Fifty Years In Wall Street - free ebook by Henry Clews

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Fifty Years In Wall Street

Henry Clews

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157 chapters

FIFTY YEARS IN WALL STREET

FIFTY YEARS IN WALL STREET

To My Readers : The following pages are intended to throw some light on imperfectly known events connected with Wall Street speculations and investments, and also upon the condition and progress of the country from a financial standpoint, during the fifty years which I have experienced in the great money center. The theme is worthy of an abler pen, but in the absence of other contributors to this branch of our National history, I venture the plain narrative of an active participator in the finan

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DEDICATION TO THE VETERANS OF WALL STREET,

DEDICATION TO THE VETERANS OF WALL STREET,

My Dear Friends : I have attempted, in the following pages, to relate in a simple and comprehensive manner, without any aim at elaboration, the leading features of the most prominent events that have come within the sphere of my personal knowledge and experience during the twenty-eight years of my busy life in Wall street. I have never kept a diary regularly, but have been occasionally in the habit of preserving certain memoranda in the form of letters, and a few scraps from the newspapers at va

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INTRODUCTORY. MY PART IN MARKETING THE UNITED STATES CIVIL WAR LOANS.

INTRODUCTORY. MY PART IN MARKETING THE UNITED STATES CIVIL WAR LOANS.

To a very large majority of Americans now living the great Civil War—waged from 1861 to 1865—between the North and the South is only known as a matter of history. But it was the greatest war the world ever witnessed, involving the loss of nearly a million of men, and I have a vivid recollection of it, for I was an actor in it, from its beginning to its end, to the extent of providing some of the sinews of war for the United States Government, without which it could not have defeated the armies o

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CHAPTER I. MY DEBUT IN WALL STREET.

CHAPTER I. MY DEBUT IN WALL STREET.

My advent in Wall Street was on the heels of the panic of 1857. That panic was known as the “Western blizzard.” It was entitled to the name, as its destructive power and chilling effects had surpassed all other financial gales that had swept over Wall Street. The first serious result of its fatal force was the failure of the Ohio Life and Trust Company, a concern of gigantic dimensions in those days. The Company had an office in Wall Street, and on the announcement of the collapse, business beca

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CHAPTER II. WALL STREET AS A CIVILIZER.

CHAPTER II. WALL STREET AS A CIVILIZER.

Clerical Obliquity of Judgment About Wall Street Affairs.—The Slanderous Eloquence of Talmage.—Wall Street a Great Distributor, as Exhibited in the Clearing House Transactions.—Popular Delusions in Regard to Speculation.—What Our Revolutionary Sires Advised About Improving the Industrial Arts, Showing the Striking Contrast Between Their Views and the Way Lord Salisbury Wanted to Fix Things for This Country. The dense ignorance displayed by men outside of Wall Street, in regard to the business of

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CHAPTER III. HOW TO MAKE MONEY IN WALL STREET.

CHAPTER III. HOW TO MAKE MONEY IN WALL STREET.

How to take Advantage of Periodical Panics in Order to Make Money.—Wholesome Advice to Young Speculators.—Alleged “Points” from Big Speculators End in Loss or Disaster.—Professional Advice the Surest and Cheapest, and How and Where to Obtain it. But few gain sufficient experience in Wall Street to command success until they reach that period of life in which they have one foot in the grave. When this time comes these old veterans of the Street usually spend long intervals of repose at their comf

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CHAPTER IV. IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS TRAINING.

CHAPTER IV. IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS TRAINING.

Sons of Independent Gentlemen make very bad Clerks.—They become Unpopular with the Other Boys, and must Eventually Go.—Night Dancing and Late Suppers don’t contribute to Business Success.—Give Merit its True Reward.—Keeping Worthless Pretense in its True Position.—Running Public Offices on Business Principles.—A Piece of Gratuitous Advice for the Administration.—A College Course not in general calculated to make a Good Business Man.—The Question of Adaptability Important.—Children should be Enco

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CHAPTER V. PERSONAL HONOR OF WALL STREET MEN.

CHAPTER V. PERSONAL HONOR OF WALL STREET MEN.

Breach of Trust Rare Among Wall Street Men.—The English Clergyman’s Notion of Talmage’s Tirades Against Wall Street.—Adventurous Thieves Have No Sympathizers Among Wall Street Operators.—Early Training Necessary for Success in Speculation.—Ferdinand Ward’s Evil Genius.—A Great Business can only be Built up on Honest Principles.—Great Generals Make Poor Financiers, Through Want of Early Training.—Practical Business is the Best College. There is no place in the world where people are trusted so mu

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CHAPTER VI. WALL STREET DURING THE WAR.

CHAPTER VI. WALL STREET DURING THE WAR.

The Financiers of Wall Street Assist the Government in the Hour of the Country’s Peril.—The Issue of the Treasury Notes.—Jay Cooke’s Northern Pacific Scheme Precipitates the Panic of 1873.—Wall Street Has Played a Prominent Part in the Great Evolution and Progress of the Present Age. Wall Street came to the rescue of the country when the war broke out. The Government then did not have money enough to pay the interest on the debt, and was sorely embarrassed for a time. The Hon. S. P. Chase, Secre

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CHAPTER VII. MORE WAR REMINISCENCES—BRITISH AND NAPOLEONIC DESIGNS.

CHAPTER VII. MORE WAR REMINISCENCES—BRITISH AND NAPOLEONIC DESIGNS.

How Napoleon Defied the Monroe Doctrine.—The Banquet to Romero.—Speeches by Eminent Financiers, Jurists and Business Men.—The Eloquent Address of Romero against French Intervention.—Napoleon shows his Animus by Destroying the Newspapers Containing the Report of the Banquet.—The Emperor Plotting with Representatives of the English Parliament to Aid the Confederates and Make War on the United States. There were other critical periods during the war when Wall Street came to the front, besides the o

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CHAPTER VIII FOREIGN INTRIGUES AGAINST AMERICAN LIBERTY.

CHAPTER VIII FOREIGN INTRIGUES AGAINST AMERICAN LIBERTY.

How the Imperial Pirates of France and England Were Frightened Off Through the Diplomacy of Seward.—Ominous Appearance of the Russian Fleet in American Waters.—Napoleon Aims at the Creation of an Empire West of the Mississippi, and the Restoration of the Old French Colonies.—Plotting With Slidell, Benjamin, Lindsay, Roebuck and Others.—Urging England to Recognize the Confederacy.—Disraeli Explains England’s Designs and Diplomacy.—After the Naval Victory of Farragut, and the Capture of New Orlean

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CHAPTER IX. SECRETARY CHASE AND THE TREASURY.

CHAPTER IX. SECRETARY CHASE AND THE TREASURY.

The Depleted Condition of the Treasury when Mr. Chase took Office.—Preparations for War and Great Excitement in Washington.—Chivalrous Southerners in a Ferment.—Officials Up in Arms in Defence of their Menaced Positions.—Miscalculation with Regard to the Probable Duration of the War.—A Visit to Washington and an Interview with Secretary Chase.—Disappointment about the Sale of Government Bonds.—A Panic Precipitated in Wall Street.—Millionaires Reduced to Indigence in a Few Hours.—Miraculously Sav

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CHAPTER X. THE NATIONAL BANKS.

CHAPTER X. THE NATIONAL BANKS.

Secretary Chase Considers the Problem of Providing a National Currency.—How E. G. Spaulding takes a Prominent Part in the Discussion on the Bank Act.—The Act Founded on the Bank Act of the State of New York.—Effect of the Act upon the Credit of the Country.—A New System of Banking Required. The history of the Bank Act of 1863, improved by the Act of 1864, would require much larger space than I can devote to it in this book. I can only glance at its salient points, and show its great influence, n

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CHAPTER XI. THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE.

CHAPTER XI. THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE.

History of the Organization for Ninety-four Years.—From a Button-Wood Tree to a Palace Costing Millions of Dollars.—Enormous Growth and Development of the Business.—How the Present Stock Exchange was Formed by the Consolidation of Other Financial Bodies.—Patriotic Action During the War Period.—Reminiscences of Men and Events. The New York Stock Exchange is not a building, as people generally suppose. It is an Association of brokers united, but not incorporated by law, for the purpose of buying a

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CHAPTER XII. “CORNERS” AND THEIR EFFECT ON VALUES.

CHAPTER XII. “CORNERS” AND THEIR EFFECT ON VALUES.

The Senate Committee on “Corners” and “Futures.”—Speculation Beneficial to the Country at Large.—A Regulation of Values, and an Important Agent in the Prevention of Panics.-“Corners” in all kinds of Business.—How A. T. Stewart made “Corners.”—All Importing Firms deal in “Futures.”—Legislation Against “Corners” would stop Enterprise and cause stagnation in Business.—Only the Conspirators themselves get hurt in “Corners.”—The Black Friday “Corner.”—Speculation in Grain Beneficial to Consumers. The

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CHAPTER XIII. THE COMMODORE’S “CORNERS.”

CHAPTER XIII. THE COMMODORE’S “CORNERS.”

The Great Hudson “Corner.”—Commodore Vanderbilt the “Boss” of the Situation.—The “Corner” Forced upon Him.—How he Managed the Trick of getting the Bears to “Turn” the stock, and then caught them.—His able Device of Unloading while Forcing the Bears to Cover at High Figures.—The Harlem “Corner.”—The Common Council Betrayed the Commodore, but were Caught in their own Trap, and Lost Millions.—The Legislature Attempt the same Game, and meet with a Similar Fate. In the Hudson “corner,” the stock jump

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CHAPTER XIV. DANIEL DREW.

CHAPTER XIV. DANIEL DREW.

Drew, like Vanderbilt, an Example of Great Success without Education.—Controlled more Ready Cash than any man in America.—Drew goes Down as Gould Rises.-“His Touch is Death.”—Prediction of Drew’s Fall.—His Thirteen Millions Vanish.—How he caught the Operators in “Oshkosh” by the Handkerchief Trick.—The Beginning of “Uncle Daniel’s” Troubles.—The Convertible Bond Trick.—The “Corner” of 1866.—Millions Lost and Won in a Day.—Interesting Anecdote of the Youth who Speculated outside the Pool, and was

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CHAPTER XV. DREW AND VANDERBILT.

