drapery store in Lake street. At this time both Mr. Field and Mr. Leiter were employed in the wholesale drapery house of Cooley, Wadsworth & Co., the former as a salesman and the latter as office clerk. A firm friendship was established between the three young men, and all made good headway in their several undertakings, the two clerks in the course of a few years becoming partners in the firm they served.

Start of Field, Leiter & Co.
They continued in this partnership until 1865, when they sold their interest to John V. Farwell, and purchased a controlling interest in the business of young Palmer, which was continued for two years under the firm name of Field, Palmer & Leiter. In 1867 Mr. Palmer retired from the firm to follow other lines of money making and for the fourteen years following the business which he had established was carried on with augmented success under the title of Field, Leiter & Co. Of this combination Mr. Field was the merchant and Mr. Leiter the credit man.

When Field and Leiter decided to go into business for themselves they agreed that the west was large enough and wealthy enough to afford ample business for a first class concern such as they proposed to establish. Their motto was “Good goods brings a good class of trade; poor goods a poor class.” They instructed their buyers to buy only the best goods.

In furtherance of this idea Mr. Leiter decided that good merchants could pay promptly and on short time. Up to that time it had been the custom of merchants to extend to their customers a credit of four months. Leiter determined to extend only a sixty day credit, believing that only the best could afford to deal on that basis. Thereby he became known as the father of the short time, prompt paying wholesale business of Chicago.

Retires from Dry Goods Firm.
In 1880 Mr. Leiter, who had been steadily, warily, and silently extending his investments in real estate, began to think that land and buildings had more charm for him than the dry goods business, and intimated to Mr. Field that it might be well to make arrangements for leaving him in sole control of the dry goods business. The result was that on Jan. 1, 1888, Mr. Leiter disposed of his interests in the business. At that time his wealth was estimated at $6,000,000.

Since the firm of Field & Leiter became Marshall Field & Co. rumors have been persistent that there had been a difference between the partners. But the friends of Mr. Leiter tell many stories to show that this difference was more apparent than real.

Helps Stricken Chicago Rise.
While carving out his own fortune Mr. Leiter had helped to buld up Chicago. His greatest philanthropy is associated with the dark days following the fire. The good work that he did in helping to re-establish the business life of Chicago on a sound footing after the fire, restoring the city’s credit, and winning back the confidence of the outside business world, is not alone wrapped up in the rebuilding of the firm of Field & Leiter.

Through his good offices the Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance company was prevailed upon not only to open local offices in Chicago after the fire but to make that city one of its working centers. This action resulted in reassuring other companies, and one after another they came back.

As a Public Spirited Citizen.
In 1877 Mr. Leiter took an active and prominent part in the organization of the Commercial club. In January of the following year he was elected its first president. About that time the subject of reviving the Chicago Historical society was under discussion. The society had lost its library, including a collection of valuable documents bearing upon the early history of Chicago, in the fire of ’71. A second fire caused heavy loss in 1874. Mr. Leiter was one of the large subscribers to the fund to erect a new building, his name heading the list.

The Chicago Art Institute was another institution which received Mr Leiter’s financial support. In 1881 he was elected its president, succeeding George Armour, its first president. Mr. Leiter was a contributor to many other organizations, and in later years the American Sunday School union was the chief agency through which he extended his philanthropy.

After his retirement from the active business Mr. Leiter devoted his time to looking after his extensive real estate interests. During the period of his “inactivity” he doubled and tripled his fortune. He built a mansion in Washington and divided his time between the capital, Chicago, and his country house at Lake Geneva, Wis. He also spent considerable time in travel.

Famous Leiter Wheat Deal.
Then came the “Joe” Leiter wheat deal, and the son’s adventures in the wheat market forced the father from his retirement. At the time of Joseph Leiter’s wheat deal Mr. Leiter’s fortune was estimated at from $18,000,000 to $24,000,000.

The wheat deal, which cost the Leiters a fortune, was begun in 1897. It was the great financial crisis in Mr. Leiter’s life. It was so dramatic that it had been made the basis for a novel and a play—”The Pit.” Wheat was boosted in price by the younger Leiter and his followers until the farmers of the west believed the day of their millennium had come. Wheat soared to the $2 mark. When the corner was at its height Mr. Leiter declared that his som had more bushels of Wheat than he had dollars. Then came the crash.¹

What That Wheat Deal Cost.
That crash cost Mr. Leiter about $9,750,000, it is estimated. His fortune was so tied up that he was compelled to make a loan for $500,000, Mr. Field endorsing his personal note, to mortgage much of his State street property and to sell that occupied by Schlesinger & Mayer. In making this sale he again turned to his old partner, Marshall Field, to whom he disposed of the property for $2,100,000 cash. Twelve years before he had purchased the land for $212,000. Mr. Leiter is said to have been behind his son in offering to “help out” any one injured by the collapse of the “corner.”

