The Centre reporter. [volume] (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1871-1940, 1877-02-08
The First Purchase Of Railroad stock.

II was about 1857 that the late Com
modore Vanderbilt begun 30 he con-
WINGED that railroads. and not steam
boats. were his element, and he dropped
his steamboats, rs quietly as years before
he had gwen up sailing vessels b adopt
them. He had large cash accumulatlons
He begun with New Jersey Central, and
IN 1863 he bought Harlem modestly
Harlem was in no very promising cundi-
ton at the time. The bears were feeding
on il and il had got down 90 three cents
un = dollar. Wall street misjudged the
commodore, and considering him Of like
passions rs itself. set out 30 treat HIM ac-
cordingly, aud with some resentment that
a new hand should venture % lay hold Of
80 old a bone al the start. But Wander
hilt was in no sense specuaior. De
believed in himself and in ali his works
and proposed 10 have whatever he was
interested in prosper. He worked his
railroads Tor the uses Of them, and not
far the uses Of the street. and from the
first stood by them IN good report and
evl report and forced success out Of all
N them. Indeed. when he was making
his beginning with Harlem the street
soon found out this new fellows method
and with more or less grief 10 itself has
. had reasons Of renewing the discovery
ever since. Harlem stood az three. he
begun 10 buy il and brought il up 70
fiftv-seven. I've got a few millions
living idle. he said 20 a wondering ac-
uuaiutance. and Harlem Is going up %
par II we give il time II don't get the
benefit uf il. my children will. Tins
amused the brokers Buying Harlem
for an investment Was 30 downright ab-
suri. and they accommodated hum freely.
He bought all winter In April there
begun to be reports that Harlem hsd got
something-a street franchise down
Broadway 60 the Battery, some said, hui
sauldnt find ANYTHING of the sort In the
charter. and il looked rather improbable,
and this franchise was just what II had
always hungrily lacked April n, in the
evening. the common council with great
haste made precisely that grant, and
when the news got 20 the brokers away
vent Harlem up TO seventy-tive. The
.,ommodora had calcu 'ated on thus much,
but faresaw storms as well, and deter
mined 10 hold up his stock IN all ca
lamitv. 4 large "bull element in the
street helped him. and during that sum
mor what il remembered for its sudden
disastrous alternations Of ebb and fiow as
THE Chancellorsville Rise " of stocks
followed. Late in June a queer thing
begun TO happen, namely, that the com
mon councilmen who had been 30 gener-
ous Of their franchise begun 30 sell Har-
lem short. Then they rescinded Their
generous ordinance. as the commodore
had all along expected, though they
thought they were being scampish
enough 10 take him in. Before that
Judge Brady. in common pleas, had en-
ioined the laying Of rails in Broadway,
and on the whole it looked like disaster
for the commodore's stock. So the
merry brokers sold short, and the stock
dropped 20 seventy-two, and rebounded
and fell again in its new summer fashion.
The commodore had two motives now
one the safety and success Of his stock
and the other the bitter punishment OF
its assailants Il bide my time, he
said. and he silently bought block after
\ block of the stock. When settling days
came there was no stock 10 be had; the
4 commodore's small assailants of the com
mon council were ruined and their allies
( of the street in dire straits, for up went
Harlem 70 1l5, 100, 100, $50, $50
'Short Of Harlem aud smashed
were synonyms the rest of that season.