CHAPTER XV. DREW AND VANDERBILT.

Vanderbilt Essays to Swallow Erie, and Has a Narrow Escape from Choking.—He Tries to make Drew Commit Financial Suicide.—Manipulating the Stock Market and the Law Courts at the Same Time.—Attempts to “Tie Up” the Hands of Drew.—Manufacturing Bonds with the Erie Paper Mill and Printing Press.—Fisk Steals the Books and Evades the Injunction.—Drew Throws Fifty Thousand Shares on the Market and Defeats the Commodore.—The “Corner” is Broken and Becomes a Boomerang.—Vanderbilt’s Fury Knows no Bounds.—

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CHAPTER XVI. DREW AND THE ERIE “CORNERS.”

CHAPTER XVI. DREW AND THE ERIE “CORNERS.”

A Harmonious Understanding with the Commodore.—How the Compromise was Effected.—An Interesting Interview with Fisk and Gould in the Commodore’s Bed-Room.—How Richard Schell Raised the Wind for the Commodore.—Drew’s Share of the Spoils.—He Tries to Retire from Wall Street, but Can’t.—The Settlement Cost Erie Nine Millions.—Gould and Fisk “Water” Erie again, to the Extent of Twenty-three Millions, but leave Drew out.-“Uncle Daniel” Returns to the Street.—He is Inveigled into a Blind Pool by Gould

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CHAPTER XVII. INTERESTING EPISODES IN DREW’S LIFE.

CHAPTER XVII. INTERESTING EPISODES IN DREW’S LIFE.

Incidents in the Early Life of Drew, and How he Began to Make Money.—He Borrows Money from Henry Astor, Buys Cattle in Ohio and Drives them over the Alleghany Mountains under Great Hardship and Suffering.—His Great Career as a Steamboat Man, and his Opposition to Vanderbilt.—His Marriage and Family.—He Builds and Endows Religious and Educational Institutions.—Returns to his Old Home after his Speculative Fall, but can Find No Rest so Far away from Wall Street.—His Hopes, through Wm. H. Vanderbil

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George I. Seney.

George I. Seney.

The most prominent characters in the short lived panic of 1884, as every observing person knows, were Ferdinand Ward, James D. Fish and a few others who acted minor parts in connection with the methods of financiering which precipitated the crisis in Wall Street. There are many people who think that Ward—the Young Napoleon of finance, as he was popularly called—was able to dupe everybody, his accomplices included, and that he was chiefly responsible for all the trouble. But this is an exaggerate

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John C. Eno.

John C. Eno.

Of the four famous “financiers” mentioned who were most prominent in the Summer panic of 1884, the speculative history of John C. Eno was in some respects the most remarkable and most interesting. Eno was a young man, not more than twenty-six years of age, and a representative of that class of ardent and youthful speculators who plunge into the market with all the recklessness incident to young and sanguine imaginations, with many roseate schemes of wealth and greatness, for which inexperienced

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THE CLEARING-HOUSE AS A PREVENTER OF PANICS.

THE CLEARING-HOUSE AS A PREVENTER OF PANICS.

In this panic the boldest and most remarkable instance of self-sacrifice on record was manifested by the Clearing-House banks. The panic of 1884, in its incipient stage, was different to any that had preceded it—at least any of the financial convulsions within my recollection—owing to the influence exercised upon it by the prompt and liberal policy of the banks. In every respect their action was notable, showing that those at the head of their management had largely profited by the lessons of fo

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CHAPTER XIX. OLD TIME PANICS.

CHAPTER XIX. OLD TIME PANICS.

The Panic of 1837.—How it was Brought About.—The State Banks.—How they Expanded their Loans under Government Patronage.—Speculation was Stimulated and Values Became Inflated.—President Jackson’s “Specie Circular” Precipitates the Panic.—Bank Contractions and Consequent Failures.—Mixing up Business and Politics.—A General Collapse, with Intense Suffering. The first panic of any great importance was that of 1837. This panic had its origin in a misunderstanding between the United States Bank, with

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CHAPTER XX. THE TRUE STORY OF BLACK FRIDAY TOLD FOR THE FIRST TIME.

CHAPTER XX. THE TRUE STORY OF BLACK FRIDAY TOLD FOR THE FIRST TIME.

The Great Black Friday Scheme originates in patriotic motives.—Advising Boutwell and Grant to sell Gold.—The part Jim Fisk played in the Speculative Drama.-“Gone where the Woodbine Twineth.”—A general state of Chaos in Wall Street.—How the Israelite Fainted.-“What ish the prish now?”—Gould the Head Centre of the Plot to “Corner” Gold.—How he Managed to Draw Ample Means from Erie.—Gould and Fisk Attempt to Manipulate President Grant and Compromise him and his Family in the Plot.—Scenes and Incide

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CHAPTER XXI. CAUSES OF LOSS IN SPECULATION.

CHAPTER XXI. CAUSES OF LOSS IN SPECULATION.

Inadequate Information.—False Information.—Defects of News Agencies.—Insufficiency of Margins.—Dangers of Personal Idiosyncrasies.—Operating in Season and out of Season.—Necessity of Intelligence, Judgment and Nerve.—An Ideal Standard.—What Makes a King Among Speculators? As there is always a class of speculators whose operations, in the long run, leave a net result of loss rather than profit, it may not be amiss if I state what experience has taught me as to the causes of this want of success.

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CHAPTER XXII. VILLARD AND HIS SPECULATIONS.

CHAPTER XXII. VILLARD AND HIS SPECULATIONS.

Return of the Renowned Speculator to Wall Street.—Recalling the Famous “Blind” Pool in Northern Pacific.—How Villard Captured Northern Pacific.—Pursuing the Tactics of Old Vanderbilt.—Raising Twelve Million Dollars on Paper Credit.—Villard Emerges from the “Blind” Pool a Great Railroad Magnate.—He Inflates His Great Scheme from Nothing to One Hundred Million Dollars.—His Unique Methods of Watering Stock as Compared with those of George I. Seney. The return of Mr. Henry Villard to Wall Street, af

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CHAPTER XXIII. FERDINAND WARD.

CHAPTER XXIII. FERDINAND WARD.

Peculiar Power and Methods of the Prince of Swindlers.—How he Duped Astute Financiers and Business Men of all Sorts, and Secured the Support of Eminent Statesmen and Leading Bank Officers, whom he Robbed of Millions of Money.—The most Artful Dodger of Modern Times.—The Truth of the Swindle Practiced upon General Grant and his Family. In making a fair estimate of the part that Ferdinand Ward, of the firm of Grant &amp; Ward, played in the panic of 1884, I can only say that Ward’s methods, tak

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CHAPTER XXIV. HENRY N. SMITH.

CHAPTER XXIV. HENRY N. SMITH.

How Mr. Smith Started in Life and became a Successful Operator.—His connection with the Tweed “Ring,” and how he and the Famous “Boss” made Lucky Speculations, through the use of the City Funds, in Making a Tight Money Market.—On the Verge of Ruin in a Pool with W. K. Vanderbilt.—He is Converted to the Bear Side by Woerishoffer, and Again Makes Money, but by Persistence in his Bearish Policy Ruins Himself and Drags Wm. Heath &amp; Co. down also. I have already had occasion to speak of Henry

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CHAPTER XXV. KEENE’S CAREER.

CHAPTER XXV. KEENE’S CAREER.

He Starts in Speculation as a California Broker.—A Lucky Hit in a Mining Stock Puts Him on the Road to be a Millionaire.—His Speculative Encounter with the Bonanza Kings.—He Makes Four Millions, Starts for Europe and Stops at Wall Street, Where He Forms an Alliance With Gould, Who “Euchres” Him and Others.—Selover Drops Gould in an Area Way.—Keene Goes Alone and Adds Nine Millions More to His Fortune.—He Then Speculates Recklessly in Everything.—Suffers a Sudden Reversal and Gets Swamped.—Overwh

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CHAPTER XXVI. OUR RAILROAD METHODS.

CHAPTER XXVI. OUR RAILROAD METHODS.

Deceptive Financiering.—Over-Capitalization.—Stock “Watering.”—Financial Reconstructions.—Losses to the Public.—Profits of Constructors.—Bad Reputation of our Railroad Securities.—Unjust and Dangerous Distribution of the Public Wealth. The following chapter, on the subject of “Our Railroad Methods,” was delivered by me as a Fourth of July address at Mr. H. C. Bowen’s Annual Symposium at Woodstock, Conn., to an assemblage of over 3,000 people. It was so favorably received by the press and the pub

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Georgia’s Outlawed Bonds.

Georgia’s Outlawed Bonds.

Newspapers in Atlanta, Savannah and other parts of Georgia have violently assailed The Graphic for its comments on the new issue of Georgia State Bonds as affected by the repudiation of a former issue. These journals are short-sighted, as are the people of Georgia who imagine that they save money by outlawing the obligations of their State issued in the usual manner. We will not impute deliberate dishonesty to them, but they certainly do not place their own motives in a favorable light when they

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Georgia Bonds.

Georgia Bonds.

When a Georgia bond is put on the market, our Democratic friends cry out “Great is the Credit of Georgia.” They claim that Georgia pays all of her obligations whenever they are due, knowing their claim to be utterly false. Georgia has not only repudiated legal obligations, in the hands of innocent purchasers, but she denies the parties who have paid value for her bonds the right to take the judgment of her own courts on the validity of those bonds. So in the bond business the State of Georgia ac

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How the Georgia Bonds were Negotiated.

How the Georgia Bonds were Negotiated.

The following circular explains the manner in which the Georgia bonds were negotiated with my firm: Hon. Wm. A. Post , Deputy Attorney-General, State of New York : The firm of Henry Clews &amp; Co. did not solicit the account of the State of Georgia, but it was opened at the request of Mr. I. C. Plant, the leading private banker of Macon, Ga., and the most influential and affluent banker of the State of Georgia then and at the present time. Mr. Plant was brought to my office by Mr. P. C. Cal

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Georgia Securities and New York Savings Banks.

