Rensselaer Journal, Volume 11, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 October 1901 — KIRKLAND B. ARMOUR DEAD [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

KIRKLAND B. ARMOUR DEAD

He Passes Away After a Long Illness. ONLY 47 YEARS OF AGE. In Spite of Hie Busy Career He Was a Soelal Leader In Kansas City and a Churchgoer—Long In Packing BastKirkland B. Armour, one of the most conspicuous figures in the western commercial world, died at his home in Kansas City at 5:66 o’clock Friday evening after an illness of about two years. He had been a sufferer from Bright’s disease, though the immediate cause of his death is given as acute inflammation of the kidneys. He was only 47 years old. At his bedside, when the summons came, were his wife and son, Watson; his brother, Charles W. Armour, who now becomes the head of the Armour family here; his mother, Mrs. A. W. Armour, and a few close friends. Mr. Armour’s fortune was placed at about 95,000,000. K. B. Armour was born at Stockbridge, Madison county, N. Y. During that period of his life when young men generally attend college, Mr. Armour was walking about In top boots in the Blush and blood and grime of the packing house in Kansas City, learning the business. What schooling he had outside of the district school was at the Oneida seminary. He left school when he was 18 years old and went to Kansas City. That was in 1872.

Studied Business Thoroughly. The Armour packing company had been established two years at that time, and the young man stepped in to fit himself for the management of the business, which fell upon his shoulders when he was still a young man. He went through all the departments; he handled the shipping, the purchase, and the killing and the packing of the stock. He went right through the mill, in fact, and when he stepped out he was a better graduate of this school than is many a man of his alma mater. Then he went into the active management of the business in which he was until his death, or history before. His first official position in the Armour company was that of vice president and general manager of the Kansas City plant. From that he stepped Into the presidency when his uncle, S. B. Armour, died in 1898. But even with the added duties he still retained the general managership. He was at his office every day, and he had a grasp of the details of the business that was wonderful. He was a quiet man, and he never made a fuss about anything he did. While- he worked all the time, he was a leader socially, and was well known as a church goer. He Bred Fancy Stock. Mr. Armour was a devotee of fancy stock breeding, and his herd of Herefords is recognized as the finest in the .West His farm south was owned by C. C. Armour and himself. He did more for this breed of cattle than any one else, and it was his great pride. Armour Rose, the heifer which virtually built Convention Hall, was his gift, which he redeemed from the woman who drew her for 91,000 in gold. He afterward got 92,500, for she was probably the most advertised Hereford that ever lived. Armour Sunflower he recently gave to the hall for the same purpose. He was a very public-spirited man, and what he did he did quietly, but it was lavish and large. In the National Association of Hereford Breeders, Mr. Armour was looked up to aB a leader. He was twice elected president despite the rule that a man can serve only one term. He was a director in the Stock Yards company, the New England National Bank, the Armour Packing Company, and the Interstate National Bank at the stock yards. About two years ago he became ill and then he left the management of details at the packinghouse largely to others, but he watched its general trend, and kept it well in

hand, almost to his death. He had • magnificent home on Armour boulevard. His wife and three children survive Mm. His wife was Miss Annie Hearne of Wheeling, and they were married in April, 1881. Three weeks ago Mr. Armour was sent home on a special train from New York state, where he had been seeking health, to die.

THE ELECTRIC CHAIR ON WHICH CZOLGOSZ HAS BEEN CONDEMNED TO DIE.