[Illustration:
FIFTY YEARS IN WALL STREET _By_ HENRY CLEWS, LL.D. ]
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[Illustration:
_Eng. by E. G. Williams & Bro. N.Y._ _Henry Clews_ ]
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FIFTY YEARS IN
WALL STREET
“TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS IN WALL STREET,” REVISED AND ENLARGED BY A RÉSUMÉ OF THE PAST TWENTY-TWO YEARS, MAKING A RECORD OF FIFTY YEARS IN WALL STREET
BY
HENRY CLEWS, LL.D.
SUBJECTS THAT ARE OF NECESSITY BRIEFLY TOUCHED UPON IN ORDER TO KEEP WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE PRESENT WORK FIND FULLER EXPOSITION IN THE AUTHOR’S “WALL STREET POINT OF VIEW,” FOR FURTHER REFERENCE TO WHICH SEE NOTICE AT THE END
IRVING PUBLISHING COMPANY POST OFFICE BOX 1915, NEW YORK CITY
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COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY HENRY CLEWS
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PREFACE BY THE AUTHOR.
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[Illustration]
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15 TO 17 BROAD STREET NEW YORK.
_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 financial events of the time in which I have lived.
I have also made a brief retrospect of the history of Wall Street, and financial affairs connected therewith since the origin of the Stock Exchange in New York City.
In sketching the men and events of Wall Street, I have freely employed the vernacular of the speculative fraternity as being best adapted to a true picture of their characteristics, although probably not most consonant with literary propriety.
I have simply attempted to unfold a plain, unvarnished tale, drawing my material from experience and the records of reliable narrators.
HENRY CLEWS.
=NEW YORK, March 31, 1908.=
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CONTENTS.
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INTRODUCTORY.
PAGE My Part in Marketing the United States Civil War Loans xxxi
CHAPTER I.
MY DEBUT IN WALL STREET.
Results of the Panic of 1857.—Creating a Revolution in 5 the Methods of Doing Business in Wall Street.—The Old “Fogies” of the Street, and How They were Surprised.—Their Prejudices and How they Originated.—The Struggle of the Young Bloods for Membership.—The Youthful Element in Finance Peculiar to this Country.—The Palmy Days of Little, Drew and Morse.—The Origin of “Corners,” and the “Option” Limit of Sixty Days
CHAPTER II.
WALL STREET AS A CIVILIZER.
Clerical Obliquity of Judgment About Wall Street 13 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
CHAPTER III.
HOW TO MAKE MONEY IN WALL STREET.
How to Take Advantage of Periodical Panics in Order to 19 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
CHAPTER IV.
IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS TRAINING.
Sons of Independent Gentlemen make very bad 25 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 Encouraged in the Occupation for which they show a Preference.—Thoughts on the Army and Navy
CHAPTER V.
PERSONAL HONOR OF WALL STREET MEN.
Breach of Trust Rare Among Wall Street Men.—The English 33 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
CHAPTER VI.
WALL STREET DURING THE WAR.
The Financiers of Wall Street Assist the Government in 39 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
CHAPTER VII.
MORE WAR REMINISCENCES—BRITISH AND NAPOLEONIC DESIGNS.
How Napoleon Defied the Monroe Doctrine.—The Banquet to 45 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
CHAPTER VIII.
FOREIGN INTRIGUES AGAINST AMERICAN LIBERTY.
How the Imperial Pirates of France and England Were 59 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 Orleans England Hesitates Through Fear, and Napoleon Changes His Tactics.—Renewal of Intrigues Between England and France.—Their Dastardly Purposes Defeated by the Victories of Gettysburg, Vicksburg and the General Triumph of the Union Arms
CHAPTER IX.
SECRETARY CHASE AND THE TREASURY.
The Depleted Condition of the Treasury when Mr. Chase 73 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 Saved from the Wreck.—How it Happened
CHAPTER X.
THE NATIONAL BANKS.