Georgia Securities and New York Savings Banks.

The efforts that are being made to place Georgia securities in the savings banks of New York ought to be resisted for two very good reasons: First, such investment would be contrary to the law of the State; second, even if it were legal it would be imprudent and unsafe. As to the authority of our savings banks to invest in these securities, it is understood that the opinion of the Attorney-General has been asked. On this point there is not much room for question. Savings banks are prohibited by

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The Attorney-General’s Decision.

The Attorney-General’s Decision.

The decision of the Attorney-General, as was expected, wisely prohibited the savings banks of this State from risking any of the hard earnings of their large number of depositors in such an uncertain security as Georgia bonds. The Bank Superintendent, Willis S. Paine, referring in his report of March, 1886, to this decision, says: “For some time there has been a determined effort to have the bonds issued by the State of Georgia accepted as a lawful investment for savings banks of this State. My

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Georgia’s New Issue.

Georgia’s New Issue.

An attempt was made last summer to have several millions of the new issue of Georgia bonds listed on the Stock Exchange in a second hand style, through the instrumentality of Mr. Fred. Wolf, who was presumably an innocent holder of these bonds. On this occasion I addressed to the Governing Committee the following protest: June 22, 1886. To the Governing Committee of the N. Y. Stock Exchange : Dear Sirs :—I have just been informed, whether correctly or not, that, not the State of Georgia, but a p

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SHALL REPUDIATION BE RECOGNIZED

SHALL REPUDIATION BE RECOGNIZED

To the Governing Committee of the N. Y. Stock Exchange : Dear Sir :—I send you an exact copy, published in the Graphic newspaper under date of June 15th, 1886, of a bond issued by the State of Georgia, which you will perceive is an out-and-out State bond and represents an issue of 1,800 bonds of $1,000 each. The act of authorization of the State was passed upon by the eminent legal firm of Evarts, Southmayd &amp; Choate, also by the late Judge Emott as being in conformity with law and in eve

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A REMINDER TO SENATOR EVARTS.

A REMINDER TO SENATOR EVARTS.

In connection with this Georgia bond affair, even at the expense of stringing the subject out to a considerable length, I cannot omit the following communication to Senator Evarts on the subject: Hon. William M. Evarts, Washington, D. C. : Dear Sir —It is quite generally understood, from information lately received here from Washington, that there is soon to be sprung upon Congress a bill providing for large appropriations for the improvement of rivers and harbors and other so-called public impr

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ANOTHER STRONG PROTEST.

ANOTHER STRONG PROTEST.

James D. Smith, President of the Stock Exchange : Dear Sir —I beg to hand you herewith a memorial in relation to the new issue of Georgia bonds, signed by a number of the largest and most important firms and corporations in this city, most of whom are connected by membership with the Stock Exchange, and all of whom, like myself, are victims of the State of Georgia’s repudiation. I understand that the subject of admitting this new issue of these bonds is to come up for consideration at the next r

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CHAPTER XXVIII. ANDREW JOHNSON’S VAGARIES.

CHAPTER XXVIII. ANDREW JOHNSON’S VAGARIES.

“Swinging Around the Circle.”—How Mr. Johnson Came to Visit New York on His Remarkable Tour.—The Grand Reception at Delmonico’s.—The President Loses his Temper at Albany and Becomes an Object of Public Ridicule.—His Proclamation of “My Policy” Ironically Received.—Returns to Washington Disgraced.—The Massacre of New Orleans.—The Impeachment of the President. As I have attributed the ill luck of myself and others in certain business ventures in Southern securities to President Andrew Johnson, it

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General Grant to General Dix.

General Grant to General Dix.

Following is the letter which General Grant wrote after my interview with him: “ My Dear General : “I congratulate you upon the unanimity and enthusiasm of the Utica Convention on the occasion of your nomination for the honorable and responsible position of Governor of the great State of New York. Especially do I congratulate the citizens of that State, almost irrespective of party, upon your nomination. I believe you will receive the active support of the great majority of the best people of th

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General Dix’s Reply.

General Dix’s Reply.

“ Leafield, West Hampton, N. Y. , August 28, 1872. “ My Dear General : “I am very thankful to you for your kind letter of congratulation on my nomination for the office of Governor of this State. You are aware, no doubt, that I declined it before the Convention was held. I am deeply sensible of the honor conferred on me, especially by the manner in which it was tendered; but my objections to the acceptance of the nomination are so strong, that I would not think of it a moment, were it not for th

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CHAPTER XXX. CONSEQUENCES OF THE UTICA (DIX’S) CONVENTION.

CHAPTER XXX. CONSEQUENCES OF THE UTICA (DIX’S) CONVENTION.

A Chapter of Secret History.—Conkling gets the Credit for Dix’s Nomination and his “Silence Gives Consent” to the Honor.—Robertson Regards him as a Marplot.—The Senator Innocently Condemned.—The Misunderstanding which Defeated Grant for the Third Term, and Elected Garfield.—How the Noble “306” were Discomfited.-“Anything to Beat Grant.”—The Stalwarts and the Half Breeds.-“Me Too.”—The Excitement which Aroused Guiteau’s Murderous Spirit to Kill Garfield. The political events succeeding the Utica

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RESOLUTIONS.

RESOLUTIONS.

Hon. E. Delafield Smith, Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions, presented the following: First. That the merchants and mechanics, the bankers and business men of New York, represented in this meeting and in the call under which it is assembled, are satisfied with the wisdom, ability, moderation and fidelity with which the national government is administered, and in common with the bulk of our brethren throughout the Union favor the continuance of its distinguished head in the office which he

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CIRCULAR

CIRCULAR

Of the Business Men of New York on the Financial Condition of the National Debt of the United States. Further Reduction October 1, 10,327,000 Dollars. The undersigned, merchants, bankers and business men of New York, respectfully submit the following statements for the information of all parties interested therein: The Republican candidate for President of the United States is Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who was unanimously named for re-election at Philadelphia, in May last. At the commencement of Ge

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CHAPTER XXXII. THE TWEED RING, AND THE COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY.

CHAPTER XXXII. THE TWEED RING, AND THE COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY.

The Ring Makes Itself Useful in Speculative Deals.—How Tweed and His “Heelers” Manipulated the Money Market.—The Ring Conspires to Organize a Panic for Political Purposes.—The Plot to Gain a Democratic Victory Defeated and a Panic Averted Through President Grant and Secretary Boutwell, Who Were Apprised of the Danger by Wall Street Men.—How the Committee of “Seventy” Originated.—The Taxpayers Terrorized by Boss Tweed and His Minions.—How “Slippery Dick” Got Himself Whitewashed.—Offering the Offi

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CHAPTER XXXIII. HON. SAMUEL J. TILDEN.

CHAPTER XXXIII. HON. SAMUEL J. TILDEN.

How Tilden began to Make his Fortune in Connection with William H. Havemeyer.—Tilden’s Great Forte in Politics.—He Improves his Opportunity with the Discernment of Genius.—How Tilden became one of the Counsel of the “Committee of Seventy.”—His Political Elevation and Fame dating from this Lucky Event.—The Sage of Greystone a Truly Great Man.—Attains Marvelous Success by His own Industry and Brain Power.—He not only Deserved Success and Respect, but Commanded them.—How his Large Generosity was Ma

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CHAPTER XXXIV. COMMODORE VANDERBILT. —HOW HIS MAMMOTH FORTUNE WAS ACCUMULATED.

CHAPTER XXXIV. COMMODORE VANDERBILT. —HOW HIS MAMMOTH FORTUNE WAS ACCUMULATED.

Ferryman.—Steamboat Owner.—Runs a Great Commercial Fleet.—The First and Greatest of Railroad Kings.—The Harlem “Corner.”—Reorganization of N. Y. Central.—How He Milked His Co-speculators.—His Fortune.—Its Vast Increase by WM. H. The most conspicuous man connected with Wall Street in my early days of speculation was “Commodore” Vanderbilt. Without going minutely into the early exploits of the man, it will be sufficient, for the purposes of this narrative, that I trace his start in life in connect

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CHAPTER XXXV. WILLIAM H. VANDERBILT.

CHAPTER XXXV. WILLIAM H. VANDERBILT.

A Builder Instead of a Destroyer of Public Values.—His Respect for Public Opinion on the Subject of Monopolies.—His First Experience in Railroad Management.—How he Improved the Harlem Railroad Property.—His Great Executive Power Manifested in Every Stage of Advance Until he Becomes President of the Vanderbilt Consolidated System.—An Indefatigable Worker.—His Habit of Scrutinizing Every Detail.—His Prudent Action in the Great Strike of 1877, and its Good Results.—Settled all Misunderstandings by

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CHAPTER XXXVI. “YOUNG CORNEEL.”

CHAPTER XXXVI. “YOUNG CORNEEL.”

The Eccentricities of Cornelius Jeremiah Vanderbilt, and his Marvellous Power for Borrowing Money.—He Exercises Wonderful Influence over Greeley and Colfax.—A Dinner at the Club with Young “Corneel” and the “Famous Smiler.”—“Corneel tries to make himself Solid with Jay Cooke.—The Commodore Refuses to Pay Greeley.-“Who the Devil Asked You?” retorted Greeley.-“Corneel’s” marriage to a Charming and Devoted Woman.—How she Softened the Obdurate Heart of her Father-in-Law. Cornelius J. Vanderbilt, the

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CHAPTER XXXVII. THE YOUNG VANDERBILTS AND THEIR FORTUNES.

CHAPTER XXXVII. THE YOUNG VANDERBILTS AND THEIR FORTUNES.

Remarkable for Physical and Intellectual Ability.—The Mixture of Races and the Law of Selection.—The Wonderful Will and the Wise Distribution of Two Hundred Millions.—Tastes, Habits and Social Proclivities of the Young Vanderbilts.—The Married Relations of Some of Them.—Being Happily Assorted they make Good Husbands.—Their Property Regarded as a Great Trust.—Their Railroad System and its Great Army of Employes.—The Young Men Cautious about Speculating, and Conservative in their Expenses Generall

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CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE ROTHSCHILDS.

CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE ROTHSCHILDS.

