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JAY COOKE AT EIGHTY

JAY COOKE

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR

ELLIS PAXSON OBERHOLTZER, Ph. D.,

AUTHOR OF " ROBERT MORRIS, PATRIOT AND FINANCIER," " ABRAHAM
LINCOLN," ETC.

VOLUME TWO

PHILADELPHIA

GEORGE W. JACOBS & CO.

PUBLISHERS

George W. Jacobs & Company

Published October, ipo?

CONTENTS

Chapter Page
• XIII. AFTER THE WAR i

XIV. ENTERING THE NORTHWEST 74

XV. THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD 146

XVI. BOND SELLING 225

XVII. THE "BANANA BELT" 295

XVIII. THE PANIC OF 1873 378

XIX. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 440

XX. RECUPERATION AND LAST YEARS 510

ILLUSTRATIONS

jay cooke at EIGHTY Frontispiece

pitt cooke Facing page 18

GIBRALTAR ISLAND FROM THE LAKE " 36

" GIBRALTAR." EAST SIDE OF MANSION ON GIBRALTAR

ISLAND IN LAKE ERIE "54

JAY COOKE, ABOUT 1875 " IOO

" OGONTZ," A RECENT VIEW " 1 52

JAY COOKE, FROM THE PORTRAIT PAINTED BY VONNOH IN 1896 " l8o

MAP OF LOCATION OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC LAND GRANT " 228
JAY COOKE, FROM A CRAYON SKETCH BY ROBERT W. VONNOH,

MADE IN 1896 " 250

JAY COOKE, FROM A MINIATURE PORTRAIT BY SARA N. BARTLE " 250

MRS. JAY COOKE, i860, " " 2^2

DULUTH IN 1871 " " 308

A RECENT VIEW OF DULUTH, LOOKING TOWARD THE HARBOR " 320

ANOTHER RECENT VIEW OF DULUTH, OVERLOOKING THE LAKE " 330
TACOMA, THE WESTERN TERMINUS OF THE NORTHERN PA-
CIFIC RAILROAD, AS IT APPEARED IN 1884, SHORTLY

AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE ROAD " " 340

MANSION AT PINE GROVE, PA " 354

JAY COOKE'S TELEGRAM IN CONNECTION WITH THE OPERA-
TIONS OF THE SECOND SYNDICATE " " 368

JAY COOKE, FROM A PORTRAIT BY WILLIAM M. CHASE . . " 400

JAY COOKE, FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY MARY CARNELL . . " 420
BRONZE ON STAIRWAY AT " OGONTZ " SUPPOSED TO RESEM-
BLE THE INDIAN CHIEF FOR WHOM THE MANSION WAS

NAMED " " 448

vi ILLUSTRATIONS

invitation to house warming at " ogontz," 1867 . . Facing page 453

JAY COOKE AND MRS. MC MEENS " 460

A LETTER ASKING FOR CHARITY, WITH JAY COOKE's " 0.

P. J." MARK " 476

st. Paul's church, near "ogontz" " 482

the four jay cookes " 488

view of " perry's lookout " and the " needle's eye " . " 494

jay cooke fishing " 502

jay cooke, after a day's snipe-shooting at beach

HAVEN, N. J " 512

NEW DAM IN ST. LOUIS RIVER, NEAR DULUTH " 528

JAY COOKE AND A GRANDDAUGHTER " 536

" OGONTZ LODGE " " 54O

JAY COOKE'S MAUSOLEUM ON THE " OGONTZ " ESTATE . . " 544

JAY COOKE
FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR

CHAPTER XIII

AFTER THE WAR

The closing of the seven-thirty loan left the two
houses of Jay Cooke and Company in a state of com-
parative idleness after the pressure and excitement of
the preceding months. On October 31, 1865, Secretary
McCulloch announced that the debt of the United States
without deducting the Treasury cash balance amounted
to $2,808,549,437/

It was made up of the following principal items, all
directly to be charged to the war, — its legitimate costs
and its mistakes, squanderings and extravagances:

Five-twenties $659,259,600

1881s 265,347,400

Ten-forties 172,770,100

Seven-thirties 830,000,000

Compound interest notes due in 1867

and 1868 173,012,140

Temporary Loan 99,107,745

Certificates of Indebtedness 55,905,000

United States Notes (Greenbacks).. 428,160,569 2

1 The highest point was reached on August 31, 1865, when the debt of
the United States was $2,846,021,742.04.

2 Report to Congress of December, 1865.

1 1

2 JAY COOKE

During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1865, the na-
tional debt had been increased $941,902,537. There
was much exchanging, converting and funding to be
done, since short-time loans were constantly maturing
and by realignments the debt of the United States by
June 30, 1866, stood at a total of $2,783,425,879, show-
ing a slight decline from its high point.1

One of Mr. Cooke's first duties after the close of the
sale of the seven-thirties was the further support of the
market by large purchases through his New York brok-
ers. Once this policy had been undertaken there was
almost no end to the need of intervention to serve some
object important, if not vital, to the management of the
Treasury Department, and in these movements there
was still none who had his skill or facility. The necessity
would continue so long as the government had funding
operations in hand, and there were two currencies, one
founded upon the value of gold and the other of the
changing greenback. Indeed Mr. Cooke had scarcely a
day of freedom from responsibility for the behavior of
the market from the panicky times in March, 1865, in-
duced by the fall of the Confederacy until the end of the
year. On August 18th Fisk and Hatch told Mr. Cooke
that their purchases of 7-30S for that day for govern-
ment account had been nearly $1,500,000, all at 99%.
They had got nearly the same amount the day before at
99. The surplus which could not be sold in the course
of the operations was turned over to Assistant Treas-
urer Van Dyck (who had been appointed to succeed
John A. Stewart), to be held for a more favorable mar-
ket. The next day the price was again advanced and

1 Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, December, 1866.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 3

Fisk and Hatch wrote that "nobody smelt the rat," "the
strength of the great 7-30 loan" being "the subject of
general comment and congratulation." Once more the
editors were "primed" and the newspapers, practically in
unison, proclaimed the great worth of "governments."
Secretary McCulloch had offered to take $5,000,000 and
on August 2 1 st $3,275,000 had been delivered to Van
Dyck. Fisk and Hatch were anxious that the authority
should be extended to ten or fifteen millions. Jay Cooke,
acting through his brother Henry at Washington, per-
suaded Mr. McCulloch to agree to an extension to seven
millions, which led to a long statement by Fisk and
Hatch that to take proper care of the market, correct
the evils of a too rapid absorption of the loan, remove it
from the hands of large holders whose demands were
urgent and place it with legitimate investors, authority
should be at hand to sell at least ten or twenty millions.
They (Fisk and Hatch) could make more money deal-
ing in seven-thirties at the low price, but they did not
wish to see the loan "buffeted about in that way." On
this letter Jay Cooke wrote : "These are my sentiments
also," and it was sent to Henry Cooke, who took it to
Mr. McCulloch.1 The result of the interview was that
the Secretary left "the whole matter" to Jay Cooke's
"discretion." 2 By September nth Fisk and Hatch had
delivered six millions to Van Dyck and had two millions
still in hand over and above several millions they had
"turned over at little or no profit," so that the original
grant of seven millions was not very much exceeded. A
few days later McCulloch was doubting the advisability

1 F. & H. to J. C, August 24, 1865.

2 H. D. C. to J. C, August 26th.

4 JAY COOKE

of advancing the price to par,1 saying at length out of
a mind that was never very stable, when his points were
answered, that "there were good arguments on both sides
of the question."

The fall of "governments," 7-30S going below 96, and
the rise in the price of gold caused the Secretary on
November 30th, to tell Henry Cooke to ask his brother
to visit New York at once, and report a new plan for
supporting the market. The situation alarmed him and
his suggestions now included the creation of a foreign
demand.

Jay Cooke was also in the foreground in the move-
ment for a speedy return to specie payments. While in
Washington in December, 1865, he presented to Secre-
tary McCulloch a plan for resumption on the first of
January, 1867. Of this communication E. G. Spauld-
ing, "the father of the greenback," wrote Mr. Cooke:
"The sanguine and confident manner in which you pre-
sent so grave a subject must have inspired the Secre-
tary with renewed confidence in his ability to bring the
business of the country back to a gold standard." He
thought, however, that Mr. Cooke was "rather san-
guine in fixing so short a time." "I agree with you
fully," Spaulding continued, "that it is of importance
that the plan adopted by the Secretary should be com-
prehensive and made known to the country, so that all
business men can shape their transactions to conform to
it and aid in carrying it out." 2 This announcement by
Jay Cooke was still not pleasing to some of his critics;
they would not be satisfied. It excited the risibilities

1H. D. C. to J. C, September 15th.
2 Spaulding to J. C, March 6, 1866.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 5

of- the California gold men. The Alta California i re-
marked with levity :

A new light has dawned upon the great champion of national
debts — the larger the better, and of paper money, " the more the
merrier."

It was only a short time ago that he was at the head of the
paper movement, proclaiming that greenbacks constituted the
soundest currency ever known, and denouncing the slightest
hankering after gold and silver as treason, the blackest and most
damnable. So convinced was he of the soundness of his posi-
tion, that he despatched his brother to this coast to enlighten us
poor benighted barbarians upon this outer edge of progressive
American civilization, over whose minds, there was too much
reason to fear, such old fogies as Adam Smith and John Stuart
Mill were exercising too much influence.

It now turns out, that Mr. Jay Cooke, who sent out Mr. Pitt
Cooke to California, and who sowed greenback seed all over the
state, is in favor of getting rid of irredeemable paper money and
returning to specie payments everywhere. Under these circum-
stances we do not know exactly what is to become of these ardent
but insolvent patriots, who believe that it is the duty of the
government to supply them with pocket money, when paper is
the circulating medium, and treason to oppose their wishes.

Secretary McCulloch still had authority to issue small
balances of bonds on the five-twenty and ten-forty ac-
counts. By the last clause of Section i of the Act of
March 3, 1865, wherein the Second and Third Series of
7-3OS were authorized, he had unlimited power to con-
vert into bonds "Treasury notes or other obligations
bearing interest," but he wished larger powers concern-
ing non-interest bearing securities, i. e. the greenbacks.

Mr. McCulloch's reliance upon Jay Cooke continued
to be large, and as Horace Greeley had predicted the

1 Dec. 15, 1865.

6 JAY COOKE

great Philadelphia banker at most times was "substan-
tially" the Secretary of the Treasury. In November .
prior to the preparation of his annual report to Con-
gress, he sent for Mr. Cooke. "He will determine upon
nothing," wrote Henry Cooke, "until after he sees you
and his decision will finally rest very much upon your
advice, if not entirely upon it." *

The essential recommendations in this paper regard-
ing new legislation were the following:

"ist — That Congress declare that compound inter-
est notes shall cease to be a legal tender from the day
of their maturity.

"2d — That the Secretary be authorized in his dis-
cretion to sell bonds of the United States bearing inter-
est at a rate not exceeding six per cent., and redeemable
and payable at such periods as may be conducive to the
interests of the government for the purpose of retiring
not only compound interest notes but the United States
notes." 2

This policy promised some contraction in circulation
and in reducing the amount of legal tenders looked to
the resumption of specie payments at a day not too far
distant. It was the signal for an excited and stubborn
contest between honest and dishonest, and sane and
crotchety financial authorities in Congress. A bill em-
bodying Secretary McCulloch's recommendations and
granting hirr the large discretion he requested, amenda-
tory of the law of March 3, 1865, was introduced and
ground its way through the House of Representatives,
arousing the hostility of the greenbackers and those who

1 H. D. C. to J. C, November 13th.

2 Report of December, 1865, and letter to J. S. Morrill, Chairman of
the Ways and Means Committee, March 23, 1866.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 7

made a great bugaboo of the contraction of the cur-
rency. When it passed the House and went to the Sen-
ate it met the opposition of John Sherman, who con-
cealed whatever his views were on the greenback ques-
tion at this time under a conviction that the powers con-
ferred upon the Secretary of the Treasury were too ex-
tensive. He wrote to Jay Cooke on March 30, 1866:

I have been carefully studying the loan bill with the earnest
hope to be able to support it, but I am staggered at the vast
power it confers upon the Secretary. It certainly is not needed ;
it is dangerous and I feel that we ought now to rather limit than
extend his power. Why not now provide for a five per cent,
long bond, boldly maintain it by your popular agency in the
market, then induce the [holders of] 7-30S to use their option
and limit the time for them to do it; then you have a funded
debt with only the interest to provide for. I am strongly in-
clined to make a determined effort to defeat this bill and give
him one providing a long loan at five per cent, to be sold only
for the purpose of funding the 7-30S. I know Harry's [Henry
Cooke's] earnest desire to pass the bill, as it is, but it seems to
me to be the entering wedge for a financial crisis that will dis-
turb all values and may lead to repudiation. What say you ?

In response to Mr. Cooke's letter of April. 2d, reciting
the merits and demerits of the measure but advocating
its enactment, Sherman wrote that he agreed with the
banker "mainly." "I still feel that McCulloch's bill is
a bad one," he continued. ". . . I do not like to
oppose it but my conscience reproaches me, as I could
defeat it by a well-drawn bill providing for a five per
cent, loan."

Sherman did oppose it, but he did not defeat it. On
April 9th he said of the measure in the United States
Senate, in non-concurring with his fellow members of the

8 JAY COOKE

Committee of Finance : "It confers on the Secretary of
the Treasury greater powers than have ever been con-
ferred since the foundation of the government upon any
Secretary of the Treasury." 1 In spite of his long plea
only six other senators voted with him against the bill.
It became a law on April 12, 1866, and gave the Sec-
retary large discretionary powers in funding the debt.
It was stipulated, however, that not more than $10,000,-
000 of greenbacks should be retired within the first six
months and afterward not more than $4,000,000 in any
one month.

Under the law of March 3, 1865, and this law amend-
ing it a considerable amount of funding was undertaken.
These grants opened the way for another large issue of
Jay Cooke's popular five-twenties, the so-called five-
twenties of 1865. During the fiscal year ending June 30,
1866, $103,000,000 of these new bonds were exchanged
for maturing debt and almost as much more ($101,-
000,000) was funded into this issue during the first
quarter of 1867.2 On October 31, 1866, the total
amount of outstanding five-twenties was $823,944,000,
the seven-thirty indebtedness having been reduced to
$724,014,300. These funding operations were tedious
and troublesome and Jay Cooke continued to be the fiscal
agent of the government, managing many transactions
of importance and magnitude. His pet measure, how-
ever, as Sherman knew when he opposed McCulloch's
bill was a great five per cent, loan to be called "The Con-
solidated Debt of the United States," which he pledged
himself to negotiate at a great saving to the govern-

1 Cong. Globe, 1865-66, p. 1845.

2 McCulloch's Report of December, 1866.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 9

ment. In response to a request he prepared and for-
warded to the Secretary of the Treasury the following
"Memorandum" on this subject:

A 20/40 year five per cent, loan, principal and interest pay-
able in coin, can be negotiated at par by the expenditure of not
less than one per cent, for " popularizing " the same. If in ad-
dition to the present exemption of United States bonds from
state and local taxation these bonds could be free from the
operations of the income tax, or other government taxation, it
is confidently believed there would be no difficulty in funding
into them not only that portion of our indebtedness over which
the Secretary has control, but also a considerable proportion of
the outstanding 7-30S at and before maturity — the preference
being given to the new and popularized five per cent, loan over
the shorter and taxable 5-20S.

Further the whole of the 514 millions of 1862 5-20 loan would
be funded into the 20/40 five per cents., probably much of it
before the maturity of the option on the 1st of May, 1867, at
which time the government has the right to pay off this whole
issue of " old 5-20S."

The holders of the 7-30S, 5-20S and other classes of indebted-
ness, as also new subscribers, by taking a five per cent, loan
instead of a six per cent, loan, would in effect surrender to the
government one-sixth of the annual interest in lieu of taxation,
an amount more than three times the present five per cent, income
tax now paid by those who hold the majority of the loans, be-
sides in effect thus getting tribute from that immense class
whose income from government loans is less than $600 per an-
num, and also from those whose income is greater but who fail
to make any return — this also would reach in effect all foreign
holders of six per cent, bonds. The saving is 16 2-3 per cent.,
a sum much higher probably than any income or other national
tax ; and yet a loan absolutely free from taxation, and therefore
free from all uncertainty as to its future net productiveness could
easily be made more attractive to the public than a loan having
a higher rate of interest and subject to fluctuating and possibly
oppressive taxation.

10 JAY COOKE

The high rates of interest now paid by the general govern-
ment upon temporary loans, 7-30S, compound notes, six per
cent, gold bonds, etc., has an injurious effect upon the money
markets and business of the country, compelling as it does all
other interests (manufacturing, commercial and producing inter-
ests particularly) to pay even higher rates and thus increasing
the difficulty of competing with foreign markets where capital
is abundant and cheap and manufactures and productions cor-
respondingly lessened in cost.

Suppose that within the next two years two thousand millions
of the five per cents, were negotiated, the saving in interest (as
compared to a six per cent, loan) of 20 millions per annum in-
vested and compounded would pay off the whole debt within
3^/2 years.

I would also add that the operations of this sinking fund
would give subscribers to the five per cent, loan great confidence
knowing that a provision existed for not only ultimate extinction
of the debt, but also for creating each six months an active de-
mand for and absorption of any surplus that might be pressing
upon the market.

I understand that you have immediate control over the follow-
ing short date obligations, say,

Temporary Loan $122,000,000

Certificates of Indebtedness 62,000,000

One and two year 5% notes 8,000,000

Three year compounders 172,000,000

Add in 6 months 10 mills and 6 months 26. . . . 36,000,000

$400,000,000

Of course I am aware that there is a very great feeling exist-
ing against a five per cent, loan, but this I am sure would pass
away so soon as the 10/4OS were put to par, which of course
would have to be done. The old 5-20S fell once to 92 during
my negotiation of that loan and remained down for months be-
low par, but on reaching par again people at once rushed into
them and forgot their former depression. Also it would be

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 11

much less expensive, I suppose, to sell a six per cent, loan, and
would not require so much preliminary effort, but I feel that for
reasons given above we ought to come down to five per cent, and
of our success I have not the least doubt.

Very respectfully,

Jay Cooke.
Hon. Hugh McCulloch,

Secretary of the Treasury.

From this time on the Cooke interests strove for spe-
cific authority for a five per cent, loan with absolute ex-
emption from taxation, convinced that the entire debt
could be advantageously converted into long bonds of
this class. Sherman warmly advocated the idea, Mc-
Culloch expressed his approval, and there was much
propaganda-making in its behalf both in and out of Con-
gress. The bill was regarded as peculiarly Jay Cooke's
and Sherman's sponsorship marked it as this even more
plainly.1 Although demonstrably calculated to effect a
large saving to the government, if the interest on the
national debt could be reduced to a uniform rate of five
per cent., there was a provision that two per cent, should
be paid to the negotiators, and rival banking interests
set upon the scheme with their olden savagery. It was
said that Mr. Cooke could not persuade the holders of
7-30S and 5-20S to give them up for a new loan bearing
a reduced rate of interest, in spite of his promise again
to magnetize the people. Fessenden, whose support was
expected, wavered; McCulloch exercised the privilege of
one of his temperament to reconsider his decision and
Chase wrote to Mr. Cooke privately :

I see Mr. Sherman has introduced your bill. Change the loan
to 10-4OS and strike out exemption from national taxation and it

1 For the text of the bill see Cong. Globe, 1865-66, p. 2331.

12 JAY COOKE

will do, though I think the two per cent, too high.1 You last of
all men ought to desert the 10-40 plan and go for a thirty year
loan. It was because you insisted that the takers of the 5-20S
would be disappointed and have a right to complain, if more were
issued, and because I wanted to keep perfect faith with them, that
I resorted to the 10-40S instead of keeping on with the 5-20S,
thinking one about equal to the other.

Chase wrote again :

Of course I stick to my own plans of funding 5-20S or 10-40S.
Ask me anything except to murder my own children, especially
when I am sure that they are sound, healthy, well-favored, have
done good service and are fully capable of doing all that any-
body's can do, and I think much better.

The times seemed to be unpropitious for the bill, al-
though Sherman faithfully advocated it. On May 13th
he wrote :

There will be strong opposition to the income exemption clause,
but I do believe if you and McCulloch will help vigorously we
can pass it. Its success with the people is sure. I think the
Committee will agree to its report on Tuesday, Fessenden and
perhaps Morgan no. If I have difficulty in getting it .through,
as it is, I will abandon the income exemption clause and strike
for a five per cent, thirty year loan, or 20-40, and if they are de-
termined to force a six per cent, loan on the market I will favor
taxing it. I can't write to you what I believe are the motives
of the opposition to this project.

On June 3rd he wrote again:

I agree with you entirely that we ought to push the loan bill
even if it fails. The responsibility will then rest on them who
defeat it. I feel quite sure with proper effort it will not fail.

1 Jay Cooke disclaimed responsibility for this feature of the bill. " Not
my figure," he wrote ; but he wished it to be remembered that this was
a five and not a six per cent, loan, while there would now be none of the
patriotic enthusiasm which led to the rapid taking of the war loans.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 13

It -is universally approved in the West. Every newspaper in
Ohio sustained my position.

On June 15th Sherman continued:

The funding bill still hangs fire. I don't know whether Mc-
Culloch wants it or not. I think not. Van Winkle [a Senator
from West Virginia] made an excellent speech in its favor and
I feel sure it is stronger than it was. Oh, for an energetic Sec-
retary, a man with a will like Chase. McCulloch foolishly ar-
rayed against himself political feeling, and this weakens every-
thing he really wants. If he will say the word I will guarantee
its passage in the Senate.

Henry Cooke again went to McCulloch and had him
agree to write to Fessenden "expressing his earnest de-
sire" that the bill should pass,1 but the Secretary's per-
functory support of the measure was of no value to it.

Chief Justice Chase further elucidated his views on
the funding question in a letter to Mr. Cooke of June 27,
1866:

As to the loan bill I felt sure from the first that it could not
pass in the shape proposed. If Mr. Sherman had adopted the
amendment to which you agreed, and to which when you left my
house you said he would agree, there would have been a good
chance for it; but he did not. I am sure he acted upon the best
motives and as a senator always should act Upon his own con-
victions, but I thought then and think now that he erred. You
may easily conceive how great pain it gave me to differ from you
and differ from him. If there are any two men in the world
whom I love, you and H. D. are the two, and for Sherman I
feel not the same affection exactly, but a respect, and esteem, and
confidence which cannot be easily expressed. But I had clear
ideas of duty about the bill which I could not surrender. I
never, as you know, regarded my own interests when Secretary
in comparison with those of the country, and I could not yield

1 H. D. C. to J. G, June 18th, 1866.

14 JAY COOKE

my honest convictions to the judgment even of my best friends.
I had when Secretary, established the principle of controllability
of public debt with great opposition and I could not abandon it,
or help in obtaining its abandonment. I had established also two
loans as the funding loans, 5-20 sixes and 10-40 fives, and I fully
believed them adequate. All our legislation had recognized them
as the funding loans. The 7-30S were made convertible into
them. I thought it hard of you and Sherman, who had always
been my right hand men, to put the brand of insufficiency on
these loans which you had aided me in establishing and which
had stood the test of war. Of course you were right in abandon-
ing my funding principle for a better if you found a better; but
I did not think it better or so good and so held on.

It is likely that Mr. Chase's influence was not very
weighty; in any event the bill failed. It was approved
by the Senate on July 19th, but it never found its way
through the House and the measure must await the next
session.

Mr. McCulloch now became the object of a number
of newspaper attacks which exasperated him and served
to increase his timidity. For several months Mr. Cooke
had been using his influences to save the Secretary from
these annoyances,1 but the New York Herald and Harp-
er's Weekly returned to the charge very vigorously.
McCulloch asked Huntington to have Mr. Cooke
stop Bennett's assaults. The immediate cause of them
was the Secretary's secret arrangement with Jay Cooke
and Company to buy 7-30S and sell new 5-20S, an ex-
change which was effected at some mysterious rate — in
reality one-eighth of one per cent, each way, or one-
fourth upon the whole amount of the conversion. Harp-
er's Weekly revived the old story that the service could

1 Hennessy to J. C, January 26th, and April 28, 1866.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 15

have been much better and more cheaply performed by
the Assistant Treasurer in New York, adding sagely
that "Jay Cooke was a banker in the smallest kind of a
way in Ohio when Mr. Chase inaugurated his system of
finance." "Perfectly competent men," this adviser con-
tinued, "could have been hired to do the job at one-tenth
of Jay Cooke and Company's rates." * John Russell
Young found that the article had been written by John
Bonner, who had got his antipathies by his training in
the office of the Herald and an apology was sought, Mr.
Cooke's press agents pursuing each guilty writer with
astonishing faithfulness at all stages of the history of his
firm.

Late in August a firm of New York bankers sent out
a circular alleging that the Treasury was hoarding
specie, " with the sole result of promoting the interest of
the gamblers in gold," and that the government's obliga-
tions would be wholly or partially repudiated, again
arousing the Secretary's anger. He once more called
upon Jay Cooke for aid. He wrote: "I enclose an
atrocious circular of Wotherspoon and Company which
is calculated to do us material injury on the other side.
Will you do me the favor to call the attention of editors
of journals, whom you have used in times past for the
protection and advancement of the government credit
to this circulation and request them to deal with it and
the authors in such manner as will be likely to prevent
similar publications in the future. When you are again
in New York it would be well for you I think to call upon
Wotherspoon and give him a 'raking down.' Hanging
would be too light a punishment for such a scoundrel." 2

1 August 4, 1 866. 2 McCulloch to J. G, August 24, 1866.

16 JAY COOKE

Stone of the Journal of Commerce, who never had been
pacified, now had "Jay Cooke on the brain," * and to cap
it all the Secretary was being treated to an investigation
in answer to a resolution of the House of Representa-
tives.2 He was called before the Banking Committee
to give an account of his purchases and sales of gold and
bonds which led to some statements in Congress and in
the press for a time gratifying to his enemies. He now
felt that he could not consult Jay Cooke as in the past for
fear of public criticism. "He seems to be all at sea in
regard to the future," wrote Huntington after an inter-
view with him, "so that he knows not what to do." On
July 30th, the session being ended, John Sherman wrote
the financier: "Our funding bill failed from the mere
timidity of the Secretary, but I was determined to put
it through in some form in the Senate, and cared little
for its fate in the House. The next time I enter into
such an undertaking I want to be sure of my back-
ing."

The firm of Jay Cooke and Company having been in
existence for five years, the term for which Mr. Cooke
and William G. Moorhead had formed their partnership,
on January 1, 1866, a new arrangement was entered into
between them. Mr. Moorhead for several months had
discussed in his own mind and with Mr. Cooke the ques-
tion of leaving the firm. His wife's health was failing
and much of his time was passed in Europe, where they
travelled from spa to spa in a vain effort to recover it.
He, however, concluded upon full reflection to continue
his association, and the terms of the new partnership

1 Van Dyck to McCulloch.

2 Cong. Globe, 1865-66, pp. 2946 and 3301.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 17

were detailed in Jay Cooke's letter to Fahnestock on De-
cember 19, 1865 :
Dear Fahnestock:

Tell the Secretary that H. D. and I have gone to New York
and will post him as to how matters look there.

A day or two since I had a final talk with W. G., and found
that he had determined unreservedly to remain a full partner and
by retaining his interest thus give the firm the additional strength
of his millions.

Pitt and H. D. and I go to New York this morning and shall
remain there probably till 6 p. m. to-morrow. We shall try to
arrange for an office to be opened about the first of January, Pitt
as the wheelhorse, with the selection of some one in New York
as the active trader, and then fill up with selections from our two
offices and banks, etc. This extension to New York contem-
plates a speedy extension of interests to London, but say nothing
of this at present.

We have decided to divide the matter as follows :

O. P. J. one-tenth first, and balance

Washington Office —

J- c: 33 1/3

W. G. M 16 2/3

H. D. C 14

H. C. F 14

P. C 7

W. S. H 5

Swain 5

Pearson 5 100

Philadelphia Office —

J. C 33 1/3

W. G. M 16 2/3

H. D. C 14

H. C. F 14

PC 7

W. S. H 5

Sexton 5

Geo. C. Thomas 5 100

18 JAY COOKE

This division we think would be gratifying and satisfactory
to all. W. G. and I give up one-third that is I get 33 1/3 in-
stead of 50 on the two offices and W. G. in same proportion as
originally agreed with him. Your and H. D.'s interest is re-
duced only 2 2/3 in the Washington office and in return you
get 14 per cent, in the Philadelphia office or rather equal to 28
per cent, in one office instead of 16 2/3.

This proportion will be kept up in New York and London.
Without Pitt's presence in New York I should not deem it safe
to open a house there and 7 per cent, is as little as W. G. and I
are willing he should have. Geo. C. T. and Sexton will sign
as full partners in Philadelphia and Pitt in all the offices, and
the rest of us of course ; but Huntington and Swain and Pearson
will only have a contingent interest not partners (Huntington
can't be you know as cashier). We insure to Geo. C. T. and
Sexton and Swain and Pearson 3,000 at any rate. If their
interest exceeds this they get it.

Say nothing of this to the boys at present.

In haste yours truly,

Jay Cooke.

Fahnestock replied that "the apportionment of inter-
ests" in the new firm was "entirely satisfactory" to him,
and the arrangement was concluded in this manner.
Thus was Jay Cooke's brother Pitt admitted to partner-
ship in both the Philadelphia and Washington houses.
Fahnestock, H. D. Cooke and W. S. Huntington became
partners in Philadelphia, as did two useful clerks in the
Philadelphia office', John W. Sexton and George C.
Thomas. At Washington Weir was eliminated and
Huntington was added with two senior clerks, Pearson
and Swain. Moreover Mr. Cooke's intention to estab-
lish two new houses, one in New York and one in Lon-
don, was definitely announced.

The New York branch first claimed Jay Cooke's active

PITT COOKE

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 19

interest. The closing of the war left Washington a
much less important banking centre, and it had been seen
for a long time that Jay Cooke and Company must
sooner or later have an establishment in New York.
Hitherto, Clark, Dodge and Company had supplied this
need, while large commissions were also entrusted to
Fisk and Hatch and Vermilye and Company. The
house had too much reputation and too many resources
to confine itself to Philadelphia and Washington when
there was no longer any great amount of government
business to be transacted. Fahnestock had long advo-
cated the step and Jay Cooke wished to make a place in
the system for his brother Pitt. The failure of the Co-
lumbian Marine Insurance Company early in 1866 left
vacant an office in a marble building at the corner of
Wall and Nassau Streets, which was procured, and on
March 1st it was opened as the New York house of Jay
Cooke and Company. Fahnestock, "without any lack
of appreciation of Pitt, whose business qualifications,"
he said he "highly esteemed," had cautioned Mr. Cooke
against entering the city unless a man could be found
"to compete with Crawford [Clark, Dodge and Com-
pany] and Wood [Vermilye and Company] whom he
considered the most accomplished brokers in the New
York of that day.1 He himself was brought on from
Washington therefore to become the principal resident
partner, sharing with Pitt Cooke and Edward Dodge,
"Uncle Pitt" or "Old Pitt" and the "Commodore" as the
juniors called them,2 the responsibility for the man-

1 To J. C, December 20, 1865.

2 Mr. Dodge was the brother-in-law and business associate, it will be
remembered, of Jay Cooke's good friend and patron Enoch W. Clark, in
Cooke's early years in Philadelphia.

20 %JAY COOKE

agement of the establishment, but they were mainly
counsellors and "Fahny" bore the burden of the prac-
tical work, especially in the bond department of the
business. The shares were as follows:

O. P. J. one-tenth first.

Jay Cooke . . . . 30

W. G. Moorhead 15

H. D. Cooke 14

H. C. Fahnestock 14

Pitt Cooke 7

E. Dodge 20 100

To enter New York, as Jay Cooke had foreseen, was
to forfeit many of the happy relationships which had so
long subsisted with large firms there. They had been
trusting friends; they were now to become rivals. All
contended actively for the same trade, but Jay Cooke
and Company's New York men proved to be qualified
so well for the contest for money in that city that their
own partners soon recorded their complaints. "Oh,
those Yorkers," wrote Huntington in April, 1866. "We
can't do anything with them, or make any money out of
them," and Henry Cooke in a letter to Fahnestock
wrote: "You sinners cut in closer than anybody else
and leave us a smaller margin of profit. I tell you
frankly that we can generally in this class of trans-
actions make much more advantageous trades with other
houses in New York than with J. C. and Company." *
And in a letter to George C. Thomas, who was rapidly
making himself the leading spirit in Jay Cooke's absence
in the Philadelphia house, Fahnestock wrote in response

aJuly I, 1869.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 21

to some complaints which seem not to have been un-
founded: "It is generally conceded by persons who
know us that we understand what we are about, and the
best evidence that we trade on the market is in the fact
that our trade is larger than that of any other govern-
ment house in New York. Of course it is my interest to
have you make money and to help you when I can, and
yet being large and constant traders we must first con-
sult our own business wants." 1 The New York part-
ners evidencing this disposition, Jay Cooke advised his
Philadelphia and Washington houses to do business in
that city where they could, regardless of the firm con-
nection, and this policy was continued with little inter-
ruption until 1873.

The operations of the New York house were at once
unexpectedly successful. It employed itself profitably in
general trade and in government business, principally in
converting 7-3OS into McCulloch's new loans. The first
two months, March and April, 1866, netted about $60,-
000. The profits for July were $102,000 and for the
ten months ending December, 1866, the net returns were
$520,554.84, of which $500,000 were divided, $50,000
going to "Old Patriarch Jacob," while the partners re-
ceived the following amounts for their shares :

Jay Cooke $135,000

W. G. Moorhead 67,500

H. D. Cooke 63,000

H. C. Fahnestock 63,000

Pitt Cooke 31,500

E. Dodge 90,000

$450,000

1 July 28, 1869.

22 JAY COOKE

1867 was little less profitable to the partners, the net
result being $440,000, of which $415,000 were dis-
tributed to the "Old Patriarch" and the other sharers
in the blessings of the year. For 1868, which was not
so fortunate a year, $200,000 were divided.

The Washington house distributed $190,000 at the
end of the year 1865, while for 1866 and 1867 the annual
net yield was about $100,000. The Washington bank
continued to thrive and on July 1, 1866, the stockholders
received a dividend of 20 per cent, in gold, Jay Cooke's
share being $37,500 in currency, which seems to have
been the result of three months' business. The profits
of the bank at this time were immense.

In the bitterness engendered by the development of a
reconstruction programme, and the disputes between
President Johnson and Congress which led to his trial
for impeachment, the influence of Jay Cooke was con-
ciliatory but firm. On January 4, 1866, he wrote his
brother Henry: "I am disgusted at the want of bold-
ness, faith, originality, etc., in our financial and recon-
struction plans and chafe over this whole terrible sac-
rifice of credit and opportunities. If plain, simple, com-
mon-sense plans were adopted," he continued, "there
would not be the least difficulty in accomplishing all
that the most sanguine could wish."

He was appealed to from many sides to use his influ-
ence in ameliorating political conditions. He visited
President Johnson, who had $60,000 in Huntington's
hands in the First National Bank at Washington, and
discussed the situation at length in the interest of peace,
as did John Sherman and other men in Mr. Cooke's po-
litical group. The banker's sympathy for the Southern

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 23

people, as for all who were in any kind of actual need,
was genuine. He harbored none of the vengeful resent-
ments which abounded in the minds of many Northern
men whose acts and speeches disgraced this unhappy
period. To him numerous appeals for charity were di-
rected by men and women in the South upon whom the
sufferings and distresses of the war seemed to bear over-
whelmingly; they poured out their hearts to him in
words that so long as he lived he never knew how and
never tried to resist.1

As a reconstruction measure he had it in his mind to
form a credit mobilier for the relief of the wants of the
Southern people, an "Industrial Credit" for which he ac-
tively sought the endorsement of Congress. But that
body was so busily occupied with the work of imposing
political abominations upon the subjugated people that
it had little favor to spare for such truly good and useful

1 One of his leading seven-thirty agents, H. C. Storms, wrote Mr.
Cooke from Charleston, S. C, November 27, 1865 : " Since I left Phila-
delphia I have traveled through the states of Virginia, North Carolina,
and will finish up this state in a very short time. It will not take long
for it has very nearly finished itself. The whole country is very poor.
The farms show it, the houses in the towns show it for want of paint
and repairs, and the people show it in their very countenances. Every-
thing is in mourning. The women all look sad ; they have lost all their
property and worst of all they have now got to lose their pride. Desola-
tion and ruin present themselves to your view, look where you will —
the Navy Yard opposite Norfolk burnt down, Richmond half burnt down,
a part of Petersburg and almost every other place I have been in. One-
third of this city has been destroyed by fire and I think it very doubtful
whether it will be built up in fifty years as it was before. The negroes
are starving and freezing, not so much here as in Virginia. The poor
souls have a hard time of it. The prisons are all full, some working on
the streets, in many places with ball and chain fastened to their legs.
They have been taken up for stealing by the military. Thousands have
already died and thousands more must die from exposure and starva-
tion."

24 JAY COOKE

projects. The subject was entrusted to Robert Dale
Owen, a son of Robert Owen, the noted communist, and
William E. Chandler and S. P. Andrews of the Treasury
Department. Sherman was expected to father the bill
in Congress. Governor Parsons of Alabama told
Henry Cooke in Washington that it was "a great, a
grand idea, magnificent as well as beneficent, patriotic
as well as practical. He says your idea of linking the
people of the South to the government by such powerful
ties of self-interest as you propose will be omnipotent for
good, and that nothing else is needed; that it is the true
reconstruction because it is commercial, financial, in-
dustrial and social reconstruction, which underlies po-
litical reconstruction and out of which the latter will
spontaneously grow. It needs, he says, no additional
guarantees as proposed in your constitutional amend-
ments, because the government will have stronger guar-
antees than any paper provision (constitutional or other-
wise) of law in the affection which such beneficence will
awaken in the breasts of the people towards the govern-
ment which extends it." 1

The quarrels of the radical and conservative factions
continued, however, subduing all humanitarian senti-
ments. McCulloch, who was engaged in the very diffi-
cult task of making himself acceptable to all parties in
order to hold his place in the Johnson cabinet, told
Henry Cooke on October 12, 1866, that the President
was "sincere in his views and perhaps obstinate in stick-
ing to them," but would not "under any circumstances
venture upon a policy of violence or revolutionary fac-
tiousness, and further that there has never been a word

iH. D. C. to J. C, April 28, 1S66.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 25

in all their cabinet consultations even squinting in that
direction. To quote McCulloch's own words as near as
I can, 'Mr. Johnson is honest and he is law-abiding and
is now as ever anxious and willing to obey and carry
out the fairly expressed will of the people.' " * But a
pacific course seemed to be out of the question. The
South and its conservative sympathizers everywhere,
especially in the pivotal state of New York, were en-
couraged to prolong their opposition to the constitutional
amendments, tempting the Congressional majority to go
the entire length of its extreme programme, including
the scheme for universal suffrage. After the anti-
Johnson victory at the polls in the autumn of 1866 the
successful party conducted itself in a very arbitrary
manner. As the Congressmen arrived they promptly
visited Jay Cooke's Washington office. Henry Cooke
wrote on November 30, 1866, that he was "holding a
regular levee." "Colfax, Washburne, Spaulding, Sher-
man, General Moorhead and others were among the
callers. They all talk alike about the political future.
They feel that they as victors are masters of the situa-
tion and can with their two-thirds majority run the ma-
chine of government themselves. The position of the
President and the administration is a matter of compara-
tive indifference to them. All that the President and
his cabinet will have to do will be to execute the laws
which Congress makes, etc." 2

Unwilling to believe the rumors until the last mo-
ment, Henry Cooke wrote on January 19, 1867: "I am
reluctantly coming to the conclusion that the Radicals

1 To J. C, October 12, 1866.

2 H. D. C. to J. G, November 30, 1866.

26 JAY COOKE

intend to force through the impeachment against John-
son as a political measure. This is nothing more nor
less than revolution. We may as well look the facts in
the face. The intention is to get rid of Johnson, to
put Wade or Fessenden, probably Wade, in as Presi-
dent of the Senate and he in turn will become acting
President under a law of Congress depriving the Presi-
dent of the exercise of the functions of his office while
on trial. Then a new law of Congress will increase the
number of judges of the Supreme Court to be appointed
by the new President, giving them the majority of the
Court. Thus they will have the legislative, judicial and
executive power in their own hands (now they have only
the legislative) and they will proceed to reconstruct the
South in their own way." *

In the midst of this festival of crimination and re-
crimination it was very natural that Mr. McCulloch, and
with him Jay Cooke, should be made the subject of an
onslaught, the most savage which had yet been directed
against him, although the banker had already under-
gone several such experiences. Mr. McCulloch was
still nettled by his newspaper critics. On June 15, 1867,
in response to Mr. Cooke's invitation to visit Gibraltar
the Secretary wrote:

My Dear Air. Cooke:

Your kind note of the 6th inst. was handed to me by H. D. a
few days since. . . .

I am a good deal thicker skinned than I was when I came
to Washington, but I cannot help being annoyed by the attacks
of the Journal of Commerce and the New York Herald. The
trouble with these fellows is that we are getting along com-
fortably, notwithstanding their predictions to the contrary and

1 To J. C, January 19, 1867.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 27

their persistent efforts to prevent successful management of the
finances. Still I am tired of their constant imputations of dis-
honesty against Mr. Van Dyck and myself, and cannot help
feeling that I am a dunce for retaining a position in which there is
so much of labor and anxiety and so little reward. I envy your
delightful recreation on Lake Erie, etc.

Very truly

Your friend,

Hugh McCulloch.

In August, 1867, Stanton was "suspended" as Secre-
tary of War, having refused to obey a request for his
resignation by Mr. Johnson, thus intensifying the" bit-
terness felt for the President, and McCulloch did not in-
crease his popular prestige by concurring in the act.
Indeed, the removal of the Secretary of the Treasury
was now openly demanded upon many sides — by "the
politicians, the bank note companies, the gold gamblers
and one or two large New York banking houses engaged
in foreign exchange business," said Henry Cooke. "A
powerful combination," was arrayed against him, but
he was determined to hold his ground in spite of his vex-
ation at the attacks of his enemies. He would not re-
sign unless "flatly invited" to do so.1

The elections in 1867 by the American rule of change,
were 2 much more favorable to Johnson, a result not very
satisfactory to Jay Cooke. "What bad news, sad news
to-night," he wrote from Gibraltar on October 9th.

*H. D. C. to J. C, August 19, 1867.

2 The New York World remarked : " Outside of Congress, Chase, Mc-
Culloch, Jay Cooke and other financial castles in the clouds, and inside
of Congress, Stevens, Wade, Chandler and their ultra-radical nigger wor-
shippers have all been upset by the kite elections. They must now be
transferred to the back seats among the used-up politicians — Old Thad
alongside of Old Buck, McCulloch by the side of Bobby Walker, and
Chase and Jay Cooke near the shadow of old Nick Biddle."

28 JAY COOKE

"Pennsylvania and Ohio gone Democratic and the sad
lessons of the war all forgotten. Well, God reigneth.
His will and purposes will all be made known and en-
forced in good time." 1 Henry Cooke viewed the result
more cheerfully, for he wrote his brother on October 12,
1867:

About the elections. You know how I have felt for a long
time past in regard to the course of the ultra infidelic radicals
like Wade, Sumner, Stevens et id omne genus. They were drag-
ging the Republican party into all sorts of isms and extremes.
Their policy was one of bitterness, hate and wild agrarianism
without a single Christian principle to give it consistency, except
the sole idea of universal suffrage. And now the party has
suffered a check because sound and sober men had begun to lose
confidence in its leaders. These reckless demagogues have had
their day and the time has come for wiser counsels. With Wade
uttering agrarian doctrines in Kansas and fanning the flame of
vulgar prejudices, trying to array labor against capital and
pandering to the basest passions ; with Butler urging wholesale
conscription throughout the South and wholesale repudiation
throughout the North so far as the national debt is concerned ;
with Stevens joining hands with the traitor Vallandigham and
advocating the idea of a flood of irredeemable paper money suffi-
cient in volume to drown the whole country ; with Pomeroy and
Wade and Sprague and a host of others clamoring for the un-
sexing of woman and the putting of the ballot in her hand ; with
sumptuary laws in Maine invading every man's apple orchard
and kitchen pantry and dragging him before the courts if a drop
of cider is found on his premises ; and in Ohio with a mad proj-
ect coupling together the enfranchisement of negroes and the
disfranchisement of noble white soldiers who had risked their
lives for their country, who had served in the army all through
the war and who were not in reality but only technically deserters,
what wonder is it that the accumulated load was too heavy for
any party to carry and that it broke down under it? For my

1 To H. D. C.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 29

part I have no tears to shed because I believe that henceforth the
Republican party will be purified and will be ten times stronger
for the purification. ... I am alluding to these facts and
they are facts merely to show that you are taking too gloomy
a view of the result when you say it is an endorsement of the
repudiating financial doctrines of Vallandigham and Pendleton.
Even the Democrats here place no such construction upon it, not
even A. J. They all say, the latter included, that the Republicans
brought about their own defeat by lugging into the canvass these
side issues to which I have referred, and especially in Ohio by
the persecution of good loyal boys in blue. It does seem as if
the Republican leaders in Ohio were demented. ... I regard
the defeat of this fall as merely a timely warning which if heeded
will be sure to save the country from infinitely greater disaster
next year.

The stories as to McCulloch's resignation were re-
vived and it was stated that Erastus Corning would take
his place. This rumor was soon positively denied. In
February, 1868, the Secretary was still complaining of
the aspersions of the New York journals and asking
Henry Cooke to move in the matter. The latter wrote
to his brother as follows :

I believe that we could do a great deal more with him but for
these attacks which make him timid, and that it would pay to
make an effort in that direction. There is not a single paper in
New York that is heartily on his side. It seems to me that our
folks there could stop this and turn the current in his favor if
they would take more pains to conciliate the editors. You never
see a whisper from the Washington correspondents.1

On January 21, 1868, General John A. Logan, a Rep-
resentative from Illinois, introduced a resolution which
the House passed, directing the Secretary of the Treas-
ury to furnish information in regard to recent sales of

1 H, D, C, to J, C., February 17, 1868,

30 JAY COOKE

ten-forty bonds.1 He alleged with some barbarity that
they were disposed of under the New York prices
through a private banking house. If they were sold at
all the operation should be managed by the Treasury De-
partment directly. Furthermore, such action increased
the amount of cash withheld from trade and contracted
the currency.

Secretary McCulloch responded to this resolution of in-
quiry on January 28th.2 He had sold more than $8,000-
000 ten-forties, all through Jay Cooke's Washington
First National Bank at }i of one per cent, commission,
a total of $10,177 upon which showing angry charges
of favoritism were based, Randall joining Logan in the
denunciation of the Secretary and his methods. Logan
was still unsatisfied and on February 20th the House on
his motion resolved :

That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to inform this
House whether the original letter of which the annexed is a
copy, dated December 30, 1867, was signed by him; if so to
whom it was addressed and whether the propositions therein
contained were complied with by the parties to whom it was
addressed. Also to inform this House whether the sale of
10/40 bonds from October 16, 1867, to January 20, 1868, were at
rates equal to the quotations of sales in New York City on those
several days respectively ; why the amount paid into the Treas-
ury for the sale of said bonds did not withdraw currency from
the business of the country, and why the operations of the Treas-
ury Department for some months past have been such as to
diminish, rather than increase, the balance in currency in the
Treasury of the United States as stated in his communication,
dated Janury 28th, in reply to a resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 21st of January last.

1 Cong. Globe, 1867-68, p. 664.

2 Cong. Globe, 1867-68, pp. 1298-1302.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 31

Simultaneously an anonymous circular made up of
extracts from newspaper articles, including some re-
cently published criticisms by the Philadelphia Ledger,
appeared upon the desks of Senators and Representa-
tives, another unfriendly act duly reported to the finan-
cier by Sherman and Henry Cooke.1

The explanations demanded in Logan's resolution
were scarcely made 2 when he presented another which
was openly directed against Jay Cooke's management of
the war loans. On March 18, 1868, upon his motion,
the House of Representatives resolved :

That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed without delay
to report to this House the amount of commissions paid for the
sale or disposal of United States bonds or securities, since the
second day of March, A. D. 1861, to whom paid and if commis-
sions are still paid for similar services to the same parties ; if not
to whom commissions, if any, are paid ; also what amount of
gold has been sold by the Treasury Department since the second
day of iMarch, A. D. 1861, and what amount of commissions
have been paid on the sales of gold and to whom paid ; whether
said commissions on the sale of gold were paid in coin or cur-
rency; that he state separately the aggregate amount of commis-
sions paid on the sales of government securities and the sale of
gold.3

Secretary McCulloch asked Jay Cooke "to take off
his coat" and prepare a full statement of all the loan sales
which he had made from the beginning of the war to
1868. The tone of the demand caused the financier to
feel and express much indignation. He wrote his
brother Henry:

1 H. D. C. to J. C, February 21, 1868.

2 The House received the secretary's explanations on March 9th, Globe,
p. I774-

3 Cong. Globe, 1867-68, p. 1972.

32 JAY COOKE

I consider Logan's remarks as a direct insult which ought
to be met at once. . . . The question of employing another
person to act for the Treasury Department is another matter and
if Congress wishes the Secretary to abandon the policy which has
prevailed since the commencement of the war we have no com-
plaint to make. We can get along without them if they can get
along without us, but I am determined that these attacks upon
our honor and our integrity shall be met at once, and indignantly.
All of the Secretaries will vouch for the fact that we have in
all instances obtained the very highest prices and in our manipula-
tions of the market for their benefit have always increased, in-
stead of diminished the price. Mr. Fessenden knows and will
vouch for the truth of this statement. It is hard that a gallant
soldier like General Logan should lend himself to injure the very
parties who stood by him and his fellow soldiers, and raised the
means for their payment when these very men who are now
hounding him on to attack our character and reputation stood by,
and speculated in gold, and did all they could do negatively to
break up the Union. . . . There are times when the Secre-
tary can serve the country by employing faithful agents, such as
we claim always to have been. The thing must come to a head.
I am not willing to appear as constantly receiving pay from the
government for work which it is asserted others will perform
for nothing. If any work done by me ought not to be paid for I
am not willing to receive it further.1

"I can't for the life of me see what Logan is driving
at," Henry Cooke remarked on March 19th. A few days
later he "believed" that Drexel had "something to do
with this business" while Randall,2 who was helping
him, put Logan forward as the ostensible mover of the
resolution. "Nothing can be done with Logan," wrote
Henry Cooke. "He disclaims any personal hostility to

1 February 24, 1868.

2 The election expenses of Samuel J. Randall were paid by the Drexel-
Childs interests. — A, K, McClure, Old Time Notes of Pennsylvania^ Vol.
II, P- 23-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 33

us, but says the whole Treasury management is wrong,
etc." *

McCulloch's assistant now was William E. Chandler
of New Hampshire. He had been Speaker of the House
of Representatives of the legislature of his state and in
his later political life was Secretary of the Navy and
a United States Senator. His friendship for Mr. Cooke
became quite ostentatious. With the warmth of heart
which naturally characterized him the financier invited
all with whom he came in contact to share his homes,
and his kindly acts were always endearing others to
him. The mansion he had build upon Gibraltar, the
Lake Erie island, off the Ohio coast at Sandusky, was
generously thrown open to guests and in the Chelten
Hills, "The Cedars" being too small for such an enter-
tainer, Mr. Cooke had planned and erected "Ogontz,"
a large house of the proportions of a castle. Chase,
Fessenden, Sherman, Spinner, McCulloch, John A.
Stewart, the New York Sub-Treasurer ; Harrington and
now Chandler — all the officers of the Treasury and the
financial leaders in Congress were invited and reinvited
to enjoy the bounties with which he had been blessed, as
were all of his kindred to the last limits of consanguinity,
his business associates, his agents in financial negotia-
tions, his journalists as well as many humbler friends
whatever their title to his regard.

Chandler was now commissioned by McCulloch to
shape the report in answer to the Logan resolution. On
April 23, 1868, he wrote to Jay Cooke:

I have just finished going over with the Secretary his answer
to Logan's resolution. The figures are as follows :

1 To J. C, March 24, 1868,
3

34 JAY COOKE

Commissions.

Seven-thirties, July 17, 1861 36,109.10

Ten-forties . 488,505.62

Five-twenties, June 30, 1864 45,437.50

Five-twenties, June 30, 1864 281,256.97

Seven-thirties, June 30, 1864 and

March 3, 1865 4,993,845.45

Five-twenties, February 25, 1862 1,028,780.32

$6,873,934.96
GOLD.
Sales. Commissions.

$200,325,856.51 $293,782.00 (about)

The figures are much less than I supposed they would be. The
answer to the resolution is to the point but shorter than I was
inclined to make it. Still the record is a good one as you will
see when it is in print.

"What becomes of the twenty millions said to have
been made by Jay Cooke out of the government loans
when the whole amount of commissions which have been
paid only amount to seven millions, nine-tenths of which
were paid to sub-agents," the banker asked in response
to this showing. "I think people will begin to under-
stand by and by that Jay Cooke and his firm didn't make
money out of the government, but made money as they
had a right to make it out of the prestige which their
own successful efforts gave them." *

Meantime Logan, in wrath, in another resolution on
April 20th demanded of the Secretary "immediate com-
pliance" with the terms of the resolution of March 18th,1
and on April 25th McCulloch's communication was

1 To H. D. C, April 26, 1868.

2 Cong. Globe, p. 2310.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 35

received and sent to the government printing office.1
The impeachment proceedings were now reaching a
critical point and all other matters were pressed from
the minds of the people and their Congressmen, so that
the net result of Logan's angry campaign was a hill
which passed the House on July 25, 1868, prohibiting
"secret sales" of all kinds by the Secretary of the Treas-
ury.2

Henry Cooke, in common with most other shrewd po-
litical observers, thought there was "little doubt that the
President would be deposed and Wade put in his place." 3
Jay Cooke employed a newspaper man in attendance at
the trial, L. L. Crounse, to keep him constantly informed
by cipher telegraph as to the course of affairs in Wash-
ington and he was in possession of advices at the earliest
possible moment. Upon Johnson's impeachment it was
said that Wade would appoint George Opdyke Secretary
of the Treasury,4 and the name of George S. Boutwell
of Massachusetts was also suggested. On May 2, 1868,
Chandler wrote Jay Cooke : "We shall have Ben Wade
in about next week." But the financier's prophets erred,
although impeachment failed by but one vote, and a few
months remained in which the rumor-mongers might
speculate upon McCulloch's resignation or dismissal,
and that sensitive officer could complain to Mr. Cooke
about the behavior of the newspapers, as if they would
now respond to his personal command as they all one
time practically did. On May 4, 1868, in a personal let-
ter to Mr. Cooke, McCulloch wrote : "You know some-

1 Globe, p. 2331.

2 Ibid., p. 4468.

3 To J. C, March 6, 1868.

4 H. D. C. to J. C, April 15, 1868.

36 , JAY COOKE

thing of the embarrasments which have surounded me
during the past two years and can therefore believe me
when I say that I am exceedingly anxious to be relieved
from the cares and responsibilties of the Treasury De-
partment."

Mr. Cooke intimated to McCulloch that his only
course was "to go ahead and do what was right," utterly
regardless of what the newspapers said about him.1 "It
is unfortunate," remarked Huntington, "that he has so
little backbone and so little self-reliance."

One of McCulloclrs ostensible reasons for continuing
in his place at the head of the Treasury Department was
his interest in Jay Cooke's great five per cent, consoli-
dated loan. The agitation for the passage of this meas-
ure was continued, but unavailingly because of the fac-
tional dissensions in Congress.

An unsuccessful attempt was again put forth in the
session of 1866-67. On January 19, 1867, Jay wrote to
Henry Cooke :

I think that the bill as drawn up is admirable and ought to
pass at once. What possible objection can Congress have to sav-
ing $4,000,000 per annum on the loans held abroad, thus securing
the country from the influx of our bonds at the very critical pe-
riod of resumption of specie payments. In the first section I
observe that you call the bonds the " Consolidated Debt of the
United States." You know the opposition which Governor Chase
made to this idea. You must be sure and reconcile him before
his opposition is manifested. My idea was to leave out any title
by engrafting on the new the old idea of the ten-forties which
might satisfy him, and we then could, after the bill is passed,
adopt any title we prefer. Be sure and have no opposition so
formidable from any quarter which may be prevented by having

1 Hunt, to J. C, November I, 1868.

H
>

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 57

the bill made right at the beginning. I would like, however, to
have the present form enacted into a law, as it would help vastly
in selling the bonds to have them so termed by law — the " Con-
solidated Debt." I think such parties as the Chief Justice should
not interfere with the measures that are calculated to have so
beneficial an effect upon the country.

It was always a painful matter to Jay Cooke to have
it thought that the government whose bonds he had
sold in the fullest faith should in any way dishonor
its obligations, and his influence immediately after the
war was of much positive value, as we have seen, in
combatting the doctrine of repudiation that strode about
the country so shamelessly. With this good purpose
in view he had published his pamphlet "How the Na-
tional Debt may be a National Blessing." He was now
instant in all seasons in his attacks upon the notion that
the bonds of the United States could be paid in any
money but gold. Many American and foreign investors
appealed to him for advice regarding the government
securities which they had purchased of or through him,
and he was not in a mind to regard his work as done
until all his promises had been fulfilled. Thomas Nel-
son, the Scottish publisher, wrote Jay Cooke from Edin-
burgh relating how loyal to the Union he and his firm
had been during the war, investing a half million dol-
lars in its bonds. Mr. Cooke replied very kindly and
satisfactorily, assuring him of the government's obli-
gation to pay its debt in gold and advising an exchange
of earlier for later issues, for which attention he was
thanked in a most appreciative letter. Many others who
wrote him received similar advice.

"Gentleman George" Pendleton, "Ben" Butler,

38 JAY COOKE

"Thad" Stevens and many more were openly advocat-
ing the redemption of the five-twenty bonds in green-
backs. On February 26, 1868, resolutions were offered
in the Assembly of New York State recommending this
policy. They drew from Jay Cooke through his New
York house a letter in part as follows :

Dear Sir:

We have your letter of 18th inclosing Mr. Balcom's resolu-
tions. The sale of the first five-twenty loan was undertaken
by our Mr. Jay Cooke at a time when the government had
utterly failed to find a market for the bonds through the or-
dinary channels and the necessities of the Treasury were im-
mediate and pressing. The bonds were offered directly to the
people and sold to them at prices which could not possibly
have been obtained but for the distinct understanding that they
were payable principal and interest in coin. That this was the
spirit and intent of the authorizing act it is only necessary to
refer to the sinking fund clause (Sec, 5, act Feb. 25, 1862) which
specifically appropriates the coin duties on imports to, first, pay-
ment of interest on public debt ; second, to a sinking fund for the
payment of the principal. All of the funded debt of the United
States that has heretofore matured has been paid in coin, not-
withstanding the fact that the authorizing acts did not so specify
in words, and three such loans have matured and been paid in
coin since the issue of the 5-20S of 1862.

It is not generally known how large a proportion of the
securities of the United States are held by people of moderate
means for the investment of their savings. We have not at hand
the precise figures of the denominations in which the several
series of the five-twenties were issued, but the following statement
shows the number of notes of each denomination embraced in
the issue of the seven-thirty Treasury notes which are now being
converted into five-twenty bonds. In these conversions the
Treasury has never been able to supply enough small bonds
adequately to meet the demand :

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 39

962,580 50s $48,129,000

1,474,940 100s 147,494,000

439>792 5oos 219,896,000

370,376 1000s 370,376,000

8,821 5000s 44,105,000

3,256,509 $830,000,000

These figures will give an approximate idea of the amount
in which all of the 5-20 bonds of the government are now held.
They show that one-half of the loan in amount was taken in
50s, 100s and 500s, and further that as 2,877,312 pieces of these
three denominations were issued, against 379,197 pieces of the
large denomination, the capitalists are in a very small minority,
and any legislation repudiating in whole or in part the obligation
of the bonds of the government would fall most severely upon
widows, orphans and people of small capital who invested their
money in those securities in perfect reliance upon the representa-
tions made to the Treasury Department directly and through
its agents at the time of their issue.

John Sherman had now entered upon a policy of vacil-
lation which so often distinguished his later financial
career. The Finance Committee reported a bill to the
Senate in the winter of 1868, substantially the Cooke-
Sherman five per cent, funding bill of the preceding Con-
gress. It proposed a blanket issue of ten-forty bonds
to cover all outstanding indebtedness bearing a higher
rate of interest, but intimated that if the exchange of
the old for the new security were not made the holder
would be paid in paper money. An allowance of one
per cent, was authorized "for preparing, issuing and dis-
posing" of them. An unsigned circular was again
placed upon the desks of Senators and Representatives
protesting against this provision, and caused Sherman
to rise in his place to explain that in the sale of the new

40 JAY COOKE

bonds the government would employ no agencies outside
of those regularly established under the Treasury De-
partment.1 On February 27th Sherman made a long
speech upon the bill in which, amid much protest and
interruption, he plainly asserted the right to redeem the
five-twenty bonds in greenbacks. "I say," the Ohio
Senator declared, "that equity and justice are amply sat-
isfied if we redeem these bonds at the end of the five
years in the same kind of money of the same intrinsic
value it bore at the time they were issued." 2

Thus did Jay Cooke's hitherto reliable lieutenant al-
most completely surrender to the greenbackers. Henry
Cooke said he saw more of "these men" than his brother
and in the politician-spirit seemed to favor Sherman's
course.3 "You have no idea," he wrote again, "how
strong the popular pressure is from the West. Garfield

1 Globe, 1868, p. 434.

2 Globe, Appendix, 1868, p. 184.

" Mr. Sherman invited me to Washington for a conference with him.
I accepted. At his request I spent an entire evening at his house until
one o'clock. His line of appeal was this : Our bonds do not state that
they shall be paid in gold. That is no part of the contract. Our soldiers
and sailors who shed their blood and saved the Union were paid with
greenbacks. Pensions to them and their widows are payable with green-
backs. Our farmers and manufacturers who furnished materials for car-
rying on the war were paid with greenbacks. All our people are com-
pelled by law to accept greenbacks in payment of any debt not specifically
contracted to be paid otherwise. Why then should the money lenders,
largely foreign Jews, who bought our bonds at a cutthroat discount dur-
ing the war be singled out from all other creditors and be paid par in
gold? Mr. Sherman said: 'This logic has captured the people. Even
if erroneous it is sweeping the country. When the issue comes the
Democrats will go into power and will carry out the change. They are
sure to go further than safety warrants and financial panic and disaster
are sure to result, etc., etc." — General A. B. Nettleton, who was then
the editor of the Sandusky Register, an influential paper, in Sherman's
own district, to the author, September 2, 1906.

3 H. D. C. to J. C, March 2, 1868.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 41

is the only member of the entire Ohio delegation who
would vote aye on a square proposition that the bonds
should be paid in gold and he says that it would defeat
him for re-election." l

Jay Cooke himself entertained no such sentiments and
was particularly careful to disclaim all sympathy with
the movement because Sherman had earlier been known
as his mouthpiece in the Senate. The giant in him was
now fully aroused. He was no politician; he never
trimmed. On December 21, 1867, he wrote his brother
Henry : "No man can stand in this country who throws
the slightest discredit upon the national faith and honor.
I shall ever insist that the pledge in my advertisements
and the advertisements of my agents was equivalent in
equity and honor to any of the loan laws and Senators
and Representatives who deny this are dishonest to my
mind."

And speaking directly to the Sherman funding bill
Mr. Cooke wrote on March 3, 1868:

I feel that there is no necessity for pandering- to any such
repudiating ideas, and I do not credit the belief that any consid-
erable number of the people, even out west, deliberately desire
to violate the plighted faith of the nation. I hope you will let
my letter to Sherman go in at once. It may do him good. Any
party who would attempt to use the fears of the people to force
them to change a six per cent, bond for a five per cent, will fail
and bring discredit upon himself, and I would not for the world
have anything to do with the negotiation of any such business.
If we have anything to do with such matters they must be open
and above board, and only the merits of the loan used as an
argument and not the fears of the people. There is not the
thousandth chance of the passage of such a bill by Sherman, and

1 H. D. C. to J. C, March 14, 1868.

42 JAY COOKE

the sooner he changes his tactics the better. He will be ruined
and all will be ruined politically and financially who attempt any
such efforts, or yield to any such clamor on the part of repudi-
ators. For one I will have nothing to do with any such foul
schemes.

Sherman at once replied to Mr. Cooke as follows :

United States Senate Chamber.

Washington, March 4, 1868.
Dear Sir:

Your letter of March 2nd was handed me last evening by
Harry. I am not surprised at the view you take of the
5-20's, for I know that you thought them payable in coin,
but after the most careful and conscientious examination of the
whole question I am convinced that a fair construction of the
laws under which they were issued gives to the United States
the right to redeem in the money in existence when they were
issued. I need not repeat the argument, for my speech will
fully state my views. If, as you seem to think, public opinion
holds you responsible for my conclusions, you ought to hasten
to correct it. Our old acquaintance and my firm conviction of
your integrity, capacity and great public service as loan agent
give to your opinion much weight with me, but cannot overrule
my deliberate conviction upon a matter in which I have the
responsibility, and which I have carefully examined, and I will
cheerfully certify that you are not responsible for my opinion.
It is impossible for me legally to draw a distinction between the
principal of the 5-20 and any other maturing debt issued or con-
tracted since the legal tender act.

While this is my opinion upon the legal question, I do not
wish to raise it now, nor did I. It is forced upon us and I would
gladly aid either by the return to specie payments or by the ex-
change of new bonds, or by the purchase in open market at
current rates of the 5-20% to avoid deciding a question that in
the minds of just men which ever way decided would affect the
public credit. You advise me at once to range myself on the
side of those who desire to maintain the faith of the nation. I

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 43

think I have always been there. I will neither violate the faith
of the nation nor put upon the nation a burden not demanded
by the loan nor founded upon equity or justice. Upon the legal
question I have no doubt whatever; upon the equitable question
I submit to you, is it equitable that the holder of these bonds
shall now refuse to receive the identical money in payment which
he gave for the bonds ? And is it fair and equitable for him alone
of all other creditors to demand gold in a contract made in
paper and upon the express stipulation in the law that this iden-
tical paper shall be a lawful tender in payment of all debts,
public and private? Each person must decide this for himself.
Acting for the people at large and against my personal interest
I say this is neither a legal right nor a moral obligation.

After all it is not necessary for us to dispute this question,
for if the bill effects the objects we both desire it will avoid the
decision of this question and is the only way to adjust it.

Very truly yours,

John Sherman.

Jay Cooke, Esq.

"I had no idea that Sherman was so fully committed
to the miserable policy of repudiation," wrote Jay to
Henry Cooke on March 5th after receiving this letter
from the Senator. Told of Garfield's course in resisting
the greenback heresy, possibly at the cost of his seat, Mr.
Cooke wrote: "When you see Garfield shake hands
with him for me and tell him that he is a noble fellow,
and that he can well afford to be beaten on such pure
principles." *

That there should be no possible misunderstanding as
to his position upon such an issue Mr. Cooke presented
his views very fully and conclusively in a letter to the

1 The funding bill was discussed throughout the session and was used
as a campaign document on the money question being amended out of all
resemblance to its original self and passed in the last hours in July, fail-
ing to become a law for lack of President Johnson's signature.

44 JAY COOKE

Philadelphia Inquirer, published in that journal on
March 21, 1868, as follows:

Sir:

I have been frequently asked of late, by my former agents
and the public press, for a full and circumstantial explana-
tion of the grounds upon which the promise to pay the in-
terest and principal of the 5-20 loan in gold was based and the
extent to which the faith of the nation was plighted. I con-
sider the agitation of this subject, namely, the payment of our
5-20 bonds in anything but gold, as an unnecessary and in-
jurious attack upon the public credit. No possible good can
come from it. Much injury to the credit not only of the nation
hut the whole business community must ensue from the bare
discussion of such a question. It is useless, because unless we
are prepared to expand the greenback currency, the Treasury
is not in funds to avail of its option if it were right to do so. It
is suicidal and foolish to thus damage our credit by attempting-
to force a construction of the loan laws never contemplated by
those who framed them, by those who executed them, nor by
those who invested under their provisions.

I have not hesitated to remonstrate with Senator Sherman
and others who take the " greenback " view of this question,
and now I call upon you and all the press of the land of all
shades and parties to stand by the right in this matter.

If the several Secretaries of the Treasury, the General Agent
and the Sub-Agents are responsible for a " gross deception "
of the people, you, gentlemen of the press, are equally responsi-
ble ; for, without your noble aid and untiring efforts, the public
would never have responded with such an outpouring of means.
You disseminated, in thousands of editorials, the statement that
the funded debt (the 5-20 and other loans) were, principal and
interest, payable in coin. You did it honestly, and so did I.

In a recent letter to Senator Sherman I argued as follows : —
That it should be considered a legal fact that the 5-20's are
payable, principal and interest, in gold.

Because, Nothing is said to the contrary in the law creating the
loan.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 45

Because, The custom of all other nations, as well as our own,
has always been to pay a funded debt in coin only.

Because, The debate at the time the loan law was passed re-
vealed distinctly the mind of Congress. The Chairman of the
Committee of Ways and Means himself distinctly stated, at the
time the bill was pending, that the bonds were, principal and
interest, payable in gold.

Because, A provision was inserted in the bill for a sinking
fund, in coin, to be annually applied to the purchase or payment
of the bonds.

Because, The Secretaries of the Treasury have all uniformly
declared that the bonds would be paid in gold.

Because, The bonds were sold to the people by the authorized
agent of the government on the strength and contract of this
declaration.

Because, This interpretation of the law was accepted by the
whole country. Congress, including Senator Sherman, stood by
while the Treasury Department was thus, year after year, prom-
ising to pay principal and interest in gold, without giving a
single note of warning of any intention to repudiate the contract
in after years.

Because, When the Chairman of the Committee of Ways and
Means, to the retarding and sad injury of the negotiation of the
loan then going on, rose in his seat, during one of the darkest
periods of the war, and proposed his individual motion, that
thereafter the principal and interest of the loan should be paid
in legal tender currency ; his motion was speedily and promptly
suppressed, but not until it had done great damage to the public
credit, the indications unmistakably showing that upon any other
than a gold basis it would be impossible to sell bonds.

Because, It is a fixed and settled legal, as well as moral, prin-
ciple that the principal is bound by all acts of a recognized agent,
and legal gentlemen and Senators may as well argue to the winds
as attempt to tell the loyal people of this nation who furnished
the money in exchange for these bonds, that Congress is not
bound by the promises of its agents. If a clerk or agent, year
after year, transacts business openly to the satisfaction of his

46 JAY COOKE

principal, making sales, purchases and contracts in the name of
that principal, while he looks on approvingly and sanctions in
innumerable cases the agent's acts, they are of course not only
morally but legally binding upon the principal, although the clerk
or agent may never have had written or even verbal authority
to show that his principal is bound by what he has properly done
in the regular course of clerkship or agency.

I think I have written enough to satisfy the bondholders that
there are reasons, and good ones, too, why they need not fear
the success of any plan to defraud them of their just rights. I
think, however, that I may say further that any man, or any
party, advocating such a shallow and dishonest scheme of re-
pudiation as would be the payment of the 5-20 loan in green-
backs, will be almost entirely unsupported by the mass of the
people, including not only the intelligent educated men of all
professions, occupations and parties, but the great mass of hon-
est yeomen — the tillers of the soil. The people who, through
long years of terrible war, maintained the honor and integrity
of the nation cannot possibly now consent to tarnish their fair
fame, or to lower our standard of honorable financial credit, or
to make this nation an example of bad faith before the world.

As I have above referred to Senator Sherman's position in this
controversy, I deem it just to that distinguished gentleman, whose
position and record during the war have been the subject of uni-
versal admiration, to say that while he honestly believes the law,
strictly interpreted, gives the government the right to pay the
bonds in greenbacks at the maturity of the five-year option, yet
in a recent letter he declares that " while this is my opinion on
a legal question, I do not wish to raise it, nor did I. It is
forced upon us ; and I would gladly aid, either by a return to
specie payments or by an exchange of new bonds, or by the
purchase in open market, at current rates, of 5-20's, to avoid
deciding a question that in the minds of just men, which ever
way decided, would affect the public credit."

Mr. Sherman further argues that there would be no injustice
in the bondholders receiving " the identical money they gave for
the bonds." I think there is injustice and wrong in the proposi-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 47

tiori ; for, the bondholders bargained for a 20-year bond, paya-
ble in gold, and not to be paid off sooner, unless in gold.

Further: By way of illustration. Suppose a man having
$2000, gold, sold it during the war for a premium of 50 per
cent., realizing $3000 in legal tenders. This he invested in
$3000 5-20's. Now, under the operation of the scheme of re-
payment in greenbacks, gold runs up to 500 per cent, premium.
He takes his greenbacks, $3000, for his bonds and reinvests in
gold, but finds, instead of his original $2000, which he honestly
risked on the fate of his country, he now has but $500. That
this would be a fair estimate of the result to this bondholder,
no one can doubt who has read the history of all irredeemable
and excessive issues of currency in every age. If the scheme
were at all possible or just and proper strict justice would re-
quire that an account should be taken from each subscriber of
the premium on gold on the day and hour he made his purchase
of bonds, and then he should be permitted to purchase from the
public treasury an amount equal to the original sum in hand,
as the proceeds of his bonds at this date. Have the advocates
of these " greenback " measures reflected on the wide-spread
ruin that would follow the success of their efforts — ruin to
vested interests, to widows, orphans, the poor, the unprotected
and ignorant all over the land?

It is common for public speakers who advocate the violation
of the nation's faith by insisting on local taxation of bonds, their
payment in greenbacks, etc., to designate the- bondholders as
" rich," as " privileged," etc., and also to stir up the West against
the East because of the presumption that the East holds an
undue proportion of the public debt. All this is mere demagog-
ism and willful perversion of truth. With the exception of
banks and savings institutions, there are not many large holders
of government bonds, the great bulk being held by the people,
not the capitalists.

Out of three million subscribers to our various public loans,
over nine-tenths are of the class called the people. The West
took $320,000,000 of the $830,000,000 7-30 loans, and, I doubt
not, holds a large portion of it now, and this is as large a pro-

48 JAY COOKE

portion as could be expected from a new and enterprising region,
where money always commands higher rates than at the seaboard.
Ohio alone took over $90,000,000, and Illinois over $70,000,000.
The West was also a large taker of the 5-20 and other loans.
I can substantiate these facts, for I have taken the trouble to
analyze each days' subscriptions with the above result.

Again, how can the bondholders be considered a privileged
class? During the entire sale of these bonds, they were offered
freely, at par, to any one. Even the owner of but $50 was not
excluded, but hundreds of thousands of these small investors
came forward in all parts of the land and were gladly welcomed.
The small premium to which our bonds have advanced is no im-
pediment in the way of any who really wish to obtain them, and
even now the daily demand from this class of investors is far
greater than that of any other class.

What becomes, then, of the assertion that the man who holds
government bonds is a privileged person? Cannot any man who
has a horse, a cow, a town lot, a few surplus bushels of corn or
wheat, or any article of exchangeable value, or even his labor,
obtain these bonds by simply parting with his goods, produce,
property or labor, and with the proceeds thereof purchase an in-
terest in the public funds? If he groans under the taxation of
his town lots or surplus lands, let him sell them and invest the
proceeds in this " favored " security. The truth is, that a large
portion of those who thus argue against the exemption of the
bonds from state and local taxation, are either ignorant of the
truth of the matter, or were afraid, during the war, and are now,
of risking their means by an investment in public stocks. They
have no confidence in the bonds, and hate the loyal holders of
them as they hated the war and all things growing out of it.
We all are witnesses to the fact that investments in real estate,
made at the commencement of the war, have, in many localities,
advanced in value from one hundred to three hundred per cent.
Especially is this so in cities, towns and villages. Investments
in real estate at the commencement of the war have paid much
better than investments in government bonds. Yet this clamor
for the taxation of the bonds for local purposes, mostly comes

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 49

from the class of the community who have gained largely from
advances in the value of real estate.

The present funding bill, as introduced by the Chairman of
the Finance Committee of the Senate, contains some verv objec-
tionable provisions, the chief of which is that legislating for the
compulsory conversions of 5-20's into any new loan that may be
provided. No greater hindrance than this could be placed in the
way of the speedy conversion of this loan into the proposed con-
solidated debt ; and I regret very much that the new bill contains
any such provisions. I share with Mr. Sherman in regretting
that the bill introduced two years ago was not successfully
pressed to a passage. His own words are, " My own convic-
tion is, that two years ago this question ought to have been set-
tled," for if the plan suggested at that time had been promptly
adopted, the larger portion of our indebtedness would have been
by this time funded into a 5 per cent, loan, and the Treasury
and banks would have resumed specie payments by the 1st of
July, 1867.

There can be no question that the above happy results would
have followed the prompt passage and execution of such an act;
and also, that the present propositions to tax the government
bonds, to pay them off in greenbacks, etc., would not have been
thought of. Many beneficial results would have followed the
adoption of the original bill two years since, namely, the saving
of about $20,000,000 of interest per annum, the wider dissemina-
tion of the loan among the masses, and the removal of the debt
from its present injurious competition with railroad, mercantile,
mining, manufacturing and all the other vital interests of the
country; for, when specie payments had once been resumed, and
the 5 per cent, interest received by the bondholder was worth no
more than the 5 per cent, interest received from a mortgage or
other sources of income, it is manifest that there would be bet-
ter opportunities for our struggling railroads and manufactur-
ing and other interests to borrow money from the banks and
capitalists. For these reasons I urged the necessity of the
prompt funding of the debt, and return to specie payments ; and
I now deeply regret that, at the risk of still further attacks upon
4

50 JAY COOKE

my personal motives, I did not then use greater exertion to se-
cure the adoption of these plans.

In October, 1865, I was requested by Mr. McCulloch to pre-
sent to him in writing my views on the funding of the public
debt, the resumption of specie payment, etc., etc. I did so, and
at the same time submitted these views to Senators Fessenden,
Sherman and others. Mr. McCulloch had many and able ad-
visers, but his views in the main coincided with mine, and when
the time for action arrived Senator Sherman prepared and in-
troduced a bill satisfactory to the Secretary. This bill was op-
posed from unexpected quarters, and the Senator, after modify-
ing it greatly, deemed it best to postpone it, owing to the
increasing excitement in political matters.

I have no doubt that the people, the masses, are fully able
to absorb all our debt. Of course a portion will always be held
by banks, and another portion abroad, but even the eight or nine
hundred millions thus held would be quickly absorbed by the
people of our growing and prosperous land, if they had the
option to take it. I believe also that the rate of five per cent.,
free from taxation, would be perfectly satisfactory, but at present
and within the next ten years, no lower rate of interest than this
will fix the loan permanently in the hands of that class of people
who ought to hold it, as it would be the most safe and legitimate
investment for widows, orphans, trusts, estates, mechanics, farm-
ers, saving funds, etc., etc. Being guaranteed by us all, the rate
would be a fair return, and much better for this class of in-
vestors than a larger rate derived from greater risks, which lat-
ter ought only to be taken by the capitalists and active business
men of the country.

From the best sources of information I have the impression
that our country contains at least two hundred and fifty millions
more gold and silver coin and bullion than we had at the be-
ginning of 1 861, and I believe all that is wanted now to insure
speedy and safe resumption after the completion of the funding
of the 7-30's is to fix the day.

If thought more prudent to provide for contingencies by ar-
ranging for a temporary foreign loan, or by authorizing the

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 51

Treasury to pay interest on deposits of gold, either of these
plans would provide all that would be required. The question of
resuming specie payments is to my mind very simple, and than
the present there is no more favorable time for fixing the day,
say twelve or eighteen months ahead. When this desirable ob-
ject shall be accomplished, the payment in gold of the original
5-20 loan can be commenced by providing from the sales of a
new consolidated five per cent, funding loan all that may be
needed. It will not be necessary to provide for the whole $514,-
000,000 at once. The loan was issued in series of about $100,-
000,000 each, called first, second, third, fourth series, etc. The
holders of the first series can be first notified and paid off. The
chances are that very few holders would desire payment, but
that all or nearly all would voluntarily fund into the new and
longer 5 per cent, bonds. This would especially be the case if
the new loan should be so popularized that there would be a com-
petition for it, a new class of purchasers taking all that was not
promptly absorbed by the holders of the old loan. I believe
that not $50,000,000 of gold would be called for in making the
whole payment and exchange of the $514,000,000. The same
process could be applied to the other issues of 5-20's as fast as
the government option matured. How sad then, in view of the
very simplicity of the solution of this whole subject, that promi-
nent men all over the country should endeavor to make a po-
litical question of it ; and saddest of all, that any of those who
sustained the cause of the country, and upheld its credit during
the dark years of the Rebellion, should now give the weight of
their position or character to any of these " greenback " schemes.

At the close of the first 5-20 loan, I ventured to predict that
no other 6 per cent, gold loan would be offered at par by the
government. Up to this hour the prediction has been verified,
and I am equally confident that no such breach of faith as would
be involved by the payment of the 5-20 loan in greenbacks will
ever occur.

I regard the agitation, originally, of this proposition, as the
work of those who opposed the war and all measures for the
preservation of the national credit and existence. On the ap-

52 JAY COOKE

proach of a Presidential election they have, for want of better
and more patriotic capital, availed themselves of the temporary
embarrassments of portions of the country, to stir up an ignorant
opposition to the public credit. Perhaps the country must sub-
mit, through the pending canvass, to postpone all attempts to
remodel the finances ; but I am positive, that so soon as the Presi-
dential election is over, this question will no longer be post-
poned, but plans will be inaugurated that will not only fully
maintain the national faith and credit, but greatly reduce the
present burden of the debt.

I am glad to observe unmistakable signs of the abandonment,
by both political parties, of any intention to press this " green-
back " question ; the recent political conventions in various States
having avoided any explicit declaration of opinion on this sub-
ject. The recent Republican State Convention in Philadelphia,
more particularly, nobly reasserted the inviolability of all con-
tracts between the government and bondholders, and Governor
Seymour, before the New York Democratic Convention, unmis-
takably maintained and insisted upon the payment of the 5-20
bonds, principal and interest, in coin.

I make no apology for thus, once more, intruding upon public
notice. I do not wish my position misunderstood. I naturally
feel a great responsibility, and as my fellow-citizens deem it right
that I should not hesitate to express my views in the matter, I
have done so.

Before closing I wish to correct a misstatement originally
made by General Butler, and repeated by Mr. Pendleton in his
Milwaukee speech. Both gentlemen assert that I advertised, as
general agent, the 10-40 loan as the only loan of the govern-
ment, the principal and interest of which were payable in coin.
This is a double error. I never was the special agent of the
government for the sale of the 10-40 loan ; and the advertisement
of the firm of Jay Cooke and Company was only to this effect : —
That the 10-40 loan was then the only loan of the government
to be had at par, the principal and interest of which were payable
in gold. Had I been the special agent for the sale of the 10-40's,
I am confident that it would have been made so great a success

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 53

that the government would not thereafter have paid a greater
interest than five per cent, on any of its loans. I believe, also,
that if this loan had been managed properly, and by one agent,
that an abundance of funds could have been provided at all times,
and thereby many hundreds of millions would have been saved
to the government, which were lost by reason of increased prices
charged by contractors and others to compensate for delay in
payment of their accounts for supplies, etc.
, I believe, further, that the war would have been ended in
1864, had not the enemy been perfectly aware of the then totter-
ing condition of our finances ; but the clamor against the agency
system, and base and false insinuations and accusations were
then made, which induced the Secretary to try the negotiation
of the 10-40 loan through the efforts of the Treasury alone,
which, of course, resulted in failure. This same clamor and
objection sprang up again when Mr. Sherman introduced the
first funding bill. Yielding to it has cost this nation, in both
instances, more treasure than can be estimated, besides a large
portion of the distress and trouble always consequent upon such
inaction and delay.

Most respectfully, your fellow-citizen,
March 19, 1868. Jay Cooke.

This letter was afterward reprinted as a pamphlet
and generally distributed. "It is sound, able and
timely," said McCulloch, and the financier of the Civil
War was heartily congratulated on many sides for his
fearless course.

Jay Cooke was also the devoted and untiring defender
of the national banking system which he had done so
much to establish and organize. So complete had been
its success, although obstacles which appeared insur-
mountable were at first thrown in its way, that Henry
Cooke wrote his brother on November 5, 1866: "Don't
send down any more bonds for deposit for national bank
circulation. The limit has been reached and the Comp-

54 JAY COOKE

troller will receive no more. We were very nearly be-
ing barred out with a lot you sent us a day or two ago
for the City National, Philadelphia. . . . These are
positively the last we can get in, for the whole 300 mil-
lions are absolutely taken up. To look back only about
three years what a triumph this is for the national bank-
ing system!"

In the prevailing wave of intellectual and moral dis-
order following the war this system was not to escape.
Samuel J. Randall of Pennsylvania took up the cause
of the anti-capitalist element to the extent of offering a
resolution, requesting the Secretary of the Treasury to
withdraw public money from the national banks in cit-
ies in which there were sub-treasuries and deposit it with
them.1 Mr. Cooke protested against this action and
Secretary McCulloch replied as follows :

The resolution to which you refer passed the House of Rep-
resentatives by a very decided vote, fifteen members only voting
in the negative. There is, I apprehend, no good reason why
the funds of the government should be deposited with national
banks and used by them in cities where we have Assistant
Treasurers. I therefore approve of the resolution and only
hesitate to carry it into effect from the apprehension that our
Assistant Treasurers might not be able to do the additional
work that would be thus devolved upon them.

I shall of course stand by the national banking system, but in
order to sustain it we must not ask for the national banks more
than a just public opinion would give them. In order to sus-
tain the banks we must be able to satisfy Congress and the pub-
lic that we are not doing injustice to the government in making
deposits with them. It is undoubtedly the case that the national
banks in our large cities do very much by the use of govern-
ment funds towards keeping up speculation and inflation. I

1 Globe, 1867, p. 657.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 55

have no question that a very large majority of the business men
of the country would approve our action if we should take from
them the government deposits.1

While on his summer visits to Gibraltar Mr. Cooke
had met Colonel A. B. Nettleton. Coming out of the
army Nettleton studied law and in 1866 purchased a
half interest in the Sandusky Register, Henry Cooke's
old paper, editing it for two and a half years. While
on a visit to his island home in Lake Erie in the autumn
of 1867 Mr. Cooke discussed with him the national bank-
ing system and the attempts then being so determinedly
made to overthrow it. The result was a letter to the
editor of the Register, which Mr. Cooke inspired, partly
dictated and signed. It was published in the Sandusky
paper on October 19th. Filling five columns, it was tele-
graphed and "slipped" to other journals in all parts of
the country and issued finally as a pamphlet, exercising
a powerful influence to allay the excitement against the
banks. "It was so packed with facts from the only man
who could marshal them effectively from personal
knowledge, that it proved a potent and principal factor
in the work of turning back the assault." 2

"Your letter is the town talk," wrote Henry Cooke
from Washington on October 25, 1867, "and if I were
to tell you all the flattering things that were said of it
you might think I was exaggerating." In New York
the Tribune and Times warmly favored it; the World
and the Herald 3 as savagely attacked the author and his

1 McCulloch to J. G, July 31, 1867.

2 General Nettleton to the author, November 4, 1905.

3 " The national banks are a gigantic monoply," said the Herald on Oc-
tober 24, 1S67, in a long leader attacking Jay Cooke's letter which it
had reprinted the previous day. " They are dangerous, in spite of Jay

56 JAY COOKE

doctrine. Indeed it was generally condemned, accord-
ing to expectation, by all the Democratic newspapers.1
This letter took the form of a reply to five questions
presumably propounded to Mr. Cooke by A. H. Moss
and L. S. Hubbard, the presidents of the First and Sec-
ond National Banks of Sandusky, respectively:

I. What was the origin of the national banking system?

II. What is the character of the national bank currency?

III. What is your reply to those who claim that the govern-
ment should save the $18,000,000 a year represented by the
United States bonds upon which the value of the bank notes are
based by substituting the latter with greenbacks?

IV. What is the present position of the national banks?

V. How and wherein is the system superior to the old United
States or the State Bank system?

VI. Why should the national banking system be perpetuated?

Mr. Cooke, answering the first query, gave a full and
succinct history of the national banking system, with an
account of the evil system which it replaced. "It swept
from existence a currency which was at once mongrel
in appearance, unstable in value, and with few excep-

Cooke's assertion to the contrary. There can be no doubt that Mr. Chase
confidently looks to them as a grand political machine. ... In them
a great moneyed oligarchy has been created, which in the end would make
the rich richer and the poor poorer and reduce the mass of the popula-
tion to the condition of European pauperism. Yet we are told by the
same Jay Cooke, who said a national debt was a national blessing, that
the national bank system is most excellent and beautiful in every way."

1 " Your letter was able, unanswerable and timely. ... I very much
regret that the organization in the interest of the banks of which you
spoke to me a year ago has not been quietly effected ready for action.
The banks need to bestir themselves to avoid hostile legislation and yet
any organization effected now would be heralded, and would perhaps do
more harm than good. This universal suffrage country will never see
the end of attempts of demagogues to excite the poor against the rich,
labor against capital, and all who haven't money against the banks who
have it." — W. E. Chandler to Jay Cooke, December 2, 1867.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 57

tions insecure in character, and substituted therefor a
currency uniform in feature, everywhere equal in worth
and safe as the republic itself." Mr. Cooke, for expe-
diency's sake, omitted references to Mr. Chase and mod-
estly withheld allusion to himself as one of the authors
of the system.

On the subject of the character of the national bank
currency the financier made a further statement of its
advantages and recited an anecdote in the German dia-
lect of which he was so fond in writing, as in conversa-
tion when he wished to illustrate an important point.
This German was a Mr. Schmidt, who came to J. W.
Weir's Harrisburg bank, of which he was a stockholder,
to draw out $2,000 paid to him in greenbacks. He
handed them back, saying that he preferred the bank
notes. After very sagely reciting all the advantages of
these latter in his amusing- broken dialect, the German
farmer continues :

" Veil, I finds all dis ish true, Mr. Veir, and someting more
besides. I finds dat efery stockholder in dis pank ish liable for
de notes and debts of de pank to twice de amount der stock. Und
den I pegins to open mine eyes for I ish a stockholder myself, und
I find my farm ish mortgaged to pay de bills of dis pank. Den
I knows most de udder stockholders of dis pank und dey ish goot
solid men mit proberty. So you see, Mr. Veir, dat pefore my
nashnal pank notes can go proke de government ponds mit ten ber
cent, margin must git wort noting at all ; de United States gov-
ernment must git pankrupt und pe a scoundrel too ; de proberty
of de pank must all pe lost und de proberty of all dese stockhold-
ers must be used up. Dat, Mr. Veir, ish vy I calls de nashnal
pank notes de pesht."

Cooke boldly and very effectively combatted the
contention that $18,000,000 would be saved by sweeping

58 JAY COOKE

away the national bank circulation and issuing green-
backs in its stead. His position on the money question
could not be mistaken after this plain declaration of his
views : "I regard the issue by the government of legal
tender notes, to be used as a circulating medium, as an
anomaly in finance. It was purely a war measure, justi-
fiable because necessary to the life of the nation, and, like
other war measures, should end with the return of pros-
perous peace. It is not desirable that the greenbacks be
immediately or suddenly withdrawn, but they should be
gradually and surely replaced with a currency which is
legitimate and permanent." It were better, said he, to
pay eighteen millions annually than "to have the green-
back system permanently fastened upon the country."

He declared that the national banks were "totally non-
political in their organization and tendencies." It is
"simply impossible for any political or party movement
to be organized in, through or by the national banks."
Mr. Cooke concluded the letter :

"If the reasons I have given above shall in any way
conduce to the withdrawal of the subject from the arena
of party strife, help to strengthen the confidence of the
friends of the system and to gain over to it the good will
of the masses who are so deeply interested in its per-
petuation, I shall be gratified at this opportunity of ex-
pressing my views." '

Jay Cooke's aid was actively sought in the campaign
of 1868, when money was coming to be used in elec-
tions on a scale not earlier known in this country. His
wealth made his connection with a political movement

1 Phila. Inquirer, Oct. 24, 1867, and other eastern newspapers on or
about the same date.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 59

of great importance and at a caucus of Republican Sen-
ators and Representatives in 1866 in Washington he
was chosen treasurer of the "Union Congressional Com-
mittee.1 He was strongly urged by Judge W. D. Kel-
ley, of Philadelphia, who was prominently identified with
the movement to accept the office, but he was able to
escape this alliance without giving offense to his friends,
and William S. Huntington, the cashier of his Wash-
ington bank, was put forward for the place.

The friendship of the Chases and Cookes continued
pleasantly. Indeed it seems now to have been cultivated
by Mr. Chase, for whom the Chief Justiceship did not
bring content. Jay Cooke continued to be the banker
for the "Governor," for by this title he was still known
to his Ohio friends. He relied upon the financier for
the investment of money, the collection of interest and
for temporary loans. He was interested in a number
of Cooke's and Moorhead's industrial companies, and
now that he was no longer Secretary of the Treasury
his protests against their substantial favors usually re-
flected a less troublesome conscience. He had once or
twice early in his career as Secretary of the Treasury
intimated — it may be thought jocularly— a willingness
to leave his office to enter Mr. Cooke's firm. He had
suggested himself as a possible president of the Wash-
ington Street Railroad Company, when Mr. Cooke or-
ganized that corporation, again it may be in jest; but
he certainly was in earnest when a year after his ap-
pointment as Chief Justice of the United States he pro-
posed a partnership in the banking business. If it be
so it is certainly a remarkable episode in the history of

4H. D. C. to J. C, February 27, 1866.

60 JAY COOKE

the American Supreme Court. On December 26, 1865,
Chase wrote to Jay Cooke :

How would it do to sell $20,000 of my bonds in your hands
and put the money as capital into your firm? I rather think I
should like to be a sleeping partner of yours now that I am no
longer Secretary. I see nothing disagreeable about it except
the fact that I can render very little service beyond the small
capital contributed which you don't want. If you don't think
well of this you must continue to be my factor and do the best
you can for me with my means under your control. You have
full power to raise money on my bonds, and I do not wish you
to incur any risk or expense yourself. Your friendly services
are all I want, except perhaps I may desire to borrow enough
of you some time next year to buy a house. If I were a general
now!

Mr. Cooke in reply suggested that the Chief Justice
go to London, to establish an English branch of the
firm, and on December 28th Chase said on this point :

If I were a little younger I would go to London at once,
but I have passed the time for that. You must have overlooked
my limitation of the partnership idea to sleeping partnership.
I have no notion of keeping so wide awake as London would
require, or indeed of keeping awake at all except so far as it
might be needed to help here [in Washington], and perhaps
occasionally elsewhere. ... If I could make or save enough
to buy a good house and pay off the balances against me, now
not very large, with your firm here and in Philadelphia, I be-
lieve I should feel as well as if I had a million or millions.

The lures of the Presidency were still strong even in
the Chief Justice's office, where it was believed by some
that Mr. Lincoln had placed Chase to prevent him from
realizing his great ambition. At no time were his
friends allowed to forget his expectations. He told
John Russell Young that he had been "harder" on Cooke

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 61

than Fessenden and McCulloch had ever been, and took
a good deal of credit to himself for his course, while at
the same time rather oddly expecting the Philadephia
banker to provide the funds which would make him
President in 1868. But the Chase legend in all branches
of the Cooke family was still strongly held. His states-
manlike qualities were undoubted, and they were hon-
estly admired, all of Jay Cooke's relations, friends and
business associates being brought to believe that he was
the leading mind of the period in American public life.
Friendly visits and kindly letters were frequently ex-
changed by Mr. Cooke and Mr. Chase and the mem-
bers of their families. On January 9, 1866, Chase
wrote :

I think I have a good deal of executive faculty and often
wish I were in some more active employment than hearing
causes which take my whole time and leave me hardly a mo-
ment even for a note to you. But it seems as if Providence
has pointed out my path and I must try to follow it cheerfully
and faithfully. I am greatly favored in having a friend like
yourself who, without any embarrassment or loss to himself,
can employ my small means so as to make them more productive
than I could myself.

On August 24, 1866, Chase again wrote to Jay Cooke,
from Providence :

I shall try to stop a day or two in Philadelphia. I should
like to meet the Union men of the South there, on the 3d, but
perhaps the howl which knaves and fools would raise over the
fact of my attendance would do more harm than good.1 The
possible political and financial future of our country looks very
bright to me, but what is possible may not be realized.

1 A national convention of Federal office holders, derisively called the
"Bread and Butter Brigade."

62 JAY COOKE

Alluding to a picture of the Chief Justice which Mr.
Cooke desired to enlarge from a photograph Chase wrote
on September 14, 1866, characteristically:

If you have one of me at all it ought to be the work of a
first-class painter, worthy of a place in your mansion and hon-
orable to yourself, not merely as the friend of one who has ren-
dered some service to the country, and, I venture to think, to
the world, but as a friend also and patron of art.

On August 7, 1867, Mr. Chase wrote:

You see, I suppose, the infamous paragraph alleging that I
made myself rich out of the Treasury Department. This is
rather hard, seeing that I never made a cent out of any opera-
tion or transaction connected with the Department, but virtually
served the public for nothing, as my salary only paid my ex-
penses. It seems to me that with your extensive connection
with the press you might make these rascally inventions react on
the inventors. The American people are generous, and at-
tempts to lie a man, who has faithfully served them, out of their
confidence and affection will, if the matter is only properly
exposed and denounced, increase their good will and determine
them to vindicate him against the slanderers.

Three days later, on August 10, 1867, Chase wrote
at the foot of a friendly business letter :

A good name and the consciousness of having done faith-
ful and useful service to my country was all that I expected or
desired from my public labors. The latter can't be taken from
me; I will not believe that bad men will be allowed to deprive
me of the other.

Mr. Cooke exerted himself to improve the tone of the
newspapers, but Mr. Chase was still displeased. On
August 1 6th he wrote:

The article in the World is in an excellent spirit and not far
from correct. But I don't want to be represented as particu-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 63

larly- poor. ... I think I am worth now about $100,000.
I should at any rate be quite willing to take that sum in 5-20S
and make a clean conveyance of all I have in the world to any-
body who will pay my debts. I would willingly be worth a great
deal more, if I knew an honest way to get worth more. All
that the people are interested to know is that I haven't a cent
which of right belongs to them. I didn't serve them to make
money out of them, but to save money for them, and I really
feel that the rascals who are slandering me ought to be de-
nounced, and their mean attempts to injure me in the public
esteem exposed. It is much more important to the people than
it is to me that those who have served them faithfully should be
fully and generously sustained.

On August 25th Mr. Chase had another complaint,
since he was not gratified by the publication of an extract
from a previous letter to Mr. Cooke, its recipient having
designed his interposition for the Chief Justice's benefit.
After a reproof he concluded that "the matter may as
well drop now unless the assailant renews it. One thing
I think is sure. Such assaults hurt the assailants worse
than the assailed. The people will not fail to come to
the rescue."

On September 18th Chase wrote again to Mr. Cooke:

What folly men are talking about greenbacks, national cur-
rency, etc. It ought to be corrected. I wish I could put off
the gown and say my say. But I must hold my tongue at pres-
ent. Possibly the people may take the gown off next year. It
looks so, our friends say, more and more. What do you think ?

On November nth, Chase said in a "confidential" let-
ter to Mr. Cooke :

You were quite right in leaving out of your article all eulogy
upon me. I saw the Register's article. It was very kind, though
not quite so warm as yours. Since then it has had a paragraph,
not quite so kind, to the effect that " Judge Chase is said to be

64 JAY COOKE

preferred by Johnson to Grant. Rather hard on the Judge."
If Johnson does prefer me to Grant he has a queer way of show-
ing it. It seems quite likely that a majority of the national
banks are careless as to their fate as national institutions. If
they are, it is not unlikely that Congress will be equally careless.
The result will be no cash circulation, state or national, except
greenbacks. I have done my best to serve and save the country
with too little earnest recognition and support to encourage
much further endeavor. The best men could save everything
for the future if they would. But if the country is to be saved
you, and such as you, have got to take hold of the work and act
as vigorously as you did in placing loans, and be as little sparing
of means as you were then. It won't do for you, and such as
you, to say that you want to have nothing to do with politics.

Thus did Mr. Chase esteem his own services to the
nation in a period which did not cover the war, since
he abandoned his post at a critical hour. His own great-
ness as a financier seemed very sensibly to overshadow
Mr. Cooke's, whom he insisted upon regarding merely
as an energetic broker, and a manager of refractory
journalists. That Mr. Chase looked upon the banker
as the man who would finance his presidential hopes
in 1868, as in 1864, was indicated in many ways,
but in none so strikingly as in a letter to an editor
of the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph, who wished to
establish a Chase newspaper in that city. Having ap-
pealed to the Chief Justice, the latter wrote : *

It is quite out of my power to advance the funds you need
for your enterprise, but if I could in any case I could in yours.
Nor do I feel at liberty to ask any friend to do me the favor of
making the advance. I do not doubt the willingness of Mr. Jay
Cooke to hear your plan, or their readiness to do what may
seem to them practicable and right.1

1 Chase to S. W. Wallazz, October 18, 1867.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 65

There were many newspapers to be established for
Mr. Chase in all parts of the Union and Jay Cooke did
not enlist in the campaign, seeing the overwhelming
strength of the movement to bring forward a military
candidate. In December, 1867, the Chief Justice heard
that Uriah H. Painter had reported Jay Cooke as saying
that he (Chase) "stood no chance for the presidency,"
and that "he had better withdraw from the contest."
This was a great matter with the Chief Justice. He
wrote to Jay Cooke on the strength of the report and
read the letter to Henry Cooke, but did not send it upon
the latter's assurance that his brother could not have
made such a statement. Painter was only "quizzing his
informant."

"I told him of course," Henry Cooke explained, "that
you never had said so; that you may have said what I
had said to him (Gov. C), and what I would repeat,
that the current was now setting strongly for Grant,
and that this was a fact which neither he nor his friends
should shut their eyes against, but recognize it, and as
long as there was hope of success to do all they could
properly to ensure his (Gov. C.'s) nomination, and to
abandon those efforts only when the hope of success
was so small as not to justify them. . . . There is
some chance for his nomination but Grant is inside." *

If Grant were "inside" it did not seem to matter very
much to the Cookes and in the end when Chase became
a candidate for the nomination at the hands of the
Democrats they wasted little sympathy upon their old
idol. Henry Cooke knew all the public men of his time
it was worth while to know, and when new figures ap-

!H. D. C. to J. G, December 17, 1867.
i 5

66 JAY COOKE

peared upon the stage of action he was not long in mak-
ing them his friends. His gracious and captivating
manners soon commended him to Grant. The General
waited with his horses at the door of the Washington
bank while Henry Cooke wrote a letter to his brother
in Philadelphia, or completed the work of the afternoon,
then to be driven about the city and through the en-
vironing countryside by the hero of Richmond and Ap-
pomattox. They were confidential friends. In April,
1867, Grant and his family paid Jay Cooke a visit at
"Ogontz," sending back word from Washington that it
was "not half long enough," 1 and when the General
came to Philadelphia he usually called upon the financier
in Third Street. This intimacy led to many glimpses
of the inside management of the government. On Sep-
tember 2, 1867, after Stanton's suspension and Grant's
temporary assumption of the duties of the War Office,
Henry wrote to Jay Cooke as follows :

General Grant was in to-day and I had a long free talk with
him. He is true and reliable and firm in his purposes, and will
do all the law will allow him to do to thwart the President's
attempts to practically annul the reconstruction acts of Congress.
But he is in a difficult position, and it is important for the coun-
try that he should not break with the President, or abandon his
position at the head of the War Department. Knowing the facts,
I do, I don't like to see the papers criticizing him as they have
done. He is making a noble and patriotic sacrifice of himself
(or running the risk of doing so) through a misapprehension
of the public of his motives. Depend upon it, Grant is our
only hope of carrying out the reconstruction acts in good faith,
and even he, with the limited powers given him by the law, may
not be able fully to protect the country against the pro-Southern

1 H. D. C to J. C, May 3, 1867.

FINANCIER OP THE CIVIL WAR 67

policy of the President, who is wicked enough to attempt almost
anything.

On September 3d Grant took luncheon with Henry
Cooke. The cabinet was in session at the time and
Cooke remarked: "General, is not this cabinet day?"
"Yes," he replied, "but they don't need me there." "So
you see," Henry Cooke continued in relating the inci-
dent to his brother, "the President and his advisers do
not constitute a particularly happy family." *

On September 5th, "cool and calm and no alarmist,"
Grant told Henry Cooke that "he would not be surprised
at anything the President may do." 2 In fact so un-
friendly were the relations of Johnson and his war min-
ister at this time that General Sherman was brought on
to Washington. On October 7th Henry Cooke wrote :

General Sherman is here. I will see him this evening.
Entre nous General Grant told me this morning that he was sat-
isfied the President wanted to make S. Secretary of War, that S.
and he (Grant) were in perfect accord, that the President would
find him as intractable as he had been. He says that S. don't
want to take the place, but the fear is that if he don't a worse
man will be put in. In short, if Sherman does take it it will be
because Grant wants him to do so. And Sherman will be just as
reliable as Grant, and both are true as steel.

Mr. Chase, failing of the Republican nomination,
turned his eyes upon the Democracy, hoping that
through it his ambitions might be gratified. Then
the Cookes finally abandoned him. Jay Cooke had very
positive views on this point. He wrote his brother
Henry from Sandusky on May 30, 1868, as follows:

1 H. D. C. to J. C, September 3, 1867.
2H. D. C. to J. G, September 5, 1867.

68 JAY COOKE

Do you see Governor Chase nowadays? He is done here in
Ohio ; everybody is down on him, and I am plied with hundreds
of questions as to how I regard him. I simply tell them that I
do not believe half of what I see in the papers about his Demo-
cratic tendencies, etc. That if Governor C. goes in with the
Copperheads of course all his friends, including ourselves, will
stick by Grant and Colfax. People don't like the Chief Justice
and his last position in the impeachment business has effectually
squelched out all his claims upon the Republicans. You know
I am desirous of doing nothing to injure him, and am careful
to say nothing that would be ungenerous or ungrateful, but I
must stand up for the right, and we all feel that the overween-
ing desire of his heart for the presidency has been fatal to his
future prospects. Does he ever allude to me, and what excuse
does he give for refusing practically to communicate with me?
He has not answered my last two letters. I will never write
again till he does, and if you get a good chance tell him so.

"The idea that any Republican would hitch horses
with Copperheads in the coming contest is disgusting,"
said Jay Cooke another time. "Gov. C. is ruined po-
litically by this terrible blunder."

On June 2, 1868, Henry Cooke wrote to his brother
Jay:

I see the Governor quite frequently, but we don't talk politics
much. I told him frankly how his friends regarded his being a
candidate of the Democracy, and he said he didn't seek a nomi-
nation from anybody, but if the Democracy chose spontaneously
to offer him the nomination on his platform (which is even
more radical than the Republican Chicago platform), he didn't
see any reason why he should not accept it. But he regards this
as exceedingly improbable, and does not trouble himself about
such a contingency which is very remote. In our conversations
he always speaks of you in the kindest and most cordial terms.
I am very sure that he has no unkind feeling towards you.

On June 6th Henry Cooke continued:

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 69

Governor C. is still in Richmond. The movement to place
him in nomination by the Democrats and Conservatives has be-
come very formidable, and it begins to look as if he would be
their candidate on his own platform. Yet I can scarcely be-
lieve that the old Democratic party will at the same time abandon
its party principles to adopt those of ultra Republicanism (for
Governor C. is as radical as ever) and take up a candidate out-
side their own ranks.

On July 7th Henry Cooke was "sick at heart, and
sad, too, to see Governor C. destroying himself, as he is
doing, by his frequent letters in the vain hope of getting
the Democratic nomination." Defeated in the national
convention which met in New York in the first days of
July by the defection of the Ohio Democrats and other
betrayers of his cause (he did not figure in any ballot
until the thirteenth, when he received a half vote from
California, and never rose above four, his standing in
the twenty-first ballot) he wrote to Jay Cooke, bidding
a final farewell to politics for which his friends ex-
pressed a due amount of gratitude.1

The first attack upon Jay Cooke's chest in 1868 was
made in January of that year by Washburne and Chand-
ler, who came for $5,000 for the salvation of New
Hampshire. The elections there were due in March and
the state must be secured to the Republican party. This
was the beginning of a long series of raids made by
William E. Chandler upon Jay Cooke in behalf of Gen-
eral Grant. This shrewd young Yankee politician had
offered to put the New Hampshire contribution to Mr.
Cooke's credit on account of the general campaign to be
waged later in the year. He was elected secretary of

1 H. D. C. to J. C, July 22, 1868.

70 JAY COOKE

the National Committee of which William Claflin, of
New York, was president, and on June 14th was writ-
ing to Henry Cooke in this wise:

Please confer with Jay while in Philadelphia as to the sub-
scription which you will give the National Committee. . . .
How much more than $10,000 can you go — can you give double
that to elect Grant and Colfax, being protected from other de-
mands? ... If you fix a large subscription we can get
more than otherwise from M. O. Roberts, A. T. Stewart, etc.1

Mr. Cooke told them very plainly that they would get
nothing at all from him, if they waged a campaign on
a platform advocating the repudiation of the national
debt. On July 6th he wrote to his brother Henry :

Jay Jr. tells me that lots of committees, etc., will be after me
for subscriptions to the campaign (Grant and C). I shall for
the present do nothing and give not a penny to any, and request
you to take the same position. If the Republican party is to
turn repudiators I will desert them. This whole matter must be
at once understood before I give any money. The scoundrels
deserve hanging for the irreparable injury they are doing to this
glorious nation.

But the party's perils increased as the campaign pro-
gressed, as they always will, and Mr. Cooke before elec-
tion day was compelled to pay his share to gain the vic-
tory. An effort was made to entice him to New York
to a meeting called by Governor Morgan, Mr. Grinnell
and others at the latter's office in Wall street to raise
funds for the Grant National Campaign Committee.
He did not attend. On September 19, 1868, Chandler
wrote to Mr. Cooke reporting what had taken place at
the council of war :

1 Chandler to H. D. C, June 14, 1868.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 71

I 'just called in to report to Mr. Pitt Cooke the result of our
meeting of Thursday. After explanations from Governor Claf-
lin, Mr. Washburne and myself, Mr. A. T. Stewart said : " I
am here for business and must go. I have given $10,000, and if
ten gentlemen will give $5,000 each I will give $5,000 more."
At this challenge S. B. Chittenden signed, also E. D. Morgan,
W. H. Grinnell, William E. Dodge, C. P. Huntington — then
there was a pause, but I soon terminated it by signing $5,000
for Jay Cooke and Company. Air. John C. Green, Paul Spofford,
Moses Taylor and George Opdyke followed, and then we claimed
with some applause Mr. Stewart's additional subscription of
$5,000. ... I should have signed the $5,000 for you on
Thursday if I had known I should have had to pay it myself.

Besides the national subscriptions there were pay-
ments to be made to the state committees. Jay Cooke,
in advising one of his partners to resist further impor-
tunities, said that he had "bled freely" for Pennsylvania
where Simon Cameron had introduced a system by
which political campaigns had become very expensive
to wealthy men. The election managers in Ohio re-
minded him that he was a native and summer resident
of that commonwealth and several needy Congressional
districts in Indiana and other states were imposed upon
him and were made the subject of his special atten-
tions, the fortunes of politics and his forgiving disposi-
tion being well illustrated in the aid which he extended
to his refractory foe in the last Congress, General John
A. Logan, a candidate for re-election in Illinois.

Chandler's committee, as he explained after the vic-
tory, sent $50,000 to Indiana and in all $40,000 to Penn-
sylvania, they being regarded as the critical states.
"You may at times have thought," said he, "that I
crowded too hard. But I tell you we were in more dan-

72 JAY COOKE

ger than many intelligent people supposed. I saw the
danger and where the strain would come, and thought of
and labored only for the dangerous points." 1

That Mr. Cooke, by all that he had done in this cam-
paign, had not mortally offended his friend Chase, and
that the Chief Justice emerged from the contest with his
conscience again in a very sensitive state and his vanity
little impaired, is seen by a reading of the following let-
ter from him dated November 17, 1868:

My dear Cooke:

I enclose the certificates of Sterling stock. I have never felt
exactly satisfied about that matter. To be sure, the transaction
took place after I left the Department and did not come within
my rule against purchases for resale, and it would have been all
well enough if you had made me take and pay for the bonds as
well as the stock, as I did more lately in the F. and W. sub-
scription. As it was, I know nothing blamable in it. Still, as
you did in fact sell the bonds and with the proceeds paid for
bonds and stock and so let me have the stock without cost, the
matter wears too much the appearance of a present from your-
self and Mr. Moorhead for my taste, and I prefer not to have
it transferred to me. Please therefore take the certificates back
and don't think me over-scrupulous. If you do I know you will
excuse me for wishing to err on that side, if at all.

I appreciate fully your friendly interest in the matter and that
of Mr. M., and I acknowledge with pleasure your friendly serv-
ices in investing my own small means, aided sometimes tem-
porarily by your own, very much to my benefit, and particularly
for allowing me an interest in the Franklin and Warren invest-
ment, which now promises to turn out so well. That I think
is the best investment I ever made, and I should like to make
enough more of the same sort to enable me to pay for a good
house here in Washington. You may help me in that way by
counsel and service as much as you please.

1 Chandler to J. G, November 7, 1868.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 73

T shall never cease to be glad and grateful that I laid down
for myself the rule after Congress gave me such great powers,
enabling me to raise and depress values very largely at my dis-
cretion, that I would have nothing to do, directly or indirectly,
with speculation or transactions in gold or securities of any sort
for my own or anybody's private benefit. You were well paid
for your services as government agent for loans, but it was by
well earned commissions and not by any advantages which all
rhight not equally have. If I was poorly paid as Secretary by
a salary insufficient to meet the expenses of housekeeping which
in my position could not be creditably avoided, I was neverthe-
less abundantly paid in the consciousness of good service hon-
estly and faithfully performed, not without benefits both imme-
diate and permanent to my country and all my countrymen.

My separation from politics and parties seems now complete,
but I earnestly hope that you who will now have great influ-
ence and be greatly responsible for it will set your face like a
flint against any modification of the funding system (which I
established and which I honestly believe cannot be materially
improved), impairing at all the just principle of controllability.
Redeemability after five years for six per cents., after ten for
five per cents, and after not more than fifteen for four per cents,
is indispensable. I would undertake now to fund the whole of
the 5-20 sixes into 10-40 fives of even date with those now out-
standing so as to be controllable after seven or eight years. If
anything will reconcile the American people to repudiation, di-
rect or indirect, it will be perpetuity or approach to perpetuity of
debt. Be sure of that.

Faithfully your friend,

S. P. Chase.

CHAPTER XIV

ENTERING THE NORTHWEST

In November, 1868, after the election of Grant, there
was much unsettlement in the New York stock market.
Mr. Cooke, as of yore, was deeply concerned regarding
its condition and had plans for strengthening it. On
November 6th he wrote to Secretary McCulloch as fol-
lows :

Dear Mr. McCulloch:

Yesterday I wrote to Mr. Huntington to call on you and urge
you, if you had not already done so, to examine your powers,
and see if you could not devise some plan for the relief of the
money market. I consider it "the legitimate province of govern-
ment to protect the community, so far as it can be lawfully
done, in times of panic and distress, especially when such panic
and distress are produced by illegitimate causes, as is supposed
to be the case in the present instance. I know your aversion
to anything like expansion, and your earnest desire for a nearer
approach to the conditions and prices of the specie-paying
periods ; but I could not but feel that the present was a time when
you could rightly and temporarily extend relief.

Your statement to Mr. Huntington of your willingness to do
something has gratified the public greatly. I trust that Mr.
Van Dyck will be at once instructed to act, or that such action
may take place at the Treasury direct as will effectively restore
confidence and a fair condition of the money market at this im-
portant season of the year's activities, when the cotton and
grain crops are to be moved. It does not escape your notice,
of course, that, if a panic like the present is allowed to work out

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 75

its inevitable and disastrous results, the foreign and internal
revenues of the nation must suffer to the extent, perhaps, of fifty
millions or more. For this reason alone [you would be justified
in adopting whatever measure] x you could adopt to restore order
and prosperity. You will no doubt either receive a letter from
Senator Cattell, or a visit from him to-morrow morning. In
talking with him to-day we came to the conclusion that you had
three ways of legitimately relieving the people from this pres-
sure. First by authorizing the purchase of 5, 10 or 20 millions
of government bonds, putting out greenbacks in payment. Sec-
ond, by allowing the deposits to remain and increase in the de-
positary banks (they giving you ample security), and instead
of drawing any on their deposits at present to make all gov-
ernment payments in greenbacks. Third, by adopting a part
of both of the above plans and in addition to re-issue as called
for the three per cent, certificates to the extent of the present
withdrawal, etc., etc.

I make no apology for these suggestions, knowing that you
will receive them as intended, for the good of all. I trust you
will act promptly and thus add to your already high reputation
and the really strong regard of the legitimate business com-
munity.

With great regard, truly your friend,

Jay Cooke.

On the 7th, the next day, Mr. Cooke received the fol-
lowing "private letter" from Mr. McCulloch :

I have merely time to say that Mr. Cattell has been here and
that agreeably to his suggestions Mr. Van Dyck has been au-
thorized to re-issue three per cent, certificates in exchange for
bonds. I incline to the opinion that this will be sufficient to
relieve the market and that no emergency is likely to arise which
will render a further issue of United States notes necessary.

There was much reason to think that Mr. Cooke would
become a member of President Grant's cabinet. Indeed,

1 Line missing.

76 JAY COOKE

to many it did not seem at all rational to suppose that he
would be passed by by the new President. Grant's
friendship with Henry Cooke was of brotherly intimacy.
Jay Cooke was heartily interested in the soldier-candi-
date's campaign, and had generously contributed money
and influence to compass Republican success. Love for
Chase had been subordinated to practical considerations.
The party would have none of him as presidential ma-
terial, while his own very obvious angling for the prize in
Democratic waters at length converted Jay Cooke to
General Grant, and the financier was a man of no re-
serves in his likes and confidences.

It was a time of remarkable disorder financially.
"The tomfooleries that are thought and uttered on the
financial question," wrote the Washington correspondent
of the New York Tribune, "defy enumeration. As to
criticizing them in detail, they are no more worthy of it
than are the antics of a buffoon."

The air was full of idle and ignorant words and
phrases and, rising above the din, were distinguished
"inflation," "contraction," "bloated bondholders," "pa-
trician class," etc., etc. Jay Cooke, supported notably
by the Tribune in New York and the Inquirer and Tele-
graph in Philadelphia, persistently combatted all dishon-
orable proposals. If General Grant knew anything that
was really sage or valuable concerning financial affairs
it does not appear in a study of his public life. More-
over, a weakness appeared in his character in the pres-
ence of the politician about whose ways he knew so. lit-
tle, and he was ready to surrender a principle which he
did not understand when he would have firmly stood at
a river, or before the earthworks of a city, whose value,

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 77

by "his experience, he was better enabled to comprehend.
Jay Cooke was free of business contracts with the gov-
ernment and might now have accepted the secretaryship
of the Treasury, as he could not have done, when Presi-
dent Lincoln appointed McCulloch to succeed Fessenden.
The air was still surcharged with the abuse of Mr.
Cooke by the Greenbackers and Grant was clearly afraid
to face the issue by appointing one whose opinions were
known of all men to be entirely adverse to compromises
of any kind with the repudiators.

It is characteristic of Jay Cooke that he did not think
of himself as a suitable, or even possible incumbent of
the secretaryship, and he and his brother Henry had
been busy after the election in pulling their wires for
Governor Dennison of Ohio, whom they had put for-
ward for the position during Lincoln's administration.
"Gov. Dennison is . . . the right man," wrote Jay
Cooke, "the best man in the land, a live man, honest and
true, bold and faithful, and would do more for the coun-
try than a dozen Bs. [Boutwells]." *

Dennison for Secretary of the Treasury and General
J. K. Moorhead for Senator from Pennsylvania were
the choice of the Cookes. "Cameron is secretly hostile
to him," said Henry Cooke, "but dare not make a strong
open fight. His (C.'s) man will be whoever will co-
operate with him and you can appreciate the importance
of preventing such an accession of strength to Cameron,
who would thereby be made one of the most potential
men in the Senate, and who has never been too well dis-
posed towards us." 2

1 To H. D. C, February 6, 1869.

2H. D. C. to J. C, December 16, 1868.

