Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1869-08-13
The Death of Henry Keep.


The Death of Henry Keep. ioa
From the Western Railroad Gazette.
The announcement of the death on Fri
day of last week of Henry Keep, the Presi-
dent of the Chicago &, Northwestern Rail
way Company, was received with surprise
and regret here in Chicago, where it was
not generally known that he had been i'll.
But the sorrow for his loss is much more
marked in New York where he Is so much
better known 1t is about year ago when
the struggles and successes of Mr.. Keeps
early life were firstmade known to the public
in the columns of the Railroad Gazette.
Our readers will remember how he, an Or
phan from infancy, became public charge,
was bcUnd out to hard master at the age
of 12, found his home uncomfortable and ran
away at II, earned his first wages asa
ste;r at sra month, soon disco'-a - Ieoil
used his talent for finance, o '.od wh;1e ve4 ano
very young man estaht t.,sbad ond nona;,oto ot toS
banking institutions He 500 soon oe hecsme
wealthy, and about 1864 came me- to o'i1s New
4ork, where his operations in railroad
stocks and his success in the financial man
agement OF railroads soon made him fa-
nous and millionaire. We give below a
history OF his railroad experience, as given
IN the financial columns of the New York
Erpress
The announcement of the death of Mr.
Henry Keep was received with regret on
the street to-day, although it was not en-
tlrely unexpected, as he has been rapidly
lalhng OF late AT the first call of the
STOCK exchange the flag on the building
was alsplayed at half-mast and business
was suspended: Mr.. S. " White delivered
an eaiogy Oh Mr. Mr.. Keep, and Com
lnlttee, consisting of S. V. White, Rufus
Hatch and E. S. Munroe, was appointed to
draft suitable resolutions, and the Board
adjourned until Monday, out of respect to
his memory. The career of Mr.. Keep in
Wall street has been an eventful one, and
he has displayed great sagacity in managing
the different railways at times under his
control, and his stock operations, which
were carried to a successful termination by
boldness and persistency, have been on a
remarkable scale of magnitude. His con-
nection with the railroads of the country
may be said to have commenced in 1853,
when he took hold of the Michigan South
ern, the stock of which Coz lpany was sell
ing at cents on the dollar. He carried
the road through all it's financial difficult
1872, and finally made it regular s per
cent stock. In 1861 he took hold of the
Cleveland q Toledo road, then selling at
Is cents on the dollar, and also brought
this company out of it's trouble The road
under Mr.. Keeps control, paid all the way
from 8 to 16 per cent dividends
and the stock, at one period, touched 155.
In 1861 Mr.. Keep obtained control of the
New York Central Company after severe
and animate ! contest, and was made Presi-
dent of the Company. Mr.. Keep put the
road in splendid condition and then re-
signed, after which Mr.. Vanderbilt came
into possession and has retained control
ever since. In 1867 Mr. Keep, after anoth-
er trying contest, obtained control of the
Chicago & Northwestern Company, and
here was the great achievement of his life
The common stock was selling at 40 and
the preferred at 65. To bring this road
out of its difficulties and obscurity, and
make it a regular dividend paying concern,
was the great aim and ambition of Mr..
Keeps latter days. He accomplished his
work well, having made the road 10 per
cent. dividend paying concern on both
classes of stock. The earnings at the COM
mencement of Mr.. Keeps management
were $lO,000,000 per annum, and for the,
present year they are estimated at SIS, ,000,-
OO0.' The stock has been as high as 100 for
the common and 107 for the preferred.
Mr.. Keep thought so well of the road that
he has left $2,000,000 of the stock to his
family to be held as a permanent invest
ment The Chicago & Alton road at one
time was run under the advice or manage
ment of Mr.. Keep, and this stock has
risen from 10 to ITO, and paid about 800
per cent in cash and stock dividends.
AS an operator in Wall street, he
has fought some great battles, and,
we believe, almost invariably came off vic
torious. In 1868 Mr.. Addison Jerome,
then one of the shining lights of the stock
market, got up a bull clique in Michigan
Southern, and sharp corner" was en-
gineered on Mr.. Keep and his friends, who
were short of the stock. The day finally
arrived for the corner" to eliminate
and enrich the bull clique, but by the issue
of new stock in some way, we believe by
the conversion of bonds, the "corner was
broken, which brought ruin and disaster to
all the "bulls" of Wall street. Again in
1866 there was another corner" in Mich
igan Southern, but this time Mr.. Keep
was on the bull side, and squeezed the
"bears" badly, there being at one time a
difference of 10 per cent. between cash and
regular stock. This is still fresh in the
minds of Wall street spectators who suf-
fered on this occasion, especially Mr. DAN
iel Drew, who got an injunction against
the Stock Exchange to prevent the buying
in under the rule of the stock which he
was short Of Mr., Keep, in his day, repre-
sented, by his railway investments and
speculations, more miles of road than any
other man in the United States. n Wall
street for some years past has had three
railway kings. These were formerly Dam
iel Drew, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Henry
Keep. Latterly Mr. Drew lost all his in
tiuence, and Mr.. Jay Gould took his place,
making the trio Vanderbilt, Keep and
Gould. Mr.. Keep has now passed from
this life, and the field is left to Vanderbilt
and Gould. Who is to fill Mr. Keep's
place? Wall street awaits the coming
man.
THE heat in the East Indies during the
present summer is reported to be very ex-
cessive. Apoplexy and cholera have been
very fatal both to the English residents
and the natives, and many villages have
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