The Beginning of the Financial Career of the Great House of Rothschild.—The Hessian Blood Money was the Great Foundation of their Fortune.—How the Firm of the Five Original Brothers was Constituted.—Nathan the Greatest Speculator of the Family.—His Career in Great Britain, and How He Misrepresented the Result of the “Battle of Waterloo” for Speculative Purposes.—Creating a Panic on the London Stock Exchange—His Terror of Being Assassinated.—His Death Causes a Panic on the London Exchange and the

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The Death of Travers.

The Death of Travers.

The foregoing reminiscences of Travers were written and stereotyped while the great wit and financier was still alive. I have, therefore, not deemed it necessary to recast the matter, but consider it sufficient to add a few of the salient points in Mr. Travers’ character and career, with more bons mots which the death of this popular man brought out. He died in Bermuda, March 19, 1887. He had gone there in the previous November, where he had a residence of his own, in the hope that the climate m

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CHAPTER XL. CHARLES F. WOERISHOFFER.

CHAPTER XL. CHARLES F. WOERISHOFFER.

The Career of Charles F. Woerishoffer, and the Resultant Effect upon Succeeding Generations.—The Peculiar Power of the Great Leader of the Bear Element in Wall Street.—His Methods as Compared with Those Other Wreckers of Values.—A Bismarck Idea of Aggressiveness the Ruling Element of His Business Life.—His Grand Attack on the Villard Properties, and the Consequence Thereof.—His Benefactions to Faithful Friends. By the death of Charles F. Woerishoffer, Wall Street lost one of the most prominent f

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CHAPTER XLI. WOMEN AS SPECULATORS

CHAPTER XLI. WOMEN AS SPECULATORS

Wall Street no Place for Women.—They Lack the Mental Equipment.—False Defenses of Feminine Financiers.—The Claflin Sisters and Commodore Vanderbilt.—Fortune and Reputation Alike Endangered. As speculators, women hitherto have been utter failures. They do not thrive in the atmosphere of Wall Street, for they do not seem to have the mental qualities required to take in the varied points of the situation upon which success in speculation depends. They are, by nature, parasites as speculators, and,

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Collis P. Huntington.

Collis P. Huntington.

One of the financiers who may be seen daily entering the palatial Mills Building in Broad street, New York, is a tall, well-built man, with a full beard tinged with gray, a square, resolute jaw, and keen bluish-gray eyes. Though now in his 66th year, his step is light and quick, betokening good habits in his youth and due care of himself in his later years. He is one of the best known of American financial chieftains. It is Collis P. Huntington. He is a born leader of men. As a boy of 15 he came

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Leland Stanford.

Leland Stanford.

Leland Stanford, one of California’s United States Senators, is worth from thirty to forty million dollars. He was born in Albany county, New York, March 9, 1824. He received an academical education and entered a law office in Albany in 1846, and, after three years’ study, was admitted to practice law in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. He removed to Port Washington, in the northern part of Wisconsin, and there engaged in the practice of his profession for four years. In 1852 fire des

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Darius O. Mills.

Darius O. Mills.

One of the most notable figures daily seen on Wall Street is a man about five feet nine inches in height, with handsome, florid features and a firm jaw, indicative of great decision of character. He is now about fifty eight years of age, and is as industrious and energetic as when he began his eventful career. It is Darius O. Mills. He is one of the most astute and one of the boldest financiers in this country. He has the courage of a Richelieu, joined to that famous statesman’s caution and cons

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Charles Crocker.

Charles Crocker.

Charles Crocker is now about 65 years of age, and lives in New York city. He was born in Ohio in humble circumstances, and early in life followed for a time the occupation of blacksmith. He used to get up at four o’clock in the morning and work hard all day. It was a hard life, and he engaged, after a time, in other occupations, gradually, in the meantime, by thrift and industry, amassing a sufficient sum to enable him to go to California, in the height of the mining fever, and establish a gener

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Mark Hopkins.

Mark Hopkins.

Mark Hopkins died some years ago, worth fifteen million dollars. He was from Massachusetts, and went to California on the breaking out of the mining furore, and settled in Sacramento, where he soon engaged in the hardware business with C. P. Huntington, with whom he also embarked in the ambitious enterprise of building the Central Pacific Railroad. He won a large fortune in his railroad operations. His widow has a magnificent estate at South Great Barrington, in Massachusetts. We come now to the

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W. S. O’Brien.

W. S. O’Brien.

W. S. O’Brien was associated with Mackay, Flood and Fair in developing mines on the Comstock, and died in 1878, enormously wealthy. He was born in New York, went to San Francisco in the early days of the gold excitement, and at first kept a liquor saloon with Flood. He gradually engaged in mining speculations, and ultimately met with such success that he died famous as one of the bonanza kings. It is an interesting circumstance that four Irishmen secured the lion’s share of the bonanza millions,

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James G. Fair.

James G. Fair.

James G. Fair is another of the bonanza kings who has had an interesting career. He was born Dec. 3d, 1831, near Belfast, Ireland. He came to this country with his parents in 1843 and settled in Illinois. He received a thorough business education in Chicago, and at the same time devoted considerable attention to scientific studies. On the breaking out of the gold fever in 1849 he removed to California, settling at Long’s Bar, Feather River, in that State. He mined on the Bar for some time withou

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William Sharon.

William Sharon.

William Sharon was one of the remarkable men developed by the mining excitement in this country, one of the sagacious, self-reliant men who inevitably come to the front wherever they are found. He showed his mettle when the Bank of California was forced to suspend, and when a commercial pall hung over San Francisco. In the midst of the frenzied excitement he was one of the few who kept cool and never lost their courage. The wild excitement on the Stock Exchange of San Francisco was stopped at hi

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Wm. C. Ralston.

Wm. C. Ralston.

Wm. C. Ralston was one of the most notable, as he was one of the most remarkable, of all the financial giants of the Pacific Slope. He ascended the gilded summits of financial renown, and he fell into a shadowy valley of stern retribution and utter ruin. No man could be more popular, none could exhibit greater daring in his business enterprises. He was a New York boy, but drifted to the West, and became a clerk on a Mississippi steamboat, finally became Captain, and having amassed some money, he

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John P. Jones.

John P. Jones.

John P. Jones has had an eventful career. He has made and lost millions. He was worth at one time five or six millions. He lost very heavily in railroad enterprises in Southern California. He had been engaged in mining and had won a big heap of treasure, probably as much wealth as any one needs, or more, but with the restless ambition of one who would travel still higher up the glittering heights of financial fame he sought to emulate Huntington, Stanford and others and become a railroad magnate

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William H. Stewart.

William H. Stewart.

William H. Stewart, another successful man of the Far West, who has twice represented Nevada in the United States Senate, was a New York boy, born in Wayne county in 1827. A good many New York boys have succeeded in the West. He went to California early in 1850. In the fall of that year, while prospecting, he discovered the Eureka placer diggings; he built saw mills, worked claims because disgusted with mining, went to Nevada City in the spring of 1852, and in December of that year was appointed

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James Lick.

James Lick.

James Lick, born in Pennsylvania in 1796, was one of the strange characters of California. He went there in 1847, after having been a manufacturer of pianos in this country and different parts of South America. He took $30,000 to San Francisco, which he invested in real estate, foreseeing that it was to become the great city of the Pacific Slope. He bought lots by the mile. His profits were enormous. He became one of the great millionaires of California. He set aside $2,000,000 in 1874, to be he

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John W. Shaw.

John W. Shaw.

John W. Shaw, who made considerable money in mines and mining stocks, is one of the Western millionaires who reside in New York. He was a superintendent of mines, and speculated on his information. He was at one time prominently identified with the Eureka Consolidated mine. He is supposed to be worth $4,000,000 to $5,000,000, and is now President of the Hocking Valley Road. Messrs. Keene, Lent, Dewey, Harpending, Verdenal and other more or less successful men well known in California, live here.

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CHAPTER XLIII. RAILROAD INVESTMENTS.

CHAPTER XLIII. RAILROAD INVESTMENTS.

Vastness of our Railroad System.—Its Cost.—Fall in the Rate of Interest.—Tendency to a Four Per Cent. Rate on Railroad Bonds.—Effect of the Change on Stocks.—Prospective Speculation.—Some Social Inequities to be Adjusted through Cheaper Transportation. There are, perhaps, few who distinctly realize the magnitude of the amount of capital invested in the railroads of the United States. The immense area over which our population is distributed necessitates a much greater length of railroad, as comp

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Questions.

Questions.

I. Would the stock of gold in the world afford a basis broad enough to meet the banking and commercial operations of Europe and the United States, without the co-ordinate use of a properly regulated silver legal tender? II. Would you favor an International Coinage Union, embracing the United States and the leading European Governments, based upon a uniform valuation of silver as compared with gold, and binding each member to coin on demand all silver presented at its mints and to make such coin

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Replies.

Replies.

1. Possibly the existing stocks of gold in Europe and America might be sufficient to serve the purposes of banking reserves and for transmission in the international exchanges; but it is impracticable to use such a valuable metal to the extent required for the purposes of active circulation, and this creates a necessity for a silver legal tender coin for the retail transactions of business. For this reason I regard the use of silver, co-ordinately with gold, as an indispensable element in the wo

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CHAPTER XLV. THE LABOR QUESTION.

CHAPTER XLV. THE LABOR QUESTION.

Harmony Between the Representatives of Capital and Labor Necessary for Business Prosperity.—If Manufacturers should Combine to Regulate Wages, the Arrangement Could only be Temporary.—The Workingmen are Taken Care of by the Natural Laws of Trade.—Competition Among the Capitalists Sustains the Rate of Wages.—Opinion of John Stuart Mill on this Subject.—Compelling a Uniform Rate of Pay is a Gross Injustice to the Most Skilful Workmen.—The Tendency of the Trades Unions to Debar the Workingman from

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CHAPTER XLVI. AN IMPORTANT SYNOPSIS.

CHAPTER XLVI. AN IMPORTANT SYNOPSIS.