78 JAY COOKE

Nevertheless the appointment of Jay Cooke was ex-
pected in February and March, 1869. The newspapers
freely named him as the next incumbent of the office and
Henry Cooke in Washington and Fahnestock in New
York implicitly believed that he would receive the ap-
pointment. "If Ulysses offers you the Treasury, hang
on to it until you get the right man into it," sagely coun-
selled Fahnestock on March 4, 1869, and Henry Cooke
sent him the same advice from Washington.

Mr. Cooke himself carefully avoided any declaration
of his intentions concerning the office, if it were prof-
fered to him.1

On March 1st Henry Cooke said that it was "the pre-
vailing idea" in Washington that his brother would be
the next Secretary of the Treasury and although the
financier wrote the next day, "there is no shadow of
foundation for the rumors of my appointment to the
Treasury; I have not the least idea that General Grant
ever dreamed of it," he must have been secretly disap-

1 " I venture to predict from the turn matters have taken within
twenty-four hours that the coming man from Pennsylvania is Jay Cooke
and that he will be Secretary of the Treasury. The commercial world
knows him well. His very name suggests confidence at home and
abroad. . . . Loans were required [during the war] and Jay Cooke
was the man who promptly came forward and negotiated them. He did
it when no other man dare take the same responsibility. The nation's
life was in peril and the financial department of the government was
looked to at that time with as much anxiety as were the troops in the
field. ... I believe that General Grant feels this as much as any
other man. . . . Mr. Cooke will be no man's man. He is a self-made
man. He will not be Cameron's man, nor Curtin's man, nor Weed's,
nor any other man's man. Having made his fortune by his own industry
and genius he will bring to the service of the government the same great
qualities of body and mind to the end that the public debt may be paid
and the public credit permanently established everywhere." — Washington
correspondence of the New York Evening Mail, February 28, 1869.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 79

pointed in common with many others after so much dis-
cussion of the subject when the post was tendered to A.
T. Stewart of New York. The point was raised that
Mr. Stewart was prohibited under an old law from serv-
ing as Secretary of the Treasury, because of his com-
mercial connections, whereupon he offered to put his
business in the hands of trustees during his official term
and devote the proceeds to charity.1 But to relieve the
President's embarrassment he decided to decline the of-
fice, and George S. Boutwell of Massachusetts, who had
earlier been mentioned for it, was chosen, while Penn-
sylvania's place in the cabinet, at Cameron's bidding,
was tendered to George H. Stuart. He did not accept,
when the part was taken by Adolph E. Borie, who for a
short time was Secretary of the Navy.

Governor Geary of Pennsylvania was very indignant
that the President should have passed over Jay Cooke to
take up Stewart, and said he would give Grant a "piece
of his mind about it," but "I told him," wrote Henry
Cooke,2 "you neither expected nor desired the appoint-
ment yourself, however you might regard the appoint-
ment of Stewart."

"Boutwell is the best man for the Treasury after Den-
nison," continued Henry Cooke on March nth in his
correspondence with his brother, "and has all along been
my second choice." He is "a good friend and I know
he feels kindly." His appointment "satisfies Congress,
the members of which never could have gotten along
peaceably or pleasantly with Stewart." 3

i H. D. C. to J. C, March oth.

2 March io, 1869.

3 March 12, 1869.

80 JAY COOKE

Thus was Jay Cooke released for further business en-
gagements ; thus was his daring spirit kept free for one
of the greatest of all private undertakings, the construc-
tion of a railroad through the untrodden wilderness that
lay between the head of Lake Superior and the broad
ocean which leads ships to the Orient.

Jay Cooke and Company were constantly beset by pro-
jectors and promoters of schemes of all descriptions, —
by inventors with devices to revolutionize civilization
and make themselves and their financial sponsors fabu-
lous fortunes; by men who wished to establish steam-
ship lines to Europe and the South Seas; by manufac-
turers with wonderful properties for sale; by owners of
iron, coal and silver mines, real estate dealers and hold-
ers of franchises to make, sell and purvey useful and
useless commodities; and agents of railway companies
and of needy state and foreign governments. As the
fame of the house spread "schemes" poured into Mr.
Cooke's office thick and fast, the greater number of them,
after more or less careful consideration, being politely,
but firmly, declined to make way for fresh importunities.

It should be clear from what has been developed in
these chapters thus far that Jay Cooke guarded his own
good name and the credit and reputation of his house
with great jealousy. He was incessantly vigilant in
the oversight of his partners; the standards he set for
himself were high and from them he never stooped on
any account for temporary gain. He drew his partners
out of their cotton, oil and voucher speculations during
the war, and severely reprimanded them for any pro-
pensity which seemed to him unpatriotic, or in the least
degree threatened the financial standing of his house.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 81

His watchfulness may be further illustrated by a num-
ber of incidents that marked this later period in the life
of his firm. In October, 1865, he urged Huntington,
who was beginning to be the object of much solicitude,
to be "patient, modest, vigilant and watchful," but the
young cashier was not saved by this counsel from a mis-
behavior in New York City in October, 1866, which
deeply offended Mr. Cooke. He had been seen driving
a stylish four-in-hand in the park on a Sunday after-
noon. The adventure was displeasing upon two ac-
counts. It conflicted with Mr. Cooke's inviolable rules
concerning Sabbath observance and it was calculated, he
thought, to spread the idea abroad that one of his em-
ployees, the cashier of a national bank which was en-
trusted with large sums of public money, was making a
show far beyond his means, thus causing damaging re-
mark. On October 24, 1866, therefore, Jay Cooke
wrote as follows :

Dear Huntington:

Yours of yesterday received. I don't think Mr. Browning
or any one else has power to hurt this glorious country much.
It will survive all the wickedness and foolishness in high places.
I have not yet read B.'s letter, but will do so to-night.

And now I have a word or two to say to you in great sorrow.
Yesterday I was informed by a friend who takes a deep interest
in our honor and prosperity that you were seen on Sunday in
Broadway driving a " four in hand." He was shocked and
thought it his duty to give the information, knowing, as I should
have thought you would have known, that such an act, if known
on 'Change in New York or elsewhere, amongst financial peo-
ple, would create remark and bring great discredit to the bank-
under your charge and the friends with whom you are so con-
fidentially associated. To say nothing of the desecration of the
Sabbath, thought of which it seems to me should have deterred
6

m JAY COOKE

you. [Such action would be] * deeply injurious and inexcus-
able even on a week day. Credit is a tender plant. Nothing
so affects it as such a stupid display as a " four in hand." There
is no excuse available for such an act on the Sabbath even in a
strange city, because God sees if men do not.

It is such actions as this one that will entirely destroy }'our
position with us, and I beg of you to consider whether it is not
worth while to take a course in future that will not call for
such sad expressions as above. You are a young man and
have much to live for. I pray and beseech you to think.

In haste and awaiting your reply, I am your friend,

Jay Cooke.

Huntington apologized directly at once and had Wil-
liam E. Chandler and Henry Cooke write to Jay Cooke
explaining the circumstances and extenuating the act.
His wife and sister were members of the party, the
owner of the coach was one of the "best citizens of New
Hampshire." It was late in the afternoon, indeed they
were covered by the twilight and they were not out long.
Because of this indiscretion, coupled with other acts
which were not to his liking, Mr. Cooke gave the na-
tional bank a thorough examination, and its affairs, as
well as those of the Washington office of his firm, re-
ceived his careful personal surveillance henceforward.

Mr. Cooke's New York house also brought him many
troubles by reason of the unhappy misunderstandings
and rivalries of its partners. Fahnestock was in charge
of the government bond department which he declared
was the sole and only source of profit to the house, while
old Mr. Dodge managed the general stock business
where there were no gains and often serious losses.
Fahnestock therefore was constantly urging Mr. Cooke

1 One line is missing.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 83

to invest larger sums in the bond business. Were the
"Tycoon" in New York he "could be made to under-
stand how large a stock must be kept in hand if the
house were to continue to occupy the leading position in
the bond market." What would do in Philadelphia or
Boston would not control the situation in New York.
He was making money, he said, in spite of Mr. Cooke,
which he was not pleased to do. "You know that you
admire and appreciate a commanding position and all
the facts and arguments I have given and shall give you
are designed to prove that we cannot take the lead here
unless we are prepared to do business in a large way.
. . . We can't sell the government millions unless we
have them. We can't do business in this market unless
we do it on a large scale. We can't make money unless
we are willing to run risks. The brokerage part of the
business is a bagatelle, any thirty-second man can do it." x
From the opening of the house to August, 1869, the
government bond business, Fahnestock said, had yielded
profits of $1,638,000 against which only $30,000 were
to be charged off for bad or dubious accounts. The
"stock, gold and money department," on the other hand,
showed profits in the same time of only $493,000, one-
half of which was made in Treasury gold sales and over
$300,000 were "tied up," if not wholly lost, in bad and
unrealizable collateral. Over $200,000,000 of bonds
had been sold in the year ending July 1, 1869. Fahnes-
tock wished that at the end of 1869 some way might be
found "amicably to dissolve the partnership. We have
a large and expensive establishment and must make a lot
of money to go around."

1 Fahn. to J. C, August 10th, August 28th, and September I, 1869.

84 JAY COOKE

In 1869 the business of the house became much less
lucrative than formerly in common with that of all
other brokerage firms in New York, the period being
very unfavorable to profitable trade. Office expenses
upon Mr. Cooke's order were reduced to the lowest pos-
sible point.1 He was compelled to remonstrate with his
old patron, Mr. Dodge, "full of horse and yacht mat-
ters," a very unpleasant task, but he did these things
manfully when the necessity arose.

The oil speculators still pursued Mr. Cooke. To him
they were always an angering crew and never failed to
excite his suspicions and protests. He would not have
his own name or that of any member of his various firms
identified with the petroleum business at a time when it
unsettled the reasoning faculties of so many men. In
1868 the Anglo-American Oil Company advertised in
England that he was a trustee of the corporation, "sun-
dry honorable earls, lords, etc.," being numbered among
the managing directors of the enterprise. Mr. Cooke,
in the most public way, denounced this unauthorized use
of his name. He published cards in the principal
American and English news and financial papers. In
the New York Tribune 2 he said that he had been
brought into the undertaking "without the shadow of
authority. Under no circumstances would he allow his
name to be used in connection with any oil company.
The parties to this English afTair and all others inter-
ested are notified that in his opinion it is a deliberate
and infamous fraud thus to associate his name without

1 " If the business were always to be as now we had better quit. But
it cannot be long continued so dull and unprofitable and we must work
for better results." — Fahnestock to J. C, December 27, 1869.

2 April 18, 1868.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 85

his consent with any such enterprise." He gave ex-
pression to a hope in the English journals that the state-
ment would be "a warning to deter any future trespass-
ing upon his name." Mr. Cooke was also very wary
of investments in the South during the Reconstruction
period. He did not know anyone who would "risk life
or limb" in "such a land of whiskey and bo wie knives."

These incidents are introduced not because they are
recognized to be of great public interest, but as the
means of completing the picture of Mr. Cooke's character,
— his forbearance and kindness in his dealings with his
employees and associates, and with it all the jealousy
of his business honor which was constantly felt, as evi-
denced by the care he used in watching the management
of his houses for the smallest irregularities, even touch-
ing acts that his men doubtless sometimes thought lay
quite within the range of their private lives.

Mr. Cooke and Mr. Moorhead had largely interested
themselves with others, including Henry D. Moore, the
ex-Treasurer of Pennsylvania, whom Mr. Cooke car-
ried along financially in pure friendship and benevolence,
in an anthracite coal property near Girardville in Schuyl-
kill County, Pa., the Preston Coal and Improvement
Company. The books were opened at the office of the
firm and it was identified with the enterprise in his ab-
sence from Philadelphia. He was never entirely recon-
ciled to the investment, but Chase and many of his
friends were brought into it. Operations were begun
at Preston in April, 1864. Labor and all machinery and
supplies were to be had only at war-time prices. Al-
though it was originally estimated that $150,000 would
put the mines in working order, $332,000 were spent

86 JAY COOKE

there up to August, 1865,1 and $100,000 more must be
invested to complete the improvements. Moore de-
voted his time to the enterprise and it was entirely un-
profitable to him and every one else, being sold, at length,
to the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company
at the time Franklin B. Gowen was accumulating mines
in the anthracite region for that company for the enjoy-
ment of a later generation of investors.

Cooke, Moorhead, Moore and others were also inter-
ested in the Philadelphia and Erie Land Company and
the South Mountain Mining and Iron Company. The
first of these was a land improvement company owning
property in several towns along the line of the Philadel-
phia and Erie Railroad ; while the South Mountain Com-
pany held from 20,000 to 25,000 acres in southern Penn-
sylvania, a few miles from Carlisle. The tract was pur-
chased from William Watts, and it comprised a furnace
and forge called the Pine Grove Iron Works. A rail-
road was built from Carlisle to the plant and mines and
it was sold to the Thomas Iron Company, being later re-
purchased by Mr. Cooke and a Mr. Fuller under fore-
closure proceedings. Mr. Cooke was the sole owner and
proprietor of the property at the time of his death.

He also acquired iron interests in New York State
upon the roseate representations of various vendors and
promoters who visited him. In the Lake Champlain
Ore and Iron Company he and his partners had large
interests, and in September, 1867, he personally took
full title to the property, which comprised from 10,000
to 12,000 acres in Essex County, N. Y., in and around
Elizabethtown, within seven miles of Lake Champlain,

i-H. P. Rutter to J. C, August 4, 1865.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 87

chiefly "a mountain of ore" called Nigger Hill, with
mineral deposits, bloomeries, shops, mills and houses.
When he offered to lease it in 1869 Mr. Cooke computed
that he had exchanged stocks of a face value of $800,000
for the property. Very expensive improvements in the
plant were undertaken and it was asserted that there
were only two or three larger establishments of the sort
in northern New York. He valiantly sought to effect
a sale of the property. "Here I am, looking after my
'elephant,' " he once wrote his brother Henry while
on a visit to Elizabethtown. "What a nice chance
for some tamer to enter these wilds and catch my ele-
phant."

Mr. Cooke also held an interest with David Crawford
of Clark, Dodge and Company, of New York, Thomas
A. Scott, William G. Moorhead, J. B. Moorhead and
others in the Sterling Iron and Railway Company.
They formed a subsidiary company to construct a moun-
tain road to run from the Erie Railway at Sloatsburg,
in Rockland County, to the Sterling mines and works,
which were situated in Orange County, N. Y. Mr.
Cooke was an incorporator and director of this com-
pany. At one time he had nearly $700,000 of the bonds
and stocks of the Sterling companies.1

These various iron properties were not very lucrative
investments and did not tend to become more desirable
holdings as the methods of metal manufacture changed
and the industry was concentrated at new and stronger
centres. Mr. Cooke, moreover, was unable personally
to oversee their affairs. They suffered for lack of his
careful superintendency and they were a drain upon the

1 Crawford to J. C, March 4, 1864.

88 JAY COOKE

income he received from businesses which he more per-
fectly understood.

In May, 1865, Jay Cooke had presented to him
through his brother Henry a proposition to join a com-
bination of which Senator Zachariah Chandler was a
member, to speculate privately with a capital of $20,000,-
000 in United States bonds which were held in Europe,
buying them, raising their value, and selling them at the
higher price. He agreed to manage this operation for
the men interested in it,1 since it had the approval of
Secretary McCulloch, and had the prospect of being
beneficial to government credit. But the promoters of
the enterprise did not seem to have the money necessary
to develop their grand scheme.

In May, 1866, Mr. Cooke had a correspondence with
Antoine de Gogorza, a Latin American adventurer, who
proposed to secure from the government of New Gra-
nada the right of way for a ship canal across the Isth-
mus of Darien. He had the "long lost route," east of
Aspinwall, successfully hidden from the white man for
120 years, but Jay Cooke 2 gave but faint encouragement
to the promoter's plans and they promptly came to
naught.

Overtures were made to the firm concerning the
management of a loan for the Juarez government in
Mexico. A "half Spanish colonel" came to see Fahne-
stock in Washington in May, 1865, and but for his "cut-
throatish" appearance might have induced Mr. Cooke's
active young partner to undertake the placing of a loan

1 H. D. C. to J. C, May 26, 1865.

2 H. D. C. to J. C, May 9, 1866.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 89

of $ 1 00,000,000. ! This was followed by a visit to Jay
Cooke by Sefior Romero and in August, 1865, that
gentleman wrote to him as follows: "The United
States loan having been taken and your business in that
line closed, as I now understand, I beg of you to inform
me whether you are now ready to entertain the proposal
I made to you in Philadelphia in May last." 2 The ne-
gotiations proceeded for some months, but there were
weighty objections to the plan. Henry Cooke went to
see Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Chandler, who
said "that as government bankers, acting in that capac-
ity under the Secretary's authority, our taking the
agency of the loan would be regarded by the whole world
at home and abroad as being done with the assent and
approval of the government." Henry Cooke also ad-
dressed Grant and the General obligingly promised
to see President Johnson on the subject, but advised
against the agency unless the proposition were referred
to and approved by the cabinet. Johnson told Hunting-
ton that everyone knew what his ideas were, that he
thought if money were raised in the United States it
would go far toward driving Maximilian out of Mexico.
In fine, he would like to say "go ahead," but he dare not
do so for obvious reasons.3 The negotiations continued
into 1866, and on February 9th of that year Henry
Cooke wrote to his brother: "The Secretary [Mc-
Culloch] says hands off the Mexican loan at present.
The official news from France is entirely satisfactory;
the French troops will be withdrawn and our govern-
ment is more than ever anxious to do nothing now to

1F. to J. C, May 12, 1865. - August 6, 1865.

3 Huntington to J. C, December 23, 1865.

90 JAY COOKE

complicate matters, at least till the Johnny Crapeaus
are fairly out of the way."

Thus this international negotiation at one time seri-
ously considered by Mr. Cooke, although he never went
into the subject very deeply, was allowed to pass and
the firm's energies were husbanded for other undertak-
ings.

He was also asked to associate his fortunes with a
variety of companies, chartered in such great numbers
by Congress after the Civil War, but he kept clear of
these enterprises, barring the National Life Insurance
Company. John Sherman sought to involve him in one
of the telegraph companies which were formed to net
the country with wires during this period. The Senator
from Ohio was engineering a bill through Congress to
incorporate the National Telegraph Company in which
many capitalists and politicians were interested. "I
hope you will take hold of this telegraph business," he
wrote on July 30, 1866. "It is a rare chance for a large
and profitable enterprise with much resulting good to the
public. The main thing is to have it in safe hands who
will not turn the franchise to their private profit, but
will put all the proceeds of the stock into work and la-
bor. I feel a personal pride and interest in it, for I am
responsible for the law. I will gladly join with you
and share with you in pecuniary loss or profit if you wish
me to. The franchise being open to all mankind, I
would feel free to take part in it."

The prospectus of the company called for a capital of
ten millions of dollars.

The insurance company Mr. Cooke made a personal
concern and for several years it was managed as almost

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 91

an" integral part of his banking business. The idea as-
sumed definite form late in the year 1867. The com-
pany was to be organized under a national charter, spe-
cially procured for its use, and it was to be capitalized
at $1,000,000. Clarence H. Clark was peculiarly the
sponsor of the enterprise and he prepared a prospectus
which was early submitted to Mr. Cooke. "We feel
confident," said he, "that there is room for another
large, responsible and energetic company, as life insur-
ance has now grown to be one of the necessities of the
age." It was stated at the time that no company would
take a risk of more than $25,000. The new company
proposed to insure for unlimited amounts and in general
sketched a plan which was new and inviting to the pub-
lic at large, as it seemed to be to the stockholders. It
was thought that an organization could be effected in
co-operation with the national banks of the country
which thereby might "add a handsome amount to their
earnings year by year." All the members of Jay
Cooke and Company's various firms, the Moorheads, the
Clarks, John Sherman, Harding of the Inquirer and a
number of Washington newspaper men were admitted
to the list of shareholders and the bill was put upon its
passage in Congress at the session of 1867-8 with the
support of Uriah H. Painter. In July it was passed,
engrossed and sent to the President, who signed it, al-
though a party of Philadelphians, Jay Cooke telegraphed
his brother Henry, were despatched to Washington to
oppose the measure, and if possible induce Johnson to
veto it on the ground that it was a "monopoly." 1

1 " A. J. is so impracticable and so suspicious that we can't urge the
signing of the bill with too much precipitation or he would think it con-
tained more than it does." — H. D. C. to J. C, July 22, 1868.

92 JAY COOKE

Offices were opened and agents were put in charge of
them at once. Business began on August i, 1868, and
many policies were written immediately. The officers
of the company were as follows: President, Clarence
H. Clark; Chairman Finance and Executive Committee,
Jay Cooke; Vice President, Henry D. Cooke; Secretary
and Actuary, Emerson W. Peet; Board of Directors,
Clarence H. Clark, Jay Cooke, F. Ratchford Starr, W.
G. Moorhead, George F. Tyler, J. Hinckley Clark, E.
A. Rollins, Henry D. Cooke, W. E. Chandler, John D.
Defrees, Edward Dodge, H. C. Fahnestock.1

The head office was in the First National Bank of
Philadelphia under President Clarence H. Clark's per-
sonal superintendency, although the charter required
a nominal location in Washington, which was found in
Jay Cooke and Company's house in that city. The lat-
ter had the agency for the District of Columbia and some
surrounding territority. Joseph U. Orvis, formerly of
the Ninth National Bank of New York, so active a
factor in the sale of the seven-thirty loan, was the man-
ager of the New York branch, which was organized
as a department of Jay Cooke and Company's banking
business that it might profit by the great reputation
everywhere enjoyed by that firm.

The agents in New England were William E. Chand-
ler, ex-Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and E. A.
Rollins, who had been Commissioner of Internal Rev-
enue, and the country was divided into districts which
were systematically covered by agents and solicitors.
The company fared well, although it brought cares,
anxieties and responsibilities to Jay Cooke. At length

1 Advertisement in Philadelphia Inquirer, November 4, 1868.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 93

its headquarters were removed to Chicago by men who
had purchased the interests held by the financier and
his associates. The company had 11,924 policies in
force at the end of the year 1873, ag"gregating $27,884,-
753. Its "admitted assets" were above $3,ooo,ooo.1

But Jay Cooke's favorite enterprises were railroad
companies. During the war he took hold of the War-
ren and Franklin Company, a road in the oil regions of
Pennsylvania, connecting with the Philadelphia and
Erie. This line was later consolidated with the Oil
Creek Road and is now a part of the Pennsylvania Com-
pany's railway system.

The seven-thirty loan had not yet been closed when
the banker was asked by an agent of the "Fund Commis-
sioner" of the North Missouri Railroad to sell that com-
pany's first mortgage bonds. "Your very successful
management of the great government loans," he wrote,
"induces me to believe that you might be able to place
this loan through the same machinery." The whole is-
sue would be $6,000,000 and $2,000,000 were then of-
fered for sale.2 Mr. Cooke made no investments for
himself blindly, nor did he invite others to buy of his se-
curities until he had satisfied himself of the value of
what he offered them. He might be deceived by his ad-
visers, but he took all reasonable precautions to guard
against mistakes. The negotiations with the men rep-
resenting the Missouri railway and the officials of the
state which had subsidized it continued for months until
a report could be received from W. Milnor Roberts, a
skilful engineer, who was despatched to report upon the

1 Report to State of Pa., December 31, 1873.

2 J, H. Alexander to J, C, from St. Louis, August 4, 1865,

94 JAY COOKE

property. He found that the road was 170 miles in
length. It had been well built in 1858 to run from St.
Louis to Macon City, where it joined the Hannibal and
St. Joseph Railroad. He computed its value at $8,000,-
000. It needed a bridge 1,800 feet in length across the
Missouri at a point some twenty miles from St. Louis,
where a ferry was then in use, and the state government
had authorized the sale of $500,000 of bonds to meet
the cost of this work. The engineer reported fully and
favorably upon the road's present earnings and profits
and its future prospects. The additional $6,000,000
which Mr. Cooke was asked to procure were to be used
to build the bridge, new sections of road to the Iowa
state boundary, and a west branch which would connect
with the "great trunk lines" to the Pacific coast. Act-
ing upon the strength of these advices he entered into a
contract with John F. Hume, the Fund Commissioner of
the state of Missouri; Isaac H. Sturgeon, the president
of the company, and Champlin, Smith and Company, the
contractors, for the sale of $3,000,000 of the proposed
$6,000,000 at not less than 75 cents on the dollar.1 In
December, 1866, the other $3,000,000 were offered for
sale, the price being placed at not less than 85 cents on
the dollar. The bonds were not easily distributed, and
it was with difficulty that Mr. Sturgeon could obtain
enough money to proceed with the work of construc-
tion. A hostile party in Missouri, in impatience took
advantage of an offer of James B. Eads and he and his
associates voted Sturgeon out of office, making Judge
Barton Bates, a son of Edward Bates, Lincoln's Attor-
ney-General, the president of the company. Through

ijuly 6, 1866.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 95

Eads and Cooke acting together, the entire $6,000,000
seem to have been sold before the end of 1867. The
amount was still inadequate, but Mr. Cooke, after the
turn things had taken, felt that he was without very
much responsibility for the undertaking.

Jay Cooke was asked also to provide money to build
other railroads in Missouri, including the Iron Moun-
tain and the Missouri Valley lines, but this experience
with the politicians of the state indisposed him toward
similar enterprises in that part of the West.

In these years so prolific of financial schemes Mr.
Cooke was invited to assist in the organization of prac-
tically all the new railway enterprises and to aid many
old companies in making extensions to their lines.
These invitations for the most part were declined, espe-
cially after it was determined that the energies of the
firm must be husbanded for a great effort in the North-
west. Mr. Cooke had been warmly interested for many
years in the problem of building a railroad to the Pa-
cific Coast. It appealed to his imagination in somewhat
the same way that Thomas H. Benton's soul was fired
for the same subject long before the Civil War, leading
that old Missouri patriarch to paint the beautiful possi-
bilities of trans-continental communication upon every
available occasion. There were mainly three routes
proposed and advocated by the men who gave this
great matter their attention and care, and they favored
one or another according as their pecuniary interests
lay, or sentiment, imagination or a prosier thing called
judgment came into the equation to dispose their minds
to the southern, the middle or the northern course.
That there would be more than three lines to the other

96 JAY COOKE

ocean was not anticipated by any, even at a time when
the American fancy was ruled by the most diverse
schemes for laying rails over mountains and across des-
erts. Indeed, one road invading the land inhabited by
Indians which roved at their unhindered will, black
herds of buffalo and other animals to whose eyes the
white man was utterly strange, seemed to practical per-
sons a wild dream. But the war made such a line a mili-
tary necessity- When Pitt Cooke and Judge Sadler were
sent to California to sell seven-thirty bonds they must
go by way of the Isthmus of Panama, the journey occu-
pying several weeks. Coming to the Pacific coast they
found that the people were using another kind of money,
and while their loyalty to the Union 'was unquestioned,
they knew as little of the East, beyond the knowledge they
had taken with them when they went to live there, as
though they were the inhabitants of Chile or Ecuador.
Indeed, if they had resided upon the west coast of South
America they could have been more easily communicated
with. Western Europe was nearer to New York than
the land which lay beyond the plains, the great moun-
tains and the "desert" and fringed the outer borders of
our empire.

The Northern Pacific Railroad Company was char-
tered by the Congress of the United States on July 2,
1864. By this act lands were granted to the company
"to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph
line from Lake Superior to Puget Sound on the Pacific
coast by the northern route." It was to follow a course
north of 45 degrees of latitude. There was to be a
branch to Portland via the valley of the Columbia River
and the capital was fixed at $100,000,000, A group of

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 97

New England men were at its head, but the leading
spirit was Josiah Perham, a merchant of Maine, who
drifted to Massachusetts, and was rather widely known
for his success in organizing cheap railroad excursions
which he is said to have originated. He planned a great
People's Railroad to the Pacific Ocean. The stock was
to he sold without a mortgage on sentimental grounds.
Plis list of incorporators included the names of many
prominent financiers and politicians in various Northern
states. Among them were Richard D. Rice, Samuel S.
Fessenden, Willard Sears, George Opdyke, Chauncey
Vibbard, John C. Fremont, S. M. Felton, G. W. Cass, J.
Edgar Thomson, William E. Chandler, John Gregory
Smith, U. S. Grant, William B. Ogden, Leonard Swett
and Henry D. Cooke. Congress offered to grant the
company alternate sections of land, the sections desig-
nated by odd numbers, to the amount of twenty to the
mile upon each side of the track in the territories, and
ten to the mile upon each side in the states through
which the line should pass, patents being issued when
twenty-five miles of road were built, and inspected and
accepted by commissioners to be appointed by the Presi-
dent of the United States. The government obligated
itself not to sell the adjoining land for less than $2.50
per acre. The company must begin work upon its road
within two years, and complete at least fifty miles an-
nually. The line must be ready for traffic over its en-
tire length by July 4, 1876. If within two years the
company did not sell $2,000,000 of its stock upon which
ten per cent, was paid in, its charter should be null and
void. This was a grant of twenty square miles or
12,800 acres for each mile of railroad in the states, and

98 JAY COOKE

forty square miles or 25,600 acres in the territories, com-
puted to be altogether 47,360,000 acres. President Lin-
coln signed the bill. Subscription books were opened in
Boston and Portland, Me., and by November, 1864.
20,000 shares of stock were sold, $10 being paid upon
each share, and the company was organized with Per-
ham as its President. By a resolution of Congress of
May 7, 1866, the time for beginning and completing
the road was extended two years. It was farther ex-
tended on July 1, 1868, when the amount to be built an-
nually was increased from fifty to one hundred miles.
On March 1, 1869, the company was authorized to issue
bonds and on April 10, 1869 to construct a branch line
on the Pacific coast of which twenty-five miles should be
completed before July 2, 1871, and forty miles per an-
num subsequently.

Already in January, 1865, President Perham had vis-
ited Mr. Cooke asking him to accept the agency for the
sale of the stock of the road. In October, 1865, Sir
Morton Peto and some English capitalists came to this
country and were dined and wined on many sides, being
shown over Mr. Cooke's iron lands in New York state.
It was confidently stated by Henry Cooke that they
would "take hold of the North Pacific Railroad," his in-
formant being Robert J. Walker.

On May 18, 1865, William L. Banning wrote to Jay
Cooke aiming to enlist his financial interest in the Lake
Superior and Mississippi Railroad, which was to run 140
miles from St. Paul almost due north to the western end
of Lake Superior where two towns were projected, Du-
luth and Superior. There were to be termini at both
the last named places. It had a liberal land grant of

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 99

10,880 acres per mile, a total of 1,523,200 acres, nearly
all of which was heavily timbered with pine, cedar and
oak. Thus would the great lake system be brought into
rail communication with the upper waters of the Missis-
sippi and the connection, even if mostly of a sentimental
interest (since the river is not an important navigable
highway at St. Paul), was calculated to take strong
hold of the outreaching mind of him who as a boy had
looked upon the surfaces of this great inland water sys-
tem, and pondered while fishing each summer among
the Lake Erie islands upon the commercial uses of this
wonderful natural highway. "If you are willing to
take hold of it," wrote Banning to Mr. Cooke, "I will
look no farther."

On February 16, 1866, Jay Cooke's Washington men
telegraphed to him strongly urging him to come down
and meet a party of Northern Pacific Railway promot-
ers, about twenty in all, with a view to negotiating
$100,000,000 of their stock.

Perham had failed to do anything with the charter of
1864. No more assessments could be collected from the
stockholders and his visionary scheme fell to the ground.
The franchise was offered for sale. Several dinners
were given in Boston and other New England cities to
impress upon capitalists the great importance of the
construction of the road to that section of the Union.
"The rumors afloat in the country in reference to the
manner in which the charter had been obtained, and the
way in which it had been 'hawked about' in New York
and elsewhere by the parties then in interest had com-
bined to give a taint to the whole concern, and it could
only be made reputable by being taken up by new par-

100 JAY COOKE

ties." 1 The project was noticed and endorsed by sev-
eral Boards of Trade, and in a little while it fell into the
hands of what afterwards came to be known as the "Ver-
mont clique" with Governor J. Gregory Smith at its
head, he being made the President of the company.
They took it from Perham practically upon his death-
bed when it was about to go to the Grand Trunk Rail-
way of Canada. The party included a number of men
connected with the Vermont Central Railroad, Mr.
Cooke's bete noire before the war, — Thomas H. Canfield,
Frederick Billings and Judge R. D. Rice, the latter be-
ing the Vice President of the Northern Pacific Company.
A. H. Barney was, or soon became Treasurer, Hamil-
ton A. Hill Secretary, and Edwin F. Johnson, who had
spent many years upon the surveys, Chief Engineer.
They had partitioned the enterprise among themselves
in twelve equal interests, and had but one important
task before them — to seek out a great banking house to
sell their stock or bonds and supply them with funds.

Jay Cooke demurred and did not favorably regard the
call of his young Washington partners to put himself at
the disposal of this body of men. But they wished to
see the "Tycoon himself and nobody else" 2 to which
Jay Cooke replied by wire:

Let parties come here, if you can't mature proposition. Wm.
G. is dead against any connection. If they only want us to sell
their government bonds, it is a matter you can decide at once.
If they wish us to negotiate their bonds or take any interest
we positively decline anything to do with it.

By letter he severely reprimanded his partners for as-

1 Hamilton A. Hill to J. C, February 11, 1871.

2 Fahnestock's telegram to J. C, February 16, 1866.

JAY COOKE ABOUT 1875

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 101

suiiring to make any arrangements without his full ap-
proval, and told the importunate promoters that if they
wished to see him they could come to Philadelphia, where
they could find him at his place of business. On Feb-
ruary 17, 1866, Henry Cooke and Fahnestock wrote
jointly to Jay Cooke and Wm. G. Moorhead:

Your remarks about Pacific Railroad negotiations are received
and duly appreciated. We think you entirely misapprehend us.
We hadn't the remotest idea of assuming the financial burthens
or responsibilities of either, or any of their roads. We hadn't
contemplated making any advances, or in short doing anything
involving the slightest risk, pecuniarily or otherwise. More than
this, we didn't intend to do anything at all in the matter, but
referred it entirely to Jay, and this was why we were so anxious
to have Jay come down and confer with the parties. These
parties will have a large amount of securities to negotiate, out
of which a handsome commission can be made, but whether
this can be done without involving responsibilities which Jay
thinks we ought not to assume is a question which we referred
entirely to his decision.

A part of the delegation, by appointment, visited Mr.
Cooke in Philadelphia on the following Monday and it
was his first meeting with the men whose cause he later
espoused with the fullest enthusiasm.

In the financial operations which resulted in the con-
struction of the central line from Omaha to the Pacific
Ocean, Mr. Cooke had almost no part. He was asked
to sell a few millions of first mortgage bonds for William
J. Palmer, Treasurer of the Union Pacific Company, to
facilitate the construction of its Leavenworth branch
and the main line as far as Fort Riley. If he would do
this he was ofTered the opportunity to market their gov-
ernment bonds of which $320,000 worth were received

102 JAY COOKE

for every twenty miles of road or at the rate of $16,000
per mile, deliverable upon the completion of each twenty-
mile section.1

In 1866, when General Dix was about to vacate the
presidency of the Union Pacific, it was hinted that the
ambitious Chief Justice Chase might be placed in the
office, and he was not averse to the suggestion, though
the choice fell upon John J. Cisco, who had been the
Assistant Treasurer of the United States at New York
during Chase's administration of the Treasury Depart-
ment. Later it was stated that the Chief Justice might
have the presidency of the company, which was at work
upon the western end of the line, the Central Pacific.
"He [Governor Chase] says he will be governed by our
advice mainly," wrote Henry Cooke to his brother Jay,
November 3, 1866. "Good parties are strongly urging
him to take the presidency of the Central Pacific Railroad,
an office which is in no way political, which can in scarce-
ly any conceivable way conflict with his official duties
and the country is full of precedents. He is strongly in-
clined to accept but would like to know your views. I
confess I am in doubt how to advise him, though I think
I can see advantages to all parties, ourselves included, if
he should take the position, yet I would prefer that he
should act upon his own motion."

Mr. Cooke's advice is believed to have been adverse,
and there is no record at hand to indicate that he him-
self had other share in any of the affairs of the com-
panies working upon the middle route than the sale of
a few of their bonds, — so few indeed that his name can
not fairly be associated with the undertaking.

1 Palmer to J. C, June 26, 1866.

FINANCIER OP THE CIVIL WAR 103

He was also importuned to identify himself with the
various Southern Pacific enterprises. Milnor Roberts,
while he was in the West inspecting the affairs of the
North Missouri road, or before, had made a report to
Mr. Cooke concerning the "Southwest Pacific" railroad.
The banker had not used the information it contained,
little favoring the line and a party of capitalists and pro-
moters headed by General John C. Fremont, the "Path-
finder," sought to secure the paper and enlist Mr.
Cooke's financial influence in forwarding their schemes.
E. S. Hubbard wrote to the Philadelphia banker con-
cerning the Southwest Pacific and an allied organiza-
tion, the Atlantic and Pacific projected from the state
line of Missouri westward to California, to say that they
purposed obtaining from Congress, at the approaching
session, the "same endowment" which had been given to
"the other Pacific railroad." "It is thought by the own-
ers of the two roads, and I think properly so," wrote
Mr. Hubbard, "that the name and influence of General
Fremont in aid of these two projects will secure them.
The result of the late elections has served to intensify
the Radical sentiments of the country, and with that ele-
ment in Congress and elsewhere the influence of Gen-
eral Fremont is second to that of no other man in the
country. It will be readily seen that with such legisla-
tion the Atlantic and Pacific and the Southwest Pacific
will be beyond the necessity of asking any aid, but such
as they can command." *

In May, 1869, Oakes Ames, Governor Gardner of
Massachusetts, and a Mr. Raynor visited Jay Cooke's
New York house and urged the firm to sell bonds to the

1 Hubbard to J. C, May 5, 1869.

104 JAY COOKE

amount of $4,ooo,ooq for the New Orleans, Mobile and
Chattanooga Railroad.1

Meantime President Banning of the Lake Superior
and Mississippi Railway, who had also received little en-
couragement from Cooke, went to Europe to discover, if
he could, a market for his bonds in the financial centres
of the old world. He asked for letters to influential
European financiers, but the trip was futile and left the
road as friendless as before.2

For some time Mr. Cooke had been receiving visits
from men of various degrees of wealth and distinction
in Minnesota, and his interest in the Northwest was be-
ing intensified. In the past few years he had been in-
creasing his holdings of land in the West, especially in

1 Fahnestock to J. C, May 5, 1869.

2 " I had quite an experience during" some months' stay in London
in financial circles there. I encountered first a profound ignorance
on the part of the most intelligent English capitalists in regard
to American enterprises, extending even to the want of the simplest
knowledge of the location of our avenues of trade, either rivers or rail-
ways, and in short the geography of the country. Their losses growing
out of investments in the Grand Trunk Railroad of Canada and the
explosion of the Atlantic and Great Western scheme, added to their utter
inability to judge between a good and bad enterprise in this country, has
led them to avoid all investments except those based upon stock and
bonds of completed roads paying dividends and showing assets that place
the investment far beyond even the chance of loss or accident. After a
short experience in London, I gave up all hope of negotiating the bonds
until the road was built. But my trouble was more than this. I made
a solemn agreement with ' The Financial Association ' of London to the
effect that if our enterprise was half as good as represented they would
take it in charge, raise the money and build the road. They sent over
their own agents and engineers, who spent some six weeks in Minnesota,
made a thorough examination, reported to their principals in London
at great length and in detail the merits of the enterprise, showing that
the road would pay about twenty per cent, on the cost of construction,
and that the lands would much more than build and equip it. But after
all this they declined and even without an apology for not keeping their
agreement." — Banning to J. C.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 105

Iowa, his Sandusky agent, Rice Harper, travelling over
the prairies to select ground which might later be in re-
quest for town sites. Before the war had ended Mr.
Cooke was a land owner in Iowa to the extent of several
thousands of acres. He now sent Harper to Minnesota.
In September, 1866, the agent went into the country ly-
ing along the line of the projected Lake Superior and
Mississippi Railroad, and under the direction of Mr.
Banning large tracts of land were selected and pur-
chased for the account of Mr. Cooke, Mr. Moorhead and
a few other men who were admitted to a share in the
operation. Harper was to buy 64,000 acres of agricul-
tural land scrip at the best market prices, choosing tracts
covered with pine trees which it was anticipated would
yield timber for the saw mills and a valuable product for
the eastern lumber markets. He travelled for days in
the wood, spraining his ankle and "wearing his feet out."
and incidentally obtaining, in addition to the pineries,
several parcels of good farming land near Duluth,
which he said "must become an important point as the
terminus of the road. It may not equal Chicago, but
there must be a large town there within a few years after
the road shall be in operation." He also found slate
quarries so important that he thought they would "sup-
ply the whole of America for all time," and water power
of great value in connection with the railroad, upon
which subjects he duly reported to Jay Cooke. The
rapids and falls in the St. Louis River, near Fond du
Lac, he thought would insure the location there of great
manufacturing centres made up of lumber and flouring
mills and other establishments suggested by the natural
resources of Minnesota.

106 JAY COOKE

In June, 1868, Mr. Cooke himself went to the head
of the lake by boat from Detroit to inspect the lands
which his agents had purchased for him, and to form
his own judgments as to the future prospects of this
richly favored and rapidly developing section. The old
town of Superior in Wisconsin on Superior Bay, where
he made his headquarters, had some three hundred in-
habitants, having at one time before the war boasted a
population of seven or eight hundred. It now presented
a dilapidated appearance, many houses being untenanted.
The place was owned principally by Southerners. John
C. Breckinridge was one of these, and Mr. Cooke was
told that the town had been founded after the repeal of
the Missouri Compromise. A number of men wished to
establish "a new watering place where they could be free
to take their slaves with them," he sa3^s in his Memoirs,
"deserting Saratoga, Newport and other Northern re-
sorts where such an accompaniment as a slave was not
permitted."

Duluth at this time contained but six or seven frame
houses besides a land office and a school. It had no
hotel, but was already a jealous rival of the other towns
at the lake-head. "This place, Bayfield and Duluth,"
wrote Jay Cooke to his brother Henry, from Superior
while on his Northwestern visit, "remind me of San-
dusky, Toledo, Huron, etc., forty years ago, and the
appearance of the towns is ludicrous, zigzag, rude, etc.,
and half filled with Indians."

There being no tugs or other modes of conveyance,
visitors employed the Indians and half-breeds with their
large canoes and paddles to propel them from place to
place. "On my first visit to Duluth," Jay Cooke recalled

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 10T

in his Memoirs, "there were floating islands moving
about the bay, each wind changing their location.
These islands were composed of portions of the shore
that were undermined by the waves and would slough
off and float about the bay until they became fastened
to some of the other shores. I walked on one of these
islands containing about five acres. Short scrub fir
trees were numerous and the soil was of a soft and mossy
substance, one's feet sinking several inches at every
step."

Mr. Cooke returned from his voyage of discovery and
inspection deeply interested in the Lake Superior and
Mississippi road and very hopeful of its future value.
He had by this time taken hold of the affairs of the
company with all the earnestness of his nature. The
Clarks joined him in the outright purchase of a large lot
of Banning's bonds and in the autumn of 1868 Fahne-
stock and Henry Cooke, while in Europe, made diligent
efforts in connection with Isaac Hinckley, who was at
work upon the same project, to place a few millions of
the road's securities with European bankers. They vis-
ited Morgan, Stern, Speyer, the Barings, the Roths-
childs, J. K. Gilliat and Sons and other houses in Lon-
don but received no encouragement for various reasons,
the most important of which was the "apprehension that
Napoleon and Bismarck had not yet settled their ac-
counts, and that a great war must come before affairs
can rest upon a permanent basis." 1

The road had lately been reorganized officially and
Robert H. Lamborn, who was elected secretary and
treasurer, was established in an office at 424 Walnut

1 Fahnestock to J. C, from London, October 3, 1868.

108 JAY COOKE

Street in Philadelphia.1 To sell the securities of the
company Mr. Cooke now resorted to the tactics which
he had found so successful during the war, the wide-
spread advertisement of what he had to offer to the pub-
lic. He asked Sam Wilkeson, who was then in a pub-
lishing house in New York, which sold subscription
works, such as Greeley's "Reminiscences of a Busy Life"
and Beecher's "Life of Christ," if he would like to "in-
crease his income." That man replied, "you bet," 2 and
he at once went out upon a missionary tour among the
newspapers to bring the people to a knowledge of Du-
luth, the timber and slate, the waterfalls and the wheat
lands of the Minnesota wilderness, again being faithfully
assisted by John Russell Young of the New York Tri-
bune. Bonds were once more placed at the disposal of
the newspaper men and attractive prospects were held
out to them to their general gratification.3 Wilkeson
prepared a pamphlet in Mr. Cooke's favorite form of
"Questions and Answers," so convincing that the writer
himself wished "to go to Minnesota right off" which he
thought was a proof that it would "bear fruit." This
work finished, he was sent out to visit the Pennsylvania
bankers, at Reading, Allentown, Bethlehem, Mauch
Chunk and Wilkesbarre, losing flesh at the "Dutch ho-
tels," while persuading moneyed men "to dip into Lake
Superior." Mr. Cooke's methods were again instantly
successful. On one day in the middle of March, 1869,

1 The officers in 1869 were W. L. Banning, President ; Samuel M. Fel-
ton, Vice-President; Robert H. Lamborn, Secretary and Treasurer;
Executive Committee : J. Edgar Thomson, Samuel M. Felton and Isaac
Hinckley. Jay Cooke and Company were represented by William G.
Moorhead, who was a member of the board of directors and a trustee.

- January 29, 1869.

3 Fahnestock's letter to the Philadelphia house, May 22, 1869-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 109

$ i, 000,000 of the loan was disposed of through his vari-
ous houses,1 and on March 22A Henry Cooke wrote to
complain that the entire issue was taken before he had
a chance to scatter more than a few of the bonds among
his customers at Washington. "Whew! what grand
sales," wrote Jay Cooke at the end of the operation.
"We could sell 40 millions just as well as 4 millions."

Mr Cooke now gave renewed attention to real estate
in the Northwest, especially at Duluth. Rice Harper,
who had returned to Sandusky, was again sent out in
April, 1869, and instructed to make more investments in
Minnesota. He proceeded to St. Paul and was there
faced by the problem of going by stage or horse to the
head of the lake. This journey was begun on a
Wednesday morning. Harper did not reach Superior
until the following Monday evening. The stage was
stopped by the deep mud and the passengers were com-
pelled to mount an open wagon in which they rode for
two days in the midst of a storm. At Superior it was a
week before he could cross the bay to Duluth, and then
the boat landed its passengers one mile and a half from
the new town, because of an ice jam. Harper was in-
structed to buy lots in the heart of the future city, where
prices were already jumping,2 land selling now at $600
an acre.

Early in 1869 General George B. Sargent decided to
settle in Duluth. He had recently been a broker in New
York at the head of the firm of Sargent and Fiske (Oli-

1 Wilkeson to J. C, March 17, 1869.

2 " Men are coming every day, some to purchase city lots, some to work
on the railroad, and some mechanics to build the city. Every available
place is filled and new shanties and houses are going up."- — Harper to
J. C. May 5, 1869.

110 JAY COOKE

ver Fiske). He had gone to Iowa in 1836 when there
wrere "not 1,000 white persons in that state and was en-
gaged there for nearly thirty years in the land business."
He was a government surveyor in Illinois and Missouri
and later Surveyor General of Iowa, Wisconsin and
Minnesota. "I give it to you as my firm conviction,"
he wrote to Mr. Cooke on March 1, 1869, "that the ter-
minus of your road on Lake Superior wTill attain a larger
growth in five years than any city in the states above
named in twenty. With this belief I go there to build
up a general land business and with it such banking and
exchange business as will naturally come to it — and to
assist all in my power in every way in building up a city."
He wished to take charge of Mr. Cooke's investments in
Duluth and its vicinity and the result was a contract for
joint account operations which were to cover five years.
He was commended to Mr. Cooke by his New York part-
ners and thus was begun a connection of much bearing
upon the fortunes of the Northern Pacific Railroad and
Jay Cooke and Company. Several houses, a church and
a hotel were shortly got under way, Mr. Cooke sharing
the expense, and plans for making the town go for-
ward were actively prosecuted. In July Sargent said
that no houses had been built since his arrival and the
population was computed to be 1,000. In counting all
their various purchases, Mr. Cooke and Mr. Moorhead
together had become the owners of some 40,000 acres
in and around Duluth.1

In connection with the Lake Superior and Mississippi
Company, Mr. Cooke and his associates organized the
Western Land Association to exploit Duluth and the

XJ. C. to General Max Woodhull, August 22, 1871.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 111

railroad's various town sites and land privileges from
St. Paul to the lake. Thus in various ways did he be-
come pecuniarily interested in the much blessed state of
Minnesota.

Washington was naturally still a centre of much in-
terest, for many favors were required of the government
in the construction of western harbors and railroads
arid the opening of the untrodden empire that stretched
away to the Pacific. Congress had set the example on
the central route — and whether the adopted methods
were good or bad it brought the country visibly nearer
to its ideal, a trunk rail line to the other coast. Similar
enterprises must have similar aid, or as many benefits
as could be obtained else they promised to be little profit-
able to their projectors. There was in Congress a bill
pledging favors, principally land grants amounting in
all to 1,504,000 acres, to a line rivalling the Lake Su-
perior and Mississippi and running from the St. Croix
River to the lake with its water terminus at Bayfield.
It lay east of Banning's line and it was important that
the bill should be put into some one's vest pocket. Much
spirited lobbying was required to accomplish this re-
sult, Wilkeson, Painter and several of the men in Mr.
Cooke's Washington banks managing the operation very
successfully. On April 5th the bill, to use Wilkeson's
graphic language, was "whirled to the Land Committee
by 85 to 41 on a call of the yeas and nays." He said
that his services were worth $500,000 to Banning and
the Lake Superior company but he was willing to settle
the account for $3,000 and departed the capital, leav-
ing the next piece of Washington business, which con-
sisted of an effort to secure an appropriation for the

112 JAY COOKE

harbor of Duluth, to be looked after by Henry Cooke.
Meanwhile those who had in hand the larger scheme
for the construction of a northern railroad to the Pa-
cific, were not idle and Mr. Cooke was being brought
nearer and nearer to the point of allying himself with
this gigantic enterprise. He was in no mood to deter-
mine upon anything rashly or hastily. In April, 1869,
Edwin F. Johnson, the Northern Pacific's Chief Engineer
who had had to do with the construction of the Erie Canal
and who had been studying the route for several years,
sent to Mr. Cooke, at the request of President Smith,
a number of pamphlets, circulars and printed statements
bearing upon the history of the road and the character
of the country through which it was to run.1 Johnson
computed the whole cost of the work at $120,000,000.
The timber for the bridges and sleepers would all come
from the government land near the line of the road.
The rails delivered to the company would cost $95 per
ton, the ballasting $1,390 per mile and so on. The
direct distance from the lake to Seattle was 1,418 miles.
Deducting "the avails of the land grant," the net cost
was set down at $85,000,000. When completed the
road, Johnson said, would be "worth treble to its owners
any other line across the continent." "I have no doubt,"
he continued, "that the northern route will cost more
than the Union Pacific per mile. It will cost more from
causes which will render the road itself more valuable.
These causes are the extent and value of its timber and
arable and grazing lands, from its being better supplied
with running streams and its connection with extensive
navigations, etc. These in conjunction with its advan-

1 April 9, 1869.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 113

tageous position and favorable alignment and freedom
from obstructions from snows will add vastly to its rela-
tive importance and value." *

In May, 1869, Jay Cooke had practically determined
to take hold of this great railroad project, if upon send-
ing a party over the route for inspection their reports
satisfied him that it was a feasible undertaking:. "If
successful," Henry Cooke wrote, "it would be the grand-
est achievement of our lives," and all the arrangements
were made for a thorough reconnaissance of the ground
during the coming summer. General Sherman was ap-
plied to for an escort of cavalry although he advised
Henry Cooke "to be very cautious," since "that part
of the country is almost inaccessible during seven
or eight months of the year, and is barren and worthless,
especially the Dacotah Territory extending over four
hundred miles in width. If we are sure we are right we
can then go ahead." 2 The General also stopped at Jay
Cooke's New York office to talk to Fahnestock who
wrote of the interview: "He is anxious to have you
thoroughly understand the bad as well as the good points
of the route. He says that from Fort Abercrombie at
the Red River of the North to Fort Stevenson on the
Missouri River, about 500 miles, the country is 'as bad
as God ever made or anybody can scare up this side of
Africa.' I write this word that you can see the impor-
tance of having this portion inspected by some parties
upon whose report we can depend." 3 Thomas H. Can-
field, of Vermont, one of the Northern Pacific managers,
who with Henry Cooke made the arrangements in

1 April 14, 1869.

2H. D. C. to J. C, May 21, 1869.

3 Fahn. to J. C, June 19, 1869.

114 JAY COOKE

Washington for the military escort, proposed starting
eastward from Vancouver to Fort Benton, thence by
steamboat to Fort Stevenson, as the route of the road
between these two points lay along the banks of the Mis-
souri River. From Fort Stevenson they would go east-
ward to Lake Superior. If it were preferred there
might be a second party which, starting from the lake,
would meet the east-coming party at some middle point
and this was the plan that with some necessary modi-
fications was finally adopted. Henry Cooke employed
himself also in trying to guarantee postal communica-
tion with the expeditions as they proceeded from post
to post, but found that anything like a regular service
even at widely separated dates was totally out of the
question.

The party which was to start on the Pacific coast and
come eastward was sent on its way over the new Union
Pacific line in June. It comprised W. Milnor Roberts,
who had lately been the government engineer in charge
of the improvements upon the Ohio River ; Mrs. Roberts,
W. E. C. Moorhead, the son of William G. Moorhead;
Sam Wilkeson, lately elected secretary of the Northern
Pacific Railroad Company; Thomas H. Canfield, Wil-
liam S. Johnson, a young engineer, the son of Edwin F.
Johnson, the chief engineer of the Northern Pacific, and
the Rev. Dr. R. Bethell Claxton, an Episcopalian clergy-
man in Philadelphia, who, in common with so many min-
isters, was generously befriended by Jay Cooke. It was
a tour of discovery. They were accompanied as far as
Cheyenne by ex-Secretary Seward and his family and
later met General J. K. Moorhead.1

1 " I have returned from California and was much pleased with my

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 115

F-rom Omaha Dr. Claxton wrote to John W. Sexton
of Jay Cooke's Philadelphia house : "Omaha expects to
be a great city but neither Mr. Moorhead nor myself
have any desire to become permanent residents. It is
a 'right smart' place and some of the horridest squaws
and roughest backwoodsmen that I have ever seen are
'doing up' the town, but it must grow twenty years
older before it will be eligible for anybody that can get
away."

Roberts wrote Mr. Cooke about the engineering of
the Central Pacific, Claxton of the religious condition of
the country through which they passed and particularly
among the Mormons at Salt Lake, while Wilkeson con-
veyed such information as filtered through the mind of a
universal journalistic genius. Thus the church, science
and the plain taste for kaleidoscopic observation were
represented in the party, while young Mr. Moorhead
went along for pleasure and adventure and Canfield and
Johnson to make certain that all the good points of the
route were seen and emphasized. There were some
members of the expedition as Wilkeson remarked, "who
ought to have been left at home" and as he felt much
responsibility for the result he wished to be rid of non-
combatants, wherefore Canfield was made the agent to
drop the clergyman at the proper point, saying that he
could not be returned to his home in time to take up his

trip. California is a great state, one of the wonders of the world. That
the bounties of Providence should be so lavishly shed upon that territory
both in mineral and agricultural wealth is indeed wonderful, but it is
true. I travelled with your Northern Pacific party and from all I could
learn on the Pacific coast I believe that will be the great road from the
day it is opened. The Union Pacific will not be for many years." — Gen-
eral Moorhead to J. C, from Pittsburg, July 27, 1869.

116 JAY COOKE

lectures at a divinity school, while Wilkeson himself
eliminated Mrs. Roberts from a trip "which a woman
could not possibly have made unless she was born and
bred a squaw." Naturally all had their complaints to
send home to Mr. Cooke, especially Claxton and Roberts
who were to suffer by the expurgating- process, and much
blame was meted out to Canfield who had neglected to
provide passes, provisions, guides, arms and most of all
the assurance of a proper military guard, Sherman's
order covering only the eastern part of the line. Rob-
erts under all the circumstances was on the point of turn-
ing back. "I do not suppose," he wrote to Jay Cooke,1
"that I have less than the average courage of men, or
that I have any great personal fear under any circum-
stances, nevertheless I am not disposed to rush foolishly
or inadvisedly into danger." Wilkeson and his young
attache Moorhead, were in favor of going on in spite of
the Indians and all the unknown obstacles of the route.
The dissatisfied were conciliated and once it had left San
Francisco the party was better composed, although Rob-
erts's antipathy to Canfield was again and again re-
ported to Mr. Cooke in "private" letters.2

As there was some hope on the part of the Northern
Pacific men that Jay Cooke could be induced to swing a
branch line down the coast into California, Canfield con-
ducted the expedition overland from San Francisco to
Portland. They went much of the way in stage wagons
through wheat and fruit lands, admiring the soil, the cli-
mate and the various products of a favored country. Six

1 June 22d from Salt Lake City.

2 To J. C. from Camp No. 5, July 26, 1869. See also Roberts to Moor-
head, from Helena, August 24, 1869.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 117

hundred miles of the journey from the Feather River
northward were covered behind horses. The party came
to Portland in the midst of the Fourth of July ceremo-
nies. They were warmly received by "the best citizens
of Oregon" assembled in the city. George Francis Train
was "the orator of the day." Canfield and Roberts were
assigned to seats on the grand stand. Upon concluding
his speech, Train referred to them and they were both
called out by the crowd. "Had any one told me a month
or so ago when I was in Portland, Maine," wrote Rob-
erts to Mr. Cooke, "that I would be making a speech to
several thousands of people on the Fourth of July in
Portland, Oregon, I would have thought him de-
mented." x

The president of the Oregon Steam Navigation Com-
pany now placed at the disposal of the party one of the
finest steamers of his line for the trip to Puget Sound.
On July 7th they sailed down the Willamette and en-
tered the Columbia River. At Monticello they again
took stages and proceeded to Olympia, the capital of
Washington Territory, a "roughly built" town of about
one thousand inhabitants through forests of monster
trees which amazed them by their height and thickness.
There they again boarded their steamer and sailed into
and around Puget Sound "well called the Mediterranean
of the Northwest." On July 9th, they were entering
the "beautiful and spacious harbor" of Seattle. "Great
interest," Dr. Claxton wrote, "was manifested by the in-
habitants of the town who crowded the wharf to see the
vessel and its passengers, our advent being understood
to have some bearing on the construction of the much de-

1 Letter from Portland, July 6th.

118 JAY COOKE

sired Northern Pacific Railway. Flags were flying and
a salute was fired and Indians, Chinese and white men
all seemed alive to what was deemed the importance of
the occasion. . . . Some prophetic genius, I may
add, has put upon his hotel a large sign entitling his
house 'The Western Terminus.' " l

On the return trip to Portland a portion of the way
was covered in a canoe propelled by Indians, the party
of six being increased by Senator Corbett and George
Francis Train and his secretary. On July 14th they
were ready to leave Portland on their eventful voyage
up the Columbia river, amid the grand scenery, seeing
and remarking upon the Indians who caught salmon
with barbs set on the ends of long poles and strong
scoop nets, afterward drying the meat in the sun for
their winter's sustenance, and all the wonders of the new
country. They travelled in various boats designed for
"climbing" the river. On July 17th they reached Wal-
lula in Washington Territory near the mouth of the
Snake River, and leaving their vessel at this point took a
stage for Walla Walla through a parched and dusty val-
ley. There the men spent several days pursuing their
inquiries as to the resources of the country and receiving
many agreeable attentions from the people of this little
outpost of American civilization. The mayor and the
members of the city council waited upon the travellers
at their hotel and on Saturday night Canfield, Roberts
and Claxton spoke to a meeting which was called to-
gether in the largest hall in the place to tell the people
about the railroad designed to put them on the grand
highway from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

1 Claxton's report to J. C, August 10, 1869.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 119

Canfield, who was greeted with "a perfect storm of
applause," stated the object of the expedition, criticized
Congress for the niggardliness of its grants, as compared
with the great and valuable favors bestowed upon the
central road, and assured the people that the line would
be built in spite of opposition.

Roberts dwelt upon the ease and facility with which
engineers could fix the route and Dr. Claxton followed
with a witty speech that set the audience in a roar.
He had come out to tell Mr. Cooke, "on the word of a
clergyman which ought always to be good," what Walla
Walla and the rest of the Northwest really looked like.
He had come expecting to see icebergs and polar bears
in a land of perpetual snow, he declared amid laughter,
but he would go home in the belief that it was a tropical
paradise.1

At this stage of the journey, Roberts complained of
an attempt to influence his judgments. Canfield wished
him to hurry back a report to Jay Cooke and Company
although he was "resolved not to do anything in a hur-
rah boy's manner. What I write in that connection," he
added, "must stand the test of future criticism and be
carefully true. Mr. Wilkeson intimated to me that my
friends, naming you also, expected me to make a very
favorable report, even going so far as to say I 'must.' " 2

On July 2 ist, the party of six on horseback with some
Walla Walla men in carriages and mounted, accom-
panied by a caravan of pack mules, made a trip twenty
miles northeast to Toucanon Creek up and down moun-
tains whose slopes were rich grazing lands upon which

1 From the Walla Walla, Oregon, Standard of that date.

2 Roberts to J. C. and Co., July 16, 1869.

120 JAY COOKE

"millions of sheep and cattle might be fattened." 1
From this point Claxton started home by way of Idaho
and Utah for a station on the Union Pacific, very re-
luctantly but with a conviction that his leaving it was for
"the good of the expedition."

The other five men pressed on into the heart of the
Rockies. On July 25th they reached Pine Tree Creek
one hundred miles from Walla Walla, longitude 117
and latitude 47.20, and Wilkeson's enthusiasm was
growing all the time in spite of his requests for Jay
Cooke's prayers for his scalp. He had written after
his visit to Puget Sound:

There is nothing on the American continent equal to it. Such
timber — such soil — such orchards — such fish — such climate
— such coal — such harbors — such rivers. . . . And the
whole of it is but the western terminus of our railroad. The
empire of the Pacific Coast is to be enthroned on Puget Sound.
Nothing can prevent this — nothing. . . . There is no end
to the possibilities of wealth here. What can't be got out of the
soil which sustains a growth of sawing firs and cedars 200 feet
high, growing so thickly together as to turn daylight into dusk,
so filled with undergrowth as to make the hunt of the deer a
labor of Hercules? Salmon are not caught here, they are pitch-
forked out of the streams. Jay, we have got the biggest thing
on earth. Our enterprise is an inexhaustible gold mine. There
is no mistake about it.2

"I hear that Sam has found orange groves and
monkeys in his route," wrote John Russell Young to
Jay Cooke,3 and it was to Wilkeson's fervid imagina-
tion as much as to anything else that the line and the

1 " Fifty years hence a crowded population will find ample subsistence
where now all is solitude." — Claxton's Report to J. C.

2 To J. C, July nth.

3 July 28th.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 121

zone of country through which it passed was soon de-
risively denominated "Jay Cooke's banana belt."
At Pine Tree Creek he wrote :

Never before have I seen, read of or heard of mountains of
grass, yet here they are. Bunch grass is a combination in fodder
form of timothy and oats. The sun cures it on the ground. What
herds our road will fill the country with ! Plough up this grass
land and sow it to Milwaukee Club wheat. You are dead sure
of 40, 50, 56 bushels of wheat way up to the tops [of the moun-
tains]. . . . We are in a natural grass country 400 miles
long north and south and 150 miles east and west. This domain
is the chained slave of the North Pacific Road. It has got to
work for it.

Gravel was scooped up in a bread pan from the bottom
of Snake River and Jay Cooke's commissioners could
see the gold glistening in it "with the naked eye." *

On July 28th the expedition arrived at Lake Pend
d'Oreille, some seventy miles from the British boundary
in the midst of a "vast wilderness waiting like a rich
heiress to be appropriated and enjoyed," Wilkeson
wrote to Mr. Cooke. Pend d'Oreille, thirty-five miles
long and from eight to eleven miles wide was the "Lake
George of the North Pacific Road." It was filled with
salmon and speckled trout, seen swimming below
through the clear water. Bears, elk, deer and all the
fur-bearing animals of the "Hudson Bay Company
hunt" came to the brink to drink.

The citizens of Montana greeted the men very warmly,
accompanied them over long distances, "outfitted" them
for crossing the passes, and accorded them every protec-
tion from harm within their means. In August, at
Camp 16 on the Jocko River, they slept for the first

1 S. W. to J. C, July 25th.

in JAY COOKE

time under a tent; indeed it was only the second time
that a canvas had been spread by the party, a proof of
the dryness of the air and its pleasant summer tempera-
ture. From Camp 15 on the Jocko River in Montana
Territory, latitude 47.20 and longitude 1 14.10, W.
Milnor Roberts had written to Mr. Cooke on August
8th : "Hundreds of thousands of cattle may be fattened
on these plains from the bountiful provision of nature,
as cheaply as in any part of the world, not even except
the pampas of the Argentine Confederation."

In Deer Lodge City which they reached on August
1 2th about twenty-four days out from Walla Walla,
travelling on horseback at the rapid rate of twenty-four
miles a day, supported by a good pack train "the evan-
gelists of the rail" received much attention.1 The ex-
pedition crossed the Rocky Mountains by two routes,
through the Mullan Pass which would require tunnel-
ling and the Deer Lodge, the summit of the latter being
reached on a grade "as imperceptible as that of Broad-
way between Canal Street and the St. Nicholas Hotel."
"Not a flake of snow fell in the pass in the last winter,"
said Wilkeson in a letter from Helena on August 19th.

From Camp 21 on August 14th after they had crossed
the Deer Lodge Pass, Mr. Roberts wrote to Jay Cooke :

The Deer Lodge Valley is charming and presents highly
favorable ground for a railroad all the way to the summit, about
forty miles above Deer Lodge City. . . . The approach to
the Deer Lodge Pass on both sides is by a very gentle grade far
more smooth and valley-like than any mountain divide I have
ever seen. In fact, to me it has proved one of the most won-
derful objects that I have ever encountered in my long engineer-
ing experience. No one unacquainted with the fact could by

1 From the Deer Lodge City paper of August 13th.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 123

possibility imagine that he was crossing a mountain of any kind,
much less the great backbone of the American continent. The
approaches are by gentle slopes which are treeless, and carpeted
with the finest bunch grass to the very summit. It is so flat that
it is rather difficult to determine by the eye where precisely it is.
But the most remarkable fact connected with this Divide is that
the miners have cut a ditch across the summit which conveys
the water of Divide Creek from its course on the eastern slope
of the mountain over to the western slope, where they use it in
their mining operations for gold washing. ... I stood
astride of the water passing from the eastern over to the western
side of the Rocky Mountains, diverted from its natural outlet,
the Gulf of Mexico, to flow into the North Pacific Ocean. . . .
I call this grand larceny, stealing water from the Atlantic to
pour it into the Pacific.

And this is not the only striking feature [Mr. Roberts wrote
from Helena on August 17th, continuing his observations].
The approaches of the Divide on both sides are so gradual that
we trotted to the top with perfect ease in our two-horse wagon
containing four persons and our baggage and sleeping blankets.
. . . The Divide is nothing more than a gentle plain cov-
ered with nutritious bunch grass, and usually cattle feed on it
all through the winter without any housing and get fat. . . .
The Mullan Pass is of a different shape from the Deer Lodge
Pass ; it is not so gradual on the Pacific slope and is quite ab-
rupt in its descent on the Atlantic slope.

From Helena the party proceeded to Fort Benton,
named for the indomitable man who figuratively speak-
ing died with the name of the Pacific Railroad upon his
lips. This was a ride of 150 miles. At Fort Shaw Can-
field obtained from the general in command the promise
of seven soldiers with horses and rations, to meet the
party at the crossing of the Dearborn River and pro-
ceed with it to Cadotte's Pass, another possible route
for the railway. Each man had a seven-shooter car-

124 JAY COOKE

bine and a six-shooter pistol. At this point Roberts
found that a tunnel even longer than at the Mullan Pass
would be needed and they then went back to the stage
line, there taking a coach to Helena. The waters of the
Missouri were too low for navigation, and a meeting
with the west-going party in Dakota, or elsewhere, was
therefore impracticable. After a trip to and inspection
of the Bozeman Pass the travellers were ready to re-
turn to civilization. Young Moorhead being invited to
accompany General Sully who in a few days was going
about seventy miles up the valley of the Yellowstone to
establish a new Indian agency was left behind, but the
rest proceeded to Virginia City which they reached on
September 3d, and then south by stage 387 miles until
they intersected the Central Pacific at Corinne. There
they took a train for Omaha. "The whole distance
travelled counting from New York back to New York,"
said Roberts, "will sum up over 9,000 miles by railroad,
steamers, stages, wagons, mules, horseback and canoes,
to say nothing of walking." 1

The Helena Daily Herald truthfully remarked after
interviewing the members of the expedition: 2

The result of this extended reconnaissance, aided by informa-
tion systematically obtained from the most intelligent men on
the route, has been to confirm the gentlemen of the party in
their faith that the region they have examined is exceedingly
favorable to the construction of a line of railroad, that its cli-
mate is exceptionally and wonderfully favorable to uninterrupted
operation of a road in winter, and that the resources of the
region altogether exceed their most sanguine expectations, and
will yield way traffic to every mile of the line. One of the party

tTo J. C, September 6, 1869.
- August 17th, 1869.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 125

expressed his opinion that the road when in full operation will
pay ten per cent, dividends, and that in twenty vears after it
is opened it will in parts require to be double tracked. Where
the road will be located none of these gentlemen know, nor is
it their business to determine. That is for the engineers to de-
cide after an instrumental survey of the country on the shortest
line of travel, the best grades and over the richest soil.

• The westward going party was headed by the presi-
dent of the Northern Pacific company, J. Gregory Smith,
and included Philip W. Holmes who was the specially
detailed representative of Jay Cooke and Company, be-
ing an intelligent and trusted employee of their New
York house; A. B. Bayless of New York; Governor
William R. Marshall of Minnesota; several Congress-
men, a Boston newspaper correspondent, and a writer
of books for young people, Charles Carleton Coffin; a
few ministers with their wives, — all taken together a
badly encumbered company for an exploring expedition
in a country chiefly inhabited by the Sioux Indians.
Governor Smith left the East on July 2d and elaborate
and expensive preparations were made for the comfort
of the excursion party. It was fitted out by George
Brackett of Minneapolis. The train consisted of "ten
double wagons and twenty-six splendid horses." There
were four two-seated passenger spring wagons with the
necessary baggage and provision vans, carrying
everything that could be needed by the travellers during
an absence which was to cover sixty or seventy days.
The party was provided with two hospital tents and
eight wall tents with cots, mattresses, carpets and other
camp luxuries. Two cooks accompanied the expedition,
while guns, ammunition, fishing tackle and other equip-
ment calculated to contribute to the convenience and

126 JAY COOKE

pleasure of the journey gave the tourists opportunities
for enjoyment entirely denied to Roberts, Wilkeson
and their companions who were sleeping on the ground
under the blue sky on the other side of the Rockies.1

Smith's party found a railroad completed from St.
Paul about eighty miles up the Mississippi to Sauk
Rapids just above St. Cloud, the outfitting and departure
point for the Red River and the Hudson Bay country
trains, and the government supply caravans bound for
the western posts which dotted the Indian lands. This
was Becker's St. Paul and Pacific and it was headed for
the western seas by way of the Red River valley through
British territory. The party's first camp was pitched
three miles west of St. Cloud where all the tents were
blown down in a fierce thunder storm and men and
women were drenched to the skin. Their first Sunday
was spent at "Camp Jay Cooke" about fifteen miles west
of St. Cloud. They proceeded up the Sauk Valley south-
west for about twenty miles, then northwest about forty
miles to Sauk Centre. They then travelled south of west to
White Bear Lake and the town of Glenwood, amid fer-
tile lands still awaiting the settler's cabin and plow.
From this point the tourists went north, spending several
days among the small Minnesota lakes and on July 19th
were camped on the Red River near Fort Abercrombie,
about fifteen miles north of Breckinridge, a government
post for the oversight of the Indians and a resting place
for the thousands of teams which passed to and from
Pembina, Lake Winnipeg and the Hudson Bay Com-
pany's territory. This expedition had with it, in the
person of Mr. Coffin, the master of a style almost as ex-

1 Minneapolis Tribune.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 127

travagant as Sam Wilkeson's. He wrote for the Boston
Journal under the name of "Carleton." From the camp
near Abercrombie he described the Red River valley:

The eye alone resting upon it can take in the features of this
remarkable region. It is a sea of verdure. We ride now
through tall rank grass and now through a garden bed. Our
horses trample remorselessly on lilies, roses, wild flax, morning-
glories and petunias. . . . The dead level of land reaches
on. and on to the rolling prairies of the upper Missouri. The
Red River and all its tributaries are fringed with timber, and
aside from this line of trees there is absolutely nothing for the
eye to rest upon except the bright carpet which nature has un-
rolled upon the floor of this magnificent palace. . . . Lay
a ruler on your map, draw a line from the Mississippi River at
St. Cloud to Pembina on the Red River close to the boundary
line and you have west of that line a region which to my mind
comes nearer the Garden of Eden than any other portion of the
earth. There are no mountains, but there are undulations, gen-
tle swells, parks, groves, lawns, lakes, ponds, pellucid streams —
a rare combination of beauty and fertility which will make it
in coming years one of the fairest portions of the earth.

The latitude was that of Paris, the climate beatific,
the wheat fields as marvelous as they have since proven
to be. Such land — such vegetation — such rivers and
lakes — dazzled the eyes of all the eastern members of
the party.

Think of it, young men [wrote " Carleton " to the Boston
Journal] ; you who are measuring off tape for young ladies,
shut up in a store through the long and wearisome hours, barely
earning your living. Throw down the yardstick and come out
here if you would be men. Can you hold a plow? Can you
drive a span of horses? Can you bid good-bye to the theatre
and turn your back upon the crowds in the street? Can you
accept for a while the solitude of nature, bear a few hard knocks
for a year or two? Can you lay aside paper collars and kid

128 JAY COOKE

gloves and wear a blue blouse and work with calloused hands?
Can you possess your soul in patience two or three years and
hold on your way with a firm purpose? If you can, there is a
beautiful home for you out here. Prosperity, freedom, inde-
pendence, manhood in its highest sense, peace of mind and all
the comforts and luxuries of life are awaiting you.

So enticing were his descriptions that parties of young
men, it was said, were organizing "all over Massachu-
setts and Vermont" to go to Minnesota.1

At Dakota City on the banks of the Red River where
the travellers were encamped on July 226. — the "city"
containing one house and a population of fourteen per-
sons, a French Canadian named Merchand, his Indian
wife and their twelve half-breed children — the party di-
vided. Governor Smith and several others took a na-
tive guide and returned, making a circuit through the
Otter Tail country to Lake Superior — they "had diffi-
culty in finding language to express their admiration," of
what they saw as they passed along 2 — while a group
headed by Governor Marshall and Holmes continued
westwardly to the "Big Bend" of the Missouri. They
left the Red River on July 22d with an escort of nine-
teen soldiers, commanded by Lieutenant Kelton and
four Indian scouts mounted on Indian ponies, who went
ahead through the high grass scouring the prairies for
savages. They penetrated the Sioux country among
the buffalo into the land against which Mr. Cooke had
been warned by General Sherman, returning safely at
the end of the summer with no accounts but those that
were calculated to strengthen the resolution of the great
Philadelphia financier.

1 Geo. C. Thomas to J. C, October 4, 1869.

2 Banning to J. C, August 3, J869.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 129

But not alone by the reports of these travellers did Jay
Cooke make himself a master of the history and pros-
pects of the Northern Pacific Railroad enterprise.
Henry Cooke supplied him with all the charts and re-
ports of the coast survey and other government bu-
reaus, descriptive of the country through which the way
of the road would run. Geological, war office, land
office and other maps soon surrounded Jay Cooke and
his outreaching mind was absorbed in the details of
this great undertaking. He read Lewis and Clark,
Stevens who had made the early government surveys
and the works of the old French explorers. He exhausted
the book stores for written accounts of the land to which
his interest carried him. He applied to John J. Cisco
for exact information concerning the cost of the Union
Pacific Railroad. He asked his Washington men to give
him a history of the legislation bearing upon the con-
struction of the road and the nature of the lobby which
supported Thaddeus Stevens who introduced the orig-
inal bill in the House on May 23, 1864, which passed it
on July 1st of that year, and at later sessions modified
and extended the conditions of the grant. Mr. Cooke
was also in receipt of advice from all descriptions of
men regarding the line of the road, very many acting
from motives which were far from disinterested. They
wished the rails to cross their lands, serve their pros-
pective towns and in various ways minister to their
private gain.

Mr. Cooke's name was now linked with the Northern
Pacific Road in all the newspapers. Men who wished
to telegraph, run locomotives, dredge harbors, build
bridges, sell iron, populate wildernesses with emigrants

130 JAY COOKE

from the lap of plenty in Europe and start newspapers
to advocate his interests in the Northwest besieged him.

Chief Justice Chase wrote on August 24, 1869: "I
should like to be in the Board of Directors as to which
I suppose there will be no difficulty, and am half tempted
to offer myself as a candidate for the Presidency. I
think I would make a good President and my anteced-
dents and reputation would justify a good salary. It
would take me out of public official position which don't
pay except in slander and misrepresentation." l

Jay Cooke's name again spelled fortune and if he could
but be induced to say the word, Minnesota and the great
zone lying west of it would at once blossom as the rose.

Meanwhile the Lake Superior and Mississippi road,
with whose fortunes he was already definitely identi-
fied, was the subject of much public interest. The con-
tractors were steadily progressing with the railhead
both north from St. Paul and south from the lake and it
was announced by Jay Cooke and Company in a circular
to their customers on August 2, 1869, that fifty miles,
or about one-third of the line, were then completed and
ready for the running of trains. The iron for the en-
tire road had been purchased and was being delivered.
Nearly 2,000 laborers were at work and it was expected
that passengers and freight could be carried from the
capital of Minnesota to Lake Superior early in the year
1870. In October the date of completion was set for-

1 Regarding this suggestion by Mr. Chase, Wm. G. Moorhead wrote to
Jay Cooke : " I think the Chief Justice had far better retain his position
at the head of the judiciary. He would find it much more difficult to
manage a railroad than to distinguish himself where he is. I think Mr.
McCulloch would make a first-rate business man in connection with that
road as trustee, president, or at the head of the land office."

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 131

ward to the summer of 1870 * because of the unfavorable
weather and the difficulty of procuring suitable work-
men, especially on the section of the road nearest the
lake.

Jay Cooke was using all his agencies to favor and for-
ward the enterprise. When he had once committed him-
self to a project his approval was unqualified and his zeal
knew no alloy of any kind. He went about a thing,
to use a favorite phrase of his, "man fashion." He
told Chief Justice Chase that "nothing could be bet-
ter" than the Lake Superior gold-bearing sevens,2
and he was striving with all the might of his na-
ture to make the investment doubly safe for those
who accepted his invitation to embark in it. English
colonizing agents were employed to place settlers upon
the lands adjoining the road, a combination of Ameri-'
can railway companies being formed to furnish cheap
and direct passage for European immigrants arriving
at the Atlantic seaboard.3

In the summer of 1869, while the Northern Pacific
parties were in the field a large company of persons,
principally Philadelphians, were taken to St. Paul and
over the route of the road as far as it was finished. In-
cluded in the number were S. M. Felton, the Vice-Pres-
ident of the company, Isaac Hinckley, J. Hinckley Clark,
George Burnham, Robert H. Lamborn, George C.
Thomas, Walter Hinchman, J. D. Winsor, Dr. S. Weir
Mitchell, Dr. Pancoast, Edward Hoopes, N. B. Browne,

1 Lamborn to J. C, October 17, 1869.

2 Chase to J. C, August 24, 1869.

3 Circulars of Gilead A. Smith of London, November 27th and De-
cember 11, 1869.

132 JAY COOKE

all of Philadelphia; Pitt Cooke of New York, S. L.
Thurlow of Wilkesbarre, J. T. Trowbridge the author,
and a number of others, many of the gentlemen being
accompanied by their wives and daughters. The guests
were met at St. Paul by President Banning and were
shown many polite attentions. On August 12th they
boarded a train and went up the road fifty-two miles to
Rush City, which consisted of an unfinished railway
station in a clearing in the forest, where they dismounted
to find awaiting them "a caravan of eleven coaches and
wagons." The thirty-five originally composing the
party had their number increased to fifty by accessions
at St. Paul, and they now plunged into the woods in
which they were hidden from the world for three days.
"Plow shall I describe to you our experiences," wrote
one of the travellers. "It was the roughest, pleasantest,
most agreeable, most terrible, muddiest and most miser-
ably romantic journey on the whole which any of us
had ever undertaken. . . . Now a horse was down,
now a king bolt broke, then some part of the harness
gave way. Often a wagon stuck in a hole and had to
be lifted out by strong hands at the wheels and a driver
at a sudden jolt left his seat and, describing a complete
summersault forward, alighted on his back in the mud
face towards Heaven and pipe in mouth still industri-
ously smoking. . . . The road beat, I verily believe,
in utter unmitigated badness all the bad roads not alto-
gether unpassable since the deluge." *

The party slept in tents which they carried with them
and in the canvas covered wagons, as might be preferred,
Arriving at Fond du Lac the tourists with their ladies

1 Duluth correspondence Philadelphia Inquirer, August 16, 1869.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 133

were conveyed down the St. Louis River in two small
steamers brought up by a committee of citizens headed
by General Sargent and Luke Marvin to "the wonderful
new city of Duluth." They were entertained at the
houses of leading residents, one of whom tendered them
a "hop" with music by "colored citizens from St. Paul
and Minneapolis," but not daring the return trip by
stage the party went home by boat by way of Marquette
and Green Bay.1

Amid all the engagements which pressed upon him by
reason of his interest in the development of the North-
west, Mr. Cooke still gave a care to government fund-
ing operations under the new Secretary of the Treasury
Boutwell. He was also still concerned regarding the
question of a return to specie payments. Before Bout-
well was yet installed in office there were a number of
spiteful parting flings at McCulloch and Cooke. Con-
gress revived the proposition to prohibit "secret" sales
and purchases of bonds and gold coin, which had been
approved in one house as a result of Logan's virulent
campaign at the last session. Henry Cooke at first
thought that the attacks were instigated by a conviction
that Jay Cooke was to be the next Secretary of the
Treasury. His foes, whoever they were, wished to dis-
credit him and failing in this to tie his hands upon com-
ing into control of the Department. In vain did he seek
to trace the enmity to its source. He regarded the at-
tacks as "outrageous and ungrateful." 2 Petitions were
presented in Congress asking that the power of the Sec-
retary should be restricted and unfriendly newspapers

1 From the Duluth Minnesotan.

- H. D. C. to J. C, January 25, 1869.

134 JAY COOKE

joined in piping a tune that the crowd could dance to
gaily. At one time Henry Cooke laid the blame at the
door of "the soreheads of Wall Street," and again the
hostile Drexel interests were loaded with the responsi-
bility because of the Philadelphia Ledger's unremitting
criticism. In its issue of February 17, 1869, the Ledger
speaking of Senator Conkling's bill to prohibit "secret
sales" remarked:

Indeed it may be said that no other measure is supported
with so near the approach to unanimity among solid business
men, there being no opposition to it except so far as it may
come from those who do not look to the public interest, but to
their own private advantage in maintaining the existing system
which gives them a monopoly of the mischievous manipulation
of the public funds.

Reading this article and having no social relations
with Mr. Childs Mr. Cooke at once sat down and wrote
to Anthony J. Drexel as follows:

Dear Toney:

Do you think if I should start a newspaper, or rather own
one, I would permit its editors and conductors to persistently
and constantly misrepresent and injure the position of a neigh-
bor and life-long friend?

The enclosed article is but one of a series of wicked and ma-
licious misrepresentations of facts, and I cannot think it true, as
some think, that they are instigated by my old friends, Drexel
and Company. As ever, yours sincerely,

Jay Cooke.

To this communication A. J. Drexel replied immedi-
ately (February 17th) :

Dear Jay:

I have just received yours of to-day's date. . . . Now I
want you to understand that, although we have an interest in the

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 135

Ledger, I entirely deny that I, or any of Drexel and Company,
ever interfere or influence the course of that paper in any way,
and so you can always assume that anything you see in that pa-
per is not, as you do us the justice to think, instigated by Drexel
and Company or by any member of the firm. Have you ever
seen anything in the Ledger in favor of any bonds we sell or
in our favor in any way? I took that ground from the day we
became interested in the paper, and will always stick to it, and I
have quite enough to do in my own business. As to the article
in question ... I can't see any attack on you in any way.
. . . The article simply attacks the system of secret sales,
which 99 per cent, of the business men of the country condemn
and in which I fully concur. ... I will make it my busi-
ness to see Mr. McKean on the subject, and in the meantime let
me assure you that there is not the slightest disposition on the
part of the Ledger to misrepresent facts or to allude to you in
any way, etc., etc.

Very sincerely your friend,

A. J. Drexel.

The next day William V. McKean wrote to Mr. Cooke
to corroborate Mr. Drexel's own statement and to say
that the latter did "not in any way control or interfere
with the editorial direction of the paper, but studiously
abstains from such interference, and as to the particular
article you refer to neither Mr. Drexel, nor any other
person except the editors and printers of the paper knew
anything about it until it appeared in print."

These denials, all things considered, were not very
convincing to Mr. Cooke, since Mr. Drexel had declared
in the most positive way that he agreed with the policy
of the Ledger, expressed surprise to learn that Jay Cooke
and Company were still engaged in this wicked business,
as he must be inferred to be since the bill repealing the
system seemed to be a matter of so much importance to

136 JAY COOKE

him, so that beneath the open expressions of friendship
there is a feeling by him who reads the correspondence
that the relations between the rival houses were not bet-
ter than at a previous day. The impression was not im-
proved when the Ledger in its money article the next day
spoke of the opponents of the "secret sales" bill as the
"stock jobbing ring of gamblers in gold and bonds who
have little regard for government credit and indeed for
anything except their own personal profit." Mr. Cooke's
friends of the Philadelphia Inquirer, responded in that
paper, defending the system of "secret sales:"

The bill [Conkling's] principally represents the jealousies of
brokers and bankers who have never been employed by the
government in its financial operations and who resent at once
the injury of neglect and the loss of coveted profits. ... If
there are advantages in announced sales of gold and bonds to
meet the public requirements they [the President and the Sec-
retary of the Treasury] should be left free to pursue them. If
greater benefits can be obtained by making the sales without
announcement the public interests require that the Secretary
of the Treasury should be able to attain them. He should be
left wholly untrammeled and free to take his choice of the two
financial methods.

John Sherman wrote Jay Cooke that he was opposing
the measure "to fetter the new administration " 1 but he
thought the bill would pass. It did not, but in deference
to public opinion in favor of the overthrow of the whole
system which was a development of the war and could
be maintained no longer Secretary Boutwell began his
administration by openly announcing his programme as
to purchases and sales. Jay Cooke and Company
through their New York house still had a hand in the

1 February 24, 1869.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 137

public operations when Mr. Boutwell authorized them,
always as they declared and many times proved by the
market statistics more costly than secret transactions.
When the Department advertised its intentions openly
beforehand dealers and speculators combined to make the
purchase or sale as advantageous to themselves, and as
disadvantageous to the government as possible.

The management of the Treasury during this period
was not satisfactory to Mr. Cooke. He wrote to Gen-
eral A. B. Nettleton on September 23, 1869, returning to
"the flippant statement so constantly made by the New
York Herald and repeated all over the country" in re-
gard to "Jav Cooke who believes a national debt is a na-
tional blessing," etc., etc., saying again that he never had
said or believed that it would be a blessing unless it were
rightly managed, and he added: "Our national debt
in my view has not been rightly managed and therefore
all this trouble in relation to it."

On July 20, 1869, Mr. Cooke wrote to Secretary Bout-
well very plainly as follows :

Dear Sir:

Since your advent to the Treasury Department there has
been inaugurated many a change in the treatment of na-
tional banks, and none in my humble judgment that creates
more ill feeling and criticism than your refusal to allow these
institutions a reasonable latitude in the exchange of their securi-
ties held for circulation or deposits. Perhaps you are not aware
that this fault is found with your action in this particular. As a
large number of national banks originally organized by our in-
fluence and exertions depend still on us to advise them in business
matters, and frequently desire through our firm to substitute
one kind of national bonds for another, I am at a loss to account
to them 'for a refusal on your part to do that which would both
benefit the banks and the Treasury. Surely a little extra trouble

138 JAY COOKE

upon the part of the officers of the Treasury, or a trifle of ex-
pense in the printing of bonds, or the mere desire of avoiding
changes should not be sufficient to thus disregard the original
and long continued plan and practice of the Treasury. I there-
fore fear that there is some legal objection or impediment in
the way and shall feel under obligations to you if you will in-
form me why (beyond the mere dictum of its officers) the De-
partment will not freely extend the national banks the privilege
in this matter of exchange originally enjoyed by them. I wish
this information that proper steps can be taken on the reassem-
bling of Congress to free the Treasury from any such legal im-
pediments as may now exist, for I cannot doubt that so large
and important an interest as that of the national banks will then
be freed from such unnecessary and injurious restrictions . . .
With great respect, your obedient servant,

Jay Cooke,

Jay Cooke's views upon the question of resumption
had undergone no change and he wished the step to be
taken at the earliest possible day. The practical evils
and disadvantages were great, to say naught of "the dis-
grace of this long maintenance of bankruptcy." He gave
his views in 1869 to General Nettleton who was then the
financial editor of the Chicago Advance and the article
which followed, "Why, When and How to Resume,"
since it was known to reflect the well known financier's
opinions attracted general discussion. It began :

Specie payments necessarily suspended in 1861-62 should
have been resumed as soon after the close of the war as the
government could have funded the bulk of its demand obliga-
tions. Then most of our people were comparatively free from
private debt, the nation was filled with jubilant confidence, the
South was ready to accept the situation, gold fell to 125, and
everybody was expecting the country to reassert her position in
a financial as she had in a military way. . . . The difficul-
ties of resumption have seemingly increased instead of dimin-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 139

ishing. The problem still confronts us, and will still confront
us, until solved in accordance with common sense and sound
principles of finance. Thus far not a single step has been taken
toward resumption by government, banks or people.

The article said that the paper currency was "a false
standard of value." "Every consideration of good faith
and national pride," the writer continued, "require the
prompt inauguration of measures for placing ourselves
among the specie-paying nations of the world." Re-
sumption should take place on the first day of Janu-
ary, 1872, about two years hence, within which time the
proper coin reserves could be accumulated, and the peo-
ple could make all their arrangements for the change of
standards. One hundred millions of the greenbacks
should be retired and to avoid disastrous contraction the
same amount should be added to the national bank circu-
lation. Greenbacks should be always convertible into
coin at the New York Sub-Treasury and bank notes into
coin or greenbacks at the option of the bank issuing
them. The writer (always speaking for Mr. Cooke
whom he had consulted on these points) said that in
his opinion the government could resume with $100,000,-
000 of coin in the Treasury to the accumulation of which
he saw no great obstacle. Let the gold be borrowed in
Europe if it were not forthcoming through the regular
channels.

The details of the plan were worked out with a great
deal of care and the scheme included Mr. Cooke's favor-
ite "sliding scale tariff" by which duties on imports
would be raised as the premium on gold fell, so that the
affairs of the manufacturers should not be deranged.
Nor did the article neglect to insist upon the enactment

140 JAY COOKE

of legislation to fund the debt into bonds bearing a re-
duced rate of interest, a measure for which Mr. Cooke
did not tire of contending amid so many charges that he
was impelled by selfish motives in that he wished to ne-
gotiate the resulting loans, a measure which was now at
last soon to be enacted in some form, if not exactly as
he would have desired. "But in order to fund the debt
with any advantage to ourselves," the article concluded,
"the national credit now so hopefully improved must cul-
minate in resumption ; our bonds must reach par in gold
and the world must be convinced that we intend to pay
our debts honestly in the money of the world."1

This essay was the signal for another exhibition of
public rancor and ignorance. Perhaps John Sherman
expressed a truth when he wrote to Nettleton : "I like
your object — specie payments — but the real difficulty is
that the great body of the people don't want specie pay-
ments." 2 E. G. Spaulding, "the father of the green-
back," wrote to Jay Cooke from Buffalo on September
1 6th:

It [the article] contains many valuable suggestions, but I
have no very strong faith in the action of Congress favorable
to resumption, for the reason that the speculative and debtor
class, a probable majority of the people, do not want resump-
tion. They prefer a cheap currency and the present low stand-
ard for carrying on their trading operations. I have very
distinct views on this subject, but so long as the present feeling
exists among the people and in Congress I fear resumption is
a long way off, unless the Supreme Court abrogates the legal
tender clause.

1 Chicago Advance, September 2, 1869.

2 Nettleton to J. G, September 4, 1869.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 141

The real essence of the financial wisdom of that class
of the people to which Sherman and Spaulding referred
was tasted in the letters, several of them anonymous,
which now came to Jay Cooke. "Your letter that was
in the press about recommending to Congress to resume
specie payments in 1871," said one of these wise men, "is.
I think, a great mistake, and would do great injury to
the country. When the time comes that the country is
able to resume it will be time enough and to attempt
even to talk about it before the time will do great harm.
. . . To talk or think about bringing specie payments
before at least ten years would be a sin against high
heaven. Now, if you are a true lover of the liberty of
the country and a friend of the poor and business man,
you would pray to Congress to give the people more
money," etc., etc., etc.

The existence of two standards of value, gold and
paper, was rapidly leading the country to a most serious
crisis which culminated on Friday, September 24, 1869.
Since the abolition of the system of "secret sales" which
Jay Cooke and Company had sought to maintain as a
feature of the policy of the Treasury Department, the
Secretary announced his movements in advance. The
sales as a rule were regular in volume. Observers of
the market knew perfectly well that it was being manipu-
lated by a clique in New York city who congregated in
the Gold Room, as they had done during the war when
they were not inaptly dubbed "General Lee's left wing
in Wall Street." It was not difficult for the knowing to
guess, as the premium on gold rose in 1869, that the
movement was directed by Jay Gould and James Fisk,

142 JAY COOKE

Jr., the latter being a New England peddler who, con-
ducting his business like a circus manager with brightly
painted wagons and richly harnessed and sleek horses,
came into Wall Street late in the war, living in barbaric
gorgeousness.

Gould and Fisk had leaped into control of the Erie
Railroad and in 1869 made large purchases of gold at
130 to 135. They nicely calculated just what policy Sec-
retary Boutwell would pursue regarding his sales.1 The
price rose above 160 largely because of frightened bear
interests and seems to have passed the mark set for it
by the "conspirators." 2 Boutwell, in response to the re-
quests of Jay Cooke and others for his intervention, had
repeatedly stated that he would not raise his hand to
change the natural course of the market.3 The Phila-
delphia financier made a final statement on the subject
on September 24th, in a letter to his brother Henry :

If I were George S. Boutwell, Secretary of the Treasury, I
would not allow pride, or any fear of " changing of front or
policy " to influence me, but would at once adopt what was
good and wise in McCulloch's policy. The business people of
this land must have stability or we will become a nation of
gamblers. This fluctuation daily in gold, unlike that in stocks
or other things, affects everything else. Boutwell ought to
have an announced policy to this effect — that gold shall not go
above 33 1/3, or 40, or 45, or any other figure to be fixed by
him from time to time. It would not be necessary to get rid

1 Boutwell Sixty Years in Public Affairs, Vol. II, pp. 164 et seq.

2 Investigation into the Causes of the Gold Panic. Report of the Ma-
jority of the Committee on Banking and Currency, March 1, 1870, J. A.
Garfield, Chairman.

3 " Not many days since that gentleman [Boutwell], with a superfluous
parade of purity and superior virtue, as well as genius, declared that he
would not heed the gold gamblers and that what was done in Wall Street
was 'none of his business.'" — New York Herald.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 143

of large lots of gold to accomplish this, but the gamblers would
have some one stationed over them and be told that if they dared
to combine to run up the premium, the government would use
its whole power to prevent it. My theory is that the govern-
ment should long ago have come back to specie payments by
funding and other bills — by doing something practical. Fail-
ing in this it is their duty to keep things steady for the benefit
of the honest interests of the country till it (the government)
forms some plan and actually gets us out of this disgraceful and
damaging position.

On this very day, Friday, September 24th, however,
the premium had risen so high that, upon consultation
with the President, Boutwell sent word to New York as
publicly as possible, ordering his agents to sell $4,000,000
of gold and take in that amount of bonds. There was a
panic instantly, gold falling from 162 to 133 in fif-
teen minutes. Business was suspended indefinitely in
the Gold Rooms in New York and in Philadelphia,
where the indicator (resembling a time board at a race
course) was shrouded in a death's head and cross bones,
while buyers and sellers of this "Black Friday" were
left to agree at their leisure upon a basis of settlement
for their mad transactions.

"I never want to see such a day again," Fahnestock
wrote from New York. It was regarded as "one of the
worst panics in the history of the Street." In Philadel-
phia nothing like it had been seen since the failure of
the Bank of Pennsylvania in 1857. The declines in sev-
eral leading railway stocks in New York were as fol-
lows:

September 1. September 29.

New York Central 205^ 145

Hudson 187^ 128

144 JAY COOKE

Harlem 160 117

Cleveland and Pittsburg 108 82

Chicago and Northwestern 86^4 62

Michigan and Southern 106^ 74 /^

Pacific Mail 8054 55

Mr. Cooke had much advice for Secretary Boutwell
upon this occasion, little of which was taken. It was
stated by "Jim" Fisk in the Congressional investigation
which ensued that Jay Cooke and Company were inter-
ested in the short side of the market. But it was not
seriously argued that they were engaged in gold specula-
tions and no such charge could have been substantiated
by any one. Mr. Cooke's influence through the war and
afterward always lay on the side of a reduction of the
premium upon gold, and he consistently labored in the
public interest to prevent the vacillations that were so
disturbing to regular business pursuits.

An intimate view of Mr. Cooke as the great, sincere,
heart-whole man that he always was, with some insight
into his mind as it was influenced by the political dis-
orders of the time, is gained in the following letter to
George C. Thomas, who was in charge of the Philadel-
phia house during the "Tycoon's" absence in Sandusky.
The letter is as follows :

Sandusky, October 2, 1869.
Dear George:

I telegraphed you on arrival last evening, for Charlie's in-
formation more particularly.

I was glad to get your telegram stating that matters were
doing better. Still I am not at all certain that the worst has
come. These cogs breaking generally upset the machinery and
smash things pretty well, and no one can tell what the end of it
is till it comes. I think, and have thought for months, that, con-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 145

sidering the wicked want of honesty in high places and in all
political circles, that the question of our debt is one which
(most of the other issues having been killed off by the war and
this new one created by it) would be the bone of contention, and
this is the reason why unprincipled men dare to talk of such
dishonest things as " repudiation," " payment in greenbacks,"
etc., etc. Why, my faith in the great majority of Republican
leaders is so weak that I feel sure that if they thought more
votes could be secured by adopting an " out heroding " policy a
la Pendleton, only ahead of his in atrocity, they would do it — so
few are bondholders, so few are honest that the cry of plenty
of greenbacks and easy times may at any moment be seized
on by them. Grant is the power, the glorious honest man in
their path, and were it not for him I should not hold govern-
ments at par as things now stand. If elections in Ohio and
Pennsylvania go Democratic, look out for a tumble. I am not
sure of Ohio, still I think it will go 8,000 or 10,000 for Hayes.
Pennsylvania is very doubtful.

If you can work off our governments at 18 I would let them
slide.

I am almost killed by my first two meals at mother's. Oh,
how nice it was to wake up in old Sandusky this morning.
Show this letter to Charlie and Sexton. Tell Charlie if he has
not yet started to bring little Lollie's doll. It is in Sallie's room
in a bureau drawer. Don't fail. If he has left, have it care-
fully packed and forwarded by express. Tell Robert to be sure
to attend to the Young Men's Christian Association on Wednes-
day night. Also tell Mr. Hughes to preside.

Yours affectionately,

JayC.
10

CHAPTER XV

THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD

As was very clearly foreseen, the first impressions of
Mr. Cooke's principal partner, William G. Moorhead,
were unfavorable to the great railway project. He had
opposed the war loans and he exhibited the white feather
in most emergencies, so that what he thought or advised
was of little consequence to Mr. Cooke, and seldom gave
direction to the course of the firm. Anyhow, his mind
was positively certain to undergo a change after a few
days, especially if it came in the meantime under the in-
toxicating spell of the partner by whom he was carried
along so irresistibly.

Mrs. Moorhead, Mr. Cooke's sister Sarah, had died
after a long and painful illness and he almost at once
married again. He was spending the summer of 1869
abroad, interrupting his honeymoon with visits to the
European bankers, after which he would send home let-
ters rich in advice. His first attentions were bestowed
upon the London branch of the house of Rothschild
which, it was hoped, with its own great wealth and its
influential connections, could be persuaded to assist in
the construction of the railroad.1 Moorhead was not a
very sanguine negotiator, since he said : "I do not be-
lieve we will find a house in Europe (such as we would
be willing to connect with) that will take a joint interest

1 Moorhead to J. C, July 22, 1869.

146

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 147

with us in this enterprise. ... I have thought over
this measure and am clearly of opinion that we ought
not to touch it without first securing the co-operation of
a party quite as strong as we profess to be.1

Jay Cooke was ready for just such cooling douches and
he aimed to warm his partner to the attack. He replied
characteristically, while transmitting a definite proposal
for the Rothschilds:

August 13, 1869.
Dear Wm. G.:

I send herewith a proposition for Rothschilds. You can say
to them that I can put this through without their aid, but it would
not be so profitable to us and would be more labor and take a
longer time, and perhaps not inspire as much confidence.

Dear W. G., this is a big thing. You must not dally about
it, but take off your coat, and if necessary bring the London
Rothschilds over with you. I know I could convince them if
here. You observe I have promised to take five millions if they
will. On this plan I can readily get every dollar of it subscribed
in thirty days (should R. and Company go in), retaining any
portion we might wish to keep and letting the balance go to
those who would willingly pay us a large bonus, enough per-
haps to clear our interest.

I have hundreds of applications. Governor Geary wants $50,-
000 and will pay cash. Governor Chase ditto. The Hardings,
Clarks, Sherman, Senator Cattell and his clique ; Judge Field
and his clique ; and in fact it is as nothing to get our share
made up. I can get thousands to take hold at once. It is
wonderful to see how universal is the feeling in favor of it.
Judge Kelley is just in and wants a chance and will pay his
cash. He is just from Puget's Sound. I have lots of Canadians
writing and calling. I expect some of their high officials to see
me in a few days, having already corresponded with prominent
men. I tell you I am busy night and day about this great mat-

1 July 27, 1869.

148 JAY COOKE

ter, and you must second me. Read this to Cora [the second
Mrs. Moorhead] and she will make you do as I say, old fellow,
for she is as quick as a flash and knows I speak the truth.

I send George Thomas's letter, and a statement of Fisk and
Hatch's, showing how gloriously the Central Pacific is paying
even now in its infancy, and it don't begin to compare with
what we will do on North Pacific.

I expect in a few days an interview with some Chinese mer-
chants of great wealth and power. Have you seen Burlingame?
It would be well to find him, and talk it all up with him. You
can say to Rothschilds that we will take care of Belmont's share
and this present connection, if made, shall include possibly the
funding of our national debt and untold sums — perhaps the
transfer of our government deposits from Barings to Roths-
childs, etc. I write in haste,

Yours affectionately,

Jay Cooke.

"Your proposition will put the matter in a new light.
Wm. G. must not be disheartened or expect to finish the
thing up at one sitting," Fahnestock wrote to Mr. Cooke
on August 17th. "It is a big negotiation and one that
must take time and patient pushing and study. If we
can't get foreign aid, such as this, we can build it as the
Kansas Pacific; but in that case we must take in only-
men who have cash to put up and to spare, who will not
oblige us to carry for them at all. My own impression
is that before this is through you will have to run over
the water for a few weeks. You can, better than any
man I know, influence those old money bags, and make
them understand what America is and what is the ca-
pacity of the West." Again Fahnestock wrote : "Their
[Rothschilds'] acceptance would insure our success and
make it easy, and, moreover, would insure us a life-long
connection with the greatest house in the world, giving

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 149

us a- controlling position in all the large negotiations of-
fering. We can afford to work hard and patiently for
this. I follow up your letter to Wm. G. with one to-day.
setting forth the general business advantages to them
of such a connection here, and giving them an idea of
our present American business without any foreign con-
nection." *

The negotiations in London were tedious, Mr. Moor-
head meantime establishing himself in expensive apart-
ments, as befitted a representative of the first American
banking house while it was seeking an alliance with the
greatest banking house in Europe. He believed that if
young men controlled the firm of Rothschild he might
succeed, but they did not, and the older heads were hard
to reach, and slow to make resolves. "You would be
surprised," he continued in a report to Jay Cooke, "how
little these great bankers know of our country, — less
than you know of China or Japan."

Moorhead carried the pamphlets and reports concern-
ing the Northern Pacific Railroad to the old Baron, who,
with his four sons, considered the proposal at great
length; but on October nth Jay Cooke got. a cablegram
which said that the negotiations had "utterly failed."
"The old gentleman said they never engaged in anything
that required risk or trouble in the management," Moor-
head explained by course of post. "This, he regarded,
involved both. . . . He is determined, and no
power in America or England can change his mind."

Mr. Moorhead had earlier contemplated an appeal to
Barings and other great European banking houses, if

1 August 16, 1869.

150 JAY COOKE

the Rothschild negotiations failed, but he was now en-
tirely discouraged and beyond a little talk with E. D.
Litchfield, who had been successful in marketing in Eu-
rope a few millions of dollars' worth of the bonds of the
St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, nothing more was done by
him in behalf of the enterprise. He not only despaired
on his own account, but was convinced to a certainty
that all attempts by others would fail similarly. He
wrote: "No man or set of men coming from America
can negotiate these bonds at this time in England, Ger-
many or any other part of Europe. This I will guaran-
tee. I state it as my opinion, formed after mature de-
liberation and with all the information on the subject
which my being here could furnish." He wished to
withdraw from the firm on January I, 1870, if Mr.
Cooke persisted in his determination to proceed with the
railroad to the Pacific Ocean, and would have nothing
whatever to do with the enterprise.1

Fahnestock, although earlier apparently in favor of
the project, now expressed his doubts about the wisdom
of the firm's proposed course. The project, he said, was
a "huge one." The securities could not be sold in
America.

Europe is now flooded with bonds offered by every little
Dutch house with whom we should have to compete, unless
backed by a great house whose recommendation would give
them preference. . . . However valuable the lands may be,
people will divide 100 million bonds by 1750 miles and call it
$58,000 per mile, whereas the Union and Central have issued
only $16,000 to $32,000 per mile, and many other roads much
less. ... One thing, remember: the company cannot af-

1 W. G. M. to J. C, October 15, 1869.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 151

ford- to have us decline the negotiation. If you decline it no-
body else will dare to -touch it. It will be killed dead. There-
fore you can make your own terms and time. . . . Our
advices from the Continent are that not only are dozens of new
American railroads offering, but Russia, Turkey and every other
country is projecting new securities. Remember, we must con-
tend with the prejudice existing here and there against the
other Pacific railroads ; the bad odor attaching to the Union
Pacific, whose bonds have sold down from ioo to 85, etc., etc.1

The situation in Europe was not improved by much
unsavory business laid at the doors of various agents of
American railroads, who were offering stocks and bonds
in the European markets. General John C. Fremont,
who was the sponsor for the Southern Pacific, it was
alleged, had himself, or through others, placed upon
sale in Paris securities of the Memphis, El Paso and
Pacific Railroad, claiming a land grant and government
guarantee which had not been secured. Such repre-
sentations led to the appointment of a commissioner,
who came to the United States to make a report upon
the affair to the French Minister of Finances, and to
much advertised proceedings in the courts. After such
experiences conservative houses in Europe were dis-
posed to have nothing to do with American railroads
which were not yet built, and were skeptical indeed of
those whose tracks were really laid, unless they had
beheld them with their own eyes.

Nowhere in his own firm did Jay Cooke find enthusi-
astic support of the Northern Pacific project outside his
brothers Pitt and Henry, for whose advantage, as he
himself said, and as they afterward generously admitted,
the work was in large degree undertaken. Henry

1 To J. C, September 18, 1869.

152 JAY COOKE

Cooke welcomed it as an opportunity to recoup his im-
paired fortunes. The contract with the company would
afford new duties for the Washington house. With or
without Europe the prime consideration was government
aid, — if possible, a money subsidy or a guarantee such as
the first Pacific road had received; if not a wide belt
of public lands. In October Henry Cooke had seen
Speaker Blaine, who said he was confident that material
assistance could be got from Congress, probably $8,000
to $10,000 per mile in United States bonds which should
be issued as the work progressed.1 Blaine urged, how-
ever, that the legislation should be had prior to the sign-
ing of the contract with the company. If it were known
in Congress that Jay Cooke would undertake to build
the road should the government aid him, and only in that
case, the influence would be much more salutary than if
it were noised about that he would build it anyhow.

Jay Cooke proceeded in his own way and in his
own time, without being very greatly influenced
by the favorable or unfavorable advice of his part-
ners, or the importunities of the managers of the
company whom Mr. Moorhead was not far wrong
in regarding as "a lot of speculators." They were
investing little or nothing in the enterprise on their
own accounts, and had not much to lose by its failure.
They had various rights and franchises of value, it is
true, but if Jay Cooke were to decline their proposals
they could take their road to other financiers with little
hope of finding a sponsor for it. They had several
strong names in their group, such as William B. Ogden,
President of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway;

iH. D. C. to J. C, October 16, 27, 29, 1869.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 153

George W. Cass, a nephew of General Lewis Cass,
closely identified with the Pennsylvania system ; J. Edgar
Thomson, President of the Pennsylvania Railroad; Wil-
liam Windom, as a representative of Minnesota, not so
well known then as he afterward became through his
political successes ; William G. Fargo, B. P. Cheney and
several officers of Wells, Fargo and Company ; but these
men were not important factors in the management.
What Mr. Cooke wished for, and upon that did he mainly
rely, was the assurance that the road was feasible as an
engineering problem. Milnor Roberts came on to Phila-
delphia in the autumn of 1869 with his report still in-
complete. He was given a room at "Ogontz," where,
from the copious notes he had taken while on horseback
and in the mountain camps, he finished the paper which
was the guide to Mr. Cooke. The financier had im-
plicit confidence in his engineer and the correctness of
the conclusions of Mr. Roberts's report has never been
questioned by anyone. The general route for the road,
the ease with which it could be built, the value of the
lands through which it should run, the future develop-
ment of the country, were all accurately foreshadowed,
and they corroborated Mr. Cooke's faith, soon to be
pledged to the project unreservedly. In the railroad
connecting Lake Superior with the Mississippi River and
at Duluth he had interests which required connections
with the other ocean, and personal advantage, as well
as public sentiment and scientific judgment, pointed the
way over the Rocky Mountains.

Mr. Roberts, after describing the travels of himself
and *Lie members of his party in a plain and honest way
without the tropes of the promoter, made an estimate of

154 JAY COOKE

cost by an entirely feasible route, nearly two thousand
miles in length — from Lake Superior to the Mississippi,
to the Red River, to the Missouri, up the valley of the
Yellowstone to Bozeman Pass in the Belt Range of
Mountains, over the Deer Lodge Pass of the Rocky
Mountains, by Clark's valley to Lake Pend d'Oreille,
and by way of the Columbia and Cowlitz valleys to
Puget Sound. He believed that the construction of the
line would cost $70,120,000, carefully reckoning the de-
mands of each division, to which he added over $2,000,-
000 for stations and shops along the route, and $3,615,-
000 for rolling stock (including 120 locomotive engines,
210 passenger and baggage cars and 1,500 freight cars).
He also added $2,000,000 for the cost of a branch into
Portland and $7,230,000 for the interest on bonds while
the road was in process of construction, making a total
of $85,277,000, or an average of $42,638 per mile.

"I have purposely made no allowance," he continued,
"for the reduced cost which may be brought about by the
introduction of Chinese labor. It is well known that a
large amount was saved in the construction of the Cen-
tral Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads by the employ-
ment of Chinese. It would be more or less hypothetical
to assume on this account an important reduction of the
amount of the estimate, and I prefer that yourselves and
others should judge it."

The sums, as Mr. Roberts observed, were less than
those of Mr. Johnson, who for twenty years had advo-
cated the construction of a railroad by this route, but
he was not deterred on that account. He said :

In my opinion, an increasing commerce with Asia and with
foreign countries in general with the city or cities at the western

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 155

end of the railroad will have the effect of very rapidly augment-
ing the population of the Pacific slope, not merely or principally
by immigration from Asia, but chiefly by emigration across the
continent — the overflow of the redundant population of the
Atlantic states and of Europe. The peopling of these vast areas
in the Columbia valley, abounding in the elements which will
yield a liberal support to millions of inhabitants, will open up an
entirely new field for the world's industry, thus adding largely
to its general trade and commerce. . . . The Northern Pa-
cific Railroad route is advantageously situated for the early
development of a very extensive area, reaching far into the
British possessions on the north, and presenting a clear field to
the south of millions of acres of land adjacent to it, to be made
a feeder to this line by means of branch roads. The valley of
the Red River, which runs almost due north into Canada, em-
bracing one of the finest wheat regions in the world, will of
itself forever insure to the eastern end of the road a profitable
trade and the construction of a north and south railroad through
the Red River valley, connecting the main trunk with the region
around Lake Winnipeg, will add largely to the business of the
Northern Pacific line.

Mr. Roberts believed that the road could be completed
in three years. "It is safe to assume," said he, "that the
immense landed property of the company as a body in
connection with valuable town sites and water powers,
will ultimately be worth much more than the entire cost
of the railroad." The mountain passes upon this line
being lower than those through which the central road
made its way to the Pacific, there was evidence to show
that the route "in ordinary winters" would be "much
less encumbered with snow." Looking to the future
Mr. Roberts said:

But a few years will be required after the completion of the
Northern Pacific trunk line to secure what may be termed local
trade and travel sufficient to sustain the road irrespective en-

156 JAY COOKE

tirely of any through business. The position across the conti-
nent on the shortest practicable railroad distance between the
Pacific Ocean and the Great Lakes of the Atlantic side points to
this line as one of vast importance in a national point of view,
the value of which to the government cannot easily be overrated.
The facilities it will afford for the rapid and economical distribu-
tion of troops, ammunition and stores for the numerous forts
on the waters of the Missouri and the Yellowstone, and along
the valleys of Clarke's River, Columbia River and on Puget
Sound will constitute an invaluable military arm, and will save
millions annually to the public treasury. . . . The opening
of this road will forever settle the question of white supremacy
over an area of country covering at least 450,000 square miles,
sufficient to make ten states the size of Pennsylvania.

In conclusion, I would state as the result of these explorations
and investigations, after much reflection and fully appreciating
the responsibility devolving upon me as the engineer selected by
you for the duty, that the Northern Pacific Railroad route, with
the land grant secured to the company by the government, pos-
sesses great intrinsic value and will be as a whole a remarkably
favorable line in all important respects ; a line which, if judi-
ciously located, honestly constructed, and properly administered,
will pay within a few years a fair dividend on its cost. I had
apprehensions that personal investigations might disclose mate-
rial, or possibly vital errors in some of the anticipations induced
by former reports. The result, however, has been in the other
direction and I am constrained by the facts to present an esti-
mate of cost essentially lower than those previously submitted by
the able chief engineer, and I offer it confidently as reasonable
and reliable.1

Such" accounts were very well calculated to appeal to
the financier who had patriotism, sentiment and imagi-
nation in that part of his being which in other men is so
often given up to doubt and fear. While the blood ran
cold through the veins of Moorhead and Fahnestock, Jay

1 Roberts's Preliminary Report, dated Philadelphia, September 25, 1869,

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 157

Cooke's always pulsed with warm life. He had hope,
confidence and sympathy. During the summer he had
been buying considerable amounts of the old stock of
the Northern Pacific Company, which was a football of
the "street" at twelve to fifteen cents for the dollar's
worth with a view to putting it out of the way for his
future operations. Finally, in December, 1869, he defi-
nitely declared that he would take the agency for the
sale of the company's bonds, his commissioners having
made the "necessary explorations," and he being "fully
satisfied" with their reports. If the Rothschilds would
deny their aid, other sources of wealth and credit could
be opened in Europe and applied to the advantage of the
great scheme. He could appeal to the American peo-
ple as so often before; at his bidding they would lay
their hoards at his feet. For some months he had been
cogitating a plan for the formation of a "pool" to raise
about $5,000,000 with which to begin the road and carry
the railhead to Red River. When Congress saw that
the work was really begun the government, if the rest
of the world failed him, would come to the assistance
of the road and give him pecuniary assurances which
would prevent defeat.

At the announcement of the financier's determination
to confirm the contract there was great rejoicing among
the directors and officers of the road assembled in New
York. "I flung my hat to the ceiling," wrote Sam Wil-
keson to Jay Cooke on December 226.. "Smith and I
congratulated each other's arms off, nearly, with pro-
tracted and increasingly furious hand-shaking. 'Tis a
great event for your house. 'Tis a blessed event for our
country, For the road completed will bless our country

158 JAY COOKE

beyond the possibility of any other agency. It will popu-
late a wilderness that stretches across the continent. It
will plant civilization in the place of savagery. It will
augment the national wealth beyond the dreams of the
wildest economist."

The agreement was dated January i, 1870, and, turn-
ing to the great skin of parchment, its many sheets be-
ing bound together with ribbons of red, white and blue
silk, we discover the terms upon which Jay Cooke and
Company were to serve as the financial agents of this
railroad. By the preliminary agreement of the 20th day
of May, 1869, which was not to be binding upon the
firm until "they shall make such explorations and such
surveys of the route at the expense of the company as
shall satisfy them that the enterprise is meritorious and
feasible," a number of points were established:

(1) The interests in the company theretofore represented by
twelve shares, used to maintain the organization and protect the
charter, should be increased to eighteen, the additional six being
assigned to Jay Cooke and Company, who would be entitled to
select two members of the board of thirteen directors and two
members of the executive committee.

(2) Of the whole capital stock of $100,000,000, $80,001,000
was to be subscribed for by the holders of the eighteen shares in
equal portions, $124,500 going to each at once, and $54,000
additional to each upon the completion of each twenty-five mile
section of the road. The rest of the stock, $19,999,000, was to
be issued to Jay Cooke and Company as a bonus. Whenever the
firm sold $1,000 worth of the bonds it should receive $200 of
stock.

(3) The company was to issue $100,000,000 of thirty year
bonds, bearing interest in gold at the rate of 7 3/10 per cent.,
which were to be secured by a first mortgage on the railroad and
all its lands and other property, then owned or afterward to be

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 159

acquired. The bonds should be received by the company at all
times in payment for its lands.

(4) Jay Cooke and Company were to be the sole fiscal agents
of the railroad company and the bankers of its funds. No bonds
could be disposed of by the company in any other way or through
any other agency. Balances above $50,000 should draw interest
at a rate not to exceed 5 per cent.

(5) Jav Cooke and Company must advance $500,000 as re-
quired by the railroad for its construction and equipment ac-
count, "or to a greater amount if hereafter agreed upon," re-
ceiving one-half per cent, per month for such use of their credit,
the loan being amply secured by bonds placed on deposit with
the firm.

(6) The bonds were to be sold to Jay Cooke and Company at
$88 per $100.

(7) The amount paid for the six shares which were assigned
to Jay Cooke and Company was to be a credit on the books
of the firm for use in introducing and popularizing the loan.

(8) During the construction of the road no land was to be
sold by the company at less than government prices, $2.50 per
acre. The proceeds of all such sales were to be deposited with
the trustees of the road before granting a conveyance or release.
The moneys so received were to be invested in the first mortgage
bonds of the company whenever these bonds could be pur-
chased at a price not exceeding $110 per $100. There were
other provisions for conserving the interests of the company
in the lands. At no time should the proceeds of land sales be
used to pay the interest on the bonds.

(9) To facilitate the negotiation the fiscal agents, under the
direction of the Executive Committee, might purchase iron,
rolling stock and other material and equipment needed by the
company.

