The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-01-24


know. For months we have been cropping in
the dark, the air misty with scandals and
suspicious and unpleasant rumors. What we
knew was that great government had been
compelled to open money brokers' shop on
Lombard street. and beg ell the world to buy
its bonds. We have feared that q clearly
printed law was inadequate to the process Of
funding the nations obligations. We have
seen hapless and sorely troubled Secretary
in the meshes of his own timidty calling
upon stock brokers and money lend ers
to- rescue him, and with him an adminfs-
tration which rested its hopes of popular
endorsement upon its financial success, from
what seemed to be Inevitable failure. We
have had the Treasury ignore the banking
interests of the country and the mighty bank
ing houses of the Old World to give one
bouse Chen at the outset Of business expert
ment in London) an unusual and offensive
predominance. We have had what the echoes
of the Treasury called success but what
our best information and judgment compelled
| us to regard as failure.
Nor do we see In the report Of the Commit
Mr.. Boutwell,, upon which that report Is
based. any reasons for arriving at different
conclusion. Our latest experience with the
masters Of the Syndicate shows TO what expe-
dents they have been driven to reconcile pub
lie opinion with their operations. We saw
what is frequent occurrence in Wall street.
When az snxloons curbstone broker either
buys or sells s'short" hundred shares Of a
railway stock he straightway seeks the news
papers and asks them to publish 70 the world
that the said railway is either about to fail or
to declare dividend, or to throw out some
ingenious phrase calculated to make other
people think so, and buy from him at a
profit. What we saw with the masters
of the Syndicate was precisely this con-
trivance. From London, from Philadelphia,
from Washington, the telegraph wires were
hidden to say, and the press reporters to con-
firm the saying, that Mr. Cooke had finally
brought himself into alliance with the great
house of Rothschild, and that together they
were about to buy 5000, 900, 900 of the new
bonds OF course, Mr. Cookies advertising
! agents did not really say this ia so many
words, but they said 1t In such way as to
produce this impression, But for the HERALD
the country would be under this belief and the
merchants Of the money market would stand
expecting to see the two houses step up to the
Treasury and take the loans. Mr.. Cooke, in
the confession which we extorted from him,
admitted that what he wanted was to buy fifty
or hundred millions this year, and then, il
we amended our laws so as to suit the exigen-
cies of bis foreign business, he might, the
Rothschilds asserting; take the remainder at
the close of another year. Always provided
that he had as good bargain as the present
Syndicate gave him.
We dwell upon this because 1t is an illus
tration of the whole Syndicate business.
Bargain and dicker and trade, any expedient
80 the bonds were soldi All that the masters
of the Syndicate wanted was commissions
and the more they could squeeze tho Secre-
tary the more profit to their business. Aud
of all squeezable Secretaries commend us to
Mr.. Boutwell,! Let us look at one instance.
The law provided that the cost of negotiating
the loan should not be more than one-hslf Of
one per cent. The meaning of this certainly
was that if the Secretary sold 800, 900, 600
he might expend $4,000 in commissions.
If he sold $500, 100000 he might expend
So, 800, 900. Now, Mr.. Boutwell, contends that
if he could negotiate $4O0, 100000 with
out paying anything for commissions he
would be justified In spending the two and a
half millions allowed by law for the whole
sum in negotiating the other hundred
millions. This is so absurd, so thoroughly at
variance with the true meaning OF the law,
that 1t seems incredible. And yet this power
Mr.. Boutwell, claimed and exercised, and pro-
expressly interferes. Well, when minister
of the Treasury gets into this frame of mind,
especially when he Is Ia the hands Of grasp
ing Syndicate yearning for commissions, any
thing is possible. So we are not surprised
when he admits that he permitted $13O. 600, 900
of the public money 10 remain with the ma
tional banks for three months without
any security, that they might enjoy the in
terest. Nor are we amazed when be calmly
alleges that for three months he increased
the public debt $3.50, 600, 600 or $l85, 900, 900,
and that in addition To paying Qne-half
Of one per cent commission idP5h any ahi5l nt
less than 5000, 600, 900, he permitted the
banks to received this three months In
terest. Here were several specific violations
of law. Aud what was the gsinp Were the
houses forming this Syndicate strong enough,
or had they inherent capital to dictate terms
to the Secretary Were The men with whom
he made this extraordinary Compact amoSg
those great money kings Of Europe who can
make peace or war In their counting houses.
On the contrary, the Syndicate was little more
than SyndioaiA Of hrokera We .au nothin~