The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1865-08-31
The KetChum Frauds.
From Earper's w

the streets 50 thoroughly that the SCHUYLER
frauds appear trihing by the side of his.
His name is Edward Ketchum.
A mere narrative of the facts is more in
structive than comment,
The great house Of Ketchum Son & Co..
has been for years the clearing house for the
Connecticut banks, and a number of other
banks throughout the country. Its depos-
its have been at times over five million of
dollars. In the crisis Of 1857 Ketchum,
Son 4 Co, never suspended specie pay
ments, and paid gold when the bank refused
to do SO. When the suspension of 196l-62
took place, Ketchum, Son & Co., paid spe-
Gle long after the banks were on a paper
basis. And for long time after the cur
rency began to depreciate they were the
heaviest holders of gold in New York
When gold, after rising to l73, began to
fall, they were the first to sell, and it was
currently supposed they had made as much
on the fall as they had previously made on
the rise. When stocks began to advance
in 1853 they were large buyers, and took
the lions share of the great harvest that
was garnered in that year, and in the first
quarter OF 1864. Fortune never deserted
them till April, 1864, when it was reported
that they lost heavily during the panic.
Up to that time the house had the credit
of alt the operations which were made in its
name, whether this theory was well founded
or not, it seems that after April 1864, the
house did not operate. But one of its mem
bers, Edward Ketchum, did He undertook
by bold bear campaign, to repair his
April losses, and in the autumn and winter
Of 1865 he succeeded to a marvellous extent.
Every one who has operated in Wall street
knows how quickly losses, or profits, accu-
mulate in active business times, when oper
ations are large. Between June 1864 and
January 1865, Edward Ketchun must have
made near million dollars He became
infatuated with his success. On the news
Of the decisive victories won by Grant, Sher-
idan aud Sherman, he sold stocks short, tc
an amount far exceeding the operations of
Jacob Little. His theory was then with
peace would come collapse, prostration of
business, decline of railroad receipts, con-
traction Of currency, and general stagna-
ton 1t is an axiom in Wall street that
what every one expects never comes true.
Every one agreed with Edward Ketchum,
and sure enough every one was disappoint-
ed. There was no collapse no prostration,
no decline in railway traffic, no contraction
OF currency. The bear movement failed,
bull movement was inaugurated and was
successful, and Edward Ketchum lost all
his previous gains, and probably all the
money he could draw from the firm be-
sides
He was not discouraged. He paid his
debts, covered his shorts, preserved his
credit, reversed his policy, and bought as
many stocks for the rise as he had previous
ly sold for the fall. Bought more-how
many more no one knows; probably in all,
five times as many as Jacob Little in his
boldest days had ever dared to handle
Throughout he managed matters with ad-
mirable dexterity; always claiming to have
little or no personal interest in the market,
but to be merely the broker of powerful
and wealthy clique whose names remained
concealed He was believed His purcha-
ses were commonly talked of as purchases
by ''the Ketchum party" he alone, boy
OF twenty six-cold, SERENE self-possessed;
never, in any state of the m irket, Hurried
or excited; always model fnancier.
- But to buy $25, 900, 600 worth of stocks
and rumor estimates Edward Ketchum's
purchases as high as this-money as well
as credit is requisite. People are apt to call
up deposits on speculative contracts even
with the best houses. Now Edward Ketch-
um had lost his money. To what extent
the house of Ketchunl, Son & Co., was i'm
phcated with him, and to what amount he |
could use their capital, are questions which |
can not as yet be determined; it is clear. |
however, that in June and July of this year
Edward hetchum needed money badly, and
his brokers Graham & Co, must have
pressed him for margins. He was not at a
loss.
A few months since, with view of facili-
'atlng transactions in gold, the gold brokers
agreed to keep gold accounts in the bank
II the State of New York, and to transfer
gold from one to the other by means of GER
lied checks instead of carting the gold |
rom office to office in bulk. Under this
all the actual gold in market
n the city lay in the vaults of the State
Bank; and deliveries among brokkrs were
made by gold checks, duly certified The
'auk issued to its customers check books
o be used exclusively for gold transactions.
)ne Of these check-books, issued in the
lame Of Charles Graham & Co., was secured
~ Edward Ketchum
few days afterward it became rumored
hat the gold market was to be ''cornered."
Large sums OF money had been borrowed,
light and left, Of banks, bankers, and mer-
'hants, on gold, .. G., gold checks, at high
ate OF interest, on the special condition that
ne checks S6o0Jd aeUeT be used IN the market.
financial pundits in the daily papers de-
dared that Ketchum was trying to put gold
Up by creating scarcity, and gave in evil
lence his unwillingness to have bis cold, 4.
:, gold check, loaned out on the street
hey little dreamed of the real reason of
lis policy.
On the 18th of August banker happn-
ng to be in friend s Office while his friend
vas examening his ''collaterials," noticed
ertlhed gold check among them. He knew
he drawers of the check. He knew their
lgnature. Selling the piece of paper, he !
xamlned 1t. Ills very odd, said he,
that Messrs So and So don't know how to
pell their own name" The friend was
t once alarmed The Jenkins defalcation
lad created uneasiness. He sent the check
ound to the firm whose name it bore, and
sked II it was good. He was PROMPTLY
old that it was a forgery Within an hour
hecks to the amount of 5000. 200, bearing
ne names OF leading houses, we're produced
'om safes and trunks, and were all pro-
ouneed to have been forged. In many in {
tances the checks had been used by Ora
am y Co., Or Ketchum G Co., as collateral
or loans.
Who was the forger was now the CUES
on This question was very simply an :
1ered. The State Bank, in assuming the
lonoply Of the issue Of gold check books,
adj motive 1t numbered all its checks
ON to 100000, no matter TO whom S
icy were issued. Thus Jones got numbers s
1000 to 400, Smith 81, 900 to 81 100, I
obinson $1,000 to $4,000, and so forth
y noting the number of the forged checks, +
lerefore, it was a matter of an instant to D
nd out to whom the blank checks were
sued. BY six o'clock p M, on the 18th
ugust, the bank knew that all the forged