(10) The company's bonds could be used at the rate of 88
per 100 to pay old claims and to retire the outstanding stock,
$600,000, at a rate not exceeding fifty cents on the dollar, barring
20,000 shares originally issued and forfeited for non-payment of
the assessments levied upon it.

160 JAY COOKE

Jay Cooke now supplemented this preliminary agree-
ment with several provisions which made the contract
very much more favorable to him and his firms, as fol-
lows:

(i) The railroad was to be located at once from a point on
Lake Superior near the mouth of the Montreal River in Wis-
consin, westwardly. It should cross the Lake Superior and
Mississippi Railroad at the Dalles on the River St. Louis, in
Minnesota, and proceed to the Red River.

(2) For the present the construction of that portion of the
road east of the Lake Superior and Mississippi line was to be
deferred, and the moneys which were raised should be devoted
solely to work west of that line.

(3) The Duluth and St. Louis River land companies were to
convey to the Northern Pacific company one-half of all the lands
and water powers owned or controlled by them at their original
cost, making a free gift of ground at the junction with the Lake
Superior road and at Duluth for the necessary station houses,
shops, docks, etc.

(4) The eighteen shares into which the whole interest was
divided were increased to twenty-four, of which Jay Cooke and
Company were to receive twelve.

(5) The bonds issued to retire the $600,000 of stock of the
company at fifty cents on the dollar should be issued at par in-
stead of at $88.

(6) A land company was to be organized in connection with
the railroad to own and improve town sites, etc., whose interests
should be divided into twenty-four parts, Jay Cooke and Com-
pany receiving twelve.

(7) Five million dollars were to be raised within thirty days
to enable the company to commence and complete at once its
line to the Red River.

(8) The increase in the number of shares made the $80,001,-
000 divisible as follows : $93,400 to each share immediately and
$40,500 to each upon the completion of each section of twenty-
five miles.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 161

The agreements were signed by Jay Cooke and Com-
pany in Jay Cooke's bold hand and "for the Northern
Pacific Railroad" by J. Gregory Smith, President, and
R. D. Rice, G. W. Cass, A. H. Barney, W. B. Ogden,
J. Edgar Thomson and William G. Fargo, members of
the Executive Committee.

Mr. Cooke was now ready for the task of his life.
Moorhead, after his storm of epistolary opposition,
wrote that he was "quite satisfied" with the plan, as it
was to be modified in the supplementary agreement.1
He would "most cordially co-operate in the enterprise," 2
and as Mr. Cooke's brothers, Fahnestock and the other
partners seemed now to be entirely agreeable to the
firm's identification with the undertaking, every effort
was at once put forth to raise the $5,000,000 with which
to build the line to the Red River. The "pool" which
Mr. Cooke had long meditated and whose success he
carefully assured by provisions in the supplementary
agreement with the company was the child of ingenuity.
It called for total cash subscriptions of $5,600,000, of
which $5,000,000 were to the bonds and $600,000 to
the stock, the whole amount being subdivided into twelve
shares to correspond with Jay Cooke and Company's
twelve "interests" in the company. Each share there-
fore called for $416,666.67 in bonds and $50,000 in stock.
These twelfths were divided and sub-divided to suit the
tastes and means of the various subscribers, involving
very difficult arithmetical computations to those who
were without the pale of Mr. Cooke's inner confidences.

1 W. G. M. to Fahnestock and Pitt Cooke from Paris, December 15,
i860.
2W. G. M, to J. C, December 21st.
11

162 JAY COOKE

In consideration of its early and useful service the "pool"
members were assigned their proportionate interests in
the stock of the company adhering to the twelve shares,
or $40,000,000, to be distributed as the road proceeded
on its way to the Pacific, amounting when the work
should be finished to about $3,400,000 for each one-
twelfth interest.

This great bonus to the members of the "pool" was
supplemented by another. The land company provided
for by Jay Cooke's contract with, the Northern Pacific
company to possess itself of, hold, develop, and specu-
late in lands, town sites and water powers on the line
of the road, called the Lake Superior and Puget Sound
Company, was capitalized at $2,400,000. It also was di-
vided into 24 shares. Twelve of these were allotted to
Jay Cooke and thrown into the "pool" subject to the
call of the company for assessments upon the stock which
were to be made from time to time. Further to com-
plicate matters and with a view to identifying the North-
ern Pacific with Duluth, this company soon took over
2000 shares of the Western Land Association of Min-
nesota at $60 per share and divided the interest into
twenty-four shares, Jay Cooke and Company holding
twelve of these in trust for the "pool." Each subscriber
of three twenty-fifths of a one-twelfth interest in the
"pool," $56,000, a favorite sum, received therefore
$50,000 in Northern Pacific bonds, $6,000 in Northern
Pacific stock, $12,000 in Lake Superior and Puget Sound
Company stock and $600 in the stock of the Western
Land Association, besides the proportionate interest in
the $40,000,000 of stock reserved for future divisions.
The subscribers to the $5,600,000 "pool" pledged them-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 163

selves not to sell their bonds. The installments were
payable in tenths beginning in March, 1870, and continu-
ing once a month for ten months.

It was a simple matter to find the capital for an opera-
tion promising so many rich advantages, and the rapidity
with which the interests were taken argued well for the
future of the great enterprise. Edward, Clarence and
J. Hinckley Clark had been asked in October to join Jay
Cooke and Company in building the Northern Pacific,
and they had earlier led him to suppose that they would
assist. They replied now, however, that they were
deeply involved in the Lake Superior and Mississippi
road and they must make no more investments in that
quarter. If those they had in hand worked out well they
would all be "rich enough" to satisfy their "cravings."

But there were few who refused the invitation to
join in the cutting of this great "melon." It was soon
regarded as a compliment to be asked to subscribe to the
"pool," and no efforts were spared to foster this idea.
The operation in Mr. Cooke's eyes served two very im-
portant purposes, first to secure a large sum of money
for the immediate use of the company, whereby a section
of the road could be completed and the appertaining
lands could be obtained from the government so that he
could offer bonds to the public at the earliest day; and
second to gather about him and closely identify with the
fortunes of the enterprise leading financiers, politicians,
journalists, brokers whom he hoped to use as sub-agents,
and men of many kinds whose influence would lighten
the task of general bond selling at later stages of the
road's progress. He asked his strong financial friends
to go into the thing "man-fashion," taking two-twelfths

164 JAY COOKE

or more on his own account. Thomas A. Scott and
J. Edgar Thomson of the Pennsylvania Railroad took
large interests for themselves and their friends. General
J. Kennedy Moorhead was of the greatest assistance to
Mr. Cooke in and around Pittsburg. He subscribed
largely for himself and brought in William Thaw,
Charles I. Clarke, William McKnight, William Phillips,
Lloyd and Black and many other capitalists. Among
the subscribers were Schuyler Colfax, Vice-President of
the United States ; Baron Gerolt, long the Prussian Min-
ister to this country ; Governor John W. Geary of Penn-
sylvania, General Robert C. Schenck, General H. S.
Sanford, Senator T. J. Robertson of South Carolina;
Hugh McCulloch, General Max Woodhull, Judge Brew-
ster and Judge Paxson of Philadelphia, Dr. S. Weir
Mitchell, F. A. Sawyer and W. S. King. Chief Justice
Chase felt that he would be obliged to decline. "Though
the prospect of future profit is very inviting," said he,
"it is rather too remote for one who does not expect
to live longer than I do. I wish I could be connected in
some way with your magnificent undertaking, but I do
not see how. Perhaps something may occur." * Mr.
Cooke offered to carry the bonds for a time — as he did
for many whose influence he thought would be valuable
to him — until they could be sold at par when the bonuses
would be turned over free of cost. Chase wrote in re-
sponse to this proposal : "I am getting rather too old to
look forward to results of grand undertakings which re-
quire ten years for the ripening of their fruits," but he
accepted the offer "with thanks." He continued, and
ended his letter as follows: "I am fully aware what a

1 Feb. 4, 1870.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 165

busy man you are. You really amaze me by your ac-
tivity, energy and achievement." * He thought that if
Mr. Cooke's expectations in regard to the Northern Pa-
cific were only "half realized," his "wish for means to
buy a suitable house would then be fulfilled." 2 The
Chief Justice visited Duluth in the summer of 1870,
when he wrote to Mr. Cooke : "Hurrah for the North-
ern Pacific! I wish I was able to take four times as
much as has been assigned to me. This is your greatest
work. The world will be astonished by it." 3

Governor Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, if he were
not in the "pool," had the opportunity to invest in lands
at Duluth. Wilkeson employed himself in New York in
an attempt to place the names of Henry Ward Beecher
and Horace Greeley upon the subscription list, with some
pleasing concessions to them as to the time and manner
of paying their installments. Beecher was to have
$15,000 and Greeley $20,000, both being reckoned first
rate powers in influencing the public mind to favor the
new railroad.4 Beecher's aid included the use of the
Christian Union newspaper to which Wilkeson con-
tributed a series of articles highly eulogistic of the
Northwest. John W. Forney was given $4,666.66 for
the support of the Philadelphia Press and the Washing-
ton Chronicle. General Horace Porter, President
Grant's private secretary, accepted a similar offer "with
alacrity." 5

1 March 26, 1870.

2 Chase to J. G, August 24, 1869.

3 July 1st [?] 1870.

4 Wilkeson to J. G, January 31, 1870, and Fahnestock to J. C, January
25, 1870. At Greeley's death his interest was $10,000.

5H. D. C. to J. G, March 31, 1870.

166 JAY COOKE

In short there was a real scramble for shares on all
sides, and much juggling of them was required for sev-
eral months to come in order to satisfy those whom it
was believed could, if they were properly "sweetened"
materially aid the enterprise. Shares larger or smaller,
in this "ground floor" pool interest were the prizes for
which American and foreign sub-agents, newspaper
writers and politicians actively contended. The roll of
names from end to end was one of great distinction al-
though pretty barren of leading New York capitalists.

On January 24th, Jay Cooke telegraphed Governor
Smith at St. Albans that the entire $5,600,000 were sub-
scribed. He and Judge Rice had asked for one
million for themselves and their friends and now pro-
fessed much disappointment. Jay Cooke told them that
they were "too slow." There was to be no stopping for
laggards in this operation. Late comers were advised
that they could be accommodated only at a premium, the
price of pool interests being run up to no although Mr.
Cooke always had small shares (taken from his large
reserve portion or secured by repurchase) which he
could make over to those whose favor he particularly
wished to secure.

The structural work in the field was pushed with like
promptitude and the money, as it came in from the
"pool" subscribers, was immediately invested in Min-
nesota. On January 21, 1870, Governor Smith wrote
that several parties of engineers were making the neces-
sary locating surveys around the Dalles to determine
upon a suitable point for intersection with the Lake
Superior and Mississippi Railroad. They were then
directed to turn their faces to the west and find the best

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 167

route" to the Red River. It was thought that the actual
work of construction might be put into the hands of
contractors on February 15th.1 "Everything possible is
being done to get the work started by the time you de-
sire," Smith wrote to Mr. Cooke. It was designed that
the engineers should be accompanied by land prospectors.
William Windom, the Minnesota member of the Ex-
ecutive Committee, wrote to Mr. Cooke on February 1,
1870:

"The snow is too deep in the woods to make a
thorough exploration of the country on each side of our
line as contemplated by yourself and Governor Smith,
but I have employed a few men who are accustomed to
travelling on snow shoes to accompany the engineers."

General Ira Spaulding was appointed Chief Engineer
in Minnesota and on February 15th, true to the promise,
a telegram came from him from the Dalles of the St.
Louis River : "Ground broke on Northern Pacific Rail-
road to-day. One hundred men at work. Hurrah for
the great enterprise ! I have six parties of engineers in
the field. Shall push the work vigorously." There was
"great rejoicing" in Duluth which now felt herself sure
of the prize — the eastern terminus of the trunk line —
though there were other towns still to contest her claims
to the coveted distinction, and the public was left in the
dark as to the company's eventual purposes. A wheel-
barrow, a pick, and a spade used in moving the first
earth were forwarded to Mr. Cooke to advertise the
loan. "It is wonderful the amount of work you have
done, and the results accomplished," wrote William G.
Moorhead from Rome on March 19, 1870. "I admit

1 Smith to J. C, January 21, 1870.

168 JAY COOKE

that you have effected more than any other person could
in this N. P. enterprise, and the foundation has been
laid for the ultimate consummation of the grand scheme.
I know you have worked day and night with a zeal and
confidence peculiar to yourself. Much remains before
the final opening of the road to Puget Sound, but the
same untiring efforts, with the ability thus far applied,
will send the whistle of the locomotive to the Pacific
shore."

Mr. Cooke's activity at this time was truly cause for
the amazement of all persons. "I believe in it as I be-
lieve in God," Sam Wilkeson told a prospective investor
in Northern Pacifies in New York City, and while Mr.
Cooke's language was never marred by such irreverence,
barring these scruples, his faith might have been truth-
fully expressed in similar terms. In addition to his in-
terest in the Northern Pacific and Lake Superior and
Mississippi Railroads — obligations which were daily
growing — he contracted to sell a loan for the Iowa Cen-
tral Railroad and formed a party, comprising the Clarks,
Drexel, Borie, Welsh, Newbold and other Philadelphia
bankers, to take and distribute $2,000,000 of Pennsyl-
vania Railroad general mortgage bonds.1

It was very fully expected, as well as devoutly desired,
that Congress would give the Northern Pacific a direct
money subsidy ($1,250,000 "quarterly" beyond the Red
River) or would guarantee its bonds, as it had favored
the central line. The reasons for government aid were
grouped under eight heads in a memorandum in Mr.
Cooke's own handwriting, which is preserved among his
literary effects. He argued that the government had a

1 Contract dated March 18, 1870.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 169

duty to perform in reference to the West and Northwest,
and upon the slopes of the Pacific. The building and
completion of the line would invite and encourage immi-
gration and the colonization of a country now an unpop-
ulated waste. It would help to solve the Indian ques-
tion and promote civilization generally. It would afford
means for the transportation of soldiers and supplies to
the forts and the government posts on the frontier, and
of propitiatory gifts to the northwestern tribes. The
government land as represented by the odd numbered
sections was now, and would be forever, valueless with-
out the railroad. The construction of such a line
would encourage and cause an increase in the production
of gold, silver and other minerals, a matter of public
concern. The revenues of the government would be in-
creased, thus bringing back all it should invest in aid of
this great public improvement.

Regarding the Indian question Mr. Cooke was en-
lightened in some degree by General Winfield S. Han-
cock, although his opinion as to the value of the railroad
to the government as a line of communication with the
northwestern forts was not materially altered by the
correspondence. The General was stationed in the
Indian country, had fully explored the Yellowstone val-
ley, and rendered a report to the Secretary of War
which had its bearing upon the railway problem. Jay
Cooke wrote to Hancock for his views as to the value
of the route to the government, and in the course of his
reply he said:

In regard to Indian expenditures it is not seen that the con-
struction of a railway into their country upon the line proposed
will in any way tend immediately to diminish them ; it will most

170 JAY COOKE

probably provoke their hostility, especially that of the Sioux,
and lead to a war ending in their possible destruction. This
war in the nature of things will occur before your road is in a
condition to carry our supplies to any great extent unless large
subsidies be paid them to purchase peace. Our experience here-
tofore has not been favorable to this course. The Missouri
River furnishes us at present, as the military posts are situated,
a cheaper mode of transportation than any other, if we are to
take the Union Pacific Railroad as a criterion. The ultimate
effects of any railway penetrating our unsettled territories will
be to expedite settlements and the removal of the military and
of the Indians, but it would be very unsafe to predict in this case
that these things, so far as the Sioux are concerned, can be done
without any increase of the present expenditures. In saying
this much I do not wish to be understood as in any way under-
rating the immense advantages to the country, and to the North-
west especially, of another line of railway communication be-
tween the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific, for it is almost
impossible to estimate them. In regard to the amount of ex-
penditures made to the Indians north of the Union Pacific I
have no data upon which to give an opinion ; this information
however can readily be obtained, I presume, from the Indian
Bureau. Should work on the proposed route be prosecuted I
need not say to you that it will receive the assistance from the
military which you might expect from those taking a great
interest in such a work. It will be our duty as well as our
pleasure to give all the assistance possible.1

The Washington of that day from which must come
the legislation needed by this railroad contained a hun-
gry lobby. Statesmanlike arguments were naught to
many of the men who at that time sat in the Senate and
House of Representatives of the United States. They
had long been indulged in the thought that there was
much to be had from railway companies which asked for
guaranteed bonds and land grants, and a bitter factional

1 Hancock to Jay Cooke, January n, 1870.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 171

contest, largely conducted behind the scenes, was begun
between the advocates of the railroad and those who op-
posed it, made up largely of narrow-minded partisans
of the Union and Central Pacific Railroads, the Califor-
nians who favored San Francisco as against a possible
rival metropolis on the shores of Puget Sound, and the
Chicagoans who saw in Duluth a competitor likely to
endanger their position of primacy, by no means so se-
cure as it has since become. Furthermore the rivalries
of Wisconsin and Minnesota, the first ambitious that the
new terminal city should be situated on the site of the
old town of Superior, and the other the advocate of
Duluth, set the northwestern people themselves at cross
purposes and the outlook was by no means fair or en-
gaging to lovers of the higher statesmanship. Indeed,
there could be no serene waiting upon the nation's law
makers for favor or even justice in such a state of public
commotion, and there was no thought of avoiding the
issue in Washington. Many attempts had been made
to involve Mr. Cooke in the various Southern Pacific
lines. In the autumn of 1869 James G. Blaine spoke
for the Little Rock and Fort Smith road, running 150
miles through Arkansas, with mythical transcontinental
connections. This is the railroad concerning which he
made such vehement denials in the House of Represent-
atives, calling upon God as his witness in 1876, when
he was a leading candidate for the Republican nomina-
tion for the Presidency. The company had a land grant
of 1,600,000 acres, said Mr. Blaine, and he offered Mr.
Cooke bonds and preferred and common stock represent-
ing a face value of $221,000 for $85,000. "The enter-
prise is a magnificent one of itself and it will lead to a

172 JAY COOKE

gigantic scheme beyond," he urged with a promoter's
enthusiasm. "The construction of this road will lead
to a profit of many millions and your coming in now will
give you a large share if you desire it."

In a "strictly private" letter from Augusta Mr. Blaine
wrote almost hysterically on November 10, 1869:

Do let me impress upon you with iteration and reiteration that
what I now offer to place in your hands on such liberal and
advantageous terms is the key to the entire Southern Pacific
Railroad, the control of which will give you the sale of bonds
amounting to fifty or seventy-five millions of dollars. If this
opportunity is neglected by you it is impossible to foresee, much
less control, the mutations and combinations that may arise at
once in other directions. Bonaparte, you remember, lost his
great and final battle by carelessly neglecting to secure the ad-
vanced position of Quatre Bras. What I now offer you is the
Ouatre Bras of the southern continental railroad. That secured
the field of Waterloo is yours — yours without a struggle. That
neglected the enemy may carry off the prize. Your house can
be, and ought to be, the leading railroad power in the world and
the sceptre is within your grasp. The field which I thus open to
you is second only, if indeed second, to that great northern
enterprise which you are so carefully considering. By control-
ling both you double the profits of each and you prevent the col-
lisions and strifes which injudicious rivalry would surely engen-
der. And to have the control of two continental lines of railway
is an object, allow me to say, worthy of the highest ambition of
any man.

And now in conclusion a few words personal and special. In
the great enterprises which lie before you I may say without
egotism that my position will enable me to render you services of
vital importance and value, — services from which I cannot derive
or accept profit or gain to myself. I am willing, however, and
ready to do all for you in my power at any time you may desire.
. . . I am willing to serve you where I am absolutelv debarred
from any participation in profits. Are you not willing to aid me

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 173

where you can do so with profit to yourself at the same time?
Just how your subscription to the enterprise will aid me I need not
explain. Sufficient that it is so. . . . What I desire is for
you to make the contract now. Please give me a decided answer
by the 17th inst. — Wednesday of next week. And I cannot al-
low myself to doubt that on carefully reviewing the whole field
you will decide to secure the vital position of Quatre Bras.

Mr. Cooke resisted this pressing invitation, though it
came from the Speaker of the House of Representatives
who could give much and take much away. Blaine
visited Henry Cooke in Washington and Jay Cooke in
Philadelphia. He would not take "No" for an answer,
though his proposals were definitely declined on January
4, 1870, when the financier wrote his brother, saying for
the last time that no such engagements could be made,
though he promised that they would "try and do every-
thing that is right and kind and generous by him at the
right time," the fall being broken soon by a not too care-
ful scrutiny of real estate and other unrealizable collat-
eral offered at the Washington house of Jay Cooke and
Company.

Mr. Cooke had no admiration for the Southern Pa-
cific routes. As he viewed the matter — and experience
confirms his judgment — they penetrated an inferior
country. Of the Southwest his views, as usual, were
plainly expressed. In a letter to General Sanford he
wrote in 1872: 1 " In regard to these Southern roads
generally I have, as ever, an abiding faith that they can-
not hold a candle to our Northern Pacific. I would
not take the whole of the Mexican and southern pos-
sessions, even if they are shorter (which I do not be-
lieve) for 100 miles of our road and the country it passes

1 Aug. 2, 1872.

174 JAY COOKE

through. I am very glad that my lot is cast in the glo-
rious Northwest."

He also advised his correspondents against invest-
ments in the old South. He wished all to go to "the
great Northwest, where there are no heart-burnings, Ku
Klux or carpet baggers." *

The Southern Pacific party, with John C. Fremont at
its head, was a candidate with the Northern Pacific for
the patronage of the government. Although these men
had misconducted themselves so grievously in Paris,
making extravagant claims in regard to their bonds, and
spoiling the market for sound securities, so that the al-
liance was from many points of view inadvisable, it
seemed at the moment the prudent thing to join inter-
ests with them.2 "If you aid us we will, after a while,
help you," said the Northern Pacific lobbyists, and while
the obligation did not rest heavily upon any one, as such
irresponsible promises by unauthorized persons seldom
do, and the assistance they pledged did not advantage
the Fremont men, for their bill was soon shown out of
the House by "a very large majority," southern support
was of much benefit in the contest which was soon ac-

1 To the Archdeacon of Belfast, Jan. 29, 1872.

2 Jay Cooke had no hand whatever in this arrangement and never gave
those who negotiated the deal the least encouragement. He wrote his
brother Henry on March 1, 1870, regarding proposed loans to Fremont
on " Arkansas bonds " : " We cannot and will not advance on such se-
curities and especially to Fremont. We don't want any financial business
with him." The next day, March 2d, Jay Cooke continued : " The trou-
ble is just here. Fremont is entirely unreliable in money matters, and
it injures any one to have any connection with him; and when you come
to add to this the miserable Arkansas bonds about which there will be
trouble undoubtedly, and which if we sell at all we must sell through
third parties, it becomes a pretty bad business to touch either Fremont
or the bonds. While we do not wish to make enemies of any of the
Southern Pacific people, we must be careful how we mix up with them."

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 175

tively begun. Henry Cooke, Wilkeson, William E.
Chandler and a host whom they employed, got behind
the Northern Pacific bill with all the weight of their
broad experience in political management. They were
aided by Ignatius Donnelly, who had been a member of
the House of Representatives from Minnesota for three
terms, and was now at Washington ostensibly in the in-
terest of a land grant in favor of harbor improvements
at Duluth. He went to the capital at the request of
President Banning of the Lake Superior and Mississippi
Railroad, and reported his movements frequently and
lengthily to Jay Cooke.1 Governor Marshall of Minne-
sota was on the ground. Governor Geary of Pennsyl-
vania went down and carefully canvassed the delegation
in Congress from that state in Mr. Cooke's interest, at
the same time seeing many members from other states and
"stiffening" them "for the combat." 2 Governor Smith
and the Northern Pacific officers were in the thick of the
fight when their presence was felt to be necessary, using

1 Donnelly was one of the workers who seems to have been displeased
with his rewards. On February 15th, 1871, he wrote to Jay Cooke : " I
hold $10,000 of the stock of the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad
Company which was presented to me without solicitation on my part
by the company as some slight recognition of very important and val-
uable services rendered by me to the company. I labored for it when
it was a mere hope and stood by it faithfully for years. Without my
aid it would not to-day have an existence." But he was defeated for
Congress in Minnesota by the combined influences of the Lake Superior
and Northern Pacific companies and he wished to sell his stock at a
fixed price to Jay Cooke, who does not seem to have recognized his
obligation to buy it. In July Donnelly was still complaining that his
" case " was a " hard one." However, " I do not in these remarks make
any reflections upon you," he said. " I am glad to believe that you will
probably never know how bitter a thing it is to be stung to death by the
work of your own hands.".

2 Geary to J. C, May 21, 1870, from the Executive Chamber at Har-
risburg.

176 JAY COOKE

the company's money freely, while Jay Cooke himself
was utilized in the case of several very refractory Con-
gressmen. A number of members found a generous
friend, as Blaine had done, at Cooke's Washington
bank,1 and "pool" interests were discreetly bestowed
upon leaders who obviously were hungering for argu-
ments more substantial than those which came from the
persuasive lips of the railroad company's industrious
advocates.

It may be thought that such machinations were unbe-
coming in a man of Mr. Cooke's moral dimensions. It
must be remembered that the object was one which he
believed, and all now know, was the civilization and de-
velopment of a great section of the country, and that
Congress was filled with corrupt politicians who literally
"held up" and blackmailed every railway company, es-
pecially if its welfare were known to be the concern of
a wealthy firm of bankers. The action of Congress was
indispensable if such works were to succeed and no other
method could avail. It may be said positively that Mr.
Cooke did not give money for any Treasury contract or
law of Congress. He was the kind friend of all who
came within his circle, and he relied upon his magnetic
and persuasive personality. He always assumed that
men wished to favor that which was right, and large in
good consequences, and approached them in this direct
and open spirit. It was known, of course, that his
friendship was valuable and that he liberally rewarded
all who performed legitimate service useful to him in
forwarding his enterprises, but nothing else need be ex-
pected, in spite of his determination that works with

1 H. D. C. to J. C, July 22, 1870.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 177

which he identified his name should be successfully com-
pleted.

"I hate this lobbying," he wrote his brother out of a
full heart and he looked on while Henry Cooke, who had
so intimate a knowledge of political conditions at Wash-
ington, managed a Congressional campaign or Governor
Smith, Wilkeson, Banning or some official of his rail-
roads manipulated legislators, often not knowing until
long afterward the lengths to which they had gone. He
understood very well, however, that without vigilance
and activity his cherished objects in the Northwest could
not be realized with a band of men whose demands upon
the moneyed interests of the country were becoming
more insolent every year.

"I cannot but think," said Ignatius Donnelly, "that
the present Congress would rather give land than
money," 1 and this fact early became so obvious that the
idea of a subsidy or official guarantee was entirely
abandoned. The demand was confined to an authoriza-
tion by Congress, through a joint resolution, for the exe-
cution of a mortgage upon the lands granted to the com-
pany in 1864, as well as upon the road, its stations, en-
gines and cars ; the right to take odd numbered sections
in a belt ten and twenty miles wide on each side of the
track beyond the original limits of the grant to compen-
sate the company for the loss of tracts opened to settle-
ment since 1864 and now gone beyond the government's
control — interpreted to mean a widening of the belt to
120 miles through the territories — and the privilege of
changing the course of the road to conform with Milnor
Roberts's surveys, thus carrying the line down the Co-

1 Donn. to J. C, March 5, 1870.
12

178 JAY COdKE

lumbia Valley and to Puget Sound by way 01 Portland
instead of across the Cascade Mountains on a less prac-
ticable route, a second line to the ocean being projected
from some point in eastern Washington, Idaho or
Montana, not yet determined upon. It was true, as was
alleged, that the company would now control two zones
of land instead of one west of the Rocky Mountains, yet
it did not seem like a very large extension of the grant.
It was not too much to ask of Congress, if it be under-
stood that it is a matter of importance to a nation that
its territory should be populated and civilized, and that
the natural wealth dormant there should be developed
and brought forth to be laid at the feet of the world.
Jay Cooke himself believed this to be a national function,
and he belonged to that political party whose tenets
called for the exercise of such powers. His chief op-
ponents were of that group which has always asserted
that it is not a governmental function to foster the eco-
nomic interests of the people.

In the Senate the Northern Pacific bill or resolution
was in charge of Senator Ramsey of Minnesota. On
April 20th Henry Cooke wrote his brother : "We have
been at work like beavers and have whipped the enemy
on every vote so far — in most cases three or four to one.
We let the other side do most of the talking and we do
the voting." The measure was slightly amended, as by
a provision insisted upon by Simon Cameron of Pennsyl-
vania, that "American iron or steel only shall be used,
the same to be manufactured from American ores ex-
clusively," and it was passed by the Senators on April
21, 1870, by a vote of 40 to n. It went to the House
"with the prestige of a four-fifths majority," with the

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 179

iron clause which it was thought would be of value to it
in that body, "where the pig iron interest is rampant." 1
Henry Cooke anticipated "a noisy debate and a stubborn
opposition." Jay Cooke was instructed by his engineers
personally to see Ben Butler, Logan and Schenck, al-
though the last named was always friendly. However,
he did not immediately do his part and Butler, after vot-
ing against the bill in some of the early divisions, was
approached by Chandler. "I am for it because I am
Jay Cooke's friend," said the young politician from New
Hampshire. "So am I Mr. Cooke's friend," responded
Butler, "but I do not always go on the principle 'Love
me love my dog.' Besides, Jay has said nothing to me
of this." It was alleged that Butler was waiting for a
payment of money which Jay Cooke was unwilling to
make, although his employment as counsel for the com-
pany was authorized by the banker if such a step were
necessary to secure his support.

The managers of the joint resolution in the House, the
leader of whom was William A. Wheeler of New York,
afterward a Vice-President of the United States, then
chairman of the Committee on Pacific Railroads, made
the mistake of trying to force it through without the
formality of a debate. This policy aroused much an-
tipathy. There was a stormy and exciting scene on May
5th, although the Northern Pacific men had a safe ma-
jority on all the test votes. "Blaine is doing us great
service; so is Schenck," wrote Henry Cooke. "Blaine
dropped in specially to say to me and through me to you
that we must not be in the least disturbed; that when
the House again meets our relative strength will be con-

1 H. D. C. to J. C, April 22d.

180 JAY COOKE

siderably stronger than it was yesterday; that we have
got the bill in such shape that all the business of the
House is suspended until it passes and that we are per-
perfectly safe.1 The filibustering continued for several
days and the prospects of the measure were endangered
by Governor Smith's inflexible determination to agree
to no amendments. A dozen or more were offered, but
the company's friends were all held in leash while vote
after vote was taken, indicating eventual success. The
"heathen" raged. Harlan and Thurman in the Senate;
Randall, Hawley and many more in the House dwelt at
great length upon the value of the grant. They saw in
the provision for a branch leaving the main trunk line at
some undetermined point a very improper increase of the
land subsidy and pictured to themselves and the country
an empire that was being surrendered to a private com-
pany. In short, there had never before been such a
grant; it left no land for another road in the northern
part of the United States ; the wheat fields, pastures, for-
ests, fisheries and mines conferred upon the road were
enormously valuable; a great section of the country
would soon be in the hands of an awful monopoly.

Nevertheless, the measure passed the House on May
26th by a vote of 107 to 85. It was now the hour for
congratulations and they came to Mr. Cooke by letter
and telegraph from all sides. Upon receipt of the news,
R. H. Lamborn telegraphed from the Northwest that
the price of real estate in Duluth had increased ten per
cent, instantly. It was argued that the President must
yet sign the bill, but Henry Cooke was caring for that
detail. As early as on April 23d he wrote: "I have

iR D. C. to J. C, May 6th.

JAY COOKE
From a portrait painted by Robert IV. Vonnoh, in possession of Jay Cooke, Jr.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 181

talked with the President about our bill. He takes great
interest in it and there is no danger of his not signing
it." He had helped the measure forward in Congress
by saying to members that it ought to pass and that he
wished them to vote for it.1

Jay Cooke, in the meantime, had no intention of al-
lowing earlier friendships pledged in so many ways to
be forgotten.2 He sent a fishing rod and creel to the
President's little son Jesse, for which he was duly
thanked in a childish hand. Mrs. Grant said that after
its arrival the boy had found no amusement in anything
else and it had put his father in a "fishing humor." The
general was thereupon invited to go out for a week's
sport upon the water with Jay Cooke and some political
friends, but the time was reduced to one day because of
the President's many engagements in Washington.3

The bill was signed on May 30th, though it seems
not without a dispute in the cabinet, for Henry Cooke
wrote confidentially to his brother the next day:

"It [the bill] was considered in cabinet meeting to-
day and met with violent opposition, but as this is told
me in the strictest confidence you must not allude to the
fact. I will tell you all about it hereafter. General
Grant was firm as a rock and my information is that the
bill received the sanction of the majority of the cabinet.
General Grant came in to see me this morning before the
cabinet met. Reference was made to the bill. . . .

*H. D. C. to J. C, May 26, 1870.

2 General Grant had enjoyed favors at Jay Cooke's banks, as had Gen-
eral Dent. The President's name was on a note held by Jay Cooke and
Company as late as in January, 1872, when Henry Cooke hoped it might
be taken out " for obvious reasons." — H. D. C. to J. C, January 2, 1872.

3 H. D. C, to J. C, May 9, 1870.

182 JAY COOKE

His reply satisfied me that it would not be necessary to
discuss the matter further. He stood up against a tre-
mendous pressure."

On July ist a mortgage was legally executed to cover
all the lands of the company, the measure upon which
Mr. Cooke was to rely in connection with the "pool" for
the money to construct the railroad.

The company was now organized as follows:

Trustees for the First Mortgage Bondholders:

Jay Cooke and J. Edgar Thomson.

Officers :

J. Gregory Smith, President.
R. D. Rice, Vice President.
Samuel Wilkeson, Secretary.

A. H. Barney, Treasurer.
Board of Directors:

J. Gregory Smith, St. Albans, Vt.
R. D. Rice, Augusta, Maine.
Thomas H. Canfield, Burlington, Vt.
Wm. B. Ogden, Chicago, 111.
Wm. G. Moorhead, Philadelphia, Pa.
Wm. G. Fargo, Buffalo, N. Y.

B. P. Cheney, Boston, Mass.
George W. Cass, Pittsburg, Pa.
Frederick Billings, Woodstock, Vt.
William Windom, Winona, Minn.
James Stinson, Chicago, 111.
Samuel M. Felton, Philadelphia, Pa.
Charles B. Wright, Philadelphia, Pa.

Executive Committee : J. Gregory Smith, R. D. Rice, Wm.
B. Ogden, George W. Cass, William G. Fargo, William Win-
dom, S. M. Felton, Charles B. Wright.

Financial Agents for the Railroad Company : Jay Cooke and
Company, Philadelphia.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 183

Hope of the successful negotiation of a large lot of
the bonds in the European money centres was by no
means abandoned after Mr. Moorhead's rather sorry
adventures with the Rothschilds. The existence of a
finished section of track to the Red River as a result of
the advances made by the members of the "pool," and
the execution of a mortgage upon the lands to secure the
bonds would, it was thought, very favorably impress Eu-
ropean investors, and their support was counted on by
Mr. Cooke with absolute faith. The first proposal was to
divide Europe into districts which were then to be subdi-
vided in the manner so successfully employed in the sale
of government bonds during the war. In February, 1870,
Germany and Holland were assigned to a group of Ger-
man bankers, Moritz Budge, Budge, Schiff and Com-
pany, and Robert Thode and Company. Moritz Budge
was a banker in Frankfort-on-the-Main and his brother
Henry Budge was the American representative of the
house, his firm being Budge, Schiff and Company in
New York City. They were to divide the field in their
own way, sell the Northern Pacific bonds under Jay
Cooke's direction at liberal specified commissions, being
first "sweetened" with an interest in the "pool." Gen-
eral George B. Sargent had now come on from Duluth
and by conferences with Fahnestock in New York and
Jay Cooke in Philadelphia succeeded in convincing them
that he would be a useful roving high commissioner to
see that the Budge loan was well started in Germany,
and to attend to loan matters generally in Europe. He
had pecuniary interests in Duluth and no doubt sincerely
enough desired the success of the Northern Pacific Rail-
road. He was guaranteed his expenses and a large sal-

184 JAY COOKE

ary whether he succeeded or failed, being assured be-
sides of enormous contingent commissions in case he
should place ten, twenty or fifty millions of the bonds.
He had a hand in the "pool"; visited "Ogontz" for part-
ing instructions and was provided with written creden-
tials by the firm and letters of introduction from Baron
Gerolt, the friendly Prussian Minister, and others. He
reached Frankfort on April I, 1870, with the New York
member of the firm of Budge, and began his remarkable
attack upon the cofTers and chests of Europe. He spent
the funds of Jay Cooke and Company like water. He
thought the loan could be successfully negotiated, he
began flatteringly in a letter to Mr. Cooke, "but owing
almost entirely to your own reputation, which can be
made of more use here than you have ever anticipated.
There could not be a better time to place the bonds than
at this present season. I am occupying the finest apart-
ments in Frankfort. Kings and emperors have occu-
pied them before. Our friends secured them for me.
Beautiful flowers decked the parlor and letters of gold
everywhere proclaimed 'Willkommen in Frankfurt.' "

Sargent soon found that the Budges desired a larger
field and upon terms regarded by them as favorable were
ready to contract for the whole of Europe. An agree-
ment was drafted and after much consultation by letter
and cable it was signed, the German house as a pledge
of its good faith making a deposit of $500,000 in gold
with Jay Cooke and Company in New York against
Northern Pacific bonds, which were to be set aside for
them, although undeliverable until all the terms of the
contract had been met and satisfied. Budge was to sell
$50,000,000 of bonds accounting for them at par in

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 185

United States currency, except that the price of gold in
exchange should be calculated at a rate three per cent,
higher than the ruling premium in New York at the
time of sale. He was to receive a commission for his
services of six per cent, in cash and ten per cent, in
stock of the Northern Pacific Company, and an extra
reward of one per cent, in cash and three per cent, in
stock if $20,000,000 should be sold before January 1,
1 87 1. He must pay at least $100,000 in gold for ad-
vertising the bonds. If a certain number of millions
were not sold before the end of 1870 Jay Cooke and
Company, at their option, could annul the contract.
The foreign agents were to form connections in all
parts of Europe "with strong houses and none other/'
and prosecute the sale with all possible activity.

There were many delays and postponements at the
demand of Budge and his legal advisers, but these were
the essential features of the agreement when the ar-
rangements were complete. Sargent was shrewd
enough to specify that he should be retained in Europe
as the counsellor of the European agents and on April
18, 1870, he wrote Mr. Cooke:

I find they rely more upon me to fix and influence their friends
than upon themselves. I have met on several occasions different
parties, generally at breakfast, lunch or dinner and have been
called upon always to respond to toasts given to you as the
great financial spirit whose energy and foresight saved the
American Union and who had now undertaken the great national
enterprise of the Northern Pacific. This has of course, given
me a wide field and I have improved it, so far to the great satis-
faction of our friends here. Last evening after I had spoken
half an hour before a dozen parties of influence, a leading banker
from Amsterdam, said : " Sir, if you can speak to my countrymen

186 JAY COOKE

as you have spoken to-night you will carry them with you in
your great enterprise, as you have convinced me to-night of its
great value and importance." The wife of another banker said
to me, kissing my hand three or four times : " Sir, it is grand,
grand ! " I always wait until they give me a good text by toasting
America, the flag of the Union, Jay Cooke, Northern Pacific
Railroad, their countrymen in America, myself, wife and children,
etc., and then I give them a reply touching up the whole thing,
alluding to the happy homes along the Northern Pacific waiting
to receive their millions of landless people, etc. When I allude
to what you have done for the Union, I stir them up to a ter-
rific point and they generally give you three cheers and some-
times three times three.

The first step taken by Sargent and Budge in Ger-
many was the purchase of the press. They obtained the
support of thirty newspapers, according to their own re-
ports, a service that was grievously needed because of
the unexpected action of the Berlin Bourse. The great
amount of dishonesty in connection with the sale and the
offering for sale of American railway shares in Europe
caused that body to caution the German public against
them, especially if they were without government guar-
antees. Jay Cooke immediately telegraphed to Bleich-
roeders in Berlin for full information which was cheer-
fully furnished him. He then prepared an open letter
to the Berlin Bourse which was printed in the form of
a pamphlet and generally distributed. It was dated
from Philadelphia, July 16, 1870, and gave the writer
the opportunity to make a strong statement of the case
for the Northern Pacific Railroad.

He supposed, at the outset, that the Bourse's action
was not specifically directed against the bonds of the
company, of which his firm had been made the fiscal
agents, and continued :

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 187

We trust that if any prejudice against the securities of this
company has taken possession of your minds you will cheerfully
banish it, and we cannot but believe that having given a candid
hearing to the statements now submitted you will decide to co-
operate with us in the negotiation of these bonds, and lend your
encouragement to the plans we have formed for promoting emi-
gration. My name and that of my firm are not I presume un-
known to you. I will not here refer to our connection with the
government as its main financial agents during the recent war, but
I desire to state that for over thirty years as a banker in Phila-
delphia, I have been engaged in fostering the building of Amer-
ican railroads and in disposing of their securities, and I have
never yet sold the bonds of any company the interest upon which
has not been punctually and regularly paid, and the principal
made more secure from year to year. We have ever made it a
matter of conscience to examine carefully into every railroad
project presented to us, in some instances having extended a
watchful care over roads for years after disposing of their bonds
with the sole object of maintaining the integrity of these bonds.
. . . Our connection with the Northern Pacific railroad has
been assumed after many months of careful examination and after
the most mature investigation of the whole subject in all its bear-
ings. We deem it a great national enterprise, one that combines
many elements of the most attractive and solid character. . . .
We expect to give to this great work a large portion of our time,
efforts and resources for many years to come. The enterprise is a
gigantic one, but can be fully completed and in successful opera-
tion within four years from date, if its bonds can be sold with suffi-
cient rapidity to furnish the required means. Eighty millions of
dollars in gold have been expended in constructing an experimen-
tal canal only ioo miles in length through a desert at Suez. An
equal sum will build and equip our road of 2,000 miles and its
branches and pay all the interest upon its cost during construc-
tion. . . . True, the government does not write its name on
the back of our bonds as endorser, but it does more. It provides
by its land grant ample means for the full and prompt payment of
those bonds, principal and interest, having received from the gov-

188 JAY COOKK

ernment what is ten fold better than an endorsement of its bonds.
The Northern Pacific Railroad Company has not desired nor
asked for such government guaranty but has preferred instead
to secure a liberal donation of lands and freedom from the annoy-
ance and clogs of official supervision which in case of an endorse-
ment must have been yielded.

Mr. Cooke concluded by inviting the Bourse to ap-
point a committee of three of its members to visit America
and make a personal examination of the line of the road.
"This committee," he added, "shall have their expenses
paid from the time they leave their homes until they re-
turn, and shall be provided with every facility to enable
them to make a prompt and full report."

The statement appeared in the newspapers about this
time that Bismarck would pay a visit to America, and
while it was entirely unfounded, Mr. Cooke did not lose
the opportunity to indite a formal invitation to the great
Prussian to partake of the hospitality of his homes.
The letter was sent to Henry Cooke in Washington to
be delivered to Baron Gerolt and forwarded to Berlin.
Photographs of Gibraltar and "Ogontz" were enclosed,
but it was nearly a year before a reply was received by
the financier. It was as follows :

Berlin, May 18, 1871.
Dear Sir:

Your letter of the 13th of June last reached me on the nth
of July. If you remember how shortly that date was followed
by the declaration of war you will excuse the otherwise un-
pardonable delay in answering so kind an invitation. Being about
to embark in a diplomatic campaign very likely to lead to an
armed conflict, I felt doubly impressed with the charms of your se-
cluded island and your delicate hospitality. Peace is now happily
restored but a great deal remains to be done at home, and I do not
know whenever it will be given to me to satisfy my old longing

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 189

for your country. Accept the assurance of my heartfelt gratitude
and distinguished consideration.1

(Signed) V. Bismarck.

The receipt of this communication was duly noted in
the newspapers in the hope of conciliating German opin-
ion, both on the subject of the loan and the project of
depleting the population of Germany for the advantage
of the American Northwest.

At home much danger threatened the operation by the
covert attacks, now become open, upon Mr. Cooke and
the railroad by influences radiating from rival bank-
ing houses. Mr. Cooke and his associates made no con-
cealment of their annoyance, which served but to in-
crease the pleasure which George W. Childs found in
baiting the enterprise in the Public Ledger. The ar-
ticles which were written in the most hostile spirit, being
so bitter that they plainly showed the personal animus
behind them, were reprinted as slips and circulars and
at infinite trouble and not a little expense were widely
distributed in Washington and throughout the banking
communities of America and Europe to the great dam-
age of the undertaking. Some were so vicious that when
they were taken to the office of the German Democrat to
be translated and put into German type the editor refused
the commission.2 What made matters worse was the
fact that Childs had recently visited England and effected
an arrangement with the London Times for an exchange
of news, that journal employing his money editor as its
American correspondent. The Ledger's antagonism
was reflected in the Times' s American correspondence,

1 This letter, which is in English, is in possession of Jay Cooke, Jr,

2 J, C, to H- D, C, April 26, 1870.

190 JAY COOKE

which in turn deeply influenced the writers of its local
money articles. As the Times then, as now, made its
way into all the great banking houses, bourses and offi-
cial and semi-official bureaus on the Continent, its word
being highly respected, especially regarding affairs in
lands in which English was the language of popular
communication, Jay Cooke's European negotiations were
in risk of suffering serious interferences.

Day after day during the course of the debates in Con-
gress on the Northern Pacific bill, the Ledger denounced
the "huge robberies of the public domain." On April
19, 1870, that newspaper said, in its leading money arti-
cle: "Philadelphia has been the great centre of the
manipulation necessary to the revival of this six years'
neglected enterprise. Some five millions more or less
of seven per cent, gold-bearing bonds were originally
divided in twelfths among a 'ring' of operators to be
again divided and subdivided," the proceeds being de-
voted to the construction of a line to the Red River.
This sum was twice as large as necessary and two and a
half millions would go to the "contractors and their con-
federates." There had not been a time "since the cele-
brated South Sea Bubble when so much money was
running into wild hazard." A panic was predicted.
"We are informed that throughout all Germany the most
untiring efforts are making not only to command capital
to invest in this Northern Pacific enterprise, but the
most costly and tempting inducements ever known are
making to invite immigration," etc., etc.

On April 226. the same newspaper said editorially,
after an angry attack upon the railroad: "Audacious
as many of the demands on Congress have been, cun-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 191

ningly as most of them have been devised, none of them
ever reached such sublime effrontery as this." The fis-
cal agents were denounced for the attempt to mortgage
land which could not be theirs until the track was laid
and the road was built. The taking of it from the
public domain in view of its great value, was a theft
and so forth.

Every effort was made in Jay Cooke's open manner
to silence these batteries, and in spite of his unhappy ex-
perience during the war he resolved again to visit
Childs, although he was dissuaded from the design. In
Philadelphia the Moorheads and several mutual friends
of Mr. Cooke and Mr. Childs sought to allay the Led-
ger's rage, while George Jones of the New York Times
volunteered to visit Philadelphia to remonstrate with its
spiteful editor. The other newspapers of the city,
such as the Inquirer and the Telegraph, spoke warmly
in Mr. Cooke's behalf and the difference reached the
proportions of a great public dispute.

Mr. Cooke used language regarding this industrious
enemy that he was never known to employ in his refer-
ences to any other man. "It is the greatest outrage any
journal ever committed upon decent citizens," he wrote
his brother Henry on April 25, 1870. "We are pitch-
ing into them and if it is necessary and it is thought
best I will establish a penny paper equal to the Ledger,
reducing the expense of advertising fifty per cent. If
this man continues to fight us as he has done I will fight
him and the Drexels. If he compels us to, I will do it,
though I hate to do it."

"I do not see how men can lay their heads upon their
beds at night," he continued on May 2d, "after com-

192 JAY COOKE

mitting such wanton injury upon the property of their
neighbors."

To counteract the influence of one of the Ledger s
savage articles in April Mr. Cooke telegraphed to Sar-
gent in Frankfort, who at once went to England to see
if anything "could be done with the London Times."
He wrote the financier on April 30th:

The results of my investigations are anything but pleasant.
Childs, while here, toadied to the editor and proprietor of the
Times, was Sampson's [money editor of the Times] guest all
the time he was here, and their relations were of the most inti-
mate character. Since Childs' return to the United States the
Times has continually quoted from the Ledger as the paper of
the United States. ... It would be impossible to prevent
entirely the article's republication except to sink the ship which
brings it over. That I am mad enough to do, provided it con-
tained only the Ledger crew. . . . Washburne [E. B. Wash-
burne, Minister to France] is an old personal and warm friend
of mine and will second all my efforts in France. He has writ-
ten a letter to Motley [John Lothrop Motley, Minister to Eng-
land] very strong, but I shall not deliver it. I have known
Motley from boyhood. My father's pew was next to his father's
in church. He was a flunkey then and he has not improved.
He knows nothing about business and considers it beneath his
notice to talk about any business enterprise, no matter how na-
tional its character.

General Sargent was introduced to Sampson by his
brother, Epes Sargent, the writer, who came over to
London from Paris for this particular purpose. He
wrote one letter to Jay Cooke while waiting for Mr.
Sampson, dating it: "In the Lion's Den." "I shall be
very short with the Times now and fight them to the last,
if I can't bring them peaceably to terms," said he.
"There is no use mincing matters any longer," He was

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 193

made happy, however, by being invited to Sampson's
home at Hampton Court, near London, where he was
entertained for two or three days in "elegant style." A
half dozen French and English bankers were invited to
meet him there. The editor finally said :

"My views are entirely changed in regard to your
enterprise. I think it is a good and valuable enterprise
and in good hands. If the houses of Messrs. Jay Cooke
and Company and friends of North Pacific will pledge
themselves to give their influence to have the Fisk-Erie
fraud come to a fair trial in August without any delay
I will sustain your enterprise heartily."

"This is the hole I have made him to crawl out of,"
continued this great diplomat, "and I shall have his
hearty co-operation on terms that must never be known
but to you, to him and myself.' I have got him sure
and apparently by my personal influence over him, so
all parties in interest say here. Sampson, they say here,
cannot be bought, and it would never do to offer him a
pecuniary consideration, and I believe it, and there is
no need of it, for a man who has saved £400,000 sterling
on a salary as editor of the Times, and lived like a
prince all the time, understands the art of getting along.
So I reasoned. No more abuse will be copied from
Ledger man. He may as well dry up." 1

To complete his great work Sargent directed that
there should be sent from Duluth to Mr. Sampson's sis-
ter one of the finest amethysts to be found on the shores
of Lake Superior for her grotto of stones which she had
assembled from all parts of the world.

This editor's favorable opinion would be particularly

1 Sargent to J. C, from Hampton Court, June 20, 1870,
13

194 JAY COOKE

valuable, it was thought, because he was a large stock-
holder, and influential in the management of the General
Credit and Discount Company, upon whom Sargent,
with Henry Budge and Marcus Goldschmidt, were now
to make an attack. The contract was to be sub-let to
them as the English agents of the loan, but they insisted
upon a direct contract with Jay Cooke and Company
which called for the payment of a commission of one
and a half per cent, in cash and two per cent, in stock.
The company specified, and Jay Cooke agreed, that the
proceeds of the bonds, as they were sold, should be
held by them and should not be paid over except upon the
completion of each section of twenty-five miles, there-
fore not until the road was finished and was in posses-
sion of its land grant. Budge acceded in consideration
of payments which could very well be allowed him in
view of the reduced commission to be given to the Eng-
lish house.

The General Credit Company had three thousand cor-
respondents ; Sargent thought there was "no concern in
Europe better calculated to put the loan out success-
fully," and on June 30th the arrangements had so far
proceeded that they were only "subject to the ratifica-
tion of the board." The result was so nearly assured
in the view of all the parties to the negotiation, that
Sargent gave a "private dinner in honor of the Fourth
of July" in London in his sumptuously furnished apart-
ments overlooking Hyde Park. An American flag
floated from the window ; a band of music played Eng-
lish and American airs alternately on the stairway.
There was an elaborate menu including "Puree a 1'
Americaine," "Ris de Veau a la Philadelphia," "Gelee

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 195

a la Republique" and other dishes highly suggestive of
the business in hand. The invited guests included the
American Minister, John Lothrop Motley of whom Gen-
eral Sargent had come to think much better upon fuller
acquaintance, having been invited to the receptions at the
Legation; Benjamin Moran, Secretary of Legation;
Lord Borthwick and H. B. Sampson of the London
Tunes; James MacDonald, President of the General
Credit Company ; Sir John Rose, George Worms, G. A.
Smith, Epes Sargent, Frank Evans, Budge and Gold-
schmidt, the German negotiators, and several other men.
"Old MacDonald" sang a Scottish song and the alliance
seemed to be secure, Sargent and his attaches being
ready to cross the channel and invade France when ru-
mors of war reached them. Louis Napoleon had de-
termined upon a trial of strength with Prussia and Ger-
man troops were soon flung across the border on their
way to Paris. That the Northern Pacific men would
be on Prussia's side in this war might have been pre-
dicted with assurance." One thing is certain," wrote
Sargent to Fahnestock on July 19, 1870, "and that is that
France is alone in this war. All sympathy in Europe
is against her and the prayers of all are that she may be
well whipped. She is sure to be, as there is a just
God."

"If rumors of war had kept off a week longer the pa-
pers would all have been signed," Sargent continued on
July 23d, and there is little doubt, as Jay Cooke himself
often said in his later life, that the arrangement was
frustrated solely by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian
conflict. It is likely that all the Northern Pacific manag-
ers from Mr. Cooke downward more or less openly shared

196 JAY COOKE

Wilkeson's vengeful views at this time when he said:
"Of course that French devil must upset our dish in
Europe. I don't know that corporations can enjoy re-
venge. But the North Pacific promoters will have the
satisfaction of seeing that composite tiger and monkey
whipped out of Germany and whipped out of France,
and I think out of life. God and those blessed Teutons
are going to rid the world of the curse of the Bonaparte
family." a

As soon as the war came on the Budges began to
"squeal," to use Sargent's language, and he wished to
be rid of them. He foresaw that they would be in a po-
sition to embarrass and cripple the operation. On Au-
gust 8th he wrote to Jay Cooke: "Since the declara-
tion of war Henry Budge has been like a child more
than a man and in spite of their assertion to the con-
trary, I fear they may be hard up for money." The
war had caused a panic in the European exchanges and
the sale of bonds for an American railroad was seen to
be out of the question, probably for a long time to come.
The firm, through its New York house, had paid the
$500,000 to Jay Cooke and Company and Henry Budge
now tried to make it appear that the sum was a mere de-
posit in evidence of their good faith, as it had been in-
tended to be by the original contract of February 25th,
which had been cancelled in favor of another agree-
ment.2 "Mr. Cooke did not force this business upon
you," wrote Sargent; "it was of your own seeking and
at the time you succeeded in getting it we all thought
there was a fortune in your profits. War was not

iWilk. to J. C, July 22, 1870.

- fudge's letter to Sargent of August 4th and Sargent's reply of Au-
gust 8th.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 197

thought of in any contingency and there was every rea-
son to believe that you would achieve a great success.
It has turned out otherwise and you desire to get out of
it. There is sometimes as much to be gained in an hon-
orable and well conducted retreat as there is in gaining
a victory. Wait the moving events patiently. There
may be as great a change for the better in thirty days
as there has been for the worse during the past thirty.
. . . Keep in good spirits . . . and I have no
doubt you will receive at the hands of Mr. Cooke all the
consideration the state of matters demand as soon as he
can fully realize the situation."

Sargent wished to return to America. He would
give a hundred pounds if he could pass an hour with
his wife and children in Duluth. He thought he could
be spared until the course of the war should be clearly
determined, but Jay Cooke's advice was against it.
"Dp not come home," said he. "Stick to this matter
like a bulldog." Sargent therefore composed himself
as best he could and in August was working with Chad-
wicks, Adamson, Collier and Company and some of the
smaller London banking houses, which expressed a will-
ingness to co-operate with the General Credit Company.

The talk came to naught and in September Budges,
who had somewhat regained their composure, were ask-
ing for an extension of their contract, foreseeing the end
of the war when they could resume their effort to sell
the loan. The association was destined to be one of
which Mr. Cooke and his friends all bitterly repented,
for their being in the field deterred other houses from
embracing the project. The General Credit Company
could not be led back to the point at which they were at

198 JAY COOKE

the outbreak of the war and Sargent turned now to
another London banking house, Bischoffsheim and Gold-
schmidt. His first impressions left nothing to be de-
sired. "Of their ability," said he, "I have no doubt. I
never met a man that I believed in more fully than Mr.
Bischoffsheim. . . . He is perfectly enthusiastic
about it. His heart will be in the work and I can assure
you there has never been a time when I have felt as con-
fident of success as I do this moment." 1

There were conferences with the Budges and much
chaffering and dickering with Bischoffsheim, who was
a little cooled by his friends. Sargent stood by promis-
ing Mr. Cooke to "pick his flint and try again." Thus
were the negotiations tediously and futilely prolonged
while the prospects of the loan were diminishing and the
Northern Pacific treasury was being depleted by large
expenditures in connection with the railroad, work upon
which was proceeding actively. The President of the
company, J. Gregory Smith, wrote to Mr. Cooke that he
must have money to go forward when the fund of
$5,600,000 should be exhausted. He hoped for at least
one million monthly from Bischoffsheim. But this was
not to be, the task in Europe being rendered the more
difficult because of the — to some — unexpected prolonga-
tion of the war, through the rotting of the empire and
the falling apart of the social fabric in France as a re-
sult of the nation's military defeats.

The situation was now somewhat changed by Mr.
Cooke's determination to carry out his long contem-
plated project for the establishment in London of a
house of his own. During the Civil War, as we have

1 Sargent to J. C, October 12th.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 199

seen, he had close working relations with William Evans
and his son, Frank H. Evans, both of whom, by their
visits to this country, were personally known to him.
He had been urged frequently and from many sides to
open a branch in Europe and it was definitely announced
in firm, if not in larger circles, in 1866 when the part-
nership was renewed and the New York house was es-
tablished, that this step was in immediate prospect. Mr.
Moorhead, during his visits to Europe, had made some
preliminary reconnaissances. It was suggested once
that Chase, and later that John Sherman, should go to
London to take charge of the branch and the last named
seems at one time to have thought well of the proposal.1
Clarence H. Clark was also mentioned for the post and
so much was said of his probable going to England that
he stated to Mr. Cooke the terms upon which he would
do so — a three-tenths interest, a contract for five years
to be extended likely to ten or fifteen years or for life,
and his recognition in the firm name, which for Eng-
land should be Jay Cooke, Clark and Company.2 Later
it was suggested that George C. Thomas of the Phila-
delphia house should be transferred to London,3 but
nothing came of the prolonged discussion until the part-
nership arrangements were generally revised in 1870.

Moorhead still intermittently threatened to leave the
firm entirely, especially when his mind dwelt upon the
Northern Pacific alliance, but his resolve was not exe-
cuted and such a course was very much discouraged by
Mr. Cooke, after the railway project was undertaken,

1 Sherman to J. G, June 3, 1866.

2 Clark to J. C, September 20, 1867.

3 Thomas to J. C, January 11, 1869.

200 JAY COOKE

since a withdrawal at this juncture would be considered
to mean dissension in the counsels of the house regard-
ing the question. He was restored to faith for a time by
the knowledge that Fahnestock in New York had ''taken
the bit into his own mouth" as Mr. Moorhead expressed
it, and at Mr. Cooke's desire united with him to discour-
age such a tendency. Set down in that city as one
of three partners, presumably of equal authority, he be-
came a predominating influence and was disposed to try
to make himself a greater power than Mr. Cooke him-
self in determining general firm matters. His tone was
often imperious. He was prone to regard the New
York house as the leader in firm movements and of
higher authority than the main establishment in Phila-
delphia. "I urged Fahnestock when in New York, be-
fore the war commenced," wrote Jay Cooke to Mr.
Moorhead on July 18, 1870, "to sell out his Curry [cur-
rency] 6s [i.e.. Pacific Railroad Bonds] which were then
1 14^, but as usual the young man thought he knew bet-
ter than I did. I shall say nothing more to him but shall
let him work out his own plans. I hope there will be no
loss."

"He ought not to put his judgments against yours
with your long experience," Mr. Moorhead replied.
But Mr. Fahnestock had done so for some time and
would continue to do so without increasing the harmony
of the partnership.

Furthermore both Moorhead and Fahnestock desired
to close the Washington house against Henry Cooke's
protests. The latter said that the office was still earn-
ing from $20,000 to $25,000 per annum and caused
Hugh McCulloch and many of his friends to write to

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 201

Jay Cooke to say that the withdrawal from the capital
would be impolitic. It would be interpreted as a sur-
render which would materially diminish the prestige of
the firm. In the event of a closing of the house Jay
Cooke and Company in Washington would be repre-
sented by the First National Bank, which was now the
more important of the two.1 It would be moved down
stairs; Henry Cooke, it was expected, would go to Eu-
rope to reside for several years to engage himself in
selling Northern Pacific bonds or as a partner in the
proposed London house.

The appeal for the Washington branch had its e fleet
and Henry Cooke, although he was soon to be appointed
by President Grant to be the Governor of the District of
Columbia, continued to give his oversight to the business
which in his absence on official duty was conducted by
William M. Tenney, a confidential employee of much
ability. Huntington, the cashier and manager of the
First National Bank, in whom confidence was not fully
restored after the festival of political speculation which
was enjoyed in Washington immediately after the war,
would be replaced by a more trustworthy financier and a
respectable place would be found for him in connection
with the railroad. In New York Mr. Cooke's old
friend, Edward Dodge, was to be eliminated in spite
of his protests when the programme was laid before
him, and he was to be given a minor post in the North-

1 In a spirited appeal for the continuance of the house Henry Cooke
wrote to his brother : " We can still keep the old firm flag which floated
so proudly during the rebellion flying at the masthead. For the sake
of the noble work the Washington office has done don't put that flag
union down half mast under the legs of a desk in the back room of the
First National Bank." — Letter of October 29, 1870.

202 JAY COOKE

ern Pacific sales office ; his conduct of the department of
the business devoted to the trading in stocks on margins
had been unprofitable. Sexton was to be dropped in
Philadelphia, and Jay Cooke, Jr., and J. A. Garland,1
who had been taken from Washington to New York and
was Fahnestock's apt assistant in that city, were ad-
mitted into the partnership in both the Philadelphia and
New York houses. George C. Thomas was added to the
list of partners in New York.2 Now at last the English
house was to be established. The release of Hugh Mc-
Culloch from the Treasury Department and his willing-
ness to join Jay Cooke and settle abroad at the head of
the business in London, seemed to promise very advan-
tageous results. Having the ex-Secretary of the Treas-
ury in such a position suggested an alliance with the
government which was likely to impress Europe very
favorably. Early in 1870 Frank H. Evans and William
E. C. Moorhead, the son of William G. Moorhead, were
on the point of establishing a partnership. They were
to have houses in London and New York which, it was
hoped, might be in some way affiliated with Jay Cooke
and Company.3 The senior Moorhead had agreed to
furnish his son's share of the capital for the combina-
tion, but both young men were saved for this larger
house with McCulloch at its head.

"I can think of no man who would carry to London
the prestige of McCulloch," wrote Fahnestock to Jay

1 Garland was originally a teacher in a commercial college in Phila-
delphia, which was attended for a time by Jay Cooke, Jr.

2 1870 was again a lean year in the banking business. The New York
house made only about $40,000, but Fahnestock reminded Jay Cooke
that in the five years they had distributed $1,115,000 among the partners.

3 Evans to W. E. C. Moorhead, February 26, 1870, and William G.
Moorhead to J. C, April 11, 1870.

- FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 203

Cooke June 3, 1870. "The more I think of your objec-
tions— harsh reflections upon our rumored business con-
nections heretofore — the less I think them entitled to
weight. Ugly people will always say unkind things
about us ; and let them. It will do us no harm."

To support Mr. McCulloch there would be required,
it was believed, an "office man who knows thoroughly
New York business and New York people. Three-
fourths of all the American business in London comes
from New York." 1 This man was found in Colonel
John H. Puleston. He had been prominent in New
York during the war, had fine social qualifications and
was well informed concerning "the ways of Wall Street
and the value of American securities, especially railway
shares." 2 On July 13, 1870, Hugh McCulloch wrote
to Jay Cooke from Washington :

My dear Mr. Cooke:

There has scarcely been a month since I left the Treasury
Department in which I have not received propositions to engage
in enterprises which, although respectable enough in themselves,
were not such as I have felt at liberty to connect myself with,
and I had about come to the conclusion to confine myself for
the balance of my days to the management of my own affairs,
and be content with my moderate fortune and with the reputa-
tion I had acquired as a banker in Indiana and as an officer of the
government at Washington. When, however, your brother said
to me some weeks ago that you had at last determined to estab-
lish a banking house in London, and that it was the desire of
yourself and your partners that I should become the head of it,
under, of course, the general direction of the house in the United
States, it occurred to me that this was a place for which my
experience and my reputation — which fair enough at home, is

1 Fahnestock to J. C, July 14, 1870.
'Ibid.

204 JAY COOKE

in Europe such as any American might be proud of — especially
fitted me and that I ought not to decline it. I said therefore to
him that I would accept it if the details could be made satisfac-
tory. Since this conversation took place I have seen your letter
to Henry giving an outline of the business to be transacted by the
London house, and extending to me an invitation to visit you on
your return from Lake Erie to talk the matter over in person.
This invitation it will afford me pleasure to accept, but before
doing so I would like to know whether you and your partners,
especially you and Mr. Moorhead, prefer me to anyone else for
the place, and whether or not I am mistaken in supposing it
to be your intention to establish not a temporary agency but a per-
manent house, which shall in due time rank with the most re-
spectable banking house in England and upon the continent.

While I do not deny that I would like to go to London as the
representative of your house, I would not go if I were not your
first choice for the place, nor unless the enterprise looks to the
future as well as the present, to the success of which I could
give my entire energies, which, with proper care of myself, I
hope will be vigorous for ten years to come.

My own opinion is that such a house as I presume you intend to
establish could be so conducted as to be safe and profitable to
those interested in it, and respectable enough to satisfy the proper
ambition of any gentleman who might be entrusted with its man-
agement. What little reputation I have, I do not intend to put
in jeopardy, and if I go to London it will be with the confident
expectation that I shall not lose it, but rather add to it for my
own benefit and that of my friends.

Please let me hear from you at your earliest convenience, and,
believe me, Sincerely and respectfully yours,

Hugh McCulloch.

On July 15th Mr. Cooke replied to this letter as fol-
lows:

Dear Mr. McCulloch:

Yours of the 13th inst. only reached me this morning. I have
been expecting you, Mrs. McCulloch, Lulu and the baby all the

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 205

week and it will be a great disappointment if you do not come.
I hope you will not leave Mrs. McCulloch and the children be-
hind.

In regard to the foreign banking house we have had it in con-
templation for many years. You know my natural carefulness
in these matters. I did not open our house in New York until
three years after we first thought it almost a necessity. One
great reason was my aversion to an enlargement of risks and
responsibilities. A New York house at that time would neces-
sarily have been committed to the care of comparative strangers
as Mr. Fahnestock was not to be spared from Washington.

I have felt in this way about the London house. We have
been in no hurry because we were determined not to make a start
there except under the most favorable circumstances and until
we could obtain co-operation from some one in whom we had the
most perfect confidence. I need hardly say that the unanimous
feeling of all our partners is that you are that one. No other
name has ever been mentioned in our conversations.

The time having now arrived when in our judgment the house
can not only be made very profitable, but will be of great service
to the public at large, we have with entire unanimity decided to
offer the position of head of that house to yourself. You pos-
sess our most unbounded confidence. As the result of our long
and intimate association with you during the many dark and
trying periods of the war and since, we have learned to admire
your great financial ability, your personal and official integrity
and many other elements in your character which form in the
aggregate the realization of our requirements in a partner.

Mr. Moorhead is now at Bedford. Before he left he reiterated
his earnest desire that nothing would interfere in your arranging
with us to take this position. Mr. Fahnestock and all the junior
partners are equally united on this subject.

I hope you will come over as soon as possible. Views may be
compared and arrangements perfected if all can be made satisfac-
tory.

With warm regards to Mrs. McCulloch and the children,

Sincerely your friend,

Jay Cooke.

206 JAY COOKE

McCulloch and Colonel Puleston were joined by
Frank Evans and they became the resident part-
ners, McCulloch having an interest of 15 per
cent., Puleston 10 per cent, and Evans 7^ per
cent., while young Moorhead was assured a salary
equal to five per cent, of the profits, the rest be-
ing divided among the New York partners in the pro-
portions in which they were rewarded by the articles of
agreement governing the management of that house.
Late in August it was publicly announced by Norvell
in the New York Times, the paragraph being copied
everywhere, that the London house was to be opened
with McCulloch at its head under the name of Jay Cooke,
McCulloch and Company. Evans in London was com-
missioned to select from among a large number of eligi-
ble sites a location for the house. The partners were
disappointed that they could not secure "Lloyd's Bank"
for which they were willing to pay £4,000 per annum
and they must take a building at the corner of Lombard
and Grace Church Streets, 41 Lombard Street, at £2,500
a year for five years. It was not so near to the Bank of
England as the building first chosen, but it was a con-
soling thought that it was not farther away from the
"Old Lady" than Morgans' or Barings'. On October
13, 1870, Jay Cooke and Company of New York sent
out the following circular, announcing the prospective
step:

Dear Sir:

To meet a long contemplated necessity of our business we
shall on the first of January next, in connection with our firms
in Philadelphia, Washington and this city open a house in
London under the style of Jay Cooke, McCulloch and Company,

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 207

with the Hon. Hugh McCulloch, late Secretary of the Treasury,
as senior resident partner supported by able associates.

With the co-operation of the new house and such Continental
connections as we may form we shall conduct a general European
American banking business, including the purchase and sale of
exchange, the negotiation of securities and the issuing of travel-
ing and commercial credits in all of which we shall be able to offer
our correspondents the best facilities.

Our arrangements here for the execution of orders in govern-
ment securities, stocks and gold are second to those of no house
in the street. In all business of national banks, including the
establishment of new institutions and exchanges of securities we
have had a very large experience and can make most favorable
terms.

Upon currency accounts we continue to credit banks and
bankers five per cent, interest upon balances averaging $3,000
and upwards and our London connection will enable us from
this time to allow correspondents, as we have not hitherto done,
four per cent, (currency) interest upon all gold balances.

We shall be pleased to correspond with you concerning any
point touched upon in this circular and will give our best atten-
tion to any business you may send us.

Your truly,

Jay Cooke and Company.

Fahnestock gave his very full attention to the work of
building up the new foreign connection and the rela-
tions of the London house were naturally with New
York rather than Philadelphia. After January 1, 1871,
the business of the purchase and sale of stocks on mar-
gins was entirely abolished in New York and Jay Cooke
and Company in that city gave their care exclusively to
the functions properly appertaining to an international
house.

The English office was fitted up handsomely and was
said to be the best private banking house in London.

208 JAY COOKE

A reading and sitting room for American travellers,
then a novelty, was equipped and opened on the second
story above the bank. There they might rest before a
cheerful hearth fire and read the principal American
and English newspapers. On December 3, 1870, Mr.
McCulloch wrote from London where he had just ar-
rived with his family and'his partners saying:

I have rented and taken possession of a large and pleasant and
well-furnished house in a fashionable part of the city at seven
hundred and fifty guineas per annum. I should have been quite
contented with a smaller and less expensive house but concluded
that the interests of the firm would be best promoted by my liv-
ing in the aristocratic part of the city and in a style correspond-
ing with that of gentlemen in London connected with the best
banking and mercantile houses. It' seemed to be expected that
the head of the firm of Jay Cooke and Company in London should
not only live in the most respectable part of the city, but be able
properly to reciprocate the courtesies which he may receive from
persons of high social position. You will, I know, like my house
and I shall expect that you and Mrs. Cooke will at a very early
day be occupying one of the pleasantest of its many pleasant
rooms. Mrs. Cooke likes London, and I am quite sure that she
will not like it less when she visits it as our guest. It will, of
course, as long as I occupy it, be the home in London of the part-
ners of Jay Cooke and Company and their families. As far as I
have seen London I like it, and as far as I have become acquainted
with its leading men I like them. It so happens that my opinions
upon finance and revenue are quite in accord with those of the
most influential and popular minds in England, and I am pleased
to find that I am nearly as well known and perhaps more highly
esteemed in this country than in the United States. I have met
with very cordial receptions and think I shall get along very
pleasantly in English society. ... I cannot of course speak
advisedly in regard to business at present. Everybody seems to
regard the success of our house as quite certain. They take it for
granted I suppose, that a firm which has been so successful as

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 209

Jay Cooke and Company have been in the United States cannot
fail of success in London. We shall do our best to make good
the public expectations but you must not expect too much of us
for the first year. Our first effort must be to establish a reliable
reputation for strength, conservatism and fair dealing, the proper
fruits of which will follow in due time.

. Nearly all of the bankers in London with American
connections at once called upon Mr. McCulloch, among
them Morgan who was "inclined to be particularly at-
tentive." On the night of December ist the partners
dined at the Reform Club to meet Mr. Morgan, Baron
Schern, three members of the British Cabinet and other
distinguished men. So long as McCulloch remained in
England he was constantly invited to dinners and meet-
ings at which he spoke freely upon American political
subjects.1

Jay Cooke eagerly sought to obtain the naval agency
in London which was held by the Barings. It had been
given to them shortly after the Ashburton Treaty in
recognition of Lord Ashburton's services in bringing
about a settlement of the differences between the two
governments. Cookes desired it because of the balance
which was often large. The agency was an advertise-
ment since United States naval officers drew upon the
fund from all parts of the world and, as Fahnestock ob-
served, it would "aid in the cultivation of a very large
and profitable business which Barings have monopolized
for years, namely the accounts of American merchant-
men." Henry Cooke, assisted by Senator Cattell, after
repeated conferences with President Grant and Secre-
tary of the Navy Robeson successfully concluded the
arrangement in the summer of 1871, and thus the ac-

*W. E. C. Moorhead to J. C, December 1, 1870.
14

210 JAY COOKE

count was taken from an "Anglo-Russian-Chinese
house" and given to a "purely American" firm, though
the change was not easily effected because of Grant's
dislike for McCulloch. "It was a very bitter pill for
him to recognize McCulloch," Henry Cooke wrote to
his brother, "but he did it solely on account of his re-
gard for us. He said he could never forget McCulloch's
conduct during his imbroglio with Johnson." *

Soon one million dollars were deposited with Cooke's
London house by the Navy Department to Barings'
sorrow, although Puleston thought them deserving of
little sympathy, since once when they had been asked
about the American firm they had declared that they
did not know anything of it, and upon scanning a list
of the directors of the Northern Pacific Railroad which
had been submitted to them that they did not recognize
a single name.2 The Cookes also wished the State De-
partment account but as it was reckoned to be only one-
tenth as valuable as the other, and they had promised
to restrict their demands to the naval agency they were
compelled for the present to curb their ambitions in that
direction.

General Sargent's negotiations were still dragging
on tediously when Jay Cooke's London house was es-
tablished, and it was not meant that this event should
in any way interfere with his efforts to place the loan
with European bankers. It must have occurred to Mr.
Cooke, however, that in organizing a branch abroad
he would have the means of materially helping forward
his great railway enterprise. The London partners

1 May 17, 1871.

2 Puleston to J. C, June 6, 1871.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 211

could give their aid to Sargent when he should need it.
Their mere coming there was additional evidence in the
eyes of Europe of the wealth and importance of the firm
which had taken the fiscal agency of the Northern Pa-
cific. They were expected to be a check upon the doughty
negotiator if he should require this attention at their
hands, and if worse came to worse, Jay Cooke, McCul-
loch and Company could bring out the loan in Europe on
their own account without reliance upon the financiers
who seemed to be so shy in the presence of American
railroads.

Sargent left the field in February, 1871, for a visit to
America. In person he reported his prospects to Jay
Cooke, soon to return for fresh endeavors. Bischoffs-
heim like Budge was disposed to give his first atten-
tions to the newspapers. He told Puleston that "all
the press" in England could be "secured for about
£3,000, excepting the Times which must be arranged for
separately and is the most important." 1 But as Sargent
had won over Sampson, clinching the bargain with a
Lake Superior amethyst for a lady's rock grotto, the
Times, it is presumed, might in future be neglected.

Bischoffsheim was urged to lay out the Continent in
districts as Jay Cooke was doing in America but he said
that the plan would be new and therefore impracti-
cable in Europe. His main reliance would be the man-
ipulation of the markets.

For the negotiation Sargent thought that he needed
a larger stock bonus, and in March Mr. Cooke went to
the "pool" subscribers and asked each to surrender one-
seventh of what he had received or would receive more

1 Puleston to J. G, January 5, 1871.

212 JAY COOKE

freely to anoint the Jews of Europe, and expedite, the
process of obtaining the control of their coveted hoards.
The financier wanted fifty millions and he had not yet
got one. He assumed that the members of the "pool"
would cheerfully accede to his request for the general
advantage of the enterprise, but they were by no means
a unit in agreeing to do so. William Thaw, a large
subscriber in Pittsburg, backed and filled, and asked for
very full information as to the cause and purpose of the
call. There was much questioning of motives with un-
pleasant accusations in other quarters in that city which
was aggrieved because it had not been given a member
of the Board of Directors in recognition of its cordial
response to Mr. Cooke's first call. Senator Robertson
of South Carolina wrote from the Senate Chamber in
Washington on March 28th:

Jay Cooke and Company:

Gentlemen : — I am in receipt of your printed circular of the
13th asking for a concession of one-seventh of my subscription
to the $5,600,000 fund of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company
for the purpose of securing a sale of fifty millons of bonds in
England. In reply I have to say I am not willing to give up
a seventh or any other part of the stock due me on my subscrip-
tion to the bonds and stocks of the Northern Pacific Railroad
Company.

I am very respectfully your obedient servant,

T. J. Robertson.

On April 5, 1871, Henry S. Sanford, for several years
Minister of the United States in Belgium and still liv-
ing in Brussels, in reply to Mr. Cooke's circular ask-
ing for a partial renunciation of his rights in future
divisions of the stock, said: "I cannot but feel that the
prestige of your loan is weakened by this long-drawn

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 213

negotiation extending now over a year in London, and
where every new concession is as likely as not to be fol-
lowed by new demands.''

Again he wrote on April 12, 1871 :

"If nothing had been said over here during the past
twelve months about Northern Pacific and its fifty mil-
lion loan, and a commencement now made with five or
ten millions only, I would be certain of its success. As
it is it has been too much talked about and discussed,
too long on the market seeking a contractor and all those
who have loans to place have been alarmed, some into
hostility, by reason of the supposed danger of such a call
upon the money market."

Upon Sanford's advice — he was never a friend of
the Bischoffsheim negotiation — Sargent was persuaded
to turn his attention to the Oppenheims who had a sub-
stantial old house in Germany. As a result of a good
deal of manipulation they were induced to look favor-
ably upon the proposal for an agency and, in connec-
tion with the Bank fur Handel und Industrie of
Darmstadt, they were expected to furnish the money
which the Duluth man so long had sought. The con-
tract was to be signed in Cologne and with this bargain
in prospect Bischoffsheim in panic seems at last to have
decided to conclude his arrangement; but he was
to be eliminated, making him like Budge an enemy
of the loan. Fahnestock paid the London house a
visit in May and he, Puleston, Sargent and an English
attorney for Bischoffsheim named Sharp went over to
Cologne,— an impressive caravan. They together met
Baron Oppenheim, and his sons and partners, the
chairman and several directors of the Darmstadt bank

214 JAY COOKE

also being present. The latter launched a tirade against
the climate of the American northwest. Sargent and
the Northern Pacific promoters boasted that it was a
cross between Venice and Paris, while the Darmstadt
bankers said it was "Norway and Sweden." The truth
seems to be that they were told that Budge had had to do
with the loan and this house they considered "very fifth
rate." They learned too from the Rothschilds that it
had been offered to them and therefore withdrew with-
out any more ado.1

Thus was the negotiation another time frustrated
despite an expression of the highest hopes from all of
Mr. Cooke's advisers on the subject, Sanford having
been so certain of the result that he had sent in a bill for
enormous commissions to cover his services to the com-
pany in turning Sargent's steps in the right direction
after so much aimless wandering.

The younger Oppenheims who were more eager for
adventure than the Baron cast about for new allies and
found them in the Union Bank of Vienna and a
group of strong institutions in Munich, Dresden, Frank-
fort and other German cities. Everything was settled or
ready to be settled according to the cablegrams received
by Mr. Cooke from his ambassadors at Cologne, when
another hitch occurred and they were off to Vienna to
continue the conferences. Sargent had again "secured
all the press" 2 and on June 7th at half past one in the
morning after "endless talk," according to Fahnestock,
the contract with this new combination was signed.
"The arrangements they are making," said Mr. Cooke's

1 Puleston to J. C, May 25, 1870.

2 To J. C, June 4th.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 215

young New York partner, "cannot fail to secure a meas-
ure of success. They own the press, body and breeches.
We shall leave Kapp here to prevent the publication of
excessive exaggerations to which they are prone. I have
managed to save you a lot of commissions which will
make you happy, if the sales come up to our expecta-
tions. We have used in all I believe $130,000 of pool
stock of which $100,000 goes to the bank and they want
more." * The next thing the contract-makers did was
to go up to Amsterdam for further chaffering and on
June 20th they telegraphed : "French loan and Frankfort
influence caused cancellation of contract. Shall send
committee to examine before offering again." The
blame was laid at the door of Budge. It was "the
wonder of bankers that Jay Cooke and Company would
entrust the loan to such people — a house, they say, who
are just honest enough to keep out of the hands of the
police." 2 They were the agents for a western Ameri-
can railroad (the Rock Island). Semi-annually the in-
terest was paid through them to the German holders of
bonds and just before one payment was due, so it was
alleged, they had let it be publicly inferred that the com-
pany was unable to honor the coupons. In the panic
which ensued they bought large quantities of the bonds,
then paid the interest as usual and sold out at the price
they speedily returned to.

In view of all these disclosures and with the conviction
that the firm would and could do nothing to sell the
Northern Pacific loan, and was indeed using its offices to
prevent sale through any other agency, Jay Cooke at

1 Fahn. to Puleston, from Vienna, June 7, 1871.

2 Letter of Fahnestock, June 29, 1871.

216 JAY COOKE '

once determined to buy the interest and rid himself of
such disturbing influences. He had in his possession
the $500,000 in gold paid him by the Budges, but
they demanded a delivery of the bonds. Those which
they had received they threatened to pour upon the mar-
ket at a discount and exhibited so much power to stir
up mischief that Philip W. Holmes was instructed to
make the best terms he could with them. Thus they
were at last got out of the way after a damaging associa-
tion of more than a year and a half.

When Fahnestock telegraphed that the bankers would
send a committee to America to examine the road the
negotiation took another turn. The Darmstadt bank
had had two commissioners in this country when it was
regarded as a likely confederate of the Oppenheims, but
the new ambassadors for the Vienna bankers were to be
shown the northwest from end to end at vast trouble
and expense.

This famous party numbered five, and three of them
sailed with Sargent on the Calabria in the middle of
July. They were lodged at the Gilsey House in New
York. The next day they were taken to the Northern
Pacific offices on Broadway and surrounded with pam-
phlets, maps and profiles. There they met the officers
of the railroad company. "They are very intelligent
gentlemen and very practical," one of Jay Cooke's in-
formants said of the visitors. "They are plain men and
are not susceptible to lionizing. They would not toler-
ate ovations, if any were offered." They were to go to
Buffalo where they would dine with William G. Fargo,
a director of the company; thence proceed by rail
to Cleveland, where they would board a lake

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 217

steamer for Duluth. But while the trio awaited the
arrival of their colleagues Mr. Cooke invited them
to "Ogontz." They were escorted to Philadelphia
to enjoy all the hospitalities of that palatial house
as these were dispensed by its great-hearted owner.
The party comprised Augustus Folsch, president of the
Engineers and Architects Association of Vienna; the
Chevalier de Grimberg, a professor in the Polytechnic
Institute of Vienna and Mr. Den Tex, Secretary of the
Board of Trade of Amsterdam. Upon their return to
New York they were joined by their two belated asso-
ciates; Mr. Haas of Berlin, a leading director and long
the general manager of the Gorlitz Railway running
from Berlin to the Saxon frontier, and Mr. Brert-
schwert, a journalist of Frankfort. No one of these men
was a very important character, but it was believed that
the Vienna bankers would set great store by their report
which it was understood would be drawn up and signed
before their departure from America. It was thought
that they might wish to go to Dakota and there was
some fear that they would rest their eyes upon the "Bad
Lands." But they contented themselves with a trip out
the Northern Pacific tracks among the wheat fields of
Minnesota and a coaching excursion through the Red
River Valley, stopping here and there to shoot plover
and snipe. They met Vice-President Colfax who was
the guest of William Windom, both enthusiastic friends
of the railroad,1 and on August 18th left St. Paul for

1 " The Vice-President and I had a glorious time in the ' Great North-
west.' He returned with reinvigorated health and more enthusiastic
than ever over the prospects of the N. P. R. R. Our party were ail
delighted with the country in Dakota as well as with Minnesota. We
all agreed that the lands of the company which lie within sixty miles

218 JAY COOKE

San Francisco. Sargent wrote Jay Cooke on the 17th:

From the Otter Tail to Red River the lands are fully equal to
any I have ever seen, and I now believe with you that from
the junction to Red River, if properly managed, they can
be sold in ten years for millions more than the cost of the line.
If the commissioners were to report only on the lands their
report would be all we could desire. We had delightful weather
and they all enjoyed the trip very much and were very enthu-
siastic — at least as much so as the German character would per-
mit them to be. They are very jealous of outside influences and
wish to see and judge for themselves. There could not be better
men for the business than Den Tex, Grimberg and Folsch.
Their work has been most thoroughly done and their notes are
of the fullest description. Thus far all we told them has been
more than realized and their report all we could wish. I have
no doubt everything on the Pacific coast will be equally satis-
factory.

It had been supposed at first that the men would wish
a glimpse of Montana and the middle ground on the line,
but Milnor Roberts who was up there with several
surveying parties discouraged such an excursion. His
headquarters were at Helena, 480 miles from Corinne,
the nearest point by stage on the Central Pacific Rail-
road. He told Mr. Cooke that they could see nothing
there but "mining gulches at a most unfavorable period
of the year when most of the water operations have
stopped for the season for want of water for gold wash-
ing." * Again he wrote that they would need to ride in

west of the Red River will pay for the construction of the entire road
from Thomson to the crossing of the Cheyenne (300 miles). In adjust-
ing the land grant care should be taken to make up the Minnesota
deficiencies in the Red River valley on the Dakota side. That will give
us one-half of the lands in a strip 120 miles wide and of the finest lands
on the continent." — Wm. Windom to J. C, from Winona, Minn., Sep-
tember 4, 1871.

1 Roberts to J. C, August 2d.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 219

"crowded stages day and night four days over an arid,
alkaline, horribly dusty region from Corinne to Helena,
the most forbidding region save one that I know of.
That one is across Idaho from Boise City to Kelton, an
alkaline sage brush desert of the most aggravated char-
acter. Owing to the want of water this is the worst
season of the year for a stranger to come into this re-
gion, whereas it is the best season of the year on the
Pacific coast, in Oregon and Washington, or as good
as any, provided there is not too much smoke from
burning forests." 1

"We are not concerned as to what their report will
be," Jay Cooke wrote to Roberts, "if they see the country
as you and Dr. Claxton saw it." "It could not be seen in
that way" said Roberts. "They would get back to the
line of the Central and Union Pacific fatigued to death
and disgusted, and with a strong impression which it
might be utterly impossible to dispel. If they would
begin in June and occupy the summer till September
they might see the country as I saw it, but not other-
wise. ... If the Missouri River were up instead
of being low, as it is, it might be pleasant to spend a
month working up that stream to Fort Benton, and then
150 miles of staging would bring them to Helena, but
there is no such chance." 2 This excursion being aban-
doned, Roberts was instructed to come down to the rail-
road and accompany the commissioners to the coast.
The character of this accomplished engineer was such
that his explanations, as they passed along, very favor-
ably impressed the inspecting party. Their good opin-

1 Roberts to J. C, August 7th.

2 To J. C, August 13th.

220 JAY COOKE

ion of him, however, was not fully reciprocated. Rob-
erts wrote to Jay Cooke on September 7 :

The commission does not express much admiration of any-
thing; the majority of the remarks half in joke and half in earnest
are rather sneering. Possibly they may feel more than they
show. One thing is certain, they seem to have a notion that
anyone they meet who praises anything has been hired to
do it. They do not seem to imagine that there can be any dis-
interested testimony unless it is something unfavorable. They
rather gloat over appearance that is inimical ; at the same time
I have no reason to suppose that they would state anything
contrary to their belief. . . . The General has his hands full
with this incongruous party.

If they did not agree with Sargent they also did not
agree with one another as to where they wished to go or
what they wished to see. Those that had come last
desired to go back first. Folsch is the "most conceited
and obstinate man I ever came in contact with," said
Sargent. "He has never met a man on any subject
connected with the country, but he told him he lied at
once, and he don't believe anything unless he sees it with
his own eyes and hardly then." * After seeing Puget
Sound four of the men were taken up the Columbia
River to Walla Walla. Haas, who was regarded as "the
most intelligent member of the commission," omitted
this part of the trip and hurried back to Philadelphia
with Henry D. Cooke, Jr. The others on their return
journey were persuaded to stop at Gibraltar whither
Jay Cooke had gone to receive them, but on the way all
their notes and clothing, except that which was upon
their backs, were burned up in a baggage car. Mr.
Cooke smoothed their fur while they were upon his
1 Sargent to J. C, from Portland, September 14, 1871.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 221

island,1 and they were then ready to return home to tell
the bankers of Europe what they had seen in America.
Every effort was made to have them draw up their re-
port before sailing. Governor Smith wished it to be
done while they were "in the full flush of Gibraltar en-
tertainment, before seasickness turns them inside out
and dissipates all their romantic ideas of the country
they have seen." 2 He wrote on October ioth, after
a final interview with them in New York : "I am satis-
fied you will get a strong report from them. They
spoke of seeing some bad lands. I replied that of
course in a road 2,000 miles long we could not expect
to find a garden all the way ; that in traversing the state
of New York between the Hudson and Lake Erie they
would find much land which in a state of nature would
be called very poor, but that New York was one of the
richest states in the Union. . . . We discussed the
question of the ability of the road to pay interest. I
stated our belief that when we reached the Missouri
River and the trade of Montana, with the navigation of
the upper portion of the Missouri, we should be able to
show large earnings, while no portion of the road be-
tween Lake Superior and the Missouri would be ex-
pensive to operate, especially if we found coal in
abundance as we believed we should in Dakota." Thus
were questions multiplied and explanations and discus-
sions continued. On October 16th Holmes was able to
write from New York: "They have finally left us with
the kindest feeling and the very best impressions. That

1 •" If they do not talk right I shall haul them over the coals pretty
extensively." — J. C. to Smith, September 21, 1871,
*J, G, §, to }. C, September 30, 1871,

222 JAY COOKE

their reports will be enthusiastically favorable to the
Northern Pacific enterprise there is scarcely any doubt."
They had shown "unmistakable evidences of their good
intentions."

There was now a conviction on a good many sides
that the negotiation in Europe was in unsuitable hands,
a rather late discovery, but it was brought to Mr.
Cooke's notice very forcibly from various sides. It
was said of Sargent that he could not look men "clearly
in the eye," or "tell a straightforward story." He was
"a firm believer in diplomacy of a small sort," and
trusted "more to tricks than to the strength of a good
cause and to fair dealing." 1 Before sailing Commis-
sioner Haas had said to Fahnestock confidentially that
Sargent, in his opinion, "instead of helping the enter-
prise abroad was calculated by his manner to prejudice
European, and especially German, people." Mr. Cooke
was slow to believe evil reports of any kind regarding
a fellow-man and with him the presumption was in
favor of everyone until there was unmistakable proof of
misbehavior, but it was now clear that this business
had been bungled in a remarkable way. That the last
chance of making a loan in Europe had gone, the whole
great scheme being, "like some unsubstantial' pageant
faded," was shortly made very obvious.

Fahnestock again went to Europe. The commis-
sioners presented their reports which were only half
favorable ; 2 the bankers made new demands, broke all

1 Nett. to J. C, August 14, 1871.

2 Again and again these reports were offered to the Northern Pacific
Company and to Jay Cooke and Company in the hope that large prices
would be paid for their suppression but they were not made public
until October 8, 1873. Despairing of " hush money " the negotiators sold
Haas's to the New York Tribune, which on that day published it.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 223

their promises, and escaped their contract, — and the
vision of fifty millions from Europe had passed away.
The Northern Pacific negotiators, in their letters to Mr.
Cooke, called the German bankers "blackmailers,"
"pirates," "a set of scoundrels," etc., etc., to which these
men doubtless responded in kind in their own tongue and
the history of a transaction which would provide ma-
terial for two or three operas bouffes was practically
done.

It may be said that Mr. Cooke should have taken Mr.
Moorhead's early advice about the European market for
American railway bonds after the latter's failure to ef-
fect an alliance with the Rothschilds, but Mr. Moor-
head's opinion upon some of the greatest occasions in
the history of the firm had proven entirely valueless. It
may be said that Mr. Cooke should have chosen his Euro-
pean agents more wisely, but he was not solely to blame
for the selection of them since they came to him with
recommendations from others whom he trusted, and his
nature made him not proof against deceivers. He did
not know Europe and he doubtless was afterward of
the opinion that he should have adopted the advice of
so many of his friends, joined his family when they were
travelling abroad in the summer of 1870, and carried
the scheme to the bankers in person without the media-
tion of agents. He was not in the confidences of Bis-
marck and Napoleon and he could not prevent the
Franco-Prussian war by which the arrangement which
promised the greatest success was defeated and the
whole subject was returned to chaos at a time when
conditions in Europe least favored the revival of the
subject. The loan was then hawked about from door

224

JAY COOKE

to door among money-changers great and little and
became the sport of every counting house. It was evi-
dent that the bonds, if they were to be sold at all, must
be scattered among the people of the United States and
to them the appeal was now being made with Mr.
Cooke's accustomed eloquence.

CHAPTER XVI

BOND SELLING

After closing the "pool" Jay Cooke did not at once
enter upon the work of selling Northern Pacific bonds
in the United States. He wished to wait until the con-
struction of the road was fairly under way so that the
people could see that it was not a mere chimera of hope-
ful minds. The proceeds of the "pool" were relied upon
to carry the line to Red River when, if it were accepted
by the government, the appertaining lands in Minnesota
could be secured -and the great scheme for inducing emi-
gration from Europe, establishing colonies and peopling
the country could be regularly proceeded with. He
also understood that the times were not very propitious
for the sale. Pie did not need the counsel of Fahne-
stock, who wrote:

I can't for the life of me get up your enthusiasm in the
Northern Pacific, chiefly I suppose for the reason that at every
step here I am confronted by the experience of others who have
bonds to sell and cannot place them. . . . To-day Central
Pacific 6s, a completed and profitable road are 94 here ; Unions
84 ; Missouri Pacifies 88 to 90, all earning money and not depend-
ent upon Congressional favor for their actual construction.
. . . People have much faith in your ability to push things
but fear the thing may break down after a little, and any way
the stock cannot be profitable in many years. They argue that
a man may be poor with uncounted acres of land. . . . You
are confident of popularizing the bonds. To do this you must
15 225

226 JAY COOKE

show a sure way to earn at least the interest, and half a dozen
years is a good while to wait for earnings. However good you
can demonstrate your bond to be you must compete with the
cheaper ones offered by others. Clark, Dodge and Company
brought out their Missouri Pacifies at 95. Last week they sold
at 863^ and they (C. D. & Co.) will sell now at or under 90
a lot they still own. Kansas Pacific 7s have not as much land
behind them as Northern Pacific but they have more road, and
.government aid beside in bond subsidy. It is well to look all
these things squarely in the face now. I don't like the fact that
capitalists of the larger sort do not take to the scheme and the
Jieaviest takers are among parties reached by personal influence,
like General Moorhead's constituents.1

Mr. Cooke regarded this letter as unkind. He said
that he expected of his partners a greater respect for
his judgments, and Fahnestock, in reply, without yield-
ing anything, as he never did in a controversy, reiter-
ated his convictions in regard to the project.2

Mr. Cooke was probably the more aggrieved because
he knew that there was much truth in such statements.
He hoped the financial situation would be strengthened
at home and meantime he confidently calculated that
several millions of dollars would arrive from Europe.
It was alleged by some of his talkative foreign agents
that he was seeking $100,000,000 in England and on the
Continent, but he did not ask for more than fifty — the
sum named in both the Budge and Bischofrsheim con-
tracts— which would have left him, upon Milnor Rob-
erts's estimates, only $30,000,000 to obtain in the United
States.

The financier had not neglected the advertisement of
the railway and his connection with it as early as in the

1 Fahn. to J. C, June 26, 1870.

2 January 28, 1870.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 227

summer of 1869 when the first exploring parties were
in the field. Their letters to him were sent to Harding
or Forney for publication in the Inquirer or the Press.
The columns of the New York Times and Tribune were
still open to him. Coffin wrote from Minnesota to the
Boston Journal, and the "pool" stock was distributed
with a view to binding to his enterprise the editors of
the leading American journals, but no concerted and
organized efforts were immediately made to popularize
the loan at home. Although the favorable action of
Congress authorizing him to place a mortgage upon the
company's lands was so confidently anticipated that the
European negotiations were proceeded with it would
have boded no good to the enterprise in this country
to have acted upon the strength of such an expectation.
Early in 1870, when Milnor Roberts asked for several
extra copies of his report for distribution among news-
paper writers Mr. Cooke said that the time for publish-
ing the company's plans had not yet arrived.

The first important step in this direction was the en-
gagement of General A. B. Nettleton to organize and
preside over an executive department. He established
his headquarters on the second floor of the Jay Cooke
banking house in Third Street in the same rooms from
which Sam Wilkeson had sung the praises of the seven-
thirty loan. Before assuming his duties the General
made a trip on horseback along the projected line of the
new railway in Minnesota and Dakota to familiarize
himself with the actual situation, and then settled with
his family in a home in the Chelten Hills near "Ogontz"
where he would be convenient for frequent conferences
with Mr. Cooke.

228 JAY COOKE

Nettleton, as we have seen, had previously com-
mended himself to the banker and aided him in formu-
lating and propagating his financial views, first at San-
dusky and afterward in Chicago in newspapers which
he conducted in those cities. A college man and a stu-
dent at law with an ability to express himself clearly and
convincingly ; a graduate from the four years' school of
active service in the Civil War in which at twenty-six
he was one of the youngest officers to win a brigadier
general's star and a journalist with an excellent record
he was well fitted for the post.

Once again was Mr. Cooke's incomparable genius as
a maker of public opinion favorable to his financial un-
dertakings given its full scope, and while the patriotic
appeal was not so strong as in the sale of a war loan
there was room in plenty for eloquent allusions to the
advantages that would accrue to the country by popu-
lating a wilderness and carrying men and their goods
and ideas into a quarter of the continent whose riches
were not yet unlocked to the world. Jay Cooke looked
at no financial plan from the eyes of a dull, grasping
money-maker. He was never comfortable when he
could not see progress and large national gains at the
end of his way, and he urged upon all occasions that the
patriotic features of the gigantic enterprise should be
stamped upon the public mind.

Another feature of Mr. Cooke's policy which was de-
veloped as a corollary of his advertising scheme was his
effort to bring to the councils of the company the coun-
try's leading public men. Thus, while he would be as-
sured of their advice and support in emergencies, con-
fidence would be inspired in the people because of a

228 JAY COOKE

MAP OF LOCATION OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC LAND GRANT, WHICH INSPIRED J. PROCTOR KNOTT'S FAMOUS SPEECH

Rings indicate ioo, 200, etc.; miles from Duluth

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR

knowledge that they were connected with it. General
Schenck, who had been so useful to Jay Cooke and Com-
pany in Congress was about to enter the regular employ
of the Northern Pacific Railroad when he was appointed
Minister to England.1 On December 2d Henry wrote
to Jay Cooke:

In the strictest confidence General Schenck tells me that the
English misison has been offered to him by the President and
Mr. Fish. They have both told him that if he will take the
mission the settlement of the Alabama Claims shall be withdrawn
from Washington where they now are, and placed entirely in
his hands with the fullest discretionary powers. He is very
much tempted by this proposition, as it will be a triumphant
conclusion of a long and honorable political career. I say con-
clusion because he has determined at the earliest possible moment
to retire to private life and pursuits. On the other hand he
hesitates on account of your proposition, offering him a lucrative
and permanent connection with our great railroad enterprises
upon his retirement from Congress, which he says affords him
just the opening he desires. Now I need not enter into an ar-
gument with you to show how desirable it would be to us, to
our railroad enterprises and to our London house to have a per-
sonal friend representing the government at London, and it has
occurred to me that it would be well to encourage Schenck to
accept the mission with the understanding that he shall push
the Alabama Claims. Upon accomplishing the settlement of
them he could retire from his position with as much eclat as if
he should remain there a dozen years, and then enter upon
his attorneyship for the North Pacific. Should we have occa-

1 Mr. Cooke, always the friend of John Sherman, in spite of the latter's
recent aberrations on the greenback question, supported the Ohio Senator
for this post. On November 9, 1870, he wrote his brother Henry in Wash-
ington : " Sherman in my opinion would do our country and the admin-
istration vast credit. In fact he is the only man I know of who has
brains and talent and an appearance that would fill the mission. If my
opinion as a citizen — no politician — is worth anything, I heartily give it
in favor of John Sherman."

230 JAY COOKE

sion to use his services in Europe in that capacity his former
ministerial position will be of great service to us. ... I
confess that my first choice on many accounts for the mission
would be Sherman, but there seem to be insuperable objections
in the way of his appointment. The President is unwilling to
spare him from the Senate.

Such encouragement to Schenck was given, and he
accepted the appointment with the understanding that
upon his return he would find a place awaiting him if he
desired to occupy it. Mr. Cooke now turned his eyes
toward no less a person than the Vice President of the
United States. Between the financier and Schuyler
Colfax there was a warm intimacy and the friendship
was genuine upon both sides. In his bold way Mr.
Cooke, early in 1871, suggested that the Vice President
retire from his office and enter the employ of the North-
ern Pacific Railroad. Mr. Colfax declined the post,
writing his friend as follows:

You took me so much by surprise in the munificent proffer you
made me, conditioned on my resignation of my present position
and it was so tempting, both in its amount and its labors, that it
required the strongest considerations of duty to enable me to
waive its acceptance. But I cannot let it pass without tendering
you my sincere gratitude for this unexpectedly high appreciation
of my ability to serve your company. I consider it one of the
highest compliments I ever received in my life, and value it the
more coming from the person it did, one to whom the nation
owed so much in its dark hours of peril and trial. Although
during the eight years since I was first chosen to preside in Con-
gress I have held positions in the two houses, the salary of which
does not pay my expenses (so that with the exception of what
I realized lecturing during two years on my trip across the conti-
nent, I am worth less now than then) yet I do feel that having
both desired and accepted the Vice Presidency of the United

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 231

States, it is a duty I owe to the millions whose votes were cast
for me to serve out my term faithfully. It is not possible, there-
fore, to enter on the work you desired to assign to me, but I
shall remember as long as life lasts the liberality of the proffer
with which you honored me. I had never dreamed of any such
salary, nor any sum approximating to it in the business life on
which I shall enter toward the middle or close of next year,
when my sands of official life shall be running low, and the
public mind shall be on the candidates of the rival parties to suc-
ceed me.1

This response caused Mr. Cooke to change his pro-
posal and he frankly told Mr. Colfax that a place in
charge of the company's interests in Washington had
been offered to General Schenck, stating the terms upon
which it had been declined. He asked for the Vice
President's advice in filling it. Schenck had suggested
the name of William B. Allison of Iowa, but as the
financier did not know anything of that man's abilities
he asked Colfax : "Is it incompatible with your duties to
accept a temporary position of this kind, representing us
in Washington in these matters for the time being?"

Mr. Cooke himself suggested difficulties in the way of
such an arrangement and Colfax replied:

Let me say at once at the outset that while for reasons you
understand I could not accept the commission you proffer to
attend to your interests here while Congress is in session, which
has a prior claim on my time, I will cheerfully do all in my power
without any remuneration whatever. I could not say less after
you have honored me with such an unexpected appreciation of
the value of my services, and I am only too glad to be able to
assist a little in this great work.

Colfax recommended ex-Senator Benjamin F. Wade
of Ohio. "The President likes him very much," he

1 January 27, 1871.

232 JAY COOKE

wrote the financier on February 4, 1871, "and has, great
faith in him — more now than ever before." And on
March 28th he again wrote to Mr. Cooke:

I spoke to Senator Wade last night about the Northern Pa-
cific Railroad but told him I had no authority to make any proffer,
of course. You could get him as agent here for all your busi-
ness, if you wished, and no one would be of more value to your
company in many ways. No one stands higher with the Pres-
ident and Cabinet. His reputation for sturdy integrity is as
wide as the continent. He would not like to act as attorney in
legal proceedings, though a judge and able lawyer before he
served his eighteen years in the Senate, but as a worker here
at the Departments, for all you have to do, no one in the United
States could serve you more effectively.

Thus Mr. Wade became the Northern Pacific Com-
pany's representative at Washington, performing a
very useful service to it in connection with its land
grants and at other points at which it came in contact
with the government, while he, with Colfax and many
public men with whom Mr. Cooke established warm
friendships, exerted no inconsiderable influence in cre-
ating a popular sentiment in favor of the enterprise.

With all the waiting upon the European negotiators,
and the careful preparation of the American field, the
bonds which were to run for thirty years, being redeem-
able in gold and paying interest at the rate of 73/10
per cent, per annum in gold, were not ready to be of-
fered to the public until January 1, 1871. Then all
the arrangements were complete. They were to be sold
at par. There were general agents who were assigned
to large territorial districts whose maximum compensa-
tion was six, per cent, in cash and ten per cent, in stock.
Thus Morgan, Keene and Marvin, afterward Marvin

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 233

and Keene of New York, were the general agents for
New York State, northern New Jersey, Vermont, Can-
ada and the West India Islands; John V. Painter of
Cleveland for northern Ohio and afterward for the en-
tire state of Ohio; Johnston Brothers and Company of
Baltimore for that city and a district in Maryland;"
Corne and James of New York for Connecticut and
Rhode Island; E. D. Jones for Missouri, Kansas and
Arkansas; Brewster, Sweet and Company of Boston
for that city and its neighborhood; Lunt, Preston and
Kean of Chicago for some middle western states.
These general agents appointed sub-agents whose com-
mission was usually two and a half per cent, in cash
and two and a half per cent, in stock. As during the
war there were also travelling agents who reported to
Jay Cooke directly, or to the general agents in the dis-
tricts, and the advertisement of the loan was begun sys-
tematically and expensively, but in the light of all the
firm's valuable past experience. Maps, pamphlets, post-
ers, placards "Questions and Answers" and notices for
the newspapers were distributed in large quantities.
John Russell Young, who had passed from theTribune to
a paper of his own called the Standard, was employed to
place advertisements and manage the newspapers under
Fahnestock's direction in New York, the work of sub-
sidization including the American correspondents of
European journals. Hundreds of cases of Ohio wine,
salmon from the Pacific coast and other purchases were
charged to the Northern Pacific advertising account to
limber the journalists.

The response to Mr. Cooke's appeal was disappoint-
ing from the first and he did not try to conceal his dis-

234 JAY COOKE

couragement from his friends; nor was an effort made
to keep the facts from President Smith.1 E. G. Spauld-
ing, president of the Farmers and Mechanics' National
Bank of Buffalo, wrote on January 21, 1871 :

Your enterprise is great in two aspects. First, it has a large
grant of land which appears to be ample to secure the repayment
of the money invested in the securities by private capitalists.
Second : it will be a great public benefit and a strong bond of
national union. ... I will aid you what I can in your great
enterprise and you have my best wishes for its success.

On January 30th Mr. Spaulding continued his obser-
vations :

We have taken considerable pains to circulate your circulars,
pamphlets and map showing the advantages and security of the
7-30 loan of the Northern Pacific Railway, but without success
in obtaining subscriptions. All who have government bonds de-
posited with us for safe keeping have been notified but they
do not seem inclined to make the change. They say that Union
Pacifies are quoted at yy 1/2 to 80 on a completed road, etc., and
other railroad bonds bearing seven per cent, gold interest can
be had at 85. The best and only offer thus far has been $5,000
cash for your loan to the amount of $5,500. I give you this
information so that you may be able to form something of an
opinion as to the situation in this city and vicinity. The fact is
that there has been a very thorough canvass for the sale of rail-
road bonds going on here for the last three years, and frequently
the bonds subscribed for at par have been sold at much less
figures within a few months after such subscriptions were made.

In New York, where Philip W. Holmes was in charge
of the Northern Pacific sales-desk, the receipts in Jan-
uary, 187 1, were at the rate of about $2,500 a day,
nearly all in the $100 denomination to small invest-
ors. The most rigid arrangements were made to pre-

1 Smith to J. C, January 9, 1871.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 235

vent a trade in the bonds at a discount. When they
were offered under par they were to be bought back,
the difference between 88 and the cost price being
charged to the advertising account. Very early such
sales were reported to Jay Cooke from Boston and New
York. All the "pool" subscribers had solemnly pledged
themselves not to put their holdings upon the market
and by ascertaining the numbers of the bonds the trou-
ble could be traced to its source. On March 9, 1871,
Mr. Cooke sent a circular letter to all the subscribers to
his $5,600,000 fund reminding them of their contract and
threatening derelicts with the penalty — a withdrawal of
their "pool" privileges. At many times the general
market became so depressed that it was a most difficult
matter to keep the bonds afloat at par, and it was only
by relentlessly pursuing all dealers who offered them at
a discount, and the exhaustion of the supply that the
price could be maintained at the various agencies. It
was sometimes several weeks before the bonds which it
had been necessary to take back to prevent a demorali-
zation of the market could be disposed of again, and Jay
Cooke and Company were receiving new money which
could be devoted to the purpose of building the railroad.
A very important feature of the general scheme of
publicity for the Northern Pacific Company was the em-
ployment of lecturers for whom meetings were ar-
ranged by the general agents in order to enthuse the
people in their districts. The principal of these was
C. C. Coffin, the "Carleton" of the expedition to Minne-
sota in the summer of 1869. He had a lecture called
"The Seat of Empire" which was delivered over and
over again, especially in New England. He had en-

236 JAY COOKE

gagements for nearly every night in the first months
of 1 87 1, repeating his address a number of times in
Boston, once before a great meeting in Tremont Tem-
ple, called at the instance of the Governor of Massa-
chusetts and many other well known men.

S. Garfielde, the eloquent delegate in Congress from
Washington Territory, N. P. Langford, who had just
returned from a visit to the Yellowstone region, deeply
impressed with its wonders, and several others were
pressed into the service with undoubted advantage to the
enterprise. Vice-President Colfax wrote and sometimes
spoke for the railroad. S. Wolf, Recorder of Deeds in
Washington city, was engaged to lecture in German in
the West and Thomas A. Scott at Jay Cooke's request
gave him a pass to Chicago over the lines of the Penn-
sylvania Railroad that he might imbibe the spirit of
the region upon whose charms he was to dilate.

In Philadelphia there was organized in the Academy
of Music for the evening of June 12, 1871, a great meet-
ing, which was addressed by William D. Kelley, his sub-
ject being: "The New Northwest." Four thousand peo-
ple attended and half as many more were turned away
from the doors. The call was signed by a large number
of prominent citizens, including J. Edgar Thomson,
Morton McMichael, John W. Forney, Thomas A. Scott,
Asa Packer, Isaac Hinckley, W. W. Harding, Alexan-
der G. Cattell and Company, M. Baird and Company,
Samuel M. Felton, A. R. McHenry, George H. Stuart,
D. B. Cummins, S. I. Comly, E. C. Knight and Company,
and many others. Governor Geary presided and there
were scores of vice-presidents fully representative of the
business, political and various professional interests of

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 237

the city, and a few dozen secretaries, principally news-
paper men. On this occasion Jay Cooke's name was
not mentioned, nor was he present. He was at Gibral-
tar quietly fishing in the waters of Lake Erie.

The zealous Northern Pacific bond agents were con-
stantly urging him personally to visit their districts
and he occasionally did so, addressing small groups of
bankers and capitalists. In April he attended a recep-
tion in Providence, R. I., at which he met ioo or 150 of
the most prominent men of the city. Guests were ad-
mitted only upon invitation and he spoke to them in his
direct way upon the subject uppermost in his mind.1
"Hold levees as I do every afternoon with the brokers
and bankers of the street," said Jay Cooke in writing to
his brother Henry in 1871, "and go into a thorough
explanation after a thorough reading of the documents.
Spread out your maps so that they can see them." All
the Northern Pacific lectures were fully reported in
the newspapers and by various devious and ingenious
means the railway was brought to the attention of the
people until their imaginations were fired to visions of
the future wealth and grandeur of this portion of the
Union.

In the summer of 1871 a journalist, M. C. Hazard,
planned an editorial excursion to the Northwest on a
very expensive scale. Nettleton asked Mr. Cooke if
the money should be invested and he — always prodigal
in the presence of newspaper writers — said "Go ahead!
I have great faith in being kind to editors." 2 However,
the Secretary of War would not agree to provide an

1 C. A. James to J. C, March 31, 1871.

2 Nettleton to J. C, June 22, 1871, and J. C. to Nett, July I, 1871.

2S8 JAY COOKE

escort and the trip was not extended beyond the Red
River valley, where the Indians no more abided. The
excursion left New York on July 13th, and it was man-
aged by T. C. Evans, one of Mr. Cooke's journalistic
lieutenants in that city. The party included Charles A.
Dana of the New York Sun; D. G. Croley, managing
editor of the New York World; Bayard Taylor of the
Tribune; Ex-Governor Bross of the Chicago Tribune;
M. C. Hazard of the Chicago Post and the New York
Independent; General Hawley of the Hartford Courant;
a man named Bartlett of the New York Herald; H. J.
Raymond, Jr., of the New York Times; C. C. Coffin and
one or two more. They travelled from Buffalo to Du-
luth, the length of the lakes, at the expense of Jay Cooke
and Company and over the line of the Northern Pacific
Railroad as far as it was completed, then to be driven
in coaches through the wheat-lands of the Red River
valley and carried by boat to Lake Winnipeg and back
again, — to write of their experiences with the good
grace which most men display when they are receiving
pleasure at another's expense, especially when they
know that he expects it of them. "Away we went over
the long undulations of soil," said Bayard Taylor, in
the Tribune, "past the glimmer of virgin lakes, through
the unshorn gardens of the wilderness. Prairie grass
and western winds, blue sky and bluer waters, vast
horizons and flying clouds, and wanton interchange of
belted light and shadow — they all filled us, if not with a
new delight, yet with one which never grows stale from
experience."

Grains, fruit, minerals and other products of the
Northern Pacific lands were displayed in rooms set aside

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 239

for this purpose in Jay Cooke's banking houses, and
were viewed by many people to the advantage of the
loan; and an exhibit was prepared for the Minnesota
State Fair at St. Paul in the autumn of 1872, being suc-
cessively transferred afterward to the New York State
Fair at Elmira, the American Institute Fair in New
York City, the Maryland State Fair and some county
fairs in Maryland.

The sales of bonds in the New York office in May,
1871, aggregated about $150,000. The total sales for
all the agencies during the first two weeks in June
amounted to $300,000 and the month yielded about
$600,000. The movement, when it was at its height,
did not go very far beyond that limit, although during
a few favored seasons the returns totalled $1,000,000 or
$1,250,000 monthly. Moreover, it was costing an enor-
mous sum to get the subscriptions. The expense of
exploitation, as Jay Cooke told the officers of the com-
pany, was out of all proper proportion to the return.
James B. Montgomery, who was a "pool" subscriber
and had aided General Moorhead in his campaign in
Pittsburg was now on the Pacific coast. ' He had taken
the agency for Oregon and Washington Territory. If
he could secure large subscriptions there it was thought
that it would be a good advertisement for the loan, but
he found money scarce while business was still con-
ducted on the basis of gold values. Idle funds were
loanable at one and a half to two and a half per cent,
per month, and he despaired of sending Mr. Cooke any
material aid from that quarter.

Agents were multiplied. As in the sale of the gov-
ernment seven-thirties, clergymen, lawyers, storekeep-

240 JAY COOKE

ers and postmasters in communities which lacked bank-
ing houses were appointed to take subscriptions, but
numbers of them never sold one bond. The most useful
and effective agent anywhere was Mr. Cooke's friend,
Henry E. Johnston of Johnston Brothers and Company
of Baltimore. His wife was a niece of ex-President
Buchanan and both Mr. and Mrs. Johnston had interests
in the "pool." His friends said that he had "Northern
Pacific on the brain." 1 This banker had Mr. Cooke's
perfect faith in the success of the enterprise and made
the loan a personal matter, warmly recommending it on
all sides. Up to January 25, 1873, he had sold $1,700,-
000 of the bonds, more than one-eighth of the whole
amount — barring the "pool" sales, — which had been ne-
gotiated through all the agencies.

Mr. Johnston sought to bring John W. Garrett of
the Baltimore and Ohio road into the Northern Pacific,
but the invitation was pretty peremptorily declined. He
said that the future entirely "depended upon Mr. Cooke's
ability to sell the lands and people the line of his road
with settlers, that he knew Mr. Cooke's energy and
wonderful adaptation for the business, but that he was
no believer in the success of new roads until they had
gone through the ups and downs that were sure to
come."2 Mr. Cooke therefore suggested that Baron
Gerolt, the Prussian minister, who was about to depart
for his German home after a long residence here, should
mention the subject to Mr. Garrett. The Baron and the
Baroness were visitors at "Ogontz." Henry Cooke told
Gerolt that Budge had worked to disparage the loan in

1 Johnston to J. C, January 31, 1872.

2 Johnston to J. C, August 7, 1872.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 241

Germany and hoped that upon the minister's return "he
would be able in great measure to counteract the popu-
lar prejudice." He said he had no doubt of it. Henry
wrote to Jay Cooke :

Some little time ago he told his bankers in Berlin to sell out
his other securities and invest them all in Northern Pacifies. He
said he did this, not only because he believed it to be a good in-
vestment, but because he wanted to show the public his confidence.
He told me to say to you that we could command him in any
proper way to advance the interest of our enterprise.1

A man of this faith, and of this position in the esteem
of his own people and of Americans could well approach
Mr. Garrett. After the visit the Baron wrote Mr.
Cooke as follows:

He has no faith in the success of the enterprise if carried far-
ther than the Red River, and thinks it cannot pay any interest
on the capital invested, for want of business, for a long time.
He seemed to be unwilling to take any other view of the matter.
In regard to your plan to bring Duluth into direct communica-
tion with Baltimore, to facilitate the transportation of emigrants
to the Northern Pacific Railroad, Mr. Garrett was favorably
impressed.2

On October ioth Mr. Garrett wrote to Henry E.
Johnston as follows :

1 have read with interest the communication of Mr. Jay Cooke
of the ioth ult. which you did me the favor to hand to me in
reference to the relations that should be established between the
Northern Pacific and the Baltimore and Ohio companies for the
purpose of developing the trade of Baltimore. I agree with Mr.
Cooke that it will be desirable to establish lines of steamers be-
tween Duluth and Sandusky, and I am satisfied that a great trade
can be thus built up. It is not the policy of the Baltimore and

i H. D. C. to J. C, July 3, 1871.

2 Gerolt to J. G, May 21, 1871.

242 JAY COOKE

Ohio company to purchase and own steamers for such connec-
tions, but it will cordially co-operate with the Northern Pacific
in making such arrangements as will induce capitalists to organ-
ize and maintain such a line.

I have frequently presented the subject to parties connected
with lake interests and trust that at no distant day this important
connection will be successfully formed.

