The New York herald., 1879-09-19


$4,000. but lie paid every claim presented
by shippers or passengers without SUD SUP
III ion sns a one saur OF ,Haynn as amassed large for
tune. in 1886. Mr.. Drew entered the banking busi-
ness, and. four years later established mousse
subsequently, We'll known-Drew. Robinson Co.
which for many years one of the most
uniformly successful banking houses III tne
trolling element in it for thirteen years. and then
tired temporarily in the interest of his son-in.law
That gentiemans death necessi tated Mr.. Drew's re-
sumption OF his former place. Here his caution
seems to have left him, Cor no entered the specuia
tive fied.
being stocks and from 1912 until 1876 he dealt in
them purely as = spccuiator. In this he differed
ways. Drew controlled no long lines of travel.
In his hands were no reins or mastery.
Ihe interests OF transportation were notnins
to him and the opening Of new lands in no way IN.
terested him. Wnen middle aged man he entered
the arena in which bulls and bears made sport
None Of the since famous names III the stock mar
ket had been heard there. Jay Gould not
yet born The baty whistle OF Jim Fisk
Lockwoods and woodwards of thirty years later
had not made their virgin plunge into the vortex OF
speculation. In the field AS then Jacob Little
rogned supreme and for ten years thereafter he and
rarely bought to hold. There again he dit:
acceptances of the Erie road to the amount of
s5ooooo. and the public suddenly woke up to the
heipfulness. this time the amount OF s1.5OO,oo0
and as the country was then in the throes
of general bankruptcy his action was
shrewd observer once said of Vanderbilt that
bull 'he traded on the hopes of men,. whereas
Drew. he continued. ''as bear trades on hnan-
cih fear aad apprehension. In his mon
ster dealings Mr.. Drew seemed at times to
eee stasry and wss slu architect of
panies. Through wilderness OF wrinkles. as he
grew old. his ieen stee-gray eyes twinked with the
painted him. His face was odd and even grotesque
His sense of humor very quick and in his wilt
hung upon turn. q witty retort pungent cpl
gram would start him in roar OF laughter. His
DanisI." ' the He'' aursa Major" the 'oid Bear:
He was never idle. but always seemed
nsn s%s ,or on his 5sS straass r s1o
Drew was great success. The operator who has
the aud understands that art OF straddle
or being '.loug" and "short" at the same time is
genius. Mr. Drew q genius. For thirty
and more years he bearet the market but
alth ,ugh there great prosperity in the coun-
he accumulated an immense fortune, and was tor
generation the feature or the "street" For eight
years, dating from 1859, Mr.. Drew the head and
front OF the Erie Railway. Knowledge Of Ere's
exact position. was power, and Mr. Drew
fate Of that great company he speculated
largely in its stock. For good and abundant secu-
Erie to go up he loaned it money; If he wished It
to decline he refused money. He played with it
as q cat doe with mouse. In March. 1860
neii iI an enormous % block Of tn the stock. and and
by judicious represen tatons sent the price up to
forty-two, at which he sold, realizing nearly two
millions Of dollars. In 1864 Adrian Jerome cornered
Mr.. Drew in Harlem stock and the "O.d Man" lost
quarter OF ann In sas eua Srsw
interested party. and Joined with
Gould in the jersey City campaign against the Com
modore He was frightened, however. stole march
on his ties, made trip from Jersey City to
Vanderbilt struck hands with him and compelled
b compromise. Toledo and Wabash stock was one
of his favortes and he enteavored to manipulate
it into public confidence. He utterly failed to
do and sunk S5OO. 900 in the effort subsequent
attempt to corner Northwestern cost him another
$500 OOO As he grew older he seemed to have taith
in luck He rarely invested in solid stocks, but
operated enormously in fancies. His fondness for
cliques and corners led him into OF marginal
development. the consequence OF which was vol
untary bankruptcy in 1876 Many pretended to
have anticipated the ruin of Mr. Drew but that was
folly. All that WAS known was that he had met
heavy losses. and refused to accept put" which
he had sold and had turned against him. For
tunately. after the death OF his partner Rob-
inson Mr. Drew transferred great deal of property
to his son; that he was still a very rich man.
though technically he owned nothing.
During all these years Mr.. Drew had consistently
kept up his interest in the Methodist Church and
always gave hberaly to ats Representatives He was
u trustee in the Mulberry Street Church and
also IN church near his country home He
built the editice ut q cost OF $4,000. and
gave it income OF $1,000 year. He
donated $3.50 900 to the Drew Seminary in ono sum.
and continued his benetactions later He
trustee patron and giver III the Wesleyan University.
trustee in the Concord Biblical Institute and a
was Sonorea in ali the char: s nasherngs %
and lie always looked to for gen
erous contributions to further the cause"
Many characteristic anecdotes told of Daniel
Drew, but they consist chiefly in records of his
pertness in misleading other operators, the sang
froid with which he heard of the loss or gain OF
million dollars. quaint illustrations that fell from
his lips and the singular lack Of moral apprecia-
ton in man of his professions and unboundcd
liberality in religious directions. He a very
strange man. Had he been educated person he
might have become great man. He an cono
clast rather than builder. He used his power for
his personal did Vanderbilt but. unlike
Vanderbilt-savc in the instance OF the steamers
the Hudson-he did nothing to further human
progress or secure the benefit OF the general pub
lie. His family and friends devotedly at
tached to him, and he to them. He refused
them nothing. Indeed 1t always seemed
il he reserved his home and his church
to receive all the benefit that his fellow citizens
WAS humble, his rise gradual his progress in later
life rapid. his fall precipitate and sensational After
that although forgotten entirely estranged
from the "street." he rather o memory than
fact.