Secretary Chase Considers the Problem of Providing a 81 National Currency.—How E. G. Spaulding takes a Prominent Part in the Discussion of 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
CHAPTER XI.
THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE.
History of the Organization for Ninety-four Years.—From 87 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
CHAPTER XII.
“CORNERS” AND THEIR EFFECT ON VALUES.
The Senate Committee on “Corners” and 95 “Futures.”—Speculation Beneficial to the Country at Large.—A Regulator 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
CHAPTER XIII.
THE COMMODORE’S “CORNERS.”
The Great Hudson “Corner.”—Commodore Vanderbilt the 107 “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
CHAPTER XIV.
DANIEL DREW.
Drew, like Vanderbilt, an Example of Great Success 117 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 Fed by Drew’s Brokers
CHAPTER XV.
DREW AND VANDERBILT.
Vanderbilt Essays to Swallow Erie, and Has a Narrow 127 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.—In his Rage he Applies to the Courts.—The Clique’s Inglorious Flight to Jersey City.—Drew Crosses the Ferry with Seven Millions of Vanderbilt’s Money.—The Commodore’s Attempt to Reach the Refugees.—A Detective Bribes a Waiter at Taylor’s Hotel, who Delivers the Commodore’s Letter, which Brings Drew to Terms.—Senator Mattoon gets on the right side of Both Parties
CHAPTER XVI.
DREW AND THE ERIE “CORNERS.”
A Harmonious Understanding with the Commodore.—How the 137 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 that 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 and Fisk, Loses a Million and Retreats from the Pool.—He then Operates Alone on the “Short” Side and Throws Away Millions.—He Tries Prayer but it “Availeth Not.”-“It’s no Use, Brother, the Market Still Goes Up.”—Praying and Watching the Ticker.—Hopelessly “Cornered” and Ruined by his Former Pupils and Partners
CHAPTER XVII.
INTERESTING EPISODES IN DREW’S LIFE.
Incidents in the Early Life of Drew; and How he Began 147 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. Vanderbilt of another Start in Life.—His Bankruptcy, Liabilities and Wardrobe.—His Sudden but Peaceful End.—Characteristic Stories of his Eccentricities
CHAPTER XVIII.
PANICS.—THEIR CAUSES.—HOW FAR PREVENTABLE.
Not Accidental Freaks of the Market.—We are Still a 157 Nation of Pioneers.—The Question of Panics Peculiarly American.—Violent Oscillations in Trade Owing to the Great Mass of New and Immature Undertakings.—Uncertainty about the Intrinsic Value of Properties.—Sudden Shrinkage of Railroad Properties a Fruitful Cause of Panics.—Risks and Panics Inseparable from Pioneering Enterprise.—We are Becoming Less Dependent on the Money Markets of Europe.—In Panics much Depends upon the Prudence and Self-control of the Money-Lenders.—The Law which Compels a Reserve Fund in the National Banks is at Certain Crises a Provocative of Panics.—George I. Seney.—John C. Eno.—Ferdinand Ward.—The Clearing House as a Preventive of Panics
CHAPTER XIX.
OLD-TIME PANICS.
The Panic of 1837.—How it was Brought About.—The State 175 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
CHAPTER XX.
THE TRUE STORY OF BLACK FRIDAY TOLD FOR THE FIRST TIME.
The Great Black Friday Scheme originates in patriotic 181 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 Incidents of the Great Speculative Drama
CHAPTER XXI.
CAUSES OF LOSS IN SPECULATION.
Inadequate Information.—False Information.—Defects of 201 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?
CHAPTER XXII.
VILLARD AND HIS SPECULATIONS.
Return of the Renowned Speculator to Wall 209 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
CHAPTER XXIII.
FERDINAND WARD.
Peculiar Power and Methods of the Prince of 215 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 about the Swindle Practiced upon General Grant and his Family.
CHAPTER XXIV.
HENRY N. SMITH.
