Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-12-29
EXIT TILL4RD.

Mr.. Willard Is in very poor health
That was the burden of the speech of
every one in New York who was ap-
preached by representatives Of the GLOBE
yesterday, relatiye to the coming, snd only
briefly delayed, resignation of Mr.. Willard
from the presidency of the Northern
Pacific railroad. 1t was merely polite
way Of saying, "Villard must go.''
To all practical intents and purposes he
has already gone, SO far as having any
thing to do with the Northern Pacific
management is concerned. His day of
success and triumph has passed away,
and he, who p few short
months ago was being feted and
honored, whose lightest words were her
aided as of portentous magnitude, is no
longer railway king, and none SO poor to
do him reverence.
It was in September, 1873, that the
Northern Pacific, under Jay Cookies man
agement, struck its first great crisis.
just ten years later, in
September, 1883, it struck its second
crisis under the management of Henry
Willard. The only great difference was
| that in 1873, the road was incomplete and
its collapse carried down the finances of
the country, while in 1883 the
road was completed, and SO largely
held by ''strong hands" tat
no general panic has occurred. The
country at large has hardly realized the
crisis through which the Northern Pacific
railroad has been passing during the past
four months. The rusty nail, POLITICALLY
called the golden spike," had hardly been
| driven before the crash began, and
naught but adversely has pursued
Northern Pacific securities ever since.
The fact that the public have the benefit
of the completed road has prevented such
marked attention as would otherwise have
| been given to this serious financial event.
Jay Cooke had just completed Ogentz,
his gorgeous country seat, in 1873,
and Willard had just completed
his palatial New York City home
in 1885. And the parallel still continues
with ten years intervening distance. Tbs
protector and conpleter of the Northern
Pacific have both been carried down, bat
they leave as their monument national
highway which binds the two great oceans
to each other.
| As we look back to that September
scene when the road was formally com :
pleted it, appears almost pathetic. Mr..
Willard, in the hour of his
apparent triumph had his wife
strike ore of the blows upon the
last spike, and the handle of the ha mmer
was placed in the hand of his infant child,
that it might be ablo to say
as it grew old enough to
have the story recounted, that it had
been participant in the great event which
wreathed its father with honor and renown.
Four months have scarcely passed and that
weird, western scene becomes like the
withered Wedding wreath, fseting mem
CRY.
In the hour of his apparent triumph
Mr.. Willard had no lack of friends. Now,
he has comparatively few to speak
kindly and many to oensure. 1t
is easy to toss aside man when he is
down, and in his fallen financial condi-
ton few will trouble themselves with a
kind thought for Mr.. Willard. The transit
ton is one which entities him 10 sym pa
thy which he will not receive, but the
GLOBE records with regret the business
calamity which has overtaksn him.
He carried great enterprise to its COM
pletion and fell at the summit.