A Resume in Brief of the Leading Events Connected with Wall Street Affairs for Seventy-seven Years. December, 1816. —The first savings banks in the United States went into operation. July, 1820. —Great financial distress throughout America. The causes were excessive importations and a deranged currency. August, 1833. —There was great commercial distress, caused by contraction by the United States Bank. The bank defended its course on the ground of the evident hostilities of the Administration, t

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CHAPTER XLVII. INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BARTHOLDI STATUE.

CHAPTER XLVII. INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BARTHOLDI STATUE.

Great as an Achievement of Art, but Greater as the Embodiment of the Idea of Universal Freedom the World Over.—It is a Poetic Idea of a Universal Republic.—Enlightenment of the World Must Result in the Freedom of Man. The following was sent by me to the New York World , as briefly embodying my views on Bartholdi’s great work, a few days prior to the dedication of the Statue of Liberty: “When, several years ago, the gigantic forearm, with the torch in its hand, of the Statue of Liberty was exhibi

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Stephen Girard.

Stephen Girard.

Stephen Girard was another of the great millionaires who arose from penury, and whose eccentricity took a philanthropic turn. Mr. Girard was a Frenchman, born near Bordeaux in 1750, who made his home in later years in Philadelphia. He bequeathed over two million dollars to found and endow Girard College in that city. There is a good story told, which seems to be well authenticated, of the manner in which Mr. Girard rewarded the ingratitude of a sister. When he was a boy about ten he manifested v

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Peter Cooper.

Peter Cooper.

Peter Cooper was another of the philanthropists, with large means, who sought to distribute a considerable part of it where it would do the most good to humanity, especially to that portion of it who are in pursuit of knowledge under difficulties. Mr. Cooper had a hard time of it himself getting a fair education, and he knew how to appreciate the boon. He was born in New York in 1791, and at the age of seventeen was apprenticed to a coachmaker. He tried his hand at several other occupations, was

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CHAPTER XLIX. SOUTHERN AFFAIRS IN SPECULATION.

CHAPTER XLIX. SOUTHERN AFFAIRS IN SPECULATION.

The Preservation of the Union a Great Blessing.—To Let them “Secesh” would have been National Suicide.—How Immigration has Assisted National Prosperity.—Rescued from the Dynastic Oppression of European Governments.—Showing Good Fellowship towards the Southern People and Aiding them in their Internal Improvements.—The South, Immediately After the War, had Greater Advantages than the North for Making Material Progress.—The Business of the North was Inflated.—The States of Georgia and Alabama Offer

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Calvin S. Brice.

Calvin S. Brice.

Calvin S. Brice was Vice-President of the East Tennessee, Virginia &amp; Georgia Road, and is a Director in the Richmond Terminal and numerous other Southern roads. He is now connected with the United States Express Company, in the management of which he will take an active part. He was born in Lima, Ohio, about 48 years ago, and was educated as a lawyer. He is below the medium height, and rather slightly built, but has broad shoulders, a fitting pedestal for a good head, with firm square fe

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Gen. Samuel Thomas.

Gen. Samuel Thomas.

General Samuel Thomas, who is prominent in the Southern railroad system, is now about 50 years of age, is a Western man, and before the war was a civil engineer in the service of an Ohio railroad. After the war he again became a civil engineer, but, drifting after a time to New York, engaged in railroad enterprises, and ultimately secured a large interest in Southern railroads. He is now President of the East Tennessee, Virginia &amp; Georgia, and is largely interested in the Richmond &a

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Ancestry in England—Brains in America.

Ancestry in England—Brains in America.

In this country no one cares about ancestry. The spectacle of Mark Twain weeping at the tomb of Adam is a humorous expression of American opinions on this general subject of ancestry. To save time he paid his devoirs to the fountain head without stopping at the Guelphs, the Tudors, the Bourbons, the Hohenzollerns, the Hapsburgs, or the Romanoffs. There is no time, if there was any wish in this great country—shaking to the tread of gigantic business—to inquire, “Who was his father?” There is only

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CHAPTER LI. ARBITRATION.

CHAPTER LI. ARBITRATION.

How the System of Settling Disputes and Misunderstandings by Arbitration has worked in the Stock Exchange.—Why not Extend the System to Business Matters Generally?—Its Great Advantages over Going to Law.—It is Cheap and has no Vexatious Delays.—Trial by Jury a Partial Failure.—Some Prominent Cases in Point.—Jury “Fixing” and its Consequences.—How Juries are Swayed by their Sympathies.—A Curious Miscarriage of Justice before a Referee.—The Little Game of the Diamond Broker. Wall Street has derive

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CHAPTER LII. NEW YORK AS A FINANCIAL CENTRE.

CHAPTER LII. NEW YORK AS A FINANCIAL CENTRE.

Its Past, Its Present, Its Future.—Banking Decadence.—Growth of Interior Centres.—Obstruction from the National Bank Laws.—Relief Demanded.—Requirements of the Future. What New York has been as a centre for the settlement of financial transactions is a matter of history; what it is destined to be, in that respect, may not be so entirely certain as some people hastily assume. There are some facts which seem to suggest the question whether our city may prove able to retain its past proportion of t

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CHAPTER LIII. EARTHQUAKE THEORIES AND WALL STREET AFFAIRS.

CHAPTER LIII. EARTHQUAKE THEORIES AND WALL STREET AFFAIRS.

The Shock of Every Calamity felt in Wall Street.—Earthquakes the only Disasters which seem to Defy the Power of Precaution.—Becoming a Subject of Serious Thought for Wall Street Men and Business Men.—The Volcano Theory of Earthquakes.—Other Causes at Work Producing these Terrific Upheavals.—Why Charleston was more Severely Shaken Up than New York.—Why the Southern Earthquake did not Strike Wall Street with Great Force.—Earthquakes Likely to Become the Great Disasters of the Future. Wall Street i

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CHAPTER LIV. AUGUST BELMONT.

CHAPTER LIV. AUGUST BELMONT.

The American Representative of the Rothschilds.—Begins Life in the Rothschilds’ House in Frankfort.—Consul General to Austria and Minister to the Hague.—A Great Financier and a Connoisseur in Art. August Belmont has achieved the highest credit of any banker in the United States. His bills are always in demand and command a little more than those of any one else. He came to New York comparatively poor, but is now worth millions. As a representative of the Rothschilds in this country he has for ma

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CHAPTER LV. THE SOCIALIST OBJECTIONS TO THE PRESENT ORDER OF SOCIETY EXAMINED.

CHAPTER LV. THE SOCIALIST OBJECTIONS TO THE PRESENT ORDER OF SOCIETY EXAMINED.

Increase of Population and the Growing Pressure upon the Means of Subsistence.—Education and Moral Improvement the True Remedy for Existing or Threatened Evils.—Errors of Communism and Socialism.—How Socialistic Leaders and Philosophers Recognize the Truth.—Growth of Population Does not Mean Poverty. Mr. Mill says: “It is impossible to deny that the considerations brought to notice in the preceding chapter make out a frightful case either against the existing order of society or against the posi

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Washington E. Connor.

Washington E. Connor.

Washington E. Connor was born in New York city about 37 years ago. He first appeared in Wall Street as a clerk for Wm. Belden &amp; Co., a firm in which the redoubtable Jim Fisk was once a partner. Black Friday of September, 1869, when a financial hurricane whistled through Wall Street, brought young Connor to the front, and he has ever since remained there. He was long the able lieutenant of Mr. Gould in large speculations. He is a natural leader in speculation—cool, quick and adroit. From

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A Future Financial Power.

A Future Financial Power.

George J. Gould will be one of the few very rich men in this country, as he will, of course, be his father’s successor. He possesses good abilities, has an attractive presence, and is modest and retiring in his manners. He has, thus far, made an excellent record, and the Stock Exchange was glad to admit him to membership. He is connected with all of his father’s roads, and is gradually relieving him of much of the onerous work connected therewith. If anything should happen to Jay Gould, George G

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CHAPTER LVII. A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE.

CHAPTER LVII. A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE.

What we are.—What we are Preparing for.—What we are Destined to do and to Become.—We are Entering on an Era of Seeming Impossibilities.—Yet the Inconceivable will be Realized. In reviewing the past, I am struck with the enormous growth of New York as a city, New York as a State, and the United States as a Nation. The fact is that we hustle through the business world so fast (and this is especially applicable to Wall Street), that we do not realize how rapidly we are going. To any one who is fami

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JAY GOULD AND HIS SYSTEM.

JAY GOULD AND HIS SYSTEM.

The following from the New York Times of April 27, 1887, contains a graphic account of Mr. Gould’s mode of reviewing his system of railroads: On first thought it seems almost impossible that Jay Gould has only been a railroad magnate of the first class little more than half a decade, yet such is the fact. In 1879 he owned only the nucleus of his present Southwestern system of railroads, and as the rival of the Wabash through considerable territory was the Missouri Pacific, he felt by no means at

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Cyrus W. Field.

Cyrus W. Field.

Cyrus W. Field has been termed a locomotive in trousers. The simile illustrates the indefatigable energy of the man. His indomitable resolution and his energy of character have placed him high among the distinguished men of the age. He was born at Stockbridge, Mass., in 1819. His father was a clergyman. At fifteen years of age, Cyrus W. Field came to New York with a trifling sum in his pocket. For three years he was in the employ of A. T. Stewart, the dry goods merchant, and then went to Lee, Ma

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Hon. Stephen V. White.

Hon. Stephen V. White.

Hon. Stephen V. White is a short, compactly built, dark-complexioned man of 54. In manners he is courteous and unassuming; in business methods he is quick and straightforward. He is a Director in the Western Union and the Lackawanna road. He is a bold, dashing operator in stocks, and in Wall Street has met with considerable success. One of his greatest favorites is Lackawanna. He expects to see it some day go to 200. He has several times badly squeezed the shorts in that stock, and, now that he

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Austin Corbin.

Austin Corbin.

Within a year Austin Corbin has become a prominent figure in the financial world, winning wide business celebrity by his identification with the reorganization of the Reading Railroad. He is by nature the reverse of an iconoclast, namely, a builder up. He would construct rather than destroy. He would save a property if it were at all possible, and in pulling that poor, tired, financial pilgrim Reading out of the slough of despond, and in directing its way toward a primrose path of prosperity, he

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Philip D. Armour.