How Mr. Smith Started in Life and became a Successful 223 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 & Co. down also
CHAPTER XXV.
KEENE’S CAREER.
He Starts in Speculation as a “Curbstone” Broker.—A 229 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, and Major Selover brings him to Wall Street, where they Form an Alliance with Gould, Who “Euchres” Both of Them.—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.—Overwhelming Disaster in a Bear Campaign, Led by Gould and Cammack, in which Keene Loses Seven Millions.—His Desperate Attempts to Recover a Part Entail Further Losses, and He Approaches the End of His Thirteen Millions.—His Princely Liberality and Social Relations with Sam Ward and Others
CHAPTER XXVI.
OUR RAILROAD METHODS.
Deceptive Financiering.—Over-Capitalization.—Stock 241 “Watering.”—Financial Reconstructions.—Losses to the Public.—Profits of Constructors.—Bad Reputation of our Railroad Securities.—Unjust and Dangerous Distribution of the Public Wealth
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE GEORGIA BOND REPUDIATION.
How a Sovereign Southern State Cheated the Northern Men 255 who Helped Her in Distress.—A New Way to Pay Old Debts.—Cancellation by Repudiation of Just Claims for Cash Loaned to Sustain the State Government, Build Public Schools and Make Needed Improvements.—Bottom Facts of the Outrage.—The Recent Attempt to Place a New Issue of Georgia Bonds on the Market while the Old ones Remain Unpaid.—The Case before the Attorney-General of the State of New York.—He Examines the Legal Status of the Bonds in Connection with the Savings Banks.—His Decision Prohibits these Institutions from Investing the Hard Earnings of the Working People in these Doubtful and Dangerous Securities.—A Bold Effort to have the Fresh Issue of Georgia Paper put upon the List of Legitimate Securities of the New York Stock Exchange Firmly Opposed and Eventually Frustrated
CHAPTER XXVIII.
ANDREW JOHNSON’S VAGARIES.
“Swinging Around the Circle.”—How Mr. Johnson Came to 289 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
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE DIX CONVENTION.
How the War Democrat, General Dix, was Elected Governor 297 by the Republican Party.—The Candidates of Senator Conkling Rejected.—How Dix was Sprung on the Convention, to the Consternation of the Caucus.—Judge Robertson’s Disappointment.—Exciting Scenes in the Convention.—General Dix declines the Nomination, but Reconsiders and Accepts on the Advice of His Wife and General Grant.—How Dix’s Election Ensures Grant’s Second Term as President
CHAPTER XXX.
CONSEQUENCES OF THE UTICA (DIX’S) CONVENTION.
A Chapter of Secret History.—Conkling gets the Credit 307 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
CHAPTER XXXI.
GRANT’S SECOND TERM.
The Best Man for the Position and Most Deserving of the 313 Honor.—How the “Boom” was Worked up in Favor of Grant.—The Great Financiers and Speculators all Come to the Front in the Interest of the Nation’s Prosperity and of the Man who had Saved the Country.—The Great Mass Meeting at Cooper Union.—Why A. T. Stewart Refused to Preside.—The Results of the Mass Meeting and how they were Appreciated by the Friends of the Candidate, Leading Representatives of the Business Community and the Public Press Generally, Irrespective of Party
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE TWEED RING, AND THE COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY.
The Ring Makes Itself Useful in Speculative Deals.—How 327 Tweed and His “Heelers” Manipulated the Money Market.—The Ring Conspiring 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 Office of City Chamberlain as a Bribe to Compromise Matters.—How the Hon. Samuel Jones Tilden, as Counsel to the Committee, Obtained His Great Start in Life
CHAPTER XXXIII.
HON. SAMUEL J. TILDEN.
How Tilden began to make His Fortune in Connection with 337 William H. Havemeyer.—Tilden’s great Fort 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 Marvellous Success by His own Industry and Brain Power.—He not only Deserved Success and Respect, but Commanded them.—How his Large Generosity was Manifested in His Last Will and Testament.—The Attempt to Break that Precious Public Document
CHAPTER XXXIV.
