Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1876-03-24
Uncle Daniel Drew.


COMMENTING on the recent failure of
the noted Wall-street operator, Daniel
Drew, the New York World says:
Uncle Daniel is the oldest-looking
man that ever lived in the furry of Wall
street, and entirely paternal and benign
in voice and aspect. The rest of the
street was to him always 9" the boys" and
it was two to one that any individual OPP
orator of the present generation was my
son" if he found the old gentleman in
benevolent mood. Since his calamity
with Nor vest, in 1872, when his dear
friend Gould persuaded him to sell that
pleasant region out and buy himself of
Erie (Mr. Gould further accommodating
him by selling him the said Eric TO any
amount), since then, when Nor'west went
up and Erie down-to the extreme en-
trapment of Uncle Daniel-his rugged
face and attenuated form have been little
seen on the street. His last recorded
words on that occasion were, "Wa'al,
they tell me Nor'west's a-risin'." He
was first in the street in 1896, and even
then be was forty years old But it was
not till he encountered Vanderbilt, whose
ally he was for long time, in
repeated conflicts, that he began to have
any nicknames. Strange as it looks
and Drew saved Erie from trouble in '57 ;
but within the next ten years a separation
entirely definite was effected between
/ them They were remarkably opposite
men, One of them watched for time to
build and plant and the other for time
to tear down and pluck up that which was
planted. Vanderbilt has been lifelong
"bull," probably from mixture of rea-
sons; he has looked more to general
results, stuck to II good thing even from
| policy for the good of it as well as for
profit, and was a terror TO the street,
only when having quietly minded his own
| business tor n season he found his . Har-
! lem" going down under vicious attack.
| Then he blaZed out and sent it up to the
skies, mercilessly as well as irresistibly
and if Uncle Daniel was in the way, as he
was in 1864, il was bad for Uncle Daniel
Drew, on the other hand, with shrewd,
! subtle mind, has netted miscellaneously
the nearest gudgeons, small fry and large,
! Seizing the nearest opportunity and look
ing to the immediate result, He was a
" bear" from choice rs Vanderbilt was q
"bull" from conviction. He didn't value
/" sheers" for what they represented, but
for what he could do with them at such
and such a juncture. He worked with
]
work-and he was inccssant from 1860 oil
thereabouts TO 1S73-he was accommodating
disaster for some of the boys
A curious cyniCism seems TO have con
nolled him in his personal intercourse
with other speculatOrs. If II was not his
habit 10 personally convey 10 them iufOr.
nation particularly untrustworthy, and
"pintsp essentially disastrous, all fol
| haca ,,urt,osoc of Uain ha has l,apn cin on,
larly misrepresented. Yaas, / skinned
the boys . is one ofhis surviving sayings
Report even credits him with skinnina
other than the boys. He has lived two
lives himself and at home or in the church
been stranger entirely to the speculatol
Drew. Possibly it was his desire L
mOnopOlize this straddle" of the worlf
he is said 10 have invented straddling o
the market-that made him a delusioI
and a snare to deacons. The bitter stock
gambling experiences OF many deaconI
are in common report linked with hi
name. He had been on the street so Ions
that "reminiscences of this sort arc assum
ing the mist OF tradition. The common
est myth goes that unnumbered deacons
about the time Mr.. Drew had made his
munificent gifts to the theological semi
nary which bears his name, tiring of tn,
straight road to wealth that begins in con
fields and country grocery stores, decide,
TO try, and with his gOodly help climb ul
some other way When they tapped him
with many excuses and explanations anC
all the diffidence that came Of opening
their secret hearts al venture, Urs
Major departed fIom his sedale and DR.
habit and flowed amazing genialily an,
sweetness. Deacon after deacon came N