Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1872-12-21
MisssIIamsoms &
Henry N. smith. Of Wall street.


STORY OF A Pennsylvania SHoEMA-
KER VINO DID Nor STICK TO His LAST.
The following account of Tioga county
Shoemaker is from q New York CORES.
pondent of the Cincinnati Commercial:
Henry n. Smith is known throughout
the country as one of the most desperate
and successful operators In Wall street.
1t was he who became SO noted at the
Black Friday time rs the head of the firm
of Smith, Gould & Martin it was he who
was in with Fisk in the bold operations
against the Erie railroad, and it was he
who made n corner in greenbacks last win
ter by carrying FIVE millions of dollars on
his person and locking it up in the Tenth
National Bank, which last operation be-
came the subject of Congressional inquiry.
Smith came on to Washington and was ex-
amined. The Committee did not get much
comfort out of his answers. They asked
him if he had locked up five millions ofdol-
lars in greenbacks. lie frankly said he
had. They asked him why he did il. He
money by the operation, and wanted to
know what the committee intended to do
about it. Without answering, the men,
bers Of the committee asked what right he
had to lock up that amount of money.
Then he got angry and told them that it was
none of their business that the money was
his own and he could do with it as he
liked and it WIS about this time that the
committee found they had made a mistake.
Smith collected about tifly dollars witness
fees. and returned to New York, and that
was the last of the investigation. A gen.
tleman who was also before the committee
said, subsequently, that Smith actually
carried the 5000, 600 on his person for two
days. The lining of his overcoat was filled
with pockets, and into these the money was
slowed.
Smith is about thirty-f five or thirty-eight
years old, short of stature, slight of frame,
and red of hair. The latter he cuts close,
and his whiskcrs q la militaire. or mutton
chop, with moustache. His name is not
Henry M. nor Henry N. Smith, but Nor
man Henry Smith. He is native Of Tio-
ga, Pa, a little village which is shut out
with charming grace from the outside
world by circle Of hills, which in fall pre-
sents an unchanging appearance that
clngs to ones memory forever. In this
pretty little village, this monster operator
was born, and here he is called to this day
plain Tom Smith, nickname he got W hen
baby. 1t is nothing against Tom that lie
spent his young days about as other village
boys do, and it is nothing against him that
he learned the shoemaker's trade, and was
an excellent workman. 1t is said there
that Tom Smith can make the best ''fine"
boot of and man in America.
A love scrape, if / am correctly inform
ed, drove him from his hammer and lap
stone, and took him to Buffalo a year or
two before the war. While there he at
tended course Of instruction in one of the
business Colleges which were so COM
mon then. From this he operated in Buff
falo in small way, going finally to Alba
ny. He could not remain long in such a
place, and he turned his eye toward New
York.
His career as n money maker is without
parallel in history. 1t would be idle to es
innate his wealth, for to-day it might be
twenty millions, and tomorrow ten. He
is called the successor of Jim Fisk, but
that would be an insult to him. He pos
sesses the same reckless daring, but he
brought to his experience a keener and
more deliberate judgment and intelligence
than Fisk had.
Besides, he has none of the "fast" quail
ilties which Fisk possessed. He has no
desire to display his wealth ostentatiously
he does not care to build an opera house
that he may have the privilege of the green
room, and is not likely to run a line of
steamers merely to show himself at the
head of regiment at the cost of thousands
of dollars. He lives as becomes a very
wealthy man and owns n number Of the
best horses that money can buy merely for
his own driving. He has considerable
money invested in real estate, in his native
town, where he has provided handsomely
for his father and mother.