Wilmington daily gazette., 1874-01-21
Henry o. Cookies Most Shameful
Fraud.

| 4.ast week "A Th,aielthi4 was slEnali- I'd | Y
| some fresh and painia. as well 20 disreputale
| disclosures IN tiAe cobceins ot JAY Cooke * Co
and his brother HENRY II. CooEF. 1t is Wet
known that ihr lattei Is the sole executor OF tho
| late Cnlcf Justice Cha-c. Il has been alleged
over and ever again tnHt the failure Of Mr. Cooke.
did not cause any loss to the estate u. the Chiei
| Justice. Bnt the developments of the last few
days have demonstrated the iact that at least
fifty thousand dollars Of the Chief Justices proI-
| erty has gone into the bonds OF broken acked
| railroad, OF which the Cookies we're the financial
| agents and chief engineers.
TINS is the Lake Superior and Mississippi
River Railroad leading from St Paul 10 Duluth,
and Undcr lease to the Northern Pacific. Jay
Cooke was the chief instrument in the original
sale OF its bonds. which was before the Northern
Pacific enterprise was set GU ioat. Tie original
issue was -, 100000 on which the Cookies pocket
ed handsome profit. The project was trap
baitod with such respectable Philadelphia names
ss:hat of Mr.. Edgar Thompson. and under the
scuuciions of such circumstances, q large number
OF c"nhdlns investors Were induced 70 put up
their money. But Vt now tuins out that it was a
stooi-pSe0n operation, and J. Figlr Thompson,
one ol the Trustees under the mortgage, who
called meeting q the victims last week in PHI
adelphll, had NOT the face even - mest the
| ileeccd creditors he had called to4ether. 1t was
at this meeting held on the IN inst at the Con-
tnental lioiel, i'll The progress Oi Il vote OF tho
| bondholdcrs, that the fact came out that Henry
II. Cooke executor OF the estate of the late = l..
Chase, held fifty thousand dollars OF these bonds.
Now the Chief Justice died i'll May last. These
bonds have been Ill II declining state these two
years past. and last May DO purchaser III the
general market could be found for them at II al
price. In fact, they Were not thcn available
seyenty-ftve cents on the dollar. The Cookies, II
now appears 10y the. Developments OF their failure,
were large holders ot these bonds and as soon as
Henry ID Cooke got hold of the money OF the
Chief Justice, he exchanged fifty thousand dollars
OF il for them.
The Northern Pacific, which had lease ot the
road, pad just one coupon 10 the executor, and
then defauited. And at the meeting Of the man
ayers of the road Just referred to, a vote was
passed TO pay no more coupons for three years 10
come. p that Judge Chases ty thousand dol
lars, as well the money of the other bond
holders, Seems to have" gone where the woodb'he
twineth.
Philadelphia has been peculiarly cursed with
reckless and uuprlncipled tnancleIS ami specnla-
tors Ii had Nick Biddle in the past, and it has
Jay Cooke and Bl kembe III the present. Then
there is a host oi nomlnllly respec able and haIl
respectable names that serve as the decoy ducks oil
the great operators in the manner We have seen
In this Lake Superior and Mississippi road.
Mr. Edgar Thompson Is the well-known Presi-
dent OF the PENNSYLVANIA Railroad, and Is held to
be a conservative and respectable gentleman. ell
here is case in which he has allowed his name
TO be used 10 give character to an enterprise by
wLich some four millions Of dollars h. ye been
fiched from the pockets OF innocent and conhd-
ing people. 1t was piiiul to sec parsons and
bishops, and ex-members of Congress, and we'll
known philanthroplsts, aud decreplt washer
women, and poor hunch backs, and hard-worHing
seamstresses, al the meeting oil Jay Cookies credl-
tors and that OF the bondholder5 OF the Lake
Superior and Mississippi road In many cases
the victims were stripped OF Their last dollar after
many years OF weary tell. The men VINO are
parties to this robbery and this ruin deserve 10 be
compelled to commit harkari. 1t is frand
which humanity canuot afford TO tolerate that
they should live aud claim TO be respectable They
| ought to have the decency - take Themselves
out of eVistence.--N. /. SiG..