Show Samuel Insull Man Nobody Knows Half of People InU In U S. S His Customers By ROY J. J GIBBONS GI OiS NEA AEA Service Writer July 8 Samuel Samuel Insull Insull- CHICAGO C Man A-Man A Man Nobody Knows WS That Is the title somewhat Jocose which Chicagoans have ha tacked on to their extremely wealthy public util- util utilities ties magnate Insull detests personal publicity publicity so so much so that although he controls almost two billions dollars worth of public utilities the general public has bas hardly heard of or him until he sprang into page front-page prominence a year ear ago by defying the senate slush fund In Investigating In- In investigating committee But his known little life story Is worth telling He was as born In a small hamlet near London 66 years eArs ago At 14 he was compelled by poverty to quit school and go to work His first Job job job-as as s an office boy paId boy paid him a week EXTREMELY IELY WEALTHY Now he Is the richest public utilities ties baron In America In the field of gas electricity and traction his name means what hat Fords Ford's means In Inthe Inthe Inthe the auto world orld So rich Is he that he thought nothing of dumping Into the laps of Illinois poli poU- politicians politicIans during the recent primary It was these contributions that brought him under the survey surrey of the senate committee Only after he had been threatened with Jail for contempt did Insull tell any details of his gifts gUts the bulk of which had gone to Frank L. L Smith senatorial candidate These committee tilts made Insull's name familiar to people who ho had nev nev- never never never er heard of him before Millions of these th e people contribute to Insull's wealth every ery time they take Uke a street streetcar streetcar streetcar car ride turn on the light or cook cooka a CI meal but Insull Insult was and Is an on un nn- known quantity to them Insull's rise to riches and nd power dates from the winter of or 1881 BEGAN WITH EDISON Thomas A. A Edison's London representative representative e had been Instructed to look about for a good secretary for the electrical wizard He thought young oung Insull showed sho promise and sent him over ver Insull's career c reer began b gan the mo mo- moment moment moment ment he boarded the liner for America Insull entered the electrical field at atthe atthe atthe the right time Electricity as a com com- commercial commercial commercial mercial factor was in n its Infancy Insults Insult's In- In Insull's Insull's Edison showed sull's sult's association with him that It held vast possibilities Able and Industrious he advanced ad until he was handling the entire sales end of Edison's business then in 1892 he came to Chicago to assume the presidency presidency dency of the Commonwealth Edison Co then a struggling concern with a axx poor r past and a dubious future Insull got busy on It The company began to prosper It Is still prosper prosper- ing Insull Instill Is still guiding its desti desti- nies A few lew years later the Chicago Gas Co was about ab ut to fall all Insull In ull was called on to save sa the wreckage He did so so capably started selling gas and electricity ele at the same time and proved roved that the two 1 commodities were not lot opposed to each other as previously previously had been beel supposed supposed- ALL CHICAGO UTILITIES Today almost all the gas and elec dec electricity electricity tyus used d In Chicago come from In Insull's In In- Insull's sull's suns companies In addition its street railways s 's elevated elev ted lines and bus com- com companies companies anies have Just passed Into his hands Every ery major public utility In the city with the single exception of the tele tele- telephone telephone telephone phone system Is an Insull Insult property But Chicago Is not the only cen cen- center center ter of Insull's activities His proper proper- properties properties ties are scattered over half haf the coun coun- try Many a middle western west rn city and town own Is dependent wholly on Insull for or its power Its light and Its Us trans trans- Insull Instill has shunned personal public public- publicly publicIty Ity ly through it all News photograph photograph- photographers ers in Chicago long ago despaired of getting pictures of him him after after repeat repeat- repeatedly edly rousing him to a fury by their efforts to snap him The people who are his customers know him only as asa asa asa a name MARRIED AN ACTRESS At 40 Insull married Margaret Bird an actress dose stage name was Gladys Wallis They have one son Samuel Jr Jr who Is an officer hi In many of his fathers father's companies Mrs Insull has returned to the stage In private ate theatricals managed by herself hersel The latest of these ven yen ventures ventures tures failed after Insull had leased an an entire entire- theatre here for her benefit Insull incidentally Is known as as a pa patron pa- pa patron patron tron of the arts supervising annually the raising of a fund to fi fl finance nance the Civic Chic opera But of himself the public knows little Half of the citizens in the country are his customers but Insull remains nevertheless what irreverent irre Chicagoans call him the him the man that nobody knows e q SAMUEL |