The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1876-10-19
w%ORKINGMEN, READ.
How samuel y. TiIden Ruined q Penn.
sylvania Town.

Town.
Correspondence New York Times.l
paADY's BEND, Pa, Oct; i:-Fifteen
iy, Pa, was one Of the most prospetous
and promising towns In the Allegheny Val.
ley. AT that time, the extensive mjlls,
furnaces and workshops, and the rich
mines Of the Brady's Bend Iron Company,
conducted by honest and competent man.
workmen, and comfortable support TO q
contented population Of more than 5000
persons. The pay-rolls of the iron conn
pany show that 700, 600 . month passed into
the hands Of Its workmen, and found cur.
for miles around found at the Bend q ready
market for their produce, and the lively IT.
tie village was flied with thriving trades
people. Most Of the mine -lsborers and
ron -workers were men Of family, and from
the good which were paid them
suss Many Tsns of '' then oS S%Dssid'f sssis
own little houses and q few acres Of ground,
and all Of them seemed 10 be in q fair
way TO Independence. This was the con.
dition of affairs In 1902. At that time, how
ever, for reasons which I need not now ex.
plain, the owners Of the mills desired to
dispose Of their property. Hearing Of this,
Mr.. William b. Ogden, then Of Chicago,
went to the Bend, examined the works. and.
after doing SO, said to Mr.. H. A. 8. ID,
Dudley, an honest gentleman who was at
that time their Superintendent, ''If I could
get Sam Tilden into the speculation, 1 am
sure ] could make It pay; but I am afraid he
won take up so small q matter. His re-
tanning fees are now nj least 500, 600 q year ,,
Regarding the retaining fees Mr.. Ogden
doubtless spoke authoritatively. for he was
the Receiver Of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne
and Chicago Railroad Company, was q warm
personal friend OF Mr.. filden, and knew
all about that gentleman's many railroad
schemes.
In one respect, however, he wasAn.stak-
en-. The Brady's Bend speculation S%as not
despised by Mr.. Tilden. On the contrary,
as Mr.. Ogden's agent and counsel, he visit
ed the Iiron-works, 'saw money In them,'
and advised their purchase. They were Sc
cured for the ridiculously low sum Of $780,
600. The owners were embarrassed and
had TO make a sacrifice.
After the necessary preliminaries had
been gone through with, 1t was decided that
only by the formation OF a stock company
could u profit be made out Of the work. A
stock company was consequently formed,
and Mr.. Samuel j. Tilden became its prin-
cipal Director. The capital stock was
placed at $500, 900, and one-half Of hat sum
was understood to be working capital. Mr..
Dudley. of whom I have already spoken,
under his management the prosperity Of the
works increased to such an extent that, dur
ing the first year Of its existence, the new
company realized a profit Of over 500, 900.
His share OF this sum was not enough for
Mr.. Tilden, however,; and, as he did not in
tend to continue In the company, he delib-
erately set to work TO bring about its ruin,
and make q fortune for himself and his
friends, his first move was to issue $500 600
Of first-mortgage bonds. This was done in
spite Of the determined protest Of Mr.. Dud-
ley, and every other true friend Of the works
rhA $40 ms x.Vl..A .x.aa .t-. NJ -A,.V
bonds were ostensibly disposed Of at 50 cents
on the dollar, but were really distributed
privately among certain of Mr.. Tilden's
friends In the company. The interest on
these bonds was made u first charge
against the profits, and, as tue
prosperity of the works continued,
Tilden 4 Co. were for a time content.
1t soon became apparent to the shrewd
lawyer, however, that q crash must shortly
come, and, not being satisfied with the hand
some profit which he had already realized,
he decided upon more extensive operations
He and his friends held enough Of the stock
to control the company, and 1t was decided
The sum suggested was $500 600, and as the
capital stock did not exceed that amount,
and did not seem a sufficient basis for a
bonded Indebtedness OF 81 zoo, 900, the stock
was watered up to $1,000, 900. Then,
against the further protest Of Mr.. Dudley,
stCouu' mOTtGugt JULIUS were lssutu 10 the
amount of u, Zoo, 600; and that gentleman
Indignantly resigned the position Of Super.
intendent and broke off all connection with
the works. The second mortgage bonds
were nearly all secured by the conspirators
they can be called nothing else-and the
watered and valueless stock was disposed Of
to all those who were foolish enough TO buy.
OF course. these transactions Of the man
who has recently christened himself ''the
Great Reformer were not known to the
public, and the apparent prosperity of the
works, and the expressed desire to Increase
their capacity, were advanced as excuses
fer the issue Of the bonds. The workmen
and mine-laborers had unbounded cent?
dence In the solyency and good faith Of Mr..
Tilden's company, and many Of them in
vested their little savings in its paper.
Mr.. Dudley's retirement was considered
a misfortune by the little community; but
Mr.. John Haines, who succeeded him, and
who still lives here, soon gained the good
will Of the men, and inspired the same con-
fidence that had been enjoyed by Dudley.
After q time, however, il became apparent
to the new superintendent that 1t would be
impossible for the works to pay the interest
on II 900 900 Of bonds and a dividend on
S2,OO,ON OF stock, and he also quietly with
drew. Shortly after his retirement the Til
den bubble burst, and the public became
aware that the Brady's Bend Iron Company
was a ruined concern. Before this, how
ever, "the Great RefOrmer ~ md his init
mates had disposed Of all their stock, retain
ing only a part Of the first mortgage bonds.
They, therefore, appeared after the crash in
the position Of creditors, rather than debt
ors.
AS 1t Is, perhaps, unnecessary to state,
the victims In most OF Mr.. Tilden's railroad
90 operations or at least those for which
he has become notorious all over the cOun-
try, were capitalists and men of business.
Tho rnu,tIt .R kta I,,nls,;tr a~l ..-nI L., a.,
Brady,s Bend case, on the other hand, were
most disastrous to poor men and wOmen
who had to work hard for their daily bread.
When, because Of his manipulation, the iron
works suspended, hundreds Of men, WON
en- and children were left penniless, without
work, and without the means to get tC
places where employment might be found
Indeed, many Of the poor people were un.
able to leave the Bend for months after the
closing OF the shops, and their suffering.
are described as having been terrible. Then
savings, the results OF years OF labor, were
either in the hands Of Tilden g. Co..
or sunk in the houses in which
shelter, did not satisfy the hunger Of then
children. The whole town was dependent
upon theiworks for support, and when they
closed property of all kinds became a drul
In the market. For this reason the people
who owned houses could not sell them al
my price. lO-uay brauys Benu IL littlt
better than a wilderness. The long line o.
massive workshops is falling into decay
and the cottages Of the once prosperous
wOrkmen are closed and silent. The win
dows are broken and the shutters of theil
hinges, the fences down, and the garden,
w~eed-grown and neglected. The men ant
women who own these places, and witt
were driven from them by hunger, are now
scattered all over the mill districts OF West,
ern Pennsylvania. With them the name o.
Samuel j. Tilden Is ms familiar Ms household
words, but they never speak 1t without
bitter curse. IL, C.,
A Southern Claim,