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Fifty years in Wall Street

Henry Clews

Democratic masses can be carried over bodily to the few Republican seceders. But the moment the Democratic organization is relaxed, it will lose its hold upon thousands of its own members, and they may and will prefer in voting for a Republican to make the choice themselves, and they will rally in large numbers to the hero of our patriotic armies. The coalition meeting, lately held in this city, recalls the old arrangement as to colored troops, where the officers were white men, but the rank and file negroes. So here, the platform was covered with Republicans, but the audience was made up of Democrats. In thus acting with their old opponents our disaffected friends boast of their independence, and impute servility to us. But they are wrong. That man is most independent who is at once loyal to his country, true to his party, and faithful to his friends! With these brief observations, I move the adoption of the address and resolutions. My only apology for inserting the above address and resolutions is, that I believe they constitute a valuable epitome of a very important chapter, yet to be more fully written, of the political history of the United States. A greater criterion of the success of the meeting, however, was the editorial opinion of the _Evening Post_ next day, which had been for a long time previously very bitter in its attacks upon General Grant. It said: “The meeting held last evening at the Cooper Institute was, we believe, without precedent in our political history. It was expressly called as a gathering of that branch of the Republican party which desires the nomination and re-election of President Grant. Yet, when it came together, the officers and speakers assumed that it was a mass meeting of the Republicans of New York. This is to say, according to the organizers and promoters of this gathering, the one test of Republicanism now is the political support of one man’s aspirations, and that before any nomination has been made by that party. This is a singular position to receive the approval, at least, by their acquiescence, of such men as some scores of those whose names are prominent in the report of the meeting, and who, as we know, would prefer some other candidate than General Grant, if they could hope to control the Philadelphia nomination. “The power of this meeting was wholly in its organization. The list of officers chosen by it is, on the whole, the best, most reputable, and most influential commanded by any partisan meeting within our recollection. There are a few names on it which disgrace their fellows; there are many which carry no weight, but an unusually large proportion of the very long list are eminent and representative names in this city. The audience assembled was in many respects in keeping with the officers. It consisted mainly of reputable, thoughtful voters.” The good work was continued until November with the result that is now historical. The New York _Sun_ said: “We believe that Henry Clews did more, in a pecuniary way, to promote the success of Grant, than any Republican millionaire of the Union League Club.” Another mass meeting was held late in the fall. Referring to it, and other events of that period, the President’s Secretary writes a few days prior to the election as follows: WASHINGTON, D. C., Nov. 2, 1872. MY DEAR CLEWS: We are all greatly obliged for the documents and information which you have sent us during the campaign. The President says the list of vice-presidents of the last Cooper Institute meeting is the most remarkable list of prominent names he has ever seen upon one paper. It will of itself do great good. Our news is charming from all quarters, and all our hopes will, without doubt, be fully realized on Tuesday next. If the defeat of the enemy is overwhelming, it will be sufficient reward for all our labors. Your very truly, HORACE PORTER. To show still further the interest which the leading merchants, bankers and business men of this city took in the movement to re-elect General Grant at that time, the following circular furnishes an excellent and historical record. It constitutes, in a small compass and compact form, a valuable chapter of financial history: CIRCULAR _Of the Business Men of New York on the Financial Condition of the National Debt of the United States. Further Reduction October 1, 10,327,000 Dollars._ The undersigned, merchants, bankers and business men of New York, respectfully submit the following statements for the information of all parties interested therein: The Republican candidate for President of the United States is Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who was unanimously named for re-election at Philadelphia, in May last. At the commencement of Gen. Grant’s first term of office, March 4, 1869, the national debt was $2,525,000,000. On the first day of September, of the present year, there had been paid and cancelled of the principal of this debt, $348,000,000, leaving a balance of principal remaining unpaid at that date, in accordance with the official statement of the Secretary of the Treasury, the sum of $2,177,000,000. Of this amount, $1,177,000,000 are represented in a funded debt, bearing interest in gold, while $400,000,000 remain unfunded