The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1881-08-04
The Men Who Manipulated!
Chiefs of the r. d ..
Syndicate.

name il bears w. +. Clyde lie
i still living, but ha4 virtually retired
from business, aud William = Clyde Jr.
il now the head.of The line He Is man
of ab,u 43 years age, though he hard
Is looks 50 much. \ Marylander D.
firth, his life has been spent on the sea
His father was a steamship man. and
educltei Wi!iilm to succeed him IN ms
business. At the age Of l3 he was sent
to sea and made an accomplished sailor.
lie knows ship "a a jockey kno IS a
horse, and is a sklltul navigator. IL
could take ship to-day and carry her
iato any waters Oh the globe. For years
he has carried the man responsibilities
If the great Clyde steamship company.
Some idea of what this means may be
had from the statement that at one time
eighty-two ships sailed unler the Clyde
colors, touching nearly every shore on
earth. At present over forty steamships
are ran by the company, supplying some
oi the most important commercial
routes.
There are few hand.omer men than
Mr. Clyde erect, graceful, with whls
kers just tinged with gray, a frank aud
winning face, he is coinely and conviu5-
ing. Back OF these advantages he has
that direct torcible and polished man
ner notable among the men OF affairs Ia
New York. He may be found any day
between the hours OF 10 and at his
office on lower Broadway, atfable and
quick no more unaprroachable than II
ne were the humbleot merchant IN the
,.ity. During the summer he lives upon
| MS yacht. and this | mean in its llterai
sense His family. a wife and FIVE pret
ty children. are at some seaside resort
/ out he has his Yacht anchored off the
Broadway wharf about fifty yards from
1 ,hore This yacht cost, it is SAID, over
/ 500, 900, and is a model OF luxury and
/ beauty. Ii is run By steam aud makes
| fifteen miles an hour Fitted mp with
every convenience that can be desired =
4 It's larler stored with .ae best of the
| uarketS, and its closets with the rarest
wines manned by an expert crew, 1t ls
certainly model summer home. At i
i every afternoon hs- Summons halt a
dozen friends though the yacht can
easily accommodate twelve and gong
10 the wharf signals his crew. \ yaw
is at once sent to shore and the party /,
soon on board. The yacht is then started
for sail IN the picturesque waters about
New York, heading towards Coney Is
aud or to Long Bianch, while the com
aany adjust themselves to catch the
Dreezcs and admire the scenery or lelS-
urey discuss dinner that cannot be
surpassed at Demouico's. A night on
this yacht In midsummer is luxury
bevond auy power of description. Mr.
Clvde has famous rifle with which he
can bring down seagulls on the wing. Hi
Yacht is perfectly seaworthy, and he ha!
made the trip with her to Cuba and tre
auently to Norfolk He is devoted tC
her and maintains her at cost of more
than 81, 900 month
The holder of the largest block in tht
Clyde syndicate is a comparatlvel!
Young man, George w. Perkins, presi
lent of the Merchantile National Banl
of New York.
These are the principal members o
the Clyde Syndicate. The controlling
Southern members are the Stewarts, o
Richmond, two brothers of enterprise
and sagacity, who are estimated to be
worth anywhere from 50, 000,Oo0 to 81,
OOO. 900, and Gen. L. NJ. Logan. Gen
Logan is the attorney of the Syndicate
!. and, without large fortune. has by hi
industry and sagacty amassed a yer.
pretty property, and is in the way of ad
ling very largely to it by the realization
Of the heavy investments IN the nea
future. He is one Of the leading spirit
. in the Syndicate, is the head OF the con
struction company that has charge o
Z building the new lines. There is proba
: }ly no man in the company whose opln
. ION is worth more than his, In weight o
. accuracy. He will be remembered a
perhaps the youngesf general IN tn
Confederate army certainly one of tn
Youngest. He is a South Carollnlan b
birth, man of small stature, but
built entirely of nerves and muscles, an
run by electricity. These, then, are tn
men who make up the controlling Junt
IF the Clyde syndicate W. p. Clyde
! the three Perkinses, the two Stewart
and t. NJ Logan. of course, there ar
] trusted officials who own part the stock
! and who have executive charge OF th
roads in the .yStem-but these are tn
men who control. And now, what Is
Z they control!
The affairs of this Syndicate, vast an
I out-stretching as they are, are CONTROL
cd bv a very small bulk of stock. Th
d Richmond and Danville corporation
3 the kew to the situation. 1t is the o
3 ganizatiou through which all the wor
9 IS done and the responsibilities assumeo
& Owing to certain legal difficulties in th
= way of the railroad company maklr
. leases and purchases, various subsldlal
organizations have been made, but the
- are always controlled by the same me
- who control the Richmond and Dan
% vile. For the purpose of building ne
i i roads CONSTRUCTION companies a
- formed, but these are always officer
le and controlled by the men Of the SynC
u u cate. The corporation is sometlm
~ changed bit, and often made close
but the essential elements Of organic
- ton are always the same. In one W
or another these gentlemen control nc
over 300 miles of railroads that a
laid like webs over the CarolinaS a
If Virginia and command the northeaste
b section of Georgia. Besides this tn
,r. now have projects that are well detin
D, that involve the building of about .
| miles more. Indeed the future OF Il
be company is hard to limit. Its alliar
with Gen Gordon and his assocla