The financier had no intention of letting any one nour-
ish unfavorable impressions concerning an enterprise of
his, and the wealthier and more influential the opposition
the more he strove to allay it. He had heard of A. T.
Stewart's hostility. On April 7, 1870, Jay Cooke wrote
from New York to his brother Henry :

Fahny and I dropped in at A. T. Stewart's store and found
him there and had a good chance to talk Northern Pacific. I
did not let him know that I had heard of any remarks of his,
but as I stood buying some silks for Sallie and Lollie [Mr.
Cooke's daughters] and I said in answer to his remark that these
were not good enough, that we must wait till we finished the
Northern Pacific before we could be extravagent, I watched him
and saw him wince slightly. He did not know that we knew of
his antagonism, the remark came in so naturally, and I gave
him no room to suspect my motives. The buying of five
silk dresses and a bonnet was such a natural thing that I got in
lots of remarks about Northern Pacific. The goose thought it
started from St. Louis. He really has no antagonism and it was
doubtless a remark of chance and uttered through ignorance.
I gave him one of Sam's pamphlets to read, explained how glo-
rious the land and climate were, the importance of the road,
bringing his silks from China 1,600 miles nearer New York, etc.,
etc., so that if he is ever talked to again he will see it in a differ-
ent light. He went with us all over his establishment and we
could harldly get away from him.

The early history of the construction of the Northern
Pacific Railroad was marked by a good deal of scandal.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 243

While much of the trouble arose from local rivalries
and jealousies, and flourished in rumor, the actual condi-
tion of affairs occasioned Mr. Cooke great anxiety.
The impression of misfeasance was fed by a deep-rooted
distrust of President Smith and the Vermont Central
"clique." "It is certainly quite improper, not to say ab-
surd," wrote Henry Blood, "to take three directors from
a single small state in a great national undertaking of
such magnitude and importance, when so many great
states equally interested are entirely unrepresented." 1

At a time when so many men were stealing or being
stolen from, if indeed they did not combine the two ex-
periences to enjoy them simultaneously, suspicions were
easy of expression. The festival of fraud and thievery
on the middle Pacific line would not soon be forgotten
and the corruption of manners and morals following the
war by a party of men rendered arbitrary by untempered
power made the people oftentimes unduly distrustful.

That there was some actual dishonesty in the awards
of contracts and the execution of them on the line of
the Northern Pacific Railroad, both in Minnesota
and on the Pacific coast, is certain, but the jobbery
was magnified and it was promptly and summarily
brought to an end by Jay Cooke. There never was a
suspicious circumstance in the career of any employee
of his houses or companies which was not investigated
to the uttermost. He was still seeking information in
regard to and reproving the cashier of his Washington
bank. An unpleasant case was under examination in
his Philadelphia office and he was not slow in entering
the lists to combat the evils which were brought to his

i To J. C, May 5, 1871. .. .

244 JAY COOKE

notice in the management of the Northern Pacific Com-
pany, a task made the easier for him by the purchase of
one of the original shares held by the Chicago and
Northwestern Railroad Company, thus giving him
13/24, or a majority interest in the road.

The work of construction which was begun with
some eclat in February, at the point which had been se-
lected as the junction with the Lake Superior and Mis-
sissippi Railroad, made no substantial progress for sev-
eral months. General Ira Spaulding was appointed by
President Smith as the engineer of the Minnesota Di-
vision. The work of building the first section of the
track was entrusted to a construction company which it
was said was composed of officers and employees of the
railroad. This state of affairs led to charges which
were duly carried to Jay Cooke. He was reminded by
several subscribers to the "pool" that the Credit Mobi-
lier in connection with the Union Pacific Railroad had
led to such scandals that even a rumor of the repetition
of them on the northern line would ruin the enterprise
before it was fairly launched. The reports were alarm-
ing and his fears were increased by the representations
of the members of the party which visited Duluth in the
summer of 1870 in connection with the ceremonies at-
tending the formal opening of the Lake Superior and
Mississippi Railroad. Chief Justice Chase, Governor
Marshall, the officers of the company, and a large num-
ber of guests inspected the route from St. Paul to Du-
luth. William G. Moorhead was in Minnesota at this
time experiencing a return of his qualms, having indeed
a very severe attack of the phobia from which he suf-
fered as soon as he was out of Mr. Cooke's sight. He

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 245

knew there was corrupt speculation in the building of
the road and he again wished to wash his hands of
Northern Pacific and the firm which was constructing
it. Most of the officers of the company were "in a
ring to get rich out of the business of furnishing sup-
plies." "The only salvation" was Milnor Roberts, who,
after the survey and report of 1869, had returned to his
regular avocations. The company must appoint Rob-
erts, "whom we know to be honest and with whom no
party dare tamper — with power to remove and appoint
at will."

It was cause for remark that the road had not been
allowed to take a more direct course, after leaving the
junction near Thomson. Spaulding, who should have
been out on the line of the road, had offices in St. Paul.
He removed them to Minneapolis where he was offered
"the elegant mansion of Judge Atwater free of cost."
This act aroused St. Paul's partisans and led to unspeak-
able bitterness. Governor Marshall, whom Mr. Cooke
retained to inform him of the course of affairs in Minne-
sota, loudly denounced Spaulding and the Northern Pa-
cific management. He thought it would be fatal to
"identify" the road with "a second-class town." "St.
Paul," he continued, "is the railroad and commercial cen-
tre of Minnesota just as New York is for the whole
country, and it would be as improper to move the com-
pany's offices to Jersey City or Brooklyn as from here to
Minneapolis. . . . Governor Smith comes here
once a year and is politely entertained and feted and
has no opportunity to see through business and detect
abuses." The good lands on the line of the road were
being "gobbled up." Mr. Windom, the Minnesota

246 JAY COOKE

member of the Executive Committee, Marshall regarded
as a "mere politician," which "spoiled him for any busi-
ness usefulness to the company. He is not a shrewd or
sagacious man in any respect. He is better to go to
Congress than for anything else." 1

Banning, another St. Paul man, also assailed Windom
and the Minneapolis "conspirators," who were pecuni-
arily interested in the construction company, using it
under "Bill" King's management to place Windom in
the United States Senate. "Now I tell you, Mr. Cooke,"
wrote Banning, after stating his case, "what you want
is so far as is possible to strip the Northern Pacific en-
terprise of all this slime. It is too great a thing, of too
large consequence to the country and the capital in-
volved to be made the football of politicians, or the
means of affording nourishment to such jackals and vul-
tures as are hovering around it," — language which, if
somewhat mixed in its metaphors, was in no wise equiv-
ocal in meaning.2 Up to this point Edwin F. Johnson,
who had so long advocated the construction of a north-
ern line to the Pacific coast, had been the company's
chief engineer. Mr. Cooke now demanded a complete
change of engineering administration. If Spaulding
did not go out of St. Paul or Minneapolis Johnson did
not venture away from New York. On October i,
1870, at a meeting of the Board of Directors, Mr. Moor-
head effected an amicable transfer of Johnson, who was
deaf as well as old, to the position of consulting engi-
neer, giving him $1,500 a year for his good will, at the
same time installing W. Milnor Roberts as the chief

1 Marshall to J. C, from St. Paul, August 6, 1870.

2 Banning to J. G, September 23, 1870.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 247

engineer of the road, and Daniel Linsley as his assist-
ant.

Roberts instantly caused all surveying parties to
cease work and report to him for further instructions.
He resolved upon a thorough reform in his department ;
each man hereafter would be responsible to him in per-
son. Linsley was at once sent to Minnesota where only
sixteen miles of track had yet been laid and this he said
required extensive repairs to protect it from frost dur-
ing the coming winter. Roberts himself was needed at
the eastern end of the line, but he determined, after con-
sultation with Mr. Cooke, to go instead to the Pacific
coast, where twenty-five miles of the road from Port-
land, in the direction of Puget Sound, must be built be-
fore January I, 1872, else the company would lose its
charter. Smith and his advisers had early sent General
Sprague to Oregon and Washington Territory to rep-
resent the company's interests, and he was to be joined
by Judge Rice, General Cass and Mr. Ogden of the
Executive Committee. None but Judge Rice went and
when he reached the coast he was in much haste to put
the work under contract. Sprague's services had been
largely performed incognito. He had busied himself
in inspecting and picking up lands for the company in
advance of the location of the line, and Rice found that
practically nothing had been done by the corps of engi-
neers in service on that coast. The Northern Pacific
bill, in which the time for completing the first twenty-five
miles was extended from July 1, 1871, to the following
January, had not yet passed Congress, he argued by way
of apology, and he made his arrangements rather pre-
cipitately for this reason. He chose the route and let

248 JAY COOKE

the contract to Canda and Company with so little for-
mality that he was at once charged with a corrupt inter-
est in it. He was ordered by the Board to stop his
operations on account of their "excessive cost" and upon
Roberts's election, to await his arrival out, but for
some unaccountable reason Rice took no note of these
instructions and went forward regardlessly. General
Moorhead wrote to William G. Moorhead, that Rice
must "either be corrupt or too easily managed by Can-
field, whom I have a very bad opinion of. If such schem-
ers are to manage and control the millions that are to be
raised for the Northern Pacific it is time to get from
under. Jay should know of these things, and knowing of
them they should be corrected. Canfield is not a fit man
to be on the Executive Commitee of the road nor at the
head of the land committee. Roberts is an honest man
and Canfield will soon show his hostility to him if he has
not already done it." *

Jay Cooke and Company were authorized by the con-
tract to purchase iron and materials for the construction
of the road when they could do so with advantage to it,
and they sought from Governor Smith as many privi-
leges of this kind as he would give them. Mr. Cooke
had sent around the Horn two vessels laden with rails
for the first twenty-five miles leading north from
the Columbia. As they had not arrived Rice ordered
more in San Francisco for which he paid $80 a ton in
coin. At Omaha, on his way home, he bought fifty
second-hand flat cars at $500 each, currency, and under
all the circumstances it can be understood what Roberts
meant when he wrote to Mr. Cooke that his position,

1 January 14, 187 1.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 249

after arriving on the coast, was "delicate." Canfield
said that to stop the work was to ruin the enterprise
east and west, and Smith conciliatingly proposed that
Mr. Cooke, with his wife, accompany him and Mrs.
Smith on a transcontinental trip for a personal inspection
of the route. From San Francisco they would go up the
Sacramento Valley to the end of the railroad, proceed
in stages down the Willamette Valley to Portland, and
there take a steamer for Puget Sound. Judge Rice
wrote with great bitterness when Mr. Cooke upbraided
him for his course and announced that his contracts
would be re-let under the advice of the engineer,1 which
Roberts said later saved the company a quarter of a
million dollars.2

But the road went forward inexorably with the engi-
neer in tolerably full control. The southern terminus
was situated at a point on the Columbia River within
reach by boat of Portland, and here was founded the
city of Kalama. On February 4, 1871, it already con-
tained twenty-five houses, fifteen tents, six stores, one
tin shop, three blacksmith shops, two shoe shops, nine
restaurants, a telegraph office and a saloon. Two hun-
dred and fifty town lots changed hands on the "first
day" at from $350 to $800. The first religious services
were held in the tin shop and a little later the corner
stone of a church was laid in the presence of 250 per-
sons. A number of Chinamen were employed, clearing
a way for and grading the road in Oregon. The out-
look for the completion of the first section was at length
so favorable that the engineers were sent out to choose

1 March 6, 1871.

2 Roberts to J. C, April 6, 1872.

250 JAY COOKE

the course for the next forty miles, which were to be
finished in 1872, and Roberts returned to the east to
attend to the company's interests in Minnesota.

The suspicions of improper management in that state
were not yet by any means allayed. On January 15,
1871, William G. Moorhead and S. M. Felton jointly
wrote to Jay Cooke :

Since you left we have had conferences with several of our
friends and stockholders here about Northern Pacific affairs,
and we find they are in decidedly bad odor, owing to the im-
pression that the contracts are in the hands of a ring, and are
to be so kept. One gentleman we have seen from Europe is a
large subscriber and is very emphatic in his language of con-
demnation of the manner in which the road has been built. He
says if this plan is pursued in the future it will ruin the reputa-
tion of all concerned in the road. . . . There must not even
be a taint of suspicion in any of our operations. If there is to
be a ring to manage our contracts please count us out of any
farther participation in Northern Pacific.

On March 226. J. Edgar Thomson, having been told
that Milnor Roberts was not in full command of his de-
partment, wrote to Mr. Cooke as follows :

Unless some change is made in your engineer department by
which its head will be made responsible for the location and
economical construction of the railway I do not think that any
amount of bonds that you can sell will complete the line. No
competent engineer can succeed in conducting this enterprise to a
successful conclusion unless he has entire control of his depart-
ment which should include the appointment of all his subordinates,
determine the time for letting the work and control its execution.
At present, according to Mr. Roberts, there is no system ob-
served in the management of the work whatever and without this
it seems to me the financial department will soon be at sea without
a rudder to steer the course of its ship.

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FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 251

Not only did the jealousy of Minneapolis and St. Paul
lead to bitter charge and reproach, but there was absurd
and unseemly rivalry between the new city of Duluth,
which had sprung up like a gourd in the night, and the
older town of Superior, lying across the Minnesota line
in another state. Superior was "high and dry without
railroad facilities or any real business" and was "owned
by many active politicians and speculators, a consider-
able number of them in the Northern Pacific." 1

Duluth was Jay Cooke's city in every sense of that
word, and its progress was rapid. Governor Marshall,
when there in the summer of 1870, computed its popu-
lation at 3,000, 2,000 of whom were employed directly
or indirectly upon the railroads and public works. Dr.
Claxton, who had been a member of Roberts's exploring
party on the Pacific coast in 1869, was also a visitor to
Duluth in the summer of 1870. "It is not," said he in
writing home to Mr. Cooke, "the Duluth of a little more
than a year ago with its 105 inhabitants and its 15 or
20 rude buildings on a strip of land between the un-
broken wilderness and the waters of the greatest of
lakes." He found in the new city two hotels and two
churches, Presbyterian and Episcopal.

"The progress of this town is remarkable," William
G. Moorhead wrote to Mr. Cooke from the head of the
lake on August 22, 1870. "It quite equals that of San
Francisco for the time, and under the circumstances.
. . . The future of Duluth is a fixed fact."

In the following year, 1871, E. W. Clark and Com-
pany established a branch house in the city in order to
loan money upon grain stored in the elevator which had

1 Henry Blood to J. C, June 1 1, 1871.

252 JAY COOKE

been erected there, and to forward the shipping inter-
ests of the place. B. S. Russell, a Pennsylvania state
banker, who had long had friendly relations with the
Cookes and Clarks, took charge of the office. He gave
some attention to agriculture on vacant town lots to
test the soil and climate. He raised peas, potatoes, to-
matoes and other vegetables, even experimenting with
the sugar beet from Swedish seed forwarded to him by
Mr. Cooke.

By those who distrusted the city's future, and they
were many, it was called "Jay Cooke's Bubble." It
lacked a Hinterland and it would soon wither as a flower
whose roots were in a soil which contained no suste-
nance for it. Governor Marshall suggested the estab-
lishment of manufactories and a firm from Chicago was
pecuniarily aided by Mr. Cooke, opening a plant for
making machinery, car wheels, car springs, sledges, etc.,
with the promise of the repair work of the railroad com-
panies. But the progress, however rapid, could not
satisfy all of Duluth's eager friends. Those who had
settled in the city, or had bought land there, and viewed
its advancement from afar, were fortune hunters.
They wished its population to double monthly, and the
value of their investments to enhance with proportion-
ate speed. In the old Superior city the hand of Smith
and his Vermont friends was seen and Duluth's watch-
ful advocates were certain that by some subterfuge it
was to be made the lake terminus of the road. The jeal-
ousy of the rival towns was laughable. The Duluth
people designated the residents of Superior, who lived on
low, flat ground, as "swamp-jumpers." The latter re-
torted by calling their neighbors "hill-climbers" and

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 253

"cliff-dwellers." In his Memoirs Jay Cooke writes as
follows :

"As the natural entrance to the harbors was several
miles from Duluth and the channel was constantly being
filled by shifting sands, Duluth proceeded to cut a canal
near the base of Minnesota Point, from the lake to the
bay, which opened a magnificent harbor in front of the
new city of Duluth and which has ever since proved an
unobstructed and perfect entrance in all kinds of
weather. The owners of Superior immediately com-
menced injunction proceedings, claiming that the natural
outlet was being damaged by the new opening, and pur-
sued their opposition so vigorously that a decree went
forth from the government that a dyke should be built
across the bay from Rice's Point to Minnesota Point,
so that the body of water flowing down from Fond du
Lac to the natural outlet should not be diverted. Some
thousands of dollars were contributed by Duluth to
give its rival this required protection, casting upon the
young city a heavy burden which it was not able to
bear. All this expenditure was wasted as the dyke was
soon washed away. It is now wholly a thing of the past
and it failed utterly to accomplish any good purpose."

The people of Duluth could not doubt Mr. Cooke's
loyalty to them, and while he was constantly alert, even
holding conferences at his office in Philadelphia with
representatives of the Wisconsin and Minnesota state
governments in a vain endeavor to induce the former to
cede a small strip of territory so that the two towns
could be merged, they were convinced that he did not
know of all the machinations which were on foot to
"side-track" them, They therefore wrote to him and

254 JAY COOKE

visited him, carrying to him many stories which re-
flected gravely upon the honor of the Vermonters.

The people of Duluth ill brooked the delay in the con-
struction of the railway docks. If these were built they
conceived that they would have a pledge of the com-
pany's good faith and the city might go forward to its
grand destiny as the metropolis of the Northwest. Gen-
eral Spaulding, the Northern Pacific's Minnesota engi-
neer, "never hesitates to say that your influence in
favor of Duluth amounts to nothing," wrote Henry
Blood to Jay Cooke, "and that the work will be con-
ducted without reference to your dictation. ... I
think that Governor Smith wishes to delay all expendi-
tures at Duluth until the Missouri River is reached and
then push the road eastward across the St. Louis River,
and so thwart the Philadelphia interests who have put
their money so freely into the western end of the lake." 1
Mr. Cooke was not at all slow to bring this, as well as
all other matters of the kind, to the attention of Gov-
ernor Smith, who wrote on June 20th that Milnor Rob-
erts was about to go to Duluth to determine upon the
question of the docks. "I am as anxious as you to have
this matter settled," he said, "and while I owe the peo-
ple of Duluth no obligation whatever, as I have received
nothing but insult and abuse from them from the first,
yet this makes no difference with me in regard to the
full and fair discharge of our obligations as to improve-
ments and expenditures to be made there." "The people
of Duluth," he continued, "seem to have studied how
they could best affront and misrepresent every gentleman
connected with the enterprise in the board except those
iMay s, 1871.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 255

connected with your house." He wished that Mr.
Cooke would not allow himself to be "annoyed by the
stories which were carried to him. In the main all was
right barring a few "casualties" like "the dropping out
of the bottom of a swamp."

.After a long conference with the officers of the road
regarding the work that lay before him Roberts wrote
to Jay Cooke : "I could not, or did not notice any dis-
position to delay works at Duluth longer than to be
certain that the company should be expending their
funds where they would count hereafter as part of a
permanent system. We devoted a good deal of time to
the consideration of the situation and question of dock
construction at Duluth."1

Having made an examination of the water front of
the new city Roberts said: "The more I study the
position of Duluth and the natural characteristics of the
waters outside and inside of Minnesota Point the more
I am impressed with the remarkable share which na-
ture has had in shaping them for the accommodation
of a vast commerce. . . . Those inner bays, Su-
perior Bay and St. Louis Bay, constitute one of the
grandest natural harbors in the world." 2 The North-
ern Pacific directors held a meeting in the new city in the
summer of 1871, when it was definitely announced that
the terminus would be located there, thus for a time
restoring the equanimity of the people. But their
reassurance was only temporary and on November 25,
1871, Mr. Cooke was again impelled to write to Gov-
ernor Smith:

1 June 17, 1871.

2 Roberts to J. C, July 8, 1871.

256 JAY COOKE

I cannot for a moment believe that there is any conspiracy
of this kind, or that any encouragement has been given to the
Superior people. . . . One thing is certain — and I give fair
warning to all concerned — that I will resign at once all con-
nection with the financial agency if I cannot trust implicitly the
gentlemen associated with me. No more solemn compact was
ever entered into than that my personal wishes in regard to. this
little matter of the terminus should be respected. It has formed
part of my defense in undertaking this gigantic matter, and was
the principal motive, I can assure you at the beginning. . . .
It is too bad that I am continually worried and troubled about
this paltry matter. I do not care a snap for the property or
the profit upon it. I will deed over to the Northern Pacific
Railroad every dollar's worth of property I have in Duluth if
if they will accept it as a present. I have not bought a dollar's
worth of property there since taking hold of the Northern Pacific
enterprise, but I am determined that my good faith and state-
ments shall not be dishonored by any one.

On November 20, 1871, Mr. Cooke wrote to William
B. Ogden:

You know my anxiety in regard to carrying out cherished plans
and this is one secret of my success, I believe. I have never yet
failed in making good my statements to friend or foe. The mere
matter of building up this city, or that city, so far as personal
interests are concerned, is nothing, but it is a great deal when a
large community have learned to trust in your promises. It
is much then to see them fulfilled, and experience has taught
rm that unless I fight this battle almost monthly, the results that
I have anticipated will be wasted away.

The road, having crossed the Mississippi at Brainerd,
had by this time reached the Crow Wing River. There
the railhead awaited the construction of a bridge,
"Where the road purports to be finished," Nettleton
wrote to Mr. Cooke on August 12th, "it is superb — a
credit to all concerned. Over the completed portions

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 257

we made excellent time and the smoothness and evenness
were commented on by all. Mr. Ogden volunteered the
remark that he had never seen so good a new road in
America by thirty per cent."

"One perplexing thing about the road east of Brain-
erd," this informant continued, "is this : portions of the
track over or near lakes continue to sink. A sink oc-
curred near Mud Lake on Thursday and Linsley was
forced to build half a mile of track round the break to
enable the directors to get through."

Another report came to Mr. Cooke's ears causing him
much real anxiety. More than thirty liquor shops and
a number of gambling dens were opened at the junc-
tion with the Lake Superior road, and the dealers, many
of whom had earlier plied their trade in the mountains
on the Union Pacific line, followed the laborers as the
railhead advanced. "So enterprising and persistent are
some of the men engaged in this infamous traffic,"
wrote General Spaulding, "that they have taken
their liquors up the Mississippi and thence, in canoes,
by circuitous routes for hundreds of miles, establishing
themselves in the wilderness many miles ahead of the
contractors." Mr. Cooke at once ordered that the gang
should be broken up. Banning said that he had put
twenty-five or thirty of the men in irons and carried
them to St. Paul, where they were convicted and sent
to prison. When they were driven from railroad
lands they frequently set up their shanties on govern-
ment ground. It was ordered that the trains should
not stop at the junction in order to cut off the men's
supplies, but it was impossible entirely to rid the con-
tractors' camps of their evil company.

258 JAY COOKE

It was now necessary that the engineers should de-
termine the course of the line across the mountains,
else the rails on the prairies of Dakota might not be
pointed aright and it would perchance be necessary later
to change the direction of the track, which must go
west by the most direct route. Thus it was that Milnor
Roberts had been engaged busily in and around Helena
when he was called upon to accompany the European
commissioners to the Pacific coast. Under escort of a
considerable body of United States troops he examined
the upper valley of the Missouri and the Yellowstone
valley where Indians abounded, though none harmed
him. In the mountains Roberts often rode his horse
sixty miles a day, taking notes upon the pommel of his
saddle as he passed along. He personally visited eight
passes in Montana with a view to finding the best cross-
ing place for the rails. In October Governor Smith told
Mr. Cooke that the track in Minnesota had been laid
to a point 196 miles west from Duluth and the Red
River was not far away. He was then letting the con-
tracts for the next section which would carry the road
to the Missouri River.1

Upon the appertaining lands the warmest encomiums
were passed. As the surveying party proceeded in Da-
kota, General Rosser who was in charge of it made a
careful examination of the soil with a view to running
the line through the best agricultural lands, at the end of
every day's work digging with his own hands a hole
in the ground deep enough to determine fully the char-
acter and depth of the soil. "While of course this varied
in the whole distance," said Smith in reporting the mat-

1 Smith to J. C, September 30, 1871.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 259

ter to Jay Cooke, "yet in no instance did he fail to find
a good depth of black, rich prairie mould and, for a large
portion of the way, a good clay sub-soil. What do you
sav to this for Dakota ?"

The engineers to Smith's delight discovered that the
route straight across from Red River to the Missouri
was "far superior" to the detour by Devil's Lake which
had been advocated by one who was never his friend,
Governor Marshall of Minnesota.

Mr. Cooke was in no frame of mind to feel elated
by Smith's haste in striding on to the mountains with-
out regard to the difficulties which were being en-
countered in the sale of the bonds. The great fire in
Chicage exerted upon the Northern Pacific enterprise
an influence which was more than transiently dis-
astrous to its fortunes. It brought home to men a
sense of the instability of many temporal things — such
as property values and the hopes, ambitions and fates
of cities set upon the western plains. In Europe where
the people had not yet learned how to pronounce the
name of the city, and knew but vaguely where it was, the
catastrophe resulted in a simple resolve to cast all things
American into a limbo of crudeness and insecurity.
They would invest their money in more firmly estab-
lished neighborhoods.

Mr. Cooke was absent at the time at Gibraltar, where
he had just received the German commissioners. Sub-
scriptions were at once taken in all the eastern cities to
relieve the wants of the sufferers. George C. Thomas
headed the list in Philadelphia with $2,000 and Pitt
Cooke in New York subscribed $10,000. The immediate
result of the disaster which was made worse by reports

260 JAY COOKE

of destructive fires in the timber and prairie grass of
Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota was a panic in
the stock market, the worst since the Gould and Fisk
performances culminating in "Black Friday" in 1869.
In Philadelphia Charles T. Yerkes and Company failed
and other houses closed their doors, but happily very
few if any Northern Pacific bonds were thrown upon
the market. Jay Cooke early appealed to Boutwell for
the aid of the Treasury Department in restoring quiet to
the markets but the Secretary did not think the emer-
gency grave enough for the use of his offices. The
financier was very much disturbed at the outlook at
this time and it was by no means encouraging even
after the apparent restoration of confidence. He aimed
to check the Northen Pacific managers in their mad
career. On October 16th Smith wrote from New York
as follows:

I have yours of the 13th. I think you overrate the dangers of
a panic. That the money market may be a little stringent is
quite probable, but there is really nothing to make a panic out of.
Every day renders the prospect for Chicago more encouraging
and the pluck of her people is doing much to restore confidence.
While the sale of bonds may "be therefore temporarily affected, as
no doubt will be the case, yet I see no occasion for alarm, nor
do I think we should apply the brakes so hard as to stop the
wheels of our enterprise altogether. . . . Unless the iron is
purchased now we cannot get it in season for use in the early
spring and there will come a time then when we should be com-
pelled to stop work waiting for materials, which would seriously
embarrass our whole enterprise and justly lay us open to censure.
. . . I fear you do not realize what an immense amount of
labor is required to get materials to our distant work. A careful
computation which I have made shows that we shall have over
100,000 tons to haul over our road independent of supplies to

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 261

contractors to keep our work going next season. This on a sin-
gle track and with our limited facilities is a tremendous under-
taking. ... I hope you will put a more courageous faith
into the work and confide in the future. We will go prudently
and safely through. We are gaining ground strongly in public
confidence by the very energy and boldness with which we are
pushing the work and we can't afford to lose this prestige now.

"Mild words, it seemed, would not suffice and to this
letter Jay Cooke responded from Gibraltar on October
19th, as follows:

Dear Governor Smith:

Yours of the 16th received. ... I hope we may succeed
abroad, but it will be slow work selling bonds here and is costing
the company too much to advertise as strongly as I could wish,
and when money is so stringent, people won't buy bonds to any
extent. This Chicago panic is a senseless one but nevertheless
it hurts badly, and it won't answer to create liabilities before we
have the money on hand. You must not do it for I cannot carry
with my .partners a greater advance than the contract calls for.
I have over and over pledged myself to them to advance no more
and this amount I fear will be needed to pay interest next Jan-
uary, if we don't sell bonds. There is no need of pushing things
until we know how the times will turn. The directors agreed
to advance each his one-thirteenth. What did you understand by
this and will it be lived up to? I will do all that mortal man,
trusting in his God, can do to sell bonds, but it is not wise to
launch out into a big contract like this one to [beyond?] Red
River when we have so much to finish up of old work, interest to
pay, etc. I hope therefore you will cut down the 3,000 to 1,000
tons at once and let the rest be for a while. The Pacific iron
can be sent by rail if needed. Better pay $20 per ton extra than
run the risk of a protest of your notes.

I am not an alarmist and have more courage than is good
for me, but my sober common sense tells me we are to have a
bad, bad time, tight money and general distrust. It is a time
to hold up a little.

262 JAY COOKE

I have frankly and honestly advised you as above and if you
go ahead without the means provided it will not be my fault if
you have trouble. The present aspect of affairs was not antici-
pated two weeks since, and it is a just thing and was contem-
plated when the contract was made to hold up on such a condition
of the money market as now exists.

What steps are you taking to make a show of business? All
the transportation of material, supplies, etc., should be credited to
traffic and charged to construction account. This is done on
other roads and helps swell the business to respectable figures,
and does good, and is right in estimating cost of road. It seems
to me an estimate of earnings in this way should be made on the
section to Red River also. . . .

Yours truly,

Jay Cooke.

Red River was reached in mid-winter. On November
28, 187 1, Assistant Engineer D. C. Linsley wrote that
the end of the track was then 238^ miles from Duluth,
and the grading was done to the river. The iron could
be laid and the road finished in ten days if the weather
would permit. At the moment the thermometer at
Brainerd registered twenty-six degrees below zero,
gales of wind were blowing over the prairies and eight
or ten inches of snow covered the ground. The work,
however, was completed with the year. On December
31st Linsley telegraphed that at 4:35 P. M. on the
preceding day the railhead had reached Moorhead,
the name given to the station on the east bank
of the Red River in honor of Mr. Cooke's partner.
The first section of twenty-five miles on the Pacific coast
was also completed before the end of the year and work
was proceeding on the next section of forty miles.1

Despite this appearance of vigor the charges of cor-

1 Roberts to J. C, December 3, 1871.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 263

ruption and mismanagement continued. W. D. Wash-
burn wrote from Minneapolis on December 9, 1871 : "I
will only say that if the Northern Pacific has the vitality
and prestige to go along while being constructed under
the auspices of a corrupt ring, and under its present
management it is strong indeed."

If Smith were almost never in Minnesota, so also was
he seldom in New York. He resided in St. Albans,
Vt., came on only rarely and then brought to bear upon
the affairs of the company neither talent nor virility.
As early as in January, 1870, Mr. Cooke in his frank
way had advised Smith to "get rid of other cares so as
to devote all his time to the great work." * In the office
in New York there was no one but Wilkeson who was
made up chiefly of a hungering want of money and a
comical enthusiasm, although he was honest and faith-
ful to whatever cause he espoused; A. H. Barney, the
Treasurer of the company who was not a member of
the Board and old Mr. Johnson, the engineer. There
Wilkeson made the discovery that the Northern Pa-
cific officers might telegraph over the Western Union
and the Northwestern lines to the amount of $12,000 a
year and the privilege was being exhausted by personal
and social despatches. When Mr. Cooke asked for ex-
planations from President Smith he was told in that
officer's wonted manner that no passes had been issued,
but if there were wrongs in this or any other field they
would be corrected at once. A lunch room was main-
tained at the New York office which was costing the
company one dollar a head daily, and many were eat-

J. C. to Smith, January 19, 1870.

264 JAY COOKE

ing there who were not in the employ of the railroad.1
Mr. Moorhead of course shared the general antipathy
to Smith and was ready to believe whatever was evil of
him as of all the other Vermont men. "I tell you, Jay,"
he wrote from St. Paul on June 12, 1871, "the Gov-
ernor is not in our interest. He is selfish, obstinate and
the most visionary man I ever knew at the head of an
enterprise of the kind. You must join me in a decided
stand, or he will ruin us. He is totally unfit for the posi-
tion he occupies. He can no more build the Northern
Pacific road if the means were provided than could
Judge Rice."

Thus was Mr. Cooke being strengthened for the task
which confronted him, the removal of the President of
the company and the elimination of the unhappy influ-
ences which radiated from him. On December 23, 1871,
the financier wrote to Governor Smith as follows:

I believe that if you were free from care and other things,
and could give on the spot a good deal of your time in pushing
the work, or that some one who could represent the board as
efficiently as you occupied such a post the road could be built at
my figures. Feeling this with all my soul how can I sit by and
see our money expended as extravagantly as it is being done ? I
would much prefer to resign our position as financial agents at
once and let some one else take the responsibility of investing
the money of widows, orphans, etc. I cannot do it without hav-
ing confidence in the economical administration of our work.

That any considerable amount of the stock and bond-
holders' money was misappropriated in the construc-
tion of the first sections of the road is not easily de-
monstrable. There was little opportunity for this. Mr.
Cooke and his associates suspected every movement of

1 Wilkeson to J. G, February 24, 1871.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 2G5

the Vermonters almost from the first and watched and
accused them when the only ground for accusation was
the fear, based largely upon local jealousy, that they
contemplated some improper action at the next turn.
That the Smith party was not competent to manage
such an enterprise is very clear. It had no time to
devote to the business of the road. It gave offices which
should have been filled by men of tried scientific ability
to politicians and paper generals. The president and
his associates were connected with the enterprise for
gain and they had the capacity to ruin it, as they did
materially damage its credit, by their intermittent and
tactless administration of its affairs.

As we have seen in earlier chapters the Civil War
had scarcely closed when Jay Cooke made the first pro-
posals to the Treasury Department to fund the debt of
the United States into bonds bearing a lower rate of
interest. He had bills in Congress, which Sherman and
others defended in debate, to effect the conversion of
the six per cents, into fives, but no large or valuable re-
sults were gained during McCulloch's administration,
barring the necessary exchange of the seven-thirty
Treasury notes for six per cent, long bonds. Bout-
well, who now came to the office which Grant had
had the opportunity to give to Jay Cooke, framed a fund-
ing bill that went to Congress in December, 1869, and
was passed at the end of the session on July 14, 1870.
It provided for the funding of $1,500,000,000 sixes in-
to $200,000,000 fives payable after ten years, $300,-
000,000 four and one half per cents, to run for fifteen
years and $1,000,000,000 four per cent, bonds redeem-
able in thirty years. By an amendatory act on Janu-

266 JAY COOKE

ary 20, 1 87 1, the authority to issue five per cents, was
extended to $500,000,000.

Jay Cooke used his powerful influence with Blaine,
Garfield, Schenck, Sherman and other Representatives
and Senators in behalf of the measure. It was pending
at the same time the Northern Pacific bill agitated Con-
gress and the Philadelphia banker had many opportuni-
ties to speak in behalf of the policy which he had long
recommended. Despite his preoccupation with private
business, he was happy at last to see it nearing a reali-
zation. The change from sixes to fives could have been
as well effected four or five years before. He had had
the agencies at hand for the work after closing the
seven-thirty loan, but he was not entrusted with it.
That the step must be taken sooner or later was in-
evitable and if this were the appointed time he was ready
to do his part cheerfully. The passage of the bill in July
was practically simultaneous with the outbreak of the
war between France and Prussia and Boutwell told
Henry Cooke that nothing was to be done until after
the course of affairs in Europe was more clearly defined.

His present idea [Henry Cooke wrote to his brother on July
2.7, 1870] is to put only $700,000,000 on the market at the com-
mencement, including all his fives and four and halfs as follows :

$200,000,000 5 per cent., l/% per cent, commission.

$300,000,000 4.3/2 per cent., 3-16 per cent, commission.

$200,000,000 4 per cent., *4 per cent, commission.
You will observe that the rate of commission is increased as the
rate of interest is decreased. The Secretary thinks this would in-
duce sub-agents and others to work harder to place the bonds
bearing the lowest rates of interest, because they are better paid
for placing them. He expects to divide this $700,000,000 —
one-half in this country and one-half in Europe, that is to say,

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 267

$350,000,000 only will he attempt to sell in Europe, although if
the market would favor the taking of the 4%s in amounts be-
yond this he would let them have all they want. Why would
it not be a good time ior us to make a combination with Roths-
childs to take all his fives and fours, paying for them in five-
twenties at present rates in Europe? This would yield a hand-
some profit when the war clouds roll over and prices react.

Various conversations were had with Boutwell by
Jay Cooke in person and by his partners, without ex-
tracting from him definite promises of any kind. He
seemed to think that he had come to the Treasury office
with knowledge of a very superior order, and that he
had points of value to give to both Chase and
McCulloch. The reflections cast upon Secretary McCul-
loch in Boutwell's "Reminiscences of Sixty Years in
Public Life" for his failure to establish a sinking fund
and to pay off the public debt are meant doubtless to
dispose of all that officer's claims to be regarded as a
public financier. The new Secretary's magnitude little
impressed Jay Cooke or any of the practical bankers
whom the latter gathered about him. "It seems quite
useless to try to argue anything into his head," observed
Fahnestock in a letter to Jay Cooke on December 13,
1870. "It is a pity that he ever left the tape business
which he managed so successfully in his native town."
There were rumors of his supersession, and a change
would have been welcomed.

On December 15, 1870, the financier wrote to his
brother Henry as follows:

I observe the notice that Boutwell is to leave the Treasury. I
think that if he does not propose to do any better than he has in
the past it will be a grand move for Grant to put some more prac-
tical person in his place. A man who has no more breadth of

268 JAY COOKE

thought than to do as he has in these currency bonds, and no
more spunk than to let the country drift along without even an
attempt at funding the debt, and who insists upon keeping up an
enormous taxation for the foolish object of paying off rapidly a
debt that no one wants paid off, excepting gradually, it will be a
great benefit to have replaced by some one who will take an
opposite course. . . . John Sherman is the man for this po-
sition and ought to have been appointed at the beginning. Some
of the papers name Henry Clews as being pressed. This is
rather laughable. You must see to it that no such influence gets
into the Treasury.

On January 25th, Fahnestock wrote to Mr. Cooke
clearly stating" some of the difficulties which attended
the funding business under Boutwell from the stand-
point of Jay Cooke and Company or any other banking
firm. He said:

The only difficulty in the way of making a large absolute
proposition to the Secretary is in the fact that the commission is
absurdly small and even to undertake to place $10,000,000, small
as that amount appears in comparison with the whole, involves
first the obligation to pay a part in gold for bonds intrinsically lit-
tle or no better than ten-forties, which are to-day selling at 95/^
in gold, or the alternative obligation of paying for them at par in
five-twenties which are now selling at 97^2 in gold, or two per
cent, higher than ten-forties. Now we know that no person can
or will do this without absolute control of the new loan which will
enable him to manipulate the market for the sale of it and the
purchase of the five-twenties, the successful accomplishment of
which is dependent upon so many contingencies, commercial and
financial, that it may be fairly commenced this season and per-
haps successfully managed to a large amount although circum-
stances may defer it for a long time. There is, as you say, very
little difficulty in negotiating a loan of twenty or thirty millions
in Europe upon the new bonds, but the great profit in the trans-
action does not lie simply in effecting such a loan and allowing
the Secretary to do all the rest. The profit is in combining the

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 269

two operations and, if we are to make a high price for the five
per cents., we must be at liberty to buy the sixes as cheap as we
can. Of one thing we may be certain, that Boutwell with his
close ideas will never leave in our hands a money balance that
will be of any use. It will be quite different from five-twenty and
seven-thirty days when bonds were sold for the purpose of ac-
cumulating money balances to be expended. The law now before
us .authorizes the sale at par only for the purpose of immediately
retiring corresponding amounts of five-twenties, and if the latter
are to be brought in by notice stopping their interest they would
be fixed absolutely at par in gold and there would be no margin
to work upon. All of our transactions with Boutwell have shown
conclusively that he will never permit one dollar to be made out
of the business of the Treasury, if he can possibly prevent it.
With all his friendly feelings I cannot remember a single dollar
that we have made directly or indirectly out of his administra-
tion of the Treasury, and I do not expect that you will be able
to do anything definite in this agency without the intervention of
the President which if his friendship is worth anything ought to
be secured. . . . All the great European loans pay large
commissions, two and a half to five per cent., and when bankers
take bonds outright they do it at a low figure ; for example they
would take a block of these at 95 with the option of the rest at a
small advance.

Levi P. Morton and his English partner, Sir John
Rose, were both in Washington endeavoring to effect
arrangements with the Secretary of the Treasury for
the management of the funding business and it was re-
garded as quite probable that they would succeed. In-
deed Morton, Rose and Company were Jay Cooke and
Company's only important rival.1 But Mr. Boutwell

1 Henry Cooke's appointment to the governorship of the District of
Columbia increased his usefulness in Washington to the Cooke banking
houses. He was brought closer to Grant, with whom he was in almost
daily communication. On March i, 1871, he wrote to his brother: "I
have been perfectly overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and good wishes of

270 JAY COOKE

was indisposed to give the agency to one, or indeed any
half dozen firms. In February, 1 871, he had determined
on an issue of $200,000,000 of the new fives. He would
"offer his loan to everybody," wrote Fahnestock to Jay
Cooke.1 That the work should proceed in Europe as
well as in America seemed to be foreordained, since
large amounts of the five-twenties had drifted across
the ocean and were in the hands of the people as well
as of bankers in all parts of Great Britain and the Con-
tinent. It was at first announced that the London as-
sociates would be Jay Cooke, McCulloch and Company,
Morton, Rose and Company, Barings, Morgans and
Rothschilds, but many more were added. The Roths-
childs soon withdrew because of the great number of
houses which were to be engaged in the operation, as
did the Barings also. Sir John Rose was authorized
to advertise the loan in Great Britain which the Cookes
regarded as a direct affront to them, since Mr. McCul-
loch under whom many of the bonds now to be redeemed
were issued, was their London partner. Instead an
Englishman in a rival house was chosen for the work.
The outlook was far from promising, Mr. Cooke's Eng-
lish partners reporting that the "discordant elements"
in charge of the enterprise could not be harmonized.

the people here, and the earnestness of General Grant and most of his
Cabinet in regard to my acceptance of the governorship. The Senate
acted promptly in confirming my nomination yesterday and paid me the
very high compliment (rarely done except when a member of their own
body receives an appointment) of acting upon my nomination without
referring it to a committee, and confirming it by a unanimous vote. . . .
I can see that my new position has its effect on Boutwell, who has been
more confidential than ever before the past day or two. He says we
needn't mind what Morton or Belmont may conspire. He will not allow
them to get any advantage over us."
1 February 4, 1871.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 271

In America the list of associates was to include Jay
Cooke and Company, Fisk and Hatch, Vermilye and
Company, Clark, Dodge and Company, Winslow, Lan-
ier and Company, E. W. Clark and Company, Kid-
der, Peabody and Company, and a few others,
but a great many more were later added, so that
the- business was entrusted to nearly every house
which asked for it, the compensation being fixed
at the uniform rate of one-fourth of one per cent.
Thus here as in Europe, the operation was marked
to fail from the start. "I feel as you do," wrote
Fahnestock to Jay Cooke on February 21st, "that the
whole business is doomed to be a fizzle unless more in-
telligence is infused into it. Boutwell is so headstrong
and impracticable, that it is almost impossible to move
him." In New York Fisk and Hatch, Vermilye and
Company and Cooke's other old five-twenty agents were
unable to do anything and they frankly said that they
could not and would not while they were on the same
plane with fifty other houses. Fahnestock wrote to
Jay Cooke on March 6, 1871, as follows:

We all feel that it is quite useless to work for the government
without some pay and it evidently will not pay as the matter now
stands. With fifty New York houses on the same footing with
ourselves it will be nobody's business, and no prominent party
is likely to take hold of it until the whole programme is recon-
structed. My impression is that it will be best for us to keep still
and the Secretary will find presently that only private enterprise
can apply the leverage necessary to make any kind of a success
of the funding, and it is not impossible that he may have to come
down to the one agency plan in order to avoid failure.

Jay Cooke himself never sulked when his advice was
not taken and he went forward now as he did during the

272 JAY COOKE

war without tears over spillings or spoilings ; the dispo-
sition to take pleasure in the failure of an undertaking
because his recommendations had not been adopted was
totally foreign to his nature. Under all the disadvan-
tages which he could not help recognizing he put forth
every effort to second the Secretary in the operation.
His chosen service consisted in the attempt to persuade
the national banks to turn in their six per cents, and
take the new fives in exchange for them. His influence
with these institutions was still very large. What he
had done to organize the system had not been forgot-
ten, and the Secretary soon had the pleasure of wel-
coming subscriptions from many banks. Indeed so
free was the response that Boutwell was encouraged
to think that his scheme would yet succeed. Mr.
Cooke kept the Secretary informed of the progress of
the work and they wrote to each other almost daily. On
March nth Boutwell reported a total subscription of
six and one-half millions. "Though not what I desired,"
he wrote, "I do not regard it as a failure. If all our
agents in New York and elsewhere would urge the
banks to take hold I believe the next two weeks would
show an aggregate of $50,000,000 on this side of the
Atlantic." On March 13th the total was seven and a
half millions. "These subscriptions have of course all
been made in the United States," he observed confiden-
tially, "and among them is that of the Merchants' Bank
of Boston, the largest banking association in New Eng-
land. It may be true, as you suggest, that our agents
are too numerous, but after a few weeks' trial I shall
drop from the list those who fail in securing reasonable
subscriptions."

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 273

On March 14th the subscriptions were nine millions
and on March 16th the Secretary wrote to Mr. Cooke:
"The result of your labors thus far is gratifying. The
subscriptions for to-day amount to about $1,100,000 dol-
lars and to date altogether to a little over eleven mil-
lions." On March 18th the total had increased to
$15,853,500.

As the loan dragged on a scheme for the formation
of a party which would take the balance of the $200,-
000,000 and ensure the success of the operation made its
appearance in New York City. It was under the man-
agement of Mr. Morton, who hoped to complete it with-
out the assistance of Jay Cooke and Company, but
Fahnestock was called in at the last moment and from
that point onward Mr. Cooke was advised of the plans
and projects of this ambitious coterie, though they were
destined to come to no good end. The situation did
not favor joint action. The object, of course, from a
practical banker's standpoint, was to raise the price of
five-twenties to par in gold. When Boutwell began his
operations the difference was about one per cent., but as
time passed it had increased to nearly or quite two per
cent. Since it was made no one's particular business
to direct the market, its condition grew more hopeless
and only bold individual leadership could be expected
to save the day for the Secretary.

Success had become a matter of importance to the
Cookes. On March 22, 1871, Mr. Fahnestock wrote:
"Beyond the public considerations we have a personal
interest in saving the measure from failure because of
the large number of banks which, through our agency,
have been induced to make the exchanges and which,

274 JAY COOKE

if the thing breaks down, will have fives while their
neighbors have sixes." 1

"I have never seen his match for obstinacy and
impracticability," said Fahnestock of Boutwell in writ-
ing to Jay Cooke on April 20th, when nothing could be
got from the Secretary, and it was resolved to stand
idly by to see if by natural movements the values of
bonds and gold would not approximate.

But dawn seemed near for the firm when on May
9th Henry Cooke wrote :

I have been talking with Mr. Boutwell about the loan and he
has submitted to me a proposition substantially as follows:
That we take or make up a party to take the balance of the first
200,000,000 of the five per cents., amounting to say 130,000,000
in installments of 10,000,000 per month or more, if we can handle
it, thus running through about thirteen months, we having the
monopoly of the market for five per cents, in the meanwhile.
He will give us all the one-half per cent, allowed him by law ex-
cept the cost of preparing the bonds, which he thinks would leave
us about three-eighths of one per cent., we doing our own adver-
tising both at home and abroad, and he delivering the bonds to
us at London, Frankfort and Paris at his own cost and risk.
It strikes me that if we can swing this affair it affords us the
opportunity to control the whole loan. If the proposition in
this precise shape should not suit you I have little doubt that it
could be so modified as to meet your views entirely.

These plans miscarried, for on May 29th Henry
Cooke wrote that the Secretary had declined the propo-
sition "not because he didn't think it an advantageous
offer, but because the feature of leaving the money on
deposit for ninety days was open to criticism."

Boutwell had been "hobnobbing" with the Childs and
Drexel interests and it was believed that he had weak-
1 To J. C.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 275

ened under this influence. He seemed to be filled with
a fresh resolve to complete the operation without Mr.
Cooke's aid, and he was about to send abroad Judge
William A. Richardson, an Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury, with a view to new attempts in London,
though that delegate departed in a not very hopeful state
of mind.1 His going proved to be timed happily for he
had scarcely reached the other side when a contract was
signed with the great Philadelphia banking house.

Throughout the European negotiations in reference to
the Northern Pacific Railroad an interesting French
word recurred again and again. It seemed to fill a need
in this emergency. If Jay Cooke could not be trusted
to manage this affair alone he must form and direct a
group of bankers, a syndicat, which he quickly made
into an English word, syndicate, and the welkin rang
with it as soon as he completed his arrangements for the
great operation. It was used throughout the contract
which he signed with Boutwell. The newspaper re-
porters rolled it under their tongues. It was the subject
of bad puns and newspaper doggerel. The following
came to the New York Tribune and Whitelaw Reid sent
it to Fahnestock by whom it was transmitted to Jay
Cooke :

" Pray, what is a syndicate

Intended to indicate?
Is queried abroad and at home.

Say, is it a corner,

Where Jay Cook-e Horner,
Can pull out a very big plum ? "

1 " He is a good deal demoralized," observed Henry Cooke, " and fears
he can do nothing but make a failure. I encouraged him in the idea
and told him the only hope of success was in the acceptance of our
proposition. He asked if I could not go over with him."

276 JAY COOKE

Whatever the word meant it was agreed by Jay
Cooke's foes that it was equal to a "ring" for getting
rich out of the government. Samuel S. ("Sunset")
Cox, a Representative from New York, made it the sub-
ject of a humorous speech in Congress and the deriva-
tion of the word was traced by several wise philologists
at Washington. Some of Cox's constituents had writ-
ten to him, he said amid laughter, to know if it were re-
lated to the Ku Klux. Others supposed, this wag con-
tinued, that "it was a great land animal of the prehistoric
time when our planet was filled with monsters. A
scholar learned in philology says it comes from the
original Chinese and is pronounced 'Ah Sinde-cat' from
a well-known player of cards called the 'heathen Chinee.'
While on the island of Corsica I saw the devil fish of
Victor Hugo — a horrible marine monster with most re-
markable tentacula which clasp the human form in their
slimy claws. It has depopulated whole villages by the
sea. It is called by the natives in their mixed language
'sundy cato.' A revenue reformer writes me that it is
an animal peculiar to Pennsylvania with a head of iron,
eyes of nickel, legs of copper and heart of stone. It
consumes every green thing outside of its own state."

Cox went to Sir John Maundeville's "Travels in Far
Cathay" and found the following remarkable passages:

"While passing many contrees both by land and sea I
cherched on the Chinese wall a strange animal of the liz-
zard kind. He was known in anciente books as a cha-
meleon. When the sun did shine he took various colors ;
sometimes it wore a golden hue and sometimes had a
green back. I caught him by means of a Steele mirror
which so bedazzled his eyne that he was easily caught.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 277

I bring him home as a strange beaste. It is called by
the natives a scindicat."

Cox had asked Mr. Boutwell what he meant by the
syndicate and the Secretary replied that it was Jay
Cooke and Company, so the humorous Congressman
concluded after all his investigations that this was the
true definition of the word.1

On August nth Mr. Cooke's firm was ready to issue
a circular to the public. That, sent out by the New
York house, read as follows :

BANKING HOUSE OF JAY COOKE AND CO.
Corner Wall and Nassau Streets.

New York, August n, 1871.
Dear Sirs : — Referring to the circular of the Secretary of the
Treasury of this date which will inform you that the remainder of
the $200,000,000 of the new United States five per cent, loan
is placed in our hands for negotiation we desire to state that in
a day or two our plans will be fully matured and made known to
you by circular.

We reserve $50,000,000 of the bonds for a brief period for the
national banks and we beg to offer them the first opportunity to
make exchanges of their old five-twenties as well- as others of
their bonds for the new loan.

Inviting your correspondence at an early day upon this whole
subject,

We remain respectfully,

Jay Cooke and Co.

There was amazement when Mr. Cooke published the
names of the houses which he had brought into his
group. He had organized, indeed, two separate syndi-
cates, and they made themselves responsible for $2$,-
000,000 in gold, the European for $15,000,000 and the

1 Congressional Globe, 1871-72, p. 750.

278 JAY COOKE

American syndicate for $10,000,000. The European
list with a few minor omissions was as follows : 1

R. Raphael and Company (including $1,000,000 joint
account with von Hoffman and jobbers and $375,000

for Erlanger) .$ 3,500,000

L. Cohen 2,000,000

Seligman, London and Frankfort 500,000

Bischoffsheim and Goldschmidt, London . . . 400,000

Clews, Habicht and Co., London 200,000

Behrens, Hamburg 250,000

Bleichroeder, Berlin 250,000

Lippman, Amsterdam 250,000

Wertheim, Amsterdam 250,000

Erlanger, Frankfort 250,000

Anglo-Hungarian Bank, London 250,000

Speyer, London and Frankfort 300,000

Cazenove, London and Frankfort 300,000

Gerstenberg and friends, London 500,000

Montagu, London 375,000

Oppenheim (Brussels) and others 250,000

Reserved for Paris 500,000

Morises, Liverpool ; Foster and Braithwaite,
London ; Satterthwaite, London ; Monroe,

Andrews and others 675,000

Miscellaneous 1,000,000

Jay Cooke, McCulloch and Co 3,000,000

$15,000,000
The American syndicate was composed as follows :

Jay Cooke and Co., New York, Philadelphia

and Washington , 2,000,000

Fisk and Hatch (including Speyer and Von

Hoffman privately) 1,500,000

Vermilye and Co 1,000,000

Henry Clews and Co 1 ,000,000

1 For these names see N. Y. Times of August 15th.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 279

Clark, Dodge and Co 500,000

First National Bank, New York 1,000,000

Fourth National Bank, New York 1,000,000

First National Bank, Philadelphia 500,000

First National Bank, Washington 500,000

Leonard, Sheldon and Foster, New York . . 250,000

To be distributed 750,000

$10,000,000

Boutwell was as much gratified as he was surprised
at the turn things had taken as soon as he had trans-
ferred the loan to Jay Cooke's hands. He was "de-
lighted and that don't half express it," wrote Henry
Cooke to his brother.1 "He said if anything could be a
guarantee of success it was just such a combination as
we had formed."

The work in hand now was to manipulate the prices
of gold and bonds so that the operation would be facili-
tated; to secure coin subscriptions for the new fives at
least sufficient to relieve the members of the syndicates
from their obligations to the government, and when gold
was not to be had to persuade the holders of the sixes to
exchange them for fives, on the face of it a not very
favorable bargain for the bondholders. The operation
was completed at a lively rate, indeed almost instantly.
The London house of Jay Cooke, if it never did any-
thing else, and this was practically all it accomplished
in the course of its unfortunately brief career, is en-
titled to much credit for its management of this funding
business. Eighty million dollars had been assigned to
the European syndicate. The books for subscriptions
were opened on August 226. and at the end of the first

1 August 14th.

280 JAY COOKE

day it was given out that the loan had been oversub-
scribed. At home Jay Cooke had for his American syn-
dicate $50,000,000, which must first be offered to the
national banks, and an odd balance of $2,000,000 or $3,-
000,000. He had already brought in for Boutwell more
than $50,000,000 of their bonds for exchange, and it was
but a continuation of that operation at an accelerated
speed. In a few days the American syndicate closed its
books and the Secretary, in accordance with his prom-
ises, "called" the bonds. It was at first supposed that the
numbers would be placed in a wheel and that they would
be selected by lot, but there proved to be some legal
impediment to the adoption of this course, and it was
decided that the oldest must come in first. The Cookes
disliked this suggestion as the element of uncertainty in
the operation would have facilitated it. On September
1st the Secretary designated and called $100,000,000 of
the five-twenties of 1862 and gave notice in Europe and
America that the interest upon these bonds would cease
in ninety days, or upon December 1st.1

The holders demanding it would of course receive
gold according to the terms upon which the debt had
been contracted, and it was to assure the success of the
operation in this particular that the European bankers
guaranteed to provide the Secretary $15,000,000 and the

1 The notice for redemption was given as follows :

Treasury Department,
September I, 1871.
By virtue of the authority given by an Act of Congress, approved July
14th, 1871, entitled " An Act to authorize the refunding of the national
debt," I hereby give notice that the principal and accrued interest of the
bonds herein below designated known as Five-twenty bonds, will be paid
at the Treasury of the United States in the city of Washington on or
after the first day of December next, and that the interest on said bonds

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 281

American bankers $10,000,000 in coin. He himself had
promised to take $20,000,000 from his coin surplus,
thus making available for the actual cash redemption
of the bonds, $45,000,000 in all. Moreover, it could
not be certainly told until after December 1st, if then,
how large a sum would be required for this purpose and
in Europe, it was said, many of the bonds were held
by the peasantry who did not read the newspapers, and
would not know that the interest had ceased until they
had presented their coupons for payment at the end of
the next interest period. Their action was certain to
be slow.

On December 7th Boutwell called $20,000,000 more,
and again on December 20th $20,000,000, all from the
Second Series, designating them by numbers as before,
a movement calculated to expedite the operation by con-
vincing the holders of the First Series that he was in

will cease on that day. That is to say coupon bonds known as the First
Series, Act of February 25, 1862, dated May 1, 1862, numbered as follows :

I to 30699 inclusive of $50 each

I to 43572 inclusive of $100 each

I to 4001 1 inclusive of $50 each

I to 74104 inclusive of $1000 each

And registered bonds of the same act

1 to 595 inclusive of $50 each

I to 4103 inclusive of $100 each

1 to 1899 inclusive of $500 each

1 to 8906 inclusive of $1000 each

I to 2665 inclusive of $5000 each

1 to 2906 inclusive of $10000 each
The amount outstanding (embraced in the numbers as above) is $100,-
000,000. Coupon bonds of the Act of February 25, 1862, were issued in
four distinct series. Bonds of the First Series (embracing those described
above) do not bear the series designation upon them, while those of the
Second, Third and Fourth Series are distinctly marked on the face of
the bonds. J. F. Hartley,

Assistant Secretary.

282 JAY COOKE

earnest and was going forward with his policy of re-
demption and exchange.

This was the general scheme and it can be imagined
how many difficult details were to be arranged by Jay
Cooke through his London and New York houses. His
relations to the members of the syndicates, to the public
at large, including the national banks, and to the Secre-
tary of the Treasury, called for the most careful atten-
tion. The aspects of the operation were manifold, the
chances of success all dependent upon the skill and the
rapidity of movement which had distinguished him dur-
ing the war. The opportunity for profit had been re-
duced to a minimum by the Department, and he was given
in gross only what remained of one-half per cent, after
the necessary expenses in connection with the loan were
deducted by the government. The direct gain therefore
was not out of proportion to the labor involved, as many
seemed to think when Cooke and his syndicates were
as a matter of course hauled into Congress for one of
those investigations to which he had become so well ac-
customed. Nothing that he ever did for the govern-
ment escaped a thorough raking over the coals by the
opposition politicians and journalists, stimulated by his
envious fellow bankers who could not find enjoyment in
his success, and this transaction proved to be a partic-
ularly fruitful field for criticism.

The bonds negotiated through Jay Cooke, McCulloch
and Company were sent abroad in lots of $5,000,000
and $10,000,000 by various steamers. They were
placed in safes which were securely locked. The keys
were distributed so that the clerk who accompanied each
safe did not have the means to unlock that one under

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 283

his immediate charge, but some other on a different ves-
sel.1

Judge Richardson was assisted in Europe by J. P.
Bigelow, another officer of the Treasury Department,
and the redemptions and exchanges occupied the corps
for several months at Jay Cooke's London bank.

The instantaneous success of the operations called
forth the congratulations of President Grant. On Sep-
tember ist Henry Cooke wrote his brother as follows:

I had a long interview with the President yesterday and did
not have time to write you about it. I waited for him to intro-
duce the subject of the late loan which he did very promptly
after shaking hands. He said the loan was a great and gratifying
success, and the promptness with which it was effected was a
surprise to him. He was delighted and more particularly for
two reasons : First — It vindicated and established American
credit abroad. Secondly — It was established without the aid
or co-operation of certain firms who have heretofore assumed
that nothing could be done without them. He was glad that this
was so and that the prestige of success attached to American
agents rather than to the Barings and Rothschilds, and others
of that class. He said that Morton had expressed to him very
great regret that he had not participated. Morton told him that
we had offered him participation in the syndicate but, not dream-
ing of its success, he had declined, which he regretted. I told
the President that we had offered participation to Drexel,
Morgan, Morton-Rose, the Barings, Clews and Seligman on
equal terms of sharing profits with ourselves, reserving only the
right to shape the policy of the syndicate and to manage it in our

1 This fact is made public by Mr. Boutwell in his Reminiscences and
is almost the only statement of his record which is comprehensible to a
student of Jay Cooke's papers. Mr. Boutwell's book is either an evidence
of the treachery of human memory or what is more likely a proof of how
little may be known by the chief of a government department of all that
is going on around him. There is a different account in Hackett's Life
of Wm. A. Richardson.

284 JAY COOKE

name. He said that was eminently proper and necessary to
success. There must be one head to a large transaction of that
kind. I told him that only Clews and Seligrnan of all the parties
named came in, Seligrnan for a comparatively Franklin amount,
Clews for a million. I congratulated him on this rounding out
of his financial policy, the placing of the loan being the only
missing link in the chain of its success. In short we had a
good time of mutual congratulation and the President was very
decidedly gratified and pleased. Porter tells me that Morton was
at first incredulous as to the success of the loan, but that when
assured that it was a success he owned up like a man and said
to him (P.), "there is no wiping out the great fact: it is a
wonderful negotiation and will put Jay Cooke and Company
head and shoulders above any American house in Europe, and
make them the peers of the proudest of the European houses."

Mr. Cooke's warm friend, Senator Cattell of New Jer-
sey, wrote on September 5, 1871 :

I congratulate you most sincerely on your magnificent man-
agement of the new loan. I knew you would carry it through
all right, and have said more than once to the President and
Boutwell that you were the only man in my opinion that could
pull them through. I am so glad that after trying all round the
world they found success when they placed themselves in the
hands of the man that carried us through, financially, the dark
days of the war. But I was not prepared for the extraordinary
success you achieved in virtually placing the whole 130 mil-
lions in a single day.

"I congratulate you on your great success in dispos-
ing of the government bonds," wrote William Windom
on September 4th. "It is another very large-sized feather
in your financial cap."

The negotiation was in truth the best of all advertise-
ments for Cooke's newly established London house.
Colonel John H. Puleston wrote to the financier on
September 7, 1871 :

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 285

It is needless to say that we were intensely gratified to have
the loan and still more pleased that our first effort in this direc-
tion should prove a signal success. The result in dollars and
cents to us will be very handsome, but we can make much more
if, as I hope, we are permitted to repeat the operation. We
shall not again be called upon to deal so liberally with outside
parties. I now feel sure that if we had not brought it out upon
the Continent our success would have been far greater, for we
could have kept the premium up here and have got rid of the
whole lot without difficulty, whereas some of the Continental fel-
lows, the Amsterdam people particularly, simply subscribed to
avail themselves of the temporary premium in this market, and
so left the market full of a lot of floating stock which requires a
little time to become absorbed by bona fide buyers. . . . The
effect of this success upon our general business will be unmis-
takable and we are strengthened very much for Northern Pacific,
which I hope we shall be able to move on the return of the Com-
missioners.

Barings and Rothschilds predicted that after the first
furore the bonds would be sold at a discount, but this
result was avoided, and in December the business of the
European syndicate was successfully concluded. Pule-
ston wrote to Jay Cooke on December 2, 1871 :

Naturally we are all happy over the practical ending of our
first loan, and particularly because of the large measure of suc-
cess which has attended our efforts. The newspapers to-day
are quite complimentary. ... It is not necessary to tell
you that the operation of this loan has given us very great
prominence and has very largely advanced our general business,
particularly in American things. It was not at all pleasant to
pay out some of the many large cheques to members of the syn-
dicate who have not been conspicuous for any help given us, but
when I made the distribution in August it was then necessary
to interest all the prominent houses as far as possible, and avoid
all contingency of a failure. I am in great hopes, too, that the
successful termination of this operation will enable us to haul

286 JAY COOKE

the same parties into the Northern Pacific syndicate next
week.

In acknowledgment of the cheques many letters were
received of which the following is typical:

London, December 4, 1871.
Messrs. lay Cooke, McCalloch and Co., London:

Dear Sirs : — We have much pleasure in acknowledging the
receipt of your favor of December 1st, enclosing a cheque for
£17,000, on account of profits on our participation in the syndi-
cate of the United States funded loan. We must congratulate
you on the brilliant success of the operation, a success due, we
feel sure, almost entirely to the conspicuous ability with which
you have conducted the affair. We trust that the relations be-
tween you and ourselves, which have so auspiciously begun may
long continue to the mutual profit of both our firms, and lead to
many others, all as agreeable both in a pecuniary and in a per-
sonal view as this one has been.

We remain, dear sirs,
Yours truly,

Lewis Cohen and Sons.

Later in December the London partners expressed
some anxiety lest the Rothschilds, Barings and Rose
should form a syndicate of their own, which Boutwell
would entrust with further funding operations. Pule-
ston wrote on December 1 5th :

The jealousy towards our house, now that we have been so
successful, and the fact that the American market is tremendously
good, make such a combination remarkably easy. The govern-
ment of the United States would hardly permit so great an in-
justice to us as to listen to any proposition which did not come
through us, in view of our taking the business when everything
was gloomy and even six per cents, at a considefable discount.
Mr. Boutwell well knows that we have had here everythirfg to
contend against. The houses who will enter the new combina-
tion, if one is formed, not only failed to sell any government

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 287

bonds when they had the opportunity, and declined abruptly to
make any proposition to Judge Richardson, but after we took
it up, put every obstacle in our way, in effect depreciating thereby
as far as they were able, the credit of the government, and
doing generally all possible to throw cold water upon our efforts
which they predicted could not succeed. Against all these se-
rious disadvantages, however, we did succeed, and managed to
bring up the credit of the government to a higher point than it
ever reached, the six per cent, bonds on the day of our settle-
ment touching the highest price in their history, and advancing
since to their unprecedentedly high point. To accomplish all this
great result we had, as you well know, to yield the bulk of profit
in the operation to others in order to secure in other quarters the
co-operation denied the government and ourselves by those who
had been trusted with the confidence of the Secretary. . . .
If we offered $100,000,000 five per cents, now with an authorita-
tive statement that no more fives would ever be offered, we believe
success would be certain.

The London house urged Jay Cooke to see Boutwell
at once. Mr. McCulloch wrote :

Judge Richardson has a high opinion of you, and of your
judgment in financial matters, and his opinion, I am quite sure,
is that of his chief. ... I am quite clear that you have more
influence with«the Secretary than any other man.1

Mr. Cooke thought that his power was much over-
rated. "When will he learn wisdom?" he asked in a
letter to his brother Henry in December, 1871. "Not
until he is reconstructed," Henry Cooke replied, and
their view of the Secretary of the Treasury did not be-
come more favorable as the months passed, and he re-
fused to follow up the advantages which the government
had gained by this brilliant operation.

He had the most favorable opportunities to do so.

1 McCulloch to J. C, September 9, 1871.

288 JAY COOKE

On December 226. Judge Richardson cabled to Secretary
Boutwell from London as follows:

Joint proposal, Rothschilds and Cooke, to take fifty millions,
payable May 1st, with option of fifty millions more. Year after
further offers, $200,000,000 fives, $300,000,000 four and a halfs
in proportion. Period will be determined. Terms former con-
tract. Interest paid London.

Although the Rothschilds had never but once before
linked their names with any other house, they were now
ready to join Jay Cooke and Company in the transaction
of government business in Europe. The great Ameri-
can fortunes of this time had not been accumulated, and
the wealth of this European banking house made an im-
pression upon the minds of the people of which to-day
we can scarcely conceive. Puleston and Fahnestock
made the arrangement in London with the old Baron,
who was disposed to be "unusually complimentary."
This news was not concealed when it reached America,
as may be guessed, although it was without effect upon
the immovable Secretary, who was now timid, as well
as obstinate, because of the attacks upon his policies. If
the arrangement had been effected at this time it might
have saved the Northern Pacific Railroad, by providing
greater means to Jay Cooke's houses through the profits
upon the government negotiations as well as by strength-
ening his credit abroad and at home. Throughout the
syndicate operation he and his partners were constantly
considering its probable effect upon the railway enter-
prise to which they were so closely committed. They
had not been slow to observe that such alacrity to secure
a five per cent, government loan presaged further con-
versions and a permanently lower rate of interest on

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 289

United States bonds, and they caused the following"
statement to be added to their advertisements :

The complete success of the new United States five per cent,
loan and the probability of the early funding of the entire public
debt at five per cent, or less, will continue to induce holders of
5-20S to convert them into such first mortgage railroad bonds or
other, securities as embrace the two- fold element of profit and
undoubted safety. Jay Cooke and Company recommend to cap-
italists, and to all who are seeking safe investments, the first
mortgage seven-thirty gold bonds of the Northern Pacific Rail-
road Company.

The railroad was at all times first in Mr. Cooke's
mind. Whatever else intervened, it was not forgotten,
and such zeal and devotion deserved rewards that he
was not destined to enjoy.

There were many temptations to turn aside from the
path of duty to this chosen enterprise. There came his
way in this period a number of outside proposals of a
magnitude to accord with his stature as a financier and
public man, as for instance a contract to supply ordnance
to the new French government. It had sent commis-
sioners to the United States to arrange for the purchase
and shipment of arms, said to aggregate a money value
of about $7,000,000, payment to be made through the
Bank of France. But it was objected that it was a busi-
ness not entirely germane to a banking firm and that
such a connection, if it became known, might damage
the success of the Northern Pacific loan in Germany,
so it was not undertaken.1

Mr. Cooke naturally found the London house and his
responsibility for the acts of several new partners in
England a cause of increased care and anxiety. Colonel

1 Fahn. to J. C, December 20, 1870.
19

290 JAY COOKE

Puleston early proposed to contest a seat in Parliament
in the Conservative interest. The financier discouraged
such an ambition, saying that the firm was entitled to
the undivided time of its partners. Furthermore, the
office would be a source of considerable expense. Gen-
eral Schenck, the new Minister to Great Britain, whose
good will, it was believed, would be a benefit, was an
indiscreet friend. Puleston, acting upon Mr. Cooke's
instructions, had met the General upon his arrival at the
docks and warmly welcomed him to England. Intimate
social relations were at once established between the
London house and the American Legation, but Schenck
promptly involved Jay Cooke, McCulloch and Company
in the affairs of a Nevada silver mine which was the
cause of his undoing as a diplomat. On November 23,
1871, Mr. Cooke wrote to Hugh McCulloch as follows:

I have had shown me within a day or two, copy of a prospectus
of a western mining association [the Emma Mining Co.]. Mr.
Fahnestock informs me that you have received a large commis-
sion for lending your names to the project. I regret exceedingly
that this has been done and cannot but believe it is a misjudged
step. I have always refused to identify our name with any min-
ing companies. I doubt not that this concern may be a valuable
property, but the whole history of mining is so full of fraud,
deceit and mismanagement, even with the fairest prospects at
first, that we cannot afford to identify ourselves with these enter-
prises. Had I been consulted, I should have preferred paying
$75,000 out of pocket, rather than to have linked our name with
it. ... As a general thing I do not expect to criticize the
business of the London office, but my whole soul abhors the
linking of our name with such an enterprise as this. I have
never permitted it. The only case of the kind was with the
Preston Coal Co., the books of which were opened at our office
against my protest, and in my absence under Mr. Moorhead's

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 291

directions. The thing was mismanaged as this will no doubt be,
and brought the only discredit upon our firm that it has suffered
since our origin.

Writing to Puleston Mr. Cooke continued his observa-
tions on this subject:

Mining is not a proper subject for public speculation, and if
this should be a good one, it will only be the forerunner of others
that will bring in innocent victims. My opinion is that mining
should only be conducted on absolute capital, without being placed
upon the markets for innocent people to venture therein. Mines
and mining companies are entirely different from any other
species of ordinary investments. There is an element of risk
about them, and many contingencies which the ignorant and poor,
and the public at large should not be invited to participate in.

Simon Stevens had gone to London fully empowered
to negotiate a loan for the Mexican government. Gen-
eral Schenck expressed his favor for the scheme, con-
fidentially telling Puleston that commercial and diplo-
matic relations between Mexico and France and Eng-
land were to be re-established, the United States being
asked to act as a mediator. The plan was to consolidate
the Mexican debt and fund it in new thirty-year bonds.
"The Mexican bonds are now selling at from 14 to 15,"
wrote Puleston to Jay Cooke on December 2, 1871, "and
if it were known that we were even likely to become the
agents of the Mexican government and of the bond-
holders here, the price would go up rapidly. Several
large houses here, including Barings, would, I have
reason to believe, gladly take the business in hand, but
if you think it tangible we want to control it."

The Mexican agent visited Mr. Cooke in Philadel-
phia, but this negotiation was also not favored and the
financier soundly reprimanded McCulloch and his asso-

292 JAY COOKE

ciates in London for advancing a small sum of money to
Stevens on the chance of their later undertaking it.1
To Puleston Mr. Cooke wrote on December 15,1871 :

In the first place, Simon Stevens is not a man that we would
have anything to do with under any possible circumstances. It
would injure our credit vastly to be connected with him in any
way. Secondly, an advance to that party without security, is to
my mind, securing a total loss of the amount you have advanced,
and I trust that this experience will lead you to refuse such ad-
vances hereafter. I have long studied this Mexican question, but
the whole difficulty lies in the character of the people of Mexico,
and of its rulers. They are more unstable and unreliable than
the Apache or Crow Indians. In fact they have left no com-
mercial or financial character whatever, and as long as we can
get plenty of business with our own government and responsible
railroad companies, I would keep out of everything south of
Mason and Dixon's line, even down to the South Pole. General
Schenck, of course, does not know anything about finances, and
is therefore excusable for supposing there was something in
this matter, but he ought to know enough of Stevens to see that
he was not a party we could negotiate with.

Late in 1871 Mr. Cooke actively interested himself
in Cyrus W. Field's plan for a Pacific cable which was
to be "landed at a point near the terminus of the North-
ern Pacific Railroad," and wrote to Grant on the sub-
ject, aiming to induce the President to advocate the en-
terprise in his forthcoming message to Congress.
Henry Cooke, who was his brother's intermediary, said
in a letter dated November 18, 1871 :

The President expressed lively interest in the success of Mr.
Field's telegraphic project. He said it would be an aid to this
country in securing the trade of Japan and of the East, and that
the project was worthy of encouragement. He said the East

1 McCulloch to J. C, January 16, 1872.

MRS. JAY COOKE, 1 869

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR

India trade (including Japan, etc.), was pretty much! all that was
left to our commercial marine, as our ships were virtually ex-
cluded from the Atlantic trade, and that of all portions of the
world ; that if properly managed we could secure and hold the
Japanese and China trade largely. I infer from this that he
received your suggestion to mention the matter in his message
favorably. He read your letter with great attention, and after
reading it spoke very warmly to the above effect.

Enough has been said to indicate that Jay Cooke in
all his remarkably active life had never experienced a
busier or more anxious year than 1871. To give us a
complete picture of what these months held for him,
just one trial more must be added to the impending ca-
tastrophe in relation to the railroad, the signs of which
already appeared in vague outlines upon the wall; the
visit of the European commissioners, in whom too much
faith was expressed as the falling will grasp at any suc-
cor; the complicated business of the European and
American syndicates in funding more than $130,000,-
000 of government bonds, — and that was the death of
Mrs. Cooke. They had gone to Gibraltar in June in the
hope that she would derive some benefit from a visit to
the beloved home, encircled by the waters of "Lake Erie,
but the expected improvement did not come. She was
able to sit up for but a few minutes at a time on
the porch or in the hall, and a return to Phila-
delphia was resolved upon. She was taken in a
revenue steamer directly to Erie, the captain giv-
ing up his cabin to her, and then in a private car
amid all the comforts that travellers at that day could
enjoy. It was a heart affection and the end was reached
on Saturday, July 22d, at "Ogontz" amid grief that Mr.
Cooke's unusual Christian fortitude was happily in some

294 JAY COOKE

measure able to assuage.1 Yet such a loss is almost as
grievous to the trusting as to other men and the bereave-
ment weighed heavily upon him, even amid the solace
of business engagements, the most exacting and multi-
farious, by which his mind was raised above his own ails
and sorrows. They were husband and wife; they were
also lovers from first to last. When his day was done in
Third Street he stole home for a drive with Mrs. Cooke
down some shady lane, usually in a "buggy" without a
man to attend. Upon his frequent trips to Washington,
New York, or any whither, his wife was wont to accom-
pany him and to say that such relations can be suddenly
broken off without unspeakable pangs, no matter what
the trust, is to hold ourselves more than human. The
sympathy of his friends who were now legion, in all
the public and private walks of life was freely and ten-
derly expressed. On July 24th the Philadelphia In-
quirer, in an article upon Mrs. Cooke, said:

Her faith in, and love for the teachings of Christianity, were
evidenced by her thoughtful care for all those who needed a
word or dole from the fullness of her magnificent bounty. Guest
or beggar was made richer by the gentle courtesy with which she
discharged her pleasure of hospitality or duty of relieving want.
Grand and wide as were the rooms of her husband's mansion,
they were still simpler and narrower than the spirit of charity and
welcome with which her generous nature filled them. Her eyes
were as shut as those of Justice when Misery or Distress knocked
at the door; but, like Justice, she heard and helped all who be-
sought her. It is the knowledge of this that will fill the hearts
of many with mourning when the sad tidings reach them that she
has gone on before where Charity is infinite and Love is untold.

1 " It is a sad blow to Jay and would be a crushing one but for his
Christian faith and resignation. Trust in God was never more beautifully
illustrated than in this case. Jay bears his loss with the calm fortitude
of a Christian hero." — Henry Cooke to Chase, July 29, 1871.

CHAPTER XVII

THE "BANANA BELT"

The rather derisive allusion to the line of the North-
ern Pacific Railroad as "Jay Cooke's Banana Belt,"
made with zest by the newspapers, was apt, it was
thought, on two accounts: First, because of the tend-
ency to hyperbole exhibited by his various writers in
their earlier descriptions of the region, attributing to it
a voluptuous climate and a vegetation almost tropical
in its luxuriance; and second because upon the maps
which he issued the strip of land appertaining to the
railroad was swept over the mountains to the coast in
the shape of a long fantastic banana. Sam Wilkeson
began the exaggerations while in the Puget Sound coun-
try in the summer of 1869. His "Notes on Puget
Sound" were published and widely distributed, being
made into one of the company's principal documents in
the campaign to sell bonds and secure colonists to settle
upon the line of the road. AVithin firm circles to "Wil-
kesonize" became a phrase expressive of a tendency to
color a thing too highly. This indomitable writer was
ably seconded by C. C. Coffin, who had been with the
Smith-Marshall party in Minnesota in 1869 and whose
letters to newspapers, magazine articles and lectures up-
rooted many young New Englanders and induced them
to re-establish themselves in numbers on the vaunted
farms of northwestern Minnesota.

295

296 JAY COOKE

Mr. Cooke early formulated extensive schemes for col-
onizing the railroad lands and it was the settlement and
civilization of the country more than anything else in
the Northern Pacific programme which aroused his in-
terest and stirred his imagination.

On April 8, 1870, he wrote to C. C. Coffin as follows:
We propose to have the best and most responsible agents, with
head centres in all the Northern states, their operations ramifying
into each county and village. We will seek to gather together
into localities such as Westfield, Northampton, Lowell, etc.,
communities of emigrants, taking some from every class of the
community and sending them out in a body to establish a town
or village of their own, transferring the name of their former
residence to the new locality, — something like the settlement of
the Western Reserve in northern Ohio, only to a much larger
extent, and with more vigor and system. The same idea of
transferring communities will be extended to Great Britain and
all parts of Europe. Our idea is to carry the lands to the very
firesides of the people throughout all our Northern states and
give them the choice of a change of residence.

How far his dreams of empire carried him is shown
in the following letter to General Sargent on February
25, 1870:

Referring to my conversation with him [George Sheppard]
the other night, about the Winnipeg business, I should like to be
one of a number to employ his services wholly in manipulating
the annexation of British North America northwest of Duluth
to our country. This could be done without any violation of
treaties and brought about as the result of quiet emigration over
the border of trustworthy men with families, and with a tacit
(not legal) understanding with Riley and others there. The
country belongs to us naturally and should be brought over with-
out violence or bloodshed.

Before the Northern Pacific organized its own emi-
gration agencies in Europe and set in motion the ma-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 297

chinery for populating the Northwest the land grant
railroads seem to have relied for the most part upon
general agencies, the chief of which was the National
Land Company. It served several railways and a rival
organization was attempted in London with Gilead A.
Smith at its head. He had been shown some encourage-
ment by J. Edgar Thomson and the officers of the
Pennsylvania Railroad and offered lands in Minnesota,
Colorado, Kansas, Nevada and New Mexico at five to
ten shillings per acre, payable in easy installments. He
sent his circulars into the American legations and con-
sular offices in Europe, but his methods seem not to
have been admired by our Minister to England, John
Lothrop Motley. Like Sargent, Smith found the
American Minister "snobbish," since that officer had
told Benjamin Moran, his Secretary of Legation, and
Mr. Dudley, the United States Consul at Liverpool, that
"Smith had no business to lug in the legation in endors-
ing the private land speculations of Jay Cooke and
Thomson, and for his part he should not reply to any
questions asked him about it." In the view of Mr. Mot-
ley a United States minister could as well puff sewing
machines as land projects.1 He was the more criticized
for his attitude because President Grant had directed
the legations to do their part to encourage emigra-
tion to the United States by furnishing information and
by looking to the comfort of intending colonists. Gilead
Smith sent to the United States an agent named Smed-
ley, who was to establish American connections, but the
National Land Company left him no opening, and the
movement ended quite ingloriously, especially when Mr.

1 Gilead Smith to J. C, March 26, 1870.

298 JAY COOKE

Cooke's favor, upon the advice of some of his lieuten-
ants, was withdrawn from it.

The American theory that Europe was a ship filled
over-full with starving people, and that there were mil-
lions to be thrown overboard to find their way to happier
lands was never very popular abroad, and is usually
smiled at to this day whenever it is advanced. It is one
of those Jingo notions which go to make up Europe's
composite picture of the "Yankee." The German bankers
wrote to Mr. Cooke to tell him that they were not anx-
ious to despatch their people to other shores and, as the
war with France came on to call for a filling of the
ranks in the army, and after the sanguinary battles to
create a need for men in the trades to take the places of
the slain, it was the harder to make head in Germany
with the idea that it would be a national benefit to send
colonists to the United States. Indeed, in many, if not
in all German states, it was found that there were laws
rendering emigration difficult. So many swindling
representations were made to lure the people from their
homes that they were warned against agents of all kinds,
and severe penalties were attached to the business of
gathering up Germans for export to other countries, ex-
cept when it was managed in a very discreet manner.

In this sense Robert Thode and Company wrote to
Jay Cooke from Berlin on September 10, 1870. They
said :

"We cannot refrain remarking that our business men
and statesmen are not exactly seeking for a home thou-
sands of miles away for our best laborers and citizens,
especially after a war which has cost so many lives and
which has given us a united Germany, probably with en-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 299

larged territory. Your letter appears to believe the
German nation most anxious to find a home for their
citizens abroad."

However, this firm was interested in a projected line
of steamers from the Baltic, for which they asked Mr.
Cooke's financial support, stating that the boats would
call in Denmark and Sweden. The connection they be-
lieved would enable him to control the American emigra-
tion from all the Baltic countries of a class of people
calculated to be the most useful in populating Minnesota
and the lands traversed by the Northern Pacific Rail-
road.

After the Gilead Smith fiasco Mr. Cooke gave Pliny
E. Chase of Haverford College and Henry Villard, then
in Boston, where he was the secretary of the American
Social Science Association, certain commissions in con-
nection with the work of leading a movement from Eu-
rope to the Northern Pacific lands. Chase wrote to the
financier from Geneva, Switzerland, on July 25, 1870, as
follows :

The present agitation on account of the war renders the
European governments more strongly opposed than ever to the
emigration of their able-bodied subjects. It is therefore a very
unfavorable time to take steps towards securing an immediate
settlement of any new territory, but as soon as the war is over
there will probably be an immediate and great increase of emi-
gration for which it is desirable to prepare as speedily as possi-
ble. . . . All the emigrant associations of Europe are so
purely selfish that I can see very little probability of using tnem
to any advantage. But through the acquaintances that I have
formed, I think I may be able to distribute documents and in-
formation in such a way as to reach the most industrious and
prudent citizens of Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, who
are looking for new homes in the New World.

300 JAY COOKE

Mr. Cooke had asked Professor Chase to put himself
into communication with Ole Bull, the Norwegian vio-
linist, who had several times toured the United States,
in the hope that he would appeal to his fellow Scandi-
navians to settle oversea, but there were difficulties in
the way and this scheme, after some discussion, came
to naught.

Henry Villard's first service to the railroad was in
forwarding its emigration plans. He recommended
Mr. Cooke to employ Friedrich Kapp, of whom we have
already heard in connection with the loan negotiations in
Europe. Of him much was expected because of his
experience in emigration matters. He had been a com-
missioner of immigration for New York State and wrote
competently on the subject. His appointment was fa-
vored, too, because of his wide acquaintance with the
German people and the esteem in which he was held by
them. Recently returned to his native country he re-
ceived "public ovations" at Bremen and in several other
cities. He was shown "marked attention" by Bismarck
and was put in charge of the company's interests in
Germany.1 His task was to intercede with German edi-
tors and bankers and b)^ bringing influence to bear upon
the various German state governments smooth the way
for a free movement of such of their citizens as might
wish to select homes in the American Northwest. He
was in the pay of the company for two or three years,
although Mr. Cooke never valued his services very
highly.2

The financier was favored with some advice upon the
subject of immigration by the redoubtable Ignatius Don-

iVillard to J. C, July 10, 1870.

2 J. C. to J. C, M. and Co., September 2, 1872.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 301

nelly, who had very carefully devised plans and wrote:

If a large scheme of immigration could be started at once in
connection with the Northern Pacific Railroad it would attract
national attention and strengthen you greatly with Congress and
the people, should you hereafter ask a guarantee of bonds. A
great deal could be done even this year with proper energy. One
hundred thousand emigrants brought into that region would
give the road great claims upon the nation. This would be say
20,000 heads of families. They would buy each 160 acres, equal
to 3,200,000 acres, which at $5 per acre would be $16,000,000.
You could furnish houses at $50 each, of logs, and receive, say,
in payment during ten or twenty years, giving work on the road
to settlers in preference to others. The $16,000,000 could be
turned over as security to the holders of the railroad bonds.
Why can you not get in Scandinavia, Germany, England and
Ireland, 20,000 families who, if passage was paid or partly paid,
would enter into labor contracts to repay in work on the road
and pay for their houses in the same way. You would require
to select honest, healthy and industrious men who would live up
to their contracts. A system should be organized by which at-
tractive pamphlets setting forth the arrangements should be pub-
lished and an advertisement put in all the Minnesota and Wis-
consin papers, English, German and Scandinavian, offering to
send a copy of the pamphlet prepaid to any address forwarded
to the company, and to enclose in it a circular containing the name
of the party in Minnesota or Wisconsin at whose request it was
sent' In this way the pamphlet would reach the European with
the endorsement of his friend in America. A judicious use of
printers' ink and postage stamps would thus render the settlers
in Minnesota and Wisconsin emigration agents in behalf of the
company among their friends at home. . . . The best houses
for that climate will be those made like the houses of the Swedes,
of squared logs with moss laid between the logs. This makes
a very warm house. You could set a saw mill at work to saw
the logs square, cutting them off your railroad lands. You could
have them on hand by the thousand of the same lengths. I
think a story and a half house of this kind, with three windows

302 JAY COOKE

and two doors, could be furnished ready for putting up for $50,
perhaps for less.1

In a word, Mr. Cooke had many suggestions from
many sides, and much thought was bestowed upon the
subject of colonization in the intervals when he was not
employed with more pressing matters. The population
of this vast region looked to the future, but if the road,
as it was built, was to be self-maintaining, through the
receipts from way traffic, it was necessary that the ar-
rangements should go forward as rapidly as possible.
It is true that the company was not yet in possession of
its lands and could not be until its completed line was in-
spected and accepted by commissioners representing the
government of the United States. As might be ex-
pected, this step was delayed. The management acted
with its accustomed dilator iness, broken only with prom-
ises that all would be right by some special dispensation
of Providence reserved for the railway men of Vermont.
It was difficult to persuade Smith and his associates even
to see that the government surveyed, platted and set aside
the sections to be applied to the railway grant after the
route was definitely determined by the engineers.

On February 16, 1871, Philip W. Holmes wrote to
Mr. Cooke as follows:

In my judgment means should be adopted to secure tlie actual
possession of the real estate belonging to each section immediately
after the completion of that section, and if the company is at
present entitled to land, the fee to that land should be at once
vested in them. Four sections of twenty-five miles each are
ready for presentation and acceptance, which would entitle the
company to 1,280,000 acres, to be retained either as actual se-
curity in possession for the bonds, or sold by the trustees under

1 April 9, 1870.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 303

the conditions of the mortgage. It is presumed that along the
entire line from Duluth to the Pacific, the lands are withdrawn
from the market, but until the legal and actual possession is
acquired, I am fearful that the efficacy and value of the mort-
gage may be in doubt. This, of course, is personal and confi-
dential, for its real value is necessarily progressive. In this
country the people are not disposed to investigate the legal char-
acter and construction of a bond and mortgage, but in Europe
capital, being more concentrated, is slower and more scrutinizing
in seeking investments. Therefore, if at the time we put these
bonds on the European market, we can offer not only bonds, but
the identical lands upon which the bonds are issued, a great
point will be gained, and a character established for the loan that
no other similar enterprise has had.

The Lake Superior and Puget Sound Company, which
was organized to exploit town sites, water powers, etc.,
a kind of "inside ring" from which riches were expected
to accrue to the original stockholders, was in the hands
of Thomas H. Canfield and he managed it in his own
way. It had nothing to do with the business of selling
the farming land nor was it intended that it should in-
terest itself in immigration and colonization. It was
to send its agents before, selecting eligible positions, pre-
empting them for its particular uses and holding them
against the claims of the large body of settlers who
were expected to follow the general opening up of the
lands comprised in the grant.

General land matters were in the control of the North-
ern Pacific Company's Land Committee, of which Fred-
erick Billings was the Chairman. While Billings was
a Vermonter and was at first looked at askance by those
who were suspicious of all members of the group, he
proved to be one of the most forcible and useful of the
company's friends. Jay Cooke soon discerned his

304 JAY COOKE

value,1 and they mutually supported each other in many
serious emergencies in the history of the road's early
management. Billings did not mince words and when
he convinced himself that there was something for him
to do in the Land Department he set about his task in a
manly way. On February 22, 1871, he wrote to Jay
Cooke :

Your note of yesterday received. I appreciate the necessity
of promptly getting our lands ready for market. We can be at
work at this before we get the patents, before even the appoint-
ment of commissioners. Just as soon as the line is finally estab-
lished the mapping, platting and examination of sections can be
going on. The appointment, rather the selection of commission-
ers should, I think, be left to yourself and the president of the
company. You will name men of such lofty character there is
no fear President Grant will not appoint them. The twenty-five
mile acceptances of the road are a continuous imprimatur of the
government, and why delay longer getting the endorsement of
government on what we have already done ?

But Smith, as might have been foreseen, was not
ready, his reason being a good one on its face, that the
road must not be accepted from the contractors too
hastily. The imperfections in its construction might not
be observable for "& few months and they must be made
to bear the cost of maintenance and repairs until the
company could be certain that the work had been prop-
erly done. He counselled delay on another account.
The lands on the eastern section of the Minnesota Di-
vision being heavily timbered and swampy, it would not
be well to open them to colonists until the better lands
in the west were available, else those establishing them-

1 As early as in May, 1871, Mr. Cooke had written to Billings : " It
is a great pleasure for me to do business with you and General Cass.
You are frank in every respect — men every inch of you."

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 305

selve's upon the line of the road would give a bad ac-
count of their experiences and perhaps deter others from
following them into the wilderness.1

The Secretary of the Interior, to whom the land grant
railroads were responsible for the fulfillment of their
contracts with the government, was at this time Colum-
bus Delano of Ohio. He had brought up the matter
of the appointment of commissioners with Henry Cooke,
who wrote to his brother Jay:

If Governor Smith or anybody connected with the road desire
any voice in the selection they should have made it known to
the Secretary of the Interior. . . . Governor Smith seems
to be supremely indifferent about the whole matter. These
places of commissioners are sought after by an army of appli-
cants. The President told me that he was run down with appli-
cations. . . . Failing to get any response, or any intimation
of the wishes of the company, and finding that Mr. Delano was
very anxious to appoint an old personal friend as one of the
commissioners, Mr. S. H. Kauffman, one of the editors of the
Evening Star of this city, I told him (Mr. Delano) I knew of
no objection to Mr. Kauffman, as he was an intelligent, honest
and fair man.2

The delay, it is easy to see, embarrassed the work of
the bond selling department. "If before or shortly after
the first of the year," said Holmes again,3 "those con-
tracts for the sale of 200,000 acres of land in Minnesota,
which we have been told for some time by the Land
Department have been nearly perfected, could actually
be closed and ten per cent, of the purchase money paid
in, then the trustees for the bondholders could do for
the success of the loan that which no amount of ordinary

1 Smith to J. C, February 23, 1871.

2 H. D. C. to J. C, May 26, 1871.

3 November 28, 1871.

306 JAY COOKE

advertising could possibly effect. When the public
once sees that we are actually purchasing bonds out of
the proceeds of land sales there will be more buyers than
sellers."

In the summer of 1872 Smith was still not ready to
have the government inspect the road. Roberts must
first go over the line to see that all was ready, lest there
be an unfavorable report from the commissioners.
Finally the president telegraphed from Fargo, the name
given to the station on the west bank of the Red River,
opposite Moorhead, that the examination had been com-
pleted and in thirty days the road would be ready for the
government's inspectors. In October, 1872, eighteen
months after Henry Cooke announced the selection of
Mr. Kauffman as the chairman of the commission, which
Mr. Delano was then ready to appoint, the Secretary of
the Interior added the names of A. C. Sands of Cincin-
nati, "a life-long friend of Senator Wade," and selected
on his advice, and Thomas Underwood of Lafayette,
Ind., an appointment made on the solicitation of Vice-
President Colfax. Henry Cooke thought the commis-
sioners "entirely friendly," and at the same time "able
and respectable." 1 They went to Duluth and inspected
the track at once, their report being thoroughly favor-
able. They examined the entire completed Minnesota
Division of 228^ miles from the junction to Moorhead.
The bridges and culverts were pronounced to be "ample."
The ties of oak, tamarack and Norway pine, were laid
2640 to the mile; the rails were of American manu-
facture, weighing 56 pounds to the yard. The inspect-
ors reported 68 locomotives in service on the line, with

1 H. D. C. to J. C, October 8, 1872.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 307

18 passenger cars and some 1,500 freight cars. Hav-
ing found the road "to be judiciously located, well con-
structed and adequately equipped, and believing that it
substantially meets the requirements both of the letter
and the spirit of the law and Department regulations
bearing on the subject, the Commission respectfully rec-
ommends its acceptance by the government." l One of
the commissioners, Mr. Underwood, was so much
pleased as a result of his observations that he wrote an
unofficial endorsement of the road for the use of Mr.
Cooke's furore-makers in Third Street. The land in
Minnesota was now about to come into the possession
of the company, but nothing practical could be done with
it until the spring or summer of 1873, as the ensuing
winter was one of unprecedented cold and snow.

Although actual work in this field was so long de-
layed, plans could be laid for the future and one task
of much real value to the enterprise might be performed.
If the company were not yet able to people its own lands
it could use its agencies to bring settlers forward to oc-
cupy the government's even numbered sections under
the Homestead Law, thus insuring traffic to the road
and enhancing the value of the adjoining sections when
they should be offered for sale. As early as in 1871 a
Land Commissioner to go over the field and familiarize
himself with the entire subject of colonization in Minne-
sota had been appointed. Colonel John S. Loomis, who
had been the President of the National Land Company,
was chosen for this place, but his administration did not
satisfy Mr. Billings, and after one year William A.
Howard succeeded to the post. The terms upon which

1 From the Report dated December 10, 1872.

308 JAY COOKE

lands could be purchased from the company were fixed
as follows: Ten per cent, in cash, ten per cent, in one
year, ten per pent, in two years, ten per cent, in three
years and fifteen per cent, annually thereafter, the pay-
ments thus covering seven years. The company
charged seven per cent, per annum upon deferred pay-
ments. Thus, if the settler should purchase eighty
acres at $5 per acre he would pay in the seven years,
through which the credit would run, $509.20 or $400
plus the interest, $109.20. The arrangements at every
point were very favorable to the poor and it was in-
tended that no obstacle of a pecuniary nature should be
interposed to hinder the rapid settlement of this belt. A
very important feature of the plan, and it should have
favored the sale of bonds as well as of farms, was the
decision to receive the company's seven-thirties at no
in exchange for land. It was a measure conceived in
righteousness and it should have borne good fruit, but
so surfeited were the people at this time with both rail-
way bonds and railway lands that the best of plans to-
tally, or in large measure, failed to fulfill the expecta-
tions of those who formulated them.

Indeed, the people were so full of isothermal lines,
comparative latitudes and glowing facts about climates,
crops and distances from New York, Liverpool and
Shanghai of new cities set in concentric circles upon the
map of the American Northwest, that they were ready to
enjoy the flowing satire of J. Proctor Knott. He held
a seat in Congress from Kentucky and rose on January
27, 187 1, during the debate on the St. Croix land bill,
setting the House and a little later the country at large
in a roar of laughter by a speech which was remembered

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 309

for many a day. Duluth was the "name for which his
soul had panted for years as the hart panteth for the
water brooks." "The symmetry and perfection of our
planetary system would be incomplete without it. I see
it represented on this map," he continued, spreading out
a chart, "that Duluth is situated exactly half way be-
tween the latitudes of Paris and Venice, so that gentle-
men who have inhaled the exhilarating airs of the one,
or basked in the golden sunlight of the other, may see
at a glance that Duluth must be a place of untold de-
lights, a terrestrial paradise fanned by the balmy
zephyrs of an eternal spring, clothed in the gorgeous
sheen of ever-blooming flowers and vocal with the sil-
very melody of nature's choicest songsters. In fact, sir,
since I have seen this map I have no doubt that Byron
was vainly endeavoring to convey some faint conception
of the delicious charms of Duluth when his poetic soul
gushed forth in the rippling streams of that beautiful
rhapsody :

' Know ye the land of the cedar and vine
Where the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine,
Where the light wings of zephyr oppressed with perfume
Wax faint o'er the gardens of Gul in her bloom ;
Where the citron and olive are fairest of fruit
And the voice of the nightingale never is mute;
Where the tints of the earth and the hues of the sky
In color though varied, in beauty may vie ? ' "

It was "a very lame attempt to be witty," thought
Governor Smith,1 but it amused the American people,
given to laughing at the man who becomes too serious,
and then moving off in the cloud of merriment which
their ridicule evokes without other argument. What-

1 Letter to J. C, February 27, 1871.

310 JAY COOKE

ever Governor Smith or anyone else thought of it the
speech was of no advantage to Duluth for several years
afterward, or until by its rapid growth the "Zenith City
of the Unsalted Seas " had turned the laugh upon Knott
and made him appear to be a very unprophetic man.

While the people were in this mood it was no grateful
task to tell them even the truth. The Northwest was so
new and so little was known about it that what to-day
reads as a mere sober recital of facts was then viewed
with the greatest suspicion and skepticism. The most
critical reader may go over Jay Cooke's various circu-
lars and pamphlets relating to this region in the light
of what we have since come to know about it without
finding material error of fact or a prediction which has
not been or is not now in the way of being realized.1
He had studied the Northwest at great cost to himself,
his firm and the railway company. He knew the facts
as his contemporaries could not be expected to know
them, but such was the unsettlement of the times that
even with his enormous credit and prestige, enough of
the people could not be made to have faith and to be-
lieve. He very often cautioned his writers and adver-
tisers to give a care to their statements and although
his own enthusiasm was almost unlimited, it was so ob-
viously sincere and his mistakes of judgment, if he made
them, were confused with so much love of progress and
true patriotism that none but a malevolent enemy would
dare to charge him with any but the highest motives.
Nor will the closest study of his career reveal any other.
He was enthusiastic in spreading the truth and he took
care to discover what was wheat and what chafT in the

1 See E. V. Smalley's History of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 311

information that came to him through the many sources
which he had for gaining information in regard to the
great enterprise he advocated.

George Sheppard became the railroad's commissioner
of emigration in Great Britain and his activities later
covered the Continent. * He closely co-operated with the
London house and established many agencies in different
parts of Europe of which probably as much came as the
times and his resources would allow. A prospectus was
prepared for circulation in Europe and in it was made
the statement that Minnesota was "the best wheat grow-
ing region in the world." When the paper came into
Jay Cooke's hands he said the claim was extravagant.
Fahnestock, who was abroad at the time it was prepared,
came to his own defense and explained how it had been

1 The man to initiate and take charge of the emigration movement in
Europe was not found immediately. John Russell Young had a number
of plans for the work and for the proper sum would have abandoned
journalism to represent the company as a general commissioner to turn
the eyes of intending colonists to the American Northwest. But Mr.
Billings thought that he did not possess the business talent for the post
and the work in so far as it ever had a general European head was en-
trusted to George Sheppard, at first the agent for Great Britain only.

In 1872 Baron Gerolt, who had now returned to Germany, still a
friend of the Northern Pacific, had set a Mr. Pelz at work for the rail-
road to supplement Mr. Kapp's services. This man published a paper
called the P factfinder (Pathfinder). The Baron's influence was expected
to be very useful to the company. The testimonial presented to him by
his American friends, an epergue of silver manufactured by Philadelphia
smiths, was received in time to be exhibited at a dinner party in Berlin
in honor of the Emperor of Russia. The Emperor and Empress of Ger-
many and Prince Bismarck afterward sent a messenger to the Baron's
hotel to congratulate him upon the event. In accepting his resignation
the Emperor had given him a handsome pension and nominated him to be
a Wirklicher Geheimer Rath with the title of Excellency. (Gerolt to J.
C., January 28th and May 14, 1872.) On all occasions in friendship for
Mr. Cooke he advocated the railroad and encouraged his countrymen to
purchase its bonds and lands.

312 JAY COOKE

written. The old prospectus had been discarded; it
suited no one. "Then," said Fahnestock, "Mr, McCul-
loch wrote a new one which read like the Declaration
of Independence; Mr. Sheppard wrote one which read
like Disraeli's novels ; old Sargent's read like his oration
at the banquet at Duluth. I gave them all to Sheppard
and had him boil them down together. I then scratched
out about half of what he had written and after a good
deal of turning and twisting the result was arrived at." *
Under all the circumstances Mr. Cooke was asked to in-
cline to leniency and be not too critical of the resulting
document.

To most of the circulars and "handbooks" for emi-
grants was added a postscript, "A Word of Advice to
Intending Colonists," urging that they should raise their
hopes not too high. It was desired that they should go
out from Europe and the eastern States of the Union
without expectations which in the nature of the case
could not be realized. Mr. Cooke wished no "grumblers
brigade" made up of people who were "too fine to rough
it," who, after a short time, would turn back with "dole-
ful stories of the West." Such folk should "cling to the
maternal East and petition their government to give
them free homesteads of 160 acres each within sight of
the steeples of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Liver-
pool or London." Would-be colonists were reminded
that "in the Northwest as elsewhere thrift and success
will not follow idleness, chicken-heartedness, changeable-
ness, corner grocery lounging, bad management and
drinking habits." They would find "some waste and
worthless land in the most fertile region and some days

1 Fahn. to J. C, March 21, 1872.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 313

of wretched drizzle and chill under the most delightful
of climates."

Mr. Cooke did say however that "the belt of country-
tributary to the Northern Pacific road is within the
parallels of latitude which in Europe, Asia and Amer-
ica embrace the most enlightened, creative, conquering
and progressive populations." The government grant
to the company comprised "over 22,000 acres of land
to every mile of finished road. This land agricultural,
timbered and mineral amounting in all to more than
fifty million acres extended "in a broad fertile belt from
Wisconsin through the richest portions of Minnesota,
Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington to
Puget Sound."

"Admittedly," said he, "there are portions of the vast
region tributary to the Northern Pacific Railroad where
for the present the rainfall is insufficient for most crops
and irrigation is necessary, yet even in such localities
the grazing is usually good the year round. The
wonderful network of living brooks, lakes, streams and
navigable rivers furnishes the basis for a most simple
and economical system of irrigation."

The Northern Pacific land grant was "larger than
the six New England states with Maryland added, or
as large as the two states of Ohio and Indiana com-
bined."

"There is room in it," said the pamphleteers, "for ten
states as large as Massachusetts, each of them with a
soil, a climate and resources of coal, timber, ores of
metals and perpetual water power altogether superior
to those upon which Massachusetts has become pop-
ulous, rich, refined and politically powerful. The grant

314 JAY COOKE

is nearly seven times as large as Belgium or more than
three and a half times as large as Holland."

An idea of its value could be obtained from the ex-
perience with other railroad land grants, as for ex-
ample the Illinois Central's which had yielded very
handsomely. Although that company had received only
3840 acres per mile of road the return was above $11
per acre, meaning a total income of about $30,000,000.
The Grand Rapids and Indiana had averaged nearly
$14 per acre for the lands in its grant. In the Northern
Pacific was seen a road with 12,800 acres to the mile
of track in Minnesota and 25,600 acres per mile in the
territories over by far the greater part of its dis-
tance, vastly more than was given to any of the
other companies and probably of a better quality for
the most of the way. Sold at only $5 an acre the yield,
it was easy to compute, would be much greater than the
cost of constructing the line. It meant an income of
about $140,000 per mile in the territories and a railroad
should nowhere cost more than $40,000 or $50,000, the
prairies being covered at a considerably less rate.

"Now what is this landed empire of 50,000,000 acres
worth ?" asked Mr. Cooke in the circulars. "If it sells for
only the low price per acre at which the Kansas Pacific
road forced off its lands while it ran through and stop-
ped in a wilderness of buffalo grass [it "ended no-
where"] the proceeds will be over $165,000,000. If
nursed and sold on judicious credits as were the lands
of the Illinois Central, the proceeds would be on the
basis of that road's sales $550,000,000. If sold at the
average price of the Minnesota school lands the pro-
ceeds will be $350,000,000."

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 315

The interests of the Northern Pacific could not con-
flict with those of the Central and Union Pacific roads,
the two being five hundred miles apart. It would have
feeders and spurs north and south to serve the com-
mercial needs of the entire belt with all the tributary
country, as the railhead advanced and the population
came in to settle the lands and justify the added
outlay. The Northern Pacific was called the "Valley
Route," and this it was in truth. As "old Tom" Benton
had said again and again it was a route of water and
grass all the way to the sea. The road had scarcely
left one watercourse until it pitched into another valley
and from river to river it passed to a beautiful sound
filled with fine harbors, a prospect calculated to arouse
the enthusiasm of the coolest man when he contemplated
the subject, and contrasted the line with that which had
been followed when the other road was built across the
sandy, unwatered, Sahara-like plains of Utah and Ne-
veda on the way to San Francisco.

As for Minnesota and the Red River valley nothing
that was said during the Northern Pacific campaign by
the most flowery advocate of this region as a wheat
growing section has surpassed to-day's realities. Min-
nesota had produced 2,374,415 bushels of this cereal in
1859 and 17,660,467 bushels in 1869. The yield in 1900
was 95,000,000 bushels. Dakota, as yet a prairie un-
scratched by the point of a plow, and then believed by
many to be most unfertile, yielded 102,000,000 bushels of
wheat in 1900 (North and South Dakota), much of it
going out in the grain or in the form of flour through a
city of 53,000 inhabitants, Jay Cooke's Duluth, over the
whole length of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence,

316 JAY COOKE

or through the Erie Canal, or by way of the efficient
grain carrying railroads to feed the people of the eastern
states, and the manufacturing communities of Europe.
Dakota could not be unfertile, said Mr. Cooke. "It is
the home of the game and the Indians who never go into
a poor country. Of course there is some mauvaise terre
here and there, but even this is covered with grass and
capable of sustaining flocks and herds." * Not half of
the truth was told in 1870, 1871, 1872 and 1873 about
the wheat lands of the wonderful valley of the Red River
of the North.

It was said that the Yellowstone River region with its
many natural wonders would attract tourists in increas-
ing numbers. Lectures were delivered by returning
travellers, pictures were shown upon slides and paintings
were exhibited to impress upon the unbelieving a faint
idea of the future attraction of this district, and the re-
sulting profits to a railroad penetrating it. No promise
on this point remains unfulfilled.

Montana was called "the treasure box of the West."
Already Helena was a busy town. The people pressed
for an early completion of the road to the Yellowstone so
that they could obtain communication with the East.
They must now traverse a dusty trail in stage wagons
five hundred miles to Corinne on the Central Pacific
Railroad with passengers, as well as with provisions,
and all kinds of merchandise which they needed to re-
ceive or to send away to the world's markets. In 1870
18,000,000 pounds of freight entered Montana by this
route at a cost of fifteen cents a pound. The "first-
class" fare for passengers was $66. Wells, Fargo and

1 To Blaikie and Alexander, March 12, .1872.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 317

Company ran daily stages, making the trip in four days.
There was also "a daily line of fast freight and express
wagons," which travelled night and day and covered the
distance in nine days. Sometimes during the summer
boats ascended the Missouri to Fort Benton, about 140
miles north of Helena, with which place there was stage
connection thrice a week. It was 3,100 miles from St.
Louis to Fort Benton and the trip cost $100 upon the
boats alone, the time consumed varying from four to
eight weeks.

In all that was said of this mining region there was
barely a suggestion of the wealth that has come out of
the gold, silver and copper mines to conduce to the ad-
vantage of the Northern Pacific and its rivals in this
profitable field. As for the herds which it was foreseen
would graze upon the rich "bunch grass" that covered
the slopes of the mountains even Wilkeson did not exag-
gerate. Long since has the sheep-growing area of this
country moved westward from Ohio, where it lingered in
the 70s and 80s and this little animal whose fleece clothes
the civilized races of man grazes upon the lands of the
Northern Pacific Railroad. By the census of 1900 Mon-
tana led all the states of the Union with over 6,000,000
head, and Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon to-
gether supported 17,000,000 head, or nearly one-third of
the entire American flock.

Nor was there exaggeration of any kind conveyed by
Jay Cooke's statements in regard to the climate of the
Northwest beyond the Rocky Mountains. The ocean
currents and other weather influences of the Pacific
coast united to produce there atmospheric conditions as
enjoyable to man as they are favoring to animal and

318 JAY COOKE

plant life. That fact has been made abundantly clear
and is known to-day even by the untravelled and the un-
read. No hyperbole marked the descriptions of the for-
ests of great trees in Oregon and Washington which
have since proven to have so much value as a source of
the timber supply; of the natural beauties of the Colum-
bia Valley or of Puget Sound, or the value of those
water surfaces for the purposes of navigation and as
fishing grounds. These all were but faintly depicted to
the people of the United States and Europe in Mr.
Cooke's circulars and pamphlets of which at length they
seemed to tire. That the salmon crowded the Colum-
bia and the whaling grounds were tributary to Puget
Sound there is no one to deny in the light of later knowl-
edge, and all the world is aware to-day that that sound
is the rational terminus for ships bound to and from the
Orient.

The existence of valuable and extensive deposits of
coal in that region is to-day a matter of established
knowledge and the water power in the streams which
the road parallels or crosses has at many points been put
to important human uses. There were some disap-
pointments, as in reference to the slate in Minnesota,
the coal in Dakota and the iron in Oregon, but as very
little was made of these things in Mr. Cooke's publica-
tions, since he had not yet convinced himself of the truth
of the statements of his informants, he will be not greatly
blamed by the reasonable man for holding out false ex-
pectations to the world on these scores.

"No enterprise of this age has been so fully explained
to the people at large as the Northern Pacific," said
Holmes on November 28, 1871. The pamphlets and

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 319

circulars describing the lands, the climate and the gen-
eral advantages of the region as a place of settlement
were printed in several languages and distributed
through many agencies in the eastern and southern
states and in northern Europe. Intending emigrants
were carefully directed as to their best course after they
had determined to go forward and take up their resi-
dence in the new country. More than five in a party
could obtain reduced rates upon the railroads; all were
carried free after they reached the lines of the Northern
Pacific Company. They were advised as to prices of
household and farming implements and the facilities for
purchasing them at or near their proposed places of
settlement. They were told when to begin to plow,
what to plant, how to build their cabins, where to market
their products and it was intended that all possible kind-
nesses should be extended to the Northern Pacific colo-
nists, no matter whence they came or whither they even-
tually wertt. Every booklet fully specified that home-
steads could be occupied free of cost and no effort was
made to sell land to the man who preferred to and could
answer the government's requirements for. obtaining it
gratuitously.

The main immigration office was connected with the
Northern Pacific headquarters in New York and there
were branches at St. Paul, Brainerd (the new Northern
Pacific town at the crossing of the Mississippi), and at
Kalama, the southern terminus of the line which was
building in Washington Territory. At Kalama and at
Brainerd, Glyndon and Detroit Lake in Minnesota "Re-
ception Houses," were erected and settlers might oc-
cupy them without cost until they located their farms.

320 JAY COOKE

Each house was large enough to hold 500 to 1,000 per-
sons and was provided with stoves, conveniences for
cooking, washing and sleeping, even hospital accommo-
dations, so that every suitable favor was given to those
who had arrived to try their fortunes in a new land.
The colonists were afforded all facilities to come to a
wise determination as to the best sites for their future
homes and fields, and the organization when it was on
the way to perfection in 1873 promised to be entirely
efficient, in spite of the company's hampered finances and
the difficulties which were encountered on every side in
the way of carrying out the ambitious plans that had
been laid for the work. European colonists who were
forwarded by Mr. Sheppard and his coadjutors, com-
ing as a rule by the Allan and Cunard lines, were
welcomed at the wharves in New York. The company
appointed a Commissioner of Immigration, Major
George B. Hibbard who had assistants and interpreters,
and how many emigrants passed through his hands dur-
ing the season in 1873 may ^e gleaned from a letter to
Jay Cooke. On May 29th he wrote :

"I am sending forward a party of thirteen English
colonists to-night by way of the lakes from Buffalo. I
shall have a party of sixteen to send to-morrow and an-
other party of fifty-three Bohemians which will land
about Monday and go forward the same day."

Sometimes the emigrants, if they promised to be in-
fluential in establishing colonies, were brought to Phila-
delphia to visit Jay Cooke. In May, 1873, three Rus-
sians and two Germans were entertained at "Ogontz."
They were Mennonites and it was said that they repre-
sented 40,000 families which would remove to America,

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 321

because of their scruples against military duty. From
the beginning it was designed that there should be col-
onies along the line of the road and Major Hibbard was
engaged in the effort to induce soldiers and sailors of
the Civil War to gather their comrades about them and
go forth to take up adjoining sections, thus establishing
what it was believed would be congenial and efficient
communities of people. A few colonies had already been
established, as for instance the New England Colony at
Detroit Lake which on January i, 1873, consisted of one
hundred houses. It had five religious societies, schools,
a saw mill, a grist mill, a brick yard and other manufac-
turing industries. The town had its post-office, a news-
paper and a national bank. The Red River Colony had
been established in Clay County, Minnesota, and con-
trolled 36 townships. In 1873 several other colonies
were organized or ready to organize, the railroad's
agents widely distributing blank articles of association
with a view to facilitating such arrangements.

Regarding the company's emigration system the New
York correspondent of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote
in 1873:

The Northern Pacific Railroad Company seems to have left no
reasonable thing unattended to which can promote the comfort
and welfare of the people who decide to settle on the line of its
road. At convenient and prominent points throughout Great
Britain and the Continent, trustworthy resident agents circulate
information and answer questions in regard to the New North-
west as a field for settlement — being instructed to avoid all
overstatement, solicitation and importunity — and give all needed
advice respecting the details of emigrating. At the leading sea-
ports the company's representatives attend to the embarkation of
the intending settlers, secure them transportation at the lowest
21

322 JAY COOKE

attainable rates, look after their multiform luggage, keep them
out of the hands of sharpers, and see that they have comfortable
accommodations on board. Arrived off New York they are met
in the harbor by the agent of the company, who, in a genial, off-
hand way, and speaking their own language, relieves them of the
anxiety, confusion and embarrassment which usually attend the
arrival of untraveled persons in a strange land. They are con-
ducted through the intricacies of Castle Garden with a prompt-
ness only known to experts, their baggage collected, the young
and sick assisted, and all hands preserved from thieves and
runners and conducted to decent, quiet and inexpensive boarding
houses for a day or two of rest before proceeding westward.
While in New York, accommodations are furnished them at the
company's roomy emigration office near Castle Garden for writ-
ing letters to their home friends, and their money is changed into
American currency at the ruling price of gold. Refreshed and
already half-Americanized, the new citizens face westward, are
placed in clean, upholstered cars, accompanied by an escort, if the
number is sufficient to require it, and then spend three days be-
tween the seaboard and St. Paul in admiring the bigness of the
Yankee Republic.

Thus the work moved forward on many different lines
and in the main, but for the increasing difficulty of con-
trolling the financial situation, with encouraging results.
Early in 1872 a resolution appeared in the House of
Representatives 1 asking for an inquiry into the manage-
ment of the railroad. It was introduced by General N.
P. Banks of Massachusetts. "He ought to be expelled
from Congress for such outrageous attacks upon the
great interests of the country," Jay Cooke wrote his
brother Henry on February 14, 1872. "If I get at him
I will give him a piece of my mind, and no mistake, for
his impertinence and foolishness." Henry Cooke went
to the General and asked him what were the motives for

1 Globe, p. 975.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 323

his action. He said he was animated by no spirit of
hostility to the enterprise, but he was frequently asked
as to the progress of the work on the road and the pros-
pects of its completion. Bonds were being sold "to all
classes of investors in every nook and corner of the
country upon the representation of Jay Cooke and Com-
pany, in whom the people had learned to confide," and he
wished authoritatively to inform himself and his fellow
members upon the subject.

The matter was referred to the Pacific Railroad Com-
mittee. In this emergency Henry Cooke was again of
the greatest assistance to the company. Governor
Smith was as usual absent in Vermont and the task of
rebutting the attack fell to those who had had experience
with such work on other occasions. It is said that Sam
Wilkeson wrote the report for the committee and it was
adopted substantially as it was furnished to that body of
statesmen.1 "The chief thing to accomplish," said Gen-
eral Nettleton, "was to overcome the indifference of the
committeemen, not their hostility. Several members of
the committee took the ground that as no charges had
been made against the company there was no occasion
for a report, and as we obviously wanted their report as
a big advertisement they were not disposed to be used in
this way." 2 It was presented to the House on June 8,
1872 and was promptly printed and sent out to all the
newspapers in which the Northern Pacific loan was ad-
vertised.3

1 Nettleton to J. C, June 7, 1872.

2Nett. to J. C, June 13, 1872.

3 A number of dissatisfied bondholders, who seemed not to rise above
the dignity of blackmailers, which they were freely called by the officers
of the company, employed counsel, and they were thought to be behind

324 JAY COOKE

The time was at last at hand to rid the company of
President Smith, Canneld and their partisans and as-
sociates. Mr. Cooke had exercised his accustomed pa-
tience in the case of this clique. He had extenuated the
President's neglect of his duties, his dilly-dallying, post-
poning and excusing and his proneness to entrust im-
portant matters to incompetent and dishonest persons,
until these things were not longer to be borne. Con-
trary to Mr. Cooke's repeated directions, although he
owned a majority interest in the road, the officers ex-
hibited a disposition to proceed without consultation
with him, even when their action involved the lavish ex-
penditure of money. On February 26, 1872, he wrote
to Governor Smith:

I desire to be fully consulted and know you will do nothing
without my cordial consent. Please do not buy anything or make
any contracts where money is required without full consultation
with me.

Nevertheless, in a few days he learned that 10,000
tons of iron were being purchased for shipment to the
Pacific "a year before it was needed." On March 8th
he wrote to the Treasurer, A. H. Barney :

I have written to the President to-day that the iron must not
be rushed off in that way unless the Board is willing to make
a special loan over their own signatures to pay for it. It is a
fearful sum of money, nearly $800,000, and until we sell bonds

General Banks. The lawyer, a man named Blount, wrote to the New
York Herald on June 9, 1872 : " A report was submitted to the House
by Mr. Sypher of Louisiana from the Pacific Railroad Committee during
the closing moments of last night's session, so the journal Clerk of the
House informs me, and that is all he will say about it. The report covers
fifteen pages and is probably favorable to and made in the interests of
the Northern Pacific Railroad officers, as Ex-Senator Wade has ordered
ten thousand copies and is impatient to get them."