COMMODORE VANDERBILT.—HOW HIS MAMMOTH FORTUNE WAS ACCUMULATED.
Ferryman.—Steamboat Owner.—Runs a Great Commercial 345 Fleet.—The First and Greatest of Railroad Kings.—The Harlem “Corner.”—Reorganization of N. Y. Central.—How He Milked the Street, and Euchred His Co-Speculators.—His Fortune.—Its Vast Increase by Wm. H.
CHAPTER XXXV.
WM. H. VANDERBILT.
A Builder instead of a Destroyer of Public Values.—His 355 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 became 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 Peace and Arbitration.—Makes Princely Presents to his Sisters.—The Singular Gratitude of a Brother-In-Law.—How he Compromises by a Gift of a Million with Young Corneel.—Gladstone’s idea of the Vanderbilt Fortune.—Interview of Chauncey M. Depew with the G. O. M. on the subject.—The great Vanderbilt Mansion and the Celebrated Ball.—The Immense Picture Gallery.—Mr. Vanderbilt Visits some of the Famous Artists.—His Love of Fast Horses.—A Patron of Public Institutions.—His Gift to the Waiter Students.—While Sensitive to Public Opinion, has no fear of Threats or Blackmailers.—The Public be Damned.—Explanation of the rash Expression.—The Purchase of “Nickel Plate.”—His Declining Health and Last Days.—His Will, and Wise Method of Distributing 200 Millions.—Effects of this Colossal Fortune on Public Sentiment
CHAPTER XXXVI.
“YOUNG CORNEEL.”
The Eccentricities of Cornelius Jeremiah Vanderbilt, 375 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
CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE YOUNG VANDERBILTS AND THEIR FORTUNES.
Remarkable for Physical and Intellectual Ability.—The 387 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 Generally
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE ROTHSCHILDS.
The Beginning of the Financial Career of the Great 397 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 Bourses
CHAPTER XXXIX.
TRAVERS.
The Unique Character of Travers.—His Versatile 407 Attainments.—Although of a Genial and Humorous Disposition, He was Always a Bear.—How He was the Means of Preserving the Commercial Supremacy of New York.—He Squashes the English Bravado, and Saves the Oratorical Honor of Our Country.—Has the Oyster Brains?—It Must have Brains, for it Knows Enough to Sh-sh-shut Up.—The Dog and the Rat.—I d-d-don’t want to Buy the D-d-dog; I will Buy the R-r-rat.—Travers on the Royal Stand at the Derby.—How He was Euchred by the Pool-Seller.—My Proxy in a Speech at the Union Club.—If You are a S-s-self-made Man, Wh-wh-y the D-devil didn’t You put more H-hair on the Top of Your Head?—Other Witticisms, &c.—Death of the Great Wit and Humorist, and some of His Last Witty Sayings
CHAPTER XL.
CHARLES F. WOERISHOFFER.
The Career of Charles F. Woerishoffer and the Resultant 425 Effect upon Succeeding Generations.—The Peculiar Power of the Great Leader of the Bear Element in Wall Street.—His Methods as Compared with Those of 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
CHAPTER XLI.
WOMEN AS SPECULATORS.
Wall Street no Place for Women.—They Lack the Mental 437 Equipment.—False Defenses of Feminine Financiers.—The Claflin Sisters and Commodore Vanderbilt.—Fortune and Reputation Alike Endangered
CHAPTER XLII.
WESTERN MILLIONAIRES IN NEW YORK.