in Treasury circulation. Up to the close of the last session of Congress, the annual reduction of taxes, as measured by the rates of 1869, had been as follows: Internal revenue tax $82,000,000 Income tax, (repealed,) 30,000,000 Duties on imposts, 58,000,000 ——— Making a total reduction $170,000,000 of The reduction of the yearly interest on the public debt exceeds the sum of $23,200,000, of which $21,743,000 are saved by the purchase and cancellation of the six per cent. public securities. A careful consideration of these results of a prudent and faithful administration of the national Treasury, induces the undersigned to express the confident belief, that the general welfare of the country, the interests of its commerce and trade, and the consequent stability of its public securities, would be best promoted by the re-election of Gen. Grant to the office of President of the United States. New York, Oct. 4, 1872. PHELPS, DODGE & CO., GEORGE OPDYKE & CO., A. A. LOW & BROTHERS, JOHN A. STEWART, VERMILYE & CO., JAY COOKE & CO., JOHN STEWARD, HARPER & BROTHERS, JOHN TAYLOR JOHNSTON, FREDERICK S. WINSTON, PEAKE, OPDYCKE & CO., MORRIS FRANKLIN, SCHULTZ, SOUTHWICK & CO., J. S. ROCKWELL & CO., ROBERT H. McCURDY, WILLIAM M. VERMILYE, R. W. HOWES, WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT, C. L. TIFFANY, SPOFFORD BROS. & CO., JOHN C. GREEN, H. B. CLAFLIN & CO., MOSES TAYLOR, WM. H. ASPINWALL, ROBERT LENOX KENNEDY, S. B. CHITTENDEN & CO., JAMES G. KING’S SONS, HENRY E. PIERREPONT, EMIL SAUER, BOOTH & EDGAR, WILLIAM ORTON, ISAAC H. BAILEY, SHEPHERD KNAPP, WILLIAMS & GUION, EDWARDS PIERREPONT, RUSSELL SAGE, PETER COOPER, ANTHONY, HALL & CO., GARNER & CO., J. S. T. STRANAHAN, E. D. MORGAN & CO., DREXEL, MORGAN & CO., AUGUSTINE SMITH, WM. H. VANDERBILT, MORTON, BLISS & CO., JONATHAN STURGES, J. & W. SELIGMAN & CO., J. & J. STUART & CO., JOHN A. PARKER, BENJAMIN B. SHERMAN, JOHN D. JONES, J. D. VERMILYE, SAMUEL T. SKIDMORE, HENRY F. VAIL, LLOYD ASPINWALL, JACOB A. OTTO, GEORGE W. T. LORD, SAMUEL McLEAN & CO., HENRY CLEWS & CO. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER XXXII. THE TWEED RING, AND THE COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY. THE RING MAKES ITSELF USEFUL IN SPECULATIVE DEALS.—HOW TWEED AND HIS “HEELERS” MANIPULATED THE MONEY MARKET.—THE RING CONSPIRES TO ORGANIZE A PANIC FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES.—THE PLOT TO GAIN A DEMOCRATIC VICTORY DEFEATED AND A PANIC AVERTED THROUGH PRESIDENT GRANT AND SECRETARY BOUTWELL, WHO WERE APPRISED OF THE DANGER BY WALL STREET MEN.—HOW THE COMMITTEE OF “SEVENTY” ORIGINATED.—THE TAXPAYERS TERRORIZED BY BOSS TWEED AND HIS MINIONS.—HOW “SLIPPERY DICK” GOT HIMSELF WHITEWASHED.—OFFERING THE OFFICE OF CITY CHAMBERLAIN AS A BRIBE TO COMPROMISE MATTERS.—HOW THE HON. SAMUEL JONES TILDEN, AS COUNSEL TO THE COMMITTEE, OBTAINED HIS GREAT START IN LIFE. The Tweed Ring had considerable experience in and out of Wall Street for several years during the municipal reign of the famous Boss. I have made some reference to their attempts to manipulate the market through tight money, in my biographical sketch of that Wall Street celebrity Henry N. Smith. The Ring was often highly subservient in assisting certain operators in speculative deals in stocks, one notable instance being in Hannibal & St. Jo. shares, which resulted in a terrible loss to Boss Tweed & Co. This stock became quite neglected for a long period afterwards, and so remained until the famous “corner” was engineered many years after by John R. Duff, of Boston, through his New York broker, Wm. J. Hutchinson, and by which poor Duff was almost, if not entirely, ruined. It is only justice to Mr. Duff, in this connection, to state that he was not to blame, as an exhaustive investigation by the Governing Committee of the Stock Exchange showed that his trouble chiefly arose through flagrant dishonesty and betrayal of trust on the part of his agent, in whom he reposed too much confidence. Boss Tweed and his special retainers sometimes made Wall Street instrumental in engineering national and State political movements. About the time of an election, if their opponents happened to be in power, the Ring would produce a stringency in the money market, by calling in simultaneously all the city money, which was usually on temporary loans in the Street. This the Ring managers would accomplish through some of the banks which were the depositories of the city funds, and were under their control. By this means they worked up a feeling of antagonism against the Republicans who were in office, by throwing the blame on them, and thus rendering them odious in the eyes of those who had lost money in speculation. The blame was not unnaturally fastened on the party in power, and most men, when they lose money, are credulous enough to believe anything that seems to account for the manner in which the loss has been sustained. It seems to have a soothing effect upon their minds, and furnishes them with a tangible object upon which they may wreak their vengeance and feel satisfied. There is nothing so irritating to the disappointed speculator as the harassing doubt of where to fix the blame. The Tweed Ring supplied this long-felt want, and filled the aching void in the heart of the man who happened to get on the wrong side of the