New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-01-08
JAMES FISK, JR.

anhlrers as the most fascinating character OF n
Nineteenth Century Talk about Aladdin
claimed the representative hero-worshiper o..
whom we quote. Why here you have Aladdin y"
der your very eyes-dnying peddleTs cart One A.
and coming to New-York the next as the rule, ., ~
stock market, where he has exerted a greater ,ns.
ence upon business than any other one man in ~.
world" Allowing for little enthusiasm. this d..
not much exaggerate the extraordinary vic,,''
tudes Of this extraordinary mans career n
was born at Bennington, Vermont
the LIST Of April. 1894. His father was a peJdl.'
driving Of those capaciOus wagons still 40 oo,
mon in the rural districts of New England sto,.s
with calicoes, tinware laces, trinkets and houehoS
utensils, at which the farmers wives and daueht..
do the most Of their shopping. From Birmingham.
removed 10 BrattleborO', where James obtained an
the little education he got at the district school
IL was nothing more than moderate acquaiDtano.
with the alphabet and the cOpy-book. lie new,
mastered the art Of spelling, and to the end Of n.
life had comical contempt for grammar. The eld.,
Fisk had the same commercial instincts and It'll
Of the same taste for variety in his ebt.,
prises which afterward distinguished the son n.
built an nn and in default of a satisfactory tenan,
used often to manage it himself; the son at sucbtmA.
was employed as waiter. There is a report thai
James made his first acquaintance with the Outsd,
world in some humble capacity in connection witba
travelling circus menagerie but his ambition WA
to be a peddler. He began By travelling with hb
father. Pretty soon he intrusted with a separ.
ate wagon, and he ended by buying out the busnes.
and taking his worthy sire as his hired man to div.
one Of the vehicles With the brightest wagous
the showiest horses and the most gltering harnes,
in the State, and with an abundance Of that
ready wit and good natured impudenc0 for
prospered so fast that he was of the princ
pal jobbers in Vermont. He bought bis supplies Of
Jordan & Marsh in Boston, and the members Of hi.
firm were so impressed with his shrewdness thai
they gave him position in their establishment a.
salesman. From salesman he became partner
He made some excellent bargains with the Govern
ment during the war. 1t is said that he made
happy stroke by smuggling cotton through tie lines
In four years he retired from the firm with capital
enough to open dry goods shop Of his own In ioar
months more his money all gone and the bus.
ness was closed up.
When he appeared in NewYOrk in 1854 and opened
n brokers' office in Broad-st, his entire capital COZ
sisted liz history can be beeyed Of borrowed silver
watch. If he had anything more than that ho soon
lost it, and when be introduced himself to the favor
of Daniel Drew, by negotiating for him the sale Of
the Bristol line of steamboats,, be practically
penniless Mr.. Drew first set him up as a broker, In
partnership with Beden, aud employed the new
firm in carrying on his famous war with Vanderbilt
for the possession of the Erie Railway. That war
fare is a matter Of history, which we need not here
recount. When the crisis came, on the eve OF the
election for Directors in October, 1867 there wes
three contestants in the field. Fisk was serving
under the Drew party who wanted TO be retained ~
office. Vanderbilt, master of Harlem, Hudson River,
and Central, seemed TO be on the point OF securing
Erie also. Eldridge was the leader Of the Boston.
Hartford and Erie party, which wanted to get into
the Erie Directory for the purpose OF making that
Company guarantee the bonds OF their own worth
less road Eldridge was assisted by Gould. As a
result of the compromise by which the tlreo OPP
posing interests coaesccd Fisk and Gould were both
chosen Directors Of Erie, and from the month Of 0c
tober 1861 dates the memorable association Of these
two choice spirits since famous in the money mar
kets of the world. They were not the countcrparts
but the compliments of each other. Fisk bold.
INSCRIPTIONS dashing euterprisine, ready In cxecu'
ton powerful in his influence over tine lower and moro
sensual order Of men. Gould was aItfnl. reticent.
lOnghcadcd clear of brain fertile of invention To-
uacious of purpose and no more burdened with mn
necessary scIuples than his more noisy and 1aSly
companion. They were not long in joining fortunes
At the time of the lannon's Erie corner next
March, they were Ostensibly working on opposite
sides Gould acting for Vanderbilt and Fisk being
the man to whom Drew intrustcd 10000 shares Of
new stock secretly issued, TO be used when Wander
blt's brokers began to buy. The mysteries Of that
transaction are fully known only to few
of the principal actors. An injunction
of Judge Barnards had forbidden Drew OF
ANYBODY connected with the road TO manufacture
any more stock by the issue of convertible bonds
But Drew was short of Erie the Vanderbilt pool
threatened ruin; and stock must be had. The new
certificates had already been made out in the name
of James Fisk jr and were in the hands OF the Sec
retary who was enjoined from issuing them. Mr.
Fisk saw a way out Of the difficulty The Secretary
gave the certificate books to employs of the road
with directions to carry them carefully to the trans
fer office. The messenger returned in a moment
empty-handed and told the astonished Secretary
that Mr. Fisk had met him at the door,
taken the books, and run away with
them" On the same day the convertible
bonds corresponding TO these certificates vera
placed on the Secretary 's'sdesk and as soon as
Vanderbilt had forced up the price OF Ene' fSks
new shares thrown upon the market ana
bought by VandeTbilts agents before their origin
was suspected. Mr.. Fisk unfortunately had notye'
cultivated the intimate relations with Judge Bar
nard which he subsequently sustained When the
Drew party applied LOT All oIueI lr"il . '"s' W."
in Brooklyn, enjOining Barnard's injunciions tho
petitioner who accused that ornament OF the New
York bench Of corrupt conspiracy to speculate IN
Erie stock was none other than Fisk's partner MI
Belden The next morning Barnard ISSUED an Ofuef
of arrest for contempt, and Fisk. with the whole
Erie Directory, fled to Jersey City, carrying SOOp"
of money and the books and papers of the Company
Among the most valuable Of the assets transferred
on that occasion to Taylors Hotel was Miss Helen
Josephine Mansfield. went TO jersey" testlheo
this fair creature some weeks ago III the suit "nhh
has inst come to SO tragical termination. WIN
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