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 325

enough to pay for it not one single rail should go aboard ship.
My wishes have been utterly disregarded of late as to full con-
sultation in regard to these purchases and payments.

If the purchases were necessary he (Mr. Cooke), had
he been consulted, could have got a long credit from the
manufacturers or paid a portion of the account in bonds.
On April 25, 1872, the financier wrote to Governor
Smith :

The drafts of the company are fearfully large and will run up
this month to 8 or $900,000. What they are doing with all
this money I cannot see. It seems to me that you are spending
50 to $100,000 in Minnesota per month for the fun of running a
railroad without any receipts. I think you are not aware of the
rapid disbursement of the funds. You have also gone ahead too
fast, I think, in buying a steamboat on the Missouri before we
are anyway near there. Steamboats are leaky things and run
away with a good deal of money. You must put on the brakes
and handle each dollar carefully before laying it out. . . .
Your disbursements are so terrific and apparently without any
results that I think it is time you should pause.

To make matters worse Mr. Billings wished to resign
from the chairmanship of the Land Department on the
ground of overwork. "You must have twenty amanu-
enses if necessary," Mr. Cooke wrote on April 27, 1872;
"shall have your own way in everything and shall only
work as much and as fast as is agreeable to your health,
but it will be the ruin of our whole enterprise to allow
you to resign at this stage. I cannot possibly consent
to it and shall feel that my right hand has been taken
off if such a thing should come to pass as your relin-
quishing the post you fill so nobly. Go out with me in
June and catch some fish in Lake Erie and have a good
rest." After writing the above the financier heard that
Billings was looked upon as a candidate for Governor

326 JAY COOKE

of Vermont and this was given as another reason for his
retirement. Mr. Cooke added in his j oiliest humor:
"Bad fellow, you ! what sort of difr". does it make. You
can be Gov. and still attend to the chairmanship or land
directorship. That little two-penny state ain't one-fort-
ieth as big or as important as the other office and I
would rather have your little toe than anybody else."

The dismissal of the president of the company had
been urged upon the banker for many months by his im-
mediate advisers and by many weighty outside influ-
ences. Smith had lately voted himself a salary of $20,-
000 a year while continuing his avocations in Ver-
mont; his Vermont Central Railway system was on the
verge of financial collapse, and that some one should
take the initiative in this unpleasant matter and arrange
for his retirement seemed to be indispensable. Mr.
Cooke, to whom such scenes were entirely distasteful,
finally wrote a letter which was put in the hands of Gen-
eral Nettleton. There was a polite reference to a trip
abroad as a douceur during which he might try to do
what all others had failed to do — sell a few millions of
the company's bonds to the bankers of Germany, Great
Britain or France. In truth it was a power of attorney
for General Nettleton to demand, receive and accept
Governor Smith's resignation for Mr. Cooke. The Ver-
monter strove for a postponement, but the General was
inexorable and returned to Philadelphia with the pre-
cious paper in his pocket — greatly to the delight of the
financier.

The proposed change of management included the
removal of both Smith and Rice and the election of
George W. Cass as President and Frederick Billings as

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 327

Vice-President. Cass was President of the Pittsburg,
Chicago and Fort Wayne Railroad and of the Southern
Security Company, and was closely associated with the
management of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He was a
railway man of wide practical experience and although
Mr. Cooke's friend, Henry E. Johnston, the Baltimore
banker, had heard that he said "other things than his
prayers" and those not so frequently as he ought to, and
James G. Blaine wrote a note — as usual "personal and
private" — cautioning Mr. Cooke against such a choice
since it would "squint a little towards a Pennsylvania-
izing of the enterprise," * the Philadelphia financier was
not deterred. The road now needed a direct, decisive
man and that he came from the Pennsylvania group of
railway men was of no conceivable disadvantage from
the standpoint of the company's fiscal agents. "With
Cass and Billings at the helm, and a wide-awake work-
ing board," wrote General Nettleton, "Jay Cooke and
Company need not and should not hereafter hold to the
enterprise such a paternal relation as heretofore. It
will be far better both for the railroad company and for
our house that the two be divorced in all things not prop-
erly connected with the financial agency." 2

Even after he had written his letter of resignation
Smith was disposed to resist Mr. Cooke in the hope that
something would occur to put a different face upon
things; but when he discovered at the meeting of
the Board of Directors that he had no one at
his back he "came down most gracefully and
manfully." The ostensible reason for his retire-

1 June 28, 1872.

2 June 13, 1872.

328 JAY COOKE

ment was his inability to attend to the inter-
ests of the Northern Pacific and the Vermont Cen-
tral roads at the same time, a statement which was per-
fectly true and his double connection was timed to cease
upon the first of September. Colonel Scott and the offi-
cers of the Pennsylvania Railroad had said that they
would not release General Cass for any other enterprise
in the United States except the Northern Pacific Rail-
road,1 and he had engagements which would prevent
him from assuming his duties actively before November
ist, but in the interval, through September and October,
he promised to give a passing care to the company's
affairs. On September 3d he wrote from New York in
response to Jay Cooke's greetings :

I will do what I can now to make a dollar buy the most for the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company, but you must not assume,
as you seem to do, that I am in charge of the property. Until
after my return from the Pacific coast, say November 1st, you
must not look to me as running the machine.

General Cass was a member of a committee which the
Northern Pacific Board had appointed to proceed to
Puget Sound in the interest of the road, and he embraced
the opportunity before assuming the duties of his office
fully to inspect the ground, both at the western end of
the line and in Minnesota and Dakota. In formally ac-
cepting the trust in November he said in closing an ad-
dress to the members of the Board of Directors :

I will also say that the vast country within the limits of your
land grant is not equalled by any similar extent of country west
of the Mississippi River in all of the elements necessary to sup-
port an intelligent, enterprising and prosperous population in

1 S. W. White to J. C, May 25, 1872.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 329

the comforts and luxuries of life. There is no problem to solve
as to the success of the Northern Pacific Railroad after it shall
have been constructed. The only question after that event will
be how intelligent men of this age should ever have had a doubt
about its success.

General Cass at once enforced economies on all sides.
He removed the offices of the company from 120 Broad-
way to 23 Fifth avenue where the land, emigration and
various administrative offices were concentrated. He
converted Wilkeson into a private secretary whose duty it
was to write and copy the President's letters. Cass
wrote to Mr. Cooke complaining that General Nettleton
had a book of free passes which he was using for the
advantage of the trustees. "I beg to suggest," said he,
"that unless the regulation of the traffic of the road in
all its departments is left to the President of the com-
pany he will be obliged in his own protection to relin-
quish all part in its management." * Mr. Cooke pro-
tested against such language, declaring that it was need-
lessly sharp, but in the main the economies were entirely
to his mind. "There is nothing like poverty to bring
about close settlements," wrote General Cass in March,
1873.2 He had "a way of going straight at a thing in-
stead of around it," as he said by way of apology for his
bluntness. Like Billings, he was a man with whom Mr.
Cooke was glad to work. "The sharpest eyes in the
country are now watching the disbursements in Minne-
sota and Dakota," Mr. Cooke wrote to Henry Johnston,
and he told Baron Gerolt, that General Cass was "the
best railroad man in America." The management was
now for the first time such that the financier could be

1 June 17, 1873.

2 Letter to J. C.

330 JAY COOKE

released for the exclusive service of bond selling with
a promise of the honest expenditure and wise use of
the funds which were given into the company's hands.

The plan of change in so far as it contemplated the
substitution of Billings for Rice as Vice President was
not realized, but Rice was a little later made a general
agent of the Company on the Pacific coast with the rank
of Vice-President, and Charles B. Wright of Philadel-
phia, one of Mr. Cooke's associates, was given the place
which he vacated. A. H. Barney, the Treasurer, "a
plain, blunt fellow," as Jay Cooke described him, was
ready to retire of his own volition and he wrote to the
financier : "My position in many respects has been un-
comfortable. My duty has been to make enormous ex-
penditures over which I had no control." "The fact
is," he continued, "I am nearly worn out with fatigue
and anxiety. At my time of life I feel that I ought to
have the control of my own time and to be released from
the wear and tear of a daily increasing business." He
had only lately been elected to the Board of Directors,
having before had no voice in the management of the
property and it was desired that he should remain at
the post, but he urged that he be relieved and A. L.
Pritchard was appointed in his place.

Thomas H. Canfield was not so easily disposed of and
his elimination almost led to the disruption of the Lake
Superior and Puget Sound Land Company of which he
was the arbitrary chief. To start the matter Jay Cooke
wrote to him to inform him that the "two institutions,"
the railroad company and the land company, were not
being worked in harmony.1 Canfield said they were.

1 February 10, 1873.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 331

He had been at his post for three years and while he
had yet been able to do little but organize the work of
the company he predicted great achievements for the en-
suing three years. He claimed the credit for sending
forward into Dakota a body of pre-emptors to occupy
town sites and keep off the "roughs" who had earlier in-
fested the line of the Union Pacific and now came north
to repeat the experience. The lands not being surveyed
they must be held by force until some one could procure
a title to them in the interest of the company.

"Look at Brainerd at this moment," said Canfield in
some pride. "Not three years old with a mayor and
aldermen, and the first five ordinances passed are against
whiskey, gambling and such kindred vices, with five
churches and schools. I defy any new country of all the
Northwest to show any state of society equal to this,
and in this case it is entirely the result of the policy, con-
trol and management of the Lake Superior and Puget
Sound Company." To this sally C. B. Wright replied:
"I will thank Mr. C. to show me a town in the Northwest
with the railroad advantages held out to Brainerd, and
where the railroad has expended $250,000, independent
of its main tracks, that will not whip Brainerd out of
its boots. It is conceded that the Puget Sound Land
Company has with its narrow-minded policy driven
more people out of Brainerd than it has kept in." * It
was stated that town sites were divided into very small
lots, that the prices were too high, and that the attitude
of the company was in general illiberal. Canfield de-
clined to give sites to colonies, thus driving large parties
of settlers into other neighborhoods. General Cass was

1 Wright to J. G, February 15, 1873.

332 JAY COOKE

hostile to the company and a belief prevailed that it was
a "ring" for seizing "tidbits" along the line of the road
for the advantage of a few men. In short, if it were to
be continued at all a reorganization seemed to be neces-
sary. It must be divorced from the railroad and as a
first step in that direction Canfield was superseded as a
member of the Northern Pacific Board of Directors.
Henry Blood, who stated that the company had been
"handed over to Mr. Canfield and his friends and de-
pendents," 1 was elected Vice-President. He would
make himself a thorn in the side of the Vermonter until
such time as Mr. Cooke's friends could perfect their ar-
rangements to abolish the company and merge its inter-
ests with those of the Northern Pacific Land Depart-
ment under the efficient direction of Frederick Bill-
ings.

The proposition was shortly made to the stockholders
and there was much antagonism to the plan by William
Thaw and his friends in Pittsburg who had been
brought into the pool by General Moorhead. They held
a "stormy" meeting, refusing their proxies in favor of
the change and stating that they had greatly relied upon
the profits to accrue to them from the land company.
If these privileges were now to be withdrawn they must
take a very different view of the investment. A num-
ber of them came to Philadelphia to see Mr. Cooke and
as Pittsburg's defection at this time could not be happily
contemplated the plan was changed at the last moment,
and under new management and with a new understand-
ing of its functions Mr. Canfield's company was saved.
All these changes counted for efficiency of administra-

i To J. C, April 19th.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 333

tion and seemed to be called for by experience, much of
it rather sore.

The Northern Pacific Railroad by this time had come
to be an extensive property, and if all the expectations
which had been formed for it in the first three years of
its history were not realized some results that must be
accounted very important, under all the circumstances,
were attained. Duluth was striding forward and in the
summer of 1872 it was said that the city contained 2,500
houses. They rented readily at $40 a month and none
were to be had at that price. Schoenberger, the pro-
prietor of the Duluth Iron Works, promised Mr. Cooke
that they would go on "like race horses." The people
still had many of the faults of new western communities.
So scurrilous were the newspapers that the principal
citizens of the place were compelled to call a public
meeting and prepare a memorial to the editors, inci-
dentally threatening to withdraw their advertisements,
if such unseemly behavior were not discontinued.1

An unhappy backset was experienced in November,
1872, when the lake was visited by a great storm. Sev-
eral vessels were wrecked and the breakwater, not hav-
ing been riprapped, was washed away, as were some of
the wharves. But the people's courage was not shaken,
though the storm was followed by one of the severest of
winters. As late as on April 21, 1873, when B. S.
Russell wrote to Jay Cooke the ice in the lake was fif-
teen to eighteen inches thick and on May 27 when Gen-
eral Cass visited Duluth navigation was still impeded.

1 " If they would keep their mouths and their papers a little more re-
spectable toward their antagonists," Mr. Cooke remarked upon one oc-
casion, the " stupid Duluthians would get along a good deal better." See
J. C. to Pitt Cooke, January 2, 1873.

334 JAY COOKE

Three steamers had worked their way in through the
clear water near the shore. One came to load wheat
and two were Canadian vessels bringing passengers and
supplies. He said that other ships were in sight upon
the outer boundaries of the ice pack and despite the
backwardness of the season he was much pleased with
the outlook for traffic over the road. The cuts on the
uncompleted parts of the line were drifted full of snow
until late in the spring. Where trains were running
snow fences had been built at many points and seemed
to serve their intended purpose since travel was inter-
rupted only for two or three days. Mr. Billings had
started a nursery to raise trees which were to be planted
in exposed places beside the track to shelter it from the
winter winds, and the snow problem gave the managers
no uneasiness.

The railhead was now approaching the Missouri
River, the goal which at first had seemed so far away. It
had been expected that the connection would be com-
pleted in the autumn of 1872, but the winter came on
suddenly with a distance of some thirty miles still to be
covered. The town at the crossing had been named Bis-
marck in honor of the great Chancellor, a propitiation to
the German colonists who, it was hoped, might come out
to seek homes in Minnesota and Dakota. "I expect to
reach the Missouri River on Friday and take a drink — of
the water from Montana," wrote General Cass to Jay
Cooke on May 27, 1873. The track reached that place on
June 3d, three and a half miles having been laid on the
last day, and the long desired connection was established
with the navigation of this great river. Opposite Bis-
marck was built a fort for the protection of the town from

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 335

the Indians. Like other forts on the Missouri, it con-
sisted of a stockade, sod ramparts, wooden barracks
and a landing place on the muddy river for the receipt
of arms and stores. Lincoln one time said of George
Alfred Townsend, the "Gath" of the newspapers, when
asked if he had visited such and such a place: "No,
it • is not necessary that I should go. Townsend has
been there." This graphic journalist went to Bismarck
soon after the road was opened to that point and in a
letter to the Chicago Tribune in the summer of 1873
he wrote: "The Missouri River rolled beneath nearly
as wide as at Omaha, a great sprawling red man's river
full of oxide and mire, living as it rolled along upon its
own banks, biting concavities from them so that they
fell and splashed and were borne away every day in the
year. It seemed to me to be nature's greatest gutter
around which she had assembled her red canaille to soak
their feet in her pools and eddies and meditate grand
larceny on civilization."

Nine steamers offered their services to the railroad
company as freight carriers on this "sprawling" Indian
river. Jay Cooke's agents at Washington; Ex-Senator
Wade, Henry Cooke, Painter and others, had busily em-
ployed themselves in recent weeks obtaining contracts
for the conveyance of supplies to the military posts.
The Departments were urged now to make their pur-
chases in St. Paul rather than Chicago and to distribute
over the entire Northwest from Bismarck rather than
Sioux City, and some readjustments which were pleas-
ing in the sight of the Northern Pacific's friends were
speedily effected. At high water, as has been re-
marked, the boats could proceed up the river to Fort

336 JAY COOKE

Benton and southward, of course, to St. Louis and the
Gulf ; and Montana, with its rich mines and admired pas-
tures, lay just before them. It was the hope of the man-
agement to push on without delay to the Yellowstone
and up its valley into this boasted "treasure box." At
Virginia City, the capital of the territory, Mr. Cooke
had a faithful representative, the governor, Benjamin
F. Potts, an Ohio man who had marched with Sherman's
army to the sea, now in the beginning of an administra-
tion which was prolonged for thirteen years. The mem-
bers of the legislature were chartering a rival road
that he declared to be "infamous" and he was vetoing
the bill as often as they sent it to him to keep the field
clear for the Northern Pacific which he urged at once to
make a show of track-laying west of the Missouri to
calm the restive people. Their hearts were set upon a
railroad and this they would have at once, so Potts
said, the slow processes of engineering and finance to
the contrary notwithstanding.

A very serious impediment to progress in this region
was the fact that the Sioux Indian country lay directly
athwart the path of the road. From the first it had
been unsafe to penetrate the Yellowstone valley, and
it was the more difficult in the summer of 1873, because
of the notion which possessed the savages that their
aboriginal domain was to be invaded and stolen away
from them by the white man, the engineer corps being
but the harbinger of much that was to follow. Mani-
festly there was no way to survey the line, as it must be
surveyed, without a strong military guard. Ex-Sena-
tor Wade gave much of his time as the company's agent
in Washington to the Indian question and reservations

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 337

were being vacated on the line of the road. Delega-
tions of Indians came east, commissioners went west;
payments were made and gifts bestowed in the hope of
propitiating the tribes and reconciling their interests
with those of the white man. But law and diplomacy
would not avail in the present temper of the Sioux, and
Milnor Roberts was in no mood himself to go or to
despatch a party of engineers into this region without
assurances of adequate protection. General Cass had
called upon General Sheridan in Chicago, who was a
warm admirer of the Northern Pacific, and General
Terry in St. Paul, to enlist their co-operation in the sur-
veys. Sheridan said it would cost $750,000, perhaps
$1,000,000 for the campaign which was half enough,
Cass practically computed, to grade the road. "It is no
child's play or pleasure party this summer," Roberts
remarked when he was asked to make room in his corps
for some young men.1 "It is serious and dangerous
duty. Nothing more and nothing less. Men of experi-
ence, coolness and courage alone should be sent." 2

The engineer, who had accompanied the president of
the road to the end of the track in Dakota to be present
when the railhead reached the Missouri, wrote to Jay
Cooke from Bismarck on May 30th :

The steamer Ida Stockdale is at the landing, ready to load
freight and passengers as soon as they come through from the
east, bound for the government posts up the Missouri River,
and for Montana via Fort Benton. There will be no delay after
the track reaches the river. Freighting over the 450 miles from
Duluth to Bismarck can begin at once. By the 15th of June the

1 He already had hundreds of applications on file and until recently
he said he had been receiving them at the rate of six a day."
z Roberts to J. C, May 2, 1873.

340 JAY COOKE

for thirty miles, never wholly out of sight. Those who
are apprehensive that the Northern Pacific zone will be
too cold for settlers from temperate regions should see
the stream of immigration which is constantly going up
the lakes and into Moorhead, filling the steamers which
start about every other day to the province of Manitoba."

"Suppose this railroad were never to go a step fur-
ther," he concluded. "It has at any rate cloven 452
miles of what else must have remained a solitude, tapped
navigation on the Red River of the North, neutralized
nearly a thousand miles of monotonous navigation on
the upper Missouri, and here it is to the west of the
furthest settlements of Kansas and Texas, and past the
western line of longitude of the Indian Territory."

On the western section the progress was not so satis-
factory, but the company had fulfilled all the require-
ments of its charter and had laid rails from Kalama, its
terminus on the Columbia, nearly to Olympia on Puget
Sound, crossing for a part of the way a very heavily
timbered region where surveys and track construction
were expensive. The rail link joined, or would soon
join, two important lines of navigation, including at the
one end all the towns, farms and peoples set upon the
sinuous shores of the great northwestern sound, and at
the other the wonderful river and the country which it
drained several hundreds of miles inland, an important
commercial highway traversed by the fleet of the Oregon
Steam Navigation Company. The need of putting un-
der contract 300 miles more of the road was felt, and
with that end in view President Cass appointed a com-
mittee of three, consisting of William G. Moorhead,
Judge Rice and Frederick Billings, to repair to the coast

340 JAY COOKE

TACOMA, THE WESTERN TERMINUS OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILWAY, AS IT APPEARED IN 1884, SHORTLY AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE ROAD

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL" WAR 341

in the spring of 1873, which they did, reaching San
Francisco late in March with resulting advantages to
the enterprise. It was proposed to finish a link of
about 90 miles on the Puget Sound shore line and to
join Wallula, the head of navigation on the Columbia,
with Lake Pend d' Oreille, a distance of 208 miles, thus
establishing communication from the Pacific coast with
Montana. The financial condition of the company did
not favor extensive contracts and the committee con-
tented itself with arrangements for the forty miles
called for annually by the charter, again making the
award to James B. Montgomery, the lowest bidder, who
was to be paid mainly in bonds of the company to be
held for two years, with smaller cash installments to be
met probably by the sale of real estate in the terminal
city whose site was soon definitely chosen in a dense for-
est of fir trees on the Sound, and christened Tacoma.

The road by this time had come to include, by pur-
chase, lease and running agreements, much more than
the trunk line. Mr. Cooke's plans for this northern
highway to the Pacific contemplated the complete serv-
ing of the territory south to a line at which its interests
conflicted with the Union and Central Pacific roads,
and north to and into British territory, except as he
should meet the rival claims of the Canadian Pacific,
rumors of which already filled the air. He began by
making himself a master of the railway situation in
Minnesota, which not only involved much lobbying at
Washington, but a tolerably firm political grasp of the
state governments of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The
St. Paul and Minneapolis factions in Minnesota were
well in hand and although his policies, which were be-

342 JAY COOKE

lieved to be antagonistic to Wisconsin, since he favored
Duluth at the expense of the older town of Superior and
the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad rather than
the proposed St. Croix line, (projected to parallel it from
Hudson to Bayfield), were the subject of protests from
the governors of that state, Lucius Fairchild and later
C. C. Washburn, his course was shrewd and conciliatory
and much of the time it was not known whether he
personally favored or opposed these rival enterprises.
In Montana he had Governor Potts and in Washington
Territory Delegate Garfielde almost as securely as
though they daily served him under his eyes in the bank-
ing house in Third Street, whence everything had its
source.

Mr. Cooke began with the St. Paul and Pacific. This
was his first merger. The road was completed eighty
miles north from St. Paul to St. Cloud, following the
Mississippi valley, and it was to be extended to Brain-
erd, there joining the Northern Pacific. A western line
was projected to Breckinridge on the Red River, well
south of the Northern Pacific, and the St. Vincent Ex-
tension was in prospect, to cross the Northern Pacific
at Glyndon, thence running down the Red River val-
ley to Pembina near the northwestern corner of Minne-
sota, whereby direct communication would be opened
with the British settlements of Winnipeg and the valley
of the Saskatchewan. The road was in the hands of
an active promoter, George L. Becker, who had headed
it for the Pacific over Canadian territory. His land
grants overlapped those of the Northern Pacific and
Mr. Cooke and the Northern Pacific managers took an
early opportunity to arrange for the incorporation of-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 343

the road in their railway system, making an actual out-
lay upon it of more than one million dollars. The
line to Brainerd would facilitate the work of con-
struction on the Northern Pacific trunk line west of
that point, giving more direct communication with St.
Paul, and the prospect of securing a spur to serve the
Red River valley, and to penetrate Manitoba, was par-
ticularly pleasing to a man of Mr. Cooke's broad out-
look. There he saw commerce and civilization. Now
communication with Canada was by steamer on the
Red River from Moorhead and Fargo. At those places
the traveller on the line met the Selkirkians. Their
wicker basket-carts with wooden wheels without tires
which were drawn by bulls, oxen and sometimes
cows were assembled in encampments — a picturesque
spectacle. French hunters and trappers also came to
the railroad, all indicative of the commerce which lay
beyond. The Northern Pacific Company had carried
to the river over five million pounds of freight destined
for Fort Garry in Manitoba during six months in 1872.
The Hudson Bay Company was securing wharves at
Duluth preparatory to a much larger trade by this route
and the future in that direction for Jay Cooke was full
of the possibilities which have since been more than
realized.

The Northern Pacific Company placed the St. Paul
and Pacific in charge of a committee of which William
G. Moorhead was the chairman and he accepted the
duties of his post with an enthusiasm somewhat unusual
to his nature. The Dutch had been induced to take a
financial interest in the road, the bonds being put upon
the market considerably below par. Thus while North-

344 JAY COOKE

ern Pacific seven-thirties were selling at ioo, the bonds
of a constituent company were offered at a material
discount, a spectacle not calculated to forward the larger
negotiation concurrently attempted in Europe. The
fate of the St. Paul and Pacific depended upon the loy-
alty of several bankers in Amsterdam and an issue of
$15,000,000 of its securities was determined upon. Mr.
Moorhead said they would "go off like hot cakes." *
He visited St. Paul with the new Mrs. Moorhead where
they received many attentions. "All the citizens of any
note have called with their wives and daughters," he
wrote to Mr. Cooke from that city on June 12, 1871,
"and we are invited to dine and at evenings constantly."

"I never saw a more beautiful country or one which
promises better results for a railroad," he continued.
And again he thought it "as fine a country as can be
found in any part of this world." 2

It was not long, however, before the supply of funds
in Holland failed and with all Mr. Moorhead could do,
personally and through agents, the work of construc-
tion, after about 400 miles of road were completed
must stop, to the infinite embarrassment of the trunk line
of which it was designed to be so useful a part.

The Northern Pacific also had the opportunity to
take possession of the St. Paul and Sioux City Rail-
road which was completed in 1869 to Mankato, eighty-
four miles from St. Paul. "I believe within five years,"
wrote Mr. Moorhead on September 3, 1870, "that with
good management the Sioux City road will be a good
paying road to the stockholders and that with the sale

1 Moorhead to J. C, April n, 1871.

2 To J. C, June 22, 1871.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 345

of its lands it will provide for the bonds from the start.
The only question is, can we raise the money without
advancing ourselves to any considerable extent? Our
Lake Superior and Mississippi road requires just such
a connection to make it valuable."

The parties in interest, however, proposed "onerous
terms" and Mr. Cooke failed to see the importance of
the line, as it paralleled the Northern Pacific which
would receive the Missouri River trade at another
point. The result was that the managers of the Sioux
City company felt much displeasure, especially after Jay
Cooke and his associates built branches to Minneapolis
and Stillwater. They, therefore, threw their influence
in favor of the St. Croix road in Wisconsin as a means
of reaching Lake Superior and Mr. Cooke and the
Northern Pacific managers were face to face with the
most determined struggle which had yet been made
to renew the grant, already the subject of so much
spirited lobbying at Washington. No road of its length
ever excited such prolonged debates in Congress. Mr.
Cooke had been in negotiation for the purchase of
the St. Croix interests. These were largely held by
several men who were closely identified with the North-
ern Pacific for which reason there was much hysterical
fear that the officers of that company meditated move-
ments likely to nip in the bud the hopes of Duluth
and its rail line to St. Paul. For the moment even he
was distrusted, a view that found some support in his
course at Washington in the session of 1870-71. It was
unpleasant as well as disadvantageous to conduct a con-
test of this character and there was every reason to
believe that it was to be revived in the session beginning

346 JAY COOKE

in December, 1871. The movement was better organ-
ized than ever before and as a compromise Mr. Cooke
proposed a change of route by way of the Chippewa
Valley. In explaining his attitude he wrote to Gov-
ernor Fairchild on December 20, 1 871, as follows:

Dear Governor:

Yours of the 16th received. If you had invested some mil-
lions for yourself and others in good faith in a railroad enter-
prise you would not, I think, willingly see a foolish project
prevail for building a road almost alongside your own road,
and especially if in the hands of enemies who would ruin your
own property by injurious and unmodified competition. To
avoid such an injury to both roads was our object in controlling
both so that they might be friends, especially that such modifica-
tions of the route should be adopted as would render them less
antagonistic to each other and at the same time develop a broader
extent of territory. I think that if your people will cordially
join in the Chippewa plan you would receive the cordial aid of
all, with the probable exception of the parties at St. Paul. What
is your opinion in regard to the adoption by your legislature of
the Chippewa Valley scheme provided that we consent to that
change in the bill as presented to the last Congress, etc., etc.

The Governor of Wisconsin did not receive Mr.
Cooke's suggestion with favor and the lines were very
closely drawn at Washington. It seems that Ezra Cor-
nell had endowed his university at Ithaca, N. Y., with
lands in the St. Croix Valley and he now visited Wash-
ington, using every influence in behalf of the renewal of
the grant. Bayard Taylor, who had been appointed a
lecturer in literature at the university, was sent to Wash-
ington to influence the votes of some Pennsylvania con-
gressmen. The Minnesota, as well as the Wisconsin del-
egations, seemed to be almost solidly in favor of the bill,
and the combination was so strong that Henry Cooke

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 347

despaired of defeating it. The opposition, however, was
so well conducted by Henry Cooke and Uriah H. Painter
that the combination was broken up, and at length the
St. Croix men were again overwhelmingly beaten, being
ready to make almost any terms which the Northern
Pacific managers would suggest. William G. Moorhead
thought that the result was worth more than a half mil-
lion dollars to Jay Cooke and Company and E. W. Clark
and Company.1 Only increasing financial stringency
prevented Mr. Cooke and General Cass from taking
steps which would have brought one or more of the Wis-
consin lines into the Northern Pacific system.

The Lake Superior and Mississippi which virtually
was a part of the system from the beginning, because of
Jay Cooke's close connection with it, fell into the difficul-
ties which at this period beset all the western railroads,
and a working agreement was proposed by the officers
of that road. Banning had retired as president in favor
of Frank H. Clark, another son of Jay Cooke's old
patron, Enoch W. Clark, and although still free of the
dreaded competition of the St. Croix line, it was far
from profitable. As early as in October, 1871, Clark
wrote to Mr. Cooke to say that "unless you will take
hold and carry the road along it must fail." In 1872,
therefore, it was leased to the Northern Pacific, though
not without protest from some of the stockholders, as
for instance, the irreconcilable William Thaw of Pitts-
burg. He wrote :

In the absence of specific information as to the terms and
scope of the contract of lease and, with my general knowledge
of the unsuccess of the property proposed to be leased, I beg

1 To J. G, March 1, 1872.

348 JAY COOKE

to be excused for opposing the lease in this only way open to me.
. . . I criticize this thing simply as a matter of business judg-
ment and by no manner of means would imply any doubt of
the rectitude of the motives which govern you. I know some-
what of the complications and difficulties which have to be over-
come in your work and would not add a straw to their weight.
Only be tolerant of a little respectful opposition.1

The road became the Lake Superior and Mississippi
Division of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and now fully
shared the fate of the system of which it was a part.

The Oregon Steam Navigation Company had done an
important transportation business on the Columbia and
the Willamette rivers, assisting in a marked way to fur-
ther the development of the Pacific Northwest before the
advent of the railway, and the value of its service,
though diminished, was still very considerable. It had
about twenty boats of different sizes, wharves and ware-
houses and two strips of portage railroad for carrying
its freights and passengers around the rapids and other
unnavigable parts of the stream. At certain seasons of
the year the boats went up to Montana and one parted
the waters of Lake Pend d' Oreille. A group of of-
ficers of the company, with Captain J. C. Ainsworth at
their head, came to New York in the spring of 1872 and
offered to sell their line to the Northern Pacific Rail-
road, presuming that it would have great value to that
corporation. At first they asked $2,500,000, but later
fell to $2,000,000. They would part with a three-
quarters interest for $1,500,000, of which $750,000
might be paid in Northern Pacific bonds, $250,000 in
earnings on the three-fourths share, while the remaining

xThaw to J. C, April 23, 1872.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 349

$500,000 involved cash transfers.1 Jay Cooke went to
New York to meet the men and the deal was closed. He
made sure that the company had a property that would
be of value to the railroad, and he also thought it a
tactical advantage to have a group of capitalists on the
Pacific coast who would be closely allied to the enter-
prise. Mr. Cooke addressed them as "our Western as-
sociates." Captain Ainsworth was elected to the Board
of Directors of the Northern Pacific Company in 1873,
and while adding his testimony to that which had pre-
viously been given as to the difficulty of satisfying Pacific
coast capitalists with a seven per cent, investment, he
mentioned the road favorably to A. Hayward, who was
getting a million a month from his silver mine in Nevada,
J. P. Jones, a partner in these profits, soon to be elected
a United States senator, and to many others possessed
of the means ff they did not have the will to aid the enter-
prise.

The announcement that Canada would build a line to
the Pacific coast seemed to bode little good for the North-
ern Pacific, especially in England, where it would be an
overwhelming rival in the quest for capital. The Brit-
ish people would very naturally bestow such favors as
they had for Pacific railroads upon that one which would
run through their own territory. Mr. Cooke used his
best efforts to make a virtue of the appearance in the
field of this unpleasant competitor. In the first place it
was a telling rebuke to that numerous body of people
who declared that his route was too far north — who said
that the road, if it were built, could not be operated in
winter because of the ice and snow. The answer was

1 Holmes to J. C, March 30, 1871.

350 JAY COOKE

now at hand — that Canada had projected a line several
hundred miles nearer the North Pole. Mr. Cooke had
even effected an agreement with the Canadian Pacific
managers early in 1872 to take fifty-five per cent, of
that enterprise for himself, Ogden, Cass, Winslow,
Lanier and Company, and the directors of the Northern
Pacific railroad. The plan was one of almost sublime
proportions for the time in which it was formulated.
The roads building from Toronto and Montreal were to
join at Lake Nipissing whence the traffic would at first
flow through the Great Lakes to Duluth, and later over
a rail line to Sault Ste. Marie and then through United
States territory on the southern shore of Lake Superior
to be constructed by General Schenck and General
Max Woodhull. From Duluth onward freights and
passengers would, of course, pass over the new Northern
Pacific road to the Red River, thence by the St. Paul and
Pacific to Pembina and Fort Garry, with lines in the
future west to British Columbia, and ramifying into vari-
ous portions of British America.1 The Canadian gov-
ernment refused to subscribe to the plan, and Sir Hugh
Allan, the Atlantic steamship owner, made himself the
controlling spirit in the enterprise, going to England to
seek the capital for a great independent line.

At length Mr. Cooke sent a commissioner, Lycurgus
Edgerton, to Canada. Edgerton had been a broker in
New York where he failed. He had drifted to Europe
and came to Jay Cooke with a letter from Hugh Mc-
Culloch of the London house. Lie volunteered a trip to
Ottawa with the purpose of making a report upon the
status of the Canadian Pacific enterprise. While he

1 J. C. to Fahn., January 16th and to McCulloch, February 6, 1872.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 351

could act only unofficially, he found Sir Hugh in a mel-
low mood. "Allan wished," said Edgerton, "a perfect
entente cordiale from the outset." He promised to put
steam propellers upon Lake Superior and would convey
material and supplies to be used in the construction of
his road to Duluth, then carrying them by way of the
Northern Pacific line to Pembina, where he would meet
a spur of his Canadian system.

Mr. Cooke had sold a block of the bonds of the Iowa
Central Railway, which, but for a short space not yet
covered with track, offered a connecting link in a line
almost due south from Duluth to St. Louis. This road
was being managed by C. C. Gilman, who offered it for
lease or sale, and it nearly went to foreclosure. It
"would certainly have gone on the rocks," Gilman
wrote to Jay Cooke on January 16, 1873, but for the
Philadelphia banker's aid. The line connected with the
North Missouri, an enterprise with which Jay Cooke's
name had been earlier identified, and it was his aim to
give all possible protection to those roads with which
he had ever had to do, in the interest of those who may
have invested in them upon the faith felt- in his recom-
mendations. He also thought that the connection would
prove valuable to the Northern Pacific, as it would un-
doubtedly have done under more favorable circum-
stances. Gilman was displaced by the Abbott party in
April, 1873, and Isaac M. Cate was elected to the presi-
dency, Mr. Cooke attending to the purchase of locomo-
tives for it, and serving it as well as the times would
allow.

Thus in all possible ways did he regard the present
and looked to the future interests of the Northern Pacific

352 JAY COOKE

Railroad. His mind prophetically grasped the whole
problem of transportation in this wide belt of territory.
His plans were such that the road would have found all
its wants anticipated even unto this day, and the firm en-
trenchment of the system, to him as a vision in the wil-
derness, would have carried its own vindication to com-
ing generations, for which he labored, and by which his
name and services in the hurry of the times may be for-
got.

In 1872, as in 1868, Jay Cooke was a financial bul-
wark of the Grant managers. William Claflin, the for-
mer chairman of the Republican National Committee,
retired in favor of Governor E. D. Morgan of New
York, while now, as in the former year, the offerings
were taken up by William E. Chandler of New Ham-
shire, who continued to be its secretary. Once again
the first call came from New Hampshire, where $5,000
went in February as the result of a dinner in Washing-
ton with Secretary of the Navy Robeson, Secretary of
the Interior Delano, William E. Chandler and other
politicians. This was followed by a further demand for
$5,000 to "save" the little White Mountain State, a per-
formance which led Mr. Cooke to dub Chandler "Oliver
Twist," and that man was so much pleased with the
cognomen that he showed the letter to Delano, who
"took it to cabinet meeting where it was considered after
the Alabama case was disposed of." * While these early
payments were to be credited on Jay Cooke's account in
the ensuing presidential election, they did not materially
diminish the urgency of the later calls upon him. When
Horace Greeley was nominated against General Grant

1 Chandler to Delano, February 28, 1872.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 353

the issue was joined in the nation at large. In Pennsyl-
vania General John F. Hartranft, Republican, was op-
posed by Charles R. Buckalew, the Democratic candi-
date for governor, and the state was still a ground upon
which the battle raged doubtfully. Henry H. Bingham
was the treasurer of the state committee, which meant
that much was to be done and suffered by Mr. Cooke.
In Philadelphia and its neighborhood the great financier
was the purser of his party, and he visited and wrote to
the well disposed rich, seeking contributions for Grant
and Hartranft with all the earnestness of his nature.

There was some fear of the result, as there always is
in a presidential election in this country, no matter how
one-sided the contest, either because of the manner in
which it is conducted or the proneness of the American
people to excite themselves at such times until they take
fright at shadows. Mr. Cooke's assurance was not in-
creased by much that was brought under his notice, and
he labored unremittingly in his own field — that of finance
■ — to make his friend Grant's re-election doubly certain.
Whitelaw Reid wrote to him from the Tribune office on
June 1 8, 1872, setting him right in regard to the pro-
visions of the Greeley platform, relating to land grants
for railroads. He said :

In a nutshell they have said nothing whatever calculated to
interfere with the franchise of the Northern Pacific, or public
confidence in it. They simply protest against the further grants
of land for such purposes and pledge themselves to oppose them.
For this it seems to me you ought to be greatly obliged since
it prevents your lands from being cheapened in the market by
undue competition. ... I am sorry that you and your
house are counted on the wrong side in the presidential contest
for many reasons, not the least of which is that you are on the

354 JAY COOKE

losing side. I told you in Philadelphia that we should nominate
Greeley in Cincinnati, and that the Democrats would ratify the
nomination. You have seen the first prediction fulfilled, and if
you have read the despatches of the last few days, can have no
doubt about the other. I have greater confidence in the election
in November than I had in either of these events, and better
grounds for that confidence. I wish you and Governor Harry
hadn't contrived to get committed so deeply.

As usual, Mr. Cooke contributed various sums in vari-
ous ways to assist his friends among the congressmen
who had difficult battles in their districts. He aitthor-
ized Delegate Garfielde in Washington Territory to
draw for $500, if it were needed, which it proved to be,
since "enemies" whom he said he had made in his advo-
cacy of the Northern Pacific Railroad swarmed thickly
about him. The offer led to his "grateful acknowledg-
ments and devout prayers for long life and continued
prosperity." 1 Blaine in Washington was pressing an-
other demand upon Henry D. Cooke, who wrote to his
brother :

Blaine is so persistent in this matter that I feel it is important
that he should be conciliated. We are not yet through all our
fights in Congress. We have interests ramifying in many direc-
tions and hosts of enemies to hit us a blow whenever oppor-
tunity offers. He is a formidable power for good or evil, and
he has a wide future before him. However unreasonable in
his demands he may appear to you to be, my conviction is irre-
sistible that he should in some manner be appeased. I urge you
to consider this view of the case and act upon it with your
usual discretion.2

A critical point in the Grant campaign was reached in
September, when the bottom .again fell out of prices in

1 Garfielde to J. C, April 30, 1872.
2H. D. C. to J. C, February 3, 1872.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 355

Wall Street, and the financial situation which for long
had been so unwholesome, and would not and could not
be improved until the country returned to some rational
monetary standard, threatened the total defeat of Re-
publican hopes. The entire strength of the administra-
tion, supported by Jay Cooke, was exerted to stem the
current which might lead to ruin. Henry Cooke wrote
to his brother on September 17, 1872:

I have talked with Judge Richardson as to the vital importance
of keeping the money market easy until after the election. Any
serious disturbance might prove fatal to Grant's success. I got
Garland to write me a strong letter, giving me the position of
things in Wall Street, which I sent to Porter at Long Branch, to-
gether with my comments. The President is fully impressed
with the importance of this point, and I want you to talk to
Richardson and get him committed to the policy. He has a
reserve of about forty-five millions currency which he can use
in an emergency. Of course it will be necessary for him to use
only a small part and possibly none of it. If he will buy bonds
liberally in excess of his sales of gold I think he can accomplish
the object.

Garland telegraphed from New York to Jay Cooke
over the firm's private wires the next day: "If Secre-
tary does not order purchase of at least three million of
bonds we will have repetition of Black Friday. The
general aspect is very blue. We are on the eve of panic,
and the government must act promptly, and to-day, or
they will have a stronger enemy to fight than Greeley."

To this Jay Cooke replied: "Richardson has just tel-
egraphed to accept three millions. Confidential. Don't
let anyone know this." And again he enjoined the
young partner in New York: "On no account whisper
what I have sent you."

356 JAY COOKE

The market responded immediately. During the
morning money was loaned at twelve per cent, per month
and it was "the wildest day" the Exchange had wit-
nessed since the crash which followed the Chicago fire.
"But at ten minutes past one o'clock came the news that
the Treasury, instead of buying one million of five-twen-
ties, as per its monthly schedule, had purchased three
millions. . . . The bears in their turn looked
aghast; the flank movement from Washington was not
expected. . . . The market recovered itself like a
flash of lightning." x

Governor Morgan wrote Jay Cooke after the battle
had been won in Pennsylvania that the national com-
mittee had sent $75,000 to Pennsylvania,2 and the de-
mand now was for money for use in New York to finish
the campaign there in the best style. Tom Murphy told
Fahnestock that the national managers had totally ex-
hausted their resources in carrying Pennsylvania, and
$25,000 must be had at once. Morton and Clews would
do no more ; little comfort came from Drexel and Childs,
and the committee expected $5,000 from Jay Cooke
and Company's New York house.3 Fahnestock said
that the firm had already "contributed enormously,"
but there was no escape. "The question of the $5,000
contribution," he wrote to Jay Cooke on November 2d,
"was settled by Harry, Pitt and myself, when, after talk-
ing it over in committee meeting, it had been decided
that we must be assessed to that extent, and Governor
Morgan came with Tom Murphy to urge it upon us.
There did not seem to be any way to get out of it."

1 Philadelphia Inquirer, September 19, 1872.

2 October 30, 1872.

3 Fahn. to J. C, October 25, 1872.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR S5?

Jay Cooke said there was. "I think there was no
necessity whatever in paying $5,000 to that committee,"
he wrote Fahnestock. "They ought to be whipped for
asking it." He gave an itemized list of his firm's sub-
scriptions to the campaign fund of the Republican party,
which totalled more than $30,000, without counting the
s.um donated to the New Hampshire managers early in
the year, and $10,000 promised to Secretary Robeson
for New Jersey. Of this obligation he wrote :

Some time ago Mr. R. spoke to me about the New Jersey
campaign, and I promised him in the matter of the New York
and London joint account [navy account] for New Jersey $10,-
000. If New Jersey went Democratic R's influence would be
at an end and some new person would come into the navy. Of
course this would probably result in a change of the account.1

Uncertainty as to the result prevailed up to the last.
On November 5, election day, Henry Cooke wrote:

I saw the President this morning and had a very pleasant inter-
view with him. He was not half as nervous as I. I never saw
so imperturbable a man.

The next day the tension had ended, and Henry Cooke
continuing his correspondence with his brother said :

We are all happy to-day celebrating the glorious victory of
yesterday, which is without precedent since the days of Monroe.
I was at the President's last night (by invitation), to be
present at the reception of the news as it came in. Left the
White House between one and two o'clock this a. m. We had
to walk home, there being no horses fit for service. To-day there
is scarcely a horse in the streets, and business is virtually sus-
pended.

An epidemic horse disease which for lack of a better
name was called hippmania, epizooty, epihippic, etc., at

1 Fahn. to J. C, October 25, 1872.

358 JAY COOKE

this time entirely disabled the equine species in Wash-
ington, as in most other American cities, and successful
and jubilant politicians coming from the White House,
as well as other folk, had to forego the luxury of car-
riages, stages and street cars for many days, the streets
being silent except for the patter of human feet.

Jay Cooke's life was now running at full tide.
"Ogontz" was the show place of the country. Its own-
er's invitations to enjoy its hospitalities were as warm as
his nature, and they were frequently repeated to all his
friends. Its Avails harbored the most notable men of
the land in politics and finance, and they came and went
as at some great hostelry.

Mr. Cooke's partner, Mr. Moorhead, had also built
a handsome mansion in West Philadelphia which was
filled with works of art and thrown open to the public
one day in the week, so that he, too, was named as one
of the wealthy men of America.

The war financier was still addressed by those who
were in any kind of need, and he was besought to take a
part in all enterprises which subsist by the public spirit
of the opulent. He was invited to the first meetings
called to prepare the way for the Centennial Exhibition
of 1876, and his firm was asked to serve as its general
subscription and fiscal agent for the United States.
His name was constantly in the newspapers, the subject
of praise or blame, or perhaps of mere idle gossip. A
London journal gravely stated that he had just paid
£800 for the filling of five teeth.1 "The newspaper ex-
tract is a foolish one," he responded to this English sally.
"I have no teeth but sound ones, and am able to crack

1 Frank Evans to J. C, November 4, 1871.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 359

hickory nuts with any one. I never paid over $3 to $5
for filling a tooth."

When there were not accounts in the eager press of
the works of art he had purchased or of his rare skill as
a fisherman, he was buying lands here and there to con-
vert them into parks for the preservation and propaga-
tion of American game or for other grand purposes.
In short, his hand was everywhere seen, and the writers
of despatches and articles for the papers found in him,
as they still to-day find in those about whom everyone
knows, a rich opportunity for the play of their imag-
inations.

The bungling policy of Secretary Boutwell in connec-
tion with the funding of the six per cent, debt was con-
tinued in 1873, after an interruption of nearly two years.
The financial acumen of this officer which in his book
of "Reminiscences" we are bidden to recognize was
again exhibited in this transaction. It will be remem-
bered that when Jay Cooke's syndicate so successfully
closed the issue of $200,000,000 of five per cents, the
methods pursued were so notably successful that a pro-
posal came from the Rothschilds to continue the opera-
tion on joint account. There seems to have been no
valid or statesmanlike reason why the Department should
not have accepted the offer at once. The market was
made for the United States government fives, the temper
of bankers and people both in America and Europe fa-
vored still larger conversions, legal authority was not
wanting, and nothing interposed but a Congressional in-
vestigation, a presidential election and the timidity of
Boutwell and Grant. Indeed Mr. Boutwell, through the
New York Herald, seemed to deny that any such offer

360 JAY COOKE

had come to him from the Cookes and Rothschilds,
which led Mr. Cooke in self-defense to publish "a card,"
explaining all the circumstances. He assured the public
that the proposal was made in "good faith," and that
he and his European associates were ready promptly to
carry on the operation. "The whole 600 millions in my
opinion," he concluded, "can be funded into 4^2 and 5
per cents, during the present year, which, together with
what has already been accomplished, will save nearly
ten millions of dollars per annum to the Treasury." *

A resolution in which it was charged that Secretary
Boutwell had increased the debt by his funding opera-
tions, and that he had expended upon the negotiation
more than the one-half per cent, allowed him for this
purpose, thus doubly violating the law, was introduced
in the House of Representatives by "Sunset" Cox at the
opening of the session on December 4, 1871,2 and he fol-
lowed it with a bill to prohibit all commissions to agents
on future bond sales. The resolution was referred to
the Committee on Ways and Means. It was a direct
attack upon Jay Cooke and Company. Of course the
syndicate must have made a vast sum of money, com-
puted by speakers in the House to be in excess of $3,000,-
000, and as was often the case during the war, the im-
portant end to be gained was entirely subordinated for
the time being to the desire to save the payment of a
suitable commission for the service. Boutwell, Jay
Cooke and others were brought before the committee,
and there was much asking of questions and giving of
testimony. Chairman Dawes, after making a full re-

1 Philadelphia Inquirer, January 18, 1872.

2 Globe, p. 12.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 361

port to the House, offered the following resolution in
behalf of his committee : "Resolved, That, in the opin-
ion of the House, the Secretary of the Treasury in nego-
tiating the loan authorized by the act of July 14, 1870,
has neither increased the bonded debt, nor incurred an
expenditure contrary to law." The House, on February
1, 1872, by a vote of no to 86, sustained the action of
Mr, Boutwell x to the unconcealed exasperation of
Cooke's enemies who hoped at last to discredit the pop-
ular and always successful agents of the government.

In April, when the excitement had somewhat subsided,
Cookes, in conjunction with the Rothschilds, renewed
their proposals to Secretary Boutwell for a resumption
of operations, and a decision was expected daily and
weekly until July, when it became clear that the admin-
istration feared the issue, and would let the govern-
ment pay six per cent, on its debt indefinitely rather
than endanger Grant's chances for a second term. On
July 24th Henry D. Cooke saw the President and he said
that he would be in favor of going on, "if North Caro-
lina comes out all right." 2 The Republicans carried
North Carolina, but Grant was still not" ready. On
August 1 6th Henry Cooke telegraphed his brother that
all funding business would be postponed until after No-
vember. The President said the work would then pro-
ceed "unless Greeley should be elected, in which event
Mr. Greeley would have to take the job off his hands." 3

After Grant's sweeping triumph the machinery was
actually put in motion, but Boutwell, instead of going

1 Globe, p. J77.

2 H. D. C. to J. C, July 24, 1872.

3 H. D. C. to J. C, August 18, 1872.

362 JAY COOKE

forward as he had the undoubted power to do, took the
precaution of visiting and conferring with the Ways and
Means Committee. He explained to them what he had
it in his mind to do,1 and so much publicity was given
to the contemplated movement, and it seemed to be a
matter for the decision of so many men that various
bankers went to Washington to guide the business into
their respective counting rooms. Levi P. Morton, who
had before made a fiasco of the business, was again at
the national capital. "Judge Richardson advised him,"
Henry Cooke wrote to his brother on January 10, 1873,
"that the best thing to do was to return to New York
and put himself in communication with Fahnestock and
yourself." Belmont was also believed to be engaged in
the hunt, although "Baron Rothschild distinctly stated"
to Fahnestock while he was in London, that they would
not know their American representative in this transac-
tion since, by reason of his "political status, he would
hinder rather than help the business." 2

But the most active rivals of the Cookes were "young
Morgan and Morton." This party, with Morton at its
head, included his own American and English firms —
Morton, Bliss and Company and Morton, Rose and
Company — Morgan's New York and London firms and
the Barings. A decision was momentarily expected as
the month of January advanced. Jay Cooke went to
Washington in person and visited the Treasury Depart-
ment and the White Llouse. Senator Cattell was" again
very active in the Cooke interests. On January 17th he
attended Senator Frelinghuysen's "party," of which he

1 Philadelphia Inquirer, December 25, 1872.

2 Fahn. to J. C, January 10, 1873.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 363

wrote to Mr. Cooke the next day: "I doubt if the en-
emy got much chance at the President last night. I was
in one of Frelinghuysen's third-story rooms smoking
segars with him till nearly one o'clock a. m." Henry
Cooke had put a word in the Presidential ear earlier in
the evening and Grant was diligently pursued the next
day. They now obtained fresh cablegrams from the
Rothschilds reiterating a desire to co-operate and the
contest seemed to be nearing an end. Senator Cattell
wrote to Jay Cooke, from Washington, on January
20th as follows:

I beg to say that I consider the matter now as substantially
settled, and I hope and believe that before Wednesday night the
names will be affixed to the document. You never did a wiser
thing than getting the telegram from Rothschilds, a copy of which
you sent here and which has been used with effect to-day. I
have had a good talk with Dawes [Chairman of the Ways and
Means Committee], who says it would be an outrage to give
the thing to anyone but yourselves. He has told Boutwell that
every Republican member of the Committee is satisfied, and that
he will have the moral support of all of them in carrying out his
proposition to fund the remaining 300 million on the same terms
and in the same manner as before. He says the Committee will
not perhaps address any communication to the' Secretary offi-
cially and that he ought not to ask it, because he came to the
Committee to say that he proposed going on with the funding
on the old plan, unless they had a better one to suggest, and they
say in substance after a full consideration that they have no other
plan. . . . Our friend Robeson came to see me soon after
you left and got his blood up. He went directly to Boutwell and
told him it would be an unpardonable outrage and a grievous
blunder to do this work through any party but yourselves and
that he must take that ground with the President, if it became
necessary. I enclose you the full report of Morton's testimony
before the Committee, fearing you may not have seen it. Upon
his own showing you fully succeeded in doing a thing which his

364 JAY COOKE

house and those who propose to join him now thought could not
be done, that he was offered and declined taking a part in the
then untried experiment. Now confessing that it was a success
and that in his opinion no better plan could be devised, he mod-
estly asks that the brave men who, with more courage than he
had, took hold and put through the plan should be shoved aside,
and these doubters be installed in the advanced position secured
by your enterprise and energy. That thing can't be done and
shall not be done.

Indeed there was every prospect that the contract
would be made with Cookes and Rothschilds, but for only
$100,000,000, Boutwell making the excuse that he was
about to leave his post, and he was not willing to bind
his successor to a course which that officer might not
approve. He had just been elected a United States Sen-
ator from Massachusetts to succeed Henry Wilson who
had been advanced to the Vice-Presidency, and the pro-
gramme which Mr. Cooke did much to forward included
the promotion of Richardson from the assistant's desk
to the secretaryship.1

At the very moment, however, when the contract for

1 On January 11, 1873, Jay Cooke in a letter to his brother Henry gave
expression to a fear that the plan would miscarry. He had been told
that Joseph Patterson of the Western National Bank of Philadelphia
had been making himself prominent in the hearings before the Commit-
tee on Ways and Means. He wrote : " From the way things look they
(Drexel, Childs, George H. Stuart, etc.) may have concluded to put this
astute financier in the Treasury. Of course you know how to handle this
thing, but it is worth full inquiry and probing. If necessary to defeat
such a thing we will have to bring everything to bear upon General G.
It would be a cruel outrage upon js to permit such a party to get into
the Treasury, but it is dangerous unless they are watched. These parties
have recently been engaged in trying to break up our credit — I refer
to the Childs party — and if they had their own way they would smash
us, the Northern Pacific and all, to flinders. General Grant will certainly
not thus reward our enemies and punish us who have done more than
all the rest of the country put together."

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 365

one-third of the total amount seemed to be in Jay Cooke's
hands the situation changed and Boutwell asked him if
he would join Morton, Morgan and their party. As a
compensation for this division of favors he would give
them the whole $300,000,000. George W. Childs was
"a self-invited guest" of President Grant, having
shrewdly made this the time of his coming in order to
use all his very unfriendly offices to defeat Mr. Cooke's
plans and through this and other influences the feat was
accomplished pretty effectually.1 There was much cabling
and telegraphing in these days between Jay Cooke and
his partners. The following came to him from New
York on January 226. : "Do you feel able for the under-
taking to go to Washington to-night? It's a big fight
and the general should be in command to-morrow. All
the rest are to be there." To this Jay Cooke replied:
"No, I should get into a fight. Can keep cooler here.
A good general should keep out of harm's way."

Indeed it seems that there were three propositions, an-
other having been made to the Secretary by General But-
ler, who, presumably, represented a group of German
bankers, and he was "disposed to fight," if he were not
used as politely as the rest, which meant that he would
antagonize Boutwell's candidacy for the senatorship in
Massachusetts ; 2 but without too much ado he was defi-

1 " I should not hesitate to get the strongest kind of influences after
those parties who are sleeping with the President. ... I think it
very likely that Childs's visit stirred up the President again. ... Is
it possible that this party is listened to by such a man as President
Grant?" — J. C. to H. D. C, January 22, 1873.

2 " It is the strangest compound fight I ever heard of, and all owing
to bad faith and weak knees of Secretary B. and the hatred of Mac in-
dulged in by G. fanned by the parties who seek to supplant J. C. and
Co."— J. C. to H. D. C, January 23, 1873.

366 JAY COOKE

nitely eliminated and Jay Cooke was put in such a posi-
tion that he could not refuse to join the Morton group,
and he did so promptly and enthusiastically, promising
the fullest co-operation of his houses in making the loan
a success. Thus the $300,000,000 were divided equally
between Jay Cooke (representing his own American
houses and Jay Cooke, McCulloch and Company and
N. M. Rothschild and Sons of London) and Morton,
Bliss and Company and Drexel, Morgan and Company
(representing themselves and Baring Brothers and Com-
pany, J. S. Morgan and Company and Morton, Rose and
Company of London).

Seligman and Company afterward tried to enter
the combination, Morgan and Morton advising their
recognition, but the Secretary peremptorily refused
to reopen the contract. Under these auspices the task
was to be performed and the "distinguished associ-
ates" began to put up the price of fives so that they
stood at a premium over gold and warmed up the
newspaper men for a campaign which was regarded
with great confidence. All hands expected a sub-
scription of $600,000,000 or $800,000,000. It was
thought that Jay Cooke and Company, being the seniors
in this business, might be given the precedence in
the syndicate, but they were not officially assigned to that
place, and beyond the first mention on the list of names
in the circulars, they were shown no preferences. Jay
Cooke was not upon the scene in person, and Fahnestock,
Morgan and Morton managed the affair jointly in New
York, while the responsibility for the result abroad was
quite as much divided. The books were opened simul-
taneously in Europe and America on February 4th, and

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 367

it was announced that they would close on the 7th. The
period, which Jay Cooke said was too short, was fixed
in London.1 The first news from that city where the
earlier operation had such a triumphant opening pre-
saged the failure to which the negotiation was doomed
from the first. Puleston telegraphed on February 4th :
"Fear failure. Very few subscriptions from brokers.
Nothing from the Continent. Management harmonious,
but large combinations are seldom successful."

The results in this country were little more encour-
aging. On the same day Fahnestock wrote to Jay
Cooke: "Confidentially and not to be smiled at. Sub-
scription through Drexel, Morgan and Company $30,-
500, of which $30,000 comes from Wilmington, Del."
Nine-tenths of all the subscriptions which were taken in
America came through Jay Cooke and Company,2 and
the total from all sources in this country on
February 16th, was only 13^2 millions, while but
a few millions were subscribed in Europe. Raphael
and other bankers and brokers in London who
had served Jay Cooke, McCulloch and Company
so loyally in 1871, now being ignored, antagonized
the operation. The members of the former English syn-
dicate were dealers in American bonds ; the firms which
entered the new combination had had no previous con-
nection with the sale of United States government secur-
ities.

The greatest bankers in the world were frightened.
They urged the New York managers of the syndicate to
see the Secretary at once and have him "call" for $50,-

1 J. C. to H. D. C, January 3, 1873.

2 Garland to J. G, February 5, 1873.

368 JAY COOKE

000,000 instead of $100,000,000, as had been proposed,
since the larger amount could not be sold. Secretary
Boutwell promised $10,000,000 from his fund to expedite
the operation, but by reason of the scarcity of gold in
the Treasury he would not exceed this limit. The Eng-
lish houses would assume no pecuniary responsibility —
incur no risks. Jay Cooke's assistants now spoke with
sarcasm of the "distinguished associates." They were
"old ganders," and "weak-kneed big Injuns," and were
dubbed other names their course seemed to make not
undeserved. Fahnestock believed that if $100,000,000
were called on the 5th or 6th of February the subscrip-
tion would close "with a rush," and he asked Jay
Cooke's opinion on the subject.

The great Philadelphia financier, with as much gran-
deur as he had ever shown since the dawn of his power,
in the presence of the Rothschilds, the Barings, the Mor-
gans and the leading bankers of the world, promptly tele-
graphed in reply:

Call of 100 Choctaws should be made within next hour by
telegraph from Washington. We will cheerfully take our share
of the risk, or if the others decline, let them resign the syndicate
and we will do it alone. It must be done at once, and there is
no risk whatever. Act in ten minutes if you can get parties to
assume for London.

He added in another despatch :

Be sure and have Harry fully posted and control the Asso-
ciated Press and correspondents' despatches, and if Boutwell will
?dd to his call something about further calls it will be glorious.
You will see the fur fly to-morrow, if your London folks do
right.

The same day Mr. Cooke wrote to Fahnestock :

QSj^yyVK^tiiUs £U «^i£- A^rvtc

JAY COOKE'S TELEGRAM IX CONNECTION WITH

ATIONS OF THE SECOND SYNDICATE

Qy^X~yy\^ViM>0 &U x^L- ^Ctrn^

JAY COOKE S TELEGRAM IN CONNECTION WITH

SuU,

(X^JryVS^VtMC' Cu «^- £LC<nruL

l's telegram in connection with the operations of the second syndicate

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 369

I~ wish this whole party would back out and let us have the
thing to ourselves. We could soon restore confidence. They
owe it to themselves to risk something under the circumstances.
I never did like the idea of throwing overboard our old agents,
and our banks here, and our confreres in London. It is too
cold-blooded for my disposition. But as it is done we must
make the best of it.

•But Morton and Morgan did not "back out." Bout-
well assented to a call for $100,000,000 in the presence
of Senator Cattell, but he dawdled until the 6th was done,
and then did not publish the numbers of the bonds so
that the good effect which his action would have had was
largely dissipated. Only one day remained before the
books would close. The associates, epecially in London,
were without efficiency in manipulating the markets and
distributing the bonds. Rothschilds were held to the ar-
rangement only with difficulty, for they said that their
assent to the call for the larger amount was an unwar-
ranted assumption on the part of their fellow members
of the syndicate, and Barings threatened the same
course. Moreover it was discovered that the English
associates had so arranged it that their subscriptions
were not payable until June 1st, and as the law required
three months' notice the Secretary on the 7th revoked his
action of the night before, making a promise to renew
it on March 1st. Morton, Morgan and Judge Richard-
son were as unpleasantly impressed by such behavior as
was Mr. Cooke himself, but there was nothing for them
except to conclude the business as best they could.

In explanation of the fizzle Mr. Puleston, on Feb-
ruary 6th, wrote to Fahnestock from the London house
as follows:

370 JAY COOKE

The most perfect harmony has prevailed throughout, but it
was and always will be, most difficult to carry out successfully a
great operation where so many are directly concerned. I think
each house feels this now fully. I confess that personally I was
very sanguine and believed 150 millions would be covered, but
I saw on Saturday, and more clearly on Monday, in advance of
opening, that the operation would fail. The excitement died out
before we were ready to strike and the parties who were in with
us before, finding themselves now outside and their places oc-
cupied, so to speak by others, were more or less strongly
against us and against the business. Then, these people argued,
the operation was made a success in spite of the antagonism of
others, and now we declined to admit those old friends into part-
nership. Raphael was and is particularly sore. ... I think
some of our colleagues attribute want of success mainly to our
original subscribers coming in to sell their old Funded, and to the
fact that it was difficult to advance its price without bringing
sellers. To some extent this may be true, but if this new opera-
tion had been looked upon as likely to succeed, and if after the
books were opened the signs were favorable, not a man would
have sold old Funded, so that the selling of old Funded was the
result, and not the cause of our failure, for as you pretty well
understand the financial world, and particularly the Stock Ex-
change can form, and do form generally, very correct esti-
mates of how a loan is going in advance of the opening of the
books.

The same day (February 6th) Hugh McCulloch wrote
to Jay Cooke and Company :

It [the loan] is not likely to be the success that many an-
ticipated, but I am myself not disappointed. The copartnership
is too large to secure that unity of sentiment and liberality of
action which are indispensable to the success of so large a trans-
action. My predecessors in the Treasury Department, Messrs.
Chase and Fessenden, as well as myself, found in order to place
the loans which we were under the necessity of making during
the war, and at its close, that no great success could be secured

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 371

without the employment of a single energetic and responsible
head. Fortunately the right man was found in Mr. Jay Cooke,
and next to the soldiers, who perilled their lives in the defense
of the Union, is the country under obligation to him for the suc-
cessful result of the war, as no one can doubt that a financial
failure on the part of the government would have been the
triumph of the rebellion. I do not mean to say that there was
no -other man who could have done what was so successfully
accomplished, but I do say that I do not believe there was any
other responsible person in the country who would have assumed
the responsibility which he did in regard to the first issue of the
5-20 bonds, and I know that Mr. Fessenden, after the banks had
proved inadequate to the work, looked in vain for some other
man to take the place of Mr. Cooke in helping to relieve the
Treasury from the embarrassment under which it labored in
the latter part of 1864 and the early part of 1865. It is true that
the Department was criticized in certain quarters for giving what
was called a monopoly of the negotiations to a single person or
firm, but it is also true that in the most trying period of our
financial history no responsible persons were found willing to
share with Mr. Cooke this monopoly.

I am hopeful that the present loan will be made a success dur-
ing the year, but I should be much more certain of it, if the
management were confined to a single house, and especially if
some of the parties who are interested in it had not done some-
thing more than to turn a cold shoulder against the former fund-
ing loan. Judge Richardson knows who was with us and who
against us, who participated and who declined participation in
that negotiation.

On February 8, 1873, Jay Cooke wrote to his brother,
Henry :

I have said very little about the syndicate, but the result is
precisely what I had anticipated, although I hoped I would be
mistaken. Please have Richardson and the Secretary and the
President distinctly understand that I am not to be held re-
sponsible in any shape, manner or form for this failure. It

372 JAY COOKE

serves us right for yielding to any conditions or circumstances,
where we should have to desert old friends, and go to bed with
those who are entirely unworthy of our association — those who
have in the past vilified and misrepresented us and have injured
the government more than 300 millions actual cool cash, through
their miserable jealousies. I state this matter plainly, while at
the same time I know you will understand my heart in the mat-
ter— that I have no revengeful feelings and would rejoice in
the prosperity of the parties at all times, and would do every-
thing in my power to return mountains of good for the evil
they have all along been doing. But the solemn truth is just
what I have been stating.

Of the disputes with the Department in the subsequent
settlements with the syndicate Mr. Cooke held entirely
aloof and advised.his partners "to let Morton and Drexel
do the scolding ;" x they could make the complaints and
take the responsibility and blame.

Meanwhile the amount of the loan which had been
covered by the subscriptions remained a dark secret, and
as no definite statements were made to the press, it was
surmised by the public, as it could not help being known
in banking circles, that the negotiation was a failure.
It was given out at length that Europe had subscribed
twenty-eight and one-half millions, nearly all in cash,
and America eight millions in cash and thirteen millions
in bonds, in all nearly fifty millions without the Secre-
tary's proffered ten millions, from the payment of which
he was to be excused on account of his "poverty."
Therefore, it was concluded to scale the call for March
1st to $50,000,000. Secretary Boutwell wrote to Jay
Cooke and Company and their associates on February
25th, as follows:

!J. C. to H. D. C, February 17, 1873.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 373

A conversation with Governor Cooke yesterday leads me to
write you in regard to the amount of the subscription that you
may make oh the first of March next. I am clearly of opinion
that it should not exceed the amount already disposed of, with
perhaps such addition thereto as will not exceed the sum you
may be reasonably sure of disposing of within three months
after the first of March. Nothing will be gained by increasing
the -subscription beyond the amount indicated. The fact that
your subscription has been so increased, will, without great de-
lay,, become public, and the effect will be prejudicial to the sale
of the surplus and exceedingly prejudicial to your future opera-
tion. In such case you may reasonably and, I think, surely
anticipate the active and continuous opposition of those interests
that are opposed to the success of the government loan, mani-
festing itself in efforts to keep down the price of government
bonds, and especially of the five per cent, bonds, so that a large
amount may be left on the hands of the bankers engaged in
negotiating the loan. In case a considerable amount should be
so left it will be an embarrassing fact in reference to future
negotiations. Indeed I do not see how the negotiation could go
on until the surplus was placed in the hands of actual investors.

Moreover I desire that in every thing relating to the funding
of the loan, nothing should occur that is not entirely clear of all
doubt and free from reproach and, while perhaps no one could
complain that you subscribed for an amount beyond that actually
sold, I am sure that it would give rise to a great deal of un-
favorable comment. In my judgment it is not material whether
the subscription is fifty, sixty or seventy-five millions of dollars.
When the bonds already subscribed for are delivered we shall
be in a condition to renew negotiations at the first favorable op-
portunity.

This curious effort to put a good face upon what was
essentially a very bad affair, ended Mr. Boutwell's con-
nection with the funding* business. Mr. Cooke was cer-
tainly entitled to little blame for this fiasco which was
invited. Partisan political exigencies solely had in-

374 JAY COOKE

duced Grant and his Secretary to delay the movement
too long, and then at the expense of public efficiency to
make an arrangement which might please a number of
men to whom they were beholding. During the war
action of this kind was excused by the need of affronting
no elements which could be used in the great work of
saving the Union. Now it was merely a question of
saving Grant and that group of politicians with which he
was surrounded and the episode sufficiently well illus-
trates the standards of statesmanship so unpleasantly
prevalent in that disordered period of the country's his-
tory.

The bonds were yet to be delivered, and this task was
inherited by Judge Richardson, who succeeded Boutwell
when the latter entered the United States Senate. The
place the new Secretary had filled as the Treasury's
agent in London in 1871 was given to Senator Cattell
than whom none could have been more acceptable to Jay
Cooke, an intimate friend who enjoyed his fullest confi-
dence. Cattell proceeded to London with J. P. Bigelow,
who had accompanied Richardson thither in 1871 on a
similar mission, and an adequate body of clerks. On
April 24th they reached London with their safes which
contained nineteen millions of dollars worth of United
States bonds, expecting to make their headquarters at
the office of Jay Cooke, McCulloch and Company, as the
delegation had done in 1871. This time, however, by
mutual arrangement of the associates, they were to go
to Rothschilds', for which change of programme many
explanations and apologies were offered to Mr. Cooke,
who it was assumed, would not be pleased with such an
implied subordination to another house. And it was not

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 375

a false assumption, for when he learned of the removal
he called it "a great outrage." 1

The old Baron gave Cattell, Bigelow and all the clerks
the most cordial reception to the rooms which he had pre-
pared for them. "Sumptuous" luncheons with cigars and
wines awaited them. He selected from his "choice re-
serves the finest brands" of cigars for Mr. Cattell and
insisted upon sending one hundred to his apartments, an
attention which was much valued by the Senator, for he
was a smoker of discriminating taste. "The kind, polite
and gracious old Baron," said Lycurgus Edgerton in a
letter to Mr. Cooke, "knows how to propitiate and gain
the good graces of his clients. He ignores his wealth
and his honors when in his office ; is easy of access, cour-
teous and affable. He says to Mr. Cattell : 'Don't hesi-
tate to come in and see me any hour of the day. Don't
stop to knock at the door but walk right in, and if I am
momentarily engaged, sit down and smoke your cigar
and make yourself entirely at home. By the way, Mr.
Cattell, I want you to become acquainted with my wife.
I want to introduce you to her. Can't you come up Sun-
day and see us? Drop in at any hour of the day that
may suit your convenience, and if it should be at the din-
ner hour stay and dine with us en famille.1 " 2

Senator Cattell himself wrote to Jay Cooke on May
9th, as follows :

It is amazing how much title and a little official position does
for one in this country where such things are considered the
" be all and end all " of human existence ; a sentiment, however,
with which I have not the least sympathy. I have already dined
with Baron Lionel Rothschild, the senior member of the house

1 To Puleston, May 19, 1873.

2 May 3, 1873.

376 JAY COOKE

here, at his elegant mansion in Piccadilly, adjoining Hyde Park;
with Mr. Morgan ; and am to dine to-night with Mr. Russell
Sturgis of Baring Brothers. Have also dined at Mr. William
Evans's, father of the junior member of your firm. At each of
these places I have met distinguished people, among them John
Bright, with whom I am much pleased. At Baron Rothschild's
the company was made up almost entirely of lords and their
ladies, among whom was Sir Robert Peel and Lady Peel ; Lord
Barrington and Lady Barrington ; Chief Justice, I should have
said the Lord Chief Justice Cockburn; Mr. De Lane, editor of
The Times. I mention these names simply to show how the
fact of my having been senator once and having the prefix of Hon.
to my name, coupled with the fact that I came here as the
financial representative of our government, brought me at once
into society which I could not as a private citizen have reached at
all. ... It seems that the syndicate had come to some ar-
rangement which made Rothschilds the member to receive and
keep all the called bonds and coupons bought by the syndicate,
and to deliver to us these bonds and coupons and receive from us
the five per cents, in their place. They had in their strong room
about fifteen million dollars of the called bonds and coupons, and
of course we could not think of taking the risk of carrying these
millions of money through the crowded streets of London to
and from their place. So after full consultation with your peo-
ple, although it did not at all please me, there seemed nothing
left for us but to accept the situation and go with our clerks to
the rooms provided for us. They are very properly called the
rooms of the syndicate. ... I, however, make my own
headquarters with your people, who have kindly given me a nice,
cheerful room in the second story, and I spend more of my
time there than anywhere else. ... I go over every day
to see how the boys get on and by request of the old Baron call
in to see him daily. This gives me a chance to cultivate the ac-
quaintance of the house which may place me in a position to be
useful by and by. Already I have had a good chance to speak
of you and you may be sure I did not leave the Baron in any
doubt as to my estimate of your character and ability. Nor did

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 377

I fail to impress him with the fact that it was to your capacity,
energy and great force of character that we were indebted for
the successful management of our finances throughout the dark
days of our Civil War.

In May another call of $20,000,000 was proposed, not
to meet the demand created by further sales of the syn-
dicate, but as a means of bringing home the money
awarded to the United States by the treaty with Great
Britain, covering the depredations of the Alabama and
other Confederate privateers, fitted out in England
during the Civil War. Before the first call was made it
had been urged by Mr. Cooke, or some of the practical
men who surrounded him, that the indemnity, $15,500,-
000, might be obtained from the British government in
London, being used then to take up called bonds. After
some parleying between the State and Treasury Depart-
ments at Washington and the agents of Great Britain,
arrangements for a transfer of funds on this basis
were concluded. On June 6, 1873, therefore, Secretary
Richardson called for $20,000,000, leaving a margin of
nearly $5,000,000 for other conversions. From this
transaction the Rothschilds and the Barings were ex-
cluded because members of their firms sat in Parliament,
a fact which barred them from participation in such an
operation, and with this experience Mr. Cooke's long and
honorable connection with the management of the
finances of the United States was brought to an end.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE PANIC OF 1873

The failure of General Sargent's prolonged and costly
negotiations in Europe left that field open to Jay Cooke's
London partners. They were instructed to give a par-
ticular care to the foreign market for Northern Pacific
bonds, and their unsuccess often caused the head of the
firm to accuse them of coolness toward the enterprise.
Both McCulloch and Puleston usually resented this im-
putation, and aimed to convince the American financier
that they were doing all that was within mortal power,
in the existing state of afYairs, to send him the millions
which he still hoped to receive from Europe for the rail-
way. On March 23, 1871, McCulloch wrote:

You have the faculty of presenting your views of a matter in
which you are interested which few men possess, and if the first
presentation of the claims of the North Pacific road had been
made by yourself, in the earnest and able manner in which you
have presented them to the people of the United States, it would
have been impossible for the capitalists who would have listened
to you to doubt the value of the land grant, or the perfect se-
curity of the bond.

On April 24, 1871, Mr. McCulloch again wrote:

We have not your enthusiasm, it is true, in regard to the
North Pacific enterprise, but we are not very much behind you
in our appreciation of its importance and you may rest assured
that our best efforts will not be wanting in popularizing the
bonds whenever we have a clear field to work in. When we

378

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 379

came to London it was not supposed, either by you or by us,
that we should have anything to do with bringing out the bonds,
and our position has never been that independent one which it
would have been if we had been the recognized agents at the
start We are doing everything in our power to clear the way
for the sale of the bonds and you need not doubt our entire
heartiness in the work.

. When Fahnestock's negotiations with the Germans
were broken off early in 1872 it was determined to or-
ganize a party to take $20,000,000 of the bonds through
Jay Cooke's London house. Six millions were bid for
"with a flourish," though many were mere speculative
transactions which would later need to be ignored, and
on January 16, 1872, McCulloch wrote to Mr. Cooke, as
follows :

The Northern Pacific has been launched, and with as much
success as we anticipated. It is a great enterprise, but it has
more enemies than friends, by reason of the large number of
smaller enterprises which are in the field as borrowers. Our
house has an excellent reputation, probably a better reputation
than was ever obtained in the same time in Europe, but you
must not expect too much of us. We shall, however, do our
best to place enough of the bonds in Europe to enable the com-
pany to push the work vigorously on, and I am hopeful that
our efforts will be crowned with success.

When the bonds were brought out they were offered
in sterling at a price which at the current rate of gold
was somewhat below par in American currency. Mr.
Cooke had not fully understood the arrangement and
when he came to do so it displeased him. He was se-
verely assailed on the ground that advantages refused to
investors at home were being accorded to foreign buyers.
A considerable number of bonds had been sold but he
peremptorily ordered that they be bought back, and the

380 JAY COOKE

net benefits of the operation, when it was completed, were
therefore very slight.1 Moreover the Alabama excite-
ment intervened and threatened serious international
complications, while General Sargent pressed for further
recognition, and failing to obtain it, made himself a
troublesome factor. The London partners distrusted him
and he cherished no high regard for them. He still
asked for money which Mr. Cooke said that he would not
get "except at the tail end of a law suit." If he "did his
duty he would hand back about $50,000," which had
been advanced to him. He had discredited the rail-
road, said McCulloch, Puleston and Fahnestock, and
had increased the difficulties of their task in London in
the sale of its securities. Certainly the market had
been spoiled by some mischievous influence. Now and
then a few hundred pounds' worth were subscribed for,
Puleston wrote to Mr. Cooke on August 20, 1872, but
many days passed without the sale of a single bond, and
as the Canadian Pacific road, with probable government
guarantee, loomed in sight further endeavors were use-
less. "We are doing everything in our power," said
Puleston, but "nothing can be sold well here unless reg-
ularly quoted, and it would cost too much to manipulate
the market for Northern Pacific at present. Depend
upon it that we are heart and soul with you, and that
nothing of greater or less importance is allowed to in-
terfere."

For much if not all of what the London house thought
of the Northern Pacific Railroad, Mr. Fahnestock was
responsible, and he had grown to be as antagonistic to
the enterprise as William G. Moorhead. He frequently

1 Fahn. to J. C, April 27, 1872.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 381

visited London and it was with the New York house that
McCulloch and Puleston had constant telegraphic and
postal communication. It was Mr. Fahnestock's pecul-
iar delight to make money, and while Mr. Cooke's zeal
for gain lay at the bottom of much that he did, it must
come, if he enjoyed it, while he was promoting some
great patriotic enterprise. Fahnestock saw that money
was not to be made rapidly if at all out of the railroad,
and his interest in it waned. His loyalty to the great
undertaking was a cloak which he put on with increas-
ing difficulty, as the weeks and months passed, and he
freely communicated his qualms and fears to the other
members of the firm. Nor did he conceal them from Jay
Cooke who called his talk "croaking," when he did not
plainly say that it was calculated to do him and the firm
positive injury.

On June 8, 1872, as the time for the July interest pay-
ments approached — the country was in the midst of a
presidential campaign when bonds were selling very
slowly — Mr. Fahnestock wrote at length to Jay Cooke
predicting the ruin of the firm unless its relations to the
Northern Pacific Company were immediately changed
in several vital particulars. He said:

I beg that you will not regard any of my views and criticisms as
personal reflections, but that they shall be received as the earnest
expression of my convictions after careful study of the situation.
I do not hesitate to say that the present actual condition of the
Northern Pacific, if it were understood by the public, would be
fatal to the negotiation of its securities. . . . No enterprise
of such magnitude has ever before been so entirely dependent
upon one house, or rather upon one man. I claim that it is in
every respect unwise to make such an undertaking dependent
upon the strength of one house, or on the life of one man and

382 JAY COOKE

equally injudicious to make the reputation, if not the existence
of a house having a character and means to lose, dependent
upon the success or failure of an enterprise of unprecedented
experiment. . . . We should occupy a position similar to
the relation between Fisk and Hatch and the Central Pacific.
Fisk and Hatch have had to do only with the finances and Hun-
tington and Sanford have so managed the road that even th&
withdrawal of Fisk and Hatch with all their large interest would
not have stopped the work. . . . Instead of this we, and
especially you, are the N. P. R. R., and you have the additional
delicate responsibility of the trusteeship, making you morally
liable to every man and woman holding the bonds for the proper
and economical application of all the moneys received, and for
the verification of all the statements contained in our publications ;
which have endorsed the bonds all over as the best and safest se-
curities for widows and orphans and trust funds and as good as
United States bonds, assurances upon the faith of which almost
exclusively the bonds have been sold to a class of investors who
have been influenced by your personal recommendation. You
have assured them of the intelligence, vigor and economy of the
management. We know that it has been inefficient, distracted by
other engagements and extravagant to the last degree. You
have assured them that the lands are unparalleled in climate,
soil, timber and minerals and are superior throughout to those
upon which Massachusetts has become wealthy and great. We
know that a large proportion of the lands from Lake Superior
to the Mississippi are practically valueless, either for cultivation
or for lumbering, and that the residue are less valuable than
the public have been led to believe. . . . Too much de-
pendence has been placed upon the names of the promoters and
too little weight given to the more practical considerations which
must govern the public estimate of securities offered for invest-
ment. If the bonds had been sold at a price commensurate with
the experimental character of the undertaking they would have
been taken largely by moneyed men, but as it is we are selling
them almost exclusively to persons who rely upon our recommen-
dation rather than upon their own judgments, and there is a

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 383

Unlit to this class and their money. This of course greatly in-
creases the difficulty and expense of the negotiation, and in addi-
tion to the disadvantage of the thus restricted sales, the company
nets no more for each bond sold than if the price to the public
were much lower. . . . Without any disposition to under-
rate your enthusiasm, which has pervaded the enterprise and ac-
complished most of what has been done (and indeed without
which it could not have done) we must squarely look in the face
alf errors of the past and see what is now best for the road
and ourselves. Enthusiasm alone will not be sufficient. It must
be combined with the soundest judgment. I have showed you
why the general public will not buy the bonds. We could not
in an emergency make them to any extent available as collateral
because everybody knows that their value depends upon one
man's ability to make them good. The same reason added to
the high price (and the early mistakes) prevents their negotiation
abroad and will continue to prevent it. All other important
roads have the aggregated responsibility of many good men,
reasonable certainty of completion within a moderate time, ob-
jective points possessing elements of immediate or early revenue,
and prices bearing some relation to the risk. We ignore most of
these considerations and the enterprise is now, with all our deli-
cate relations to the confiding public, our peculiar relations to
the pool subscribers who rely upon at least discreet management
upon our part and to the contractors for labor and materials,
completely at the mercy of any contingency which may arise to
interrupt sales of bonds, stop the work and leave us to provide
means to save the company from default. . . . Radical and
immediate changes are necessary to save the company from in-
gloriously breaking down within the next year and involving us
in discredit, if not in ruin.

We have given here but a small part of this letter,
which from end to end was an array of unfavorable
statements and arguments against the railway. It was
the coldest douche which Jay Cooke had yet received,
and when Fahnestock went to London in the summer he

384 JAY COOKE

so alarmed McCulloch, Pulestorrand Evans with his ac-
counts of the situation that telegrams and letters poured
in upon the financier begging, if not demanding, that he
cease his advances to the company. It was stated in the
contract with the Northern Pacific managers that Jay-
Cooke and Company should, in case of need, lend them
sums of money not to exceed $500,000, unless this limit
should be raised by subsequent agreement, the amount
being secured by the company's bonds deposited with the
firm for this purpose at fifty cents on the dollar. In con-
versations and probably in writing, Mr. Cooke had
pretty definitely stated that this limit would not be
passed, and in September, 1872, Fahnestock and the
London partners united in a demand that the arrange-
ment should be adhered to.

As the Grant and Greeley campaign proceeded the
sale of bonds declined — the September total fell to
$173,000 — and while it was always hoped and supposed
that they would soon increase, the credits were never
large enough to prevent the debt from creeping up stead-
ily. Treasurer Barney's drafts at this time aggregated
about one million dollars a nfOnth. On June 1, 1872,
the overdraft was $605,000/ and the July interest pay-
ments were not far ahead. On July 30th the total was
increased to $900,000, and on August 20th, when the
company drew for $250,000, the balance ran up to
$1,775,000. Deducting the credits for bond sales during
the month, it still stood at $i,583,ooo.2 On one day early
in September Jay Cooke received three despatches from
London, all of the same tenor, from Jay Cooke, McCul-

1 G. C. Thomas to J. C, June ist.

2 J. C. Jr., to J. C, August 20, 1872.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 385

loch 'and Company, Hugh McCulloch and Fahnestock,
protesting against the overdrafts. "Northern Pacific
advances made and proposed contrary to agreement,"
said one cablegram. "You cannot carry company," said
another. Hugh McCulloch telegraphed: "I insist the
understanding with me [as to] advances [to] Northern
Pacific shall be strictly adhered to. No other course
safe or just."

Puleston wrote on September 7th:

I am sure you will appreciate my anxiety, and without attribut-
ing to me any lack of faith in the enterprise. We have here
from the start rested upon the assurance that J. C. and Co.
would under no circumstances whatever be in advance beyond
the stipulated $500,000, and we have on all occasions calling
for such a statement boldly and squarely assured our friends
that the rule was and would be strictly carried out. This being
accepted in the proper quarters had and has to this day everything
to do with our credit and standing. ... I trust, my dear
Mr. Cooke, that you will set down to the best motive these few
remarks. I write them because I know you cannot estimate
our relations to the European world, and because your interest
and good name are of more importance than my own.

And Fahnestock added from London on September
14th:

There is no use in our undertaking to carry the company
ourselves. However unpleasant would be the embarrassment
of Northern Pacific after the extraordinary recommendations
of our house, we could survive the odium of its failure, even
if ourselves in proper shape and unembarrassed by unavailable
loans, and we would be stronger than ever for future business.
Under no consideration must you allow your pride or interest
in the company to place us in a position of even possible com-
plication with its troubles. This would be unwise in every point
of view, and would cause infinite happiness to those who have
25

386 JAY COOKE

been opposing us and the enterprise from the start. McC. and
Puleston are especially concerned because the limitation of these
advances was an express condition of our partnership here.
They regard those already made as exceedingly injudicious, and
urge that most vigorous steps be taken for rapid reduction.

On October 2d, McCulloch wrote in the same strain
as follows:

The connection of Jay Cooke and Co. with the enterprise has
been a great difficulty in the way of our taking high rank as a
banking house in London. There has been an apprehension
among careful men, strengthened by the efforts, perhaps, of
rival houses, that the connection between your houses and the
road might become such that a failure of the latter might se-
riously involve, if it did not break the former. To counteract
this we have stated that by contract you were never to be called
upon to be in advance to the company for more than $500,000,
and that we had your assurances that this amount should never
be exceeded. When I learned, therefore, that you had very
largely exceeded this amount and that this might lead to still
further advances, I was both mortified and alarmed. I was es-
pecially troubled when I learned from Mr. Fahnestock that the
very large profits which had been made by your respective houses,
instead of remaining as capital, had until within the last two
years, been divided among the partners,1 so that you were in
danger of using, in sustaining the road, the money of your de-
positors ; and, regarding as I do bankers as trustees of the moneys
of their customers and culpable for any illegitimate uses that may
be made of them, I confess I was alarmed at the step you had
taken. . . . Am I not right in this view of the matter, and
do I not utter your own sentiments when I say that you should

1 The years 1871 and 1872 had been profitable to all of Jay Cooke and
Company's houses. In 1871 the New York branch had netted $656,000,
not counting the funding syndicate commissions and the next year $357,-
000. The London house reported profits of £200,000 for the same years,
the first two in its history (J. C. and Co., N. Y., to J. C. & Co., Phila.,
January 21, 1873), so that little more could have been asked for in this
direction,

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 387

look carefully into the condition of your respective offices, and
if you find they have not means enough of an available character
to meet their liabilities to the public that you call upon the
partners for such portion of the profits of former years as will
be necessary to enable them to be prepared for all possible con-
tingencies ?

The letters, one following another, especially from
Fahnestock, were imperious and almost angry. Mr.
Moorhead was again awakened and his antipathy was
particularly dangerous because he was given to confi-
dences with other men regarding railway and firm af-
fairs. He indulged in early morning horseback rides
in Fairmount Park with Anthony J. Drexel when re-
marks escaped him that were very unfavorable to the
enterprise.

With it all Mr. Cooke's enthusiasm and loyalty to the
undertaking were not impaired. He chided his part-
ners for their unfriendliness and with the confidence of
a prophet continued to give them glowing accounts of
the progress of the road and its great future for the
American people.

He again told them that their hearts were not in the
work, which led to their reassurances that they were
doing all in their power to promote the interests of the
railway. "I regret more than I can express in words
to you, the fact that you still do not think my heart is
in the enterprise," wrote Puleston from London on Oc-
tober 19, 1872. And he continued in defense of his
course regarding the railroad :

I have always thought it a magnificent undertaking, and I
firmly believe that sooner or later it will be very successful ; but
I must say that I saw when we came over here that it was going

388 JAY COOKE

to be with us and for us a most difficult problem, the way it had
been knocked about and managed here for a year previously
making it a most undesirable thing to take up, particularly by a
new house. Still this did not deter us from making every effort,
and we have left no stone unturned. That it has not been suc-
cessful with us is no fault of ours, I assure you. We have la-
bored earnestly and worried day and night over it and it has
been all along, and is still, a source of the deepest tribulation to
Mr. McCulloch and myself. It has been very hard to keep up
the credit of our house, so strongly prejudiced were the financial
public in Europe against the Northern Pacific. . . . My dear
Mr. Cooke you do not know one-tenth part of the difficulty we
here have to contend with, and if you were here you would feel
and act precisely as we do. ... I may add that we would
most surely have made at least twice as much as we have made
here if N. P. had not been on our hands.

But it was much easier to say that no money in ex-
cess of $500,000 should be advanced to the company,
and that further drafts should not be honored, than to
suggest good and practicable plans for avoiding it. Mr.
McCulloch in his rather bureaucratic fashion pro-
posed that the partners should be made to return to
the firm as capital, the profits which they had received
from time to time during past years. Most of this
money had been reinvested or spent. Of what use was
such a suggestion? Fahnestock urged that the officers
of the road should issue their promissory notes, go out
into the open market, and raise money upon them
through a broker in Wall Street. This, as anyone
could see, would have immediately ruined the credit of
the road and quite probably that of Jay Cooke also, with
the forfeiture of all his hope of achieving his patriotic
objects in connection with the civilization of the North-
west. It would have been, too, in his view, a betrayal

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 389

of the trust which thousands of innocent people had
reposed in him. That Fahnestock and most other
bankers would have taken this course at this point, had
the final decision lay with them, there is no doubt. The
surface of the financial seas at this time was strewn
with the wrecks of western railroads. Not for one
moment did Jay Cooke contemplate casting- over the
Northern Pacific. He admitted that he would like to
be well out of his engagements with the great railroad,
but he was not ready to obtain his freedom in this way.
His gigantic successes since 1861 had given him a
feeling of invincible power, and although beset with
difficulties that would have deterred and utterly dis-
couraged other men, he had scarcely yet begun to de-
velop the plans which he expected to execute before
he should be willing to confess defeat.

The re-election of Grant for which Jay Cooke had
strained every nerve was confidently expected to invig-
orate the sale of bonds, and raise the monthly total to
its old level, about one million dollars, so that the firm
could recoup itself for the advances of the summer,
when the Greeley scare and the apathy which always
affects business in a "presidential year" had left the
banker almost the sole prop of the enterprise.

Mr. Cooke, and indeed everyone, not excepting
Fahnestock and Moorhead, expected much also from the
removal of President Smith and the establishment of
General Cass at the head of the company. He repre-
sented large interests which had much at stake, the
Pennsylvania Railroad group of financiers. His ex-
perience was broad and it was felt that if he were in
control, as he or one of his type should have been from

390 JAY COOKE

the first day, that confidence in the enterprise would
be very much increased. Moreover it was plain to be
seen that if the company had responsible officers, very
different relations would soon subsist between it and
the fiscal agents. A time might soon come when even
in a "presidential year," they could safely go out to seek
a loan upon their own accounts, as Fahnestock had so
insistently suggested in September. Jay Cooke would
be disentangled from an enterprise which he had been
compelled to make his own, being able possibly, after a
time, to slip out and escape its burdens altogether.

But Cass was slow to assume the duties of his office
after he nominally occupied it, and on December 2,
1872, he wrote to Jay Cooke and Company, as follows:

It is known to nearly all the members of this company's
Board of Directors, that if I shall enter upon the duties of
President of this company, it will be with the distinct declara-
tion, accepted by the Board, that I shall not be called upon to
assume the financial management, farther than to see that all
the funds of the company are honestly, and judiciously, and
properly accounted for.

It is proper that you, standing in your highly responsible
position as fiscal agents to this company, should be apprised of
this fact, and I communicate it to you in this form. I presume
there is no member of the Board nor any officer of the com-
pany better informed than you are as to the company's precise
financial status, its maturing obligations, its debts, its assets and
the future prospects of the road. Therefore I ask your judg-
ment as to whether, with the organization complete and har-
monious, there is any reasonable doubt of the ability of the
company to meet its obligations and to go forward with the
work of construction in such a way as to meet the public ex-
pectation. Your candid judgment in the matter is all that I
ask, and I hope to have it by to-morrow's mail.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 391

This letter was replied to the next day as follows :

Philadelphia, Dec. 3, 1872.
Gen. George IV. Cass:

Dear Sir — Yours of yesterday is at hand. In answer to your
inquiry, viz. : " I ask your judgment as to whether with the organ-
ization complete and harmonious there is any reasonable doubt of
the ability of the company to meet its obligations and to go for-
ward with the work of construction in such a way as to meet the
public expectation," we would say that we do not consider there
is any reasonable doubt of the entire ability of the company to
accomplish all that you have mentioned. We have every con-
fidence that under your wise and economical management and
with the cordial co-operation of the Board, acting through its
Finance Committee and Treasurer, the greatest prosperity, finan-
cial and otherwise, will attend the enterprise in which we are all
engaged.

With best wishes,

Sincerely yours,

Jay Cooke and Company.

While this letter was later considered by General
Cass to have been unduly sanguine, there is no reason
to think that Mr. Cooke himself believed it so at the
time it was penned, in spite of all the untoward hap-
penings already chronicled in the history of the com-
pany. If there had been failures in the past, all was
now to be changed by better management under favor-
able political conditions, which were guaranteed by the
re-election of President Grant.

These hopes and expectations were not at once nor
afterward realized, and as the end of the year ap-
proached, and the semi-annual interest payments were
again to be provided for excited letters came from the
New York house. On December 9, 1872, Fahnestock
wrote to Mr. Cooke : " Who is to provide for the fur-

392 JAY COOKE

ther payments of N. P. during this month for which you
have authorized drafts to be made? Every day we are
getting in deeper and I only fear that preparation will
be so long delayed that, depending entirely upon us, you
will some day wake up to find that we have gone after
Mr. Bowles to Panama. Without any exaggeration we
are in a perfectly helpless position and we must have
from you immediately either money or securities that
we can use."

In London "Old Mac" was "in fits and absolutely
shinning," said Fahnestock on December 20th. It was
necessary to send him money at once if the firm's credit
were to be maintained in that quarter. On December
31, 1872, in response to a suggestion by Mr. Cooke,
Fahnestock telegraphed: "I am surprised at the con-
tents of your letter. Anything like our loaning the ster-
ling is simply and absolutely impossible and the sooner
you disabuse your mind of the impression the better.
Our line is as large as it can possibly be made."

While all this language was no doubt needlessly
spirited, it is not to be denied that there were a num-
ber of occurrences of public knowledge calculated to
arouse suspicion regarding the road, the chief of these
being the breaking down of the St. Paul and Pacific.
The Northern Pacific had purchased a controlling in-
terest in the franchise of that company at an expendi-
ture of more than a million dollars. This connection
had many theoretical advantages, but the alliance be-
came onerous. In the first place the company's bonds
were selling below par to spoil the market for Northern
Pacifies, especially in Europe. It had maturing obliga-
tions which Jay Cooke and Company were expected to

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 393

meet. Mr. Cooke early insisted that the accounts of
the two roads should be separately kept, and on Novem-
ber 20, 1 87 1, he instructed Treasurer Barney in pos-
itive fashion to pay no more St. Paul and Pacific bills
out of Northern Pacific funds. When the Dutch bond-
holders refused further aid to the road it was necessary
entirely to cut loose from the enterprise. Work ceased
upon the lines and as a matter of course, the word was
passed around that this was a harbinger of the impend-
ing collapse of the entire Northern Pacific system. Mr.
Moorhead who was the intermediary between the road
and the banking house in Amsterdam, which had con-
tracted to furnish money to complete the line was much
occupied with the unhappy affair, and it was barely pos-
sible, even by attaching the iron in transit, to pay the
workmen who must be discharged, and who, their de-
mands unsatisfied, might attack the company's prop-
erty. This difficulty came to a head in August and
September, 1872, and the only course was to explain
publicly in America and Europe that the Northern Pa-
cific was not financially responsible for the St. Paul and
Pacific, as it was not, although it was tolerably clear
that the subsidiary road would not be allowed to suffer
if the trunk line company were in that wholesome pe-
cuniary condition, which it should have been.

The greatest uneasiness was expressed in the West
and came to Jay Cooke's ears through his Chicago
agents Lunt, Preston and Kean. Their sub-agents re-
ported to them the complaints which were made by
voucher holders along the line of the road. Bonds
were being turned back. It was impossible, the agents
said, to keep the seven-thirties at par. Late in October,

394 JAY COOKE

1872, when the St. Paul and Pacific coupons were de-
faulted the failure of the Northern Pacific Company
was telegraphed to the newspapers, and led to many in-
quiries. Jay Cooke wrote to Lunt, Preston and Kean
as follows:

I cannot but express my astonishment that you should allow
such evidently malicious reports to influence you in the slightest
degree. You have been over the line and you know that any
statement as to want of value in the land is utterly false. The
sales of land during the past month at an average of about $6
per acre should plainly prove this. What has occurred in other
land grant roads will in this — the realization of a sum sufficient to
pay off the bonds three fold. Of course the decline in the sale of
the bonds, owing to political troubles, is but temporary and
men like yourself should not allow it to influence you in the
slightest degree. Buckle on your armor, go to work and stand
up for it. Jay Cooke and Company have nothing more to do
with the Northern Pacific than you have. We have advanced
considerable money according to our contract, and expect to
advance still more, but these advances are but temporary as the
road will not be pushed beyond the Misouri River until the
treasury is again plethoric. Our advances are all covered by
ample collateral and are simply a portion of our regular business.
. . . You ought to know us well enough to put to silence any
such slanders.

But the laborers at work on the Northern Pacific line
itself were not being paid punctually and from Duluth
to the western end of the road, their complaints were
loud. Vouchers were passed from hand to hand as scrip
awaiting payment by the company, and such a condition
of affairs did not pass unnoticed, as one can readily be-
lieve. On October 26, 1872, General Cass telegraphed
to Jay Cooke and Company from Brainerd, Minn. :

Owing to delay in payments the company is without credit

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 395

in this state and much uneasiness is felt by creditors and mer-
chants. Laborers and mechanics employed by Brydges must be
paid immediately to the extent of twenty-five or thirty thousand,
or very serious consequences may ensue. They have not been
paid for some months, are without money and without work, and
unable to pay their board or to get away from the line of the
road.

When work ceased for the winter there were predic-
tions that it would not be resumed and rumors and
statements calculated to shatter public confidence were
iterated and reiterated in the newspapers. There were
no funds now at hand to control the press. The Ledger
in Philadelphia and certain journals in other cities con-
stantly denounced "corrupt land grants," the building
of railroads through wildernesses in advance of the
needs of the country, the false representations of rail-
road bond houses and emigration agents; and as the
price of the securities of the western companies sank,
and several ceased to pay their coupons, the situation
became increasingly unsatisfactory. Nothing but ex-
traordinary courage strengthened by an uninterrupted
series of successes, much patriotism — for it was this
which kept Jay Cooke at his task, — and a devout hope
that the air would clear when men would soon again
look into the future and see their destiny, as he saw
it, enabled him to view the situation confidently. He
had arranged for loans upon the company's iron ordered
in advance of its requirements. The directors endorsed
paper which he discounted, and he determined at length,
if the people would not rapidly enough buy the bonds
over the counters of his houses and through his more
than fifteen hundred agents, to form a syndicate to ab-
sorb a large lot, and close the issue. This was a daring

396 JAY COOKE

conception, and was in entire harmony with Mr. Cooke's
earlier financial career. To many men it would not
have seemed a feasible thing to withdraw a bond bearing
interest at seven and three-tenths per cent, per annum,
which would not sell, in favor of a six per cent. bond.
This, however, was his design. He caused President
Cass to write to Jay Cooke and Company on December
ii, 1872, as follows:

In arranging with your numerous agencies for the sale of the
bonds of this company for the ensuing year, it is important that
you do not commit yourselves, or this company, to the 7 3/10
per cent, issue beyond such time as may suit the convenience and
views of the company. The Board of Directors has been con-
sidering informally a plan for issuing a six per cent, bond and
may carry the same into effect early next year. The track hav-
ing now been completed to within a few miles of the Missouri,
where the business of Montana can be commanded, sufficient road
having been constructed on the Pacific coast to turn the business
of Puget Sound from the ocean to the rail route, and the sales
of lands having fairly commenced with very gratifying results,
the Board is of the opinion that such a basis of credit has been
established as will justify a reduction of interest ; and that the
investigating public will speedily show its acquiescence in the
reduction by continuing to purchase the bonds of the company at
the reduced interest rate.

This was the first step and Mr. Cooke worked rap-
idly to complete his plans which promised more than
one substantial benefit. In the first place if it were an-
nounced that the seven-thirty loan would be closed at
a point somewhat beyond that at which the sales then
stood there might be haste to secure the few remaining
millions, thus liquidating the floating indebtedness of
the company incurred in carrying the rails to the Mis-
souri River where the road, it was firmly believed,

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 397

would find enough trade soon to make the Minnesota
and Dakota Divisions self-sustaining. Then the com-
pany would be free for the construction of the Yellow-
stone and the Pend d'Oreille Divisions, which were the
next to be attacked on the eastern and western ends
respectively. Moreover if the issue were limited, the
bonds which were constantly being offered at 95, 90
or lower to disturb the market at par through the agen-
cies, would in all probability disappear. A company
which did not longer need to borrow money at so high
a rate of interest, and proposed to meet all its future
requirements from a cheaper source could not be on
the verge of the collapse which many predicted so con-
fidently. "We are all enthusiastic over the idea," Jay
Cooke wrote to Henry Johnston, on April 11, 1873, "and
believe when it is properly worked up that seven-thirty
bonds could be put up to a very handsome figure above
par. Parties would then buy them faster than they are
now taking them, and those who have them would hold
on to them with a grimmer grasp."

The syndicate proved to be a very happy invention in
connection with the government funding operations.
The very newness of the word, and the knowledge that
another of these mysterious things was to be organized
might sweep the country as before. Jay Cooke's part-
ners and such of his agents as were consulted on the point
strongly advised the closing of the loan and if possible
with a "whirl." It -is "our only salvation," said Wil-
liam G. Moorhead.1 Fahnestock thought that the Ger-
man houses in New York might enter the syndicate.
He wrote: "If we get them once in we can hold them

1T0 J. C, March 26, 1873.

398 JAY COOKE

as friends of our future issue. Now the loan has not
a single influential friend here outside of our own
house."

Mr. Cooke proposed to close the seven-thirty loan at
$30,000,000. The sales thus far, nearly all through his
publicity system in America, and, as Fahnestock sug-
gested, through his own remarkable prestige to people
of small means who valued his personal recommenda-
tion beyond that of any other financier, aggregated
about $16,000,000 to which must be added $5,000,000
distributed through the "pool," a total of $21,000,000.
There remained for the new syndicate, therefore,
$9,ooo„ooo.

The plan was not without some disadvantages, as it
disclosed the exact amount of the yield of all the furore
of the three past years. William Thaw told M. C.
Hazard, who was sent to Pittsburg in the interest of the
syndicate, that he was amazed at the showing. He
thought that everything indicated failure and he laid
the result at the door of Jay Cooke and Company. To
many who were less knowing, however, the movement
was viewed more favorably. The syndicate was really
another "pool." The bonds were offered to the sub-
scribers on the basis of $85 net with a fifty per cent,
stock bonus. With the $9,000,000 of bonds would go
$4,500,000 of fully paid up stock. The latter and as
much of the cash discount on the bonds, $1,350,000, as
could be realized on the advance ■ in the price of sale
above 85, after deducting for the expenses of adver-
tisements, travelling agents, etc., would be a clear profit
to the syndicate. The members were to sell the bonds
at par as before and if they were Mr. Cooke's old

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 399

agents, as it was supposed many of them would be, their
usual compensation of five per cent, in cash and ten per
cent, in stock would be increased to fifteen per cent, in
cash and fifty per cent, in stock. They, on their side,
obligated themselves to pay their subscribed portions
monthly, whether they sold more or less than this amount
during the month, the payments covering eight months.

"It is the prettiest speculation for a syndicate that we
know of," Jay Cooke wrote to Senator Cattell. Jay
Cooke and Company would take one-third of the whole
amount, $3,000,000 more would be distributed to the
Northern Pacific agents and to banks, while the remain-
ing $3,000,000 would go to the "Germans" (the Jewish
bankers of New York), if they would be "satisfied with
so small a share."

These expectations, like nearly all that had preceded
them in reference to this ill-starred railroad, were not
to be realized. It was argued that the agents would
lay in considerable amounts of the bonds to cover their
future sales. But barring Johnstons in Baltimore, John
V. Painter in Ohio, and Brewster, Sweet and Company
in Boston, the agencies were for the most part purely
nominal and little reliance could be placed upon them
for a large operation, especially as the sales had always
been slow and were diminishing perceptibly. Others
must be brought into the arrangement — directors of the
company, "pool" subscribers, outside bankers — in fact,
whoever could be induced to look with favor upon the
proposition which was much more attractive than any
the railroad's fiscal agents had offered since they had
sold the "ground floor" shares.

Moreover the markets were particularly spiteful to-

400 JAY COOKE

ward the syndicate. They had been ominous for a long
time, but the spring of 1873 was the occasion for fresh
evidences of weakness. These years as has been in-
timated, were marked by great unsoundness in the finan-
cial arrangements of the government and of private per-
sons, firms and corporations. Mr. Cooke had seen the
wrongs of the system very clearly but, as one who is in
the current will, he allowed himself to be swept along
with the tide, especially after he had become so deeply in-
volved in the Northern Pacific enterprise. Habituated
to the paper money evils, the dangers of speculative
movements in gold gave him less anxiety. They were,
however, just as real, indeed more perilous, because the
inflation had brought on a promoters' fever which leads
inevitably to a crash. Gold or greenbacks could be
made scarce by any band of determined operators, as
was discovered on the "Black Friday" of 1869, when
Gould and Fisk shook the financial fabric to its centre.
In a twinkling much had "gone where the woodbine
twineth," as "Jim" Fisk had explained in his famous
phrase, and there was constant fear, and much real dan-
ger from week to week and month to month of a repeti-
tion of such performances.

The Chicago fire in the autumn of 1871 had caused
a panic. In September 1872, during the Grant cam-
paign, only Jay Cooke's intervention and the use of the
government's strongest agencies prevented grave dis-
turbances. In November of that year, a great fire de-
stroyed many blocks of buildings in the business centre
of Boston. The first accounts which were exaggerated
recalled to the minds of the people, the conflagration in
Chicago of the previous year, and the stock market dis-

JAY COOKE
From a portrait by William M. Chase, in possession of Mr. J. Horace Harding

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 401

orders following it, and another downfall was narrowly
averted. In April, 1873, when the Northern Pacific
syndicate was being formed, the money markets were
again seriously disturbed. Henry E. Johnston begged
Mr. Cooke not to carry forward the operation in "such a
panic." Money he said was five-eighths of one per cent.
a clay. "It is calculated to deter even those of much
faith and strong nerves, let alone the timid." 1

"What on earth are they drawing so much for," Jay
Cooke wrote to Fahnestock on March 31st. "Please
find out from the Treasurer. We will do all we can to
stem the tide."

The next day he wrote to the manager of his New
York house:

I notice what you say about the money market. It is not
worth while to apologize. . . . You can rest assured that
everything- that can be done will be done by all of us. . . . I
really feel with this pinch once over and with the new pro-
gramme for closing the 7-30S, with the sale of my Lake Cham-
plain property (which I expect to bring about) and sundry other
matters which we are working for, and the revival of the sale of
bonds (which we hope for), we will get in better condition.
. . . Has any movement been made looking to a raid on
Richardson or Grant on account of the money market ?

Ever since the war the Treasury Department had
been regulating the markets with purchases and sales
in a way which was at first necessary but which when
continued indefinitely could be without any sensible ex-
cuse. After the "secret sales" were abolished, the Sec-
retary of the Treasury manipulated the markets pub-
licly and the government was relied upon to correct
each slight disorder. The Erie Railroad frauds; the

1 To J. C, April 16, 1873.
26

402 JAY COOKE

airing of the affairs of General Fremont's Southern Pa-
cific road in the French courts; the general misrepre-
sentation in Europe of the value of American railway
properties; and the failure after a season to pay the
interest upon the bonds with examinations into the man-
agement of corporations in the American courts, and
in Congress, which was at last being made the judge
of its own corruption and incapacity, could produce
nothing but distrust.

The immediate cause of the financial troubles of the
spring of 1873, was the Credit Mobilier investigation
at Washington. The rumors of this scandal in connec-
tion with the Union Pacific Railroad had been in the
air for several years. It was a rare Congressman,
lobbyist, or Washington correspondent who did not
know as much about this affair before the investigation
as afterward, but the excitement attending the exposure
and the publication of the misdeeds of the nation's law-
makers was very great, and deeply disturbed public con-
fidence.

On January 6, 1873, Henry Cooke wrote to his
brother as follows:

At five p. m. have just returned from the House and it has been
an exciting day. The Credit Mobilier matter was up and a reso-
lution passed to make the sessions of the investigating committee
public. Afterwards a resolution by Sam Randall, requesting the
President to sue the Union Pacific Railroad Company for the
interest paid by the government on its bonds, amounting to some
five millions. There was a good deal of squirming, dodging and
filibustering. I cannot describe the scene, but it was intensely
exciting. The House boiled like a seething cauldron. Dilatory
motions of all sorts (members dodging to break a quorum) con-
sumed nearly the entire afternoon, but finally a vote was reached

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 403

and the resolution passed. Watching our opportunity Speaker
Blaine took from the table our District appropriation bill. Mr.
Garfield moved concurrence in the Senate amendments and it
passed in the midst of the hubbub without a division. I have
arranged to have it engrossed and signed to-morrow so we will
get our money this week.

Again, on February nth, Henry Cooke wrote:

You have no idea, nor can any one have any idea who is not
here from day to day, of the demoralization of Congress resulting
from the Credit Mobilier investigation. Some of the purest and
most powerful men in both branches have become involved to an
extent which seems to reflect upon the whole body.

In spite of all these very grave difficulties, Mr. Cooke
sent a number of travelling agents through Pennsylva-
nia, New York and New England, to interest bankers
in the Northern Pacific syndicate, and the New England
agent achieved considerable success. There was jubila-
tion when Charlemagne Tower, the wealthy anthracite
coal miner, was brought into the enterprise. He sub-
scribed $250,000 to the syndicate and authorized Mr.
Cooke to buy him beside an original share or failing in
this a "pool" interest, in return for all of which he was
elected a director of the company. "Mr. Tower has
been in to-day and subscribed $250,000 to the syndi-
cate. He is bully," Jay Cooke wrote to General Cass
on May 21, 1873. On June 5th, Mr. Cooke told Sen-
ator Cattell, that over one-half the amount needed to
close the loan had been subscribed, and on June 17th,
he said that $6,000,000 had been taken, but this was of
course only $3,000,000 in addition to what Jay Cooke
and Company had underwritten. He would not "go
near the Germans in New York, except as a last resort."

It was a part of the plan, when the change was made

404 JAY COOKE

to a six per cent, bond, to seek a government endorse-
ment. After it had been clearly shown that the road
served the nation usefully in maintaining communica-
tion with the forts and posts in the Northwest, that emi-
grants were settling along the line and that it was to be
a powerful agency to spread civilization and hasten the
development of a large section of the country, it was
but just that the company should receive the aid which
a guarantee would imply. The people of Montana and
at other points were eagerly awaiting the coming of the
railroad. The company without assistance had joined
Lake Superior and the Missouri River, and it had span-
ned the country lying between the Columbia River and
Puget Sound. It was on most sides an admitted gov-
ernment function to show favors of this kind to under-
takings certain to perform such public services, and if
the road needed an endorsement, why should it not be
given cheerfully ?

Mr. Cooke did "not desire to have anything to do
with the details of this matter at Washington," he wrote
to General Cass, on January 31, 1873, except as a trus-
tee whose duty it was to see that there was no impair-
ment of the mortgage and as the fiscal agent in ap-
proving such modifications of the contract, which the
change of programme might necessitate.

"If it can be done openly, nobly and above board, I
shall agree to it," he told his brother Henry; "other-
wise not." *

Thomas A. Scott and the Southern Pacific managers
were also seeking an endorsement for their line, and it
was considered expedient to join the applications. Jay

!J. C. to H. D. C, February 3, 1873.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 405

Cooke proposed a guarantee of $50,000 per mile, the
government retaining $10,000 or $15,000 of the bonds
to protect the interest payments. The issue he hoped
might cover some 800 or 1000 miles of road from the
Yellowstone to Lake Pend d'Oreille. Colonel Scott
favored $40,000 per mile. A memorial to Congress was
prepared and was numerously signed. The Northern
Pacific's interests in this alliance were being guarded
very carefully. On January 28th, Jay Cooke wrote to
his brother Henry, from New York:1

It has been suggested to me that you watch Tom Scott. A
bill was presented the other day permitting the Southern Pacific
to issue six per cent, currency bonds. It is possible Tom may
get that bill through in some shape and leave the N. P. out in
the cold. Suppose you get Warden, or somebody else who is
receiving something from the N. P. so that he will cost nothing
extra, to keep his eye on all these matters and report to you
daily all the legislation that is talked of.

And on February nth, Jay Cooke wrote to Henry
Cooke :

Not one penny of money is to be used in any way, and this is
understood, as we will not agree to any such expenditures. But
it is most vitally important to us that the thing should pass. You
can easily see from the condition of things just now that we
must have some such relief.

At another time the arguments of the Pacific railroad
builders might have prevailed, but not in 1873. After
the Credit Mobilier investigation was precipitated, it
was seen by good observers that no arrangement of this
character could be effected. Henry Cooke declared
most positively that no such effort should be made at
this session of Congress, as it would be entirely futile,

1 Manifestly written by Fahnestock over Mr. Cooke's name.

406 JAY COOKE

but Colonel Scott and Jay Cooke did not despair. On
February 12, 1873, the latter wrote to his brother as
follows :

I have sent an extract from your letter to Colonel Scott and
Mr. Cass. We have all thought that the demoralization of Con-
gress made this just the time to get this thing through without
any cost, on the principle that any one opposing it would be to
all appearances before the public as a bidder for pay. The mat-
ter itself is so genuinely a good thing for all parties, and so
harmonizes with the President's views and messages that I think
it could be passed, if all took hold thoroughly.

On February 14th, Jay Cooke again wrote his
brother :

It is worth some risk now to put this thing through. A
year's delay might find us in quite a different position, which
might be avoided by some boldness now. I cannot for the life
of me see why it is not a go now, if it is a right and honest thing
to do. I notice that Banks introduced a similar bill for a smaller
amount for the Sutro tunnel. I don't notice any comments
against it in the papers. Still your judgment is excellent and you
must give your views to Scott frankly. If the President will
favor it nothing more need be required, I think. The document
is signed by William G., Mr. Wright and the other directors and
officers of the Northern Pacific Railroad. We have also signed
below their signatures as financial agents, stating our belief that
it is a just proposition and one that will return ten fold in bene-
fits to the country at large, and that we are highly in favor of it.
Scott, Thomson and all the big bugs of the Pennsylvania Rail-
road and Texas and Pacific have signed below us on behalf of
their road and there will be a large additional number of signa-
tures before it goes in.

It was idle to expect the petition to be heeded in the
midst of the Union Pacific exposures. No legislation
was to be had at a session disturbed as this one had

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 4.07

been by the uncovering of these scandals. That the in-
vestigation was not very favorably regarded by the
Northern Pacific men needs not to be said. They were
not strongly impressed with its usefulness or timeliness.
To mention a railroad at Washington was enough to
make bold men afraid. A thief stole some of Schuyler
Colfax's Northern Pacific bonds in the hope of inducing
him to pay a large reward for their return, thinking
that the public knowledge of his connection with this
company as well as with the Union Pacific, would fur-
ther impair his moral standing. Mr. Cooke who
was looking out for them if they should appear in the
market, wrote to Mr. Colfax on February 27, 1873, as
follows :

Your investment in the Northern Pacific is as pure and inno-
cent a one as ever was made by mortal man, and, as we have
good reason to believe, was made in consequence of your appre-
ciation of the enterprise, and your personal knowledge of the
benefits the whole country would derive from its completion. I
hope it will prove not only remunerative, but that you will have
the satisfaction of having aided in one of the grandest works of
the present age, duplicating with your means the efficient aid you
have already given with your pen and voice.

Senator Windom wrote Jay Cooke on May 29, 1873 :

I have a letter from Mr. Pritchard, requesting me to renew
my endorsement on the $50,000 note of the company. I have
not yet complied for the following reasons. When I made the
first endorsement, it was upon a verbal statement made by your-
self that you would take care of it for me. This you have done,
but I cannot in justice to my family become responsible for a
sum that would prove my utter ruin without some written guaran-
tee that in no event shall I be compelled to pay it. I have not
lost a particle of my faith in yourself or in the enterprise, but
I cannot afford to take any chances which, in the event of your

408 JAY COOKE

death and my own, would beggar my little family. Another rea-
son is that I intend to dispose of my interest in the road. My
position in the Senate, and especially on the Select Committee of
Transportation, of which I am chairman, is made somewhat un-
pleasant by my connection with the corporation. In the present
morbid state of public sentiment I am liable at all times to have
my motives misrepresented and my acts misconstrued. It would
be vastly better for the road, as well as myself, that I should
have no interest in it, and hence I have decided, in case I can
sell it or trade it off for anything near its value, to disconnect
myself from it entirely. . . . My interest is equal to about
$1,000,000 of the stock when the road is done.

There was nothing to do but to postpone the request
until the next winter. "I have but little doubt," Jay
Cooke wrote to Captain Ainsworth on March 14, 1873,
"that these two sections [the Yellowstone and Pend
d'Oreille sections] being pushed forward rapidly, we
will be able to sell bonds fast enough to go on with the
remaining link to unite them, or if thought best to ob-
tain the endorsement of the government upon the bonds
used for the intermediate 800 or 1,000 miles. The
government has given us such a magnificent property
that we hate to go to them at all and trust that we
will get along nicely without it."

To Fahnestock Mr. Cooke wrote on March 21st:
"My visit to Washington was very pleasant in regard
to Northern Pacific. I stated to quite a number of the
Hons. that we would come to them next winter for
an endorsement for a six per cent, bond, to the extent
that we need their aid and no one seemed to think ill
of it."