The liquidation of the obligations incurred in the disastrous deal was effected by the sale of real estate, Mr. Leiter’s holdings in the Chicago City railway, the Illinois Trust and Savings bank, the Alley “L,” and other Chicago institutions not being touched. Immediately after the settlement the speculative boom began in the securities market. Out of this advance he is thought to have made about $3,000,000, and the Chicago bankers estimate his fortune at the time of his death at from $12,000,000 to $15,000,000.

His Downtown Real Estate.
Following is a list of the Leiter realty in the business district of Chicago, together with the valuations by the assessors:

The Leiter family, through the marriage of Mary Leiter to Lord Curzon, is known in Indian and English as well as American society. Mrs. Leiter was Mary Theresa Carver of Chicago, the marriage taking place in 1866. The children are Lady Curzon, Nannie and Daisy Leiter, daughters, and the son, Joseph.

Praised by Marshall Field.
The regard with which Mr. Leiter was held by his associated and the representative business men of Chicago was evidenced by the expressions given to The Tribune. Marshall Field declared::

He showed unusual abilities from the start, and as brother clerks and partners we were together for twenty-five years. His ability grew with his years. Always possessing the highest integrity and good judgement, he attained the success one would naturally expect. He was always a great believer in Chicago, never wanting office, yet always desiring to improve the government. His death is a great loss to the community.

Tribute by H. N. Higinbotham.
Harlow N. Higinbotham, whose desk adjoined Mr. Leiter’s for twenty years and who succeeded him as credit man in the Field firm said:

In financial matter he stood high. He was known as the ‘credit partner.’ With him it was business first, last, and all the time. He was a man of severe hours. He believed in doing things himself. While active he stood at the head. His great activity impaired his health.

Chicago Tribune, August 22, 1897

Board of Trade gossip is not the most reliable news in the world, and men have been wrongfully accused ere this of making fortunes in big bulges when they were not guilty. Hence it follows that apologies are hereby tendered to any gentleman who may feel resentment because of his inclusion or exclusion in or from the above table. That large fortunes have been made in the upward movement of the grain market is beyond argument, but, like the foul ball that goes over the grand stand, the spectators of the game usually are too much interested in its progress to watch for what becomes of the ball after it leaves their ken.

“Smart” people on the curb are sure, however, that so and so has made a “killing” on the market, because they know he “got in early” and “staid with it.” If he “got out” surreptitiously, when he should have known better, it was his own fault, of course, and he is given no sympathy. The “I told you so” fellow is in his element at the foot of La Salle street these days.

The old timer on the board will find something interesting to say about each one of the happy number included in the above list. Most of them are men who have devoted a lifetime to the business and their present good luck is more nearly a matter of realized profits on many years of devotion to the business than outsiders will belikely to understand. There is one name, however, which is a striking exception to the rule. This is Joseph Leiter.

A new star of the first magnitude does not appear in the financial firmament every day, and perhaps none has ever risen more auspiciously than that of young Joseph Leiter. His name was unknown on the board six months ago. Now it is spoken with the same sort of awe and respect that R. P. Hutchinson and Ned Pardridge commanded in years gone by. For Joseph Leiter is credited with being the biggest winner in the world, with one possible exception, on this world wide movement in the upward tendency of the price of wheat. Two others share with him this distinction—Charles A. Pillsbury of Minneapolis and B. S. Barnes of St. Louis. But both of the latter are old hands at the game, and their success excites no wonder.

It is one of those moss covered, bifurcated traditions that sons of preachers always turn out badly, and that the sons of rich men never “amount to much.” But the world is full of examples to the contrary. When it first became noised that Leiter was “in the market” one curbstone gossip said the another:
“I hear Leiter is in heavy on the bull market.”

“O, I guess not. The wheat pit has no attractions for Levi Z. Leiter.”

“I mean Joe Leiter.”

“Who the devil is Joe Leiter?”

The profane curbstone orator knew very well who “Joe” Leiter was, but his amazement found no better expression. He had heard of “Joe” Leiter as the son of the one of the richest men Chicago has produced, and perhaps had “tabbed” and labeled Joseph as one of the “sons”—an appellation not uncommonly used persons who do not claim to be “sons” in designating others who do not claim to be “sons” in designating others who have the misfortune to be born with fathers of some note in the world.