Eastward the Star of Wealth and the Tide of Beauty Take 447 their Course.—Influence of the Fair Sex on this Tendency, and Why.—New York the Great Magnet of the Country.—Swinging into the Tide of Fashion.—Collis P. Huntington.—His Career from Penury to the Possessor of Thirty Millions.—Leland Stanford.—first a Lawyer in Albany, and afterward a Speculator on the Pacific Coast.—Has Rolled Up nearly Forty Millions.—D. O. Mills.—An Astute and Bold Financier.—Courage and Caution Combined.—His Rapid Rise in California.—He Makes a Fortune by Investing in Lake Shore Stock.—Princes of the Pacific Slope.—Mackay, Flood and Fair.—Their Rise and Progress.—William Sharon.—A Brief Account of His Great Success.—Wm. C. Ralston and His Daring Speculations.—Begins a Poor New York Boy, and Makes a Fortune in California.—John P. Jones.—His Eventful Career and Political Progress.-“Lucky” Baldwin.—His Business Ability and Advancement.—Lucky Speculations.—Amasses Ten or fifteen Millions.—William A. Stewart.—Discovers the Eureka Placer Diggings.—His Success as a Lawyer and in Mining Enterprises.—James Lick.—One of the Most Eccentric of the California Magnates.—Real Estate Speculations.—His Bequest to the Author of the “Star Spangled Banner.”—John W. Shaw, Speculator and Lawyer
CHAPTER XLIII.
RAILROAD INVESTMENTS.
Vastness of our Railroad System.—Its Cost.—Fall in the 475 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
CHAPTER XLIV.
THE SILVER QUESTION.
Its Fundamental Importance.—Dangers of Neglecting 481 it.—Attempts at Evasion.—How it must be Finally met.—Silver Paper Currency Schemes, and their Futility
CHAPTER XLV.
THE LABOR QUESTION.
Harmony Between the Representatives of Capital and 491 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 Social Elevation.—The Power of the Unions Brought to a Test.—The Universal Failure of the Strikes.—Revolutionary Demands of the Knights of Labor.—Gould and the Strikes on the Missouri Pacific, &c., &c.
CHAPTER XLVI.
AN IMPORTANT SYNOPSIS.
A Resume in Brief of the Leading Events Connected with 503 Wall Street Affairs for Seventy-seven Years
CHAPTER XLVII.
INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BARTHOLDI STATUE.
Great as an Achievement of Art, but Greater as the 525 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
CHAPTER XLVIII.
LARGE FORTUNES AND THEIR DISPOSITION.
How the Fortunes of the Astors were Made.—George 529 Peabody and His Philanthropic Schemes.—Johns Hopkins and his Peculiarities.—A. T. Stewart and his Abortive Plans.—A Sculptor’s Opinion of his Head.—Eccentricities of Stephen Girard, and How he Treated his Poor Sister.—His Penurious Habits and Great Donations.—James Lenox and the Library which he Left.—How Peter Cooper Made his Fortune, and his Liberal Gifts to the Cause of Education.—Samuel J. Tilden’s Munificent Bequests.—The Vanderbilt Clinic.—Lick, Corcoran, Stevens and Catharine Wolf
CHAPTER XLIX.
SOUTHERN AFFAIRS IN SPECULATION.
The Preservation of the Union a Great Blessing.—To Let 541 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 Offered Inviting Fields for Investment.—Issuing State Securities, Cheating and Repudiating.—President Johnson Chiefly to Blame for the Breach of Faith with Investors who were Swindled out of their Money.—Revenge and Avarice Unite in Financial Repudiation
CHAPTER L.
WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL LEADERS.
Alfred Sully, his Origin and Successful Career.—Calvin 553 S. Brice, a Financier of Ability.—General Samuel Thomas, Prominent in the Southern Railroad System.—General Thomas M. Logan, a Successful Man in Railroading and Mining.—Financial Chieftains of Baltimore.—The Garretts.—Their Great Success as Railroad Managers.—Portrait of Robert Garrett
CHAPTER LI.
ARBITRATION.
How the System of Settling Disputes and 561 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
CHAPTER LII.
NEW YORK AS A FINANCIAL CENTRE.
Its Past, Its Present, Its Future.—Banking 577 Decadence.—Growth of Interior Centres.—Obstruction from the National Bank Laws.—Relief Demanded.—Requirements of the Future
CHAPTER LIII.