Philip D. Armour.

Philip D. Armour was born in a little village near Watertown in the interior of New York State, in 1832. He is powerfully built, with broad shoulders, a large head and firm, square features and light gray eyes, that never seem excited or disturbed. His manners are quiet, composed and courteous. In 1849, leaving his native village, he went to California. He crossed the plains with a six-mule team which he drove himself. He worked for a few years in the gold fields, accumulated a little capital, a

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John A. Stewart.

John A. Stewart.

John A. Stewart is President of the United States Trust Company, one of the largest banking and trust corporations in America. Its deposits are over forty millions of dollars. Its great success is largely due to the able management of President Stewart, who has in fact shown marvellous ability in the management of large financial interests. Mr. Stewart during the war period was urged by Secretary Chase to became Sub-Treasurer of the United States in this city, and he finally consented to take th

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Anthony J. Drexel.

Anthony J. Drexel.

Anthony J. Drexel is the head of the house of Drexel &amp; Co. in Philadelphia and Drexel, Morgan &amp; Co. in New York. The house was founded by Joseph Drexel, who emigrated to this country from Germany early in the present century, and began business in Philadelphia in a small way as a sort of exchange broker. When the California gold fever broke out he made connections with parties in San Francisco and received large amounts of gold. In these transactions he got his first great start.

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The Jerome Brothers.

The Jerome Brothers.

Addison Jerome, who died some years ago, was a gigantic operator in his day, and displayed great ability in the conduct of speculative campaigns, but he went beyond his depth and disaster followed. Like many others in Wall Street, he gained his business education in the dry goods trade. He met with one of his greatest reverses in his attempt to corner Lake Shore. Others followed, one after another, and the end was financial shipwreck. ANTHONY J. DREXEL. yours truly Leonard W Jerome At this time

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Addison Cammack.

Addison Cammack.

Addison Cammack is about sixty years of age and was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He was reared in comfortable but humble circumstances. Early in life he began his business career as a clerk in the house of J. P. Whitney &amp; Co., then the largest ship brokers in New Orleans. He showed decided business talent, and ultimately became a partner in the firm. In the early part of the Civil War he was located in Havana, but in 1863 he went to London and and engaged in business and speculation t

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Russell Sage.

Russell Sage.

Russell Sage is one of the best known of Wall Street celebrities. He was born seventy years ago in Oneida county, of this State. As a boy, he was employed in a country general store, beginning life in this fashion at 14. His business aptitude early manifested itself, and at 20 he bought out his employer in Troy, to which he had in the meantime removed. He became later on a member of the Troy Board of Aldermen, served seven years, and was then elected Treasurer. Still later he was elected to Cong

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Chauncey M. Depew.

Chauncey M. Depew.

Chauncey M. Depew owes his rise to native abilities and the friendship of the Vanderbilt family, which he has thoroughly merited. He made the acquaintance of Wm. H. Vanderbilt about the year 1866 and became the attorney of the New York and Harlem Railroad. On the union of the New York Central and Harlem roads, in 1869, he was appointed attorney of the consolidated company, and in 1875 he was made general counsel. A few years previous he had been elected director of the New York Central road, and

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James M. Brown.

James M. Brown.

James M. Brown, the banker, was born in New York city, and is about 65 years of age. He is ex-President of the Chamber of Commerce, and is held in general esteem and respect. The house of Brown Bros. &amp; Co., in which he is now the senior member, has an interesting history. Early in the present century Alexander Brown came from Belfast, Ireland, to this country, and settled in Baltimore, where he engaged in the dry goods business under the firm name of Alexander Brown &amp; Sons. Subse

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Stedman, the Poet and Financier.

Stedman, the Poet and Financier.

A small, slightly built gentleman with iron gray side whiskers, a refined face and expressive gray eyes, is one of the notable figures in Wall Street. It is Edmund Clarence Stedman, the banker poet. He was born in a small town in Connecticut in 1833, studied at Yale, entered journalism in 1852, came to New York in 1855, and soon began to contribute poems to the New York Tribune . He became a war correspondent for the World on the outbreak of the rebellion, and continued in this capacity till 186

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Moses Taylor.

Moses Taylor.

Moses Taylor, now deceased, was one of the notable figures in Wall Street life for many years. He started as a South street merchant, after having been a clerk with G. G. &amp; S. Howland. Wm. H. Aspinwall was also a clerk with that house at the same time. When Mr. Taylor gave up his situation to embark in business for himself, Mr. Aspinwall was admitted into the Howland firm as a junior partner. Moses Taylor was a man governed largely by intuition. There was little argument; with him, so to

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Anthony W. Morse.

Anthony W. Morse.

Anthony W. Morse was once one of the remarkable men of Wall Street. He made $150,000 in speculation, bought a yacht and went to Europe during the war. While in England, he mingled with the aristocracy, and became strongly imbued with the idea that the North would not be successful in the war, and that the National currency would become almost valueless. He thought that the more the National currency depreciated, the more railroad stocks and bonds would advance; in short, that whatever the curren

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Former Giants of the Street.

Former Giants of the Street.

Henry Keep, once President of the Lake Shore road, and also of the New York Central, was in his day a power in Wall Street. He was the first to discover the intrinsic value of railroad property in the Northwest, and manipulated Chicago &amp; Northwestern stock, both common and preferred, very successfully, making a great deal of money for himself and friends. He died very wealthy. He came to New York city from Watertown, in the interior of New York, and at first was an exchange broker, deali

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J. Pierpont Morgan.

J. Pierpont Morgan.

J. Pierpont Morgan, known as the “Railroad Reorganizer,” and who has won a place in the front rank among American financiers, is a son of the well-known Junius S. Morgan, the head of the firm of J. S. Morgan &amp; Co., of London, and the successor of George Peabody, the great philanthropist in the banking business there. George Peabody, some years before his death, visited this country, and, desiring a partner in his great banking house, made inquiry in Boston for a suitable person. Junius S

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Thomas L. James.

Thomas L. James.

President of the Lincoln National Bank, has had a career in New York brilliant in the service of the public, and marked in the practical skill with which confidences and enterprises have been directed by him. His training has contributed largely to his success as a financier. He came from Utica in 1861 and entered the Custom House as Deputy, and finally attained the position of Postmaster-General after a long and successful term as Postmaster of the City of New York. Mr. James directed the affai

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CHAPTER LX. JAMES B. AND JOHN H. CLEWS.

CHAPTER LX. JAMES B. AND JOHN H. CLEWS.

The subjects of this sketch, whose portraits adorn these pages, are both members of my firm and I think this book would be incomplete without putting in a few words in reference to them. As will be seen by the sketches which follow, they both commenced their business careers in a modest way and through perseverance and industry have attained positions in the financial world which are in every way creditable to them. I have made it a rule never to introduce a blood relative into my office for a p

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CHAPTER LXI. A REMARKABLE CHAPTER OF HISTORY.

CHAPTER LXI. A REMARKABLE CHAPTER OF HISTORY.

Any review of the advance of this country during the past fifteen years, forms a record of the most wonderful progress ever made by any nation in such a short period. A record of the development of the country’s resources through a resistless energy that seems destined to control the markets of the world, reads almost like one of Grimm’s famous tales, for after numerous trials, and the surmounting of many obstacles, the fairy wand is turning what we will into gold. One of the effects of the Vand

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CHAPTER LXII. BOOMS IN WALL STREET.

CHAPTER LXII. BOOMS IN WALL STREET.

Wall Street has lately been enjoying quite a boom in some respects differing from any in its previous history. Probably the most interesting feature about this boom is that it is not in any sense spectacular. In that respect it is unique. Prices of many stocks are higher and intrinsic values greater than they have ever been before. The market has all the qualities that normally would cause intensest excitement and focus the attention of the entire country on the Stock Exchange. Yet in spite of t

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CHAPTER LXIII. A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE.

CHAPTER LXIII. A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE.

I believe that it would be difficult to set bounds to the possibilities of American development. The inventive genius of the people, their adaptability to all circumstances, their tenacity of purpose, their wonderful energy, and the fabulous resources of the country all make it certain that the United States will reach a degree of power and prosperity hitherto unexampled in human history. Carlyle’s “French Revolution,” has been strikingly described as “history read by flashes of lightning,” and

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CHAPTER LXIV. MY CHRISTMAS ADDRESS TO CUSTOMERS DEC. 24, 1906.

CHAPTER LXIV. MY CHRISTMAS ADDRESS TO CUSTOMERS DEC. 24, 1906.

You can now realize why we have for so long a period had a congested stock market. It started by the accumulation of Union Pacific by comparatively few people, the purchases being commenced in 1903, the panic year, when the price dipped to 65. By the time the stock touched 100 the accumulation was complete. Then the manipulation was begun for its advance to 190, at which time the ten per cent. dividend was declared, since which the process of distribution has been going on. St. Paul, Northern Pa

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CHAPTER LXV. EDWARD H. HARRIMAN.

CHAPTER LXV. EDWARD H. HARRIMAN.

Edward H. Harriman was born on Long Island in 1848. His father was a clergyman, and the family in poor circumstances. At the age of fourteen he left school, and began his business career in a Wall Street house. Of an aggressive and masterful character, with a great capacity for hard work and the ability to master every detail, he rapidly forged ahead. At eighteen he became partner in a brokerage house; at twenty-two bought a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1883 he was chosen a director o

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Illustrated by Personal Reminiscences of Its Leaders.

Illustrated by Personal Reminiscences of Its Leaders.

The mutations and vicissitudes, the ups and downs, of Wall Street can be best illustrated by sketches, from life, of the career and experience of its leading operators, who have often, though not generally, gone up like a rocket and come down like a stick. I will not begin with those now foremost in the Wall Street arena, but go back to Jacob Little, whose name is still a household word on the Stock Exchange. He died in the sixties, while the war between North and South was raging, and he had gr

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CHAPTER LXVII. RECENT WALL STREET BOOMS.

CHAPTER LXVII. RECENT WALL STREET BOOMS.