The Credit Mobilier affair did not end with a scare to
the markets, for in July it was determined by the govern-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 409

ment to withhold the interest payments on the Union
Pacific coupons, a resolve calculated to do much damage
to the general railway bond business. This movement
deeply aroused Jay Cooke, who on July 2, 1873, ad-
dressed his brother Henry as follows:

Now I want you to go to the Attorney General at once and
tell him how wrong this whole procedure is. This whole perse-
cution of the Union Pacific is nonsense, and is damaging our
credit abroad. If the government sets the example of enjoining
the payment of interest coupons, who will buy a bond abroad?
The whole thing is wrong, ill advised and scandalous. You
cannot speak too strongly, and I want you to take the matter up
as an all important thing and push it through to-morrow. Wil-
liams ought to make a public apology for such an attack and
instruct the lawyers to desist from anything of the kind. The
bonds are long since in the hands of innocent holders, and, if
they were not, they could never reach them in this way. Some
wily speculators have put the idea into the heads of the govern-
ment lawyers and they, without knowing anything of its effect
upon business, have made this attack. It will damage us hun-
dreds of millions unless withdrawn at once. No man of sense
would buy a railroad bond or anything else in this country if such
legal proceedings are to be permitted under the sanction of the
highest officer of the government.

He continued in his correspondence the next day:

It is a bungling, wicked way, and a raid on the part of the gov-
ernment on this institution that it ought to be ashamed of. Be-
sides the precedents at the Treasury Department are well known
and fixed that a coupon bond cannot be inquired into, that a
coupon is like a bank note, passing from hand to hand and no
questions asked. This must be the case in regard to coupon
bonds or the market abroad and at home will be destroyed at
once.

Thus did the spring months pass with a continuance
of many unpleasant rumors and predictions by the Phil-

410 JAY COOKE

istines. Several times they had the road in bankruptcy.
Henry E. Johnston wrote on February 18, 1873:

Things have all militated against us — this dirty U. P. busi-
ness, the severity of the winter and its resulting loss of life that
the press has so exaggerated and the extremely tight money
market all conspire to defeat sales of seven-thirties. The ques-
tion has been asked if the road is not completed within the time
allotted by its charter whether the company's title to the lands
will be affected, etc., etc. It keeps us busy answering cavils and
quibbles all the time, but we hope for the good time coming.

On January 14, 1873, the New York Herald had an
article headed "Financial Embarrassment of Northern
Pacific R. R. Co." In April, a Harrisburg banker
wrote to ask if there were any truth in the report that
the road had "gone up." When Jay Cooke and Com-
pany were seeking the contract to fund $300,000,000
more of the national debt, the Morton and Drexel in-
fluences caused it to be published, that their rivals
needed this arrangement to bolster up their credit which
had been impaired by the connection with Northern
Pacifies. While Jay Cooke and Company had their
private wires and telegraphed in cipher, it was impossi-
ble fully to conceal the true state of affairs, especially
as the partners were not cordially supporting the head
of the firm, and innuendo and allegation made much
more difficult, when it did not entirely prevent, the real-
ization of Mr. Cooke's plans.

He himself, kept up an unfaltering courage. In a
letter, marked "private," to an agent at Tiffin, Ohio,
Mr. Cooke wrote on March 3, 1873:

Yours of the 1st received. I have been accustomed all my
life to endure just such attacks, and during the war Copperheads
and rebels frequently did worse things than this, even to threaten-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 411

ing life. I pay no attention whatever to such attacks, and if the
Northern Pacific and my own personal character, and that of
my firm is not in the minds of any of its friends secure from any
effect of such attacks then we will have to bear the brunt. If
we should spend our time in attempting to argue with these ir-
responsible writers and various blackmailing and wicked sheets
that attack us, we might as well give up all other business. . . .
The big apple tree with the fine apples on it must be pelted more
or less.

To an agent in Shelby, Ohio, in answer to further
complaints from that quarter in reference to the be-
havior of the newspapers, Jay Cooke wrote:

It is too bad that these newspapers are permitted by the law
thus to interfere with great public works. All this, however,
will soon pass away with the brighter spring weather and the
large showing of business this summer on the Northern Pacific
(they will have the government business). Your customers
must be very easily frightened if, with a land grant bond on their
hands for which they can get land at any moment ten per cent,
better than they can buy it for greenbacks, and with parties con-
nected with the enterprise who have never yet been known to
touch anything that was not right and good and successful, they
should allow the squibs of a mere rambling writer to influence
them in their calm judgment. As we understand it, one of the
accusations is that Jay Cooke and Company are making mil-
lions out of the road. We do expect to make a good deal of
money by the enterprise, but how this making of money is to
embarrass J. C. and Co. we do not exactly understand. It is
quite laughable. We think the best way to counteract the in-
fluence of such raiders is to let them raid on until they get tired.
Our experience is that nothing is gained by touching pitch.

To M. C. Hazard, who was met with difficult in-
quiries while afield selling shares in the Northern Pa-
cific syndicate, Mr. Cooke wrote on May 31, 1873:

No one pretends to believe that the road will earn enough

412 JAY COOKE

money for the first two or three years to pay its interest fully, but
it will have to be raised just as all other roads raise their interest
— from the sale of bonds, land sales, earnings, temporary loans,
income bonds, second mortgages, stockholders, etc. . . . We
do not anticipate any trouble on this score and have several plans
for next winter's operations even if the government should not
endorse the bonds which we have no doubt will succeed. Let
not this idea then disturb you. Of course if the skies fall and
the world comes to an end, terrible things will happen, but you
have seen enough of the progress of railroads in this country —
not one of which has half the basis that ours has or anything
like as good a body of stockholders, not to indulge in any such
gloomy forebodings. ... I myself have been too long ac-
customed to navigate in the world of finance and railroads to be
willing to conjure up beforehand bugaboos of this kind.

It is interesting to note in his letter books Mr. Cooke's
attitude in 1873 toward those who consulted him re-
garding the investment of their small hoards. He was
not unqualified in his recommendations to such inquirers.
On January 7, 1873, he had his secretary write to Rev.
Aristides Smith, as follows:

Your letter to Washington City has been forwarded here for
reply. You are a splendid writer for an old gentleman of sixty-
four. Mr. Cooke desires me to say in reply that his advice
always is not to put all the eggs in one basket, however good it
may be. He has perfect confidence in the Northern Pacific
bonds. They are receivable for lands at any moment at ten per
cent, better than you can buy the said lands for greenbacks.
Your own good sense will show you that a bond thus secured and
thus receivable cannot be a bad investment even though the skies
should fall. If you have but a small amount of money, you
should, in the exercise of common prudence, put a portion into
something else. Mr. Cooke himself personally would not hesi-
tate to put all that he has in the world into Northern Pacifies,
although he don't advise any one else to do this.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 413

On March 7, 1873, Jay Cooke wrote to another in-
quirer :

If you are able to run the risk of $10,000 in any one investment
we should certainly say that you could not do better than to take
$5,000 more of the Northern Pacific. Our idea is that no person
ought to put everything he has into one thing, but to divide it
up into two or three, if possible, equally good things ; and while
we ourselves would be willing to put a large proportion in the
Northern Pacific, yet when asked our opinion we always observe
the above rule as a matter of business and not because we have
not the utmost confidence in the stability of the investment.
. . . Should anything happen to the road the holders of these
bonds have a security not usually enjoyed by the holders of other
investments ; viz., good lands to fall back upon at a fair cash
price.

Of these lands he wrote to another dubious investor,
on March 15, 1873:

There is not the slightest probability of there being any cessa-
tion in the legitimate demand for lands unless the world comes
to an end. The progress of empire is westward. Nearly all the
good lands are gone in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Wisconsin,
and many parts of Minnesota.

On January 30, 1873, Sam Wilkeson wrote to Jay
Cooke :

I have been subpoenaed in the Greeley will contest. I have got
to go to White Plains or else be carried there under arrest.
Among the questions that will be asked of me is " No. 3. What
is the value of Mrs. Greeley's interest in the Northern Pacific
Railroad enterprise ? " I had made up my mind to swear that
it was worth $10,000. My testimony will be reported, of course,
and published throughout the country, and I can conceive that
every word I say about this enterprise had better be well weighed.
So my friend, considering the interests of your " pool " and
everything, tell me what you think Mrs, Greeley's $10,000 inter-
est is worth ?

414 JAY COOKE

To this letter Mr. Cooke made the following reply:

Dear Uncle Samuel:

Yours of the 30th received^ It will do you good to go out to
White Plains provided you don't swear too hard about anything.
Whitelaw was down at the office the other day to sell this interest
for the daughters. I telegraphed over to him that we would take
it of him at the face, but that I thought when it was properly
represented to the young ladies they would not thus reflect upon
the judgment of their father by disposing of that of which he
thought so highly. I would say nothing more than the following,
viz., that it is now bringing an income, and that it can be sold at
once for $10,000, but no more. After the bonds are all paid off
and the road completed the stockholders will have the residuum
and they think it is one of the best investments and will be one
of the best stocks in the country. That will be enough to be
said. We will give $10,000 for the interest as it stands taking
in the Puget Sound stock (if they want the cash) but no more.

In spite of all the discouragements and defeats of
the' past three years in Europe, Mr. Cooke had not
given up hope of succor from that quarter. A striking
exhibit of grains, fruits and minerals from the Northern
Pacific belt, together with a great map showing the
route of the road had a prominent place at the Vienna
Exposition of 1873, where the enterprise was being
eloquently advertised. When there came to him those
who promised that they could succeed where so many
others had failed, if there seemed to be the least reason
to think them sincere, he commissioned them to go for-
ward and do what they could. M. E. O. Engelbronner,
a Minnesota land agent ; a Mr. Jaroslawski, a European
newspaper correspondent, and others went abroad em-
powered to discuss the question with financiers. Ly-
curgus Edgerton promised to place some of the bonds
with European bankers. Mr. Cooke may have been

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 415

skeptical of good results in any of these directions, but
he was certain that his friend Cattell, after he had made
the acquaintance of Baron Rothschild in London, in the
course of the funding business, would effect some ar-
rangement with that house which would relieve the com-
pany's wants. It was, he wrote, like having a member
of his own firm at the great Jewish banker's elbow.

The death of Chief Justice Chase in March, 1873,
made his life almost co-incident with the glory and
power of Jay Cooke and Company. Henry Cooke
wrote his brother on May 7th, as follows :

We are all grieved at the announcement of the death of our
dear friend Governor Chase, but not surprised. He left here
Saturday morning intending to see you in Philadelphia that day
and after visiting New York to go west to Colorado. He was
in the bank Friday evening about five o'clock and spent over
half an hour with me paying an installment upon his note and
interest to date, and arranging some other matters. He re-
marked upon the firmness and clearness of his signature and
spoke of his good health. He has not looked so well for a
year past as he did then.

The body was taken to Washington, and Mr. Chase's
two sons-in-law, Senator Sprague and Mr. Hoyt, ar-
ranged for its temporary interment in the family lot of
Henry D. Cooke. Then the latter came to Philadel-
phia with Senator Sprague to open the Chief Justice's
safe in the vaults of the Fidelity Trust Company, to
find that he had been designated as one of the execu-
tors.

It may be certainly stated that no banking house in
this country, ever had business relations with so many
distinguished men as Jay Cooke and Company. They
were at this time still carrying the accounts of a num-

416 JAY COOKE

ber of prominent politicians and editors under promises
made to them, when they entered the "pool." The
sum thus advanced had amounted to nearly one million
dollars in 1871.1 On April 7, 1871, Vice-President Col-
fax had written to ask for a loan which would enable
him to meet his Northern Pacific assessments : "Unfor-
tunately I am 'short' just now," said he, "as my salary
don't pay my expenses. I am usually so when I settle
up my bills for the session and start home." Again
on March 26, 1872, he wrote on the same subject : "Not
having calculated on these installments, I shall be short
financially till I get away from here in June, as here,
as you well know, my expenses exceed my salary." He
asked that he be allowed to postpone his payments until
July.

Every effort must now be made to call in these loans
and the subject was attacked vigorously in 1873, ^or the
firm felt the need of making available every dollar of its
resources. To Tenney, in charge of the Washington
office, Jay Cooke wrote on April 12, 1873: "Blaine
will be a hard nut to crack. He ought certainly to pay
the note as the loan was too much on such a property.
But you will have to be very careful not to offend him.
He is figuring for the Presidency. Has he paid his in-
terest?" Henry Cooke, as the Governor of the District
of Columbia, had involved the firm in the finances of the
politicians, who were extravagantly expending money to
improve the appearance of Washington city. That it
needed beautification was certain, but Jay Cooke was
determined that it should not be done at his cost. The
firm had no money to lend on accounts which would not
XJ. C. to A. H. Barney, November 2, 1871.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 417

be promptly paid, and he wrote to his brother Henry,
on February 19, 1873:

I am in continual fear in regard to this whole matter of the
District and your connection with these people. They will line
their pockets and the odium will fall upon you. I wish you
could get out of the whole thing at once, if possible. On the
4th of March you can very readily retire and let the President
put some one else in your place. Why don't you do this? You
will have more peace and more leisure. You have had all the
glory that can come from it and can give the best of excuses —
that you are overwhelmed with other business. ... I hate
to say anything about it, but we must husband our resources,
and it will not answer to have a single dollar locked up in any-
thing that is not available.

On April 1, 1873, he again wrote to the Governor:

Not one of your partners, my dear brother, dreamed of
your taking such a position in the Board of Public Works as
has been forced upon you. They simply looked upon the gov-
ernorship as redounding to the honor of the firm (more in
Europe than in this country), and as a temporary availing of
such a position to favorably affect our house abroad. We did
not dream of your time being occupied in negotiating loans
and in financiering for an immense set of public works or in
mixing up with money matters in any shape whatever. All that
has occurred is entirely contrary to our thoughts. Therefore
you should not say that you entered upon these things with
our advice. ... I rely entirely upon your promises to re-
sign the position as soon as your legislature meets and you can
send in your accounts. You can do it now with honor and
credit. Your health requires it ; your partners have a right
to request it ; and you must, my dear brother, have instant relief
from the cares and anxieties which perplex you.

Jay Cooke desired his brother to seek a diplomatic
post, perhaps at Brussels or the Hague. "Don't fail to
see Grant about it at once," he wrote in March ; and in

418 JAY COOKE

May when he heard that the Russian mission would be
available, he suggested that the Governor go to the Pres-
ident, and procure the appointment to St. Petersburg.

The summer wore on without improvement in the
monetary outlook. The failure of the government fund-
ing syndicate operations which Morton and Morgan had
attempted to manage jointly with the Cooke houses, may
have been the index of disordered financial conditions
as well as of unsuitable and mixed direction from which
no good result could be expected. What was cause and
what was effect is not readily determined, but there re-
mains the undoubted fact that the event increased neither
private nor public credit. Railways were still the bane
of exchanges and banking hotfses and that a great num-
ber would need to be reorganized at an early day was be-
coming more and more obvious. One who had been
traveling in Germany, wrote home from Frankfort-on-
the-Main, that an American railway bond "even if
signed by an angel of Heaven would not sell." *

The Northern Pacific syndicate was perfected, but
without bringing to the road very much new or strong
financial support. A large share of the nine millions
remained in Jay Cooke's hands, so that the arrange-
ment did not change the problem which still was — to
find a way to sell bonds to those who would not have
them. Nevertheless the great banker was not ready to
surrender and confess defeat, and few complaints and
annoyances escaped him. "I grieve that you should
have so much anxiety on account of the N. P., knowing
that in great part you went into the enterprise for your
brothers' sake," wrote Henry Cooke on June 20, 1871,

1 Public Ledger, August 30, 1873.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 419

"but I feel as you do, an unfailing confidence in the
God in whom we put our trust. I do not believe he will
desert us." *

But Jay Cooke, though of the deepest religious con-
victions, never placed too much reliance in the doctrine
of Divine intervention unassociated with very active en-
deavors through human agency. He may have fore-
seen the contingency which soon arose, as there are evi-
dences that he was not too certain of the men who sur-
rounded him. It was scarcely conceivable that they
would take matters out of his hands, and yet there was
a lurking suspicion that they might at some time betray
him at an unguarded point. Hugh McCulloch an-
nounced that he would come to America on a visit.
"What can he be coming for at this time?" Mr. Cooke
asked Fahnestock.

Early in September, there was renewed excitement
in the money markets because of the operations of the
gold clique, "headed by that consummate master of
speculation, Mr. Jay Gould." 2 Suddenly the "ring"
collapsed and the news was greeted with much satis-
faction. It was supposed to augur much good for the
future. "It would be well for all our markets," said
the money editor of Forney's Philadelphia Press in re-
ferring to Mr. Gould, "if that Mephistopheles of Wall
Street were to take a quiet sojourn on the banks of the
Rhine, and he would do this country a special favor if
he would allow the visit to extend over a period of a
third of a century. In fact, if our business men were

1 " I long for a few less cares, but God knows why I undertook the N.
Pacific, viz., principally for my brothers."— J. C. to H. D. C, June 15, 1871 .

2 Phila. Press, September 8, 1873.

420 JAY COOKE

called on, the means to accomplish so desirable an end
would be speedily forthcoming." *

Favorable expectations were not met for money was
scarce and it bore a high rate of interest, so that bor-
rowers who needed it were in a good deal of distress.
Nevertheless there had been such pinches before, and
within very recent times, so that the condition of affairs
caused no special uneasiness. The partners had been
called to Philadelphia for a conference, and they had
agreed that no unusual measures need be taken, going
back to their respective houses without a serious sug-
gestion of anything but a determination to work to-
gether for the discharge of all the firm's obligations,
as they arose from day to day. A large remittance on
the naval account at the London house had been ex-
pected for some time. It was about to be received and
would materially add to the firm's resources.

On September 8th, the New York Warehouse and
Security Company, and on the 13th, Kenyon Cox and
Company, a firm in New York with which Daniel Drew
was associated, suspended. It was rumored persistently
that the well known house of George Opdyke and Com-
pany was on the verge of failure. All these firms
were interested in crippled railroads. Indeed the air
was filled with rumors concerning the corporations
which were engaged in laying iron tracks in the United
States and Canada, and the financiers who were selling
bonds and supplying funds for these roads. Wednes-
day, September 17th, was a very unsatisfactory day in
the New York Stock Exchange, the "bears" having
"hammered the list," with notable success; but there

1 September 10, 1873.

JAY COOKE

From a photograph by Mary Cornell

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 481

had" been a rally in the afternoon, careful investors
were supplying themselves with stocks at the lower
prices and confidence seemed to be returning.

On the night of the 17th, President Grant arrived
at "Ogontz," having come to Philadelphia to place his
son, Jesse, upon Mr. Cooke's advice, at school in the
Chelten Hills. A private telegraph wire connected the
mansion with the outside world, and despatches of an
agitated character came over it from New York on the
morning of the 18th, while Jay Cooke and the Presi-
dent were still at breakfast. They soon took a carriage
for the railway station, General Grant going west and
narrowly missing a serious wreck of his train near Ty-
rone, Pa., while Mr. Cooke proceeded to Third Street.
He issued his directions with his usual spirit and deci-
sion. The house, of course, had seriously and very dan-
gerously burdened itself with collateral which was at
this time practically useless to it — the bonds and stocks
of the Northern Pacific, the Lake Superior and Miss-
issippi,1 the Oregon Steam Navigation and allied rail-
road and land companies. Moreover the New York
partners had been dealing largely in railway iron and
much money was rendered unavailable through this
cause.

Mr. Moorhead was in New York at this time, and

1 " The office in Philadelphia is carrying a pretty heavy load in Lake
Superior firsts and seconds and the various roads which Uncle William
has agreed to build from time to time in connection therewith. Some
of this load you are carrying in the shape of sterling. I have never yet
agreed to any of these new advances and would not have taken more than
one-third of the second mortgage bonds of the Lake Superior that we
have taken, but he agreed to it in my absence whilst out west. . . .
It is a big load, running up to V/z million dollars at least. No doubt it
was all done with the best intentions." — J. C. to Fahnestock, September
21, 1871.

422 JAY COOKE

one can well suppose that Mr. McCulloch, then on the sea
had earlier been conferred with. It is said in the New
York Tribune, that Mr. Fahnestock drew to his office
a number of prominent bank presidents. Enforced by
their advice he closed the doors of Jay Cooke and Com-
pany, in that city. The clock had not yet struck eleven.
Business had not fairly begun either in New York or
Philadelphia, and Mr. Cooke was in the midst of his
labors to furnish his partners the relief which they sorely
required. He read the despatch announcing the sus-
pension in Wall Street, sorrowfully ordered the doors
of his Third Street house to be closed also, and then as
he turned his face away from the men who surrounded
him, the tears streamed from his eyes. It was an un-
usual sight. No one in his office had seen this great
strong man, the pillar of a nation, weep. But it was
soon over. He gathered together his physical and men-
tal forces, and was ready to attack the tasks which this
surprising act imposed upon him.

The Third Street doors creaked, and were swung shut
about eleven o'clock, and the Washington house and the
First National Bank of Washington followed at 12.15,
acting in response to advices from the north which
Governor Cooke did not hesitate to say, were quite in-
explicable to him. So little warned was the Governor
who had just resigned his office, to be succeeded by
Alexander R. Shepherd, that he was about to be ten-
dered a complimentary banquet at Willard's Hotel, by
the leading citizens of Washington, which was to be
presided over by General Sherman.

The ensuing excitement is not easily described. "A
financial thunderbolt," said the New York Tribune.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 423

"Like a thunderclap in a clear sky," said the Philadel-
phia Press. No one could have been more surprised,
said the Philadelphia Inquirer, if snow had fallen amid
the sunshine of a summer noon. The news spread like
fire on one of the Northern Pacific's own dry prairies.
The building at Wall and Nassau Streets in New York
was surrounded by a crowd of men, women and chil-
dren, who were shouting and gesticulating wildly.
They crowded into the basement, peered into the win-
dows, and insultingly accosted the partners and clerks
if they ventured out of the building.

When the suspension was announced in the New
York Stock Exchange by the President, a brief silence
ensued. Then there was "an uproar," said a journalistic
eye witness, "such as has scarcely filled the Exchange
since it was built. Messengers fled every way with the
story of ruin, and down came the stocks all along the
line." Western Union lost ten points in ten minutes;
fractions were not recognized in the haste to sell, and
the Exchange became a mob, the members jostling each
other, and screeching their commands in the midst of
pandemonium. Fahnestock explained to the news-
paper men that the house could no longer stand under
the rapid withdrawal of its deposits, and the great drain
upon it from Philadelphia, on account of the Northern
Pacific Railroad, which he had "never thought much
of anyhow." x

In Philadelphia the news reached the Stock Board
in a brief despatch from the New York Exchange;
"Rumor on Street of the failure of Jay Cooke and Com-
pany." In a moment the report was denied, but in a

1 New York Tribune.

424 JAY COOKE

little while came the definite announcement: "New
York, September 18th, Jay Cooke and Company have
suspended." Almost the entire Board rushed into
Third Street, and up to Number 114, only to find
that the report was true. Two or three blocks away
a little newsboy who shouted an "extra" — "All about
the failure of Jay Cooke" — was arrested and taken to
a "station house" by a policeman who was not early ap-
prised of the disaster, so wholly unbelievable did it seem
to be to all classes of the people. As the news spread
the crowd in front of Jay Cooke and Company's in-
creased, and officers were plentifully stationed in Third
Street between Chestnut and Walnut to keep it from
breaking into the banking house.

In Washington, Fifteenth Street was thronged. The
clerks streamed out of the government offices, and a
criminal court was adjourned during a murder trial, —
judges, lawyers, witnesses, spectators and all rushing
for their hats when they received the news, to join the
crowd which pressed about the bank building.

Jay Cooke called upon John C. Bullitt for legal advice,
and posted upon the portals of his Third Street house,
the following notice:

To the Public:

We regret to be obliged to announce that, owing to unexpected
demands on us, our firm has been obliged to suspend payment.
In a few days we will be able to present a statement to our
creditors, until which time we must ask for their patient con-
sideration. We believe our assets to be largely in excess of our
liabilities. Jay Cooke and Company.

Mr. Cooke affably received the newspaper men who
came to interview him, but they were compelled to be
content with this simple statement:

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 425

You can announce that the firm has temporarily suspended.
Please state also that I believe this house will speedily be re-
lieved from embarrassment, and that to this end, if need be,
every dollar of the means possessed by the members of the
firm will be applied. No one who has a dollar on deposit here
will lose it. Every liability will be faithfully discharged. I can
say no more now.

He did intimate, if he did not sav more to some of his
friends in the Inquirer office, for in response to the "I
told you so's," of many that journal remarked: "These
persons were able to see more than was Mr. Cooke him-
self, who has the name of being an unusually sharp-
sighted gentleman, for he could scarcely assign a reason
for the sudden calamity, even when the serious fact of
its existence was forced upon him."

There was but one note everywhere — surprise mel-
lowed for the most part by sympathy, conveyed to him
by post and telegraph from many sides. The failure
was the leading item of information offered to their
readers by the newspapers, and in long editorials they
very generally deplored the catastrophe.

The Philadelphia Press in a eulogium. of the house
said:

The most enterprising and renowned of American monetary
institutions, its name was everywhere the synonym for strength
and solidity. An hour before its doors were closed, the Bank
of England was not more trusted. The disaster was as unex-
pected as an earthquake is to-day.

The New York Tribune said:

Nothing can wipe out the debt the country owes the patriotic
and marvelously energetic bankers, who in the darkest hours
of our Civil War popularized the great loans and furnished the
money to pay our soldiers; nothing can obscure the fact that

4.26 JAY COOKE

the very enterprise which has finally dragged them down was
of national concern. Whatever may be the result of the crisis
in Wall Street, we shall regard the disaster to Jay Cooke and
Company as nothing less than a public calamity.

The Philadelphia Inquirer said:

Its strength was a matter of personal pride ; its history was
national fame ; its chief a representative man among us. His
bounty was wide as the world ; his application of it limited only
by deserving want. He was a man of such unconquerable in-
tegrity that yesterday when it was rumored he had failed for
scores of millions, not a single whisper of dishonor was heard
against him or his house. . . . Whoever says, as some did
say yesterday, that the disaster was owing to gold or stock
gambling says that which is not true. The house suspended
because its chief essayed to assist to a successful conclusion, the
great Northern Pacific Railroad. Had it succeeded in thus con-
necting by a new line of rails, the two oceans the honor of doing
so would have been equal to what it achieved in placing the
great war loans, for it is a work for the common good of the
country and of humanity. It was a scheme of such imposing
importance as to be worthy to enlist the genius and sympathies
of so public spirited a man as Jay Cooke.1

Among those who at the earliest possible time found
their way to Mr. Cooke, were his old friends, the Clark
"boys." "My dear fellow, why didn't you tell us of
this ? You should have had all that we could give you,"
said they. Mr. Cooke replied that he had not told them
of his difficulty, because he did not know of it himself.
His New York partners, without consultation with him,
had closed the doors of his house in that city, in a mo-
ment depriving him of credit that no act of his now
would enable him to regain.

E. W. Clark and Company followed at 1 .30 o'clock,

1 September 19th.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 427

and their suspension added to the amazement of the peo-
ple. All afternoon, there were persistent rumors of the
failure of Thomas A. Scott, himself at the time in
Switzerland. This complication affected the credit of
the Pennsylvania Railroad, and unsettled the value of
its shares, until the reports were denied upon the very
highest authority. A few smaller firms succumbed dur-
ing the day in Philadelphia and two, just before the
closing of the Board in New York, — Robinson and
Suydam of which little account was made, and Richard
Schell, a broker of influential connections which brought
him close to the Vanderbilts.

The excitement did not end with the coming of night.
The crowd lingered in front of Jay Cooke and Com-
pany's Third Street bank through which the govern-
ment had secured so many hundreds of millions of dol-
lars for the Civil War. It had never been a handsome
or even a comfortable banking house. Wharf rats as
long as the forearm of a man crept up the culverted
channels of Dock Creek, to run through the apartments
almost at will. Light and fresh air were not abundant.
In there now the clerks were at work ■ under the gas
jets straightening out the firm's accounts. A reporter
who knocked at the massive doors with the walnut
panels, which would never reopen for Mr. Cooke, to ask
for the famous financier was met by a porter, who peered
out of a little diamond-shaped aperture, to be told that
he had gone home for the night. He was a very
worn, tired man. He had driven to "Ogontz" by an
unusual and devious route to avoid unpleasant public
scrutiny, a policy which he followed for many days.
Members of his family say that he affected much light-

428 JAY COOKE

ness of heart, as had always been his way, to support
them as well as himself under severe trial. They
would not have been surprised, if he had broken down
mentally under the burden, and once when he passed a
remark which indicated abstraction, and they looked
at him anxiously, he said as quick as a flash: "You
thought I was a little absent-minded then, didn't you ?"
He was as keen and alert as ever, ready for all the
great tasks and problems which were to come.

In New York the centre of debate and agitation was
the Fifth Avenue Hotel, where on the evening of the
1 8th, the corridors were crowded with bankers, brokers
and speculators. The Stock Exchange had adjourned
to that hotel. What of the morrow? Who would be
the next to fall ? were the topics in each mind, and upon
each tongue. The same discussion went forward in the
clubs and wherever men congregated.

The next day was Friday and suggested many om-
inous things. Would it be another Black Friday? It
proved to be that for a verity. Ruin early began with
the suspension of the great house of Fisk and Hatch,
Mr. Cooke's faithful agents during the Civil War.
They had calls upon them for $1,500,000 in the first fif-
teen minutes after opening their doors, and at once
closed them again, the failure being ascribed to Collis
P. Huntington's Central Pacific Railroad and the Chesa-
peake and Ohio Railroad, particularly the latter as the
firm was in the midst of its financial arrangements in
behalf of that corporation. During that eventful day,
a score of firms suspended in New York, and a dozen
larger and smaller houses succumbed in Philadelphia.
The bank in Philadelphia, however, upon which the

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 429

maddest run was made, its depositors seeming to be de-
termined to accomplish its ruin, weathered the storm.
This was the Fidelity Trust Company, with which the
Clarks were officially connected, and it was known to
have close affiliations with them and Jay Cooke. The
President, N. B. Browne, had anticipated the assault;
indeed numbers of people assembled in front of the build-
ing early in the morning, filling Chestnut Street from
Third to Fourth, so that the police must intervene con-
stantly. The crowd set their eyes upon the marble pile
as intently as though they expected it literally to "burst
up/' and explain the meaning of that serviceable collo-
quialism. When the doors swung open at the stroke of
the hour upon the bell in the State House tower, the
crowd pressed in, each depositor claiming the money
he had placed in the institution for safe keeping. Mr.
Browne was fortified by loans which he had made, and
the trust company had the cash in hand to meet the de-
mands of all who came. In a few hours, nearlv one
million dollars were paid out over the bank's counters.
It passed through its trial and was still solvent, an event
which added much to the general composure in Phil-
adelphia.

Reassurance of no kind came to the troubled money
centre in New York, where the third day opened in con-
tinued panic. Two national banks and two trust com-
panies succumbed. The Lake Shore Railroad failed to
pay a call loan of $1,750,000, and the Union Trust Com-
pany allied to the Vanderbilt interests closed its doors,
after withstanding a prolonged run. The National
Trust Company had $800,000 of government securities
in its vaults, but not a dollar could be borrowed upon

430 JAY COOKE

them, and it suspended payments. Suspicion was uni-
versal; rumor affected nearly everyone. A little after
noon the officers of the Stock Exchange closed it, a de-
vice unheard of in its history. The step had been taken,
said the Vice-Chairman, when he was asked for an ex-
planation, "to save the entire Street from utter ruin."
Business would not be resumed until the danger had
passed. Western Union stock had been offered at 45,
without meeting a bid, and the experience would not have
been better at 25. The Exchange was like a mad house,
and the streets penetrating the financial district were
crowded with distressed depositors of suspended houses,
excited buyers and sellers of stocks and a horde of peo-
ple drawn thither by curiosity, including many roughs
and sneak thieves, through all of whom teams were
passed from time to time to keep the narrow ways open
for public use. What took place here as the scenes
changed from moment to moment and from hour to
hour, can be better imagined than described. It was
Bedlam, the stabler elements in which at night were
again transferred to the Fifth Avenue Hotel where
President Grant, Secretary Richardson and several other
officers of the government secured apartments, summon-
ing "Commodore" Vanderbilt and a score of men who
held leading places in the financial and commercial com-
munity, while a host who had not been invited to the
conference, also came to add their wisdom to the general
fund.

The prices of some of the leading stocks in the New
York market had fallen $30 and $40 a share, as may
be seen by this table, covering the fluctuations since- th<j
disturbance had begun :

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 431

Sep. 4. Sep. 20.

New York Central 104^ 89

Rock Island 108^ 86

Western Union 92^2 S4/i

Wabash 70*4 A2 V*

Panama 117^ 84

Central Pacific 99^ 75

. St. Paul 51 30

Hannibal and St. Joseph 48 19

Northwestern 63 40

Harlem 12>°lA IO°

Union Pacific 26^ 18

Ohio and Mississippi 38^ 2.6l/2

Railway bonds had of course suffered proportionate
shrinkages. Stocks and bonds of uncompleted roads
which were involved in the fate of the suspended houses
had for the time being practically no quotable or sal-
able value. The newspapers were generally agreed that
the cause of the panic was a lack of money and many
bankers, most politicians and the bulk of the people at
large undoubtedly shared this view. This is the first
and most obvious reason for all financial disasters. The
country had expanded and the work of money was
greater while its volume had not been properly increased.
That some temporary relief would come through the re-
medy that all prescribed was certain, both actually and
sentimentally in calming the minds of those whose trou-
ble was hysteria. The President and the Secretary of
the Treasury determined upon purchases of five-twenties
at the market price and thus from Saturday the 20th to
Wednesday the 24th, released about $13,000,000 of
greenbacks through the Assistant Treasurer in New
York. The Associated Banks issued a few millions of
certificates through their Loan Committee, which served

432 JAY COOKE

instead of currency and lessened the strain upon the
regularly established monetary system. After having
safely passed through the days of severest stress, on
Tuesday, the 23d, Henry Clews and Company suspended
This firm, as Livermore, Clews and Company, while Mr.
Livermore was at its head, like Fisk and Hatch, had been
prominent among Mr. Cooke's New York agents for the
war loans and the failure caused fresh unsettlement.

General Nettleton was in the West at the time of the
failure. He wrote to Mrs. Nettleton from Philadelphia
on September 226. :

I left Sandusky for Philadelphia Wednesday evening the 17th,
without having any intimation of the impending trouble. Pass-
ing through Pittsburg- Thursday noon, I went to bed after leav-
ing Altoona, arrived at the West Philadelphia depot at 3.45 Fri-
day morning, but remained in my berth till 6.30, when I started
for the office on Third Street. The hour was so early, that few
persons were on the street, and as I passed the doors of the
banking house to enter the stairway leading to my (Northern
Pacific) office on the second floor, I glanced casually toward the
bank window and saw the usual watchman sitting on the counter
inside. I passed up stairs intending to put in a long day in
catching up with my accumulated correspondence, seeing people
with whom I had appointments, &c. Entering my side office
and sitting down at my desk, the first person I saw was our
janitor William, who took pains to hand me the latest edition
of the previous evening's paper. My eye at once rested on the
staring head-line — " Suspension of Jay Cooke and Company ! "

If I had been struck on the head with a hammer, I could not
have been more stunned and devoid of ideas ! I rubbed my eyes
to see if I was quite awake, and finally sat down and read through
the despatches from New York and the statements of the Phila-
delphia reporters. Shortly afterward clerks began to come in
and I learned the whole story.

Well, so much for how I heard the news ! My first step was

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 433

to telegraph you at Sandusky, not to be troubled about matters,
as all would turn out right. Then after writing a short note of
sympathy and encouragement to Mr. Cooke and the other Phila-
delphia members of the firm who were by this time in the bank,
I wrote letters to the traveling loan agents and other employees
under my charge (some thirteen or fourteen), thanking them
for their faithfulness, &c, and saying their services could not be
longer retained. (Salaries being all paid monthly in advance,
they lose nothing.) After directing all advertising to be dis-
continued, and cutting off everything that involved expense, I
devoted myself to answering the questions of anxious inquirers,
and the ever-present interviewing newspaper reporter!

As the morning wore on, the crowd in the street in front of
the office, and for several blocks either way in Third and Chest-
nut, increased, until passage was well-nigh impossible ; very few
depositors or creditors of Jay Cooke and Company were present,
but nearly all expected a general smash among the banks, and
the excitement was astounding. . . . The members of the
firm did not expect the suspension twelve hours before it oc-
curred. The storm struck them so suddenly and the demands
for money from depositors were so very large that not an hour
was given in which to effect arrangements for tiding over the
emergency.

When the blow fell all were stunned, and it seemed as though
the ground had passed from under foot and the stars had gone
from the sky. Once having " touched bottom," once having fully
taken in the situation in its length and breadth, all hands have
rallied with magnificent pluck and faith, and gone to work like
beavers to prepare a statement of assets and liabilities. This
will be ready this week.

I have great hope that such a settlement can be made as will
enable the house to resume business within sixty days and go
on permanently — not, it is true, with all their old prestige, but
with prestige and capital enough to insure, with prudent man-
agement, a solid and successful career. . . .

Saturday morning I went to New York to attend to matters
of the house. The scene at the corner of Wall and Nassau Streets
28

434. JAY COOKE

I shall never forget. For squares in every direction the streets
were a solid mass of black hats, and surging back and forth,
while men gesticulated, shouted and rushed to and fro. The
doors of Fisk and Hatch, E. D. Randolph and Company and Jay
Cooke and Company, " all in a row " on Nassau street, were
closed, and curious crowds were coming and going and gazing
at the doors and windows. A " run " was in progress on the
Fourth National Bank, across the way from Fisk and Hatch, and
this redoubled the excitement. Long rows of anxious men, with
checks in their hands, waited impatiently for their turns to come,
and scores of panicky depositors constantly swelled the column.
At noon all confidence in everything seemed gone, and six banks
and eighteen firms had " gone up," and the Clearing House and
Stock Exchange finally shut up shop for the day, and advised
everybody to go home till Monday.

Mr. Cooke and his family bear the new state of things with
admirable fortitude, propriety and good sense. At Mr. Cooke's
request I have spent Sabbath at his home — " Ogontz," and I
have been deeply touched by the family life under the changed
circumstances. Not the slightest impatience, false chagrin, mock
heroics, or loss of faith in Providence is manifested — only a
manly, womanly and Christianly meeting of a great crisis. Jay
Cooke is quite as great in calamity as in success and achievement.

We all hope and expect, as I have said above, that the house
will be able so to arrange its affairs as to rally and resume busi-
ness with a fair capital, and under reasonably favorable auspices.
But even if this should not be, what Jay Cooke and his house
have done for this nation, and what Mr. Cooke personally has
done for every good cause that has sought his aid, can never
be blotted from the history of our eventful times, or from the
memory of grateful men and women.

The idea of a speedy resumption must soon be aban-
doned for the disorder was unexampled, and spreading
to other parts of the country. Five national banks in
Chicago suspended within a short time and there were
similar failures and disturbances in financial circles in

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 435

all quarters. The New York Stock Exchange, after
seven and a half days of idleness, was reopened on Tues-
day, September 30th. Such trade in stocks as there had
been during the period of its suspension was in the hands
of the curb-stone brokers who added to the excitement in
the streets in the financial district during this unsettled
period. While the immediate prospects were not pleas-
ing the regular business of the Exchange was resumed
with a feeling of greater confidence which grew as the
days passed.

Nevertheless the times were everywhere very unpro-
pitious. Mercantile houses were gradually involved and
their failure increased the distress which embraced all
parts of the country, closed manufactories, shops and
mines, deprived many of their accustomed employments,
and pointed the way to a winter that was marked by re-
trenchment among all classes of the people, with much
actual suffering in the homes of the poor.

Meantime Jay Cooke, McCulloch and Company con-
tinued to transact business as usual in London and an-
nounced that they would meet all their engagements
upon drafts and letters of credit, successfully withstand-
ing a heavy run on Friday when the news of the sus-
pension reached England. It was foreseen that the
house, deprived of its influential American connections,
if it could live through these September days, would
gradually liquidate, and its approaching end formed a
pleasing text for the anti-Grant newspapers. Clews,
Habicht and Company, Henry Clews's London branch,
had obtained the State Department account which, like
the Navy account, was earlier held by the Barings. The
giving of such favors to these "mushroom" houses was

436 JAY COOKE

but one more evidence to the New York World and other
newspapers of Grant's method of overturning safe and
settled systems in order to promote the interests of his
friends.

There was early much curiosity to know how the gov-
ernment had fared by the failure of a firm which had
long stood in such close relations to it, and Secretary
Richardson at once announced that in syndicate matter!;
far from being a loser, he was indebted to Jay Cooke and
Company for bonds which he had not yet delivered ag-
gregating from $100,000 to $250,000, while Senator Cat-
tell telegraphed from London further to calm the public
mind: "The syndicate account is in perfect order.
There is universal kind feeling toward Jay Cooke, Mc-
Culloch and Company, who continue business as usual."
As for the naval remittance the government stopped the
payment upon the draft which had just gone forward,
although Jay Cooke and Company stated that if it had
been received they would have returned it before it had
become involved in their misfortunes.

Efforts were speedily made to restore the affairs of
the house to some degree of order with due regard, un-
der Mr. Bullitt's direction, for the provisions of law af-
fecting firms which suspend payments to their creditors.
In a short time the following statement of assets and
liabilities was prepared and published :

Liabilities t $7,939,409.26

Assets.

Bills Receivable — Bank, insurance and other

stock, bonds and real estate 7,867,640.12

Loans to Northern Pacific on $3,750,000 stock

of Oregon Steam Navigation Company. . . . 1,500,000.00

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 437

Loans on Northern Pacific on bonds of the

company 4,068,215.09

Second mortgage railroad bonds, stocks, etc. . 2,530,356.96

$15,966,212.17

This showing was esteemed to be very favorable, for
it indicated that Jay Cooke and Company had enough
assets to discharge practically all their debts without re-
course to the collateral of the Northern Pacific and its
allied companies, a fact which attested at once to the
truth of Mr. Cooke's own statements that the estate
would fully recoup its creditors.

The fate of the railroad was now very problemat-
ical, and as it had obviously caused Jay Cooke's failure
it was assumed that this event would in turn cripple the
Northern Pacific corporation. Indeed there could be
no other conclusion, and even those bankers who had
antagonized the road's famous fiscal agent were willing
to proclaim that if Mr. Cooke could not build it it was an
impossible task. General Nettleton issued a statement
in behalf of the trustees in which he said :

The intrinsic worth and ultimate security of Northern Pacific
bonds have not been impaired by the panic. All the property
pledged for their redemption still exists. The most unwise course
possible would be to attempt to force these bonds or any other
railroad securities on the market during the present period of
depression and alarm.

General Cass caused it to be understood that other
financial sponsors for the road would be found at the
earliest opportunity, and the laborers at work upon the
western section which would soon bring the line to Ta-
coma continued in their places as before.

We can clearly see that all things favored a great

438 JAY COOKE

panic at this time. The disorders in public finance and
the multiplicity of railway enterprises with scheme upon
scheme for selling their bonds made it difficult to go
farther by any conceivable device without an overthrow
and a reconstruction. One card falling, the entire house
which had been erected in a time of chimera and hope
was ready to collapse. Perhaps it was only a question
as to which firm should go first. At any rate, later
events disclosed a general weakness and vulnerability
in the financial organization which, as we look back at
this distance make a panic of some kind in this period
of the nation's fiscal and industrial history seem quite
inevitable. It is probable that the dire result had been
postponed as long as it could have been, but however
this may be — and it will long remain a subject for ani-
mated discussion — the immediate responsibility for what
developed into an unprecedented economic catastrophe
rests with some of the minority partners of Jay Cooke
and Company.

To suspend without the consent of him whose name
the firm bore, and who was, and ever had been, its chief
in the fullest sense of the word, will always seem like an
extraordinary action, especially as we are without evi-
dence of very large new demands upon the house. Its
credit and that of the railroad it was endeavoring to
build were under attack. Nevertheless it was not the
subject of unpleasant rumors at this particular time as
was Mr. Opdyke's firm. However much some of Mr.
Cooke's envious rivals may have wished him misfortune
his houses were believed to be too strong to fail, as is
evidenced by the surprise which the news evoked on
every side. Jay Cooke and Company of New York was

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 439

the first house to close its doors. There had been no
failure which properly belongs to the panic series until
the announcement of this suspension, and if the event
could have been avoided or postponed by any possible
exertion, certainly it should have been put forth gladly
and loyally. Mr. Cooke himself did not feel that he was
ready to fail — his large holdings of real estate were un-
encumbered and no call had been made upon the fortunes
of his partners — but Mr. Fahnestock and Mr. Moorhead
knew that he would never be ready and, taking all into
their own hands, assumed the immediate responsibility
for what became one of the greatest of American eco-
nomic disasters. The spark for a terrible conflagration
could not have been applied at a better place than in Jay
Cooke and Company's house, and this heroic and pictur-
esque financier, who had been in the midst of all that was
largest in success, was at once the central figure in one
of the grandest of wrecks.

CHAPTER XIX

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

While Jay Cooke was naturally a marvelous financier
who could not have been kept out of the barter and com-
merce which are the economic basis of our human so-
ciety under any conceivable circumstances he was much
else besides, as must have become clear to readers of the
chapters which have preceded this one. Though he
could not have been prevented from making money, if
he had been cast like Selkirk upon an uninhabited isle of
the seas, it was no dull selfish quality of mind and he
would have scorned pecuniary gain from sources where-
by some of the great fortunes of this day are accumu-
lated. It was not money for its own sake which im-
pelled Jay Cooke to his large financial adventures, but
first of all a natural love of devising and developing vast
processes nurtured in a brain incomparably fertile of re-
source, bold of design, keen in insight and resolute of
purpose ; secondly, the desire to be identified with enter-
prises which meant much to his country and his kind;
and thirdly, the wish to have at his disposal the means to
dispense good, simple, honest, human cheer to the mem-
bers of his family of every degree of relationship, his
friends and the poor and distressed who came his way
and who always received from him in money and goods
and kind words up to the full measure of his abilities.

No man who has had closely to do with the finances of

440

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 441

the United States merits a place beside Jay Cooke except
Robert Morris and the two men, one the financier of the
Civil War and the other of the Revolution, have some
points in common. The services of both were indis-
pensable to the causes which they respectively espoused.
Both were firm patriots and could not have been turned
from their ways. Each had confidence, daring and vast
energy; each was entirely honest and clear of corrupt
intention or a disgraceful thought, yet neither escaped
the charges that are made upon the honor of the public's
most useful servants in a democracy. $50,000 in Mor-
ris's hands were about equal to $50,000,000 in Jay
Cooke's, so enormously had all our ideas and needs
changed in eighty years, and the task of assembling the
smaller sum in 1783 was probably as great as the work
attendant upon the collection of the large amount in
1863. Both had imagination without which we cannot
conceive of their success and both in the end succumbed,
the victims of that quality of mind which had made them
indispensable to the nation while sanguinely speculating
in American lands under the patriotic conviction that no
event could intervene to retard the regular and rapid de-
velopment of the country in material wealth.

Furthermore both were helped to their downfall by
the Napoleon family, Morris by the first Napoleon, who
overturned all financial arrangements at the end of the
eighteenth century; Cooke by the third Napoleon, who
marched his squadrons into Prussia and precipitated
war at the very moment when the Northern Pacific rail-
road was about to obtain a loan which would have saved
it from the ruin that ensued. Both men were impeded
in the end by large and costly mansions, Morris by a

442 JAY COOKE

marble palace in Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Cooke
by his great house and its menage among the forest
trees in the Chelten Hills, eight miles from the city.
Both financiers in the day of trial found that the value
of their labors had gone out of the public mind, because
the people do not understand finance and idly imagine
that those who serve them in fiduciary capacities are
sufficiently and perhaps excessively rewarded by com-
missions and other gain. One was sent to prison for
three years until a national bankruptcy law could be
passed, and the other might have been but for the ad-
vance of civilization in eighty years and the fortunate
abolishment of many legal barbarities. Mr. Cooke suf-
fered because a national bankruptcy law could not be
amended or repealed and the influence of neither man,
once overwhelming, could avail to make legislatures see
the expediency or justice of performing a trifling act to
cheer in adversity the lives of them without whom those
legislatures would probably have had no existence.
And finally the name of neither financier has outlived
the nation's ingratitude. Their deeds are uncommemo-
rated while dozens of men in the Revolution, who but for
Morris would likely have been hanged as traitors, and
an equal number in the Civil War, who but for Cooke
might have been assigned to much smaller places in
American history, stride down the centuries the heroes
of every school boy.

The two men have their marked differences of course,
many of which may be ascribed to the times in which
their lives were cast. Without doubt Morris more
deeply concerned himself with public questions. He
was a statesman as well as a financier and in the final

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 443

reckoning he must be held to stand beside Hamilton,
John Jay, Madison, James Wilson and the more substan-
tial of the "Fathers." Jay Cooke, on his side, lived in
an age when finance was more absorbing and in his
hands it became a larger occupation than it had ever be-
fore been in America. Reading and writing, and the
thinking that conduces to the old fashioned statesman-
ship, must be abandoned, we may believe with much re-
gret, in the light of the aspirations and capacity to re-
ceive and use learning which are evidenced in Jay
Cooke's early letters to his brother Pitt. With it all his
acquisitions were very considerable and his common
sense would have saved him from serious mistakes in
any great political office. He of course had not the
statesmanlike qualities of Seward or Chase, but no one
in Grant's administration was his superior, and the
Treasury had no incumbent after Chase — if we bar Fes-
senden, who shone in parliamentary life rather than in
an executive office — who was not greatly his inferior.

It is fair to judge Jay Cooke as a public man by what
he was before he was harassed and tormented by the
Northern Pacific Railroad and the troubles which that en-
terprise brought in its wake ; and it may be said without
fear of contradiction that for ten years, from 1861 to 1871
or 1872, his was the clearest American mind on financial
questions. Upon the funding matter, the proposal to re-
pudiate all or any part of the regularly contracted public
debt, the return to specie payments and other financial
policies, his advice was sound. He carried many of his
points to the great advantage of the nation, being after
the war, as he had been during that struggle, a vast
power through the newspaper press of which he had a

444 JAY COOKE

unique mastery. No one of this day, barring Lincoln —
and Lincoln's universal vogue came after his death — was
spoken of with more general confidence and the trust the
people at large reposed in him is shown by the progress
of many a financial movement in which they were in-
vited to share.

But it is not as a statesman which under other condi-
tions he might have been that Mr. Cooke is to be judged.
It will be sufficient to discuss his life as he lived it with-
out speculation as to its possibilities for him and us if
he had made different uses of those powers with which
he was by nature so bountifully endowed. It is of Cooke
as he was — as a man — that we need a little supple-
mentary description. Doubtless the secret of his power
over others, which it is clear by this time was extraor-
dinary, was the ability he had of compelling them to
like and love and believe in him in spite of themselves.
A great hearty open manner unmarred by guile or sus-
picion of evil, kindness that was as sincere as it was out-
wardly manifest, sympathy for suffering and charity
for distress made him invincible wherever he went. "I
no like Meester Cooke," said an old French banker who
lived in Philadelphia during the war. "He take me in
a room and before I go out he make me do what I wish
not to do." It was dangerous indeed to fall under the
magnetic influence of such a personality and it was a
very refractory person, whether he be a President of the
United States, a Secretary of the Treasury or an old
lady who had $50 with which to buy a government bond
that was not swept along in the presence of this big soul.

He was a man of enthusiasms without any of the
qualities of which cynics and mugwumps are consti-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 445

tuted. He made up his judgments, as we have seen,
only after procuring the fullest information. When he
had decided he was absolute — the "Tycoon" whom the
men about him knew and loved, the financier whom the
public trusted, for they were taught to believe that his
touch was magical and that his word of recommendation
was of final authority. While he could be as firm as
the everlasting rocks, Mr. Cooke had the tenderness of
a woman and no occasion was too great or too small for
the exhibition of this trait. A blow from his hand was
kind. He could not put sting into a word or act, even
when he thought that the course of a fellow man abund-
antly merited rebuke, and his victories were gained by
other processes.

He treated all men as though they were the simple
unaffected human beings that they were by nature and
at heart, enjoying the good natural pleasures of
health, domestic comfort and religion. He knew the
names of his friends wherever he saw them, asked con-
cerning the welfare of their wives and children with a
warmth that was always natural and hearty. When
their babies were born they must send the news to him,
sometimes by telegraph, and add information in regard
to the sex and weight. He returned this civility upon
the arrival of his children and grandchildren. He had
gifts for the infants and compliments for their mothers.
He was interested, too, in the naming of children.
When a nephew was christened Guy he wrote that he
did not like it. It suggested "mysterious expeditions
underneath the Parliament house." It sounded well,
however, to the "young Walter Scott readers" in his
family. Many young Americans were named for him in

446 JAY COOKE

all parts of the country, and even strangers received let-
ters and often presents, all of it being done in the heart-
iest and most joyful way. There was no putting on of
the mantle for form's sake or for an ulterior end. All
alike had the kind word and were made to enjoy the
knowledge that he shared with them an interest in and
sympathy for those things which, after all was said and
done and concealed in an artificial world, was of the near-
est concern to them. To Jay Cooke it never seemed
worth while to try to hide the fact that man was made
happy and comfortable by eating. Fashionable subter-
fuges on this point did not trouble him and the table at
any home of his was an honest joy. There reigned good
cheer, and there all naturally fell into the spirit with
which he attacked the subject of living on its material
side. Although himself abstemious, he had none of the
false pride of that man who would forget that health,
strength and capacity for happiness are derived from a
proper nourishment of the body and he was a prince of
hosts and entertainers. "You will kill somebody there if
you are not careful by overfeeding," William E. Chand-
ler wrote after returning to Washington with his family
from a visit to Mr. Cooke in May, 1867. "A coroner
will be summoned and a verdict rendered, 'Rev. Mr. B.
— killed by Jay Cooke at his residence at Ogontz by
stuffing.' "

In his first years as a married man in Philadelphia,
after leaving Congress Hall, Mr. Cooke had a home at
904 Pine Street which had been purchased from Enoch
W. Clark, but he was always strongly drawn toward the
open spaces. While in the city connected with Moor-
head's packet line he wandered through the parks, of

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 447

evenings, imagining himself again in the loved haunts
of his childhood on the shores of Lake Erie. He was
particularly attracted to the Chelten Hills some eight
miles north of the city in a country penetrated by the old
York Road. In 1855 ne rented for summer use
"Valley Farm," an old Penn manor house which had
marty pleasant historical associations. The charms of
the neighborhood grew upon him and his taste has been
abundantly confirmed by the very many handsome homes
since located in this region by the wealthy inhabitants of
a city which is noted for its beautiful suburbs. In 1858
he decided to make it a place of winter as well as sum-
mer residence, and he procured another home not far
from "Valley Farm" which was named "The Cedars,"
later torn away to make a place for the mansion of Wil-
liam L. Elkins. Hard by was the residence of William
G. Moorhead which was called "Rockwood" and in the
light of his growing success as a banker in the sixties
Mr. Cooke planned a house of very much larger dimen-
sions.

During the war workmen were not to be had, but a
wooded estate of over two hundred acres near "The
Cedars," only a rifle shot west of the York Road was
purchased and prepared for the house when political and
economical conditions should favor its construction. In
this matter, as in all that he did, for example, in the es-
tablishment of the New York and London branches of
his banking house and in the Northern Pacific alliance,
he was reflective and cautious. He had no mind for
sudden or thoughtless movements, and it is important to
remember this fact in connection with all estimates of his
character. On the very day that Richmond fell, Mon-

448 JAY COOKE

day, April 3, 1865, the lines of the mansion were marked
out, the first earth was cast up and forest trees were re-
moved from the knoll which had been chosen as the site
of the new home. Mr. Cooke humanely and patriotic-
ally desired that the work should profitably employ the
returning soldiers of the neighborhood, and to them pref-
erence was given at all points. Although always
closely bound to Ohio in his sympathies and family ties,
he had become so loyally Philadelphian that he resolved
to hire artisans resident only in that city and use ma-
terials of local growth and manufacture. Stone and
sand for the house were dug nearby. The financier
was largely his own architect; those who developed his
plans were Philadelphians. The furniture, when the
rooms were ready to receive it, was purchased of Phila-
delphia makers. A Philadelphia frescoer with thirty
or forty assistants decorated the walls and some three
hundred paintings and engravings which adorned the
mansion were, as far as could be, illustrative of the work
of Pennsylvania artists, although many rare and expen-
sive masterpieces were later admitted to the collection.
Only the carpets came from afar, but even they were of
American make. They were selected at a mill at Clin-
ton, Mass., by Mr. and Mrs. Cooke, while they were trav-
elling in New England. "In beauty and appropriate-
ness," he wrote,1 "these carpets far exceed any of for-
eign manufacture. It has been a source of much pleas-
ure to us that we have been enabled to pay this tribute
to our national manufacturers and workmen."

The new home was christened "Ogontz" in remem-
brance of the old Sandusky chieftain whose lineaments

* Ogontz Records,

BRONZE ON STAIRWAY AT OGONTZ

Supposed to resemble the Indian Chief for whom the mansion was named

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 449

in bronze graced the main hallway, while several Indians
were represented in a stained glass window, after de-
signs by George F. Bensell, a Philadelphia artist, at the
head of the principal staircase, still further testifying to
the firm Americanism of him who had reared the great
pile. A conservatory opening out from the main hall-
way looked into an "Italian garden," at the end of which
stood a wall built to resemble the ruined castle of
some ancient nobleman. The broad corridors and high
ceilings, the library with its great bookcases, the
"Music Room" downstairs and the "Amusement Room"
upstairs with a miniature stage set with scenery, for
tableaux, readings, magic, charades or amateur the-
atricals were inside features of the house, while foun-
tains, vistas cut through the forest trees, winding walks
and lanes, wide verandas and -a porte-cochere gave dis-
tinction to the exterior. "I can't tell how many or what
variety of rooms," Chase wrote his daughter Nettie in
bewilderment. "I could not keep the count, but heard
of nothing for which there was not a room." He
thought "Cooke's Castle" would be a better name than
"Ogontz."

The house was in all ways qualified to enjoy the repu-
tation with which report soon generally endowed it. A
hundred thousand dollars was at that time a fortune
beyond most men's dreams of avarice and the million-
aires of this age who go daily to their graves, without
remark when we read of the appraisal of their great
estates, except that we did not know of the existence of
men bearing such names, were still outside the bounds
of the imagination. There were few, popular report said
no such private palaces in America as "Ogontz," and

450 JAY COOKE

Mr. Cooke wrote in apology in his own hands in the
"Records:"

"If it seem to some who look upon these beautiful
halls and apartments that they were originated in pride
and are illy suited to be the home of the professed fol-
lowers of Jesus 'who had not where to lay his head' we
answer that as no thought of pride entered our minds
when planning and executing our work, so we humbly
pray we may be preserved from a hurtful and foolish
pride hereafter, for we know that it is not our abiding
place — a little while and we shall be gone and even the
chances and changes of this mortal life may wrest it
from us whilst yet we linger on the earth."

Thus, in 1866, with propitiation and in prophecy did
the distinguished proprietor of the great mansion speak.
The family entered the new house in time for the Christ-
mas celebrations of that year ; so that it was about eight-
een months in the building and represented an outlay of
more than $1,000,000. Mr. Cooke, as he neared the
end of the work, which was rendered the more expensive
because of the exorbitant prices of labor and materials,
in the usual magnitude of his heart, dined the men who
had had leading parts in rearing the house, and it at
once became widely famous for its hospitalities. There
were guests nearly always at "Ogontz" and frequently
its fifty-two rooms were full; its great dining room re-
sounded with chatter and laughter at every meal. At
Christmas dinner in 1866 there were forty-two at the
table, the guests being Mr. Cooke's partners and the
members of their families. He had said many times
that he designed the home to be their home as well as
his own, and there were large reunions three or four

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 451

times a year over holiday seasons with many intervening
visits. Counting all the servants the house at this time
covered the heads of about seventy persons. Illumi-
nated with gas from an individual plant it was held to be
"almost a fairy palace blazing out amidst the winter's
snow." x On the fourteenth of February, 1867, Mr.
Cooke gave a "house warming" party which was at-
tended by more than five hundred guests. When he
first came to the Chelten Hills it was necessary for him
to drive to his business in the city or else board a train
on the Germantown and Chestnut Hill Railroad at a
station three miles distant. Now the North Penn Rail-
road was in operation and for the pleasures of this even-
ing a special train conveyed his guests to York Road
Station, returning to the city after midnight. A band of
music entertained the company, particularly the young
people, who danced through the great rooms until a late
hour.

Partners, relations, neighbors, friends — Presidents
of the United States, cabinet ministers, senators, con-
gressmen, foreign diplomats came and went freely. "The
Cricket on the Hearth" or some little ' play was put
upon the stage in the "Amusement-Room," or James E.
Murdoch read Thomas Buchanan Read's poems. One
played billiards, another bagatelle. In short, all did pre-
cisely as they liked so long as they remained under the
roof, finding honest unaffected hearts in the host and
hostess, whose greatest joy was to witness the happiness
of others.

Mr. Cooke was the most lavish of all inviters. He
was never too busy to be hospitable and when any within

1 Records.

OGOI^TZ.

t^/fti. cai/y^ttuwet'AJ^eau&ttxf.

A train wuT. leave NPJWDepvt for Tbrk
Road Station at 5.20 I'M. and return 1Z16AM.

INVITATION TO HOUSE WARMING PARTY

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 453

the range of his friendship came to Philadelphia they
were urged with as much warmth and sincerity as mor-
tality can command to go directly to "Ogontz," to stay
there so long as they had a mind to — the longer they
remained the better he would like it — and when they
must return to their homes to come back as soon as op-
portunity offered. He wrote and telegraphed his invi-
tations. He delivered them in person and through his
partners and relations. Henry Cooke was besought to
invite almost the whole of Washington and a declina-
tion only led to another invitation. "Please see Secre-
tary Robeson," wrote Jay Cooke to his brother Henry
on July 7, 1873, "and say to him that I claim a visit
from himself and Mrs. Robeson and the baby at once.
Tell them to bring along any servants they require and
any friends also. I want them now when I am so much
at home." On April 17, 1872, he wrote to Henry
Cooke : .

I enclose you a note for Mr. Boutwell, inviting him to come
to Ogontz. Will you present it yourself and see what he says?
Tell him that I have a magnificent new cue made on purpose
for him and one like it for myself, so as to take no advantage.
I will promise not to talk business and that he shall be entirely
uninterrupted by any interference of others.

Mr. Cooke's cup of joy must have been full when he
said in a letter to his brother on March 6, 1871 :

I have written Catacazy [the Russian Minister to the United
States] to come on Wednesday with Madame Catacazy and any
others he may choose.1 I have written Prescott Smith to have
a compartment in a car reserved for them. I will have them

1 This telegram came from the Russian minister, " Madame Catacazy,
myself, one friend and chambermaid are coming to-morrow, following
kind directions. Catacazy." ,

454 JAY COOKE

met in West Philadelphia. Colfax [Vice-President of the
United States] and Windom [Senator from Minnesota] come
on Friday. The Chief Justice [Salmon Portland Chase] goes
home to-morrow or next day.

The financier many times invited to his homes Gen-
eral Grant and the members of his family. They
frequently accepted his hospitalities, both at "Ogontz"
and at his South Mountain camp in Cumberland
County, Pa. The President was asked to come to
Philadelphia while the Republican National Convention
was in session there in 1872, and stay incognito at
"Ogontz" with the members of his cabinet. The man-
sion, the owner explained, was supplied with private
telegraph wires, but, if they preferred it, he would hire
them a furnished house in the city near the Convention
Hall.

His invitations to the President took many forms and
were the more easily delivered because of the warm in-
timacy which marked the social relations of General
Grant and Henry Cooke, and their respective families in
Washington. The intercourse between the White
House and Henry Cooke's Georgetown mansion was
characterized by an almost neighborly freedom. Jay
Cooke spared no effort to bring the President under his
roof whenever he could, and was really wounded if he
met a declination, as he undoubtedly was whenever he
was refused any request, although the rebound was so
rapid that the mark was seen by few eyes. There was
joy in a rural retreat like "Ogontz" for the President.
Mr. Cooke's friend and partner, Edward Dodge, had
brought him some cigars from Cuba. They were of
the finest brand and of great size, having been packed in

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 455

a glass box, across the front of which Jay Cooke's name
was spelled in gilt letters. Perhaps a half dozen had
been smoked upon important occasions by guests of lux-
urious tastes. Upon one of General Grant's visits the
box was brought out for him and he sat upon a sofa
throughout the evening in conversation with the finan-
cier, flicking the ashes into a fireplace, one cigar being
lighted upon the end of another until the precious store
was exhausted.

Once a year Mr. Cooke was wont to open the camp
upon his South Mountain estate, Henry Cooke's and
Grant's boys often coming on from Washington to join
the owner and the members of his family. One night,
while Mr. Cooke was telling Indian stories, it is related
that a hideous screech was suddenly heard outside. It
interrupted the proceedings as a matter of course and in
an instant each boy was on his feet and ready for ac-
tion. The cry was repeated. "Hush!" exclaimed Mr.
Cooke. "It's a catamount." To his horror all drew
out revolvers and a party was at once organized to hunt
down and make an end to the animal. By the sound
they traced it to a tree and banged away for a time with-
out knowing that a man on the place who was safely
hidden behind another tree, following Mr. Cooke's
earlier instructions, was uttering the cries while holding
it in place by a rope. Finally a shot cut the cord and
the effigy fell to the ground, the boys running up eagerly.
Robert Douglas, the son of Stephen A. Douglas, who was
in the party, shouted loudly, "I killed the catamount,"
without meeting any to dispute his claims as soon as
the boys detected the straw protruding from under the
skin. Then there was much laughter. The next day

456 JAY COOKE

the hills resounded with the news that Douglas had
killed the catamount. A few years after, the boy be-
come a man, was stumping the state of North Carolina
in a contest conducted, if on a smaller scale, very much
like the series of joint debates between his father and
Abraham Lincoln in Illinois. At the end of the speech
it was customary for the orator to inquire if anyone in
the audience would like to ask a question. Finally one
night Douglas was faced by an old fellow who said:

"Mr. Douglas, might I ask you a question?"

"Certainly," answered Douglas, unsuspectingly.

"There is just one thing I would like to ask you," the
man continued, "and it is this, Who killed the cata-
mount?"

The township covering the South Mountain property,
70 miles in circumference, was created in 1870 and
named after Mr. Cooke. It gave a unanimous vote, 51,
for General Grant in 1872. "They all remember the
visit of Mrs. Grant and the children last year and the
year before," wrote Jay Cooke to his brother on Novem-
ber 6, 1872, "and as a matter of pride and pleasure even
the Democrats on the place cast their votes for the Gen-
eral." He asked Henry Cooke to bear the news to the
President's wife.

Mr. Cooke was deeply interested in the people of
Japan and their curious customs. In April, 1867, about
eighteen visitors from that country — jugglers and acro-
bats who had been received in Washington by President
Johnson — came to "Ogontz" in their native costumes,
having been driven out from the city in a great omnibus.
They left their wooden shoes upon the porch ; prostrated
themselves as they entered the house, inspected the man-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 457

sion under Mr. Cooke's guidance from attic to cellar, and
sat on their haunches in the dining room, while to their
host's great pleasure they ate the oysters and boiled rice
he had had prepared for them, and drank cup after cup of
boiling hot tea without cream or sugar. When this cere-
mony had ended he, with twinkling eyes, led them to the
Amusement Room for an exhibition in magic. The
Orientals, like millionaires, greater curiosities then than
at this day, saw a lot of imitation gold earrings, breast
pins, watch chains, etc., broken in a mortar, loaded into
a gun, and fired into a blank wall where they appeared
suspended in perfect order, to be taken down and dis-
tributed to the amazed guests. The host, to their de-
light pronounced a few Japanese words and when they
left they gave him three rare books in their language
which were cherished in the library at "Ogontz."

In 1872 the Japanese embassy, then on a visit to the
United States, came in a body. It had been at work in
Washington for several months preparing the way for
a treaty with the United States, and was tendered an
invitation to Mr. Cooke's home. A Japanese govern-
ment loan of some $15,000,000 was in prospect, and Sec-
retary Boutwell intimated that it might be negotiated by
Jay Cooke and Company.1 Furthermore, Mr. Cooke
wished to speak to the visitors concerning Asiatic con-
nections for the Northern Pacific Railroad. On July
26, 1872, Henry Cooke telegraphed that Prince Iwakura
and his associate ambassadors — a party of about thirty —
would come to Philadelphia and quietly spend Sunday
at "Ogontz." The group included a number of privy
councillors and government ministers, the Emperor

1 Boutwell to J. G, May 27, 1872.

458 JAY COOKE

sending Jay Cooke about two years afterward, in testi-
mony of the courtesies to his representatives, two valu-
able cloisonne vases, now in the possession of Jay
Cooke, Jr., and a mantelpiece which was set up in the
room he occupied until his death at "Eildon," the home
of his daughter, Mrs. Charles D. Barney.

A few days after the departure of the Japanese am-
bassadors Spotted Tail and a large delegation of Upper
Brule Sioux, including several squaws who had come
to Washington to see the "Great Father" in regard to
their lands, were entertained by Mr. Cooke. Exten-
sive preparations were made for their pleasure. The
table was set with the very handsome hand-painted
china which his partners had procured for him
in Paris. Dinner was served in course with oysters,
clams, bear, buffalo, antelope, venison, prairie chickens,
rabbits and other game. The ice cream was moulded
in forms representing various birds and animals. The
repast finished all the guests repaired to the ample
grounds, stretched themselves upon the lawn, smoked
Mr. Cooke's fine cigars and grunted their thanks to
their host. He presented them with blankets, beads and
trinkets and made them a speech telling them that he
was building a railroad which would do them no injury,
that he was their friend and wished them also to be his
friend. He employed Signor Blitz, a magician well
known at the day, to perform many tricks to the great
amazement of the red men. Being asked afterward
how his savage guests had conducted themselves in his
house be said :

"Oh, very nicely in the main. They watched the
whites and tried to imitate them. The only outre thing

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 459

I noticed was their throwing the water melon rinds on
the carpet, but that was a small matter."

Jay Cooke was the prince of hosts in America for his
period, and when his daughters wished quietly to enter-
tain a company of young friends it was wise to ask him
before he left them in the morning, or by telegraph dur-
ing the day, not to bring any "grandees" home with him
in the evening, a precaution suggested by a knowledge
of the boundless warmth of his heart. He specified that
the visits of presidents and secretaries might be entirely
private, if they preferred it, and oftentimes when the
public wondered what had become of a hard-pressed
government official he might have been found resting
under the roof of Jay Cooke. Among the many guests
at "Ogontz" were General Grant and the members of
his family; Chief Justice Chase and his daughters; Sec-
retaries McCulloch, Boutwell, Richardson, Robeson and
Delano; the Russian Minister Catacazy; the Prussian
Minister Baron Gerolt; Whitelaw Reid, Senator A. G.
Cattell, General Robert S. Schenck, William D. Kelley,
Carl Schurz, John Sherman, Schuyler Colfax, William
Windom, Senator Ben Wade, Thomas A. Scott, John
W. Forney and a host little less well known.

Mr. Cooke's desire for life in the open, his attach-
ment to the land of his birth, and a constant care for the
comfort of his relatives and friends in Sandusky led to
the erection of his summer home at Gibraltar before the
plans for "Ogontz" had yet been matured. As a boy he
had made fishing and hunting excursions among the
islands which dot the surface of the western end of
Lake Erie. A few miles from the main Ohio coast are
three islands called North, South and Middle Bass

460 JAY COOKE

Islands. South Bass contains probably 1,300 acres and
the other two about 700 acres each. They were pat-
ented by a Connecticut family and were sold at length
to a Spanish sugar merchant in New York, Rivera St.
Jurjo. They are of such a geological formation that
their rocks disintegrate readily under the influence of
the weather into a soil excellently well adapted for the
growth of the grape and other fruits. At first of little
monetary value, and seldom visited except by fishing
parties, who established their camps on the shores, the
discovery that the land made rich vineyards drew to it
Swiss, German and French colonists who had had ex-
perience of viniculture in their European homes. What
before was offered at $10 an acre now brought $500 and
the industry assumed a considerable importance which
it retains to this day.

The islands had an historic interest also, because of
Commodore Perry's famous battle in adjoining waters,
and more locally for the exploits of "old Ben Napor,"
the "freebooter of the Lake," a kind of pirate who had a
schooner and claimed many unusual privileges. On
the north side of South Bass island lies Gibraltar, about
seven acres of rock which rises picturesquely above the
surface of the lake, thereby creating a harbor, called
Put-in-Bay, because Perry put in here to repair his
forces before attacking the British fleet in 18 13. He
is said to have cut some of the trees for military uses,
although many of noble dimensions remain, gaining
their sustenance through interstices in the rock which
upon one side has been washed relentlessly by the waves
until it is quite precipitous, the soft strata crumbling un-
der the storms lashing the shore. Some Ohio people

M ■

JAY COOKE AND MRS. MCMEENS
On the porch of the Lake Erie home

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 461

formed an association and laid the cornerstone of a
monument to Perry upon this islet in 1858, and in 1863
Captain John Brown, the son of John Brown of Ossa-
watomie, was about to purchase the rock. He could
not raise the money and Mr. Cooke completed his nego-
tiations with St. Jurjo early in 1864, asking his father
and brother Pitt at once to visit the island and choose a
site for the house which he proposed to erect there. The
highest point of ground was selected and plans were
laid for the prosecution of the work under Pitt Cooke's
direction.

Labor and material must be brought from Sandusky
and much of them were required for the completion of
the house on the scale proposed by the financier. It was
built of the evenly stratified rock which underlies San-
dusky, its principal feature being a high octagonal tower
with a castellated top. While the work was in progress
a Confederate raiding party which had been fitted out
in Canada visited Put-in-Bay, seized the steamer, Philo
Parsons, then at the wharf, and captured another boat,
the Island Queen, which was laden with lumber, sash
and doors for the mansion. The raiders carried the
Parsons to a Canadian port while the Queen was scut-
tled and sunk in the open lake. It was caught upon a
rock and, being but partially submerged, the cargo was
rescued and returned to Gibraltar to take its intended
place in the house.

The work was finished early in 1865 and in June the
new home received its first party of visitors. Jay
Cooke brought his family and several friends from
Philadelphia and they were joined by a large number
of Sanduskians. The house was given into the charge

462 JAY COOKE

of Mrs. Anna C. McMeens, the widow of Dr. R. R. Mc-
Meens, the secretary of the ill-fated Perry Monument
Association, whose work was left for Jay Cooke to finish
in the shadow of his home by the erection of a pedestal,
upon which he placed an urn. Dr. McMeens had lost
his life in the war, having gone out as a surgeon, and
because of the widow's need and her husband's earlier
connection with the island, as well as for old friendship's
sake, Mr. Cooke put her in charge of the house in his
absence. She was a particularly happy choice and it
was a post of responsibility, for the mansion was to be
kept open from May until November, its hospitalities
being offered freely to all the poor clergymen it would
hold. She hired the servants, supplied the larder and
sent him the bills which he never examined, so complete
was his trust in her. That she fulfilled all of his de-
sires regarding the conduct of the house seems to be
certain.

Each year in May he went out with his family to re-
main for about three weeks. He returned late in Sep-
tember or early in October for a vacation of similar
length and during these periods the house was filled
with relatives, partners and friends, particularly if they
were fishermen able to share his own enthusiasm for the
Waltonian sport. At such times came Chief Justice
Chase, Treasurer of the United States F. E. Spinner,
Anson Burlingame, John Sherman, Governor and Mrs.
Rutherford B. Hayes, Dewitt Talmage, Senator Pome-
roy, General J. K. Moorhead and many others.

Here upon the water by day and around the open fires
inside at night, while the lake roared and the wind
soughed in the boughs of the high trees, there was

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 463

much happiness. The rooms with wide windows and
heavy doors, all bordered with massive mouldings, had
an air of large simplicity. The library, the first story
tower-room, was stored with standard books and the
bedrooms above it, surveying the lake, were the choicest
of slumber places, as multitudes of Mr. Cooke's guests
would gladly attest. Grapes and other fruit stood in
the hallway in abundance for free use at all times.
The table in the dining-room bore good food in plenty
for all that ever entered the house, and so long as this
castle of the lake shall stand it will be, to those apprised
of its history, a monument to him who was its joyful
and joy-giving proprietor.

Jay Cooke's love for and indulgence of all the mem-
bers of his family scarcely need be dwelt upon at this
stage of his biography. His marriage was the happiest
of unions and Mrs. Cooke's death in 1871 must have
left him inconsolable but for his perfect trust in the
Scriptural promises of a glorious futurity. His relig-
ion was simple and devoid of all confusing formality.
He took the plain facts of the Christian faith, believed
them unquestioningly, wove them into • his daily life,
so that they were veritably a part of himself, and wished
not for more. He convinced himself that whatever was
was right. The dispensations of life, however unpleas-
ant in our mortal view, would work together for good,
though the process should be difficult, and should pro-
voke rebelliousness. It was a trial of the spirit if it had
no other use. That he was appointed and sustained by
a higher power for his great labors during the war Mr.
Cooke did not doubt. He said so frequently and he
always returned what he could to the Author of his

464 JAY COOKE

success by kind words and charitable acts to the
creatures of God set down in the world around him who
were not blessed as he had been. He unconsciously
modelled his life after that of some of the good old
saints and patriarchs in the Book which he pondered
over so lovingly, and it is probable that he was as close
a reproduction of these great figures in Scriptural his-
tory as any one who has been put into a modern frame.
At the death of those dearest to him he could say with
more calm confidence than any around him that they
had gone on to taste the joys of a better land. The
leaving of this earth and the sweet things upon it was to
him a promotion so grand that those who remained had
not the right to grieve. In him the phrase which is so
trite, since in the hour of mystery surrounding death it is
the only one that we can offer to our bereaved friends,
had the ring of a new prophecy. In his view Mrs.
Cooke had gone on just before and he was always as
faithful and true in all his attachments as though they
were to meet again upon the morrow. They had eight
children: Jay Cooke, Jr., born in 1845; Laura Elmina,
1849; Caroline Clara, 1850; Sarah Esther, 1852; Dora
Elizabeth, 1853; Catharine Moorhead, 1855; Pitt, 1856,
and Henry Eleutheros, 1857. Caroline, Dora and Pitt
died in infancy and Catharine in her ninth year, so
that but four, two sons and two daughters, lived to man
and womanhood, — Jay Cooke, Jr., who married Clara
Alice Moorhead, a daughter of J. B. Moorhead of Phila-
delphia, and was made a partner in the banking firm;
Laura, who married Charles D. Barney ; Sarah, who be-
came the wife of John M. Butler, and Henry E., who
married Esther Clarkson Russell, a daughter of William

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 465

Russell, a banker of Lewistown, Pa., and who, to his
father's deep satisfaction, after graduating at Princeton
studied for and entered the ministry of the Protestant
Episcopal Church.

In his children and again in their children, Jay Cooke
had a pride that was patriarchal. Sons, daughters,
sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and at
length great-grandchildren were all close to his heart
and to have them near him brightened the gathering
years. For his father and mother, and his brothers and
sisters, and their respective families he had a feeling of
little less responsibility. His heart was large enough
to include them all. He literally showered positions
and opportunities, loans and gifts upon them, viewed
their shortcomings charitably and forgave them their
debts. He had the same care over his wife's relatives
and was a particularly useful friend to her brother,
Colonel R. T. P. Allen, who joined the Conferedate
Army. In spite of this fact Mr. Cooke actively used
his offices with the government at Washington to secure
considerate treatment for Colonel Allen when the report
reached the North that he had been wounded on a
Southern battle-field. The war ended, Mr. Cooke made
him a large loan of money which enabled him to regain
possession of the Kentucky Military Institute and re-
sume the old course of his life. Some of the graduates
of this school were later given places in the engineering
parties on the Northern Pacific Railroad.

To his junior partners and employees Mr. Cooke was
the best of all friends, recognizing talent and rewarding
willing and faithful service. If some came to feel at
last that they were wiser than he, going so far as to pre-

466 JAY COOKE

judice the minds of the attaches of the several houses,
as in London in 1873, where Lycurgus Edgerton said
that they ungratefully denounced the head of the firm
whom they had never seen, it was not so in Philadel-
phia, even under the severe trials of that last year.
Edward J. Cattell, a nephew of Senator Cattell, who
was a clerk in the Philadelphia house at the time of
the failure, wrote of Mr. Cooke after his death:

He took a personal interest in every one connected with the
banking house, seeking occasion to talk with us about our habits
of life outside of business hours, and to say those kindly helpful
words which mean so much to a young man on the threshold of
life. He established in the banking house a dining room where
the employees were provided with a substantial dinner, and every
fortnight we were all invited to his home at " Ogontz," where
he made us feel that we were honored guests. We all loved
him and many of us would watch for his cheery " good night,"
as he passed from his private office in the rear of the building
on his way home at the close of business hours. I shall never
forget the evening of that fateful 18th of September, 1873. All
day with blinds closed we had listened to the maddening cries of
the newsboys in the street, " Failure of Jay Cooke." To every
one in the building the failure was a personal grief. It was our
failure. About five o'clock Mr. Cooke, wearing his broad
brimmed felt hat and his long cloak, emerged from his private
office, and with head bowed walked slowly across the banking
house and out through the door into the street. He seemed to
bear the weight of the world on his shoulders and every heart
in the great room went out in sympathy to our stricken chief.
For a month his old clerks worked night and day not knowing
whether they would receive any pay for their services. Every
one was willing to give his time and strength to the man who
had won so large a place in their hearts.

The least of those who served him felt that in him
they had a sympathetic friend. They enjoyed the pleas-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 467

tires of "Ogontz" and Gibraltar, vacations here and
there at his expense, gifts for themselves, their wives
and their children, commendations for their relatives
and friends, aid to their churches and other charities, a
share in the profits at the end of bountiful years and,
perhaps, the gain upon investments made without risk
to them for their accounts. He comforted them in their
sorrows and laughed with them in their joys. In Oc-
tober, 1865, he wrote from Gibraltar to Sexton, who was
an assistant in his Philadelphia house : "I am very anx-
ious to know whether you are going to be sick — if you
don't feel well take your wife and daughter and come
right out here. Don't delay a day. This is my com-
mand."

An instance of the consideration he felt for all those
whom he employed, even in the most menial services, is
afforded by the arrangements he perfected for meeting
the wants of the gardeners and servants at "Ogontz"
after the failure in 1873. During that unfortunate win-
ter, when there was so much suffering on all sides and
when no other work could probably be secured they were
provided for by the most detailed and carefully wrought
out contracts. They were to continue in the use of the
farms, tenements and greenhouses, paying their own
wages under Mr. Cooke's direction from funds created
by the sale of plants, flowers and field and dairy prod-
ucts. Others were to quarry and sell stone and cut posts
and rails. Another would run an omnibus, while a
woman was to have a school-house and receive pupils.
Thus would the deterioration of the property be pre-
vented while the needs of men and women unaccustomed
to any kind of business management on their own ac-

468 JAY COOKE

counts would be attended to as before by those who had
a superior faculty for direction.

He had many proteges who were assisted in pure
friendship, and who were wholly unable to do him serv-
ice in return for his many favors. To Henry D. Moore,
the old Treasurer of Pennsylvania, he gave almost as
freely as to one of his own blood, while that man specu-
lated in coal lands and gold, being again and again
upon the verge of ruin. Mr. Cooke befriended Carl
Schurz when he came here, a German refugee, advan-
tageously invested money for him and kept his wife and
family supplied with funds at the rate of about $200 a
month while he was in the army. To many men who
then occupied or have since come to the highest of sta-
tions the financier was the most valuable of protectors
and stays.

When Baron Gerolt, the Prussian Minister, returned
to Germany after his long residence in the United States,
he was compelled to leave a daughter behind him. She
had entered a convent in Washington, thus causing the
Baron and the Baroness much anguish. He wrote of the
affair to Mr. Cooke and the latter, with his accustomed
sympathy, volunteered to visit the girl and the sisters in
charge of the establishment. Though without avail the
mission testified in one more way to his readiness to
lighten the burdens of his friends.

D. W. Cheesman, the Assistant Treasurer of the
United States at San Francisco, who, in the opinion of
the people of California, had done Mr. Cooke and the
war loans little useful service, had lost about $9,000 by
the defalcation of a cashier, who was his wife's brother.
She came on to Washington and stated the case to Mr.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 469

Cooke while he was in that city. He at once told her
to say to her husband that if he must make good the
loss out of his own purse to draw upon Jay Cooke and
Company for $2,000, the money to be returned whenever
the borrower "should be able to do so." * The draft
was soon received with a letter reminding Mr. Cooke
of his promise.

Loans and gifts of this kind were constantly made to
men whom he met and who told him of their hopes and
anxieties. He often did these things without waiting
to be asked, and sometimes without letting him, whom
he would befriend, know of the benevolence. When
Chief Justice Chase was at Gibraltar with Mr. Cooke in
October, 1865, the latter wrote to the men in charge of
his Philadelphia house: "Governor Chase says collect
and credit him the interest on his $30,000 5-2OS. He
wants to sell the gold now. Credit him at least 146 no
matter what the price is, and advise him."

In his relations with all classes of men Mr. Cooke was
free of all disposition to revenge. He had no conceal-
ments. "I never have any secrets," he wrote to Mr.
Billings in 1871, "but jerk them out and read whatever
I get to the proper parties." He nourished no enmities
himself and was always seeking to compose the differ-
ences which arose between other men. When he was
treated with what he believed to be unfairness he at
once sought a full and free discussion of the subject,
being at all times ready to go more than half way in
making apology for and in retracting his own acts and
statements. His method in a business transaction was
absolutely devoid of equivocation, duplicity or trickery

1 Cheesman to J. C, July 28, 1866.

470 JAY COOKE

of any kind. It was one half exact knowledge and one
half bold enthusiasm with a dazzling largeness and
openness of conduct which swept men off their feet.

Because of Mr. Cooke's friendly attentions to political
leaders and his campaign contributions some may
leap to the conclusion that they were offered with a view
to gaining unfair advantages, and the idea is empha-
sized by Chase's ostentatious refusals to receive gifts
while he was Secretary of the Treasury. It must be
remembered that Mr. Cooke was at all points identified
with gigantic undertakings. His success during the
war meant the preservation of the government and it
will be a very scrupulous person who will cavil at the
efforts he put forth to get the Treasury contracts under
the least onerous conditions so that he could work with
the most hope of success. It was proven again and
again that there was no other avenue through which
sufficient amounts of money could be obtained by the
Secretary of the Treasury. It was received from him
at commissions for which no European government can
negotiate loans, and the kindnesses which he simultane-
ously tendered to Treasury officials, politicians or edi-
tors will certainly not be viewed as moral improprieties.
It is true that he in many ways befriended Mr. Chase's
daughters when the Secretary himself was loath to re-
ceive favors at his hands. He gave financial support to
the Secretary's presidential ambitions in 1864. But his
attentions, which took so many forms, were continued
after Chase passed to the Chief Justiceship, when his ca-
pacity for usefulness to a banker could not be large, and
they were uninterrupted by Chase's decision to accept
the presidential nomination at the hands of the Demo-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 471

cratic party, an act so cordially disapproved by Mr.
Cooke.

The financier had made loans to General Grant before
he became President and before there was certainty that
he ever would hold that or any other high political of-
fice. Jay Cooke and Company carried a note for
Grant's brother in the west, extended pecuniary favors
to the Dents and was the kind friend of the Grant chil-
dren. All this was done as a matter of course. They
were invited to his and Henry Cooke's homes, probably
not without thought of the great office which the Gen-
eral occupied, but certainly in no way unwarranted by
the friendship which should subsist between two men
who each on his own side and in his own manner had
done so much to promote a common object — the preser-
vation of the Union.

Mr. Cooke gave liberally to the Grant campaigns in
1868 and 1872 because he was asked to do so by men
whom he could not safely refuse. He sincerely desired
Grant's success. If his material interest lay upon that
side so did all his political traditions and sentiments,
as well as his personal friendships. If the funds were
expended legitimately, in gaining votes by education,
as he believed that they were, he could not be greatly
blamed for supplying money to elect him whom he so
much desired to see elected.

For his friends Mr. Cooke had a thousand and one lit-
tle kindnesses which others would invent only after
much thought but which to him were natural exhala-
tions each minute of his life. Upon the first train
through from Duluth to St. Paul in the summer of 1870
he sent Mrs. Marshall, the wife of the governor of Min-

472 JAY COOKE

nesota, three Southdown sheep. He claimed the pleas-
ure— he called it a pleasure — of entertaining public men
at his homes and of showing them and their families
attentions of many kinds. He would send toys and
pet animals to their children, present flowers from his
conservatories to their wives, find schools for their sons
and daughters and advance money to the young people
until remittances were received from home. If he did
not foresee the need they had only to suggest it and he
would instantly respond. After the establishment of the
London house a delicate compliment by Mr. Cooke to
men whose friendship he desired was to send them let-
ters of credit upon the eve of their departure for Europe.
Thus did he favor Adolph Borie, the Secretary of the
Navy who was going abroad with Nellie Grant and
Henry E. Johnston, the Baltimore banker, each receiv-
ing letters for £5,000, a mere expression of opinion by
Mr. Cooke that they were good for this amount while
traveling if they chose to draw through his firm upon
their own bank accounts. Once he aimed to propitiate
the elder James Gordon Bennett, as hostile among jour-
nalists in New York as was George W. Childs in Phila-
delphia, by asking his brother Pitt to make out a letter
of credit for £10,000 or £20,000 for the editor of the
Herald, but the attention does not seem to have been of
any avail.

Mr. Cooke's contributions to funds to defray the elec-
tion expenses of congressmen, such as Sherman, Gar-
field, Schenck and William D. Kelley, can require no
particular defense. He believed implicitly in the prin-
ciples for which these men stood and was their warm
supporter even when they differed from him in regard

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 473

to the value of a public measure. Lobbying was always
loathsome to him, but there were times in the history of
his great railway enterprises when Congress could not
be relied upon to act justly by corporations of and by
itself. It would not even keep its solemn pledges unless
it were watched and guided, and with men who were
often blackmailers beset by hostile corrupt influences,
ordinary methods could not avail. Although free and
generous to a fault, Mr. Cooke had as much contempt
as it was possible for a nature like his to feel for a man
who audaciously demanded a favor in direct return for
a service performed or yet to be performed. "They
ought to be whipped" for asking additional campaign
subscriptions, Jay Cooke said of the Grant managers
in 1872. "Is it possible that those fellows must be feed
in order to get a decent report ?" he wrote to his brother
Henry, of the government commissioners appointed to
inspect the Minnesota Division of the Northern Pacific
Railroad, when General Cass told him that they were
"out for blood." Favors at his hand were not for sale,
and he did not buy them of others cheerfully. He would
roundly reprove those who came to him with base pro-
posals. In February, 1873, a young man who had been
in Governor Cooke's employ in the executive offices of
the District of Columbia, was an applicant for a place
in the Treasury Department. He wrote to Jay Cooke
as follows:

I shall want some friends to support my application which I
take the liberty to mention to you only because I think in that
place I could be of frequent, if not constant service to your in-
terests. I should know everything that transpired and should
go every day thence direct to the Governor, and could besides

474 JAY COOKE

write you direct of any extraordinary action which might be of
special value to you.

To this proposition Mr. Cooke replied, stating that he
desired no unfair favors from the government, and he
would never be a party to such an arrangement as had
been suggested, which led to an apology from the young
man who felt "sore distress" that his motives had been
so unpleasantly misinterpreted, and as might be ex-
pected, an apology also from Jay Cooke who was always
generously glad to give others the benefit of a doubt and
make amends to the smallest person for an uncharitable
judgment.

To the newspaper men Jay Cooke was a friend whose
like has never been seen. His treatment of the journal-
ists was plainly mingled with the idea of service, and
many of them for whom he could develop no friend-
ship were, of course, openly hired. At this day we would
be disposed to say that Mr. Cooke had an exaggerated
notion of the power of the press, but judged by the re-
sults which were attained by the manipulation of the
journalists in his various ways, it will not do to conclude
that he made any mistakes in this direction. During the
war he was engaged in a work which must be done in
the sight of the public, and his magnificent successes
were very largely due to the furore that he could cre-
ate through the newspapers. He knew that a journal
was the man who wrote for it. The American press was
not the ponderous unmanageable body that it has since
become by the enlargement of the editorial staffs and the
introduction of impersonal methods. He gave the news-
paper owner money for his advertisements and the news-
paper writers dinners, excursions, options upon stocks

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 475

and bonds, and made them loans at request. Bottles of
Ohio wine or a pair of Lake Erie ducks were sent to
grace tables unaccustomed to such luxuries. When
their wives or children were ill he sometimes sent them
to the mountains or the seashore, and he was a kind,
sympathetic friend in their personal sorrows and anx-
ieties as he was of all people. He never lost the love
of many of the newspaper men, but not a few were in-
sincere, and others who made it a business to abuse for
blackmail soon openly displayed their ingratitude.

Mr. Cooke was very sensitive to the criticisms of the
press, though he at times professed to hold it in disdain.
Having such an estimate of its influence, he could not
be expected to view its flings complacently. He felt that
he had done enough for his country during the war, in
selling the bonds, or if journalists were purely mercen-
ary beings, which he sometimes suspected that they
were, that he had paid them enough in his lifetime to be
secure from assaults upon his personal character, and
the measures which he advocated. He well knew that his
position in connection with the great national enterprises
with which he was always identified was such that he
could be "held up," as by highwaymen, by editors and
Congressmen, and when demands of this kind were made
upon him in this spirit he resented them cordially. He
asked only for fair dealing. If he could perform a
service for the government better than other men he
desired that he might be assigned to the task. If he had
a great railway to build he asked only the treatment
which the government accorded the most favored of
other railroads. To obtain what he believed to be his
right, he determinedly contended, and neglected no hon-

476 JAY COOKE

orable exertion to bring about that end, especially when
he had given his word to the public which had invested
its money upon his advice and which he would not
deceive.

He had so little suspicion of evil that he took no care
to avoid or to conceal acts that might be misinterpreted
to his great disadvantage. Himself without guile, with
all his experience of the world, he was rarely able to
forearm himself against an attack upon his motives. He
bade a public man to his home as he would invite a pri-
vate man. One was treated much like the other, with
whole-souled kindness. The pride that often comes with
success never entered to mar his social relationships. He
was as democratic as Lincoln. He never came to think
himself a whit better than other men. He had the same
greeting for a stone mason at work upon a wall beside
a road as for a President of the United States. Indeed
it was because of some inability to conceive of himself
in a place above others that he was frequently denied the
recognition to which his services amply entitled him. All
received his bounty, and taking it as it was offered, a
favor freely given, often forgot the word of apprecia-
tion or the service in return. Too much freedom made
the kindness so constantly bestowed seem a universal
right which might be enjoyed like air and water without
rendering any careful account to the good source.

There was an ease of informality in all of Mr. Cooke's
social intercourse. President Grant came and went like
other guests. Upon his last visit to "Ogontz" Charles
D. Barney, Mr. Cooke's son-in-law, found the general
walking on the lawn with his host. It was the Septem-
ber afternoon before the failure in 1873. Mr. Cooke

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FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 477

turned and asked if there were any letters or despatches,
he having left the office at an early hour. Mr. Barney
and the President mutually eyed each other for some
time before Jay Cooke seemed to take in the situation.
"This is Charlie, you know Charlie," said the financier,
finally, and both were compelled to guess the rest as
best they could.

The gifts which Mr. Cooke made to public men were
very insignificant in value in comparison with what he
was doing for all manner of people who came his way
and enjoyed the pleasure of his acquaintance and friend-
ship. His generosity, and wide repute for wealth and
a willingness to improve the lots of all who were in any
kind of distress, caused him to be the most ridden down
and hunted of men, though unlike the rich of a later day,
he took almost no precautions to protect himself from
importunity. It is true that he had clerks to receive
those who came to his office, but it was not his desire
to deny himself to his visitors, and few went off without
a glimpse into his great heart. To please Miss Nettie
Chase Mr. Cooke had taken the trouble to place for pub-
lication with the Coates firm in Philadelphia a volume
of nonsense rhymes which she had written. One day
Joseph H. Coates was sent by his father to see Mr.
Cooke about this little enterprise. The banker was en-
gaged at the moment. He did not know his visitor
from hundreds of others, who came upon all kinds of
missions, for the most part interesting only to them-
selves, but in his natural consideration for every one,
he interrupted his conversation, however important it
may have been, rummaged for a little while in the
drawer of a desk and brought out a map which he gave

478 JAY COOKE

the young man lest the waiting should seem too tire-
some.

A secretary answered many of the financier's letters,
but it was not unusual for him to dictate or write out
with his own hand the replies which he desired should
be sent to supplicants hundreds of miles away, of whose
true needs he could not know. One-tenth of the profits
of all his houses was set aside for charity. "Old Patri-
arch Jacob," who had a separate account upon the books
of Jay Cooke and Company, received ten per cent, of
the year's gains before the distribution was made to the
partners. From this large fund suffering was alleviated,
and many charitable acts were performed in the spirit of
Jacob to the advantage of the worthy poor. A memo-
randum to charge this or that payment to "O. P. J.,"
was enough for any clerk and the account was carefully
balanced, many thousands of dollars being distributed
each year by the "Old Patriarch." Mr. Cooke had his
own "O. P. J." account besides, and often overdrew it
extensively in relieving want which was brought under
his notice. At times he employed agents to investigate
the cases which were recommended to him that he might
make no mistakes. His gifts were often secretly be-
stowed, as though they came direct from the store of
some all-seeing Providence, his agents telling him, to
his delight, the joy which came to poor creatures by the
receipt of flour, potatoes, clothing, sewing machines or
money from a mysterious source. For a long time at
frequent intervals a leading minister in Philadelphia had
been receiving a contribution in an envelope from some
one who called himself "Left Hand." One day, seeing
Mr. Cooke's signature, he was impressed with the simi-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 479

larity of the handwriting, and the identity of the gen-
erous giver was a mystery no longer. The "Old Patri-
arch" was a friend to uncounted numbers of people, and
no one who has not had access to Mr. Cooke's letters
and papers, so carefully preserved, can know of the wide
range of his charity. The value of what he did, al-
though understood to some extent by those nearest to
him in his prosperity, was only an impression, since he
gave out no data of his benevolence, and sought no pub-
lic acclamation for it. It was enough for him to know
that he had done these things for many of the least of
men, and that they were made the gladder and the more
comfortable thereby. There may be a record upon some
immortal tablet in the skies of all his kindness and
beneficence if there be none graven here below on our
changing scrolls. His daily acts of charity and mercy,
as Bishop Mackay-Smith said at the unveiling of a
window recently presented to his York Road church
by the Ogontz school girls, would, if all taken together,
erect more than one great memorial building of that
kind which the wealthy now so often choose to leave
behind them.

It was in the nature of the case impossible for Mr.
Cooke to heed the many calls upon him, but he never
withheld his sympathy and encouragement. No one
came away from him without feeling a little stronger
for the struggle. "How many you daily make happy,"
wrote Chief Justice Chase to the financier in August,
1869; "if not otherwise yet by your cheerful words and
ways."

Incessantly the mails bore Mr. Cooke letters like
these :

480 JAY COOKE

Mr. J. Kook:

Dear Sir — Excuse me for droping these few Lines to you but
I am compeld to do so in the cirkumstances that a Poor man Like
me is compeld to ask a faver of a kind harted gentlman which
I trust in god will not be cast aside My Dear sir the Blesing I
ask is to asist me in starting a segar and tobacco Store I am not
able to work I lost my leg at the batle of fort Stedman, etc., etc.

Honer Jay Coock:

Deare sir being somewhat embarrised fmanciley I thought I
would write to you and tell you my trubles as I Have Read in
the christian advocate of you benevolence, etc.

Dear Sir. Presuming that by God's good providence you have
been prospered until you have acquired a sufficiency of earthly
good to make yourself and family comfortable (and I say can-
didly to you I am glad of it) I am induced as an entire stranger
to ask of you the favor of loaning to me a thousand dollars for a
period of four or five years.

Mr. Jay Cook dear Sir please send me $1000 dollars to help
pay off a mortgage on my farm it falls due in Sept.

Mr. Cooke dear Sire i Set Down to rigt these fue lines to you
to let you know of ore Distre Condish [condition] we are heare
in a lonly Country thare is not a frend near us and we are all
Sick and we have nounthing to eat and no monney to by entiling
with thare is eight of us in famely and we are all most brock
harte this afternoone to see are litte Childer asked fore som-
thing and we have Nonthing to give them we had a cow swile
we were sick our cow stray awaye frome home and got into the
Swampe and Dide thare, etc.

Dr. Sir Please pardon my presumption for attempting to ad-
dres you I am a friendly tiller of the soil I have A neat little
famly of four counting my self our youngest is five We lived in a
border state during the war. No money is spent for rum or
tobaco no time of mine is lost in lofing at rum shops or stores
I am a particilar enemy to all such incongruity's, etc.

Dear Sir I see by the News papers that you own 50,000 acres
of land in Iowa and supposeing a Gentleman owning such vast

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 481

quantities of land that you must possess liberal qualities I have
concluded to ask a favor one that will not materially effect your
finances but will be of much benefit to me I apply to you for
assistance by denoting to me some of your Iowa lands the quan-
tity I must leave to your generosity any quantity may be of great
advantage to me while a thousand or two thousand acres would
be but a drop out of your great wealth.

Dear Sir i this presnt time take my pen in hand to see if i
cold not get the Ion of 4 or 5 thousen dolers hearing that money
is verey plenty in the sity and it is very scarce hear, etc.

Mr. Cooke I take my pen in my hand to aske you to loan me
Eight Hundred Dollars to go in the milk Buisness I have had
bad luck of late will secure you safe, etc.

Mr. Cook Resp Ser I have twice got as far as your office door
but could not summons curage enough to come in I am a widow
in good standing in society but in troubel hearing you was kind
and benevolent an good to the Widow and orphant I venture
to state my case I want the lone of 400 hundred dollars, etc.

These are but a few culled from hundreds and thou-
sands of letters which came to Mr. Cooke from all parts
of the country. Of course, to many, as curious and un-
reasonable as these, replies could not be given, but he
refused no appeal for assistance without .a thrill of sym-
pathy. He was much stirred, as we have seen, by the
distress of the people of the South at the end of the
war, treasuring none of the enmities and resentments of
the struggle which marred the natures of many other
Northern leaders. While the smitten Southern people
would have hesitated to appeal to the generosity of most
of the leaders in the triumphant section, Jay Cooke's
reputation for lenient views was so widespread that he
was generally besought for aid. Wives and daughters
wrote unknown to their husbands and fathers, them-

482 JAY COOKE

selves almost too proud to do so. They asked for money
to buy farms, to plant crops and to resume their inter-
rupted industries. So general was Mr. Cooke's repute
for benevolence, independent of all sectional, political
considerations, that several Confederate prisoners in a
camp at Elmira, N. Y., in August, 1864, united in a
request for aid. "We were unfortunate enough to be-
come prisoners of war," wrote they, "and having been
prisoners for a length of time are greatly in need of
clothing. We are citizens of Alabama, and if you will
be kind enough to assist us, should an opportunity ever
present itself, we will gladly return the kindness, and a
little Tobacco would not be objectionable."

Ladies who wished to devote their lives to literature,
actors who were in temporary need and a host of men
and women who asked for neither loans nor gifts, but
only for an opportunity to work for themselves and their
families, asked him out of the store of his bounty, which
seemed to them to be limitless, to give time and influence
in finding them their desired niches in the world. When
he could not accede to a request, which, of course, was
very often, in view of the great number of demands upon
his charity, Mr. Cooke often wrote memoranda for the
guidance of his clerks or secretaries: "Answer that
Mr. Cooke cannot give places or employment to one out
of a hundred. He had better do his duty in that position
in life in which God has placed him. Work at anything
honest. Tell him so." Or again: "Mr. Cooke thinks
you had better help yourselves. It will do more good
and be better appreciated. Overwhelmed with applica-
tions," etc., etc. Again: "Reply, absent, but cannot
assume any more burdens, hands full," etc.

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FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 483

Mr. Cooke was the liberal patron of the evangelical
Christian church and of those who preached its doc-
trines. Himself a Low Church Episcopalian — for the
ritualists he had not the least sympathy — he was broadly
indulgent of all orthodox sects and denominations.
Early in his clerkship in Philadelphia he attended the
Methodist Protestant Church at Eleventh and Wood
streets, of which the Rev. Thomas H. Stockton was the
pastor, and for four or five years had a close part in the
work of the congregation, remaining a warm friend of
this eloquent preacher until his death. The banker
furnished thousands of dollars to distribute Mr. Stock-
ton's sermons and tracts, and upon his death-bed, hav-
ing little else to bequeath to his children, he told them
that when he was gone they should seek his good friend,
the financier, who would no doubt purchase his library.
Mr. Cooke had the books appraised, paid the heirs $2,000
for them and presented them to his son, Rev. Henry E.
Cooke.

After Jay Cooke's marriage the walk to Mr. Stock-
ton's church was too long for Mrs. Cooke, who was also
a Methodist, and at the suggestion of her friend, Miss
Emily Bronaugh, they joined old St. Paul's Church on
Third street below Walnut, but two blocks from Con-
gress Hall. Thus did Mr. Cooke become an Episcopal-
ian and in the parish, which was actively directed by
Rev. Richard Newton, he became a very prominent
figure. After his removal to the Chelten Hills he con-
tinued to attend his city church. In winter it was nec-
essary for him to rise before it was light in order to
arrive in time for Sunday School, which began at nine
o'clock. After the morning service he would take lunch-

484 JAY COOKE

eon in the Sunday School room that he might be present
for the afternoon service, and the return home was ac-
complished only at nightfall. Still not satisfied with the
work of the day, Mr. Cooke, in the evening, from 7.30
until 9 o'clock, taught a Bible Class, which gathered in
the parlor of his home to hear his exposition of the
Scriptures. He formed it in 1858, upon his removal
to "The Cedars," and it was composed of his tenants
and neighbors. It began with forty-five members, and
grew rapidly. When the class became too large for the
parlor he fitted up an outbuilding for its use until other
arrangements could be perfected.

Early in the sixties Mr. Cooke was largely instru-
mental in building a house of worship on the York
Road near his home, a new St. Paul's, which the neigh-
bors soon christened the Five-Twenty Church, since it
was richly supplied with money that he was supposed
to have gained from the sales of the war loans. For
more than forty years he attended and did much to sus-
tain it, his contributions to support the various depart-
ments of work in the parish after the war until 1873,
averaging from $6,000 to $10,000 annually.1 In Jan-
uary, 1866, a thank-offering, in testimony of the re-
establishment of peace between the North and the South,
was taken up in the church. It amounted to $53,000,
of which nearly or quite $50,000 were contributed by
Jay Cooke.

The first rector was the Rev. Robert J. Parvin, and
adjoining St. Paul's Mr. Cooke early built an auditorium
which he called Parvin Hall. This was primarily in-
tended for the use of the Bible Class, which, with few

1 From the parish records.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 485

interruptions, except for his vacations, he led almost
continuously until within a few months of his death.
At one time it had 150 members. The relationship be-
tween the men and their teacher was one of warm inti-
macy and friendship. He made them many gifts — Bibles,
hymn books, vegetables from his farms and fish caught
on successful excursions ; attended them and befriended
them in illness and sympathized with them in any kind
of affliction; obtained them employment and followed
their lives with interest when they removed and settled in
other neighborhoods. Once a year, on the Tuesday
night before Thanksgiving, he gave them an entertain-
ment and supper in Parvin Hall, and as they departed
presented each man with a large turkey, which he put
under his arm and carried home with him for use on the
approaching holiday. When Mr. Cooke built his home
at Gibraltar he did not forget his religious duties toward
the Lake Erie islanders. They were without churches
or pastors. He established a mission on South Bass
Island across the bay from Gibraltar. Wherever his fi-
nancial interest carried him he followed it with sub-
scriptions to church buildings — in the coal regions when
he was a large owner in the mines of the Preston Com-
pany, in his iron towns in New York State, at South
Mountain in southern Pennsylvania, at Duluth and
along the line of the Northern Pacific, in Iowa where he
was at one time an extensive landholder. "O. P. J."
gave bells, steeples, organs, books for Sunday Schools,
rectories, silver communion services, and eked out the
modest salaries of country parsons. He was a friend
of the preacher everywhere.

With Mr. Cooke it was at all times much in a man who

486 JAY COOKE

came to him for assistance to be a Christian closely in-
terested in the cause of the church, but to be a minister
wholly devoted to work in the Lord's great vineyard,
was at once an open sesame to his heart. He believed
it a holy calling, and reproved those who had entered it
for leaving it to seek the greater rewards of other pur-
suits. "My own views have always been," said he on
one occasion, "that a clergyman, although he live upon
bread and water, and although he be cast out and have
troubles of all kinds, has no right to desert his calling
or be absorbed in any species of money-making."

jay Cooke's friendships were filled with the truest sen-
timent and were in fact, as some one has said, nothing
less than love affairs. On a certain Christmas eve he
asked his friend, Dr. Richard Newton, to take a drive
with him into the country. The carriage halted at a
new and commodious cottage with an octagon tower.
His companion, Dr. Newton, admired the house, and
after they had fully inspected it, asked who was to live
there.

"You are to live here," was the reply, "and here are
the keys and the title deed. You have opened the king-
dom of Heaven to me, and have led the way to the man-
sions of our Father in Heaven, and the least I can do for
you is to see that you have a place of your own as long
as you are a pilgrim and a stranger upon earth." 1

Mr. Cooke gave liberally at all times to his friends for
their churches and Sunday Schools when they wrote to
him to ask it, and as his reputation for Christian philan-
thropy spread, and it was known that this was his favor-
ite form of benevolence, he was in receipt of appeals

1 Public Ledger.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 487

from needy congregations in all parts of America. Many
churches in the South which had been destroyed by one
or the other army asked him for aid and he was be-
sought to contribute to funds to rebuild more than one
house of God which was in ruins on the line of Sher-
man's devastating march to the sea. Hundreds of
churches, if their histories were to be written, would
find Jay Cooke's name upon the list of their benefactors,
and a considerable number of them are entirely beholden
to him for their existence. Single-handed he maintained
several ministers who assisted him in directing his char-
ities. In his homes prayers were always said in the
mornings, Mr. Cooke himself leading in the service if
no minister were present. Invocation was accompanied
by singing and reading of the Scriptures. Frequently
in the evening also there was a religious service. Church
and Sunday School engagements were never neglected,
and the President of the United States, the Prime Min-
ister of Japan, or whoever the guest, if he remained
over the Sabbath day, would go to worship with Mr.
Cooke in spite of himself, just as many other things
would be done irresistibly in the wake of such enthusi-
asm. The preachers and their families came often to
"Ogontz." They were absolute proprietors of Gibraltar
for the time intervening between Mr. Cooke's spring
and fall visits, and many hundreds of poor ministers
whose scanty stipends would not admit of a vacation
from the monotonous drudgery of their parishes, were
treated to ten days or two weeks at the financier's island
home. As he himself said, it was not for "the fat and
well-provided for clergy, except occasionally," and only
the lowly workers need expect to enjoy these favors at

488 JAY COOKE

Mr. Cooke's hand. The recipients of the bounty were
recommended to him in various ways, perhaps by Dr.
Richard Newton, Dr. R. B. Claxton, Dr. E. W. Apple-
ton, Dr. S. A. Bronson, Thomas H. Stockton, Robert
J. Parvin, D. S. Miller, or some other trusted minis-
terial friend. Occasionally Secretary Chase, John Sher-
man or a friend in political or business life would ask
the hospitalities of the island for a pastor grown weary
in ill-requited service. Indeed an invitation became a
much sought after prize. The places were often taken
several months in advance, so active was the rivalry for
these happy holidays which were the more enjoyed by
reason of Mr. Cooke's payment of the traveling expenses
of his guests to and from their homes, as soon as they
should forward their accounts to him and state what
had been laid out for the journey.

The guest must come alone. His family, if he had
one, must remain at home. It was the financier's desire
that parish, wife, children and all, for a little time,
should be forgotten, that the parson should be a boy
again amid the bounties of Gibraltar. Boats and fishing,
bathing and croquet, a well supplied table, the jests of
other clerics were to fill each one with cheer enough to
serve through the next winter. The guests were not
unappreciative of such kindnesses. One wrote in the
Gibraltar Records:

"We sing the tree-clad island rock
Where Perry planned the battle shock

And graved a during name ;
Where now a Christian banker's dome
Bids weary Christian toilers come
To find a tranquil sacred home,

And wasting strength reclaim.

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FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 489

" A love-lit radiant isle is this
A kingly seat of mortal bliss

On Erie's heaving breast ;
Where sinless pastime, song and prayer
And balmy fragrance in the air
Beyond the reach of burdening care,

Prefigure Heavenly rest.

" Lo ! here the lake nymphs carve their caves
'Neath rocks, and ride in glee the waves

That thread the needle's eye ; *
And birds of charming note and wing
Make glen and grove and grotto ring,
While harebells down the cliff brinks fling
The azure of the sky."

Indeed his visitors were so much enamored of Gibral-
tar that in June, 1871, Mr. Cooke was impelled to write
in a bold hand in his Guest's Book, where all might see
it as they turned its pages in his library in his absence,
urging them not to go home to spread the idea that it
was a "retreat or asylum" to which all might come
for the asking. He bade them remember that it was a
private residence. A false impression brought him many
applications which he could not grant, and.it was always
a pain to refuse them. Well might the ministerial party
which was at the island home on September 18, 1873,
write in the Records upon receipt of the news of the
failure of the great banking firm, that it was "a sad,
sad termination to a most joyful day." On the morrow
the report was confirmed, for Mr. Cooke had tele-
graphed Mrs. McMeens that Gibraltar must be closed.
"The writer of this record does it with a sad heart,"

1 A crevice in the rocks through which the waves wash has long been
called the " Needle's Eye."

490 JAY COOKE

continued the scribe in a book which was thereafter
without an entry for several years, "for it may be the
last time that these strong walls will resound with the
joyous and happy voices of Mr. Cooke's clerical guests.
This beautiful island has long been a place of resort for
heart and brain-sore ministers of Christ's gospel. Here
they have enjoyed the princely hospitality of God's gen-
erous steward and have felt that returning vigor of
mind and body which they could scarcely have felt else-
where. I feel as I write these few and feeble words that
I am the last of my race."

Mr. Cooke's antipathy to the ritual of religion was
pronounced. He was no respecter of ceremony in any
of life's performances, and he vigorously opposed it in
the church. When appeals reached him from High
Churchmen he frequently had his secretary write, say-
ing that his favors were reserved for those who taught
the Word of God in his own direct and simple way.
Upon one letter he made the following memorandum for
a reply: "Mr. C. has no sympathy for High Church.
Would not aid such influences." Upon the arrival of
a High Churchman at Gibraltar in 1866, Mr. Cooke
wrote in the Records: "How can a Christian man be
a High Churchman? To my mind it always shows a
weak spot somewhere, 'bad bringing up,' and I always
pity them; but I suppose we must not judge them, but
have loving charity for the men, if we have none for the
principles." His views upon some of the points at issue
were clearly expressed in a letter to his friend, Dr. Bron-
son, on July 9, 1867. He wrote as follows:

I stated two points, one was that I had not the slightest belief
in apostolic succession ; the other was that any concurrence in

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 491

the truth of the opinion in any manner, shape or form qualified
or unqualified was wrong and would breed mischief and trouble.
My reference to all being successors of the apostles was merely
to state my belief that there is no succession. No succession is
intended to be taught by the disciples or by their Lord, but all
are on a par who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and
truth. . . . Come out boldly on all occasions for the great
truth that Jesus Christ is the head of the church and that the
church of Christ consists of all faithful believers in Him. . . .
I love our Episcopal church as an organization and as an aid
and a help to the worship of the true God. I think that it has
advantages for those who are fully educated up to its privileges
in some respects superior to those of any other church organiza-
tion, and taking some few things from the Prayer Book I think
it an elaborate and delightful system of worship. I also believe
that our system of bishops, priests and deacons more nearly fol-
lows that which Christ and his immediate followers adopted, and
I also agree with you that we must have order and authority
in every church. The sum of all is this. The natural tendency
is towards rites and ceremonies, and forms and human traditions,
and theological tyrannies, and we evangelical men must fight
against all this. We must get down at the feet of Jesus and
be taught by no one but himself. This will not interfere at all
with law and order in our dear church, but it will give us per-
fect charity towards all who do not in non-essentials concur with
us, and it will rapidly commend our church to all other denomina-
tions, gradually absorbing many of them, if in minor matters the
Lord thinks it best that men shall be of one mind. . . . What
I say I say with great diffidence because I am entirely unlearned
in all these matters and do not profess to be able to teach others.
I only know what my own thoughts are.

On August 14, 1869, Mr. Cooke wrote to the Rev.
Dr. Dyer of New York concerning the revision of the
Prayer Book. He wished it to be "an American book in
plain American words and sense, full of the simplicity
of the blessed Gospel, in which Jesus alone shall be

492 JAY COOKE

recognized and supreme in every page, and in which
the universal church of all true believers with simple
gospel story, shall be cordially and unmistakably ac-
knowledged. This is what we long for, and with God's
blessing, will have. We want a Book of Prayer because
we are convinced that great good and comfort are
thereby insured. We will use it as a means of grace and
edification and of order and dignity in the great con-
gregation, but not slavishly binding even there, and not
to intrude like a stalking robed priest into our social
and prayer meetings."

"The whole Prayer Book, my dear Bishop," he wrote
to Bishop Henry W. Lee in 1871, "should be taken hold
of by conscientious evangelical hands and remodeled
to suit the Protestant feelings of America, and every-
thing that looks like priestcraft, apostolic succession
dogmas, regeneration dogmas, exclusive dogmas, un-
charitable, un-Christian, inhospitable dogmas, all should
be stricken out. We should come down to the basis and
put our feet on the rock Christ Jesus and go ahead."

Mr. Cooke believed that the Lord's table should be
thrown open to all believers. He made gifts to many
churches in Duluth, but to that one intended for the
Baptists he attached a condition, requiring open com-
munion, whereby he created a great pother, one of their
church papers calling him "the narrowest of the narrow,
and the prince of bigots." To a request for aid for a
Baptist church in Olympia in Washington Territory,
Mr. Cooke had his secretary respond as follows :

Mr. Cooke desires me to ask you whether this little Baptist
church is a Christian church, i. e., open communion, or whether
it adheres to what he abhors, close communion, ignoring other

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 493

Christian communities. If it is an open communion church he
will gladly help them, but otherwise cannot conscientiously do
so, as he is opposed to all narrowness and exclusiveness in his
own church and battles against it continually, and in consistency
must do it also in regard to other churches.

Even churches of his own communion fell under his
ban in 1872. On April 20th of that year in response to
an appeal for aid for an Episcopal congregation in the
Northwest Mr. Cooke wrote:

I love to give to churches and feel it an unusual privilege
to help those in new and struggling communities. When the
Episcopal church at Duluth was first organized the laws of our
Protestant Episcopal Church were not as stringent as they are
now, and it was understood that it was to be a liberal Christian
church, acknowledging all other Christian denominations, such
as open-communion Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Luther-
ans, etc., as equal churches of the Lord. Our church has fas-
tened upon its members by its canons a most hateful provision
binding its ministers not to acknowledge common courtesies and
hospitalities by the occupation of our pulpits occasionally by
brethren of other denominations. I therefore refuse until this
wicked law is rescinded to aid in building other Episcopal
churches. A portion of the Baptists have a law strictly main-
tained, to my mind equally anti-Christian, and I could not con-
scientiously give to maintain such a system, viz., close com-
munion. If your church is of a different character, or, in other
words, if I, an Episcopalian, could commune in your church if
I felt like doing so while in Duluth, I am willing to aid you ; if
not, not, for I can conceive of no greater wickedness than the
exclusion by law of any good Christian brother from our pulpits,
or his exclusion on account of a mere form of baptism from
your communion table.

These years were marked by much contention in the
Episcopal church, culminating in the celebrated trial of
Rev. Stephen H. Tyng, a case which enlisted the deep

494 JAY COOKE

sympathies of Mr. Cooke. When the Reformed Epis-
copal church was organized in 1873 lt was expected that
he would identify himself with that wing, but the lead-
ers were disappointed in this hope, and he remained true
to the parent body, his attachment and devotion to its
canons deepening as his life advanced.

Mr. Cooke dedicated his new homes with religious
services. At Gibraltar he opened the Guest Book with
this from the Psalms: "Except the Lord build the
house they labor in vain that build it." Upon the com-
pletion of "Ogontz" at Christmas time in 1866, he dis-
bursed $10,000 as a thank offering through a committee
of his ministerial friends, comprising Robert J. Parvin,
Richard Newton and R. Bethell Claxton, who, with-
out naming the donor, distributed the sum among poor
clergymen.