EARTHQUAKE THEORIES AND WALL STREET AFFAIRS.
The Shock of Every Calamity Felt in Wall 589 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 Volcanic 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
CHAPTER LIV.
AUGUST BELMONT.
The American Representative of the Rothschilds.—Begins 595 Life in the Rothschilds’ House in Frankfort.—Consul General to Austria and Minister to the Hague.—A Great Financier and a Connoisseur in Art
CHAPTER LV.
THE SOCIALIST OBJECTIONS TO THE PRESENT ORDER OF SOCIETY EXAMINED.
Increase of Population and the Growing Pressure upon 599 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
CHAPTER LVI.
STOCK EXCHANGE CELEBRITIES.
How Wall Street Bankers’ Nerves are Tried.—Fine Humor, 603 Jocular Dispositions, and Scholarly Taste of Operators.—George Gould as a Future Financial Power.—American Nobility Compared with European Aristocracy.—How the Irish Can Assist to Purge Great Britain of her Bilious Incubus of Nobility.—The Natural Nobility of Our Own Country and Their Destiny
CHAPTER LVII.
A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE.
What We Are.—What We are Preparing For.—What We are 611 Destined to Do and to Become.—We are Entering on an Era of Seeming Impossibilities.—Yet the Inconceivable Will be Realized
CHAPTER LVIII.
JAY GOULD.
His Birth and Early Education.—Clerk in a Country 619 Store.—He Invents a Mouse Trap.—Becomes a Civil Engineer and Surveys Delaware County.—Writes a Book and Sells it.—Gets a Partnership in a Pennsylvania Tannery and soon Buys his Partner Out.—He comes to New York to Sell his Leather, falls in Love with a Leather Merchant’s Daughter and Marries her.—Settles in the Metropolis and begins to Deal in Railroads.—Buys a Bankrupt Road from his Father-in-law, Reorganizes it and Sells it at a Considerable Profit.—Henceforth he makes his Money Dealing in Railroads.—His Method of Buying, Reorganizing and Selling Out at a Large Profit.—How he Managed Erie in connection with Fisk and Drew.—His Operations on Black Friday.—Checkmated by Commodore Vanderbilt and obliged to Settle.—He makes Millions out of Wabash and Kansas & Texas.—His Venture in Union Pacific.—His Construction Companies.—Organization of American Union Telegraph, and his Method of Absorbing and Getting Control of Western Union.—The Strike of the Telegraphers and his Great Encounter with the Knights of Labor and Trades Unionist.—Gould’s First Yachting Expedition.—An exceedingly Humorous Story of his early Experience on the Water.—His Status as a Factor in Railroad Management
CHAPTER LIX.
MEN OF MARK.
Cyrus W. Field.—Russell Sage.—Addison Cammack.—The 659 Jerome Brothers.—Moses Taylor.—Chauncey M. Depew.—Austin Corbin.—Anthony J. Drexel.—John A. Stewart.—Hon. Levi P. Morton.—Philip D. Armour.—Stedman, the Poet.—Stephen V. White.—H. Victor Newcombe.—James M. Brown.—Former Giants of the Street.—Henry Keep.—Anthony W. Morse
CHAPTER LX.
James B. and John H. Clews 683
CHAPTER LXI.
A Remarkable Chapter of History 685
CHAPTER LXII.
Booms in Wall Street 700
CHAPTER LXIII.
A Glimpse into the Future 716
CHAPTER LXIV.
My Christmas Address to Customers, December 24, 1906 724
CHAPTER LXV.
Edward H. Harriman 726
CHAPTER LXVI.
The Ups and Downs of Wall Street 728
CHAPTER LXVII.
Recent Wall Street Booms 744
CHAPTER LXVIII.
Wall Street’s Wild Speculation, 1900-1904 755
CHAPTER LXIX.
Review of the Panic Year, 1903 771