The Resistless Power Behind the Market.—The Advent of Governor R. P. Flower.—How Stocks were Boomed with a Dash.—A Sudden Death Averts a Big Panic.—Mr. Morgan as a Railway Reorganizer.—How Bannigan Unloaded His Rubber.—Millions Won Only to be Lost. Wall Street, after the election of McKinley, enjoyed a boom such as it has seldom known. Probably the most interesting feature about this boom was that it was not in any sense spectacular. In that respect it is unique. Prices of stocks went higher and

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CHAPTER LXVIII. WALL STREET’S WILD SPECULATION, 1900-1904.

CHAPTER LXVIII. WALL STREET’S WILD SPECULATION, 1900-1904.

McKinley’s Reëlection and the Defeat of Bryanism Set the Big Ball of Speculation Rolling on the Stock Exchange.—The Tremendous Volume of Speculation by both Large and Small Capitalists.—The Rush to Incorporate New Companies and Create Industrial Trusts and Railway Combinations.—The Enormous Capitalization of the United States Steel Corporation and Other Companies in Excess of Real Values.—The Rapid Growth and Popularity of New and Old Trust Companies and the Effect of Their Competition in Forcin

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CHAPTER LXIX. REVIEW OF THE PANIC YEAR, 1903.

CHAPTER LXIX. REVIEW OF THE PANIC YEAR, 1903.

The year 1903 passed into history with few pleasant memories. To a great number of individuals it was a year of disappointment and loss. To the very few it was a year of golden experience, demonstrating anew that real success only comes from rigid adherence to sound business principles and abstention from illegitimate speculation. Those who remained steadfast to well-established methods of finance and business weathered the storms of the year with little injury; while those who defied economic l

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CHAPTER LXX. LEADING WALL STREET EVENTS UP TO THE FALL OF 1907.

CHAPTER LXX. LEADING WALL STREET EVENTS UP TO THE FALL OF 1907.

The natural result of the panic of 1903, and the long period of depression in Wall Street, was that an unprecedentedly large surplus reserve was accumulated by the New York banks in 1904, reaching its maximum in August. This was still further swelled in 1905, when speculation for a rise again assumed formidable proportions, and new high records were made in the stock market. Both bank loans and deposits reached a magnitude never before known, and the activity on the Stock Exchange, combined with

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CHAPTER LXXI. THE GREAT CRISIS OF 1907.

CHAPTER LXXI. THE GREAT CRISIS OF 1907.

The worst forebodings of September were far more than realized in October, when the monetary disturbance, and distrust of credits, spread from the Stock Exchange and Wall Street to the banking interests, and involved the whole country in a panic that will always make the year 1907 memorable in our history. Until the collapse in the “Curb” market of the stock of the United Copper Co., followed, on the 17th of October, by the failure of the two Stock Exchange firms that had been manipulating this

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CHAPTER LXXII. THE CAUSES OF THE CRISIS OF 1907.[2]

CHAPTER LXXII. THE CAUSES OF THE CRISIS OF 1907.[2]

2 . An address by Henry Clews, LL.D., delivered at Cooper Institute, New York City, February, 1908. The wiseacres in Wall Street and elsewhere had to take many sledgehammer blows in this panic year. They had become like Tom Toddy—too big-headed for their bodies. When a man knows it all, then his danger commences. My advice is, never follow such a leader, but wait patiently and the time will come when you can safely copper him. In September, 1906, when stock and bond prices were advanced abnorm

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Charles M. Schwab.

Charles M. Schwab.

Born in Pennsylvania, May 30, 1851; rose, from the bottom, to be President of the Carnegie Steel Company, then, on its incorporation, became President of the United States Steel Corporation, but resigned, and later became President of the Bethlehem Steel Company; has large mining interests, especially in Nevada; he travels much, but resides on Riverside Drive, New York, in one of the largest houses in the city, built as an exact copy of a historical French château near Paris....

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Daniel Gray Reid.

Daniel Gray Reid.

Born in Richmond, Ind., August 1, 1858; became Vice-President of Second National Bank there; then went into the tin plate industry, and in 1895 became one of the organizers of the American Tin Plate Company, afterwards merged in the United States Steel Corporation; removed to Chicago in 1897, and to New York in 1899, and was one of the Executive Committee of the United States Steel Corporation when organized in 1901; also became a director and leading spirit in the Rock Island Railway Company in

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Thomas Fortune Ryan.

Thomas Fortune Ryan.

Born in Virginia, October 17, 1851; came to Wall Street in 1870 from Baltimore and the drygoods trade; became prominent in the consolidation and extension of metropolitan street railroads, and also gas and electric light systems here and in Chicago, and in the American Tobacco Company, and later bought control of the stock of the Equitable and the Washington Life Insurance companies; has been director of many other corporations, and is also Vice-President of the Morton Trust Company....

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John Warne Gates.

John Warne Gates.

Born at West Chicago, Ill., 1855; kept a hardware store there; then became salesman in Texas for barbed wire; later established the Southern Wire Company in St. Louis and Braddock Wire Company near Pittsburg; after absorbing two other companies, sold out to Federal Steel Company, which was then absorbed by United States Steel Corporation. He thus acquired great wealth, and became a large operator in Wall Street, and organized the firm of C. G. Gates &amp; Co., now dissolved. After buying con

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August Belmont.

August Belmont.

Born February 18, 1853; son of the late August Belmont, and head of August Belmont &amp; Co., bankers, and New York representatives of the Rothschilds; is President of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and other corporations; also of the Coney Island Jockey Club and other turf organizations, and keeps up a large racing stable, is also a director in a number of banks and railways and other companies, and politically, like his father, a leading Democrat; is a member of many clubs and asso

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William H. Moore.

William H. Moore.

Born in Utica, N. Y., October 25, 1848; located in Chicago with his younger brother, James Hobart Moore, in 1873, and both were admitted to the Illinois bar, and practiced as W. H. &amp; J. H. Moore, making a specialty of reorganizing corporations; reorganized the Carnegie Steel Company, and formed the four corporations in “the Moore group” that were absorbed by the United States Steel Corporation; later controlled the Rock Island and other railway and industrial corporations, partly in conj

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Anthony Nicholas Brady.

Anthony Nicholas Brady.

Born at Lille, France, August 22, 1843; came to the United States with his parents when a child; opened a tea store in Albany in 1864, and afterwards other tea stores there and in Troy; became a promoter and director of gas and electric light corporations in Albany, Troy, Chicago, New York, and other cities, and, later, of street railway companies in Brooklyn and elsewhere; acquired a controlling interest in the People’s Gas Company of Chicago and a very large one in the Brooklyn Rapid Transit C

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Stuyvesant Fish.

Stuyvesant Fish.

Son of the late Hon. Hamilton Fish, Governor of the State of New York and Secretary of State in General Grant’s Cabinet. Born June 24, 1851, at New York, N. Y. Educated at Columbia College, New York, graduated 1871. Entered railway service October 1, 1871, after which he, up to June 20, 1872, became clerk in the Illinois Central Railroad, New York office; June 20 to October, 1872, secretary to president of same company; November 1, 1872 to December 31, 1874, clerk with Morton, Bliss &amp; Co

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GOVERNOR HUGHES AND WALL STREET.

GOVERNOR HUGHES AND WALL STREET.

In respect to the present agitation at Albany, as recommended by Governor Hughes, to investigate Wall Street methods, I do not hesitate to say that as the head of the firm of Henry Clews &amp; Co. I am perfectly willing at any time to allow a representative, appointed by either the Federal or State authorities, to examine the books of my firm, as the result of such an examination can reflect nothing but credit on our business methods. I should, however, object and refuse to show, in any inst

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CHAPTER LXXIV. NEEDED PUBLICITY AND REFORM IN CORPORATIONS.

CHAPTER LXXIV. NEEDED PUBLICITY AND REFORM IN CORPORATIONS.

Years ago I saw the inevitable end of the methods of some of the unscrupulous managers and manipulators of corporations, and began to agitate the employment of certified public accountants to examine into, and report to the stockholders, the true condition of the companies involved. Had my suggestions been adopted there would have been little cause for the recent investigation by the government officials, as the reform now sought would have been accomplished long before the present stringency of

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CHAPTER LXXV. THE MONETARY SITUATION AND ITS REMEDIES.[3]

CHAPTER LXXV. THE MONETARY SITUATION AND ITS REMEDIES.[3]

3 . An address to the West Virginia Banking Association at their 13th Anniversary Meeting, at Elkins, West Virginia, June 19, 1906, by Henry Clews. The rapid growth of our population, the great activity of all our industries, the general prosperity of the country, apart from the terrible calamity at San Francisco, and the immense speculation going on in land and mining ventures, especially in the West, are the underlying causes of the severe monetary stringency that New York has lately experie

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CHAPTER LXXVI. INDIVIDUALISM VERSUS SOCIALISM.[4]

CHAPTER LXXVI. INDIVIDUALISM VERSUS SOCIALISM.[4]

4 . An address delivered by Henry Clews on Sunday afternoon, May 12, 1907, at the Columbia Theatre, Brooklyn, in debate with Professor Kirkpatrick, graduate of Albion College, Michigan, and former professor in the University of Chicago. In order that I may present a clear understanding of my view of the subject, it is only fair, in the first place, to state that the system of Individualism which I shall endeavor to uphold is worthy and commendable. I hold it to be superior in every sense to an

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CHAPTER LXXVII. GREAT WEALTH AND SOCIAL UNREST.[5]

CHAPTER LXXVII. GREAT WEALTH AND SOCIAL UNREST.[5]

5 . An address delivered by Henry Clews at the Thirty-fourth Annual Assembly of the Chautauqua Institution at Chautauqua, N. Y., July 29, 1907. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen : I think that you will agree with me when I say that there is nothing more commendable and that augurs better for the future of the institutions of our country—our great American Republic—than the interest shown by all classes in the important sociological questions of the day. The general willingness of our citizens

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CHAPTER LXXVIII. THE FINANCIAL SITUATION.[6]

CHAPTER LXXVIII. THE FINANCIAL SITUATION.[6]