Regarding the observance of the Sabbath Mr. Cooke
had very rigid views, and worldly occupations or pleas-
ures and neglect of worship on that day were sacrileges
which he could not excuse. He would not travel by
rail or boat on Sunday, and was not glad then to receive
guests. On Sunday, June 17, 1866, General Sherman
came to Gibraltar in a revenue cutter from Detroit with
a party of army officers. Mr. Cooke wrote in the
Records after their departure:

Why is it that the grave duty and rich pleasure of keeping
sacred the Lord's day is almost wholly unknown amongst the
warriors and statesmen of our country? It is a sad thought
that that righteousness which exalteth a nation, so far as our
rulers and leaders are concerned, is not thought of or regarded
as it should be.

Mr. Cooke relates that he was under the trees when

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 495

he "saw his visitors approach, and he tried to discourage
them from stopping by going into the house and omit-
ting the salute, which awaited coming guests in a little
cannon and flag pole on a rocky eminence called "Per-
ry's Lookout." When they insisted upon a visit he went
out and welcomed them. He continues his observations :

During the war the excuse was that it was a work of neces-
sity, but this excuse is not valid now, and never was, and there
was no sort of excuse for General Sherman's journeying on the
Sabbath. He should have remained in Detroit and permitted
his officers and men to rest and attend church, and have attended
himself that he might set a good example. Monday we would
have felt a thousandfold more honored. We would have had all
flags flying and his welcome would have been more sincere.

Mr. Cooke would have had the trains upon his rail-
roads stand still on Sunday, if it had been in his
power to effect such a result, and he made an effort in
this direction on the line running from St. Paul to Du-
luth. In the summer of 1871 he was told that Sunday
excursions were projected and begun by Frank H.
Clark, then president of the road. Upon Mr. Cooke's
positive orders the further running of them and of all
other trains of whatsoever kind was discontinued in-
definitely.

He expected an observance of the Lord's day by his
partners and employees. By their unseemly deportment
in this regard they forfeited his respect and confidence,
and in his view injured the credit of the firm. He wrote
to his Washington men, asking them to investigate the
reports which reached his ears regarding the laxity of
Lincoln and Grant on the Sunday question. In Novem-
ber, 1868, after the latter's election to the presidency,
Mr. Cooke, who seems to have felt some responsibility

496 JAY COOKE

for the conduct of one he had helped to elect, addressed
William E. Chandler, in reference to Grant's Sabbath
policies. Chandler replied:

I do not know whether or not General Grant is approachable
on this subject without the motives of those who converse with
or write him being misapprehended. A President-elect passes
into a new atmosphere where even his most intimate friends can-
not talk to him as before. He achieves greatness, but thus in
a certain sense loses all his friends. Mr. Lincoln, notwithstand-
ing many grave faults, always respected the religious sentiments
of the country. I hope and believe General Grant will do the
same. Still he is to-day the most independent man on earth, and
if his own desires and inclinations do not lead him in the right
direction it will be difficult for any other influence to affect him.1

Mr. Cooke concerned himself very closely with the
cause of educating young men for the ministry, and
paid the way through schools and seminaries of many
who expressed a desire to lead a spiritual vocation. He
was a trustee of the Divinity School of the Protestant
Episcopal Church in West Philadelphia, and in 1864
gave it $30,000 in United States ten-forty coupon bonds
to endow a chair of Pulpit Eloquence and Pastoral Care.
He nominated Theodore Irving of New York as its first
incumbent, but he declined, and the professorship was
held for several years by the donor's very intimate
friend, Dr. R. Bethell Claxton. The endowment was
increased by later gifts and accretions until it stands to-
day at $54,000, being known as the Jay Cooke Profes-
sorship of Homiletics. At the same time Mr. Cooke
induced his principal partner to make a like gift to the
school. With $30,000 Mr. Moorhead endowed a chair
which still bears his name.

1 November 20, 1868.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 497

In May, 1866, Mr. Cooke gave Bishop Lee of Iowa
$10,000 in aid of Griswold College in that state, and in
the same year $25,000 (later increased to $30,000) to
found a chair at Kenyon College at Gambier, Ohio,
where Bishop Bedell was increasing the endowment of
the theological seminary. For the post Mr. Cooke named
his friend, Dr. S. A. Bronson, of Sandusky, but the lat-
ter, who proved not to be a good teacher, was soon
deposed, to his own and Mr. Cooke's great mortification.
It was and is still called the Eleutheros Cooke Profes-
sorship, the donor desiring that it should perpetuate his
father's memory.

In 1869 Jay Cooke donated $5,000 to the Divinity
school at Cambridge, Mass. The theological seminary
was a favorite object of his charities and his interest
in this department of church work was further seen in
the noble support he gave to the Evangelical Education
Society, of which he was president, and the leading
financial and managerial spirit for many years. Rev.
Robert J. Parvin, until his death in a steamboat disaster,
was the secretary. This society secured students for
the divinity schools and sustained them while they were
being educated, assuming the charges at one time in
the sixties for more than one hundred young men. In
November, 1869, Mr. Cooke's attitude on the High
Church question led him to resign. He wrote to D. S.
Miller, the acting secretary of the society, as follows :

You remember that I have for some months contemplated re-
signing the presidency of our society. My reasons were that my
well-known advanced and extremely radical position was, in my
judgment, good cause for such an act, and as my observation
tells me that a large majority of those who have heretofore sus-
tained the society, and who must be relied on to manage its

498 JAY COOKE

affairs and sustain it pecuniarily hereafter are not in sympathy
with my advanced views ; also that many of the teachers of our
young men in the seminaries and preparatory schools and nine-
tenths perhaps of the young men themselves do not, and it seems
cannot place themselves on a real genuine evangelical platform, —
I say for these reasons I cannot but feel that I am out of place
as your president. If I have anything to do with these matters
I must talk and act out my honest convictions, and perhaps more
so in the future than in the past.

He also asked that the accounts of the society should
be transferred to another bank at which the treasurer
should not be allowed to overdraw. Jay Cooke and Com-
pany were largely in advance to the young ministers.
To wipe out this indebtedness Mr. Cooke offered to con-
tribute $3,000, which, with other sums he had sub-
scribed during the year, would be fully one-fourth of
all that had come from all sources for the work of the
society. Lest it be thought that his going out of office
indicated on his part a disposition to shirk his responsi-
bilities he would pledge himself to pay $2,000 for the
ensuing year. "Perhaps I will do more," said he, "if
I can spare the funds and find special cases that promise
to yield such results as my heart longs for." The society
refused to accept the financier's resignation and he was
its president until 1873.

Mr. Cooke was officially associated with several other
charitable and religious organizations. He was long
the president or vice-president of the American Sunday
School Union, to which he gave freely. In 1867 he
sent it $5,000 to forward its work in the South. He
was a vice-president of the Citizens' Association of
Pennsylvania, which was to keep the legislature advised
"on the dependent, depraved and criminal population of

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 499

the commonwealth, and on all matters relating to the
causes of and remedies for pauperism, vagrancy and
crime." Dr. Joseph Parrish was the president of the
society, and it was largely under the management of
Friends.

Individually Mr. Cooke had been very free with his
gifts of Prayer Books, tracts and Bibles in hospitals and
camps during the war. He had made large donations to
the Sanitary Fairs, but this service did not prevent him
from actively aiding in the work of the Christian Com-
mission. This humane organization was established as
a result of a convention of the Young Men's Christian
Associations of the loyal states, held in New York in
November, 1861. Its object was to supply the army and
navy with clothing, food, hospital stores, Testaments,
hymn and prayer books, newspapers, magazines, etc.
The Commission had a number of volunteer delegates
who worked upon the battlefield, visited the sick and
wounded, attended the dying with prayers and buried
the dead with Christian rites. George H. Stuart of
Philadelphia was its chairman, while Jay Cooke was a
member of its Executive Committee, as he was of that
of the organization which grew out of it at the end of
the war, the American Christian Commission, formed
"to promote home evangelization."

For several years Mr. Cooke was also a vice-president
of the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.
It established and maintained homes in different parts
of the country for needy volunteers of the war. Benja-
min F. Butler was its chairman. The board of mana-
gers once held a meeting at Gibraltar at the invitation
of the owner of the island.

500 JAY COOKE

Mr. Cooke encouraged general as well as theological
education, having extensive plans for the establishment
of schools and colleges on the line of the Northern
Pacific Railroad. For several years he contributed $600
annually to Princeton College to support a prize fellow-
ship in mathematics.

A glad and hearty giver, he was at the same time,
fond of a jest. Rev. Robert C. Matlack used to relate
this story of a visit he one time paid to the financier in
Philadelphia :

I was one of a committee appointed to visit our wealthy citi-
zens and obtain a large sum of money for a certain charitable
enterprise which was unquestionably a worthy one. Among
the men we had planned to see was Jay Cooke, for at that time
he was rated as one of the richest men in the world.

I had a personal acquaintance with Mr. Cooke, and I sug-
gested to the committee that they let me do the talking, a propo-
sition to which the other members readily agreed.

We called at his office and were cordially received. I ex-
plained the purpose of our visit, and said that we had come to
ask for a contribution.

" Well, Mr. Matlack," he said, leaning back in his chair, " the
object is certainly a good one. How much do you expect me to
give? "

The rest of the committeemen held their breath, but I put on
a bold front and said :

" We have put your name down for $10,000, Mr. Cooke."

" Ten thousand dollars ! " he exclaimed. " That's a pretty
large sum, Mr. Matlack."

" True," I replied, " but you must remember that you are a
very rich man."

He thought for a few moments and then called his secretary.

" Let me know the balance of my O. P. J. account," he said.

Presently the secretary returned with a slip of paper, which
he handed to Mr. Cooke. He glanced at it and said quietly :

" Draw a check to Mr. Matlack's order for $10,000."

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 501

The committee was fairly paralyzed with delight. It had been
so easy and had required so short a time.

As we were going- out, Mr. Cooke said to me :

" When you die, Mr. Matlack, I shall ask the privilege of
furnishing your tombstone and writing your epitaph."

" What would the epitaph be? " I asked eagerly.

" Luke, sixteenth chapter, twenty-second verse," he responded.
" And it came to pass that the beggar died."

Naturally, I was chagrined, but Mr. Cooke came to my relief.
His gravity relaxed and he smiled — ah, I can see that smile yet
— as he said :

" But you must know, Mr. Matlack, that there is a delightful
finish to the verse — and was carried by the angels into Abra-
ham's bosom."

Rev. William Wilberforce Newton relates that at one
time shortly after the war, when Phillips Brooks was
the rector of Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia, Mr.
Cooke proposed to furnish the money for the evangeliza-
tion of the United States. Mr. Brooks had been invited
to meet the financier at "Ogontz" to hear the plans for
this undertaking. Just as he had preached the five-
twenty and seven-thirty loans to the American people
in the war days, and they had been converted, so Mr.
Brooks should sever all connection with parish work
and preach the gospel to every town and city in America
from Maine to Texas, and from ocean to ocean. The
young pulpit orator was to arrange all the details as to
helpers, itineraries, methods and means, and Mr. Cooke
would pay the bills and give him whatever salary he
asked, which would be more than he could hope to get
from any church. It was a colossal scheme for a great
Christian crusade. Mr. Cooke had saved the nation
financially; might he not also save it religiously?

"Why have you declined this great opportunity ?" Mr.

502 JAY COOKE

Newton asked Mr. Brooks, who was still glowing with
the immensity of the proposal.

"Because," he replied, "if our Lord has founded the
Christian church the church must do its work in its
own way, and not by proprietary methods. And it might
mean after a while only another sect on the earth. Be-
sides, as the movement grew it would have to be guided,
and Mr. Cooke's conception of the faith might differ
from my own — and then where would we be ?"

The financier's kindliness to all men and his attitude
of special sponsorship for ministers very naturally led
to trespass upon his private rights. He became the
victim of a good deal of fraud and imposition, for while
a man who had lived such a career in the business world
was not without unusual knowledge of human nature,
it was his habit to the end to assume that the motives
of those about him were good. It may be truly said that
he thought and spoke ill of no one. He had the same
code of morals for all days, and all years, and all varie-
ties of social relationships. He was himself, let others
be what they might, and he could not always detect
a charlatan. His friends frequently suggested the possi-
bility of his being deceived by some supplicant who
came in Christian garb to tell a heart-rending tale of
suffering and want. Mr. Cooke himself did not have the
desire to examine into such matters. Distress was hard
enough; to know that the story of it told in the name
of religion was an invention would have only added to
his disturbance of mind. If such duplicity there were,
he seemed to prefer to have no knowledge of it, and
passed through his life always believing that men, even
if they had directly injured him, were much better dis-

S1**

JAY COOKE FISHING
In his trout stream in Northern Pennsylvani

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 503

posed than they seemed to be to others who were clothed
with less than his great portion of charity.

He used himself to tell with relish the story of an old
negro who came into his office from time to time for
money for a church in Virginia.

"I'se heard how you was good to dem dat preach de
Word of Gawd, and I'se come to ask for a subchristun
to de chuhch," the old darky would say.

He came and received five dollar bills for that church
so frequently that Mr. Cooke's suspicions were finally
aroused, and he made some inquiries regarding it, only
to find, as a good many in the office for a long time sup-
posed, that there was no such congregation as that one
which he was so often called upon to befriend. When
the pious negro came again Mr. Cooke told him of the
investigation.

"Oh, Marsa Cooke," the man broke in, "dat is a mis-
take. Dar's a mistake dar, somewheah, shure, Marse
Cooke. Dat's a fac. Deed 'tis."

So eloquently did he plead that Mr. Cooke finally
said he would give five dollars more if his visitor would
promise never to come into the bank again. The darky
hemmed and hawed at such a restriction upon his rights
and liberties, but at length agreed, whereupon Mr.
Cooke handed him a book and administered the oath in
the presence of the clerks as witnesses:

"You do solemnly swear that you will not come in here
to bother me again?"

It was but a few days until the familiar face was once
more seen at Mr. Cooke's desk.

"You scoundrel !" said he. "You swore on the book
that you would never trouble me again, and here you

504 JAY COOKE

are. What do you mean by coming back to interrupt
me at my work?"

"Yas, I did sweah, dat's a fac. But Marsa Cooke dat
book I sweahd on was not de Bible," said the darky
imperturbably.

So unexpected a retort led the banker to relent. He
again gave the man five dollars, sent for a Bible and
repeated the oath with solemnity. Once more did the
same darky appear in the office. Upon catching sight of
his form Mr. Cooke shouted to a clerk to call a police-
man and the fellow went flying out of the door never
to return.

Mr. Cooke's love for the open made him a devoted
and most expert fisherman. He was also skilful with
a gun, but his favorite sport, in later years particularly,
was fishing. At the most exciting periods of his life he
found solace and enjoyment in this pastime.

"Fishing," Jay Cooke remarked to a friend, "teaches
a man patience and zeal. There's no opportunity to
lose one's temper, because you can't catch fish that way."

He so ordered his business that he could leave it for
several days or a few weeks, and it was upon these trips
when he lived among the fundamental things of the
earth that he imbibed much of the strength and courage
for his greatest undertakings. In the midst of the work
of selling the war loans and the construction of the
Northern Pacific Railroad, hunted down, oppressed and
anxious though he were, he went off to fish with the
enthusiasm of a boy. This became almost his only recre-
ation, although he enjoyed some games. He had made
a vow when young not to play cards, although he
looked on at a game not without sympathy. He was

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 505

fond of billiards and could play chess, bagatelle and back-
gammon; but muggins was his favorite. In this game,
played with dominoes, he gained the greatest proficiency.
He made the calculations involving the high numbers
with the remarkable facility which would be expected of
one who had spent a lifetime in finance. With an inter-
ested partner he would follow this game far into the
night, and it occupied many an evening at Gibraltar
when the wind roared outside.

The chief attraction of this island for him was, of
course, the fishing in the waters surrounding it,
although it was in many ways fascinating. "How beau-
tiful ! how beautiful !" he wrote one time in the Records.
"Can anything be more lovely than Lake Erie on an
October day with a score of beautiful islands mirrored
in its surface?" In the sixties and seventies, and even
in the eighties, these waters literally swarmed with bass,
and from the time the house was finished until 1873,
Mr. Cooke allowed nothing to interfere with his regular
spring and autumn visits to his lake-girt home. In those
days the bass, which were of several varieties, the black
bass being accounted the most delicious, were caught
off the rocks all around the island. Many weighed four
or five pounds each, and measured eighteen inches in
length. Sometimes 200 or 300 were caught in a day.
On the visit in June, 1872, Mr. Cooke and his party at
Gibraltar hooked 3,862 fish, nearly all of which were
black bass and pickerel, the combined weight of the haul
being about three tons. He told Whitelaw Reid that he
had caught over 2,000 of these with his own hands. He
often had the most expert competitors, but he always
got more than the best, and often two or three times

506 JAY COOKE

as many. He brought up fish when they could not, and
under their very eyes. One day he went out with Gov-
ernor Rutherford B. Hayes and'Mrs. Hayes. She could
not catch a fish, while Mr. Cooke was very successful.
He gave her his seat and his line, but she still got none.

In October, 1868, when General Benjamin F. Butler
was at Gibraltar, he caught two while Jay Cooke drew
in twenty. Their unequal success left the general with
enough good humor, however, to prepare a "chowder"
on the rocks after the sport was suspended. On another
occasion Jay Cooke caught twenty-three out of twenty-
five; again sixty-five out of ninety-two. When 152 were
caught 100 were drawn up on his line, and on another
day with ten in the party, when 377 fish were taken, Mr.
Cooke was credited with 177. However large the catch
of fish they were never ruthlessly wasted. When there
were too many for use at Gibraltar, where there were
many hungry epicures, they were sent to vessels in the
harbor, or to the Put-in-Bay Hotel, with directions that
they be served to the guests, or to the islanders — all of
whom knew and loved the financier settled in their midst.
To many he had made personal visits. When he did not
give them fish he sent them books, with candies and
oranges for the children. There was hardly a house on
the islands without some memento of him. While she
lived he would often have the fish packed in hay and ice
and shipped to his mother in Sandusky. If she could
not use them she might distribute them to her friends.

Mr. Cooke enjoyed the eating as well as the catching
of fish just as he took enthusiastic delight in all of life's
wholesome pleasures and pursuits. He preferred one
that came from the cold deep waters of the lake. He

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 507

said its flavor was better; those swimming near the
shore were less good. One of his earliest insertions in
the Gibraltar Records is the following: "I would rec-
ommend our friends to bleed such choice fish as they
catch at once and to send them to the ice chest. A fish is,
of course, thrice as delicate and wholesome thus cared
.for. My old friend, Dr. Hering of Philadelphia, says fish
that have been drowned in the air are about as fit to be
eaten as an ox drowned in the water, and the doctor is
right. Both the ox and the fish should be killed and the
blood drawn from them, whilst it is warm, or at least not
stagnated."

It was a sight worth coming far to witnesss to see
Mr. Cooke at table after a big day's catch. He would
split a fine bass for each guest, take out the bones, butter
it thoroughly and send it up with such a recommenda-
tion that it was doubly enjoyed.

With Mr. Cooke fishing, like everything else which he
essayed, was a business to be done thoroughly and with
the whole heart. It must be done "man-fashion," a word
which he so often used when making rules for himself
and others. He always stated the day's catch in the
Gibraltar Records and asked that his guests, in his ab-
sence, should follow his example. Chase, who came
often and who once wrote in the Records in French,
what he no doubt felt more intelligibly in English,

Venir c'est la joie,
Partir c'est le regret.

had many fishing trips with Mr. Cooke. In October,
1865, it is written in the Records:

The greatest excitement was occasioned by Governor Chase
finding his line caught and held by what he at first supposed

508 JAY COOKE

was a snag at the bottom, but which soon proved to be a very
large muscalunge. The noble specimen of the fish family, in
these waters on a tour of exploration, rebelled stoutly against
being brought up before the Chief Justice of our nation. The
trophy escaped and the conclusion was reached that " there's
many a slip twixt the boat and the lip (of a large muscalunge)."

Curiously Mr. Cooke was not very brave upon the
water. He seldom went out in a sailboat, and once when
he did so in a blow with a Gibraltar party, including
Mrs. McMeens, it is said that he was very far from
being well composed. Finally, leaning over to the cap-
tain, he said: "Mrs. McMeens is afraid," and with this
excuse they returned. He usually made his excursions
under steam. Rising early in the morning and fully
attired for the sport he soon had the whole house astir.
Going down to the wharf he shouted across the bay for
his tug, and, filling all hands with food, he was ready
for the fishing trip. The little steamer carried row-
boats. When the bass grounds were reached Mr. Cooke
got into one of these, occupying a place upon the stern
seat, while a man who was to bait his hooks and take
off the fish, sat upon the middle seat in front of him.
He usually had a line attached to a rod on one side and
his favorite dipsy apparatus on the other, minding both
with much pleasurable absorption. He drew in his line
in his. own way and in general was a law unto himself,
his success being the marvel of all who witnessed it.
Thus he would fish from morning till night, in all weath-
ers, his fall visits often keeping him at Gibraltar when
the days were very cold.

He attacked his sport with boyish zest and brooked no
rivalry. On June 30, 1869, he wrote his brother Henry,
from Gibraltar:

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 509

There are a lot of old fogies who come here from Cincinnati
and Dayton that pretend to set the fashion for fishing. They
have been fishing here for four years, I for forty. They object
to a dipsy (our usual mode of fishing east), whilst at the same
time they use trolling hooks with three to five hooks in a bunch.
These fellows, on the same principle, would object to using a
double-barrel shot-gun, or a breech-loading gun, or decoys for
ducks, etc., and would ride in a stage coach rather than go in a
railroad car. Old Starbuck [editor of the Cincinnati Times]
sits in an easy chair in his boat, has a boy to row him, and
fishes with a rod and cork. He watches his cork till a fish pulls
it down, and then he pulls it up, and lets the fish run round a
quarter of an hour, frightening away all the fish in the neigh-
borhood. This he calls scientific. Bah ! Let them hire tugs, ice
the minnows to keep 'em fresh, search the reefs and deep places
of the lake for bass, and they might compete with me. I use
nothing but the pole and line, the trolling hook and the dipsy,
single hooks, or perhaps three or four at a time. They are
jealous, and take this means to cover their own stupidity.

During the war, and in the years immediately fol-
lowing it, Mr. Cooke, upon his visits to Washington,
fished in the Potomac, when he was often accompanied
by men of his own rank and distinction in the counsels
of the government. He was also wont to- indulge in sea
fishing in summer with Senator Cattell and other friends,
joining "Tom" Beesley at Cape May Court House in
southern New Jersey, where they went out for drum.
He occasionally visited the streams upon his South
Mountain estate in southern Pennsylvania, and on the
Lake Champlain iron property on the borders of the
Adirondack Mountain region, where he made large
catches of trout. He went to Maine for trout-fishing
also. He was a member and the vice-president of the
Oquossoc Angling Association, to which many promi-

510 JAY COOKE

nent New York merchants and bankers belonged, and
which had a club house, "Camp Kennebago," on the
Rangeley lakes.

As a young man when the ducks were plentiful on
Lake Erie, Mr. Cooke often indulged in hunting excur-
sions, but this sport failing, he confined himself to the
turkeys and rabbits on the islands. In later years some
of the inhabitants propagated turkeys that he might find
them more plentiful when he came with his gun, and to
encourage this civility it was his custom to give the own-
ers one dollar each for the fowls which he shot.

CHAPTER XX

RECUPERATION AND LAST YEARS

The sudden reversal in Jay Cooke's fortunes led to ex-
pressions of opinion concerning him as various as the
habits of mind and thought of the men who uttered
them. The first impression of surprise gave way to
sympathy, which was almost universal. It was gen-
erally recalled that he had been the nation's principal
prop during the war ; his open-hearted benevolence was
widely talked of and it is safe to say, when all things
were considered, that no one compelled to undergo such
an experience, was dealt with so charitably by his cred-
itors and those who sit in judgment upon the affairs of
their fellow men.

In Washington Edwin L. Stanton, a son of Lincoln's
famous Secretary of War, was appointed receiver of
the First National Bank, which had closed its doors so
hastily, and as some thought, needlessly, thus forfeiting
its charter under the national banking law. He was a
lawyer in Washington and had been Secretary of the
District of Columbia under Governor Cooke. The af-
fairs of Jay Cooke and Company's Philadelphia, New
York and Washington houses were placed in the hands
of a trustee, E. A. Rollins, ex-Commissioner of Internal
Revenue, who had more recently been connected with
the National Life Insurance Company. To him all part-
nership and individual property involved in the failure

511

512 JAY COOKE

was surrendered, and dividends were to be paid from
time to time as the resources of the estate justified it.
He was to act under the direction of a committee : S. M.
Felton, late President of the Philadelphia, Wilmington
and Baltimore Railroad, William C. Houston and Dell
Noblit, Jr., President of the Corn Exchange Bank.
When all the debts were paid the remaining property-
was to be re-assigned to the firm. It was hoped that
bankruptcy would be averted, and if it had been possi-
ble to manage the estate under Mr. Rollins's trusteeship,
the creditors would have been undoubted gainers in the
settlements. No one knew the value of all the various
species of property which Jay Cooke had accumulated
as he himself did, and it testifies little to the perspicacity
of the creditors that they did not at once unanimously
resolve to give him the task of extricating them from
the position in which they all found themselves. Busi-
ness genius like his could not be had through an appoint-
ment by the United States District Court, and under his
direction there would have been large returns compara-
tively soon.

Mr. Cooke and his brothers labored valiantly to obtain
the number of signatures necessary to keep their affairs
in their own hands, and about J$ per cent, responded
favorably. But there were too many and they were too
widely scattered to hope for unanimity, and a few were
violently refractory. The petition of these was heard
before Judge Cadwalader on November 26th, and Jay
Cooke and Company and its various partners were then
declared to be involuntary bankrupts. Gillingham Fell
was the court's first choice for receiver, but he declined
the office, and Edwin M. Lewis, President of the Farm-

JAY COOKE

After a day's snipe-shooting at Beach Haven, N. J.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 513

ers and Mechanics' National Bank, was thereupon se-
lected.

Jay Cooke now sought to secure an amendment of the
bankruptcy laws, and at the meeting of Congress in
December his brother Henry, E. A. Rollins, William
E. Chandler, John C. Bullitt and others took the matter
in hand at Washington with some hope of success until
one or two members concluded that such legislation
would somehow operate for the benefit of the great fi-
nancier of the Civil War, said so publicly and changed
every calculation.

Recourse must now be had to the forty-third section
of the existing law. A general meeting of the creditors
was called for January 15, 1874, in the hall of the As-
sembly Buildings at Tenth and Chestnut streets. It
lasted through two days, and the sessions were stormy.
Finally they elected Receiver Edwin M. Lewis as trus-
tee, and this committee of creditors: John Clayton,
Isaac Norris, Robert Shoemaker, Joseph Brown and
Charles P. Helfenstein. Thus was begun a long and
tedious process of liquidation.

It was at first assumed that the suspension would be
only temporary. But two or three junior partners seem
to have perfected their arrangements to engage in other
businesses before the failure came, and the overwhelm-
ing character of the disaster, as one banking house fol-
lowed another contagiously, and industry after industry
was stricken, made it quite clear that there could be no
reorganization. Some now began to trump up great
claims against the estate, many to distrust, blame and
even abuse, while perhaps but a few continued to feel

that loyalty to him who was once their idol and from
33

514 JAY COOKE

whose hand they had so long been fed. Adversity is a
severe test of friendship, and Mr. Cooke was made in
the patience of a great benign spirit to see what was now
the conduct toward him of men whose praise and flat-
tery no longer promised them the accustomed rewards.

Since so much space has been given to General Sar-
gent's European adventures, and it was at once assumed
by the public and the press that the failure was due to
their unsuccess, it may be well to give the letter which
Mr. Cooke received in 1874 from this former agent of
the Northern Pacific Company. Moreover the commu-
nication presents his side of the case. Although he had
been paid very large sums of money in salary, and for
the defrayal of the expenses incurred in making his pro-
longed negotiations, he wrote from New York on Feb-
ruary 26, 1874, as follows:

It has been long since I have had the pleasure of addressing
you and I should not intrude upon you at this time if I did not
feel from statements made to me that I have been placed in a
false position. During my connection with the N. P. business
in Europe my whole time, my entire energies were given to
make it a complete and entire success. And I have positive
proofs in my possession that will prove that if I had received
the hearty cooperation of your partners it would have been the
greatest success of the age. But Mr. McCulloch always be-
lieved that the N. P. enterprise was the " old man of the sea "
with his legs about his neck, bound to eventually strangle and
ruin J. C. McC. and Company, and he never talked ten minutes
with any man on the subject that he did not effectually damn the
enterprise with faint praise. Puleston was even worse than Mc-
Culloch and always acted as if he was ashamed to own he had
any connection with the business. Frank Evans was the only
man in the firm that was sincere in the belief of its value and
entire success. The negotiation of the 50 millions by the Darm-

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 515

stadt Bank, Sol Oppenheim and Company and Bischoffsheim and
Goldsmith was a sure and entire success had Mr. Fahnestock
been at Cologne on the day agreed upon for the ratification of
the contract instead of delaying the time for two days (against
my most urgent solicitation) to partake of a grand dinner given
him in London by Colonel Puleston. I have evidence to prove
that had he met the parties on Wednesday as agreed, instead
of Friday following, the contracts would have been confirmed
by all the parties and the 50 millions of bonds sold.

The truth is, Mr. Cooke, that in this Northern Pacific busi-
ness as well as in your regular business you were ruined and
slaughtered by parties that you believed to be your confidential
friends.

Before writing to you such letters as induced you to notify
me that my services were no longer required in the N. P. busi-
ness, John H. Puleston proposed to me that if I would divide
with him my commission in the business he would make " every-
thing as smooth as oil for me." Otherwise he would make it
" so hot for me " that I would have to leave it. To which I
replied, declining and daring him to do his worst. This threat
he carried out. The history of my connection with the business
I am ready to give, and I challenge a most searching investi-
gation of it. The second negotiation with the Union Sank of
Vienna would have succeeded but from bad faith upon the part
of your London house. If your London partners had backed
you, as they might have done, there would have been no more
necessity for your failure than of the Bank of England. Mc-
Culloch is a good watch dog to guard a money bag. But when
it comes to creating business or meeting an emergency he is, as
we say out West, no account. The only position he has in Eng-
land arises from his having been Secretary of the United States
Treasury and his connection as your partner.

The London firm never did anything to carry out the negotia-
tion of the N. P. bonds, but contented themselves in making all
they could out of it for the time being. I am told that the failure
of the N. P. business in Europe is attributed to my incompe-
tency and failure to attend to my business. During the whole

516 JAY COOKE

time of my connection with it I never missed a single day, being
at my office from 9 till 5 o'clock, and when ever necessary gave
many more hours to it. I know who caused its failure and am
ready to prove it. . . . The account forwarded to your firm
to-day I believe I am justly entitled to and feel that you will
say so at once. I did not feel like sacrificing half of it to a
man for whom I have no respect, or I could have collected it
long ago. . . . Puleston has been determined from the first
to prevent its payment, or delay it because I would not let his
rapacious jaw gobble the lion's share of it. I claim that I, in
fact, negotiated 50 millions of the loan which, through the neg-
lect of your partners solely, was not availed of. Hoping to hear
from you, I am, as ever, Yours faithfully,

George B. Sargent.

From many sides came letters of the most pitiful kind,
calculated to increase Mr. Cooke's mortification. They
told of hardships endured, of suffering to be endured.
A gentleman wrote from West Chester, Pa., on Febru-
ary 7, 1874, as follows:

At the request of Eliza , a poor blind woman who

holds a $500 Northern Pacific bond which her friend William

of Phoenixville advised her to buy from you, I write

to state to you this bond is all her earthly wealth, and the loss
of it will oblige her to go to the poor house. I thought per-
haps you could do something for her in her destitution. Her
case is not an ordinary one. She is without father, mother, sis-
ter or brother, and made what she had by honest labor. She
told me, with tears running down her cheeks, that if she could
only see to work she would not care. As you are by nature a
benevolent man, I hope you will do something to relieve this
destitute woman in her hour of extremity. For the sake of
humanity let this matter receive your attention. It would call
forth her prayers in your behalf and awake such grateful emo-
tions as to assure a reward.

On February 24th a correspondent wrote :

FINANCIER OP THE CIVIL WAR 517

I wish you would try and make up the money that you owe
me, three hundred and sixty dollars ($360). I worked twenty-
eight years to get that little sum together. I have to support
an insane husband and am a poor woman. You told me and
my little girl when we went to the bank to get out our money
that all was safe, and if anything happened to the bank you
would let us know. Did you do it? My number is 1127 Vine
street. I shall look for the money, for of course it is a little bill
to you which you could pay out of your private purse and make
us comfortable.

The partners who had opposed the firm's alliance with
the Northern Pacific could not resist the temptation of
reminding Mr. Cooke of the merit of their recommenda-
tions and no retort could immediately avail. It was a
distressing experience out of which little of a pleasant
nature flowed. Seldom did he find among those whom
he had so often befriended men that were glad to return
the service in his day of need. Neither Congress, which
refused to amend the provisions of the bankruptcy law
for his benefit, in testimony of his invaluable assistance
to the government, nor individual men, with rare excep-
tion, recognized the debt of gratitude for the substantial
favors repeatedly enjoyed at his hands. Yet here and
there was found a friend whose acts touched Mr. Cooke
deeply. On February 21, 1874, Governor Marshall
wrote from St. Paul :

My dear Mr. Cooke:

I have not written you since your business misfortune. It was
in my heart to do so, but I knew that you would be burdened by
the multitude of sincere letters of sympathy and I thought it
best to be silent. I am moved to write now, enclosing to you a
certificate of one hundred shares of Lake Superior and Missis-
sippi R. R. stock, thinking that possibly it may have some value
to you in making settlements. It is probably of no value to me,

518 JAY COOKE

so there is no merit in my offering it to you. It came to me
through you from the trustees of the company. I never felt
quite right about receiving it. Whatever aid I was able to ren-
der the company in making their negotiations was done without
expectation of fee or reward. If it shall prove of the least value
to you I shall be thankful to make so slight a return for your
kindness to me. I only wish I were able to send you something
of certain and substantial value.

While Mr. Cooke was debarred by law and the refrac-
tory natures of some of his creditors from managing his
estate in that manner which would certainly have yielded
the largest and most prompt returns to all persons con-
cerned, it was not possible for him to be idle in their be-
half. He encountered vast difficulties in the settlement
of the affairs of the First National Bank of Washington
and a less sagacious and determined spirit would have
seen no way out of the troubles in which the firm was
involved with that institution. He continued to express
his steadfast belief in the future of the Northwest and
the railway which was to serve it. He early arranged
to satisfy some of the claims and reduce the estate's in-
debtedness by persuading creditors to take Northern
Pacific bonds and exchange them for lands on the line of
the road. This course had long been open to the bond-
holders. It was the guarantee which had always ap-
pealed most strongly to Mr. Cooke and he never per-
mitted himself to think that a loan properly secured
by rich American farming land at five dollars an acre
could under any conceivable circumstance be a very bad
thing for the investor. Those who were willing to take
the northwestern farms in settlement of their accounts
abundantly realized the truth of all his prophecies and
the exchange was the foundation of many comfortable

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 519

fortunes. But this method of settlement was forbidden
Mr. Cooke. Fahnestock, with apparent satisfaction in
the thought, reminded him that he was no longer able
to say and do as he would. Nothing remained but for
the law to take its tedious course with Mr. Cooke look-
ing on from an office which he retained in the old bank-
ing house at 114 South Third Street where his son Jay-
Cooke, Jr., and his son-in-law, Charles D. Barney, re-
opened the doors as Charles D. Barney and Company.

After his discharge from bankruptcy Mr. Cooke re-
ceived many proposals for re-embarking in business.
To none of these did he give serious attention. For ex-
ample, he was asked to direct the sales of Mexican gov-
ernment loans which he had once or twice before de-
clined to do, during the sixties. He was entirely con-
tent under the circumstances to keep himself free from
further active business engagements and let time be his
judge. "I have gone up in the tower and looked
around," he was once heard to remark, reflectively, "and
it will not be necessary to do so again." Aspersion and
blame which naturally attended a failure involving great
numbers of people wounded him. The event altered his
life. It brought out a strain of sensitiveness which might
not have been suspected in his regal nature. Upon the
day of the suspension of his houses Stephen W. White,
his private secretary, says that Mr. Cooke took up a let-
ter from a friend asking him for his photograph with the
remark, "He will not want my photograph now," and
put it away unanswered. From a man who had royally
made all the overtures — proposing, inviting and giving
— he changed to one who felt the world's rebukes, si-
lences and neglects. He had no intention of again be-

520 JAY COOKE

coming a banker though he had lost none of his acumen
by his trials and defeats. He was content to counsel his
son and son-in-law in the establishment of their business,
while still carefully watching the management of the
estate in whose ability to pay the creditors in full he
implicitly believed.

The immediate course of the Northern Pacific Rail-
road was not promiseful. It was of course greatly to
the interest of the estate that the company should re-
strict the issue of seven-thirty bonds to $30,000,000, as
had been earlier proposed. But some were offered at
$33 and $35 to meet the road's current necessities and
there was risk that the prescribed limit would be passed.
After the panic the bonds had settled to about this level
of value and plans were being devised for funding the
interest in five-year land warrant seven per cent, bonds
until a happier season. But there was no escape from
bankruptcy, and the President, General George W. Cass,
was appointed receiver. The plans for the reorganiza-
tion of the company called for $51,000,000 of preferred
stock, to be issued in exchange for the seven-thirty
bonds, and $49,000,000 of common stock, leaving the
way clear for a new mortgage. To obtain the consent
of the bondholders to such an arrangement was not an
easy task and it was entrusted to General A. B. Nettle-
ton. He personally addressed large meetings in several
cities and counselled freely with Mr. Cooke. In three
or four weeks he secured the written consent of the
holders of nearly $25,000,000 of the $30,000,000 of bonds
outstanding. The residue, largely estates and absentees
who could not be reached immediately, at length ap-
proved of the arrangement also. The company could

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 521

now be reorganized under its existing charter and the
property saved for the future. "My strongest card in
convincing and converting the reluctant,'5 General Net-
tleton recalls, "was the assurance which I made the most
of that Jay Cooke heartily approved of the new plan.
The confidence in his great personality and in his final
judgment was unshaken. Thus he was a factor in re-
habilitating the noble enterprise whose temporary down-
fall caused his own misfortune." * Charles B. Wright
of Philadelphia was elected president of the reorganized
road, and under a wise and conservative administration,
in which he had the invaluable assistance of Frederick
Billings, the company's resources and energies were hus-
banded for a period more favorable to a resumption of
railroad building. Prophecies about the Northwest
which had sounded idle before the failure were now
worse, and they might much better be unuttered as they
usually were by Mr. Cooke. He, however, had taken
from the trustees of his estate several thousand shares
of Northern Pacific stock at about $1.50 a share. Mr.
Lewis said that he could not find a market for them, and
being resolved upon their sale, Jay Cooke, with a return
of the grand manner which had always characterized
him, said that he would buy them, having devised a
practicable plan for financing the operation. With this
stock in hand he went to H. H. Houston, Joseph D. Potts
and a group of Pennsylvania Railroad men who at a
handsome profit had lately sold out the Empire Line, a
subsidiary freight carrying company. They owned a
line of boats on the Great Lakes and he suggested that
they join him in obtaining a controlling interest in the

1 Nettleton to the author, August 25, 1906.

522 JAY COOKE

Northern Pacific, bringing the products of the North-
west by way of the Philadelphia and Erie to the seaboard
at Philadelphia. They looked at him in amazement and
suggested that his reverses had upset his mind. Thus
was Jay Cooke on the verge of regaining possession of
his great railroad to the other sea, but the plan miscar-
ried, the stock was scattered and the opportunity passed
never to return, Mr. Houston and others to whom the
scheme had been presented, living to repent of their de-
cision.

Mr. Cooke did not need money for himself, and, upon
his enforced removal from "Ogontz," in 1873, took up
his life in a crowded little cottage, contemplating pov-
erty with more grace than any member of his family.
He had not a single expensive taste except that of giv-
ing pleasure to others. His food was simple. Travel
which afforded enjoyment for many years to his part-
ner, Mr. Moorhead, was not among Mr. Cooke's require-
ments ; he had not been west of Duluth before the fail-
ure and had visited this — his own city — but once. He
never crossed the sea. He did not care for dress,
horses, steam yachts or any vain indulgence. It is true
that he found delight in fine homes, but in the last
analysis only as a part of the machinery by which he
could put joy into the hearts of his fellow creatures. The
life which he personally enjoyed was in the open air in a
rough coat and a pair of cow-hide boots waiting for the
sign of fish or the stir of game. But under the heel of
fortune he would not remain. Poverty could not long-
be his portion and riches and the ability to give cheer to
those about him returned in the most dramatic of ways.
Great figures which go down are frequently raised but

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 523

Mr. Cooke's reinstatement seemed almost like one of the
Scriptural miracles. All his life he had firmly discour-
aged the propensity of his brothers and partners to put
money into oil, silver, gold and other mining ventures.
Lycurgus Edgerton, who had come Mr. Cooke's way
near the end of the Northern Pacific campaign, advocat-
ing the road rather uselessly in Canada and Europe, had
somehow got upon the track of the Bonanza or Horn
Silver Mine in the Frisco Mining District in Utah. It
lay 225 miles southwest from Salt Lake City and to
reach it at that time it was necessary to travel 150 miles
by wagon across an alkali plain. It was owned by four
Irishmen and Scotchmen who fatally disagreed about
the management of the property. For this reason, coup-
led with its inaccessibility, the mine was unproductive.
Several times Edgerton called upon Mr. Cooke who, to
the surprise of those about him, expressed favor for the
scheme. At last he told his son, Jay Cooke, Jr., that he
was going to put $3,000 into it. It was in vain that he
was discouraged from the investment which included a
renewal of the option and a full examination of the prop-
erty. He himself went out to Utah with Mr. Edgerton
who suddenly died of heart disease on the train near Salt
Lake before the deal was consummated or even finally
determined upon. Mr. Cooke had mining engineers go
over the field for the value, quantity and accessibility of
the ore, while lawyers were employed to examine into
the titles to the claims. This was done in his usually
thorough way without regard to expense and, satisfy-
ing himself that all was as it should be, the owners
bonded the property to him in consideration of his prom-
ise to give them railway connections.

524 JAY COOKE

To Mr. Cooke this was but a slight detail. He told
the four miners that in return for such advantages they
ought to take a one-fourth interest in the road, which
they did. On his way home he visited the Mormons at
Salt Lake City who owned the road which reached its
arm down into Utah toward the mine. They took an-
other quarter, and, in the east again, he approached the
Union Pacific managers, asking them to contribute the
rest of the capital. He went to the office of Sidney
Dillon then the president of the road, and presented his
name. Mr. Dillon at once appeared.

"Why, how are you, Mr. Cooke," said he. The old
financier did not know that they had ever met before.
"Don't you remember the time you gave me $20,000
when you were at Clarks?" continued Mr. Dillon. "I
was in trouble and you saved me. What can I do for
you? Whatever you say will be done."

Dillon had been concerned in the construction of the
Philadelphia and Erie Railroad when Mr. Moorhead
was a power in the management of that road, and in the
presence of a vast number of transactions of much
greater magnitude Mr. Cooke had forgotten the incident.
His way was now easy. Mr. Dillon asked to be excused
for a moment and returned with a man short in stature
with a black beard who was introduced as Jay Gould.
In all Cooke's visits to New York he had never met the
evil genius of Erie, and Jim Fisk's partner in the doings
of the memorable "Black Friday." Once when some one
had offered to introduce him Mr. Cooke had declined the
honor. Gould had by this time lived down much of the
opprobrium with which his name was associated, and the
meeting gave the two men mutual pleasure. Mr. Cooke

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 525

unrolled his maps and presented his case with the fasci-
nation of his halcyon days. He told Gould that the 176
miles of track to the Horn Silver Mine could be laid for
$10,000 a mile, and that the old iron rails taken up on
the line of the Union Pacific in Utah and old rolling stock
could be utilized on the new road. Gould and Dillon at
once acceded to the proposal.

"With us three men," Mr. Cooke remarked, "there is
not the least occasion for a written agreement."

"No," said Gould, "go right ahead, we will take the
remaining half and supply the money as fast as it is
needed."

The contract was kept in all its terms. The road was
completed and Mr. Cooke, so long as he lived, when
others spoke ill of Gould, related this incident with the
delight it always afforded him to say a kind word for a
fellow-man. Mr. Cooke made a second trip to the mine
and characteristically went far out of his way into Indian
Territory to meet the wife of one of the Scotchmen from
whom he had bought the mine, to persuade her, if he
could, to rejoin her husband. Although under no obli-
gation to do so, since no arrangement had yet been per-
fected, and without his interposition it is likely that none
could have been, he gave Mr. Edgerton's widow enough
stock in the mine to keep her and her daughter, who had
married a French army officer, in comfort for the rest
of their lives.

The Horn Silver mine proved to be of great richness
and Mr. Cooke's income from the share he held in it was
about $80,000 a year. In February, 1879, a company
was organized under the laws of Utah with a capital of
$10,000,000 (400,000 shares at $25 a share) and Mr.

526 JAY COOKE

Cooke sold the entire mine to Charles G. Francklyn of
the Cunard Steamship Line, the owner of the cottage in
which President Garfield died at Elberon, N. J., and
Frank G. Brown, the son of L. B. Brown, whose name
by elision was conferred upon that handsome extension
of Long Branch. For his share in the mine, swelled by
commissions for negotiating the sale, Mr. Cooke re-
ceived nearly one million dollars. It seemed almost a
godsend to him in the literal sense of the word, and it
was soon easy to see what had lain nearest his heart in
the sad years since 1873. He at once drew upon his
new fortune to regain possession of his beloved homes.
He had tried manfully in conjunction with the trustee of
his estate to sell Gibraltar. But not many wealthy men
had his appreciation of a home which, when the truth
was told, was rather inaccessible. It could never be
fashionable, for the strut and show of the world are not
for those who dwell upon small islands without witnesses
of their movements. It could not well be converted into
a hotel. In short all negotiations had ended in naught
and Mr. Cooke now proposed to re-purchase it. At a
suitable valuation it was returned to him, and in the
spring of 1880 the financier with a thankful heart came
back to "the choicest spot on earth," as he described his
island upon regaining it. In September he returned
with a party of his children and grandchildren and there
was much rejoicing, as may easily be guessed. The
house was as he had left it seven years before. Carpets,
pictures and books were in their accustomed places.
Mrs. McMeens ("Aunty Mac") was reinstalled as the
caretaker to serve until her death, and there were twen-
ty-five years more vouchsafed to Jay Cooke to come and

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 527

go in the spring and autumn, and to fish and play mug-
gins.

His gratitude for such favors at the hands of his Cre-
ator was often expressed in the Records. In 1890, as
the time came for his departure, he wrote : "I have had
a blessed time and feel strong, and that Gibraltar's roof
had never sheltered a happier man." And again he
wrote : "Many years from now when we old ones are all
gone I suppose my children and grand and great-grand-
children will read these Records with curiosity and inter-
est. Let them all understand that this dear Gibraltar
was the gift of God to me ; and I receive it as such ; and
have tried to enjoy it as such; and have tried to honor
God here and show forth the Saviour's love by doing
good." He felt at the last that he was "living on bor-
rowed time," but he enjoyed this beyond all other homes.

It was not so practicable to resume possession at
"Ogontz," for very shortly after the failure the trustee
had put an auctioneer in the house and sold the carpets,
books, pictures and all its treasures and accumulations,
including many gifts and objects very dear in their as-
sociations to the financier. They were scattered to the
four winds, a ruthless crowd of collectors, second-hand
dealers and sightseers swarming the rooms, each to take
away something from this once rich man's palace. The
walls were stripped and the floors were bare but no dis-
position had yet been made of the house itself when Mr.
Cooke's fortune turned. More than 200 acres sur-
rounded the mansion and a portion of the land had been
sold. Some 180 acres remained and when it was put
up for sale in the auction rooms of M. Thomas and Sons
in May, 1881, he bid it in for $113,500 through a Phila-

528 JAY COOKE

delphia real estate agent who encountered some active
cross bidding by those who no doubt knew of Mr.
Cooke's determination to own his home again. The
place had suffered by neglect and required much expen-
sive attention at once. It was scarcely feasible for him
to re-occupy the great mansion, especially as it was de-
nuded of its furnishings. After Mrs. Cooke's death he
had made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Charles D.
Barney. She and her family had lived at "Ogontz" un-
til the failure, but leaving it they occupied a small cot-
tage in the neighborhood until they could establish them-
selves at "Eildon," an old farm-house nearby on the
York Road which was purchased from Frederick Fraley.
Thither Mr. Cooke had gone with them. The house
was burned to the ground in 1880 and a new "Eildon,"
the present home, was erected in its place, Mr. Cooke
occupying, in comfort and happiness, a large second-
story room overlooking the foliage of great trees and the
greensward. The trains hummed past on their way to
New York, the bells in his church hard by tolled the
hours musically by day and by night. A few hundred
yards away the village of Ogontz slumbered contentedly,
as did the man who gave it its name in the same pretty
sylvan neighborhood that he had loved in the days that
were unmarred by regret or defeat. The countryside
had not changed and many more had now discovered its
beauties. P. A. B. Widener, William L. Elkins, John
B. Stetson, John Wanamaker and several well known
Philadelphians who had later accumulated large for-
tunes in trade and finance settled in the vicinity and
built themselves handsome mansions.

The walls of Mr. Cooke's room at "Eildon" were hung

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FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 529

with blue paper covered with pond lilies that seemed
to spring from some waters in which he had waded in
his great boots on his fishing trips. The blue mantel
and fire-place which had arrived from Japan after the
failure, a gift of the Japanese Emperor in memory of the
visit of his ambassadors at "Ogontz" in 1872 was erected
at the end of the room. Many family pictures and me-
mentoes decorated the apartment. A cushion upon the
sofa proclaimed in stitching an appropriate sentiment:
"Never fish in troubled waters." Jay Cooke never did.
Mrs. Barney had this home, a younger daughter, Mrs.
Butler, lived upon an adjoining estate, and he was con-
tent to devote "Ogontz" to another use. It was too
large to be re-opened as his home. Its most natural fate
pointed to its conversion into a school and after expend-
ing $40,000 upon it he persuaded Mary L. Bonney and
Harriette A. Dillaye to remove into the country with
their school for girls, known since 1850 as the Chestnut
Street Seminary. They were assisted as principals, and
later succeeded by Frances E. Bennett and Sylvia J.
Eastman. He said that they need pay him no rent unless
they were able to do so and added so many favors and
attentions to the principals and the pupils that the prop-
erty yielded him very little income. He gave them
many of the products of the farms whose tillage he
superintended with interest and enjoyment, paid the
caretakers of the grounds, provided the school with ice,
coal, gas and water, and by his frequent visits and many
gifts endeared himself to every girl in the school. Flow-
ers and marshmallows ; apples, cider, walnuts, shellbarks
and butternuts by the barrel; valentines, and whatever

his fertile fancy could suggest he gave the girls accord-
34

530 JAY COOKE

ing to the need and the season always with kind words
and with gladness in his eye. The school which was
opened in 1833 gained much celebrity because of his
association with it, and it was frequented largely by the
daughters of wealthy American business men in all
parts of the country with whom Mr. Cooke's name al-
ways remained a valuable password. His own grand-
daughters were students here and more than one hun-
dred girls, including the day pupils, have constantly
occupied the house during the school term, their mer-
riment infectiously adding to his zest in life as he min-
gled freely with them.

His mind continued to dwell upon the Northwest.
With delight he read or listened to the reading of Long-
fellow's "Song of Hiawatha" and in imagination he lin-
gered with the young Indian —

By the shore of Gitchee Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea Water.

That his confidence in this region underwent no abate-
ment in the interval, while the world reviled and doubted
him, is shown by the fact that he reinvested in land near
Duluth. He obtained control of the water power of the
St. Louis River at the Dalles where he had long before
predicted the establishment of a great manufacturing
center, a very valuable property which was sold by J.
Horace Harding to a company of capitalists just a
few months before his death. This event brought him
great satisfaction. The utilization of the great store of
natural energy which had so long gone to waste in the
stream that tumbled its brown root-stained waters into
Lake Superior was a project very close to his heart.
The advancement in electrical science, as evidenced by

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 531

the establishment of the large plant at Niagara Falls,
with the perfection of the methods of transmitting power
by wire over long distances made this the ripe moment
for the realization of the plans which he had cherished
so faithfully. Mr. Cooke also repurchased the great
Pine Grove furnace tract near Carlisle in southern Penn-
sylvania.

But one thing remained to make his revenge full and
satisfying and that was the completion of the Northern
Pacific Railroad. With its success, notwithstanding
much useless sacrifice of his property by the trustees in a
desire to do quickly what it was soon discovered would
be a labor of years, the estate would more than repay
all his creditors plus a reasonable rate of interest upon
their money while they waited. It had seemed long to
him, as it had to them, and the regular processes, as might
have been expected, were interfered with by many law-
suits. Although Mr. Cooke could only advise he coun-
selled all who still sought and valued his judgment to
hold fast until the country should run into a period of
better times.

The first dividend was paid in 1875, nearly two years
after the failure. This was five per cent, in cash, with a
certain percentage in kind, including Northern Pacific
preferred stock, the bonds held by the estate having been
converted en bloc under the scheme of reorganization;
and stock of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company
(now become the Oregon Railway and Navigation Com-
pany) and the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad
Company, reorganized as the St. Paul and Duluth. Mr.
Cooke again used his influence with the creditors in fa-
vor of an exchange of their railway securities for north-

532 JAY COOKE

western land. The new preferred stock of the North-
ern Pacific company, like the old bond issue, was re-
deemable in Minnesota and Dakota farms and those who
followed his advice in this respect again profited hand-
somely.

The second dividend was paid in 1878, being five per
cent, in cash with another distribution in kind. A third
dividend followed in 1879 and consisted of 2^ per cent.
in cash and ten per cent, in "dividend asset scrip," is-
sued to cover stocks, land and other holdings for which
the trustee could not find immediate sale. Creditors
could exchange this scrip for property held by the estate
at an appraised valuation, or in case of need sell it or use
it as collateral, thus being relieved of some of the hard-
ships of continued delay. In 1881 a fourth dividend
was declared, i% Per cent, in cash and 5 per cent, in
scrip. A fifth and final dividend of 1 }4 per cent, in cash
was paid in 1890, the trustee, upon the death of Mr.
Lewis in 1884 and his successor, Mr. Rushton, having
now become J. Horace Harding. After the final divi-
dend was distributed the total payments were 155^ per
cent, in cash, 15 per cent, in asset scrip, and for each
$1,000 of liabilities eight shares of Northern Pacific
preferred stock, three and a half shares of Oregon Steam
Navigation stock, three-quarters of a share of St. Paul
and Duluth preferred and one-half a share of St. Paul
and Duluth common stock.

Those who had not sold or exchanged their North-
ern Pacific stock were soon to profit by the comple-
tion of the railroad to the western ocean. Under the
presidency of Charles B. Wright, as has been said, the
company's interests were carefully guarded, but there

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 533

were seasons when the way was dark. The preferred
stock at one time sold as low as $8 a share and the com-
mon stock was quoted at $1.50. With returning confi-
dence in the industrial and financial situation plans were
laid for a resumption of work upon the line. In 1879
Wright retired on account of ill health and Mr. Billings
was elected to the presidency. The company again be-
gan to borrow money, at first on divisional mortgages,
to carry the road on its eastern end from the Missouri to
the Yellowstone and in the west from the head of navi-
gation on the Columbia River up to Lake Pend d' Oreille,
the links which were about to be attacked when the crash
came six years before. Indeed Mr. Billings and his
friends had arranged with leading banking houses for
a bond issue of $40,000,000. The actual work of con-
struction was progressing so favorably that the 217
miles from the Missouri to the Yellowstone could be
completed in June, 1881, and the 225 miles from the Co-
lumbia to Lake Pend d' Oreille in November of that
year.

At this point Henry Villard appeared upon the scene.
A young German who had come to America, being em-
ployed at first as a newspaper correspondent, he had used
his connections in Europe to obtain an appointment as
the American representative of the German holders of
railway bonds in Oregon. Thus introduced to the
transportation business on the Pacific coast he obtained
control of a valuable steamship trade from San Fran-
cisco to Portland and merged the company with Cap-
tain Ainsworth's Columbia River line, the Oregon Steam
Navigation Company, which had been numbered among
Tay Cooke's assets in 1873, the stock being distributed

534 JAY COOKE

to creditors who did not know its value and from whom
Ainsworth and his Oregon friends had re-purchased it.
Villard called the resultant corporation the Oregon Rail-
way and Navigation Company, and it became a richly
profitable concern, confirming Jay Cooke's business
judgment in still another direction. He now conceived
a plan of making his Oregon system tributary to the
Northern Pacific Railroad, a reversal of the Cooke pro-
cess. The completion of that road seemed to be assured
and it boded ill for Mr. Villard's interests in Oregon.
He therefore addressed several of his wealthy friends
and organized a "Blind Pool." He "did not hesitate to
make the boldest possible appeal to personal confidence
by asking his followers to entrust their money to him
without being told what use he intended to make of it." 1
He called for $8,000,000 and more than twice this sum
was offered him, none of the subscribers knowing until
afterward that it was his design quietly to form a hold-
ing or proprietary company for the Northern Pacific,
the Oregon and Transcontinental Company. In Sep-
tember, 1 88 1, this sensational operation was completed,
the road was his, and having himself elected President
and Thomas F. Oakes, one of his associates in Oregon,
Vice-President, he was ready for a bond issue to finish
the work. In September, 1883, he was ready to drive
the last spike in the wilds of Montana and the tracks
were united for through trains from the lake to the
ocean.

Jay Cooke's dream, as many called it ten years before,
was now realized. The event was the signal for im-
pressive ceremonies. President Arthur, General Grant,

1 Villard's Memoirs, Vol. II, p. 297.

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 535

William M. Evarts, the British and German ministers
to the United States and large diplomatic and Congres-
sional parties from Washington, Governors and many
distinguished men of America and Europe were taken
out to the Northwest over the line of the road. There
were dinners to Mr. Villard and Mr. Evarts and they
with many others of national distinction spoke at the
ceremonies in Montana. Jay Cooke was absent, al-
though he had been cordially invited to be one of the
company. Villard wrote to him as follows:

I welcome with special gratification this opportunity of mani-
festing my high regard and admiration for the man to whose init-
iative the creation of the Northern Pacific railroad is mainly
due, and without whose energy and enterprise in its early days I
should not now hold the position it is my good fortune to fill.
I hope I shall have the satisfaction of seeing you on my right
when the last spike is driven into the main track.

A delicate sense prevented Mr. Cooke from taking
part in this celebration and he looked on with interest
from afar. A toast was proposed to him at the banquet
in Minneapolis which President Arthur attended and
Governor Washburn and General Nettleton responded
in fitting sentiments. In Montana Mr. Billings spoke
of "the enthusiastic, big-hearted Jay Cooke," and Mr.
Villard alluded to "the brilliant episode in our history
in which an able, bold and resolute man was the central
figure to whom most of all the company owes its prac-
tical existence." Mr. Cooke could not be forgotten,
even in a rapidly moving age when new men so quickly
appear to take the laurels from the brows that earlier
have worn them.

The road now stood very much as Mr. Cooke and his

536 JAY COOKE

coadjutors had planned it. The St. Paul and Pacific
franchises had been allowed to go and this line, falling
into the possession of James J. Hill, formed the nucleus
of his Great Northern system soon to be a powerful
rival of the Northern Pacific. To Mr. Cooke's displeas-
ure the terminal offices were located at St. Paul and
Minneapolis instead of at Duluth, his favorite city of the
lake. To checkmate the Union Pacific at Helena the
road was sent over the Mullen, instead of the naturally
more favored Deer Lodge Pass, and awaiting the com-
pletion at some future time of an expensive tunnel
through the Cascade Mountains it reached Tacoma by
way of the Columbia Valley and Portland.

At the prices of 1882 for the shares of Northern Pa-
cific and its old allies it was computed that the estate had
already paid its creditors $1.56 for each dollar of its
indebtedness. Claims upon Jay Cooke and Company
were sold at a premium and speculators eagerly pur-
chased them from those whose necessities compelled
them to this course. If the road were again to pass
through a period of difficulty and another reorganiza-
tion, before it should stand in that position of strength
when its common stock would sell at $100 and later at
$200 a share Mr. Cooke was already triumphantly vin-
dicated in all directions. It was understood at first that
when the estate had met all its obligations the overplus
should revert to the partners, but they soon voluntarily
relinquished their final interest in it to the creditors.
Except for this fact, even with the needless waste of the
firm's assets, Mr. Cooke and his associates would have
saved respectable fortunes from the wreck.

What was the fate of the men who had stood beside

JAY COOKE AND A GRANDDAUGHTER
In the conservatory at "Ogonts," after a school masquerade

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 537

him in the flourishing days before 1873? His brothers
Pitt and Henry D. Cooke lived on quietly, one in San-
dusky and the other in Washington, Pitt dying in 1879
and Henry in 1881. William G. Moorhead had settled
a considerable sum of money upon his second wife and
in this way ended his days, seeming never to be able to
recover any part of the ground which he had lost. His
mind failing, his closing years were entirely miserable.
Fahnestock and Garland at once identified themselves
with the First National Bank of New York to their very
great advantage, while George C. Thomas soon became
a leading factor in Drexel's Philadelphia house. Hugh
McCulloch continued the London business for a short
time under the name of McCulloch and Company but no
success attended his operations after he had lost Jay
Cooke's credit. Lie soon returned home to become a
gentleman farmer, going back for a time to the Treas-
ury Department in President Arthur's cabinet. John
H. Puleston and Frank H. Evans remained in England
to embark in other businesses. Both were elected to
Parliament and knighted in due time, ever since living
the lives of respected English gentlemen.1

It was now time for Jay Cooke to make a trip over
the line of the Northern Pacific Railroad, but he post-
poned it from year to year until the summer of 1891.
He had visited St. Paul and Duluth in 1885 in connec-
tion with his purchases on the St. Louis River. For a
few days, with a nephew, he enjoyed prairie chicken
hunting in the Red River Valley. In Duluth he was
received with the greatest enthusiasm. The newspapers

1 The announcement of the death of Sir Francis Henry Evans comes as
this work is going to press.

538 JAY COOKE

called him the "father," and still more familiarly the
"daddy of Duluth." He was tendered a reception in the
Kitchi Gammi Club by Charlemagne Tower, Jr., who
had railway interests in the region, and Mr. and Mrs.
R. H. Lee. He is "honored in Duluth as no other liv-
ing man," said a Duluth journal, and his visit seemed
indeed to justify this declaration. The mayor called
upon him and he was taken to the rooms of the Board of
Trade, where he was asked to make a speech. In the
course of his remarks he said :

I have not had the pleasure of visiting this city since its present
site was a wilderness. There were then only six houses here. It
required a great deal of faith to look forward to the time of this
magnificent future. But I take no credit for that confidence, for
I am a western man. I was born on the shores of Lake Erie.
At first advancement was slow, but I could observe long trains
of wagons filled with emigrants who were going to people the
great, boundless West. I went to St. Louis at the age of six-
teen; that was about the hard times of 1836-37; the city had
then only 7,500 people (about one-third the population of Du-
luth), think of it — a place which has now over 500,000. Chi-
cago was then almost unknown ; there were only a few shanties
on the present site of that magnificent city. With such ex-
perience, it did not require prognostical skill on my part to fore-
see greatness for Duluth, the outlet to the great water highway of
the Northwest.

But if I have not been able to come here, I have read con-
stantly your daily and weekly papers. I know the names of
your people; I know all about your quarrels and your peace
gatherings, and altogether, gentlemen, I am delighted to witness
the progress of your city.

At times, I have been offered special cars and urged to go
over the Northern Pacific, but I have replied that I shall go only
when the Northern Pacific is fully completed according to the
original purpose from Lake Superior to the Pacific coast, that is

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 539

when I can go to Tacoma, which is the western as Duluth is
the eastern, terminus of the railroad. When I can go from here
in a first-class train — not in a bob-tail, and when the mile boards
shall read from Duluth to Tacoma, then I shall go across the
Northern Pacific.

Mr. Cooke's allusion to "bob-tail" trains and the ab-
sence of mile boards was expressive of his desire to have
the road run through its Cascade tunnel directly to Ta-
coma, the terminus which he had chosen for it. This
last remaining link was finished about 1888 but it was
not until September, 1891, that he made the promised
journey. He had just passed his seventieth birthday.
He left Philadelphia in company with his son Jay Cooke,
Jr., Mrs. Jay Cooke, Jr., and their children Jay Cooke
3d and Miss Carrie Cooke. At Chicago a special car,
the Minnewaska, was placed at his disposal by the offi-
cials of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. He
was tendered a banquet at Duluth, where his friends
had not forgotten him, and many of them in another pri-
vate car accompanied him for a number of miles down
the line of the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad to the
Northern Pacific junction, stopping now and again to in-
spect the water power and the slate and brown stone
quarries. Reaching the main line the escort returned
and his car was attached to the end of an express train
bound for Tacoma. Crowds greeted him at the stations
all the way to the coast. He never left his home without
a full supply of Testaments, hymn books, fructifying sto-
ries purchased from the Sunday School societies; picture
cards, candies, fruits and other gifts which he scattered
freely as he passed along. The Secretary of War had
sent letters bespeaking for him the kind consideration

540 JAY COOKE

of the officials of the Yellowstone Park, where a few
days were spent in admiring the natural wonders of that
region, and Treasury and customs officials were similarly
enlisted in the work of adding to the comfort and pleas-
ure of the old prophet of the Northwest. The United
States revenue cutter Wolcott stood at his disposal when
he reached Puget Sound and his entire stay among the
hospitable and grateful people of Tacoma and the neigh-
boring towns was marked by honors and attentions not
all of which could be accepted. Governors, mayors and
bodies of citizens invited him to places which he felt he
could not visit.

In Tacoma he was the guest of his friend Theodore
Hosmer and the most important entertainment which
he attended was the banquet tendered him by the Cham-
ber of Commerce at the Tacoma Hotel, where he re-
sponded to the toast, "The man who knew." He paid
short visits to Seattle and Portland and then turned
toward Philadelphia, stopping for a few weeks on his
way at Gibraltar. Upon his island he wrote in the
Records :

My sensations as day after day I passed over this road and
through this wonderful country, now so rapidly developing and
which now contains six millions of people, where only twenty
years ago the Indian and buffalo held full sway, were such as
few have ever experienced. It was in a measure the fulfill-
ment of prophecies which I uttered long ago. I felt that I was
justified, and those who were so full of doubts long ago now
gladly acknowledge that I was right.

"The country is far beyond my expectations," he said
to a newspaper reporter who asked him for the impres-
sions of his trip. "The word wonderful was on my lips
all the time."

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 541

With the restoration of his fortune Mr. Cooke re-
sumed his activity as a quiet but large and liberal doer
of practical charity. In the neighborhood of "Ogontz"
he was an old Kriss Kringle, making gifts and perform-
ing kindly services both within and without the pale of
the church to whose interests he continued to be deeply
devoted. Nothing interfered with the regular discharge
of his duties as the leader of the Bible Class in the wel-
fare of whose members he felt a constant care. Simple,
wholesome pleasures contented him personally and they
were these which he bestowed. There was good cheer
in his wake wherever he went, and while his fortune in
lands was large, his ready income was limited and was
almost entirely consumed in doing good to those around
him. Advancing years left him no more secure from
the designs of importunate men, and many still came
his way to ask attentions at his hands. In purity of
heart he did not suspect; in generosity he forgave. As
old age settled upon him he lost some of the vigor with
which he had attacked life in the period of youth and
middle age, but he watched what passed around him
with sympathy and hope.

His several farms on the "Ogontz" tract gave him
enjoyment, — the vegetables from his gardens, the flow-
ers from his greenhouses, the butter from his dairy, the
eggs from the poultry yard and the fruit from the
orchards gracing his own and the tables of his friends.
In his butter and eggs he had a true farmer's pride.
One summer at Gibraltar he was soon expecting one of
his granddaughters. He wrote asking her to bring
him from home some butter and eggs, and she put both
into her trunk. Upon her arrival it was found that the

542 JAY COOKE

trip had been very disastrous. The girl was almost in
tears.

"Never mind," said the old financier. "The butter
and eggs we get out here won't kill us, I suppose."

"Butter and eggs!" ejaculated his granddaughter.
"What about my dresses ?"

"Oh," he replied, with dancing eyes. "You can get
dresses anywhere."

Mr. Cooke's visits to Philadelphia became less regu-
lar as the years passed, but he was a familiar figure in
the banking district, taking his desk at the office of
Charles D. Barney and Company when he found it to
his mind and attending a reception or dinner now and
then at the Union League, being among the last of three
or four surviving founders of that organization.

Fishing remained his one great passion and delight.
His biennial trips to Gibraltar afforded him the oppor-
tunity for indulging in this sport, but the waters in that
part of Lake Erie gradually failed and in later years
it was necessary for him to visit the shores of the Cana-
dian islands where the laws against pound and net fish-
ing were more rigidly enforced.

He also occasionally repaired to the trout streams on
his great South Mountain estate. There he would go
into a village school which he had done much to estab-
lish, his arms and pockets filled with gifts for the children
— scissors for the girls, pocket knives for the boys, and
books, boxes of candy and picture cards for all. Each
pupil would bring him a bunch of arbutus which he took
home to the girls at the Ogontz School.

Once a year he was accustomed to visit Elizabethtown,
N. Y., near his old Champlain iron furnaces, where he

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 543

rewarded the inhabitants with gifts of money, clothing
and household utensils for protecting the brooks that
flowed down from the Adirondacks until he came to cast
his line. As soon would these poor folk yield up their
own hearths and firesides to strangers as the fish that
swam past their doors. With club and shotgun the
streams were held inviolate for Jay Cooke, who captured
their affections as surely as he had ever won buyers for
government bonds. In ten days in June, 1892, Mr.
Cooke, accompanied by his friend, John Nicholson,
caught 2,355 trout, Mr. Cooke himself having hooked
1,502.

Each summer in later years he went to Beach Haven,
N. J., for a few days' sport among the weak-fish, making
large catches as was his wont wherever he dropped his
line. With Sam Cowperthwaite he spent many happy
days upon the quiet salt water channels, often shipping
home the product of his skill for distribution among his
neighbors and the members of his Bible Class. William
Wilberforce Newton met Mr. Cooke at Beach Haven on
one of these trips and remarked:

"Really, Mr. Cooke, this is not fishing; it is simply
massacre. How can you take life like this ?"

The old twinkle returned to his eyes as he replied :

"There's where you're wrong, Willie Wastle O ! [ This
was the name he always gave to his interlocutor. ] Now
did you ever stop to think what an unhappy old age the
average fish has ? He don't know what has become of
his wife, and can't tell which are his children and he's
glad to be saved from a lonely and miserable life. Be-
sides, the apostles were good fishermen, and you know
the Church is built upon the foundation of the apostles."

544 JAY COOKE

Mr. Cooke also found much enjoyment at "Ogontz
Lodge," a hunting camp near Salidasburg in Lycoming
county on the Susquehanna River above Williamsport,
Pa., which was purchased and fitted up about 1884.
Here great fires blazed cheerfully, while venison, pheas-
ant and trout made the table a delight to its owner.
Bear and deer were found upon the estate and Mr. Cooke
could fish up the stream for eight miles without leaving
his own preserves. He visited the camp three or four
times a year. The trout always awaited his coming and
he found much satisfaction in this retreat. Here, as
everywhere, he had a church whose services he attended
when he passed a Sabbath in the neighborhood, and the
children and their elders in the country roundabout
were the recipients of many gifts from him. He offered
the boys twenty-five cents for each rattlesnake which
they would kill upon his estate, and hundreds were
brought in to him for the reward, many of the rattles
and skins being carried with him when he returned to
Philadelphia, to be presented to "his girls" at "Ogontz,"
who converted them into belts, purses and other orna-
ments, and very highly prized these trophies of an odd
chase.

In his great cape cloak and his wide-brimmed, light-
grey, soft felt hat set over a gentle face adorned by a
long white beard Mr. Cooke looked like the patriarch
that he was. He dressed oblivious to changing styles,
although the hat which was so often remarked by the
young reporters who constantly came to interview him
upon all manner of questions was of excellent texture
and of costly make. Last season's would be laid aside
for his fishing trips. "None of your derbies for me,"

o
o
o
W

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 545

he was once heard to say. "You can't stick fish hooks
in the brim."

Thus did Mr. Cooke's life run on serenely until he had
almost reached the age of 84. He had contemplated the
advancement of the Northwest up to the mark which he
had set for it with deep satisfaction. When Mr. Hard-
ing went to him in 1904 and told him that the plans for
harnessing the power of the St. Louis River were com-
plete his eyes filled with tears. He saw that his dreams
were about to be realized and that Duluth would become
a great manufacturing centre in accordance with his
prophecy. "The last thing is done," he said to a friend
and so indeed from some points of view did it seem to be.
He had had a few mishaps but he had always been singu-
larly free from bodily illness, his robust health being
rightly ascribed, no doubt, to his equable disposition, tem-
perate habits and devotion to out-of-door sports. In
July, 1900, while driving with his great-grandson, Mas-
ter Tom Kelly, in the neighborhood of "Ogontz," the
horse ran away and both were thrown out upon the
ground. Mr. Cooke was bruised but escaped more seri-
ous injury.

. Several times in later years he had had alarming at-
tacks, probably apoplectic. In October, 1901, at Gib-
raltar there was no response to a knock at his door and
upon entering the room a servant found him in a state
of coma.

A boat was hurriedly despatched to Sandusky and
some hours passed, even after the arrival of the physi-
cian, before he regained consciousness. But his recov-
ery, to the surprise and great gratification of his family,

was rapid and he returned to Philadelphia in a few davs,
35

516 JAY COOKE

almost as well as before, to be present at the wedding of
a granddaughter.

He had caught a few bass at Gibraltar during his
visit to the island in October, 1904, but to his regret not
enough to distribute them to his friends. Upon his de-
parture he wrote in the Records : "Good-bye, old Gib-
raltar ! We thank God for permitting us to enjoy such
a glorious visit and hope to come again." He was not
to do so. On Monday, February 13, 1905, he gave his
annual reception to the girls of Ogontz School. They
were as usual gathered in the gymnasium where a sup-
per was served. Speeches were made and healths were
pledged. Mr. Cooke mingled with the pupils and shared
their happiness as they sang and danced, and at last
joined in their march up to the point at which they were
to receive from his hands the bouquets, sweets and fruits
that he always gave them upon this occasion. He had
scarcely ever been so merry and while waiting for a girl
upon whom to bestow them was seen to keep four oranges
in the air with the skill of a practiced juggler, a feat
that probably not one in the assembly would have been
able to perform.

On Tuesday, Mr. Cooke was as well as usual, but on
Wednesday there were marked evidences of failing
powers. The debilities of age, which had been gather-
ing, found this the time to bring the good life to its
close. His children and grandchildren who were hur-
riedly summoned assembled at "Eildon," and on Thurs-
day evening the end was seen to be near. Rev. J.
Thompson Cole, the rector of St. Paul's Church, which
he attended to the last, came and knelt at the bedside
repeating a prayer for the dying. Mr. Cooke joined in

FINANCIER OF THE CIVIL WAR 547

the "Amen" in a clear voice, and then said, "That was
the right prayer."

He knew that the sands of his life were running low,
fell into a quiet sleep and at ten o'clock the spirit in the
mortal frame which had endured so much for his family,
his friends, his country and his race passed over the
river into the unknown land.

His generation had gone on before him, but there were
signs that he had not been forgotten. If the state and
nation were silent, the city of Philadelphia thought to
display its flags at half mast in his memory, and flowers
and messages of sympathy came from many sides. The
vestrymen of his church upon the old York Road were
his pall-bearers and the corse, after a private service at
"Eildon," and rites publicly said in the church, was taken
to the marble family vault.

In 1867, Mr. Cooke had built this mausoleum in a
suitable place on the side of a hill on the grounds of
"Ogontz." A brook trickles past it. The forest trees
rear their heads upon the other bank, while evergreens
emblematically reach their boughs toward this white
chamber in which so many who were dear had preceded
him to final rest. His father, his mother, his sister Mrs.
Moorhead; his wife and four children were earlier
placed there and the cortege on this cold and snowy
February day entered the gateway of his great old home
and went down the little lane which leads to the sepul-
chre. The school girls sang a hymn upon the porch of
his mansion when the procession passed. He had often
told "his girls" that he would some time return to
the old estate to abide there forever, and the hour had
now come. He had gone to the lasting delights which

548 JAY COOKE

are the promised reward of well-doing, ripe in years and
rich in deserts. It yet remains only for his countrymen
cheerfully to give him his rightful place in the history
of the nation, and to erect in their hearts as they one day
will in stone a fitting memorial to a great patriot and a
marvelous financier.

INDEX

Abolitionists, in Ohio, I. 6, 32;
Cooke's opinion of, 139.

Adams' Academy, I. 13, 40.

Adams, Charles Francis, I. 288.

Adams, John Quincy, I. 17, 18, 22,
76.

Adams & Co., Treasury transfers
by, I. 133-

Adams Express Co., offers to open
night agencies, I. 588.

Adamson, Collier & Co., II. 197.

Adirondacks, Cooke troutfishing in,
II. 541-42.

Ainsworth, Captain J. C, President
Oregon Steam Navigation Co.,
II. 348; Director of Northern
Pacific, 349; Cooke writes to,
408.

Alabama Claims, II. 229, 377, 380.

Alexander, Colonel, I. 61, 62, 64.

Allan, Sir Hugh, controls Cana-
dian Pacific, II. 350; favors al-
liance with Cooke, 351.

Allen, Brasseya, I. 76.

Allen, Eben, I. 76.

Allen, Ebenezer, I. 76.

Allen, Dorothea Elizabeth, sec
Mrs. Jay Cooke.

Allen, Rev. John, I. 76.

Allen, R. N., 7-30 agent, I. 604-5.

Allen, Richard, I. 76.

Allen, Richard Nun, I. 76.

Allen, Robert, I. 76.

Allen, Robert T. P., at Allegheny
College, I. 76; at Transylvania
University, 77; at Kentucky
Military Institute, II. 464.

Allen, S. & M., I. 5-

Allen, William, 1st, I. 76.

Allen, William, 2d, I. 77-

Allison, Wm. B., II. 231.

Allison, Mr., suggested for Asst.
Treasurer in Phila., I. 180.

American Christian Commission,
II. 498.

549

American Exchange and Review,
Chase's biography in, I. 363.

American Exchange Bank, New
York, I. 344, 350, 358.

American Sunday School Union,
II. 497.

Ames, Oakes, II. 103.

Anderson, Dr. George, I. 8.

Andrew Governor, I. 584.

Andrews, S. P., II. 24.

Anglo-American Oil Co., II. 84.

Anti-slavery riots in Phila., I. 44,
45, 47-

Antietam, battle of, I. 266.

Appleton, Dr. E. W., II. 487.

Appleton's Cyclopedia, its attack on
national finances, I. 297.

Arthur, President, in Northwest,
II. 533; invites McCulloch to
Cabinet, 536.

Ashburton, Lord, II. 209.

Ashburton Treaty, II. 209.

Associated Banks, loans of, in
1861, I. 150 et seq., 320; unpleas-
ant attitude of, 153; later loans
of, 165, 166 ;■ Chase's appreciation
of services of, 183.

Atlantic Monthly, I. 364.

Auld, Jane, I. 276.

Bacon, Josiah, I. 119.
Bailey, Dr. Gamaliel, I. 275.
Bailey, Mrs. M. L., I. 275.
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, I. 100,

223; II. 241.
Banana Belt, II. 121, 295.
Bank of California, I. 630-34.
Bank of Commerce, New York, I.

344, 347-
Bank of England, I. 83.
Bank of North America, I. 67, 108.
Bank of the United States, I. 41,

66, 67, 68, 69, 335.
Bankruptcy Law, efforts to amend,

II. 512.

550

INDEX

Banks, General N. P., at Port
Hudson, I. 190; attacks North-
ern Pacific in Congress, II. 322-
24; asks aid for Sutro tunnel,
406.

Banning, Wm. L., urges Cooke to
finance Lake Superior and Mis-
sissippi R. R., II. 98; seeks aid in
England, 104; assists Cooke in
making investments in Minne-
sota, 105 ; defeat of St. Croix
bill, in; meets Eastern guests,
132; sends Donnelly to Washing-
ton, 175; criticizes Windom, 246;
puts gamblers in irons, 257 ; re-
tires, 347.

Baptists, Cooke's gifts to, II. 491-
92.

Baring Bros. & Co., I. 287; asked to
buy Lake Superior bonds, II.
107 ; Moorhead's appeal to, 149 ;
lose naval agency, 209-10 ; fund-
ing plans of, 270, 283 ; false pre-
dictions of, 285; rivalry of, 286;
allied with Morton and Morgan,
363, 366, 369, 2>77', lose State de-
partment account, 435.

Bascom, Rev. Dr., I. 78.

Bass Islands in Lake Erie, II. 459.

Bassett, Geo. A., I. 249.

Bates, Attorney-General, I. 155-56.

Bates, Barton, II. 94.

Barney, A. H., Treasurer of
Northern Pacific, II. 100, 182;
signs N. P. contracts, 161 ; in
New York office, 263 ; asked by
Cooke to reduce expenses, 324 ;
wishes to retire, 330: successor
named, 330 ; large drafts of, 384 ;
instructed to pay no bills for St.
Paul and Pacific, 393.

Barney, Charles D., II. 457, 463,
475-76, 518.

Barney, Charles D. & Co., firm
formed, II. 518; Cooke's desk in
office of, 541.

Barney, Mrs. Charles D., I. 276;
II. 463, 527, 528.

Bayless, A. B., II. 125.

Beach Haven, Cooke fishing at, II.
542.

Beal, James H., I. 560, 594.

Becker, George L., II. 342.

Beckett, Henry, I. 97.

Bedell, Bishop, II. 496.

Beecher, Henry Ward, II. 165.

Beesley, "Tom," II. 508.

Belmont, August, II. 270, 362.

Bennett, Frances E., II. 528.

Bennett, James Gordon, mentioned,
I. 61 ; his plan to pay off national
debt, 644 ; Cooke's troubles with,
647-52; letter of credit for, II.
471.

Bensell, George F., II. 449.

Benton, Thomas H., I. 128; II. 95,
315-

Berlin Bourse, II. 186-88.

Bible Class, Cooke's' II. 483-84; his
continued interest in, 540, 542.

Bicknell's Bank Note Detector, I.
344-

Biddle, Nicholas, I. 66, 74, 641.

Bigelow, John, I. 636.

Bigelow, J. P., assists in funding
business in Europe, II. 283 ; again
goes to London, 374.

Bill, Earl, I. 15.

Billings, Frederick, early interest
in Northern Pacific, II. 100; di-
rector of N. P., 182; chairman
Land Committee, 303 ; valued by
Cooke, 304; appoints new land
commissioner, 307; his criticism
of J. R. Young, 311; wishes to
resign, 325 ; Cooke opposes retire-
ment, 326 ; suggested for Vice-
President, 326 ; plans changed,
330; raising trees for snow-
breaks, 334 ; appointed to go to
Pacific Coast, 340; Cooke writes
to, 468; assists in reorganizing
N. P., 520; elected president,
532.

Bingham, Henry H, II. 353.

Bischoffsheim & Goldschmidt, Sar-
gent's negotiations with, II. 198;
subsidize newspapers, 211 ; pro-
pose to manipulate markets, 211;
become enemies of loan, 213; in
syndicate, 278; why negotiations
with, failed, 514.

Bismarck, Prince. Cooke invites
him to Gibraltar, II. 188-89; hon-
ors Kapp, 300; honors Gerolt,
311; town named for, 334.

Black Friday, II. 141-44; 400.

Blaine, James G., urges closing of
7-30 agency, I. 545 ; confident of
government aid for N. P., II.
152; invites Cooke to befriend
Little Rock road, 171-73; Cooke's

INDEX

551

loans to, 173, 76; value of services
of, 179; cautions Cooke, 327;
pressing demands of, 354; diffi-
culties with loans to, 416.

Blair, Francis P., Jr., his attacks
on Chase, I. 416, 417, 420.

Bleichroeders, addressed by Cooke,
II. 186; in syndicate, 278.

Blitz, Signor, II. 457.

Blood, Henry, II. 243, 254, 33^.

Boker, George H., I. 464.

Booth, J. Wilkes, I. 530.

Bonanza Mine, see Horn Silver
Mine.

Bonney, Mary L., II. 528.

Borie, Adolph E., Secretary of
Navy, II. 79; letter of credit for,

471-

Borthwick, Lord, II. 195.

Boston, banking capital of, I. 136,
150 ; great fire in, II. 400-1.

Boutwell, George S., mentioned for
Secretary of Treasury, II. 35, 37 ;
appointed to office, 79; changes
system of bond sales, 136; ad-
vised by Cooke regarding na-
tional banks, 137 ; refuses to co-
operate with Cooke, 142 ; changes
his mind, 143 ; appealed to for
aid after Chicago fire, 260 ; his
funding bill, 265 ; plans for opera-
tion, 266 ; refractory nature of,
267; reflections on McCulloch,
267 ; prescribes hard terms in
funding business, 268 ; business
open to all, 269-71 ; large sales to
banks, 272-73 ; proposes to give
balance to Cookes, 274 ; friendly
to Childs and Drexel, 274; sends
Richardson abroad, 275 ; defines
meaning of syndicate, 277 ; grati-
fied at Cooke's success, 279; calls
bonds, 280-81 ; his opinion of
Cooke, 287 ; Cooke's opinion of
him, 287; receives joint proposal
from Cooke and Rothschild, 288;
timidity of, 288, 359, 360; bun-
gling policy continued, 359 ; Con-
gressional investigation of, 360;
vindication of, 361 ; Cooke and
Rothschild renew proposals to,
361 ; consults Ways and Means
committee, 362 ; bringing influence
to bear on, 363 ; proposes con-
tract for smaller sum, 364;

elected Senator from Massachu-
setts, 364: asks Cooke to join
Morton and Morgan, 365 ; asked
to reduce amount of call, 367;
Cooke urges opoosite course,
368-69 ; scales " call," 372-73 ; rea-
sons for failure of operation,
374 ; invited to " Ogontz," 452 ;
suggests Japanese government
loan, 456 ; visitor at " Ogontz,"
458.

Brackett, George, II. 125.

Bradford, C. J., I. 249.

Brainerd, immigration office at, II.
319; reception house at, 319; con-
dition of, 331.

Branch. Thomas & Sons, I. 614.

Brertschwert, — , II. 217.

Brewer, Julian, I. 602.

Brewster, Judge, II. 164.

Brewster, Sweet & Co., N. P.
agents, II. 233; larger sales by,
399-

Bright, John, I. 288; II. 376.

Bronaugh, Emily, II. 482.

Bronson, Dr. S. A., recommends
preachers to Cooke, II. 487;
hears Cooke's Low Church
views, 489-90; at Kenyon Col-
lege, 496.

Brooks, Phillips, Cooke proposes to
employ, II. 500-01.

Bross, Governor, II. 238.

Brough, Governor, I. 417.

Burnham, George, II. 131.

Brown, Frank G., II. 525.

Brown, John, I. 6; II. 460.

Brown, Joseph, II. 512.

Brown Brothers & Co., I. 82.

Browne, N. B., II. 131, 429.

Browning, Secretary, II. 81.

Bryant, William Cullen, I. 650.

Buchanan, James, finances of, I.
121-27.

Buckalew, Charles R., II. 353.

Budge, Henry, N. P. contract with,
II- 183 ; goes to Europe with
Sargent, 184, 185 ; arrangement
with General Credit Co., 194; at
Sargent dinner, 195 ; Sargent
complains of, 196; enemy of loan,
213.

Budge, Moritz, N. P. contract with,
II. 183-85 ; deposits money with
Cooke, 184; Sargent complains

552

INDEX

of, 196 ; enemy of loan, 213 ;
criticized by Darmstadt bankers,
214; bought off, 215-16.

Budge, Schiff & Co., N. P. contract
with, II. 183-85.

Bull, Ole, II. 300.

Bull Run, rout at, I. 146-49; sec-
ond battle of, 201-05.

Bullitt, John C, called in by Cooke,
II. 424; directs affairs of firm,
436 ; aims to secure amendment
of bankruptcy law, 527.

Burlingame, Anson, II. 461.

Burnside, General, I. 438.

Butler, Benjamin F., mentioned, I.
468; Wilkeson visits, 583-84;
radical proposals of, II. 28, 37;
false statement by, 52; attitude
of, regarding N. P. 179; asks for
funding contract, 365 ; chairman
of National Asylum, 498; fishing
at Gibraltar, 505.

Butler, Mrs. J. M., II. 463, 528.

" Butternuts " in Indiana, I. 605.

Cabites, The, I. 36.

Cadwalader. Judge, I. 82.

Caldwell, S. A., I. 558.

Caldwell, Judge Samuel B., I. 3, 38.

Calhoun, J. C, I. 128.

California, efforts to sell 7-30S in,
I. 629-30; specie payments con-
tinued in, 632-34; loyalty of, 631-
34; inaccessibility of before rail-
road was built, II. 96.

Cameron, Simon, mentioned, I. 284;
collects money for 2d Lincoln
campaign, 366; oil company of,
440-41 ; corrupt influences of, II.
71 ; opposes General Moorhead
for Senator, 77 ; insists on pig-
iron clause in N. P. bill, 178.

Camp, J. G., I. 97.

Campbell, David and his sons, I.

29, 3i.

Canadian Pacific Railroad, rumors
of, II. 341 ; Cooke's efforts to con-
trol, 349-51-

Canda & Co., II. 248.

Canfield, Thomas H., his early in-
terest in N. P., II. 100; arranges
for Roberts' exploring party, 113;
directs party, 1 14-16; blamed for
mismanagement of party, 116, at
Portland, Oregon, 117; speaks at

Walla Walla, 118, 119; his efforts
to control Roberts, 119; director
of N. P., 182; General Moor-
head's distrust of, 248 ; insists on
rapid progress of work on rail-
road, 249; his arbitrary manage-
ment of the land company, 303 ;
efforts to check, 324; movement
to displace, 330; resistance of,
331-32; removed from Board of
Directors, 332.

Carey, Henry C, I. 516.

Carswell, David, I. 3, 13.

Carswell, Martha, see Mrs. E.
Cooke.

Cass, George W., his early interest
in N. P., II. 97, 153; signs N. P
contract, 161 ; director of N. P.,
182 ; Cooke's good opinion of,
304 ; proposed for president, 326 ;
qualifications for office, 327;
elected president, 328; goes to
Pacific, 328; takes hold and en-
forces economies, 329; offends
Cooke by blunt manner, 329; op-
poses Canfield, 331-32; in Du-
luth, 333 ; reaches Missouri River,
334; asks Sheridan for protection
for surveyors, 337 ; appoints
committee to go to Pacific, 340;
in Canadian Pacific deal, 350;
much expected of, 389; asks
Cooke regarding finances of
road, 390-91 ; says N. P. work-
men are unpaid, 394-95 ; author-
izes Cooke to close 7-30 loan,
396 ; says other fiscal agents will
be found, 437; appointed receiver,

5 19-

Caswell, see Carswell.

Catacazy, Russian minister at
" Ogontz," II. 452.

Cate, Isaac M., II. 35.

Cattell, Senator Alex. G., interested
in condition of stock markets, II.
75 ; offers to go into N. P., 147 ;
assists in getting naval agency
for Cooke, 209 ; congratulates
Cooke, 284; active in Cooke in-
terests, 362-63 ; urges Boutwell to
" call " 100 millions, 339 ; goes to
London for Treasury Dept., 374 ;
cordially received, 375-77 ; told
by Cooke of N. P. syndicate, 399;
commends Cooke to Rothschild,

INDEX

553

415; telegraphs from London
after panic, 436 ; at " Ogontz,"
458; fishes with Cooke, 508.

Cattell, Edward J., clerk in Cooke's
bank, II. 465.

" Cedars, The," Cooke's home, I.

153, 154. II. 33, 447, 4&3-
Censorship of telegraph, I. 206-07,

223, 225.

Centennial exhibition, Cooke asked
to be fiscal agent of, II. 358.

Central Pacific R. R., Chase to
head, II. 102 ; engineering prob-
lems of, 115; profits of, 148;
Chinese labor on, 154; relations
of, with Fisk and Hatch, 382.

Certificates of indebtedness, I. 178,

179, 215; Cooke supports price of,
194-5 1 McCulloch resumes issue
of, 568-69; paid out for quarter-
masters' checks, 658; amount out-
standing in 1865, II. 71.

Chadwicks, London bankers, II.
197.

Chambersburg, burning of, I. 414.

Champlin, Smith & Co., II. 94.

Chandler, Joseph R., I. 92.

Chandler, William E. Asst. Secre-
tary of Treasury, II. 33 ; shapes
report in answer to Logan, 33-
34 ; writes to Cooke regarding
impeachment, 35 ; aids Cooke's in-
dustrial credit scheme, 24; ap-
peals for campaign funds in
1868, 69-71 ; interest in Hunting-
ton, 82 ; activity in regard to
Mexican loan, 89 ; agent in New
England for National Life In-
surance Co., 92 ; early interest in
N. P., 97; active in N. P. lobby,
175; interviews B. F. Butler, 179;
campaign manager in 1872, 352;
letter to Cooke after visiting
" Ogontz," 446 ; tells Cooke of
Grant's views on Sunday ques-
tion, 495 ; aims to secure amend-
ment of bankruptcy law, 512.

Chandler, Zachariah, proposes plan
for buying bonds in Europe, II.
88.

Chase, Kate, mentioned, I. 130, 154,

180, 183, 184; wedding of, 276-77.
Chase, Pliny E., seeks colonists for

Northwest, II. 299, 300.
Chase, Nettie, mentioned, I. 130,

154, 183, 108, II. 476.

Chase, S. P., in Columbus, I. 93,
94; informed of sale of Pa. State
loan, no, 119; enters Treasury
Department, 127 ; political senti-
ments of, 128; ambitions of, for
Presidency, 129; marriages of,
130; early financial devices of, 133*
et seq.; offers Asst. Treasurer-
ship to Cooke, 136-40; hears
Cooke's plans for a Washington
house, 142 et seq.; estimates tor
fiscal year, 1862, 145, 166, 167;
authority conferred upon, 145 ;
money proffered him after battle
of Bull Run, 147-49 ', arranges
first 7-30 loan, 149 et seq.; per-
sonal friendship for Cooke, 153-
56, 158; offers 7-30 loan to peo-
ple, 158 et seq.; views of, on legal
tenders, 169 et seq.; again urges
Cooke to take Asst. Treasurer-
ship, 179; asks for and rejects
coupe, 180-183 ; suggests a part-
nership with Cooke, 186; friend-
ship for Henry Cooke, 187 ; de-
positor in Cooke's bank, 188; sug-
gests himself as President of
Washington street railroad, 188;
defends right of negroes to ride
on cars, 189; appoints Cooke
loan agent, 190-91 ; authorizes
him to protect market for certifi-
cates, 194 ; reprimands Cooke,
196; criticizes Lincoln, 197, 199;
attacks McClellan, 197-98; urges
Cooke to see Lincoln about Mc-
Clellan, 200; his views of Mc-
Clellan's reinstatement, 203-04;
summons Cooke to Washington,
207-08; accepts Cooke's kindly
services, 210; presidential pros-
pects of, improved, 212; discour-
aged with 5-20 loan, 215; offers
agency to Cook, 218-20 ; gratified
by sales, 221, 229; defines policy
regarding commissions, 222; res-
ignation of, 223-26; delays de-
livery of bonds, 220-32 ; com-
mended by 5-20 newspapers, 241 ;
acknowledges gift of " A War
Democrat," 248 ; opposes commis-
sion of Y%, 255 et seq., 269 et seq.;
sensitiveness of, to attack, 258,
260, 262, 273, 278, 296 ; continues
5-20 sales, 267 ; gratification of,
270; returns check to Cooke,

554

INDEX

274-75 1 confirms promise of Y%,
278; receives complaints regard-
ing bond deliveries, 282 ; publicly
compliments Cooke, 284-85 ; 5-20
loan closed, 289 et seq.; defended
by Sherman in Senate, 309 et
seq.; replies to Coffroth resolu-
tion, 319 et seq.; his national
banking system, 328 et seq.;
Cooke's promises to, regarding
4th National Bank, 345; approves
Cooke's pamphlet on national
banks, 354; improvements in law
suggested to, 358; his presidential
campaign of 1864, 360-67; his fi-
nancial measures in 1863, 370 et
seq.; deserts Cooke's interest
bearing note plan, 377-79 ; de-
fends Cooke against Haight, 383;
advised by Cooke regarding 10-
40s, 387-^88; authorizes attack on
gold speculators, 400 et seq.;
recommended to appoint secret
agents in New York, 409; resig-
nation of, 412, 416-24; "blues"
of, 416; last cares as Secretary,
425 ; offers aid to successor, 425 ;
expresses his views of Fessenden,
432, 434, 435 ; cost of his presi-
dential campaign to Cooke, 442 ;
hears Henry Cooke's foreign loan
plans, 443 ; urges Cooke to go to
Washington, 444; return to
Treasury suggested, 445 ; hears
Cooke's account of Fessenden,
445 ; commissions paid on 5-20
loan, 455; appointed chief justice,
463-64; buys 7-30S, 489; Mr.
Kuhne's reports to, 514; admin-
isters oath of office to Johnson,
530; proposed national bank in
San Francisco, 630; attacked by
N. Y. Herald, 646; Cooke's con-
tinued regard for, 650; opposes
Cooke's " Consolidated Debt "
plans, II. 11-14, 36, 37; expresses
love for Cookes, 13 ; attacked by
N. Y. World, 27 ; guest at
"*Ogontz," 33 ; friendship for
Cooke after war, 59 et seq.;
looks to Cooke in campaign of
1868, 61, 64; turns to Democrats,
67, 68, 76; retires from politics,
69 ; sensitiveness continues, 72-
73 ; in Preston Coal Co., 85 ; sug-
gested for Presidency of Union

Pacific and Central Pacific, 102;
asks for office in N. P., 130;
Cooke recommends to buy Lake
Superior bonds, 131 ; N. P. bonds,
147; Cooke offers to carry bonds
for, 164, 165; visits Duluth 165,
244; suggested as head of Lon-
don house, 199; his reliance on
Cooke during war, 370-71 ; death
of, 415 ; Henry Cocke executor
of, 415; talents of, 443; at
" Ogontz," 458 ; at Gibraltar, 461,
506 ; Cooke's kindness to, 468 ; his
refusals to take gifts, 469; praises
Cooke's generosity, 478.

Cheesman, D. W., Asst. Treasurer
at San Francisco, I. 630-31 ;
Cooke's kindness to, II. 467.

Chelten Hills, I. 154.

Chemical Bank, New York, I. 356.

Cheney, B. P., in N. P., II. 153;
director of N. P., 182.

Chesapeake & Ohio, carries down
Fisk & Hatch, II. 428.

Chestnut Street Seminary, II. 528.

Chicago, beginnings of, I. 34; in-
fluences in, hostile to N. P., II.
171*; great fire in, 259; effect on
stock market, 260-61, 400.

Chicago and Northwestern Rail-
road, share in N. P., II. 244.

Childs, Geo. W., antagonizes Cooke,
I. 546-47 ; antipathy continues, II.
32, 134; baits N. P., 189 et seq.;
hobnobs with Boutwell, 274;
contributions to Grant's campaign
fund, 356 ; supports Joseph Pat-
terson for Secretary of Treasury,
364 ; his attentions to Grant, 365 ;
evil influences of, 372.

Chittenden, L. B., I. 231, 261.

Chittenden, S. B., II. 71.

Choate, Rufus, I. 17, 18.

Christian Commission, II. 498.

Chubb & Schenck, I. 82.

Cisco, John J., Asst. Treasurer in
New York, I. 133, 134, 143 ; aids
in selling first 7-30 loan, 150;
suggests temporary loans, 178;
7-30S sent to, for sale in 1862,
194, 322; jealous of Cooke, 208,
261, 298, 432; obtains bids for
5-20S, 217; complaints of, 256; on
closing of 5-20 loan, 290; com-
mended by Coe, 352; replaced,
393; consulted by Chase regard-

INDEX

555

ing gold speculation, 401, 403, 407;
issues gold notes, 41 1 ; resigna-
tion of, 418; forwards German
proposal to Fessenden, 426;
heads Union Pacific, II. 102 ;
Cooke makes inquiries of, 129.
Citizen's Association of Pa., II.

497-

Claflin, Wm., Chairman Republican
National Committee, II. 70, 71,
352.

Clark, Clarence H., son of Enoch
Clark, I. 61, 86, 88, 90, 96 ; in-
vited to join Cooke at Washing-
ton, 142, 181 ; President First Na-
tional Bank, 341 ; patriotic en-
thusiasm of, 437 ; travels abroad,
517; sponsor for National Life
Ins. Co., II. 91, 92; suggested for
head of Cooke's London house,
199; offer of, to aid Cooke, 426;
his connection with Fidelity Co.,
429.

Clark, E. W., & Bros., I. 60, 61, 83.

Clark, E. W., & Bros. & Farnum, I.
60, 61.

Clark, E. W., Dodge & Co., I. 60.

Clark, E. W., & Co., early history
of, I. 51, 52, 56-60, 90, 96; money-
changing by, 68-71 ; large opera-
tions of, 80; sell Mexican war
loans, 80-84; affairs of, closed up,
88-89.

Clark, Edward W., son of Enoch
Clark, I. 61, 90, 96; executor of
father's estate, 86; in panic of
1857, 87-88; invited to join Cooke
in Treasury operations, 142, 184;
recommends W. W. White, 626-
2"j; offers aid to Cooke at time
of panic, II. 426; connection with
Fidelity Trust Co., 429.

Clark, Edward W., & Co., organ-
ization of firm of, I. 89 ; Cooke's
joint account operations with,
95, 96 ; aid in Treasury note sales,
141 ; take stock in Washington
Street Railroad, 188; help to or-
ganize First National Bank of
Phila., 341 ; Whitelaw Reid's
drafts through, 483; join Cooke
in developing Minn., II. 107 ; of-
fer to go into N. P., 147 ; decline,
163 ; selling Penna. R. R. bonds,
168 ; open branch in Duluth, 251 ;
in funding business, 271 ; inter-

ested in St. Croix bill, 347; fail-
ure of, 426-27.

Clark, Enoch W., banking opera-
tions in Phila., I. 51, 56-61, 78,
88; death of, 83; feud with
brother Joseph, 84.

Clark, Frank H., II. 347, 494.

Clark, J. Hinckley, II. 92, 131.

Clark, J. W. & Co., 60.

Clark, Joseph W., I. 60, 84-86.

Clark, Luther C, I. 60, 84.

Clark, Dodge & Co., ready to buy
gold, I. 401 ; assist Cooke, 403 ;
checkmate Ketchum, 459; aid
given to the Treasury in 1865,
499. 503 ; favors shown to, 551 ;
buy 7-30S, 564; Cooke's close af-
filiations with, II. 19, in funding
business, 271, 279.

Clarke, Charles I., in N. P. pool,
II. 164.

Clarkson, Robert, observations of,
in Ohio, I. 222-23 ; on gold spec-
ulation, 227.

Clay, Brutus J., I. 489.

Clay, Clement C, I. 17.

Clay, Henry, I. 17, 18, 22, 66, 78,
79, 128.

Clayton, John, II. 512.

Claxton, Dr. R. Bethell, accom-
panies Roberts's exploring party,
II. 114; at Omaha, 115; goes
home, 115, 120; at Seattle. 117;
speaks at Walla Walla, 118, 119;
his report to Cooke, 219; visits
Duluth, 251 ; recommends preach-
ers for Gibraltar, 487 ; helps to
distribute Cooke's thank offer-
ing, 493 ; Cooke endows chair oc-
cupied by, 495.

Clews, Henry, New York broker,

I. 297-98; candidate for Secre-
tary of Treasury, II. 268 ; in syn-
dicate, 283-84; contributes to
Grant's campaign fund, 356; gets
State Department account, 435-
36.

Clews, Henry & Co., in syndicate,

II. 278; suspension of, 432.
Clews, Habicht & Co., in syndi-
cate, II. 278; troubles of, in 1873,
435 ; criticism of, 436.

Clinton, Dewitt, I. 25.
Coates, Joseph H., II. 476.
Cobb, Howell, Secretary of Treas-
ury, I. 121-27.

556

INDEX

Cobden, Richard, I. 288, 526.

Coe, George S., I. 350-52.

Coffin, C. C, I. 653, in Minnesota,
II. 125 ; fervid style of, 126-
28; letters on N. P., 227; lectures
of, 235-36; again in Northwest,
238; Cooke writes to, 296.

Coffroth, Alexander H., attack on
Cooke, I. 299; Chase's reply to,
319 ct seq.

Cohen, L., II. 278, 286.

Cole, Rev. J. Thompson, II. 545.

Colfax, Schuyler, Speaker of
House, I. 319; supports McCul-
loch, 532, 536, 537; visits Henry
Cooke, II. 25; in N. P. pool, 164;
meets European N. P. commis-
sioners, 217; Cooke offers place
to, 230-31 ; recommends Wade,
231; lectures and writes for N.
P., 236 ; thief steals bonds of,
407 ; Cooke's loans to, 416 ; guest
at "Ogontz," 453, 458.

Colt, J. C. & Co., I. 439-

Compromise of 1850, I. 128.

Confederacy, Ohio and the, I. 223;
sympathy for in England, 288.

Congress Hall, I. 42. 48, 49, 51.

Conkling, Senator Roscoe, his bill
to prohibit " secret sales," II. 134.

Connecticut, her Ohio lands, I. 5, 6.

Cook, Henry, I. 1, 2.

Cook, Captain Joel, I. 2.

Cook, Captain Samuel, I. 2.

Cook, Colonel Thaddeus, I. 2.

Cooke, Asaph, I. 1, 2, 13.

Cooke, Eleutheros, birth of, I. 2; in
War of 1812, 2, 3 ; children of,
3 ; emigrates to west, 3, 4 ; settles
in Sandusky, 5, 7 ; builds first
stone house, 8; his difficult name,
9, 16, 17; as a lawyer, 14; riding
the circuit, 14, 15 ; oratorical
gifts of, 15, 16; in Congress, 17
et seq.; his interest in internal
improvements, 24-26 ; sale of
home, 28, 29 ; at Washington, 66 ;
first telegram sent to, 72; friend
of Clay, 79 ; new house of, 79 ;
anxiety for son Jay in 1857, 87,
88, 90, 91 ; on son Henry's edi-
torial abilities, 93 ; occupies same
platform with Chase, 131 ; pride
in Jay's achievements, 157-58,
185 ; recommends severe measures
against South, 197; displeased at

action after Gettysburg, 265;
death of, 464-65 ; chair in mem-
ory of, II. 496.

Cooke, Mrs. Eleutheros, mentioned,
I. 3, 12; her view of western
prairies, 35, 37 ; Jay Cooke sends
fish to, II. 505.

Cooke, Erastus, I. 21, 37, 38.

Cooke, George K., I. 614.

Cooke, Henry D., Before and dur-
ing the War. — Birth of, I. 8;
how named, 9 ; childish adven-
tures of, 11; editor of Sandusky
Register, 15; early health of, 52;
at Allegheny College, 76 ; at
Transylvania University, 78; in
Chile and San Francisco, '91 ; en-
ters journalism, 92; in Sandusky
and at Columbus, 92-94; gets
public binding contract, 94;
Chase's friend at Columbus, 128;
helps Sherman into Senate, 131 ;
in Washington at Lincoln's inau-
guration, 132 ; assists brother Jay
in selling Treasury notes, 133 ct
seq.; visits Chase concerning As-
sistant Treasurership in Phila.,
138; to join Cooke-Drexel house
in Washington, 143, 144; ap-
pointed travelling agent for 7-30
loan, 161 ; enters partnership in
Washington house, 185 ; in Wash-
ington Street Railroad, 188; his
hostility to McClellan, 199; urges
McClellan's displacement, 200 ;
tenders horses and omnibuses to
government, 202 ; excitement of,
after 2d Bull Run, 202-05 ; inter-
views with Chase as to 5-20 loan,
217; reports row in Lincoln's
cabinet, 223-26; on Jay's sup-
port of 5-20S, 229; urges quicker
delivery of bonds, 230-32 ; kind-
ness of, to journalists, 233; la-
bors with Chase regarding ¥%
commission, 256, 258; concerning
bond deliveries, 261 ; reports con-
ditions in Washington when Lee
entered Pa., 264 ; on payment of
debt in coin, 267-68 ; on commis-
sions, 269 et seq.; in Phila. di-
recting 5-20 sales, 279-80; invites
Chase to Thanksgiving dinner,
284 ; favors foreign loans, 286-
89 ; urges Chase to close 5-20
loan, 290; reports Chase's views

INDEX

557

on national banking system, 329;
converts Sherman to national
banks, 332-3; President 1st Na-
tional of Washington, 341-42; in-
terest in Chase's campaign of
1864, 361-65 ; goes abroad, 365 ;
on new legal tender issues and
Jay Cooke's bill, 37°-72, 3/6, 378-
80; aids 10-40 negotiation, 388;
combats gold speculators, 400;

' favors cotton speculation, 437 ;
name used by Simon Cameron in
connection with an oil company,

- 440; political and California debts
of, 441-42; Fahnestock's estimate
of, 441 ; return from Europe, 443 ;
foreign loan plans of, 443-45, 447 ;
encourages brother to bid for new
5-20S, 449; course regarding joint
agency, 452-58; aids Chase to
become Chief Justice, 463-64;
supports Sherman for Secretary
of Treasury, 466-68 ; plans for
Wilkeson and Reid, 480-81 ;
Greeley visits, 488; urges Fessen-
den to issue bonds, 491-95 ; re-
ports on Fessenden's successor,
406 ; reports war near end, 497 ;
helps brother in support of mar-
ket on eve of Lee's surrender,
499-500; aids negotiation regard-
ing commissions, 510-13; confer-
ence with McCulloch on foreign
loan, 516-18; on voucher ex-
change plans, 521-23 ; arranges
again for support of New York
markets, 529, 535, 565; reports
assassination of Lincoln, 530 ;
urges retention of McCulloch,
531-32, 536-37; notes delayed de-
liveries of bonds, 566 ; notes Mc-
Culloch's need of more money,
567-68 ; notes McCulloch's pleas-
ure, 569; arranges interview with
President Johnson, 571 ; manipu-
lates Washington correspond-
ents, 576 ; dispatches Colonel
Stewart south, 607 ; his views of
National Blessing pamphlet, 638.

After the War. — Assists in sup-
porting markets, II. 3 ; sees Mc-
Culloch regarding consolidated
loan, 13; Cbase's love for, 13; in-
terest in reorganized firm of Jay
Cooke & Co., 16-18; interest in
New York house, 20; complains

of New York partners, 20, 21 ; re-
ports interview with Governor
Parsons, 24; reports McCulloch
on Andrew Johnson, 24, 25 ; Con-
gressmen visit, 25 ; opposes im-
peachment. 25-26; on elections of

1867, 28, 29; reports Ledger at-
tacks, 31 ; efforts to propitiate
Logan, 32; reports progress of
impeachment, 35 ; sympathy of,
with greenbackers, 40; notes ef-
fect of Jay's letter on national
banks, 55 ; reports interview
with Chase about Presidency in

1868, 65 ; friendship for Grant,
65, 66, 67, 76; regrets Chase's al-
liance with Democracy, 69; his
views of Cameron, yy ; supports
brother for Secretary of Treas-
ury, 78; his opinion of Boutwell,
79 ; writes to Jay about Hunting-
ton, 82 ; activity concerning Mex-
ican loan, 80-90; Vice-President
National Life Insurance Co., 92;
one of incorporators of Northern
Pacific, 97; visited by N. P. pro-
moters, 100-01 ; writes brother re-
garding Central Pacific, 102;
seeks to sell Lake Superior bonds
in Europe, 107 ; surprised at
rapid sales, 109; watches Minne-
sota interests at Washington,
111-12; favors N. P. alliance,
113; makes arrangements for
Roberts's exploring party, 113,
114; supports brother in N. P.,
151, 152; manages N. P. lobby,
175, 178-80; transmits letter to
Bismarck, 188; protests against
closing of Washington house,
200; appointed governor of Dis-
trict of Columbia, 201, 269; as-
sists in getting naval agency, 209 ;
reports Boutwell's funding plans,
266; conferences with Boutwell
about funding, 274; tells brother
of Grant's congratulations, 283 ;
his opinion of Boutwell, 287 ; sees
Grant about Pacific cable, 292 ;
writes to brother regarding N. P.
land commissioners, 305 ; ap-
proves of appointments, 306; sees
Banks, 322-23 ; seeks contracts for
Indian posts, 335; defeats St.
Croix bill, 347; difficulties with
Blaine, 354; managing stock

558

INDEX

markets to help Grant, 355; aims
to persuade Grant to resume
funding, 361 ; asked by brother to
place responsibility for failure of
second syndicate, 371 ; reports on
Credit Mobilier excitement, 402-
03; lobbying for N. P., 404-05;
predicts failure of plan to receive
aid, 495 ; learns of brother's rea-
sons for hope, 406 ; directed to see
Attorney General regarding Union
Pacific, 409; reports death of
Chase, 415 ; executor of Chase,
415 ; involves firm in District af-
fairs, 416-17; condoles with
brother, 418-19; surprised at
firm's failure, 422 ; soon to have
complimentary dinner, 422 ; deliv-
ers brother's invitations to
" Ogontz," 452-53 ; directs Jap-
anese Embassy to " Ogontz," 456;
seeks signatures to prevent
bankruptcy, 511 ; seeks amend-
ment of natural bankruptcy law,
512; death of, 536.

Cooke, Mrs. Henry D., I. 93.

Cooke, Henry D., Jr., II. 220.

Cooke, Rev. Henry E., II. 463, 482

Cooke, Jay. Before the War. — An-
cestry of, I. 1 et seq.; birth of,
8; how named, 9; his early
memories of Sandusky, 9 et seq.,
21 et seq.; early induction into
business life, 27-29 ; in debating
society, 29-32 ; letters to his
brother Pitt at school, 27, 32,
33; in St. Louis, 33 et seq.; re-
turn to Sandusky, 40; becomes
clerk for Moorhead's packet
line, 41, 42; first impressions of
Phila., 43 et seq.; return to San-
dusky, 49, 50; in Phila. again at
Congress Hall and in Clark's
bank, 51 et seq.; on Daily Chron-
icle, 61-64; illness of, 65, 66;
recollections of State banking
system, 67 et seq.; marriage of,
75, 76-80; after illness and death
of Mr. Clark, 83-89; in panic of
'57. 87-89; retires from Clarks,
89 ; aids brother Henry, 91-94 ;
decides to remain in Phila., 95 ;
financial operations after leaving
Clarks, 95 et seq.; forms firm of
Jay Cooke & Co., 101, 102.

Early War Loans. — Sale of Pa.
State loan, I. 103 et seq.; plans
for serving Chase, 132 et seq.;
first sales of U. S. Treasury
notes, 134; appointed Asst.
Treasurer at Phila., 136-40;
plans a Washington house, 142
et seq.; offers services "pay or
no pay," 144; aroused by news
of Bull Run, 146-49; recollections
of Associated Bank loans, 151
et seq.; personal relations with
Chase and his daughters, 153— SS»
158; first meeting with Lincoln,
155 et seq.; appointed loan agent
for first 7-30S, 158; successful
sale of the notes, 159 et seq.;
commissions paid to, 164; con-
ferences with Chase while green-
backs were being issued, 179;
kindnesses to Chase rejected,
180-83 J definitely declines Asst.
Treasurership, 179; establishes
house in Washington, 184-88 ;
forms Washington Street R. R.
Co., 188-90; appointed agent un-
der loan act of July 17, 1861,
190-91 ; sales of 7-30S in 1862,
194; reprimanded by Chase, 196;
urges emancipation, 197 ; visits
Lincoln in regard to McClellan,
199 et seq.; calmness of after 2d
Bull Run, 204; summoned to
Washington by Chase, 207-08;
arouses jealousy in. New York,
208; kindly offices to Chase ac-
cepted, 210 ; on gold speculation,
213; sale of 5-20 loan, 216 et
seq.; again summoned to Wash-
ington, 226; his objections to
Sunday travel, 226 ; supports
market for 5-20S, 229 ; delay of
delivery of bonds to, 230-32 ;
management of the newspapers,
232 et seq.; receives gift of "A
War Democrat " ; his 5-20 travel-
ing agents, 249; universality of
appeals of, 251-52; dispute with
Chase concerning commissions,
255 et seq.; Train's resolution
to investigate, 259 ; other attacks
on, 260 et seq., 281 ; his influence
upon Moorhead, 265 ; doubts au-
thority to continue sales after
July 1, 267; on commission ques-

INDEX

559

tion, 269 et seq.; his detachment
from politics, 273 ; praises Chase,
273-74> check of, returned by
Chase, 274-75 '> gifts for Kate
Chase, 277 ; balances due to
Treasury, 280-83 > publicly com-
plimented by Chase, 284-85 ; op-
poses foreign loan, 286-89;
closes 5-20 loan, 289; congratu-
lates his sub-agents, 293 ; com-
plimented in return, 294; re-
newed attacks on, 297 ; statement
in his own defense, 300 et seq.;
•attacked by Thomas A. Hen-
dricks, 308-09 ; defended by Chase
against Coffroth, 319 et seq.;
gives Chase amount of net com-
missions, 325 ; on State banks,
226-27 ; efforts to establish na-
tional banks, 331 et seq.; ridicules
opposition interests, 339-40; or-
ganizes 1st National of Phila.,
340-41 ; organizes 1st National of
Washington, 341 ; 4th National of
New York, 343-50; passage with
Mr. Coe, 350-52; his part in
Chase's campaign of '64, 360-67;
opposes new greenback issues,
368 et seq.; his interest bearing
note bill of 1863, 372-79, 384-85;
a Boston financier's attack on,
376 ; Haight's attack on, 383 ;
aids 10-40 negotiation, 386
et seq.; discourages gold specu-
lation, 306 et seq.; sells gold for
Chase, 402-07 ; secrecy of move-
ments of, 406-07; Chase suggests
trip abroad, 411; gloom of 1864,
415 ; defends Chase against Blair,
416; regrets Chase's resignation,
419-20; invited to go to Wash-
ington, 427 ; goes thither, 428 ; ad-
vice to Fessenden, 429-30 ; grieved
at Fessenden's course, 432 ; cau-
tions Fahnestock, 433 ; summoned
by Lincoln, 434 ; reviews Fahne-
stock's politics, 435 ; criticizes
Washington partners for their
speculations, 437-42 ; declines
Fessenden's invitation, 444; in-
jured by Fessenden's words, 445;
his sensational bid for new 5-20S,
448-50; association with Ketch-
um, 452-62 ; promised sole 7-30
agency, 462 ; uses influence in
favor of Chase for Chief-Justice,

463-64; goes to father's death
bed, 464-65 ; suggested for secre-
tary of treasury, 466.

The Seven-Thirty Loan. — Appointed
7-30 agent, I. 469 et seq.; vigor
of, ■ as agent, 478; called "Na-
poleon of Finance," etc., 483-84;
instant response to his calls, 484
et seq.; sends "muff box^' to
Washington, 487 ; Southern view
of, 489 ; protests against Fessen-
den's sale of long bonds, 491-93 ;
magnitude of tasks of, 494;
Grant looks to, 495; supports
market on eve of Lee's surrender,
499 et seq; commissions for sale
of 7-30S, 509-13 ; directly pays
bonds to government creditors,
518-25 ; sells $4,000,000 old 5-20S,
526-27 ; further manipulations of
N. Y. market, 528-30; goes to N.
Y. upon hearing of Lincoln's as-
sassination, 532 ; supports mar-
ket, 532-36 ; record breaking sales
of 7-30S, 538 et seq.; congratula-
tions for, 542, 544, 545; antag-
onism to, by A. J. Drexel, 545-
46; by George W. Childs, 546-47;
to sell third series of 7-30S, 547-
48; opposes optional feature of
series, 548; annoyed by allowances
and discounts of sub-agents, 549-
60; terms of agency changed,
560-63 ; again supports prices -in
N. Y., 564-66 ; slow sales of
third series, 566-67 ; subscriptions
increase, 569-70; congratulations
for, 572-74; sees Andrew John-
son, 571 ; how loan was sold, 575
et seq.; gains support of N. Y.
newspapers, 576-84 ; obtains
money from Quakers, 583 ;
Wilkeson's descriptions of, at this
time, 589-94 ; other descriptions
of, 595-07 ; gets the widow's mite,
598; his travelling agents, 601-
24; secures soldiers' subscriptions
for 7-30S, 624-29; sends brother
Pitt to California, 629-34; name
of, well known on Pacific Coast,
631 ; his much discussed 7-30
pamphlets, 634-58.