It is nevertheless true that Joseph Leiter has been known to the public heretofore chiefly as a society man, who might possibly have an ambition to “burn” money instead of make it, so far as the curbstone and other divisions of the public knew. And when Joseph Leiter appeared on the horizon of the rising wheat market this summer the amazement was greater than if he had been plain “Joe” Smith or “Joe” Johnston.

Mr. Leiter saw a good thing and knew it when he saw it. The fact that he has made $500,000 or $1,000,000—as the gossips say—does not prove that he saw this good thing earlier or appreciated it more highly than others who have made less than 10 per cent of that figure. But it is believed that Mr. Leiter has made thousands where others have made cents, and henceforward he must submit to finding his name mentioned in the samll type market reports as well as in the society chronicles which are embellished with pictures of pretty girls.

Wheat Pit
Chicago Board of Trade, 1887

Of course Mr. Leiter himself does not appear in the wheat pit with disheveled raiment, fighting and gesticulating in the manner from which the galleries derive so much bucolic wonderment. It is doubtful whether he has been within the walls of the Board of Trade during the time that this comfortable little fortune was being piled up by his brokers. A quiet, unostentatious gentleman named George French has been ther, however. Yet even Mr. French has not precipitated himself into the hurly burly of the bit. Mr. French has been Mr. Leiter’s agent in his operations, and Mr. French in turn has dealt with the regular commission houses. There are three of these which are supposed to be carrying the Leiter line of bull wheat, the Allen, Greer & Zellar company, C. B. Congdon & Co., and Norton, Worthington & Co. The firm first mentioned has figured conspicuously in the market reports the last few weeks, and before Mr. Leiter’s name was mentioned in this connection frequent referrals were made to “the Allen-Greer crowd.” Doubtkess there are many persons associated with Mr. Leiter, through common interest, in the bull side of the market, and it was not until recently that Mr. Leiter emerged from the obscurity of an anonymous member of “the Allen-Greer crowd.” Mr. French, who has prospered himself, it is said, by the appreciation in the market quotations, and who is credited with being Mr. Leiter’s alter ego in the business, is a New Yorker, and other New York men are said to be affiliated closely with Mr. Leiter.

It was six months ago when Mr. Leiter first essayed the market. He was a bull then and made money. His brief career on the board has not been entirely a summer’s dream, if reports are to be credited. His September line was sold out at 75 cents to 78 cents, and he went short. But a brief reverse was a mere incentive to greater victories, and when the market got around 80 cents he was back on the bull side, and now is said to hold between 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 bushels on the September option, with an ssured profit on that alone of nearly half a million. He also is said to have made a neat sum in corn.

Among the other notable beneficiaries of Dame Fortune is found in the name of David R. Francis, ex-Governor of Missouri and a member of the Cabinet of former President Grover Cleveland. Mr. Francis is an old hand at the business and has made comfortable fortunes in past years the same way. It is one of the most essential facts inn telling the story that St. Louis and the St. Louis clique with which Mr. Francis is intimately associated were the first to “get in on the ground floor.” They were the biggest bulls at low prices and they have stuck it out through months of uncertainty. In fact, it is asserted that St. Louis and the seaboard have grabbed off the bulk of the profits in the Chicago market this spring and summer, a circumstance which Mr. Leiter’s success does much to balance. It is believed by Chicago operators that B. S. Barnes of St. Louis has made not less than a million dollars on wheat in the last six months. Credit is given more to Mr. Haarstick than to any other, although he may not be among the heaviest plungers, for it is said that the “tip” on which St. Louis has pinned its faith came originally from him. He is the owner of a barge line which transports immense quantities of wheat to Europe, and through his correspondents he had early information of the shortage in the supply of the rest of the world. His information was of such an accurate character that there was no reason to doubt it.

NOTES:

¹The Trilogy of the Epic of the Wheat by Frank Norris, includes the following novels:
The Octopus; A Story of California.
The Pit: A Story of Chicago.
The Wolf: A Story of Europe.
These novels, while forming a series, will be in no way connected with ech other save only in their relation to (1) the production, (2) the distribution, (3) the consumption of American Wheat. When complete, they will form the story of a crop of wheat from the time of its sowing as seed in California to the time of Consumption as bread in a village of Western Europe.

The first novel, The Octopus, deals with the war between the wheat grower and the Railroad Trust; the second, The Pit, is a fictitious narrative of a “deal” in the Chicago wheat pit; while the third, The Wolf, will probably have for its pivotal episode the reliving of a famine in an Old World community, Mr. Norris died on Oct. 26, 1902 in San Francisco.

In 1903 The Pit was adopted into a play and into a card game which is still very popular today.

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