6 . An address delivered by Henry Clews at the Fifteenth Annual Convention of the Kentucky Bankers’ Association in the Auditorium, Seelbach Hotel, Louisville, Kentucky, September 18, 1907. Mr. President, Members of the Kentucky Bankers’ Association : As all know, we have recently passed through a crisis of distrust in Wall Street—distrust of corporate credit, and railway and other corporate stocks. This was reflected in what I may call a slow panic, a heavy and prolonged decline on the Stock E

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CHAPTER LXXIX. Table Showing Dates of Admission of the Members of the

CHAPTER LXXIX. Table Showing Dates of Admission of the Members of the

Prior to May 3, 1869, the New York Stock Exchange was a body with a membership of 533. Of such original membership, there are now remaining 31, as appears by the following list, such list giving the date of their admission: On May 3, 1869, a separate body of brokers, known as the “Government Bond Department,” was admitted, upon the payment of $1,000 each. This board has a membership, as admitted, of 173, and of such members there now remain 15, as appears by the following list: Between the 3d an

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CHAPTER LXXX. ENGLAND AND RUSSIA IN OUR CIVIL WAR AND THE WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND JAPAN.[7]

CHAPTER LXXX. ENGLAND AND RUSSIA IN OUR CIVIL WAR AND THE WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND JAPAN.[7]

7 . Written for the North American Review , June 1904 issue, by Henry Clews. There has recently been much discussion relative to the attitude of England and Russia towards the United States during our Civil War. This was provoked by the war between Russia and Japan, which caused the partisans of Russia here to contend that Americans ought to sympathize with Russia in the contest. They argued that Americans should do this because Japan has an alliance by treaty with England, and English sentime

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CHAPTER LXXXI. THE CRISIS OF 1907 AND ITS CAUSES. WAS PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TO BLAME?[9]

CHAPTER LXXXI. THE CRISIS OF 1907 AND ITS CAUSES. WAS PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TO BLAME?[9]

9 . An address to the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, Cleveland, Ohio, Tuesday evening, January 28th, 1908, by Henry Clews. It gives me great pleasure to meet the members of the Chamber of Commerce of the city of Cleveland. Next to New York—being from New York I have to make this distinction—next to New York, I consider Cleveland the home of the most worthy set of business men in the United States. Your forefathers chose well when they elected to settle in this beautiful spot. The wisdom which

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CHAPTER LXXXII. OUR GREAT AMERICAN PANICS FROM FIRST TO LAST.

CHAPTER LXXXII. OUR GREAT AMERICAN PANICS FROM FIRST TO LAST.

The panic of 1907 naturally revived public interest in all our previous panics, and therefore a brief historical review of these is timely. The small one that followed the throwing overboard of the historic tea in Boston harbor in George the Third’s time, and which was the prelude to the War of Independence—the victorious struggle of the old Thirteen Colonies to throw off the British yoke—was of no importance, owing to the country’s scanty trade and banking development, and the corresponding sca

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CHAPTER LXXXIII. WALL STREET AS IT REALLY IS. A VINDICATION.

CHAPTER LXXXIII. WALL STREET AS IT REALLY IS. A VINDICATION.

Many people, and some newspapers, have a false impression that Wall Street is a gambling arena that does a great deal of harm and no good, and that it ought to be, as far as possible, abolished, while Wall Street speculators have been recklessly and unjustly denounced as gamblers. But those who know Wall Street well have no such impressions of it, or its speculators, or of the Wall Street community of bankers and brokers. They can, on the contrary, testify that there is no more honorable and res

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FIRST.

FIRST.

The Boer war which left England in almost as bad a financial strait as we were in through the culmination of a similar period of overdoing in trade and speculation in new industrial ventures, together with an excess of new issues of British Consols during the war period resulting in a recent decline in the price of these prime securities to 81—about the lowest price on record....

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SECOND.

SECOND.

Germany was in fully as bad a condition owing to extravagant industrial enterprises, rivalling our own, and which required the most careful nursing to avoid a collapse....

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THIRD.

THIRD.

France acted alone in financing Russian loans, and in the crisis of the Japanese-Russian war was compelled unwillingly to supply new funds in order to protect the French loans already outstanding. Hence France had little or no money to lend except to the French....

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FOURTH.

FOURTH.

The Japanese-Russian war brought both of these countries forward for the first time as prominent and important factors in the world’s money market, and both are still, like Oliver Twist, crying for “more.” This conflict and the Boer war combined wasted over $2,000,000,000 of capital....

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FIFTH.

FIFTH.

Funds were almost unobtainable except at prohibitive rates at the time of our recent crop-moving period, and for causes already mentioned we could not look to Europe for help. Usually Europe discounts New York securities bills for about $300,000,000 at this period, but last year Europe said: “No; we have troubles of our own.”...

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SIXTH.

SIXTH.

The California earthquake with losses of $350,000,000, and the Chili and other earthquakes of less importance and severity in various parts of the world were heavy blows at prosperity....

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SEVENTH.

SEVENTH.

The compulsory unloading of very many millions of dollars of stocks and bonds by large capitalists and operators, together with immense sales of new securities by corporations and railroads, and the manipulation of prices and stocks up to a 3½ per cent interest basis while time money was loaning at 6 per cent, and above, on the best of collateral. Besides which heavy, excessive and reckless operations in real estate and mining enterprises having been made all over the nation, caused large amount

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EIGHTH.

EIGHTH.

The investigation of the great life insurance companies and the Metropolitan railroad, and the sad disclosures, followed by the absurd fine of $29,400,000 by Judge Landis against a corporation with a capital of only $1,000,000, had a demoralizing effect upon the public mind. This preposterous fine savored of confiscation and alarmed investors....

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NINTH.

NINTH.

The Interstate Commerce Commission’s examination of the Chicago &amp; Alton deal and the consequent developments further undermined the confidence of investors....

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TENTH.

TENTH.

The making of injudicious loans by the Knickerbocker Trust Co. and the chains of banks, both in Manhattan and Brooklyn, which caused the suspension of the institutions and arrest of officials on criminal charges intensified public distrust, while the collapse of the Copper market unsettled the metal markets all over the world and resulted in a reduction of dividends on copper shares, and a serious break in the price of all that class of securities....

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LASTLY.

LASTLY.

A gross abuse of our credit system and the consequent inflation of all values, stimulated by loose banking and promoting methods, proved the climax in a series of events which culminated in the sharpest though not the severest panic the present generation has experienced. The main cause of the panic was that of general overdoing. Credit was over-extended; speculation was reckless and ill-advised; expansion of every sort was being carried to excess by over-confidence, until finally the country’s

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CHAPTER LXXXV. AMERICAN SOCIAL CONDITIONS.[11]

CHAPTER LXXXV. AMERICAN SOCIAL CONDITIONS.[11]

11 . An address by Henry Clews, LL.D., to the students of Yale University, New Haven, Conn., November 1, 1907. Mr. Chairman and Students of Yale University : As you gentlemen of good old Yale are studying American social conditions, I am glad to have the opportunity of addressing you, and I congratulate you on the prestige you will derive from graduating at so great and famous a university. You are now on the threshold of American citizenship and have good reason to be proud of the prospect be

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CHAPTER LXXXVI. THE FINANCIAL AND TRADE SITUATION AND PROSPECTS.[12]

CHAPTER LXXXVI. THE FINANCIAL AND TRADE SITUATION AND PROSPECTS.[12]

12 . An address delivered at the Annual Banquet of the National Association of Cotton Manufacturers, at the Hotel Brunswick, Boston, on Thursday evening, April 16, 1908, by Henry Clews, LL.D. In familiarizing myself with the history, scope, and objects of the distinguished organization I have the honor to address—The National Association of Cotton Manufacturers—I was impressed by the vast extent and importance of the interests it represents through its membership, which covers not only New Eng

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CHAPTER LXXXVII. PEACE ASSURANCES FROM JAPAN.

CHAPTER LXXXVII. PEACE ASSURANCES FROM JAPAN.

Declaring that all talk of trouble between this country and Japan is the outgrowth of “pernicious fabrication on the part of sensational newspapers,” Viscount Kentaro Kaneko, who was special Ambassador to the United States from Japan during the Russian-Japanese war, has written a reply to a letter addressed him by me, in which the latter, under date of December 5th, last, expressed the hope that no difficulties might arise between the two countries which could not be readily and amicably adjuste

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CHAPTER LXXXVIII. THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN.

CHAPTER LXXXVIII. THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN.

New York Tribune , March 21, 1908. My Dear Mr. Clews : Please accept my heartiest congratulation on the new honor which has been added to your already distinguished life by His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor, who was pleased to confer upon you the Imperial Decoration, in recognition of your valuable service to this country. In due time, I know, Ambassador Takahira in Washington will officially present it to you. I hardly need say how gratefully I am appreciating your kind friendship which enabled

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CHAPTER LXXXIX. THE NATIONAL CORPORATION PROBLEM.[13]

CHAPTER LXXXIX. THE NATIONAL CORPORATION PROBLEM.[13]

13 . An address by Henry Clews, LL.D., delivered at the First Annual Banquet of the Economic Club of Manchester, New Hampshire, May 20, 1908. Mr. President and Members of the Economic Club : The political and popular clamor against the industrial Trusts, with which we have been long familiar, was due primarily to the anti-monopoly sentiment of the people, but in a far greater degree to the crushing of competitors, through unlawful and unjust methods, by some of the conspicuously large corporat

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CHAPTER XC. WHY I AM AN AMERICAN.

CHAPTER XC. WHY I AM AN AMERICAN.

I came to this country from England over fifty years ago, expecting to stay for merely a short visit. I had barely learned the localities of the public buildings and the principal streets, when I began to perceive the possibilities that presented themselves to a young man, who had the courage to push, to compete for a place in the race for wealth and position. I liked the hustle and the bustle that contrasted so vividly with the slow and easy style which prevailed in my native country. I could n

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CONCLUSION.

CONCLUSION.

In conclusion I wish to ask public indulgence on account of omissions. There are many brilliant financiers and skillful operators of the younger generation in Wall Street who have thus far shown that they are probably destined to a prosperous, and in some instances, an illustrious career. Again, there are others of various ages and long experience, whose achievements have been of a quiet, unostentatious character and whose business lives and operations have been conducted with great reserve, yet

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