The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1884-06-20
II A DISASTER.
Is what Col. Fred Saws Concerning Kim
self and the Rest Of the Grant
Family.

FANNY
New YORK Letter.
took the elevator up to Room Is,
Jesse's room. He was not in, but Col.
Fred Grant was writing at desk. The
colonel looked constrained and uneasy
as he said in q sad tone of voice.
at seems to me the newspapers are
very hard on us. They seem to be tax
ing back all the good things they ever
said of the family"
I suggested that his fathers great
service had evoked so much admiration
that they were hardly in a frame Of
mind to hear criticism.
II think we are, though" he said.
TN fact, we can easily enough c~riticise
ourselves. We see, as everybody must
see, that Ulysses ought to have known
what was going on in his firm, But, ms
a matter of fact, he did not know.
Father ought to have known that ras-
Gals would misrepresent his simple and
proper letter, pledging mis- name and
influence to the firm to mean that he
was in favor of corrupt government
Jobs; but he did not know ibid not
suspect it. I ought to have known that
Wards assertion that the firm was
making heaps of money was a miserable
pretence; but / did not know it. Would
everybody have been wiser and shrewd-
81 than we were?"
There ought to have been som
| means, / said, of knowing how the firm,
stood when so much money was involved.
Agreed" said the colonel, chats
obvious. Ulysses ought tohave known.
We will admit any amount of folly. but
nothing worse. 1t is cruel-the charge
of corrupt collision that some papers
make against my father. And we have
lost every thing we had-everything!"
he broke out. II was worth 500, 900
and more. nave lost cTcry dollar Cf it
and more than $500, 900 that l borrowed
of friends. 1t seemed such a good thing
that l put my wife's money, my aunt's
money-the money of erybody in
whom 1 had an interest and wished to
serve. All lost"
my brothers have been fooled in the
same way, i" he continued bitterly. "Lyss
was worth $500, 900 in cash that he had
made by hard work and fortunate spec
ulation, and he has not only sunk that
but he has put in his wife's fortune, too.
And Jesse has lost almost as much. OF
my fathers losses you know. We can
easily enough stand our own losses; but
the loss of the money of friends; and the
confidence of those who believed in US
that comes hard"
There were tears in his voice. / asked
him what on earth could have been
Wards motive.
Wards and Fisl's," he answered. II
do not know. / do not wish to judge
them"
To my remark that it looked like In.
sanity, he replied:
II suppose they bet all they had and
all they could borrow on a rising mar
ket, covering the venture with various
pretenses."
did Ward ever tell you that the firm
had valuable contracts of various kinds
which yielded a large proft?"
Certainly; over and over again. ]
thought they were legitimate though,
railroad and business contracts of all
kinds. Imeyer doubtedit for a moment,
My credulity was blameable; but / re
greet that anybody can think me capable
of deliberately planning harm to any
human being me or any of the family
How could we have sunk our whole for.
tune, aggregating nearly a million o.
dollars, unless we were dupes instead o
knayes? 1t pains me to speak to acom
parative stranger with such freedom
but the fact is, that / am living OF
money i have borrowed from friend
during this very week.