The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-08-17
HENRY WILLARD.
Something About Man Who Promises to
Become Money King.

Become Money King.
New York Correspondence Boston Journal.
Now that Gould and Vanderbilt have re-
tired, temporarily at least, from the finan-
cial arena, there is some curiosity as to who
shall be the next dictator at whose nod the
"street" shall tremble. BY common consent
Mr.. Henry Willard seems to be awarded the
proud position, though whether he wants it
is quite another matter for the leading spirit
in the Northern Pacific railroad and the Ore
gon Navigation Company is a modest man
not fond of noise or notoriety. As he il
likely to come before the public far more
prominently during the next few years than
any other financial magnate of the day, some
words as to the man may not be without
interest l do not know whether he has
ever made good his claim by act of Legisla-
ture to the name OF Willard or not but at
any rate his name was originally Hilgard
and many of the same family may now be
found in Belleville, I'll. The distinguished
superintendent of the coast survey, Prof
Julius Hilgard one of the men OF whom the
scientific world is proud, is an uncle of Mr..
Willard The Heinrich Higard of thirty
years ago, or the Henry Willard OF to-day, is
the son of Gustav Hilgard, formerly presi-
dent of the Supreme Court in Munich. Gus
tav Hilgard was the only one OF five broth
ers who did not emigrate to America and it
was not originally intended that his son Hen
~ should come here. But some wild escapade
induced him to come TO this country in 1858,
being then nineteen years old. He got as
far as Chicago when his fortune gave out,
and be was taken in hand by mis- uncle Rob-
ert C. Hilgard, of the Belleville Savings
Bank, who took him to Belleville, where he
remained until he could find his way around
the new country. But Belleville was too
small place for the young man, who wan
dered off to see the world, and was not
heard of for several years. In his wander
ings he became acquainted with Horace
Greeley, who was making his way across the
continent, and Greeley, seeing the solid worth
in young Hlgard engaged him CORE
spondent, with rowing commission in the
West This was shortly before the outbreak
of the war, and i'll that time OF great oppor-
tunities Hilgard soon made name for him
self in a double sense-he became noted as
an excellent correspondent and made his
nom de plume of Willard so favorably known
that he enoed by describing his own name
in its favor. Before the close Of the war he
was on the high road to fame as a newspaper
writer of brillancy and judgment, and had
he remained in newspaper life he would I'M
questionably have made his fortune.
But the close of the war and the beginning
of the era of wild speculation, which lasted
from 1868 to 1873, offered him greater oppor-
tunities for money making than any news
paper career. He went back to Europe
and laid before the rich merchants of
Germany and Holland the opportuni-
ties for getting 10 and Is per cent for their
money instead of one-fourth OF that rate
He had enormous faith in our government
bonds Money was intrusted to him to
place in this country, and he carried out his
part OF the contract with SO much Judgment
that enormous sums were soon placed at his
disposal. In the ten years after the war he
made four trips to Europe, each time strength
ening his position. The crash of 1873 found
his investments in excellent shape. and with
the revival OF prosperity in 1878 Willard be-
gan to loom up as not Only the agent of mil
lionaires, but one of the fraternity himself.
He had taken good care of his own money
as of other peoples, and his career in
the northwest part of the United
States was markedly almost infalible judg-
ment and no reverses. The history of his
fight with the Northern Pacific road and its
complete equalization is too recent to need
repeating. He holds the controlling power
over the railroads of the Northwest, and is.
next to Vanderbilt and Gould the most inn
portant railroad man in the co ntry, and in
Iuch g comparison Vanderbilt can scarcely