After the War. — First duties after
closing 7-30 loan, II. 2-4; plans
for resumption of specie pay-
ments, 4; McCulloch relies on,

560

INDEX

5, 6; writes to John Sherman re-
garding McCulloch's loan bill, 7 ;
his consolidated loan bill, 8 et
seq.; Chase's love for, 13; at-
tacked by N. Y. Herald and Har-
per's Weekly, 14, 15; Sherman
reports failure of funding bill,
16; renews partnership of Jay
Cooke & Co., 16-18 ; establishes
house in N. Y., 18-21 ; tries to
conciliate Andrew Johnson, 22;
plans to help the South, 23, 24;
savage onslaught on, 26, 27; re-
grets result of elections in 1867,
27 ; Logan's attack on, 29-35 '>
hears McCulloch's complaints of
newspaper attacks, 35, 36; re-
newed attempts to obtain consoli-
dated loan, 36 et seq.; opposes re-
pudiation, 2>7 et seq.; defends na-
tional banks, 53-58; assists Re-
publican party in campaign of
1868, 58 et seq.; banker for and
friend of Chase, 59-64; suggests
that Chase go to London to es-
tablish English branch, 60 ;
Grant visits, 66 ; abandons Chase
as a Presidential candidate,
67-68; contributions to cam-
paign fund, 67-72 ; certifi-
cates of stock sent to Chase re-
turned to, 72 ; concern of, for
state of N. Y. stock market in
1868, 74-/5 ; mentioned for
Grant's cabinet, 75-79 ; beset with
schemes, 80; jealously guards
business credit, 80-85, 93 ; re-
proves Huntington, 81-82; mis-
understandings with Fahnestock,
82-84 ; outside investments of,
85-88; asked to sell loans for
Mexico, 88-90; urged by John
Sherman to finance a telegraph
company, 90; forms National
Life Insurance Co., 91-93 ; sells
bonds of North Missouri R. R.,

95-
Northern Pacific Railroad and
Funding Loans. — Interest in
plans for a railroad to Pacific
coast, II. 95 ; Perham asks Cooke
to finance N. P., 98 ; urged to
build Lake Superior & Mississippi,
98, 99; asked to meet N. P. pro-
moters at Washington, 99-101 ;
they come to Phila., 101 ; asked

to aid South Pacific enterprises,
103 ; buys land in Northwest,
104, 105; visits Duluth, 106, 107;
becomes sponsor of Lake Superior
and Miss., 107-109; buys more
land at head of lake, 109, no;
informs himself regarding N. P.,
112, 129; Wilkeson's enthusiastic
letters to, 119-121; letters from
Milnor Roberts to, 122, 123; con-
tinued interest in government
funding operations, 133; news-
paper attacks on, 133-36 ; writes
to Drexel regarding Ledger, 134 ;
advises Boutwell about treatment
of national banks, 137 ; views of,
regarding resumption, 138-41 ; en-
courages Moorhead's European
negotiations, 147-48; makes con-
tract with N. P., 157-61 ; forms
pool, 161-66; great activity of,
168 ; part in obtaining government
aid, 168 ctscq.; his opinion of lob-
bying, 176-177; trustee of N. P.,
182 ; his efforts to secure money
in Europe, 183 et seq.; his letter
to Berlin Bourse, 186-88; invites
Bismarck to his homes, 188-89 !
plans of, baited by Childs, 189 et
seq.; schemes frustrated by
Franco-Prussian war, 195 ; urges
Sargent to remain in Europe,
197 ; dissatisfaction with Budges,
197 ; plans for a London house,
198 et seq.; troubles with his
partners, 199-201 ; assures Mc-
Culloch of desire to have him at
London, 204-05 ; gets naval
agency, 209 ; asks pool subscrib-
ers to surrender a part of stock
bonus, 211-12; entertains Euro-
pean delegates at " Ogontz," 217;
wishes them to see the West, 218-
19 ; they visit Gibraltar, 220 ;
hears reports of Sargent, 222 ;
mistakes made in Europe, 223-
24; delays advertising N. P.,
225-227 ; criticized by Fahne-
stock, 225-26 ; engages General
Nettleton, 227-28 ; extensive ad-
vertising plans of, 228 et seq.;
urges Sherman for minister to
England, 229; friendship for Col-
fax, 230-31 ; disappointing re-
sponse to N. P. appeals, 234-35,
239; employs lecturers, 235-36;

INDEX

561

speaks to bankers, 237; efforts to
interest J. W. Garrett, 240-41;
firing up A. T. Stewart, 242 ;
hears of scandals, 243 et seq.;
upbraids Rice, 249; interest in
Duluth, 251 et seq.; takes Smith
to task about Duluth, 254-56;
anxiety regarding liquor shops,
257 ; admonishes Smith after Chi-
cago fire, 259-61 ; urges Smith to
'devote time to road, 263-64;
funding plans with Boutwell, 265
et seq.; coins word syndicate,
275 ; his opinion of Boutwell.
287; N. P. first in his mind, 289;
finds new cares in London house,
289 et seq.; criticizes alliances
with mining companies, 290-91 ;
condemns Mexican loan scheme,
291-92; interested in Field's Pa-
cific cable, 292 ; grief at his
wife's death, 293-94; plans for
colonizing N. P. belt, 296 et seq.;
wishes to annex Canada, 296;
correct views regarding North-
west, 310 et seq.; receives immi-
gration leaders at " Ogontz,"
320 ; resents Banks's attacks, 322 ;
tries to check Smith, 324-26 ;
demands Smith's resignation and
a change of management, 326 et
seq; protests against Cass's
bluntness, 329; high value set
upon Cass, 329; hears from Rob-
erts on Missouri River, 337-38 ;
his extensive plans for railways
in Northwest, 341 et seq.; cam-
paign contributions in 1872, 352
et seq.; wealth and prominence
of, 358-59; experience with Bout-
well in second funding syndicate,
359 et seq.; McCulloch's praise
of, as war financier, 370-71 ; ac-
cuses Loudon partners of cool-
ness, 378; organize j English N.
P. syndicate, 379 ; troubles with
Fahnestock, 381 et seq.; promises
to partners regarding advances
to N. P., 384-88; loyalty to the
road, 389 ; hopes raised by re-
election of Grant and removal of
Smith, 389, 391 ; told of serious
condition of N. Y. and London
houses, 391-92; cuts off St. Paul
& Pacific, 393 ; closes 7-30 loan,
395 et seq.; complains of com-

pany's great drafts, 401 ; asks
government guarantee, 403-06,
408; justifies Colfax's investment
in N. P., 407; opposes Credit
Mobilier investigations, 409; un-
faltering courage of, 410-14; con-
tinued hope of succor from Eu-
rope, 414-15 ; urges Henry Cooke
to resign governorship, 416-18;
failure of N. P. syndicate, 418;
refuses to confess defeat, 418;
wonders at McCulloch's return,
419; with General Grant at
" Ogontz," 421 ; hears of suspen-
sion of N. Y. house, 422; closes
Phila. house, 422; calls in John
C. Bullitt, 424 ; makes statement
to newspapers, 424-25 ; con-
dolences for, 425-26; drives to
" Ogontz " to avoid public scru-
tiny, 427 ; fortitude of, in ad-
versity, 428, 434; surprising
course of minority partners, 438-

39-

Personal Side and Later Years. — ■
Personal characteristics of, II.
440 et seq.; great hospitality of,
451-62 ; happiness of his mar-
riage, 462-64 ; attitude at time of
failure, 465 ; kindness of, to em-
ployees, and friends, 466-68 ;
views of lobbying, etc., 460--73 ;
friendship for newspaper men,
473-74 ; guilelessness of, 475 ; in-
formality of in social relations,
475-/6 ; appeals to charity of,
477-81 ; his .church connections,
482-84; kindness to ministers,
848-89; views regarding High
Church, 489, 93 ; on Sabbath ob-
servance, 493-95 ; educates young
ministers, 495-97 ; other charities,
497-500; plans to evangelize U.
S., 500; imposed upon by char-
latans, 501-03 ; love of fishing,
503-09; sympathy for, 510; ef-
forts to retain management of
his own estate, 511; declared a
bankrupt, 511; seeks amendment
of bankruptcy law, 512; large
claims of Sargent on, 513; piti-
ful letters received by, 515-16;
prevented from managing his es-
tate, 517; sensitiveness of, 521;
regains fortune, 522-25 ; regains
homes, 525-27 ; his life at " Eil-

562

INDEX

don," 525-28; declines to attend
opening of N. P., 534; vindica-
tion of, 535-36; makes trip over
N. P., 536-37 ; charities of in later
life, 540; fewer visits to Phila-
delphia, 541 ; fishing, 541-43 ; in
runaway accident, 544; apoplectic
attacks, 544-45 ; death and fu-
neral of, 545-47-

Cooke, Mrs. Jay, marriage of, I. 76-
80; opposes her husband's return
to Sandusky, 95 ; hostess at " The
Cedars," 154; goes to Fortress
Monroe, 494; death of, II. 293-
94, 462-63.

Cooke, Jay, Jr., mentioned, I. 96,
102 ; meets Grant at Fortress
Monroe, 494-495 ; with father
when he receives news of Lin-
coln's assassination, 532; joins
Jay Cooke & Co., II. 202; birth
of, 463 ; in firm of Charles D.
Barney & Co., 518; tries to dis-
suade father from silver mine
investment, 522 ; accompanies
father to Pacific coast, 538.

Cooke, Jay & Co., Philadelphia, or-
ganization of firm, I. 102 ; selling
state loan, 106, no; selling first
7-30S, 155, 159 et seq.; cipher
code of, 206-07 ; attacks on, by
N. Y. World, 260; largest takers
of 5-20S, 261 ; sends 5-20 bonds
to England, 288; refused com-
missions on 5-20 sales, 296 ; Con-
gressional attack on, 299, 308-
09; Sherman's defense of, 301;
Chase's defense of, 319-324;
stockholders in 1st National
Bank of Washington, 342; Op-
dyke's appeal to, 349; selling 10-
40s, 390; subscribe for new 7~3°
loan, 431 ; bid for new 5-2OS, 447;
profits in 1864, 465; offer to buy
$4,000,000 5-20S, 526 ; congratu-
lations for, 574; Wilkeson's de-
scription of scenes in banking
house of, 589-94; other descrip-
tions of scenes, 595-97 ; offer to
hold 7-30S for soldiers, 599; con-
version sales of, II. 15; changes
in firm of, 16-18; schemes pour
in upon, 80 ; contract with North-
ern Pacific, 158-61 ; financial
agents of N. P., 182; establish
advertising offices for N. P., 227-

28; exhibit products of North-
west, 239 ; authorized to buy iron
for N. P., 248; their rivals in
funding business, 296, 271 ; share
in syndicate, 278; recommend N.
P. bonds, 289; interest in St.
Croix bill, 347 ; " Sunset " Cox's
attack on, 360; in second syndi-
cate, 366; advances to N. P., 384
et seq.; inform Cass of financial
condition of N. P., 390-91 ; Cass
informs, of determination to
close N. P. loan, 396; blamed
by Wm. Thaw for N. P. failures,
398; share in N. P. syndicate,
398; distinguished clientele of,
415; doors closed, 422; excite-
ment caused by failure of, 424,
427; statement issued by, 424;
conditions in office of, after fail-
ure, 432-33 ; assets and liabili-
ties of, 436; responsibility of mi-
nority partners of, 438; scenes at
time of failure of, 465 ; " O. P.
J." account of, 477 ; trustee ap-
pointed for, 510; declared bank-
rupts, 511.
Cooke, Jay & Co., Washington, firm
organized, I. 186; Chase suggests
a partnership in, 186, 187 ; Chase
depositor of, 188; stripped of
funds after second battle of Bull
Run, 202 ; cipher used by, 206-07 :
urge more rapid deliveries of
bonds, 231 ; growth of business
of, 284 ; refused commissions on
5-20 sales, 206 ; stockholders in
First National Bank, 342; en-
larged quarters for, 342, 353 ;
lend money for Chase campaign,
363-65; selling 10-40S, 390; dur-
ing " siege " of 1864, 413 ; bids
for new 5-20S, 447 ; profits in
1864, 465 ; Greeley visits office of,
488; celebrate fall of Richmond,
528; force of, reduced, 570; con-
gratulated, 574; wine sent to,
581 ; send Colonel Stewart south.
607; new partnership formed, II.
17; profits of, 22; congressmen
visit, 25 ; agency lor National
Life Insurance Co., 92; loan
money to Blaine, 173 ; to other
congressmen, 176; to Grant and
Dent, 181 ; Fahnestock and
Moorhead desire to close, 200-

INDEX

563

01 ; share of, in first syndicate,
278; in second syndicate, 366;
distinguished clientele of, 415 >
doors closed, 422 ; excitement
caused by failure of, 424; trustee
appointed for, 510.

Cooke, Jay & Co., New York, firm
organized, II. 17-22; methods of,
20-21 ; large profits of, 22 ; op-
,pose payment of debt in green-
backs, 38; contribution to cam-
paign fund of 1868, 71; rivalries
of partners of, 82-83 ; profits of,

' 83, 202 ; agency for National Life
Insurance Co., 92; asked to sell
Southern railway bonds, 103;
selling government bonds, 136;
accused of gold speculations,
144; Budge money deposited with,
196 ; Fahnestock's power in coun-
sels of, 200; announces London
house, 206-07; close relations with
that house, 207; stock business
abandoned by, 207 ; selling N. P.
bonds, 234, 239; announces syndi-
cate, 277 ; share in syndicate, 278 ;
contributions to campaign fund of
1872, 356; in second syndicate,
366; McCulloch writes to, explain-
ing failure of that syndicate, 370
profits of, in 1871 and 1872, 386
serious condition of, 391-92
doors closed, 422 ; excitement
caused by failure of, 423 ; con-
ditions in office after panic, 433-
34; " O. P. J.," account of, 477;
trustee appointed for, 510.

Cooke, Jay & Co., estate of, Rollins
appointed trustee of, II. 510-11;
declared to be bankrupt, 511-12;
Lewis made trustee of, 512;
claims on, 513 ; Jay Cooke aids
in settlement of, 517; he acquires
N. P. stock from, 520; repur-
chases homes from, 525-32 ; div-
idends paid by, 530-32 ; J. H.
Harding trustee, 531 ; claims on,
sold at a premium, 535.

Cooke, Jay McCulloch & Co., Lon-
don, plans for London house, II.
198, 199 ; establishment of, 202-
09 ; get naval agency, 209 ; de-
sire State department account
also, 210; relations with North-
ern Pacific, 210-11; in funding
business, 270; share of, in syndi-

cate, 278, 282; advertised by suc-
cess of syndicate, 284-86; impose
cares on Cooke, 289 et seq.; in-
volved in Emma mine, 290; in
Simon Stevens's Mexican loan
scheme, 291-92 ; in second syndi-
cate, 366; friends of, ignored,
367; Cattell visits, 374-76; or-
ganizes N. P. syndicate, 379 ; tele-
grams to Jay Cooke regarding
overdrafts, 384-85 ; profits of
386 ; run on, 435 ; continue bus-
iness, 436; reported dissatisfaction
of partners, 465 ; Sargent's attack
on, 513-14.

Cooke, Pitt, birth of, I. 5; how
named, 9; letters to; from his
father in Congress, 22-24; letters
to, from brother Jay while at
school, 27, 32, 33', from Jay in
St. Louis, 34 et seq.; from Jay in
Philadelphia, 43 et seq.; early
life of, 52 ; Jay's letters to, 52 et
seq.; marriage of, 79; advises
brother, 57, 87, 88, 99; real es-
tate operations of, 91 ; opposes
Jay's return to Sandusky, 95 ;
goes to Fortress Monroe, 494;
sends grapes for Kate Chase's
wedding, 277 ; sent to California,
629-34; interest in firm of Jay
Cooke & Co., II. 17-21 ; action
in California, 5, 96; visits Du-
luth, 132; supports Northern
Pacific plans, 151 ; makes a sub-
scription for Chicago fire suffer-

' ers, 259; consulted about cam-
paign contributions, 356 ; Jay's
early letters to, 443 ; directs con-
struction of Gibraltar mansion,
460 ; seeks signatures to prevent
bankruptcy, 511; death of, 536.

Cooke, Samuel, I. I.

Cooke, Sarah E., see Mrs. Wm. G.
Moorhead.

Cooper, Peter, I. 553.

Copperheads, in Ohio, I. 222-23 ;
made afraid, 233; attack Chase,
261 ; attack Cooke, 295 ; gold
speculators denounced as, 410;
active in New York, 588; in Del-
aware, 602, 605 ; in Maryland,
602 ; in Kentucky, 605 ; in Indi-
ana, 605 ; attack National Bless-
ing pamphlet, 637.

Corbett, Senator, II. 118.

564

INDEX

Corbin, Austin, I. 355.
Corcoran & Riggs, I. 82.
Corne & James, II. 233.
Cornell, Ezra, II. 346.
Corning, Erastus, I. 370-71, II. 29.
Cornwell, Charles R., I. 579, 580.
Corwin, Thomas, I. 17.
Cotton, sales of, to break gold
premium, I. 412 ; speculation in,

437-

Covode, John, urges retention of
McClellan, I. 537.

Cowperthwaite, Sam, II. 542.

Cox, " Sunset," makes fun of syn-
dicate, II. 276 ; attacks Boutwell
and Cooke, 360.

Crawford, David, aids Cooke, I.
403, 404; checkmates Ketchum,
459; on decline in 10-4OS, 499;
aids Treasury in 1865, 503, 529,
535. 566; protects 7-3OS, 564;
Fahnestock's opinion of, II. 19;
interested in Sterling Company,

87.

Credit Mobilier, scandals of, II.
243; 244; investigations in Con-
gress of, 402-03 ; interferes with
N. P. plans, 405-07 ; Cooke op-
poses attorney-general's action
regarding, 408-09.

Croley, D. G., I. 238.

Crounse, L. L., II. 35.

Cullen, R. D., I. 97.

Cummins, D. B., II. 236.

Curtin, Andrew G., war governor
of Pa., I. 104; his part in selling
State loan, 104 et seq.

Custer, General, II. 338.

Dana, Charles A., II. 238.

Darmstadt Bank, negotiations with,
II. 213; declines to continue
them, 214; sends commissioners
to America, 216 ; why negotia-
tions failed, 513-14.

Davis, Edward M., I. 139.

Davis, Dr. E. S., I. 19.

Davis, Jefferson, I. no, 497, 596,
621, 631.

Davis, O. Wilson, I. 340.

Dawes, Henry L., chairman Ways
and Means committee, II. 360-
61 ; Cattell talks to, 363.

Decatur, Commodore, E. Cooke's
speech on, I. 18-20.

De Coursey, Mr., 7-30 travelling
agent, I. 619-20.

Defrees, Jno. D., I. 532, 536, II. 92.

Delano, Columbus, Secretary of In-
terior, appoints N. P. commis-
sioners, II. 305-06; demands
funds for Grant, 352 ; at
" Ogontz," 458.

Demand notes, issues of, I. 145,
170, 215; supplementary emission
of, 174; burning of, 175.

Demitry, General, I. 19.

Den Tex, Mr., European commis-
sioner, II. 217, 218.

Dennison, William, Governor of
Ohio, I. 94,-468; present at
Johnson's inauguration, 530,
Cooke supports, for Secretary of
Treasury, II. yy, 79.

Dent, General, money loaned to,
II. 181.

Des Moines, large 7-30 subscrip-
tions in, I. 598.

Detroit Lake, reception house at,
II. 319; colony at, 321.

Dillaye, Harriette, A., II. 528.

Dillon, Sidney, Cooke visits, II.

523-24.

Dix, John A., Secretary of Treas-
ury, I. 126, 127, 133, 307, 628;
president Union Pacific, II. 102.

Dodge, Edward M., E. W. Clark's
partner, I. 51, 53, 56, 57, 59, 60,
61, 84; partner in New York, II.
19-21 ; Cooke remonstrates with,
84; director in Life Insurance
Co., 92 ; eliminated, 201 ; sends
cigars to Cooke, 453.

Dodge, William E., II. 71.

Donnelly, Ignatius, aids N. P.
lobby, II. 175, 177; advises Cooke
about colonists, 300-01.

Douglas, Robert, II. 454-55.

Douglas, Stephen A., II., 454.

Drayton, William, I. 17.

Drew, Daniel, I. 346; II. 420.

Drexel, A. J., in dining club, I.
96; aids State loan, in, 117, 120;
associated with Cooke in Treas-
ury note sales, 140, 141 ; to join
Cooke in a Washington house,
143, 144, 184; his jealousy
aroused, 545-46, .577, 643; sus-
pected of instigating Logan's at-
tack, II. 32 ; opposes secret sales,

INDEX

565

J34> l35 '> continued hostility of,
180-92 ; gives money for Grant's
campaign, 356; supports Joseph
Patterson, 364; Moorhead's con-
fidences with, 387.
Drexel & Co., in sale of State loan,

I. 106, 108, no; selling Treasury
notes in 1861, 134, 140, 141, 142;
to join Cooke at Washington,
143; take stock in Washington
Street Railroad, 188.

Drexel, Morgan & Co., in funding
operation, II. 366; small sub-
scriptions of, 367.

Dudley, Mr., Consul at Liverpool,

II. 297.

Duluth, city of, projected, II. 98;
Rice Harper's predictions con-
cerning, 105 ; Cooke visits, 106,
107 ; land speculation at, 109 ;
Sargent's predictions regarding,
no; growth of, no, 251; rejoices
at beginning of work on N. P.,
167 ; competition with Chicago,
171 ; effect of passage of N. P.
bill, 180; jealousy of Superior,
251, 252; canal and dyke at, 253;
distrust of Smith, 254; Roberts
praises harbor of, 255 ; Knott's
attack on, 308-09 ; continued
growth of, 333 ; breakwater
wrecked, 333 ; severe winter at,
333-34; Cooke's dreams for, real-
ized, 544.

Dyer, Rev. Dr., Cooke writes to,
II. 490-91.

Eads, James B., II. 94, 95.

Eastman, Sylvia J., II. 528.

Economist, London, views of on
American Debts, I. 169.

Edgerton, Lycurgus, goes to Can-
ada for Cooke, II. 350; his re-
port on Cattell in London, 375 ;
efforts to sell N. P. bonds in
Europe, 414; reports disaffection
of London partners, 465 ; pro-
poses a silver mine speculation,
522 ; death of, 522 ; Cooke gives
stock to widow of, 524.

" Eildon," II. 457, 527, 528, 545, 546.

Elder, Wm, defends Treasury
Department, I. 297 ; writes Na-
tional Debt pamphlet for Cooke,
634-36, 648, 653, 656.

Elkins, William L., II. 447, 527.

Emma Mining Co., II. 290.

Empire Line, II. 520.

Engelbronner, M. E. O., II. 414.

England, attitude in war, I. 212,
288 ; her own war loans, 306-07 ;
debt of, 635 ; Cooke's efforts to
educate people of, 655-58.

Erie Frauds, II. 142, 193, 401.

Evans, Frank H., reports Cobden's
death, I. 528; at Sargent's din-
ner, II. 195 ; represents Cooke in
London, 199 ; proposed partner-
ship with W. E. C. Moorhead,
202; in Jay Cooke, McCulloch &
Co., 206; selects building for
London firm, 206; alarm of,
384 ; Sargent's views of, 513 ;
knighted, 536; death of, 536;

Evangelical Education Society, II.
496-97.

Evans, T. C, manages editorial
excursion, II. 238.

Evans, William, sells 5-20S, I. 288-
89; recommends liberal advertis-
ing in England, 391 ; mentioned,
II. 199 ; Cattell dines with, 376.

Evarts, William M., I. 347; II.

534;

Evening Post, New York, disap-
proves of National Blessing
pamphlet, I. 643-44.

Everett, Edward, I. 17, 18.

Everitt, John L., I. 338.

" Facts and Figures," 7-30 circu-
lar called, I. 601 ; sold on Lin-
coln's funeral day, 618.

Fahnestock, H. C, sells state loan,
I. 106; becomes partner in
Cooke's Washington house, 185-
86 ; his views regarding Chase
and McClellan, 197-98; anxiety
about Lee's invasion of Pa., 264;
director 1st National of Wash-
ington, 342 ; draws on Senator
Sprague, 365 ; complains of
Chase's depository system, 393 ;
ignorant of Cooke's gold sale
movements, 406; favors issue of
gold notes, 411; writes of gloom
in Washington in 1864, 412-14;
reports Chase's resignation, 420-
21 ; his estimate of Chase, 423 ;
reports Fessenden's kindly dispo-
sition, 427 ; asks Cooke to come
to Washington, 428; criticizes

566

INDEX

Fessenden, 430-33 ; his politics
reviewed by Cooke, 435-36; de-
fends himself, 435-36; scolded
for oil speculations, 437, 439-41 ;
his view of Ketchum, 452 ; re-
ports excitement in Washington,
527; reports great sales of 7-30S,
541 ; on closing of sale of 2nd
series, 542 ; reports Drexel's hos-
tility, 545 ; arranges terms of sale
of 3rd series, 561-62; aids in
christening National Blessing
pamphlet, 640; his interest in re-
organized firm of J. C. & Co.,
II. 17, 18; sent to New York
house, 19; interest in that house,
20 ; defends his methods, 20, 21,
83 ; believes Cooke will be Sec-
retary of Treasury, 78; visited
by Mexican loan agent, 88; tries
to sell Lake Superiors in Eu-
rope, 107 ; talks with General
Sherman about Dakota, 113; his
troubles on Black Friday, 143;
encourages Moorhead in Europe,
148, 149 ; cool regarding N. P.,
150; confers with Sargent, 183;
officious manner of, 200 ; ap-
proves of McCulloch for London
house, 202 ; gives much attention
to that house, 207 ; goes to Lon-
don, 213; goes to Cologne, 213;
goes to Vienna, 214; again in
Europe, 222 ; criticizes N. P.,
22y, directs J. R. Young, 233;
criticizes Boutwell, 267, 268, 274;
predicts failure of funding plans,
271 ; called in by Morton, 273 ;
makes funding arrangements with
Rothschild, 288; revises Shep-
pard's pamphlet, 311 ; gives money
to Grant managers, 356-57 ;
manages 2nd syndicate, 366;
urges large call, 368; criticizes
Sargent, 380; close relations with
London partners, 380-81 ; opposes
continued alliance with N. P.,
380 et seq.; protests to Cooke
against overdrafts, 385-86 ; re-
ports serious condition of New
York house, 391-92 ; favors clos-
ing N. P. 7-30 loan, 397 ; writes
letter regarding Scott, 405 ; ac-
tion at time of failure, 422, 439 ;
publicly expresses views of N.'
P., 423 ; behavior in Europe in

N. P. 1 negotiation, 514; aims to
restrict Cooke in management of
estate, 518; in First National
Bank of New York, 536.

Fairchild, Lucius, Governor of
Wisconsin, II. 342 ; Cooke writes
to regarding St. Croix bill, 346.

Fargo, William G., early interest
in N. P., II. 153; signs N. P. con-
tract, 161: director of N. P., 182;
to entertain European commis-
sioners, 216.

Farnum, George W., I. 60.

Fell, Gillingham, II. 511.

Felton, S. M., early interest in N.
P., II. 97; visits Duluth, 131;
director of N. P., 182 ; signs call
for meeting, 236 ; complains of
scandals, 250; on committee to
settle estate, 511.

Fessenden, Samuel S., II. 97.

Fessenden, William P., shaping
financial legislation in Senate, I.
372, 376; appointed Secretary of
Treasury, 423 ; assumes duties,
425 ; problems facing, 427 ; ex-
presses kind feeling for Cookes,
428; consults Cooke, 428-30;
looks to New York, 431-32; his
task as seen by Chase, 432 ; goes
to Maine, 433; sells 81 s, 442;
hears Henry Cooke's foreign
loan ideas, 443 ; needs of, 443 ;
asks Chase to Washington, 444 ;
his treatment of Cooke, 445; ac-
cumulating difficulties of, 447; re-
ceives Cooke's bid for new 5-20S,
448-51 ; finds out about Ketchum,
451 ; proposes partnership of
Ketchum and Cooke, 452; offers
7-30 agency to Cooke, 462;
changes his mind, 462 ; adminis-
tration of, nearing end, 466 ;
favors McCulloch as his suc-
cessor, 466-67; appoints Cooke
agent, 469 et seq.; gratified by
response to Cooke's call, 484-85,
487-88; supports Cooke, 487; re-
tirement of, 489; financial bills
of, 491 ; effort to sell more 5-20S,
491 ; promises not to interfere
with Cooke's plans, 492 ; still
anxious to sell long bonds, 403-
94; successor of, 496; Cooke's
offer to buy $4,000,000 5-2OS, 525 ;
recommends McCulloch to close

INDEX

567

Cooke's agency, 545 ; opposes
Cooke's consolidated debt plan,
II. 11, 13; plans to make him
Johnson's successor, 26; defends
Cooke against Logan's attack,
32; guest at "Ogontz," 33; his
reliance on Cooke during the
war, 370-77; talents of, 443.

Fidelity Trust Co., run on in 1873,
II. 429.

Freld, Cyrus W., his Pacific cable,
II. 292-93.

Field, Maunsell F., Asst. Secre-
tary of Treasury, I. 268, 383, 406;
urged for Asst. Treasurer in
New York, 418, 420.

Field, Stephen J., I. 630.

Fifth Avenue Hotel, crowds at, in
panic of 1873, II. 428, 430.

Firelands of Ohio, I. 5, 6.

First National Bank, New York,
organization of, I. 344 ; sales of
7-30S by, 469, 539; favors shown
to, 551 ; in funding syndicate, II.
279; Fahnestock in, 536.

First National Bank, Philadelphia,
early history of, I. 340-42 ;
growth of, 352; complained of by
other banks, 559, 560; in fund-
ing syndicate, II. 279.

First National Bank, Washington,
organized, I. 341, 343; increases
dividends, 353 ; forwards spread
of national banking system, 354;
pays for advertising 10-40 loan,
390; profits of, II. 22; A. John-
son deposits in, 22; government
sales through, 30; plans to com-
bine, with Jay Cooke & Co., 201 ;
in funding business, 279; closes
doors, 422; receiver for, 510; dif-
ficulties of, 517.

First National Bank, Baltimore, I.
353, 520.

First National Bank, Cincinnati, I.

559-

First National Bank, New Orleans,
I. 613.

Fish, Secretary, II. 229.

Fisher, Charles Henry, I. 99.

Fisk, James, Jr., and Black Fri-
day, II. 141, 142, 400; accuses
Jay Cooke & Co., 144 ; Erie
frauds of, 193.

Fisk & Hatch, 5-20 agents, I. 234;
propose a foreign loan, 287 ; com-

pliment Cooke, 294; defend
Cooke, 297-98; wish to sell 10-
40s, 389; checkmating Ketchum,
459; congratulate Cooke on ap-
pointment as 7-30 agent, 476; let-
ters from, 487 ; aiding Treasury
in 1865, 503-07, 529, 566; sub-
scriptions for 7-3OS, 539, 541 ;
.favors shown to, 551; complain
of Heisers, 552 ; supporting 5-20
market, 564; wine sent to, 581;
advances made by, to a soldiers'
agency, 628; bogus drafts on,
646; supporting market, II. 2, 3;
Cooke's close affiliations with,
19 ; in funding operations under
Boutwell, 270 et seq.; in syndi-
cate, 278; their relations with
Central Pacific, 382; suspension
of, 428-434.
Five-twenty bonds, arrangement of
loan, I. 212 et seq.; Cooke agent
to sell, 218-20; commission paid
for selling, 220-21 ; depressed
market for, 228; Cooke supports
market for, 229; delayed de-
liveries of, 229-32; advertise-
ment of, 232 et seq.; travelling
agents for, 249; Copperheads
subscribe for, 250; great sales of,
253 ; dispute over commissions,
255 et seq.; yield of money from,
263; continuance of sale after
July 1, 1863, 267; regarding com-
missions, 269 et seq.; resumption
of activity in, 278; foreign de-
mand for, 278, 286' et seq.;
further delays in deliveries, 281-
83 ; Cooke complimented by
Chase for sale of, 285 ; close of
sale of, 289 et seq.; go to a pre-
mium, 295; Cooke's report of
his sale of, 300; sale of, defended
by Sherman, 309 et seq.; Chase's
defence, 319 et seq.; sold to na-
tional banks, 337, 353, 355-57;
Cooke gains prestige by sale of,
382; sale of, four million lot of,
525-27; supporting price of, 565;
disloyalty in New York during
sale of, 576; new issue of by
Fessenden, 446-47; Cooke sells.
448-51 ; plans for joint sales of,
through Ketchum and Cooke,
453 et seq.; new issues of, 489,
491 ; Cooke again supports price

568

INDEX

of, 565 ; amount of, outstanding
in 1865, II. 1; in 1866, 8; plan
to fund into fives, 9; Chase's de-
fence of issue, 13, 14; distribu-
tion of, 38, 39 ; Cooke insists on
payment of, in coin, 37 et seq.

" Five Twenty Church," see St.
Paul's.

Folsch, Augustus, European com-
missioner, II. 217; Sargent
praises, 218; Sargent complains
of, 220.

Forney, John W., I. mentioned, 94,
361, 378; in N. P. pool, II. 165;
publishes notices of N. P., 227 ;
signs call for meeting, 236.

Fort Dearborn, I. 34.

Fort Duquesne, I. 4.

Fort Wayne, Ind., Copperheads in,

I. 60s.

Foster, W. H., I. 543.

Fourth National Bank, New York,
mentioned, I. 299 ; organized by
Cooke, 343-50; favors shown to,
551 ; refuses to pay newspaper
men, 582; in funding syndicate,

II. 279; run on, 434.
Fraley, Frederick, II. 527.
France, loans of, I. 316.
Francklyn, Charles G., II. 525.
Franco-Prussian War, defeats N.

P. loan plans, II. 195 ; delays
funding arrangements, 266 ; in-
terferes with emigration, 298.

Frankfort-on-the-Main, speculation
in American bonds in, I. 514-15.

Franklin Railroad, I. 99, 100.

Frelinghuysen, Fredk. T., II. 362,
363.

Fremont, John C, early interest in
N. P., II. 97; interest in South-
ern Pacific schemes, 193 ; accused
in France, 151, 171, 402; Cooke's
opinion of financial methods of,

174-

French, Benjamin B., I. 342.

French in St. Louis, I. 34-37.

French Republic, wishes to pur-
chase arms in America, II. 289.

Fuller, Mr., II. 86.

Fuller, Z., I. 367.

Galloway, Mr., 7-30 travelling

agent in West, I. 598.
Gardner, Governor, II. 103.
Garfield, General James A., men-

tioned, I. 438; opposed to green-
backer doctrines, II. 40, 41, 43 ;
helps with funding bill, 266.

Garfielde, S., delegate from Wash-
ington Territory, lectures for N.
P., II. 236; loyal to enterprise,
342; Cooke sends money to, 354.

Garland, James A., clerk in Cooke's
Washington house, I. 439 ; ad-
mitted to firm, II. 202; support-
ing market in Grant campaign,
355 ; in First National Bank of
New York, 536.

Garrett, John W, efforts to bring,
into N. P., II. 240-41.

" Gath," see George Alfred Towns-
end.

Gates, General, I. 2.

Gay, Sydney H., wine for, I. 637,

653-

Geary, Governor John W., of
Penna., his friendship for Cooke,
II. 79; offers to buy N. P. bonds,
147 ; in pool, 164 ; at Washington
for N. P., 175; presides at N. P.
meeting, 236.

General Credit and Discount Co.,
Sargent's arrangements with, II.

194, 195, 197.

Germans, Cooke's appeal to the, I.
233, 234; buy 5-20S, 514.

Gerolt, Baron, in N. P. pool, II.
164; gives letters to Sargent,
184; transmits letter to Bismarck,
188 ; interviews Garrett, 240-41 ;
his faith in N. P., 241, 311; hon-
ors shown him in Furope, 311;
Cooke writes to, about Cass, 329;
at " Ogontz," 458 ; Cooke's kind-
ness to, 467.

Gettysburg, battle of, I. 263.

Gibraltar, Cooke's island in Lake
Erie mentioned, I. 131, 637; man-
sion on, II. 33 ; pictures of, for
Bismarck, 188; European com-
missioners at, 220-21 ; Cooke
fishing at, 237 ; Mrs. Cooke ill
at, 293 ; how Cooke bought, 458-
62; preachers at, 486-99; Gen-
eral Sherman at, 493-94; games
at, 504 ; fishing at, 504-09, 541 ;
Cooke regains, 525-26 ; Cooke
stops at, on way from Tacoma,
539 ; Cooke's last visit to, 545.

Gibson, E. T. H., I. 97.

Giddings, J. R., I. 6.

INDEX

569

Gilliat, J. K., & Sons, II. 107.

Gilman, C. C., II. 351.

Girard Bank, mentioned, I. 67, 108,

591.

Glyndon, N. P. reception house at,
II. 319.

Godwin, Parke, I. 650.

Gogorza, Antoine de, canal scheme
of, II. 88.

Gold, speculation in, in New York,
I. 213-4, 227» 395 et seQ-,' legisla-
tion to prevent, 409-11; prices of,
tumbling, 497 ; holders of, con-
verting it into 7-30S, 547 ; still
used in California, 632-34.

Gold Notes, issue of, I. 411.

Gold Rooms, speculation in, during
war, I. 213-14, 395 ; after war, II.
141-44.

Goldschmidt, Marcus, II. 194-195.

Gould, Jay, directs gold corner in
1869, II. 141, 142, 400; further
manipulations of, 419-20; Cooke
visits, regarding silver mine, 523-
24.

Gowen, Franklin B., II. 86.

Graham, A. C, I. 613.

Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad,
value of land grant of, 314.

Grand Trunk Railroad, nearly ob-
tains N. P. franchises, II. 100.

Grant, Jesse, II. 181, 421.

Grant, Nellie, II. 471.

Grant, General U. S., his defeat
in Wilderness, I. 266; he alone
can break price of gold, 412;
pleased with siege of Washing-
ton, 413 ; failure of, predicted,
414; loses prestige, 415, 423; Jay-
Cooke, Jr's, meeting with, 494-
95; captures Lee, 527, 588; in
conference after Lincoln's death,
530; influences political senti-
ment in Indiana, 605 ; letters to,
607; for President in 1868, II.
63-64; Henry Cooke's friendship
for, 65, 66, 67; Jay Cooke's con-
tributions to campaign funds of,
69-71 ; refuses to appoint Cooke
Secretary of Treasury, 75-79;
financial views of, 76 ; sees Presi-
dent Johnson regarding Mexican
loan, 89; one of incorporators of
N. P., 97 ; Cooke's confidence in,
145; his interest in N. P. bill,
181 ; money loaned to, 181 ; ap-

points Henry Cooke Governor of
District of Columbia, 201, 270;
gives naval agency to Cookes,
209-10; his antipathy to McCul-
loch, 210; appoints Schenck min-
ister to England, 229; his fond-
ness for Wade, 231 ; urged to re-
place Boutwell, 267 ; Cooke's
friendship for, 269; congratulates
Cooke on success of syndicate,
283 ; interested in Pacific cable,
292-93 ; directs legations to help
emigrants to America, 297 ; his
part in appointing land grant
railroad commissioners, 304;
many applicants for offices, 305 ;
Cooke supports for second term,
352 et seq.; Cooke bolsters up
market to aid, 355 ; equanimity
oi, 357 5 election of, 357-58; tim-
idity of, 359-60; awaits result
of elections before funding, 361 ;
Cattell smokes with, 363 ; Childs
buzzes around, 364, 365 ; contin-
ued hatred of McCulloch, 365 ;
reasons for failure of his funding
plans, 374 ; re-election of, ex-
pected to help N. P., 389, 391 ;
Henry Cooke urged to ask him
for diplomatic appointment, 417-
18; at "Ogontz," 421, 453, 458,
475 ; tries to stay panic, 430, 431 ;
criticized for giving foreign ac-
counts to new houses, 435-36;
loans and gifts to, 470; views on
Sunday question, 494-95 ; at open-
ing of N. P. Railroad, 533.

Grant, Mrs. U. S., II. 181, 455.

Great Northern Railroad, II. 535.

Greeley, Horace, Lincoln's letter to,
I. 436 ; Grant's furlough to
Wilkeson, 480 ; visits Cooke's
Washington office, 488; on gold
premium, 507; favors 7-30 loan,
577, 588; republishes Elder
pamphlet, 635 ; predicts that
Cooke will be Secretary of Treas-
ury, II. 6 ; in N. P. pool, 165 ;
nominated against Grant, 352 ;
value of pool interest to estate,
4I3-I4-

Green, John C, II. 71.

Greenbacks, debates attending issue
of, I. 171-74; first act authoriz-
ing, passed, 174 ; additional issues
of, 174-75; fear induced by, 228;

570

INDEX

payment of debt in, 267-68;
popularity of, in West, 356 ;
overissue of, 368 et seq.; new is-
sues of, 380-81 ; amount out-
standing in 1865, II. 1 ; in Cali-
fornia, 5 ; contracting circulation
of, 6; Sherman's views of, 7;
attempt to pay debt in, 37 et
seq.; vicious influence of, 70, 145,
400.
" Greenbackers" abuse Cooke, II.

77-
Grimberg, Chevalier de, II, 217,

218.
Grinnell, W. H., II. 70, 71.
Griswold College, Cooke's gifts to,

II. 496.
Grund, Francis, Jr., I. 73.

Haas, Mr., European commissioner,
II. 217; returns home, 220; his
views of Sargent, 222; his report
sold to N. Y. Tribune, 222.

Haight, Edward, attacks Cooke, I.
383 ; suggested for Asst. Treas-
urer in New York, 65.

Hall, Mr., Mr. Chase's letter to, I.
362.

Halleck, General, I. 199.

Hancock, General W. S., writes to
Cooke, II. 169.

Hanna, Joshua, selling 7-30S in
Pittsburg, I. 162 ; interested in
Fourth National Bank, New
York, 350; supports Chase for
President, 363 ; on paper money
evils, 368: complains of O'Con-
ner, 553-

Harding, J. Horace, sells St. Louis
water power, II. 529, 544; ap-
pointed trustee of Cooke estate,

531.

Harding, Wm. W., II. 91, 227.

Harlan, Senator, opposes N. P. bill,
II. 180.

Harper, Rice, buys land for Cooke,
II. 105, 109.

Harper's Weekly, attacks McCul-
loch, II. 14, 15.

Harrington, George, Asst. Secre-
tary of Treasury, I. 132, 163,
184; receives demand notes, 170;
Chase and the 5-20 loan, 215-16;
promises quicker delivery of
bonds, 232, 261 ; ignorant of
Chase's whereabouts, 406 ; Chase

suggests a trip abroad, 411; Sec-
retary ad interim, 421 ; hears
Henry Cooke's foreign loan
plans, 443, 444 ; consulted regard-
ing joint agency, 453-57, 461 ; de-
lighted by large sales of 7-30S,
488; supporting market in 1865,
500; helps to arrange commis-
sions, 510; making voucher ar-
rangements, 521-22 ; at " Ogontz,"

II. 33.

Harrison, General, I. 2, 26, 37; II.
180.

Hartranft, John F., II. 353.

Hawley, General, 238.

Hayes, R. B., buys land in Duluth,
II. 165; at Gibraltar, 461, 505.

Hayes, Mrs. R. B., I. 2; II. 505.

Hayward, A., efforts to bring into
N. P., 349-

Hazard, M. C, organizes excur-
sion party, II. 237, 238; travelling
agent for N. P., 398; Cooke en-
courages, 411.

Heiser's, Henry A., Sons, violate
Cooke's rules, I. 730; apologies
of, 557-.

Helfenstein, Charles P., II. 512.

Hendricks, Thos. A., attacks Cooke,
I. 308 ; replied to by Sherman,
309 et seq.

Hennessy, Michael, I. 581.

Henry, T. C. & Co., I. 161.

Hepburn, Judge, I. 99.

Herald, New York, early money ar-
ticles in, I. 62 ; National Blessing
articles in, 637-38; II. 137; its
attacks on Cooke, I. 643-52; at-
tacks McCulloch, II. 14, 15, 26;
reports failure of N. P., 410.

Hering, Dr. II. 506.

Hibbard, Major George B., Com-
missioner of Immigration for N.
P., II. 320; establishes soldier
colonies, 321.

Hill, Hamilton A., II. 100.

Hill, James J., II. 535.

Hinchman, Walter, II. 131.

Hinckley, Isaac, II. 107, 131, 236.

Holland, United States bonds in, I.

Holmes, Philip W., accompanies N.
P. exploring party, II. 125, 128;
buys off Budge, 216; reports de-
parture of European commission-
ers, 221 ; selling N. P. bonds,

INDEX

571

234; writes to Cooke about N.
P. lands, 302; urges haste, 305;
on advertising N. P., 318.

Homestead Law, II. 307.

Hoopes, Edward, II. 131.

Hooper, Samuel, favors national
banking law, I. 329; drafting
new loan bill, 370; opposes
Cooke's bill, 376; visits Chase,
377; not informed of Chase's
. resignation, 421.

Hopkins, G. P., I. 605.

Horn Silver Mine, II. 522-25.

Houston, H. H, II. 520-21.

Houston, Sam, I. 19.

Houston, Wm. C, II. 511.

Howard, Wm. A., II. 307.

Howells, William Dean, I. 93.

Hoyt, C. H., I. 523.

Hoyt, Wm. S., arranges for burial
of Chase, II. 415.

Hoyt, Mrs. Wm. S., see Nettie
Chase.

Hoyt, Sprague & Co., I. 345-46.

Hubbard, E. S., II. 103.

Hubbard, L. S., II. 56.

Hubbard, W. B., I. 249.

Hubbard & Lester, I. 29, 33.

Hudson Bay Co., II. 343.

Hume, John F., II. 94.

Hunter, General David, proclama-
tion of, repealed, I. 197; defeats
of, 415.

Huntington, Collis, P., II. 71, 382.

Huntington, Wm. S., elected cash-
ier 1st National Bank of Wash-
ington, I. 341, 342 ; sees Lincoln,
433» 434! scolded for oil specula-
tions, 437, 439, 440; visits Lin-
coln, 488; tells Cooke about Mc-
Culloch, 496-97 ; works for re-
tention of McCulloch, 536; sees
McCulloch for Cooke, II. 16; in-
terest in Jay Cooke & Co., 17,
18; complains of New York part-
ners, 20; on McCulloch's timid-
ity, 36; made treasurer campaign
committee, 59; advises with Mc-
Culloch, 74; reproved by Cooke
for riding on Sunday, 81 ; dis-
trust of, 201, 243.

Hutton, Mr., I. 345, 347.

Hurd, Miss, I. 33.

Hurlbut of N. Y. World, I. 580,
653-

Hurtt, F. W., in cotton specula-
tions, I. 438.

Illinois Central Railroad, value

of land grant, II. 314.
Independent, New York, defends

National Blessing pamphlet, I.

654-

Indian Question, General Hancock
on, II. 169.

Indiana, Copperheads in, 605, 606.

Inquirer, Philadelphia, gets news
of rout of Bull Run, I. 146, 147;
Cooke's organ, 232 ; compliments
Cooke, 294 ; on national banking
law, 334; on closing of 7-30 loan,
573 ; praises Cooke, 655 ; publishes
Cooke's letter advocating pay-
ment of debt in coin, II. 44-53 ;
supports Cooke in war on repu-
diation schemes, 76; defends se-
cret sales, 136; speaks for N. P.,
191 ; on Mrs. Cooke's death, 294 ;
explains Cooke failure, 425 ; eulo-
gizes firm, 426.

Iowa Central Railroad, Cooke sells
loan of, II. 168; continued inter-
est in, 351.

Irving, Theodore, II. 495.

Iwakura, Prince, at " Ogontz," II.
456.

Jackson, Andrew, I. 22, 66, 67.

Jagode, Paul, I. -249, 616.

Japan, embassy from, at Ogontz,
II. 455-57; Emperor of, sends
gifts to Cooke, 457.

Jaroslawski, Mr., II. 414.

"Jayhawks," I. 611.

Jayne, Dr. David, I. 66.

Jeter, Tinsley,' I. 99.

Johnson, Andrew, attempt to as-
sassinate, I. 530; sworn in as
President, 530; urged to retain
McCulloch, 532, 536, 537; confi-
dence in, 537; Cooke interviews,
571 ; free trade views of, 571 ;
his attitude toward negroes, 610;
on the public debt, 653; Cooke
visits, II. 22, 23 ; McCulloch's view
of, 24-25; plans to impeach, 25
26, 35; suspends Stanton, 27
his relations with Grant, 67, 68
on Mexican loan, 89; asked to
veto insurance company bill, 91 ;
receives Japanese, 455.

Johnson, Edwin R, chief engineer
of N. P., II. 100; sends maps
and pamphlets to Cooke, 112; his
estimates of cost of road, 154;

572

INDEX

removed from office, 246; in New
York office, 263.

Johnson, Wm. S., accompanies
Roberts exploring party, II. 114.

Johnston, Albert Sidney, II. 338.

Johnston, Henry E., predicts a long
war, I. 205 ; large sales of N.
P. bonds, II. 240; his views of
Cass, 327; Cooke writes to, about
Cass, 329 ; told of closing of 7-30
loan, 397; reports ugly stock
market conditions, 401 ; writes
Cooke of difficulty of selling
bonds, 410; letter of credit for,
471.

Johnston, Joseph E., I. 643.

Johnston Bros. & Co., appointed N.
P. agents, II. 233; activity of,
in making sales of bonds, 399.

Jones, Andrew J., I. 100.

Jones, E. D. II. 233.

Jones, George, II. 191.

Jones, J. P., effort to bring, into
N. P., II. 349-

Journal of Commerce, New York,
hostility of., I. 298; renews at-
tacks on Cooke, II. 16; on Mc-
Culloch, 26.

Judd, Minister, I. 636.

Julian, George W., urges retention
of McCulloch, I. 537.

Kalama, founding of, II. 249; re-
ception house at, 319; trains run-
ning from, 340.

Kapp, Frederick, in Vienna, II.
215; N. P. emigration agent, 300;
assistant employed for, 311.

Kansas Pacific Railroad, land grant
of, II. 314.

Kauffman, S. H., II. 305, 306.

Kelley, Wm. D., urges Cooke to
become treasurer of campaign
committee, II. 59; wishes N. P.
bonds, 147 ; speaks for North-
west, 236 ; at " Ogontz," 458.

Kellogg, Congressman, I. 173.

Kelly, Master Tom, II. 544.

Kelton, Lieutenant, II. 128.

Kendall, Amos, I. 35.

Kendrick, J. B., II. 646, 652.

Kent, Chancellor, I. 2.

Kentucky, bond subscriptions of,
heralded, I. 250; bushwhackers
in, 604; changed sentiment in,
605.

Kentucky Military Institute, II.
464.

Kenyon College, Cooke's gift to, II.
496.

Kenyon Cox & Co., failure of, II.
420.

Ketchum, Morris, impresses Fes-
senden, I. 451 ; bids for 81s, 451 ;
proposed joint operation with
Cooke, 452-62 ; declines sub-
agency, 477; offensive activity
of, 564-

Kidder, Peabody & Co., II. 271.

King, Edward, I. 559.

King, Preston, I. 561.

King, W. S., II. 164, 246.

Knauth, Nachoch & Kiihne, I. 407,

514-

Knott, J. Proctor, his satirical at-
tack on Duluth, II. 308-09.

Kiihne, Frederick, favors secret
agency in New York, I. 407 ; re-
ports foreign situation, 513-14;
congratulates Cooke, 544.

Lake Champlain Iron Co., II. 86-
87.

Lake Shore Railroad, fails to pay
loan, II. 429.

Lake Superior and Mississippi
Railroad, seeks financial aid, II.
08, 104 ; Cooke's interest enlisted
for, 107 ; bonds of, sold by Cooke,
108, 109 ; St. Croix line rivaling,
in; construction of, 130; Cooke
enthusiastically supports, 131 ;
excursionists inspect, 131 ; Clark's
interest in, 163 ; formally opened,
244 ; Cooke's devotion to, 346 ; to
N. P. system, 347 ; large amount
of securities of, held by Cooke's
firms, 421 ; later fate of, 530.

Lake Superior & Puget Sound
Land Co., formation of, II. 162;
operations of, 303 ; efforts to
wind up affairs of, 330-31 ; poli-
cies of, 331.

Lamborn, Robert H., secretary
Lake Superior road, II. 107 ; vis-
its Duluth, 131 ; telegraphs Cooke
regarding Duluth, 180.

Langford, N. P., II. 236.

Lanier, J. F. D., Cooke writes to,
I. 655-58.

Ledger, Philadelphia, see Public
Ledger.

INDEX

573

Lee, Bishop Henry >W., Cooke
writes to, regarding dogmas, II.
491 ; Cooke's gifts to, 496.

Lee, R. H., II. 537- .

Lee, Robert E., his invasion of
North, I. 263-64; raid on Wash-
ington, 413; "caving in," 497-98;
surrender of, 527-28.

Leech & Co.'s packet line, I. 41, 43,
.50.

Legal Tenders, see Greenbacks.

Leonard, Sheldon & Foster, II.

Lewis, Edwin M., appointed re-
ceiver, II. 512; trustee, 512; sells
N. P. stock to Cooke, 520.

Lewis & Clark in Northwest, II.
129.

Lincoln, Abraham, mentioned, I.
14 ; election to Presidency, 102,
129 ; inauguration of, 127 ; offers
Cooke office in Philadelphia, 136;
New York bankers criticize his
policies, 153; rides to review-
ground with Cooke, 155-56; tem-
porizing expedients of, 176; his
anecdotes, 181 ; his proclamation
regarding Hunter, 196-97 ; mild
course of, 197 ; Chase's rupture
with, 199; hears Cooke urge Mc-
Clellan's displacement, 199-201 ;
aided by 5-20 loan, 212; Seward
and Chase resign, 224, 226; at
Kate Chase's wedding, 277 ; ap-
proves national banking law,
337; Chase's ambition to succeed,
360-67 ; signs anti-option gold
law, 409; his re-election in
doubt, 412 ; accepts Chase's resig-
nation, 416-22; nominates Tod,
420, 422 ; inquires for Fessenden,
433 ; sends for Cooke, 434 ;
Chase's attitude toward, 434 ; his
views On negro question, 436;
Chase calls on, 443 ; appoints
Chase Chief-Justice, 463, 464;
sees " muff-box," 488 ; assassi-
nation of, 530; Cooke's tribute
to, 532, 535 ; behavior of markets
after death of, 531 ct seq.; bond
sales on day of funeral of, 539;
7-30 traveling agent suspected of
assassinating, 602; authorizes
Colonel Stewart's trip, 607 ; news
of assassination reaches Vicks-
burg,. 619; negroe§ pioyed. by

death of, 610; 7-30 advertising
at funeral of, 618; effect of death
of, in California, 631-32 ; signs
bill chartering Northern Pacific,
II. 98 ; his opinion of " Gath,"
335 ; views of, on Sunday ques-
tion, 494-95-

Lincoln, Robert T., escorts Cooke
party, I. 495.

Linsley, Daniel, appointed Assist-
ant Engineer, II. 247; reports
progress of construction, 262.

Litchfield, E. D., Moorhead talks
to, regarding N. P., II. 150.

Little Rock & Fort Smith Rail-
road, Blaine's interest in, 171-72.

Livermore, Clews & Co., 5-20
agents in New York, I. 234; con-
gratulate Cooke on 7-30 appoint-
ment, 476 ; letters from, 487 ; aid
Treasury in 1865, 503; favors
shown to, 551.

Lloyd & Black, II. 164.

Lobbying at Washington, II. 170
et seq.

Loes, F. T., I. 249.

Logan, John A., calls for investiga-
tion of McCulloch and Cooke, II.
29~35» l33 ! Cooke aids re-elec-
tion of, 71 ; attitude of, regarding
N. P., 179.

London Times, see Times, London.

Loomis, John S., N. P. land com-
missioner, II. 307.

Louis Napoleon, course of, in Civil
War, I. 212; his loans, 316; war
with Prussia begun by, II. 195,
223.

Louis Philippe, hoax regarding, I.
36.

Lowrey, W. J., & Co., I. 524.

Lunt, Preston & Kean, Chicago
agents, II. 233 ; report difficulties
in West, 393-94.

McClellan, General George B.,
drilling troops, I. 55-56; reten-
tion of, by Lincoln, 176; idol of
the nation, 196 ; Chase's anger
with, 197-99; Cooke urfes dis-
placement of, 190-201 ; failure to
support Pope, 202 ; clamor for
restoration of, 202 ; reinstated,
203 ; Cooke opposes, for Presi-
dent, 435.

McCulloch, Hugh, mentioned, I,

574

INDEX

151 ; Comptroller of Currency,
341 ; charters Washington 1st
National Bank, 343 ; Cooke's
promises to, regarding N. Y. 4th
National, 345 ; appealed to to
help bank, 349 ; mentioned for
presidency of bank, 350; ap-
proves of a pamphlet on national
banks, 354; his visit to Boston,
359; uninformed of Chase's resig-
nation, 421 ; recommended for
Secretary of Treasury by Fessen-
den, 423 ; views of, on foreign
loan, 444; consulted regarding
joint agency, 453~57> 461 ; urged
as Fessenden's successor, 466 ;
willing to accept, 467 ; Cooke's
view of, 467-68 ; named for Sec-
retary of Treasury, 496; compli-
mented by newspapers, 497; au-
thorizes Cooke to support mar-
ket, 499-501 ; assured by Cooke's
presence in New York, 504; re-
stricts Cooke, 504 ; negotiation
with Cooke as to commissions,
509-13 ; hard pressed for money,
513 ; interested in foreign loans,
513-18; dunned on all sides, 518;
authorizes Cooke to exchange
vouchers for 7-30S, 519-22; sells
four million lot of old 5-20S,
527 ; sends money to New York
to support stock market, 528-29;
present at Johnson's inaugura-
tion, 530; leaves market to Cooke
and Stewart, 530, 535 ; Johnson
uged to retain, 532, 536, 537; ap-
proves Cooke's management of
market, 535 : gratified by sales of
7-30S, 541-42; urged to close
Cooke agency, 545 ; unwilling to
listen to such advice, 547 ; issues
third series, 547-48; changes
terms of agency, 560-63 ; favors
movement to raise prices, 565-66;
increased need of money, 567-68 ;
delighted at relief, 569; blamed
for National Blessing article,
638; N. Y. World's attack on,
640-42 ; states debt of U. S. in
1865, II. 1 ; supporting market
for 7-30S, 3, 4 ; hears Cooke's
plans for resumption, 4; his reli-
ance on Cooke, 5, 6; funding op-
erations by, 8 ; hears Cooke's
consolidated debt plans, 9, 10, 11;

approves of them, 11; wavers in
support of, 11, 13; Sherman's
opinion of, 13 ; newspaper at-
tacks on, 14-16; investigation of,
16; blamed for defeat of funding
bill, 16; difficulties in Johnson's
cabinet, 24, 25; newspaper at-
tacks on, 35 ; anxious to be re-
lieved, 35-36; renewed efforts to
get 5 per cent, consolidated loan,
36 et seq.; commends Cooke's
greenback letter, 53; explains
treatment of national banks, 54-
55 ; advised by Cooke regarding
stock market in 1868, 74-75 ; ap-
proves scheme to buy bonds in
Europe, 88 ; advises against Mexi-
can loan, 89; parting flings of
press at, 133; in N. P.- pool, 164;
in English house of Jay Cooke,
202 et seq.; warmly received in
England, 208-09; Grant's antipa-
thy to, 210 ; Boutwell's reflections
on, 267 ; slighted by Grant and
Boutwell, 270; urges Cooke to
influence Boutwell, 287 ; hears
Cooke's views on mining enter-
prises, 290; reprimanded by
Cooke, 291 ; introduces Edgerton,
350; Grant's hatred of, 365;
praises Cooke as the war fin-
ancier, 370-71 ; resents charges
of coolness toward N. P., 378 ;
announces formation of N. P.
syndicate, 379 ; criticizes Sargent,
380 ; alarmed by N. P.'s over-
drafts, 384; telegraphs Cooke
about them, 385 ; writes on same
subject, 386; reports scarcity of
money in London, 392; announces
trip to America, 419; at
" Ogontz," 458 ; Sargent's opin-
ion of, 513-14; establishes firm
of McCulloch & Co., 536; returns
to America, 536.

McCulloch & Co., II. 536.

McDuffie, George, I. 17.

MacDonald, James, II. 195.

McHenry, A. R., I. 236.

McHenry, James, I. 288.

Mclntyre, Archibald, I. 182, 280.

Mackay Smith, Bishop, II. 478.

McKean, William V., II. 135.

McKenzie, Dr. R. Shelton, I. 294.

McKim & Co., compliment Cooke,
I. 294.

INDEX

575

McKnight, Wm, in N. P. pool, II.

164.
McMeens, Anna C, II. 461, 488,

507, 525.

McMichael, Morton, I. 93, 464, 236.

McMichael, Morton, Jr., I. 341.

McMillen, J. W., 7-30 travelling
agent, 618, 624, 625.

McPherson, Edward, I. 299.

Mad River Railroad, I. 25, 26.

Manassas. See Bull Run.

Manly, George, I. 286.

Marble, Mr., of N. Y. World, I.
- 579-8o, 653.

Marshall, William R., in N. P. ex-
ploring party, II. 125, 128; at
Washington in behalf of N. P.,
175 ; retained by Cooke, 245 ;
criticizes Windom, 246; computes
size of Duluth, 251 ; suggests
manufactures for Duluth, 252 ;
antipathy of, for Smith, 259;
Cooke's gift for wife of, 470; re-
turns stock to Cooke, 516.

Marvin, Luke, II. 133.

Marvin & Keene, II. 232.

Maryland, subscriptions of, her-
alded, I. 250; disloyalty in, 603-
04.

Masons, Cooke seeks funds of, I.
582.

Matlack, Rev. Robert C, tells story
of Cooke, II. 499-500.

Memphis, El Paso & Pacific Rail-
road, II. 151.

Mercer, S. A., action regarding
Pa. State loan, I. 107, 108, 117;
consulted by Chase, 180; asks
Cooke to reduce his account, 192.

Meredith, Wm. M., I. 105, 106, 117.

Messersmith, George R., men-
tioned, I. 100, no; reports battle
of Gettysburg, 265 ; opposes na-
tional banking law, 329; reports
burning of Chambersburg, 414-

15.
Metropolitan Bank, New York, I.

344-
Mexican War, finances of, I. 80-83.
Mexico, Cooke urged to sell loans

of, II. 88-89, 291-92, 518.
Miller, D. S., II. 487, 496.
Mills, D. O., I. 630.
Milne, David, I. 345.
Minneapolis, jealousy of St. Paul,

II. 251, 341.

Minnesota, school lands of, II. 314.
Mining, mania for companies for,

I. 369, in Montana, II. 316.
Mississippi, condition of state after

war, I. 611.
Mitchell, Dr. S. Weir, II. 131, 164.
Mobile, conditions in, after war, I.

611-12.
Montana, " treasure box of West,"

II. 316; transportation routes
into, 316, 317; anxiety of people
of, for railroad, 330; plans for,
line from Columbia river, 341.

Montgomery, Ala., conditions in,
after war, I. 612.

Montgomery, James B., II. 239,
34i-

Moore, Henry D., State Treasurer,
sells Pa. loan, I. 104 et seq.; how
it was sold, 116 et scq.; views on
battle of Bull Run, 149; men-
tioned for president Phila. First
National, 341 ; prepares pamphlet
on national banks, 354-55 ; de-
nounces gold speculators, 410;
urges Chase for Chief-Justice,
464 ; in Preston and other com-
panies, II. 85, 86 ; Cooke's kind-
ness to, 467.

Moorhead, J. B., mentioned, I. 99,
180; interest in Sterling mines,
87 ; tries to conciliate Childs, 191 ;
marriage of daughter of, 463.

Moorhead, General J. Kennedy,
mentioned, I. 40, 100, 101 ; fishes
with Cooke, 366 ; goes to see
Grant, 494-95 ; supports O'Con-
ner, 554 ; visits Henry Cooke, II.
25 ; suggested for Senator from
Pa., 77; visits Pacific coast, 114;
in N. P. pool, 164; distrust of
Rice, 248.

Moorhead, Wm. E. C, mentioned,
I. 102 ; accompanies Roberts' ex-
ploring party, II. 114, 115; goes
into Yellowstone region, 124;
proposed partnership with Frank
Evans, 202 ; interest in Cooke's
London house, 206.

Moorhead, William G., packet line
of, I. 40-42 ; his kindness to
Cooke, 47, 48, 49; in Phila. &
Erie, 80, 102 ; in Chile, 91 ; aids
Henry Cooke, 93 ; suggests a
partnership with Jav Cooke, 101 ;
enters firm of J. C. & Co., 102;

576

INDEX

encourages Cooke while in
Washington, 154, 155; helps to
purchase coupe for Chase, 183-
84 ; offers to help at Washington,
185 ; partner in Washington, 186 ;
on Cooke's appointment to 5-20
agency, 220; on gold speculation,
228; cool toward the Union, 265-
66 ; pleased by 5-20 sales, 279,
280; stockholder in Washington
1st National, 342; favors Chase
for President, 363 ; " blues " of,
415; political views of, 437; his
oil companies, 439-40; travelling
abroad, 517; continues in firm,
II. 16, 17, 18; interest in New
York house, 20, 21 ; kindness of,
to Chase, 72; outside investments
of, 85, 87; opposed to N. P., 100,
146 ; Cooke's partner in Minnesota
land speculations, 105, no; re-
marriage of, 146 ; visits Roths-
childs regarding N. P., 146-50;
satisfied with N. P. contract, 161 ;
congratulates Cooke, 167 ; di-
rector of N. P., 182 ; tries to
conciliate Childs, 191 ; plans for
London house, 199; threatens to
leave firm, 199 ; criticizes Fahnes-
tock, 200; offers to establish son
in business, 202 ; in Minnesota,
244; finds corruption in N. P.,
245 ; urges appointment of Milnor
Roberts, 245 ; transfers Johnson,
246; faith in Roberts, 248; com-
plains of scandals in Minnesota,
250 ; pleased with growth of Du-
luth, 251 ; town named in honor
of, 262 ; antipathy to Smith and
Rice, 264; favors Preston Coal
Co., 290; goes to Pacific coast,
340; directs affairs of St. Paul &
Pacific, 343 ; sells bonds of road,
344; West Philadelphia mansion
of, 358; opposes continued alli-
ance with N. P., 380, 387; his
troubles with St. Paul & Pacific,
393 ; favors closing 7-30 loan,
397 ; signs N. P. memorial to
Congress, 406; in New York
when house closed, 421-22, 439;
country home of, 447 ; endows
chair in West Philadelphia Di-
vinity School, 495 ; his love of
travel, 521 ; death of, 536.
Moorhead, Mrs. William G., Jay

Cooke's sister, mentioned, I. 3, 22,
40, 49, 185; failing health of, 16;
death of, 146.

Moran, Benjamin, II. 195, 297.

Morgan, Keene & Marvin, II. 232.

Morgan, Governor, E. D., opposes
Field's appointment, I. 420; fa-
vored for Secretary of Treasury,
466, 468, 496; gathers campaign
funds for Grant, II. 70, 71 ; chair-
man national committee in 1872,
352; sends money to Pa., 356.

Morgan, J. P., actively seeks fund-
ing business, II. 362; Cooke
asked to join, 365, 366; sticks to
syndicate, 369 ; free to " scold "
Secretary of Treasury, 372.

Morgan, J. S., mentioned, II. 209;
in funding business, 270, 283 ;
Cattell dines with, 376.

Morgan, J. S. & Co., II. 107, 366.

Morrill Tariff Act, I. 127, 128.

Morrill, J. S., on legal tender
money, I. 175; drafts new loan
bill, 370 ; visits Chase, 377.

Morris, Robert, mentioned, I. 67,

297, 583; II- 441-43-

Morton, Levi P., in Washington
seeking funding business, II.
269; proposes to take balance of
loan, 273 ', surprise at success of
syndicate, 283-84 ; contributions
to Grant campaign, 356; again
seeks funding business, 362 ;
Cooke asked to join, 365, 366;
sticks to syndicate, 369; free to
complain of Treasury manage-
ment, 372.

Morton, Bliss & Co., in funding
business, II. 260, 270, 283, 362,
366.

Moss, A. H., II. 56.

Motley, John Lothrop, Sargent's
opinion of, II. 192 ; invited to
Sargent's dinner, 195; criticizes
emigration agents, 297.

Mott, Lucretia, I. 32; 139.

Moulton, C. W., I. 524.

Murdoch, James E., II. 451.

Murphy, Tom, II. 356.

Myers, P. M. & Co., violate Cooke's
7-30 rules, 551.

Napoleon III. See Louis Nape-

leon.
Napor, Ben, II, 459,

INDEX

577

Natchez, Miss., conditions in, after
war, I. 611.

National Asylum for Disabled Vol-
unteer Soldiers, II. 498.

National Banking System, men-
tioned, I. 169, 172, 227; establish-
ment of, 326 et seq.; growth of,
34i> 353) 35°; law amended, 358;
taxation of, 359; fostered by
7-30 travelling agents, 602, 611-
13; slow to adopt, in California,
632 ; Cooke defends, II. 53~58.

" National Debt a National Bless-
ing" pamphlet, I. 634 et seq. ;ll.

27, 137-
National Land Co., II. 296.
National Life Insurance Co., II.

90-93-

Naval Agency, Cookes secure, 209-
10; campaign contribution on ac-
count of, 357 ; condition of ac-
count at time of panic, 436.

Negroes, Chase's plea for equal
treatment of, I. 189; task of car-
ing for, after emancipation, 436;
mourn Lincoln's death, 610.

Nelson, Thomas, writes to Cooke,

II. 37-

Nettleton, General A. B., recalls
conversation with John Sher-
man on greenbacks, II. 40; as-
sists Cooke in defending nation-
al banks, 55-58; Cooke writes,
to, regarding " National Bless-
ing " pamphlet, 137 ; voices
Cooke's views on resumption,
138-40; in employ of Northern
Pacific, 227; visits Northwest,
227 ; qualifications of, for post,
228; organizes newspaper party,
237; visits line of N. P. road,
256-57 ; writes of Banks' resolu-
tion of inquiry, 323 ; demands
Smith's resignation, 326; Cass
takes passes from, 320; writes to
his wife of experiences in panic,
432; issues statement after fail-
ure, 437 ; action in reorganizing
N. P., 519-20; at opening of N.
P., 534-

Newark Banking Co., I. 552.

New England, customs of, conveyed
to Ohio, I. 6.

New England Colony, II, 321.

.. 1

New Orleans, 5-20S sent to, I. 250.

Newspapers, Cooke's policy toward,
in 5-20 campaign, I. 220; hired
to support the loan, 232 et seq.;
usefulness of service of, 253 et
seq.; brought to support national
banking law, 33l~37 \ praise Chase
as a Presidential candidate, 362;
advertising 7-30 loan, 479 et seq.;
their service in 7-30 campaign,
575-84; use of, on Pacific Coast,
631 ; character of, in New York,
638; Cooke's treatment of, II.
473-74-

Newton, Rev. Richard, pastor of
old St. Paul's, II. 482; Cooke
presents house to, 485 ; recom-
mends preachers for Gibraltar,
487; helps to distribute thank of-
fering, 493.

Newton, Rev. William Wilberforce,
relates story of Cooke, II. 500;
meets Cooke at Beach Haven,
542-

New York, banking capital of, I.
136, 150; lack of patriotism in,
150, 498; jealousy of Cooke in,
208, 261, 383, 432; jealousy of
Philadelphia, 220, 234; gold
speculation in, 356 et seq.,
Cooke's view of bankers of, dur-
ing war, 396, 405; bears of,
frightened by Cooke, 576; buying
loyalty in, 576-77; Copperheads
in, 588.

New York Stock Exchange, gold
speculation in,' I. 213, 395 ; scenes
in, during panic of '7^ IL 423
et seq., closes doors, 430; re-
opens, 435.

New York Sub-Treasury, Cisco in
charge of, I. 133, 134; aids in
breaking price of gold, 402-04;
gold notes issued by, 411; Van
Dyck in charge of, 651.

New York Warehouse & Security
Co., II. 420.

Nicholson, John, II. 542.

Night agencies for 7-30S, I. ^7=;.
584-88, 600.

Ninth National Bank, New York,
sales of 7-30S by, I. 469, 541 ;
favors shown to, 551.

Noblit, Dell, Jr., II. 511.

578

INDEX

Norris, Isaac, II. 512.

North Missouri Railroad, Cooke
sells bonds of, II. 93-95.

Northern Pacific Railroad, Cooke
free to take hold of, II. 80; char-
ter of, 96-98; Perham fails to
build, 99, 100; offered to Cooke,
100-101 ; informs himself in re-
gard to, 112, 113; parties formed
to explore route of, 113 et scq.;
Moorhead's effort to sell bonds
of, in Europe, 146-50; character
of promoters of, 152; Roberts'
report on, 153-156; Cooke makes
contract with, 157-61 ; formation
of pool, 161-66; work of con-
struction started, 166, 167 ; Con-
gressional aid for, 168 et seq.;
mortgage issued on lands of,
182 ; efforts to sell bonds of, in
Europe, 183 et scq.; continued
attempts in Europe, 210 et seq.;
criticized by Fahnestock, 225 ; ad-
vertisement of, 226 et seq.; small
sales of bonds of, 233 et seq.;
scandals affecting, 242 et seq.;
directors of, meet in Duluth, 255 ;
surveying line of, in Montana,
258 ; liquor shops on line of, 257 ;
progress of road, 256, 257, 262 ;
value of lands of, 258; more
scandal affecting, 263, 264; plans
for colonizing line of, 296 et seq.;
government commissioners re-
port on, 306-07 ; great value of
lands of, 313 et seq.; Banks' in-
quiry regarding, 322-23 ; change
of officers of, 326 et seq.; prog-
ress of road in three years, 223
et seq.; roads allied with, 341
et seq.; bonds of, sold through
Cooke's London house, 378-88 ;
political disturbances prevent
bond sales, 389 ; signs of ap-
proaching fall of, 391 et seq.; re-
ported in bankruptcy, 409-10;
Cooke's faith in, 410-14; estate
encumbered by securities of, 421 ;
fate of, after panic, 437; Cooke's
continued faith in, 517; subse-
quent course of road, 519; prog-
ress of work on, 530; completion
of, 531-35 ; tunnel through Cas-
cades, 538; Cooke rides over line,
538-39-

Northwest, Cooke's prophecies re-
garding, fulfilled, II. 310 et seq.

Norvell, C. C, defends Cooke, I.
298-99 ; writes up 7-30 loan,
577> 580 ; announces establish-
ment of Cooke's London house,
II. 206.

Norwalk Seminary, I. 22.

"O. P. J." See Old Patriarch
Jacob.

Oakes, Thomas F., II. 533.

O'Conner, James, violates Cooke's
rules in Pittsburg, 553~55-

Ogden, William B., incorporator of
N. P., II. 97, 152; signs N. P.
contract, 161 ; director of N. P.,
182 ; learns Cooke's wishes re-
garding Duluth, 256; his opinion
of roadbed, 257 ; interest in
Canadian Pacific deal, 350.

Ogontz, the Indian Chief, I. 7, 10.

" Ogontz," Cooke's mansion, erec-
tion of, II. 33; Grants at, 66;
pictures of, sent to Bismarck,
188 ; European commissioners at,
217; Mrs. Cooke's death at, 293;
Mennonites at, 320; show place,
358; scenes at, after failure,
434; construction of, 447-51; dis-
tinguished guests at, 452; Jap-
anese at, 455-57; Indians at,
457-58; preachers at, 486; thank
offering for completion of, 493 ;
Cooke recovers, 526-27 ; con-
verts it into school, 528; Cooke's
favors to, 528-29; Cooke watches
farms of, 540; arbutus for girls
at, 541 ; snake skins for pupils,
543; last appearance at, 545;
tomb at, 546.

Ogontz Lodge, Cooke at, II. 543.

Ogontz Place. See Sandusky.

O'Hara, cotton speculator, I. 438.

Ohio State Journal, I. 92, 128, 129,
.131, 438..

Oil, speculation in, deplored by
Cooke, I. 439-41 ; II. 84-85 ; ex-
citement over discovery of, in
Pa., 615-16.

Oil Creek Railroad, II. 93.

" Old Patriarch Jacob," his share of
Cooke's gains, I. 466, II. 17, 20,
21, 22; accounts kept for, 477-
78; generosity of, 484.

INDEX

579

Opdyke, George, helps organize 4th
National Bank in New York, I.
345 ; elected President of bank,
285; reports jealousy of rival
347> 349-5°; mentioned for Sec-
retary of Treasury, II. 35 ; con-
tributes to Grant campaign fund,
71 ; early interest in N. P. rail-
road, 97.

Opdyke, George & Co., rumors
concerning, II. 420, 438.

Oppenheim, Baron, N. P. negotia-
tions with, II. 213; in syndicate,
278 ; cause of failure of negotia-
tion, 514.

Oregon & Transcontinental Co., II.

533-

Oregon Railway & Navigation
Company, II. 530, 533.

Oregon Steam Navigation Co., puts
boats at disposal of N. P. ex-
ploring party, II. 117; operations
of, on Columbia River, 340 ; pur-
chased by N. P., 348-49; securi-
ties of, embarrass Cooke's firms,
421 ; later fate of, 530, 532, 533.

O'Reilly, Henry, telegraph promo-
ter, I. 72.

Orvis, Joseph W., sales of 7-30S
by, I. 469, 541 ; reports favors
shown to insurance companies,
553 ; agent of National Life Com-
pany, II. 92.

Ottawa Indians, I. 5.

Owen, Robert Dale, II. 24.

Pacific cable, II. 292.

Packer, Asa, II. 236.

Packet lines in Pennsylvania, I.
40-42.

Page, Wm. T., I. 250.

Painter, John V., N. P. agent in
Ohio, II. 233; large sales of
bonds by, 399.

Painter, Uriah H., sends news of
rout at Bull Run, I. 146, 147 ; re-
ports a speech of Cooke's about
Chase, II. 65 ; secures charter for
National Insurance Company, 91 ;
assists in defeating St. Croix
bill, in, 347; seeks contracts
for Northern Pacific, 335.

Palmer, William J., II. 101.

Pancoast, Dr., II. 131.

Paper money evils, I. 368-70, 395,

646, II. 400.
Parker, Edward, I. 1.
Parrish, Dr. Joseph, II. 498.
Parsons, Governor, on Cooke's

plans to aid South, II. 24.
Parsons, Mr., sells 7-30S to sol-
diers, II. 628.
Parvin, Rev. Robert J., first rector
of new St. Pauls, II. 483-87; as-
sists in distributing thank offer-
ing, 493 ; death of, 496.
Parvin Hall, Cooke builds, II. 483.
Patterson, Joseph, mentioned, I.
69; consulted by Chase, 180; of-
fered Asst. Treasurership at
Phila., 182; offered Comptroller-
ship, 341 ; suggested for Secre-
tary of Treasury, II. 364.
Paxson, Judge, II. 164.
Pearson, Mr., Clerk in Cooke's
Washington house, I. 439; II. 17,
18.
Peaslee & Co., advertising agents,

I- 578, 653-54.
Peet, Emerson W., II. 92.
Pelz., Mr., employed by Baron

Gerolt, II. 311.
Pendleton, George H., financial
views of, II. 29, 2>7 '> false state-
ment by, 52.
Pennington, Speaker, I. 94.
Pennsylvania, packet lines of, 40-
42; war loan of, 104 et seq.
Pennsylvania Hall, burning of, I.

44-
Pennsylvania Railroad, buys state
canals, I. 99; Warren and Frank-
lin merged with, II. 93; interest
of, in N. P., 153, 327; Cooke sells
bonds for, 168; rumors affecting
credit of, 427.
Perham, Josiah, his plans to build

Northern Pacific, II. 97-100.
Perry, Commodore, victory of, II.

459-
"Pet Banks," I. 81.
Peto, Sir Morton, visits United

States, II. 98.
Pettengill & Co. advertise 7-30S on

Pacific coast, I. 631.
Philadelphia, Cooke's first impres-
sions of, I. 43 et seq., 52, 54, 55,
58; banking capital of, 136, 150;

580

INDEX

New York's jealousy of, 208,

220, 234, 262, 641.
Philadelphia Stock Exchange is

asked to stop sales of 7-30S, I.

556 ; scenes in, in panic of 73,

419 et seq.
Philadelphia Sub-Treasury, Cooke

asked to take charge of, 136-40.
Philadelphia and Erie Land Co., II.

86.
Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, I.

80, 102, 274, II. 86.
Philadelphia and Reading Coal and

Iron Co., II. 86.
Philadelphia and Reading Rail-
road, I. 100.
Phillips, William, in N. P. pool, II.

164.
Philo-Literati Society, I. 29.
Pickersgill & Co., I. 82.
Pine Grove Iron Works, II. 86.
Pittinger, J. H., 7-30 travelling

agent, I. 620-21.
Polk, James K., I. 17.
Pomeroy, Senator, S. C, I. 363, II.

28.
Pope, General, I. 202.
Porter, Governor, of Pennsylvania,

I. 41.

Porter, Horace, in N. P. pool, II.
165; reports Morton's remarks,
284 ; tells Grant of condition of
stock markets in 1872, 355.

Portland, Ohio. See Sandusky.

Postoffice 'Department aids in sale
of 7-30S, I. 618.

Potts, B. F., Governor of Mon-
tana, II. 336, 342.

Potts, Joseph D., II. 520.

Poulterer, William, I. 249, 356.

Preston Coal Co., II. 85, 290.

Princeton College, Cooke's gifts to,

II. 499.

Pritchard, A. L., appointed treas-
urer N. P., II. 330.

Public Debt in first years of war,
I. 121-24, 167, 214, 240; amount
of, held abroad, 317 ; amount of,
when Chase left office, 425 ;
amount in 1865, 635, II. 1, 2;
Cooke's efforts to secure pay-
ment of, in coin, I. 638, 639, 648,
653, 656; Cooke's plan to con-
solidate, II. 8 et seq.; Cooke's
war on repudiators of, 37 et seq.

Public Ledger, Philadelphia, mob
attacks office of, I. 45 ; antag-
onizes Cooke, 546-47; alienated
during war, 577, 643 ; attacks on
Cooke and McCulloch after war,
II. 31 ; continued hostility of, 134-
36; baits N. P. railroad, 189 et
seq.; still hostile, 395.

Puleston, John H., sent to London
house, II. 203; interest in firm,
206; no sympathy for Barings,
210; goes to Cologne, 213; re-
ports success of syndicate, 284,
285; reports jealousy of rival
bankers, 286; makes funding ar-
rangements, 288 ; proposes to en-
ter Parliament, 290; hears
Cooke's views in regard to min-
ing, 291 ; in Mexican loan
scheme, 291 ; Cooke reprimands,
292; fears failure of 2nd syndi-
cate, 367 ; explains fizzle, 369-
70; resents charges of coolness
toward N. P., 378; criticizes
Sargent, 380; reports small sales
of bonds, 380; alarmed by over-
drafts, 384-85 ; defends himself to
Cooke, 388; Sargent's charges
against, 513-15; knighted in Eng-
land, 536.

Put-in-Bay, O., I. 131 ; II. 459, 460.

Putnam, Israel, I. 146.

Quakers. See Society of Friends.

Quartermasters' Vouchers, ex-
change of, for 7-30S, I. 518-25.

" Questions and Answers " circular,
popular in 5-20 campaign, I. 234
et seq.; in 7-30 campaign, 479,
588, 616, 621, 622.

Ralston, W. C, letter on Cali-
fornia's gold standard, I. 632.

Ramsey, Senator, I. 413, II. 178.

Randall, Alexander W., orders
postmasters to post 7-30 hand-
bills, I. 617.

Randall, Samuel J., attacks Cooke,
II. 30, 32; attacks national
banks, 54; opposes N. P. bill,
180; in Credit Mobilier investi-
gation, 402.

Randolph, E. D. & Co., suspension
of, II. 434.

Randolph, Richard, 7-30 travelling
agent in South, I. 610-14.

INDEX

581

Raphael, R., & Co., in first syndi-
cate, II. 278; ignored in and dis-
pleased at second, 367, 370.

Raymond, Henry J., Jr., II. 238.

Red River, N. P. railroad reaches,
II. 262; riches of valley of, 315;
line to Canada through valley of,
342; traffic on, 343.

Red River Colony, II. 321.

Reid, Whitelaw, suggested as 7-30
agent, I. 480-81 ; appointed to in-
vestigate O'Conner case, 554; on
the National Blessing pamphlet,
637 ; sends syndicate limerick to
Fahnestock, II. 275 ; favors
Greeley for President, 353-54;
interest in settlement of Greeley's
estate, 414; at " Ogontz," 458.

Revolutionary War, I. 2, 6, 21.

Rhorer, I. H., I. 388.

Rice, Richard D., early interest in
N. P., II. 97, 100; signs N. P.
contract, 161 ; hears that pool is
closed, 166; vice-president of N.
P., 182; lets contracts on Pacific
coast, 247, 248 ; resents criticism,
249 ; plans to remove, 326 ; a new
office found for, 330; goes to
Pacific coast, 340.

Richardson, Wm. A., efforts abroad
to fund 5-20S, II. 275, 283, 287;
cables joint proposal of Cooke
and Rothschild, 288; orders
Cookes to support market in
!872, 355 ; advises Morton to re-
turn to New York, 362 ; to be
made Secretary of Treasury, 364 ;
unpleasantly impressed by action
of London bankers, 369; suc-
ceeds Boutwell, 374; calls bonds
to return Alabama money, 377;
in New York trying to stay
panic, 430; policies of, 431; at
"Ogontz," 458.

Richmond, North's march on, I.
146; Grant around, 413, 414; fall
of, 527, 528 ; 7-30S for people of,
606-07.

Riggs & Co., I. 284.

Robb, Alexander, 7-30 travelling

agent, I. 606; in Pa. oil regions,
615-16; in Indiana, 618-19.

Roberts, M. O., II. 70.

Roberts, VV. Milnor, asked to re-
port on North Missouri road, II.
93-94; report on "Southwest Pa-
cific," 103 ; explores N. P. coun-
try, 114; criticizes Canfield, 116,
119; speaks at Portland, Oregon,
117; speaks at Walla Walla, 118,
119; letters to Cooke concern-
ing trip, 122, 123 ; prepares and
submits report, 153-56; in Mon-
tana, 218; accompanies European
inspectors to Pacific, 219-20 ; his
view of the men, 220; appointed
chief engineer, 245 ; takes charge
of work, 247 ; goes to Pacific
coast, 247 ; General Moorhead's
faith in, 248; "delicate" position
of, 248-49; goes to Minnesota,
250; J. Edgar Thomson wishes
him to be in full control, 250;
investigates Duluth harbor, 254,
255 ; surveying in Montana, 258 ;
to inspect line in Minnesota, 306;
in Yellowstone among Indians,
337 5 reports road at Missouri
River, 337.

Robertson, T. J., II. 164, 212.

Robeson, George M., Secretary of
Navy, gives naval agency to
Cookes, II. 209; demands of, in
Grant campaign, 352, 357 ; favors
Cookes, 363 ; invited to
" Ogontz," 452, 458.

Robinson, Solon, I. 597.

Robinson & Suydam, II. 427.

" Rockwood," II. 447.

Rollins, E. A., agent in New Eng-
land for National Life Insurance
Co., II. 92 ; trustee of Jay Cooke
& Co., 510; aims to secure
amendment of bankruptcy law,
512.

Romero, Senor, urges Mexican
loan, II. 89.

Rose, Sir John, II. 195, 269, 270,
286.

Rosser, General Thomas L., re-
ports on value of N. P. lands,
II. 258; heads party of engineers
in Yellowstone region, 338, 339.

Rothschild, Baron Lionel, funding
arrangement with, II. 288; re-

582

INDEX

ceives Cattell, 375-76; Cooke's
hope for aid from, 415.

Rothschilds, asked to take Lake
Superior bonds, II. 107 ; Moor-
head asks them into N. P., 146-
50; tell other bankers that they
declined going in, 214; in fund-
ing business, 283 ; false predic-
tions of, 285 ; rivalry of, feared,
286; join Cookes in proposal to
fund, 288, 359; great wealth of,
288 ; renew offer, 361 ; relations
with Belmont, 362 ; fresh tele-
grams from, 363 ; in 2nd syndi-
cate, 366; threaten to resign,
369; Cattell at, 374-76; excluded
from Alabama settlement, 377.

Rushton, Willie, II. 531.

Russell, B. S., 5-20 agent, I. 250;
opens bank for Clarks in Duluth,
II, 252; reports to Cooke on
severe weather, 333.

Sacket, Edward, I. 618.

Sadler, Judge E. B., in California,

I. 630-34; II. 96.

St. Jurjo, Rivera, II. 459.

St. Croix Railroad, Cooke's opposi-
tion to, II. Ill ; Knott's speech
called out by, 308 ; Cooke's nego-
tiations concerning, 345-46; de-
feat of bill, 347.

St. Louis, Cooke's early impres-
sions of, I. 33 et scq.

St. Louis River, water power of,

II. 105 ; Cooke's repurchases of
land on, 529.

St. Paul, jealousy of Minneapolis,

II. 25, 341 ; N. P. emigration

office at, 319.
St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, II.

482.
St. Paul's Church, Ogontz, Cooke

helps to build, II. 483 ; his large

gifts to, 483-84-
St. Paul & Duluth Railroad, II.

530.
St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, sale

of bonds of, in Europe, II. 150;

incorporated in N. P. system,

342-44; breaking down of, 392-

93 ; goes to Great Northern, 535.
St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad,

Cooke refuses to take over, II.

344-45-
St. Vincent Extension, II. 342.

Salem, Mass., Cookes in, I. 1.

Sampson, H. B., his relations with
Sargent, II. 192-95, 211.

Sands, A. C, II. 306.

Sandusky, O., mentioned, I. 4, 5,
7, 8 ; Cooke's memories of, 9 et
seq., 24, 26, 27, 54, 65; possibility
of his return to, 95 ; drawn back
to, II. 458.

Sanford, H. S., in N. P. pool, II.
164; hears Cooke's views of
Southwest, 173; declares outlook
in Europe unfavorable, 212-13 ;
recommends Oppenheims, 213 ;
sends bill for commissions, 214;
helps funding bill, 266.

San Francisco, influences in, hos-
tile to N. P., II. 171.

Sanitary Fairs, 7-30S advertised at,

I. 618.

Sargent, Epes, II. 192, 195.

Sargent, George B., settles in Du-
luth, II. 109, no; meets eastern
guests, 133 ; appointed to go to
Europe, 183 ; in Frankfort, 184 ;
operations of, in that city, 185,
186; goes to England, 192; visits
Sampson, 192-94 ; arrangements
with General Credit Co., 194,
195 ; his sympathies in Franco-
Prussian War, 195 ; complains of
Budges, 196, 197; wishes to re-
turn to America, 197; turns to
Bischoffsheim, 198; relations
with Cooke's London house, 210-
11; returns home, 211; asks
larger stock bonus, 211; turns to
Oppenheims, 213; boasts of cli-
mate of Northwest, 214; sails to
America with commissioners,
216; praises them, 218; changes
his mind, 220; unsuitable for his
office, 222 ; Cooke tells him plans
for Canadian annexation, 296 ;
failures of, 378 ; pressing de-
mands of, 380; large claims on
Cooke estate, 513-14.

Sartain, John, I. 363.

Savannah, war ruins, I. 608.

Sawyer, F. A., II. 164.

Schell, Richard, II. 427.

Schenck, Robert C, in N. P. pool,

II. 164; friendly to N. P. bill,
179; employed for N. P., 229;
appointed minister to England,
229-30; recommends Allison, 231;

INDEX

583

an indiscreet friend, 290; ex-
presses favor for Mexican loan
scheme, 291 ; Cooke criticizes,
292; in Cooke's Michigan rail-
road, 350 ; at " Ogontz," 458.

Schern, Baron, II. 209.

Schoenberger, Mr., iron works in
Duluth, II. 33.

Schuckers, J. W., employed in
7-30. campaign, I. 584, 628.

Schurz, Carl, Cooke's kindness to,
II. 467; at "Ogontz," 458.

Scott, Thomas A., in Sterling
mines, II. 87; in N. P. pool, 164;
signs call for meeting, 236; his
valuation of Cass, 328; seeks en-
dorsement for Southern Pacific,
404-06; rumored failure of, 427.

Seaman, Billopp, I. 553.

Sears, Willard, II. 97.

Seattle, exploring party at, II. 117.

Second National Bank, New York,

I- 344-

" Secret Sales," bill to prohibit, II.
35; Ledger attacks, 134; In-
quirer defends, 136; Boutwell
changes system of, 136, 401.

Seligman & Co., II. 278; in first
syndicate, 283, 284; ask to enter
second syndicate, 366.

Seven-thirty gold loan, Chase's
note issues, I. 150 et seq., 215,
221, 253, 307; falls due, 385.

Seven-thirty currency loan, author-
ization of, I. 426; early sales of,
435; slow sales of, 442, 446, 469,
471; proposed joint agency for
sale of, 452-62; continued sales
by national banks and sub-treas-
uries, 462; Cooke appointed sole
agent, 469 et seq.; Cooke's vig-
orous sale of, 478; instant re-
sponse to call, 485-86; public
men buying, 489; end of 1st
series, 497, 507; larger subscrip-
tions to, 497. influences dam-
aging to, 498; 2nd series opened,
508-09; commission for sale of,
509-15; exchange of, for vouch-
ers, 519 et seq.; great speculation
in, 538 et seq.; close of 2nd
series, 542; Fessenden and Blaine
urge closing of Cooke's agency,
545; A. J. Drexel also, 545; 3rd
series in Cooke's hands, 547-48;
terms of sale of 3rd series, 560-

63 ; rapid sales of, exhaust money
supply, 563; supporting market
for, 564; 3rd series goes out
slowly, 566; increased sales of.
569; close of loan, 570-74; how
it was sold, 575 et seq.; news-
papers enlisted in service of, 575-
84; night agencies for sale of,
584-88; telegraph key used in
sale of, 594; widows' mites going
into, 598; travelling agents to
sell, 601-24; soldiers' subscrip-
tions to, 624-29 ; attempt to sell in
California, 629-32; closing of,
II. 1 ; support of market, 2-4 ;
Cooke's plans to fund, 9; distri-
bution of, 38, 39.

Seward, Wm. H., mentioned, I.
129; resignation of, 223-26; on
5-20 commissions, 269; speech
after fall of Richmond, 527;
wounds of, 530; goes to Pacific
coast, II. 114.

Seward, Frederick, wounds of, I.
530.

Sexton, John W., in Philadelphia
office, I. 539; congratulates
Cooke, 572 ; interest in Jay Cooke
& Co., II. 17, 18; receives letter
from Claxton, 115; eliminated,
202 ; invited to Gibraltar, 466.

Seymour & Bool, I. 33, 39.

Sharp, Mr., attorney for Bisch-
offsheim, II. 213.

Shattuck, W. B., advertises 10-40
loan, I. 390; sent for by Fessen-
den, 430; helps Cooke in 7-30
campaign, 578.

Sheep growing in Northwest, II.

317.

Shepherd, Alexander R., succeeds
Governor Cooke, 422.

Sheppard, George, Cooke gives
plans to, for annexing Canada,
II. 296; commissioner in Europe,
311; his pamphlet about North-
west, 312; immigrants forwarded
by, 320.

Sheridan, General, favors N. P., II.

337-
Sherman, John, mentioned, I. 6, 17;
friend of Henry Cooke, 93, 187 ;
in House of Representatives, 94;
on Buchanan's finances, 123, 124;
election expenses of, paid by
Cooke, 131; visits Cooke, 132; on

584

INDEX

foreign loan, 287; defends Cooke
in Senate, 309 et seq.; brought to
favor national banking law, 332-
33> 337 > improvements in law
suggested to, 358; shapes finan-
cial legislation in Senate, 372,
376, 377; not told of Chase's res-
ignation, 421 ; Cookes urge, as
Chase's successor, 423 ; aids
Cooke in Ketchum affair, 461,
462; favored for Secretary of
Treasury, 466, 468, 496; Cooke
depends on, 491, 492; opposes
McCulloch's loan bill, II. 7, 8;
approves Cooke's consolidated
debt scheme, 11, 12, 13; Chase
expresses love for, 13 ; announces
failure of funding bill, 16; visits
Henry Cooke, 25 ; reports Ledg-
er attacks, 31 ; guest at " Ogontz,"
33; passes over to greenbackers,
39 et seq.; Cooke writes to, 41;
his reply to Cooke, 42 ; interested
in telegraph companies, 90;
stockholder in National Life Ins.
Co., 91 ; opposes bill prohibiting
secret sales, 136; doubts popular
desire for resumption, 140; inter-
ested in N. P., 147; suggested
head of London house, 199;
Cooke favors, for minister to
England, 229; helps funding bill,
266; Cooke again supports, for
Secretary of Treasury, 268; at
"Ogontz," 458; at Gibraltar, 461.

Sherman, General Wm. T., men-
tioned, I. 6; fears for safety of,
415; as a presidential candidate,
467 ; effect of his operations on
public finances, 506; Colonel
Stewart's letter to, 607; attacks
upon, 643; brought to Washing-
ton to become Secretary of War,
II. 67 ; suggests caution regarding
N. P., 113; to preside at dinner
to Governor Cooke, 422; at Gib-
raltar on Sunday, 493.

Shewell, Thomas. R, travelling
agent, 249; efforts to establish
banks, 355-56.

Shoemaker, Robert, II. 512.

Sigel, General, defeats of, I. 415.

Simonton, James W., I. 58.

Sioux Indians, II. 125, 336.

Sliding scale tariff, Cooke's plan
for, II. 139.

Sloane, Rush R., I. 131.

Sloane, Mrs. T. Morrison, I. 22,

79-

Smedley, Mr., emigration agent,
II. 297.

Smith, Rev. Aristides, II. 412.

Smith, G. A., at Sargent dinner,
II. 195 ; head of emigrant com-
pany, 297; criticizes Motley, 297.

Smith, John Gregory, early inter-
est in N. P., II. 97; sends pam-
phlets to Cooke, 112; heads ex-
ploring party, 125 ; return of, 128 ;
congratulates Wilkeson, 157 ;
signs N. P. contract, 161 ; hears
that pool is closed, 166, 167; lob-
bying for N. P., 175 ; unwilling to
agree to amendments to bill, 180;
demands money, 198; anxious
about reports of commissioners,
221 ; distrust of, 243 ; criticized by
Governor Marshall, 245 ; proposes
trip to Pacific coast, 249; influ-
ence used against Duluth, 252;
chided by Cooke regarding Du-
luth, 254, 256; antipathy for
Marshall, 259; haste in building
road, 259; Cooke's efforts to
check, 260-61 ; neglects road's
affairs, 263-65 ; postpones land
business, 302, 304, 305; criticized
by Henry Cooke, 305 ; still not
ready, 306; on Knott's speech,
309 ; still absent in Vermont, 323 ;
Cooke's efforts to reduce ex-
penditures of, 324-25 ; votes him-
self larger salary, 326; resigna-
tion of, demanded, 326; tries to
resist Cooke, 327.

Smith, Prescott, II. 452.

Smith, Sydney, tirades against Pa.,
I. 103, 104.

Snow, David, I. 552.

Society of Friends, Cooke asks
money of, I. 583.

Soldiers' subscriptons to loans, I.
576, 599, 624-29.

South Carolina, nullification in, I.
18; secession of, 102.

South Carolina Freedmen's Savings
Banks, I. 614.

Souther, Mr., .7-30 travelling agent,
I. 620.

Southern Pacific Railroad, Cooke
asked to finance, I. 103 ; misman-
agement of, in France, 151;

INDEX

585

Cooke appealed to in behalf of,
171-74; his opinion of, 173; seeks
Congressional aid, 404-06.

South Mountain estate, mines on,
II. 86; Grants and Cookes at,
453-55; fishing at, 508, 54* \
Cooke repurchases, 530.

Spaulding, E. G., views of, on legal
tenders, I. 171, 172: on "shaving
shops," 175; loan bill of, 370; vis-
its Chase, 377 ; views on re-
sumption, II. 4; visits Henry
Cooke, 25 ; doubts popular desire
for resumption, 140; fails to sell
N. P. bonds, 234.

Spaulding, Ira, chief engineer in
Minnesota, II. 167 ; criticisms of,
244, 245 ; unfriendly to Duluth,
254; reports liquor shops, 257.

Specie payments, suspension of, I.
166, 168 ; resumption of, 177 ; re-
turn to, discussed, 547-48 ; Cooke's
plans for resumption of, II. 4-6.

Speed, James, present at Johnson's
inauguration, I. 530.

Spencer, Vila & Co., 5-20 agents
in Boston, I. 348; complaints of,
during 7-30 campaign, 552, 595.

Speyers, London bankers, asked to
buy Lake Superior bonds, II.
107; in syndicate, 278.

Spinner, F. E., treasurer of U. S.,

I. 431 ; delighted by large 7-30
sales, 488 ; guest at " Ogontz," II.
33; at Gibraltar, 461.

Spofford, Paul, II. 71.

Spotted Tail, at " Ogontz," II. 457.

Sprague, General, in Oregon, II.
247.

Sprague, William, marriage of,
276-77; cost of campaign of 1864
to, 364 ; visits Grant, 413 ; ar-
ranges for burial of Chase, II.

415.

Sprague, Mrs. Wm. See Kate
Chase.

Stanberry, William, I. 19.

Stanley, General, heads N. P. ex-
pedition in 1873, II. 338.

Stanton, Edwin L., receiver 1st
National Bank of Washington,

II. 510.

Stanton, Edwin M., reported res-
ignation of, I. 203; Chase calls
on, 443 ; name of, suggested for
Chief Justice, 464 ; his requisi-

tions on the Treasury, 487, 519;
predicts end of war, 498; objects
to voucher exchanges, 521 ; at-
tempt to assassinate, 530; his
need of money to pay army, 569;
suspension of, II. 27.

Starbuck, C. W., II. 508.

Starr, F. Ratchford, II. 92.

State banks, system of, I. 53; their
notes, 67 ; suspension of specie
payments by, 166, 168; number
and capital of, 326; inadequate
for war purposes, 328; attack na-
tional banking law, 329, 338-40;
resist execution of law, 350-52;
opposed to changing their names,
357-

Stedman, Edmund Clarence, I. 147.

Stedman & Co., I. 628.

Steemberger, J. B., beef speculator,

L 74, 75-

Steever, Isaac H., 7-30 travelling
agent, I. 621-23.

Sterling Co., Chase in, II. 72; oth-
ers in, 87.

Stern, London banker, asked to
buy Lake Superior bonds, II.
107.

Stephens, Alexander H., on Cobb,
I. 124.

Stetson, John B., II. 527.

Stevens, Thaddeus, his views on
legal tenders, I. 171, 371 ; tired of
the greenback, 372; Cooke ap-
pears before, 374; supports the
Cooke bill, 376-79; loan scheme
of, 491 ; radical- views of, II. 27,
28, 38; his early interest in N.
P., 129.

Stewart, A. T., refuses to help es-
tablish 4th National Bank, I.
345-46; subscribes to Grant's
campaign fund, II. 70, 71 ; ten-
dered secretaryship of Treasury,
79; Cooke's efforts to allay his
hostility to N. P., 242.

Stewart, John A., helps organize
N. Y. 4th National, I. 345, 347;
Asst. Treasurer in New York,
393 ; meets Cooke in Washing-
ton, 448; selling new 5-20S, 458;
aids Cooke in Ketchum negotia-
tion, 461 ; explains Fessenden's
course, 463 ; congratulates Cooke,
476 ; proposed negotiation of
long bonds, 492-93 ; Cooke con-

586

INDEX

suits with, 499-503 ; receives
money to support market, 529;
activity of, after Lincoln's as-
sassination, 530, 535 ; again con-
gratulates Cooke, 542 ; opposes
optional feature of 3rd series,
548; asked by Cooke to see Ben-
nett, 647-51 ; retirement of, 651 ;
successor of, II. 2; guest at
" Ogontz," II. 33.

Stevens, Simon, seeks a banker for
Mexico, II. 291-92.

Stewart, Col. William M., goes
South to sell 7-30S, I. 607-10;
discoveries in North Carolina,
486.

Stinson, James, director of N. P.,
II. 182.

Stockton, John D., I. 616.

Stockton, Rev. Thomas H., Cooke
member of church of, II. 482;
library of, 482 ; sends preachers
to Gibraltar, 487.

Stone, David M., of Journal of
Commerce, hostility of, I. 298;
II. 16.

Stone, Lydia, I. 10, 11, 13.

Storms, H. C, 7-30 agent in Ohio,
I- 249, 355, 617, 624; II. 23.

Stuart, George H., mentioned, I.
345 ; offered cabinet place, II.
79; signs call for meeting, 236;
supports Patterson for Secretary
of Treasury, 364; president
Christian Commission, 498.

Sturdivant, John, I. 42, 48, 49, 50,
51, 53, 55, 58.

Sturgeon, Isaac H., II. 94.

Sturgis, Russell, Cattell dines with,
II. 376.

Sub-Treasury system, I. 81.

Sufferers' Lands, I. 6.

Sully, General, II. 124.

Sumner, Charles, II. 28.

Superior, town of, projected, II.
98; Cooke visits, 106; rivalry
with Duluth, 171, 251 ; hand of
Smith seen, in, 252.

Swain, Wm. M., of Ledger, I. 93.

Swain, Mr., clerk in Cooke's Wash-
ington house, I. 439; II. 17, 18.

Swett, Leonard, II. 97.

Swift, Joseph, I. 97.

Syndicate, origin of the word, II.
275-76.

Tacoma, N. P. terminus established
at, II. 341.

Taylor, Bayard, in Northwest, II.
238; lobbying at Washington,
346.

Taylor, Moses, II. 71.

Telegraph, first lines of, I. 72.

Telegraph, Philadelphia, supports
Cooke in combating repudiation
schemes, II. 76; speaks against
Childs, 191.

Temporary loan system, I. 178, 215,
II. 1.

Ten-forty loan, authorized, I. 380-
82; slow sale of, 386-95, 442; con-
dition of, when Chase resigned,
426; decline in price of, 499, 540,
582 ; amount outstanding at end
of war, II. 1 ; raising price of,
10; Chase's devotion to 11-14;
not sold by Cooke, 52, 53.

Tennessee, subscriptions to 7-30
loan in, I. 598.

Tenney, William M., manages
Washington house, II. 201 ; asked
to call Blaine's loan, 416.

Terry, General, II. 337.

Texas debt certificates, I. 73, 74.

Thaw, William, in N. P. pool, II.
164; objects to Cooke's plan to
reduce bonus, 212; opposes plan
to abolish, Lake Superior and
Puget Sound Land Co., 332; op-
poses lease of Lake Superior and
Mississippi road, 347; predicts
failure of N. P., 398.

Third National Bank, New York,
I- 344-

Thode, Robert & Co., N. P. con-
tract with, II. 183; write to
Cooke about a steamship line,
298-99.

Thomas, George C, interest in
firm, II. 17, 18; Fahnestock
writes to, 20; visits Duluth, 131;
letter of Cooke to, 144; suggested
head of London house, 199; joins
New York firm, 202 ; subscribes
for Chicago fire sufferers, 259 ;
joins Drexels, 536.

Thomas, Philip F., Secretary of
Treasury, I. 125, 126, 307.

Thomas Iron Co., II. 86.

Thompson, George H., I. 97.

Thompson, John, I. 344, 394; bids

INDEX

587

for 8is, 451 ; sales of 7-30S by,
469.

Thomson, J. Edgar, early interest
in N. P., II. 153; signs N. P.
contract, 161; in N. P. pool, 164;
trustee of N. P., 182 ; signs call
for meeting, 236; calls attention
to N. P. scandals, 250; employs
G. A. Smith, 297; signs memorial
for Southern Pacific, 406.

Thurlow, S. L., II. 132.

Thurman, Senator, opposes N. P.
bill, 180.

Timber supply in Northwest, II.
318.

Times, London, informed of suc-
cess of Pa. state loan, I. no;
views of, on American debts, 169;
comments on strength of market
after Lincoln's assassination,
536; Phila. correspondent of,
656; Childs effects alliance with,
II. 189; influence of, 190; Sar-
gent's efforts to control, 191-94;
not easily bought, 211.

Times, New York, congratulates
Cooke on closing 7-30 loan, I.
S73J support of, 577, 581; re-
ceives " National Blessing " ar-
ticle, 637, 638; favors N. P., II
227.

Tod, David, nominated for Sec-
retary of Treasury, I. 420-22.

Toombs, Robert, on Cobb's admin-
istration, I. 124.

Tower, Charlemagne, comes into
N. P. II. 403-

Tower, Charlemagne, Jr., II. 537.

Townsend, George Alfred, II. 335,
339. 340.

Train, George Francis, II. 117, 118,

Train Resolution, I. 223, 259.

Travelling Agents for 7-30 loan, I.
575; visit local editors, 578; visit
clergymen, 582; adventures of,
601-24.

Treasury, United States, condition
of, under Buchanan, I. 121 et
seq.; pressing needs of, in 1861,
133 ; devices of Congress to
strengthen, 145, 146 ; Associated
Banks support, 150 et seq.; posi-
tion of, in 1862, 194; clerks of,
ordered to form military com-
panies, 202 ; delays bond deliv-
eries, 229; receipts of, in 1864,

384; position of, when Chase re-
signed, 425 ; employment of clerks
of, on Sunday, 430; insatiable de-
mands of, 491 ; great needs of,
568-69; condition of, in 1865, 658.

Treasury notes. See Seven-thirties.

Tribune, New York, on national
banking law, I. 336; congratulates
Cooke on 7-30 sales, 544; helps
7-30 sales, 577 ; publishes " Na-
tional Blessing " article, 637,
643 ; makes denial for Cooke,
647 .'.supports Cooke in fighting re-
pudiation, II. 76, publishes
Haas's report, 222 ; favors N. P.,
227; eulogizes Cooke, 425.

Trowbridge, J. T., I. 364; II. 132.

Tucker, John, I. 80.

Tyler, George F., II. 92.

Tyler & Co., I. 346.

Tyng, Stephen H., case of, II. 492-
93.

" Uncle Tom's Cabin," I. 275.

Underground Railroad, I. 32.

Underwood, Thomas, N. P. com-
missioner, II. 306; writes unoffi-
cial endorsement of road, 307.

Union Bank of Vienna, negotia-
tions with, II. 214; contract with,
signed, 214; changes plans, 215;
sends commissioners to America,
216 et seq.; escapes contract, 223;
why negotiations with, failed,

T 514.

Union League, New York, I. 346.

Union League, Philadelphia, men-
tioned, I. 361 ; Cooke one of last
surviving founders, 541.

Union Pacific Railroad, Cooke sells
bonds for, II. 101, 102; N. P.'s
advantages over, 112; Chinese
labor on, 154; partisans of, op-
pose N. P., 171; scandals of, 243;
government to sue, 402; interest
payments on bonds of, withheld,
409.

Union Trust Company, New York,
failure of, II. 429.

United States notes. See Green-
backs.

Usher, Judge, I. 467, 488.

Vallandigham, Clement L., I. 223,

II. 28.
"Valley Farm," II. 447.
"Valley Route," II. 315.

588

INDEX

Van Buren, Martin, I. 37.

Vanderbilt, Commodore, in panic of
1873, II. 427, 429, 430.

Van Dyck, H. H., asst.-treasurer
New York, I. 651, II. 2, 3; news-
paper attacks on, 27; Cooke asks
McCulloch to direct action of, 74,

75- , ,

Van Winkle, Senator, speaks for
Consolidated Debt, II. 13.

Vermilye, J. D., I. 651.

Vermilye, William M., defends
Cooke, I. 297-98; mentioned for
president of 4th National of New
York, 347; aids Treasury in 1865,
Soo.

Vermilye & Co., 5-20 agents, I. 234;
aid Treasury in 1865, 503, 529;
subscriptions for 7-30S ; favors
shown to, 551 ; Cooke's close
affiliations with, II. 19; in fund-
ing business, 271 ; in syndicate,
278.

Vermont Central Railroad, Cooke's
contest with receivers of, I. 96
et seq., officers of, interested in.
N. P., II. 100; financial difficul-
ties of, 326.

" Vermont clique," in N. P., II. 100;
distrust of, 243.

Verplanck, G. C., I. 17.

Vibbard, Chauncey, II. 97.

Vicksburg, its condition after the
war, I. 611.

Villard, Henry, advises Cooke re-
garding German colonization, II.
299 ; recommends Kapp, 300 ;
takes hold of N. P., 532; forms
" Blind Pool," 533 ; finishes
road, 533-34; pays tribute to
Cooke, 534.

Vouchers, exchange of, for 7-30S,
I. 518-25, 542, 561, 562, 576.

Wade, Benjamin, F., mentioned, I.
6; excited about fall of Rich-
mond, 527; plans to make him
President, II. 26, 35 ; radical
views of, 27, 28 ; recommended
for N. P. by Colfax, 231 ; ap-
pointed, 232 ; friend of, made
commissioner, 306; gets contracts
for Northwestern posts, 335 ; busy
with Indian questions, 336-37.

Walk-in-the-water, a steamboat, I.

right of negroes to ride on, 189;

Walker, George, I. 636.

Walker, Robert J., Secretary of
Treasury, I. 81-83; sent abroad
to sell loans, 287; suggested for
Secretary of Treasury, 467, 468.

Walker, Wise & Co., I. 364.

Walton, J. H., asst.-treasurer at
Philadelphia, I. 137; antecedents
of, 138, 139; displacement of, 179-
82.

Wanamaker, John, II. 527.

War of 1812, mentioned, I. 2, 3;
loans for, 306.

Warden, Judge, I. 274.

Warren & Franklin Railroad, II.
72, 93-

Washburn, Governor C. C, charges
corruption in N. P., II. 263 ; men-
tioned, 342, 535.

Washburn, W. D., charges corrup-
tion in N. P., II. 263.

Washburne, E. B., visits Henry
Cooke, II. 25 ; appeals to Cooke
for campaign funds, 69, 71 ; Sar-
gent's operations with, 192.

Washington, George, mentioned,

I. 23.

Washington, city of, Confederate
pressure on, in 1861, 137; excite-
ment in, after 2nd Manassas, 202-
05 ; at time of Gettysburg, 264
et seq.; at time of siege of 1864,
413; at time of Richmond's fall,
527, 28; unsanitary conditions in,
570; horse disease in, II. 357.

Washington & Georgetown Street
Railroad, company organized, I.
188 ; equipment of, impressed by
government, 202; Chase defends
right of negroes to ride on, 189;
Chase for president of, I. 188,

II. 59.

Washington Packet Line, I. 40-43,
45. 46, 48.

Watts, William, II. 86.

Webb, Mr., I. 345.

Webster, Daniel, I. 17, 18, 128, 157.

Weed, Thurlow, predicts Lin-
coln's defeat, I. 612 ; works for
retention of McCulloch, 536.

Weir, J. W.,' active in sale of state
loan, I. 100, 106, 108; partner
in Washington house, 185, 186;

INDEX

589

profits of, 466; elimination of, II.
18; mentioned, 57.

Weitzel, General, in Richmond, I.
528.

Welling, C. H., I. 345.

Wells, Fargo & Co., agents for sale
of bonds on Pacific coast, I. 629-
30; their interest in N. P., II.
153; their stage line to Montana,
316.

West Philadelphia Divinity School,
Cooke's gifts to, II. 495.

Western Land Association formed,
II. no; merged with another
company, 162.

Western Reserve, how settled, I.
5, 6; N. P. lands to be colonized
like, 296.

Wheeler, William A., manages N.
P. bill in House, II. 179.

White, Stephen W., II. 518.

White, William Wallace, obtains
soldiers' money for 7-30 loan, I.
626-27.

Widener, P. A. B., II. 527.

Wild Cat money, I. 53, 69, 70.

Wilkeson, Sam., mentioned, I. 396,
398, 399; employed to manage
7-30 campaign, 480-81, 577;
writes of small bond takers, 486;
works for retention of McCul-
loch, 536, 537; goes to Boston,
583; reports humor of loan, 588-
89; describes scenes in Cooke's
Philadelphia office, 589-94; pre-
pares hand-bills, 600-01 ; advises
purchase of buggy, 620; his "Na-
tional Blessing " pamphlet, 634,
636 et seq.; ridicule for, 638, 644,
645 ; employed by Cooke to ad-
vertise and sell Lake Superior
bonds, II. 108; helps to defeat
St. Croix bill, in; accompanies
N. P. exploring party, 114; en-
thusiasm of, 116, 120, 121, 157;
efforts of, to influence Roberts,
119; gets Beecher and Greeley
for pool, 165 ; his faith in N. P.,
168; active in N. P. lobby, 175;
Secretary of N. P., 182 ; sympa-
thizes with France in war, 196;
reports extravagance in N. P.
office in New York, 263 ; fantastic
writing of, 295 ; writes report for
House committee, 323 ; Cass em-
ploys his idle moments, 329;

asks Cooke regarding value of
Greeley's pool interest, 413.

Williams, John E., I. 338.

Wills, John, I. 250, 391.

WTills, John A., I. 342.

Wilmerding, Cornwell & Heck-
scher, I. 579, 585.

Wilmot, David, I. 251.

Wilson, Henry, urges retention of
McCulloch, I. 537, 584; Vice-
President, II. 364.

Windom, William, his early inter-
est in N. P., II. 153; prospects
route of N. P., 167; director
of N. P., 182; meets N. P. com-
missioners, 217; criticized by Gov-
ernor Marshall, 245 ; criticized by
Banning, 246 ; congratulates
Cooke on success of syndicate,
284; fears criticism for his con-
nection with N. P., 407-08; guest
at " Ogontz," 458.

Winslow, Lanier & Co., mentioned,

I. 344; in funding business, II.
271 ; in Cooke's Canadian Pacific
deal, 350.

Winsor, J. D., visits Duluth, II.

131.

Wise, Daniel W., I. 364.

Wolf, S., lectures for N. P., II.
236.

Wood, Mr., of Vermilye & Co., IL
19.

Woodhull, Max, in N. P. pool, II.
164 ; in Cooke's Michigan rail-
road scheme, 350.

World, New York, its news of Bull
Run, I. 147; attacks Cooke, 259;
conciliated by Cooke, 579, 580;
prints "National Blessing" ar-
ticle, 637, 638; renews attacks on
Cooke, 640-41, II. 27.

Worms, George, II. 195.

Wotherspoon & Co., II. 15.

Wright, Charles B., director of N.
P., II. 182 ; made vice-president
of road, 330; criticizes Canfield,
331; signs N. P. memorial to
Congress, 406; made president of
N. P., 520; retirement of, 531-32.

Wright, Senator, I. 247.

Wyandotte Indians, I. 5.

Yellowstone region, beauties of,

II. 316; danger to surveyors in,
336, 337-

590

INDEX

Yerkes, H., I. 42, 45.

Yerkes, Silas, Jr., I. 249.

Yerkes, C. T. & Co., failure of, 260.

Young, James R., sells 7-30S to sol-
diers, I. 628.

Young, John Russell, employed to
advertise 7-30 loan, I. 577-584;
hires boys to distribute circulars,
587 ; posts large bills, 617 ; Steever
assists, 623 ; sells 7-30S to sol-
diers, 628; his view of New
York newspapers, 638; distributes
wine, 653 ; reports conversation
with Chase, II. 60; interested in

sale of Lake Superior bonds, 108;
on Wilkeson's orange and mon-
key stories, 120; employed to
place N. P. advertisements in
New York, 233 ; applies for post
as N. P. commissioner in Eu-
rope, 311.

"Zenith City of the Unsalted
Seas," II. 310.

Zug, J. Edward, 7-30 agent in Del-
aware, I. 602; posts bills on trees,
617; report from Illinois, 619.

No._ML Sect.___ Shelf ___
CONTENTS

Lincoln National Life Foundation
Collateral Lincoln Library

7/ , ZUZO*?. & &*i'<£> i~ ~73- \

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