Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-05-12
GROWING BLACKER EVERY
HOTTR

HOUR.
Extraordinary Revelations Concerning
the Grant s. Ward Failure-Ulysses s.
Grant, Jr., Talks-He Declares that He
Thought He Was a Millionaire Up to
the Day of the Failure.
The belief is becoming general, says
Saturdays Herald, that the Marine Bank
Grant-Ward failure will prove the worst
ever known in Wall street. On Tuesday
it was expected that the precise extent Of
the trouble could be determined and that
statements of the condition of the bank
and the suspended firm could be made the
following day. As the investigation OF
the books Of the concerns proceeds, how
ever, new and unexpected ramitications
are found at every turn, and it is now
stated that no sooner than the middle OF
next week can any definite statement be
made.
Perhaps the question of the most gen.
eral interest in regard to the failure is as
to the connection of Gen. Grant with the
firm; the extent of his financial interest
and of his knowledge of its affairs. There
IS no longer any doubt that the name OF
Gen. Grant was quietly used as decOy
in the vast operations of the house, and
well informed Wall street men believe
that there are very many people whose
names have not been made public who
were induced to invest IN the gigantic
blind pool which the firm organized.
About a score of well known people
members of the Union Club and
retired business and professional
men of means and of social promi-
nence-are known to have been in
duced to deposit their money with the firm
on the strength Of mysterious hints of big
prOftsfo be realized through some gov
eminent contracts in which Gen.
Grant had an indirect interest. Nothing
has been ascertained to warrant the be-
lief that the ex-President was cOgnizant
Of the manner in which his name was
being traded on. On the Stock Exchange
yesterday the opinion was generally eX-
pressed that Grant & Ward must have
raised millions of dollars in this way.
Eyes, l know the story" said ex-Sena-
tor COnkling yesterday. II know the
extent of Gen. Grants losses through
the collapse of his sons firm; but / can
not make it public. I am Gen. Grants
friend, and his counsel as well, and my
relations to the case are of confidential
nature.
ULYSSES 5. GRANT, JR., SPEAKS.
In response to a request for statement
Ulysses S. Grant, Jr., said to a Herald re-
porter yesterday:
1.-The Grant family has lost its entire
fortune; the ruin is complete, Not only
have | and my father and two brothers
put every cent we possessed into the firm,
but we invested large sums which we
borrowed from our friends, suppOsing
that everything was going along SPLEEN
didly and that we were amassing great
fortune. l first put the ST, 800 yearly in
come on my wife's fortune into the con-
Germ. and then | put the principal in with
it. My father-in-laW loses $500, 900 which
/ borrowed from him.
II knew very little about the affairs of
the establishment. In fact, the articles
of agreement of the firm provided that
Mr.. Ward should draw all the checks and
transact all the business. Mr.. Ward in
sisted that the business management
should be left solely to him. had the
greatest confidence in him, and l consider
him to be very able man. When he first
proposed the partnership to me / knew
that he was making plenty of money, and
| said: 'Oh, you don't want to attach
yourself to a slow coach like me- He
proposed the thing a couple of times be-
fore | agreed.
81 did not. nor did my father or brothers
have the faintest idea that anything was
wrong. Up to the time of the failure /
believe that l was worth 81, 100000. l
held the banks notes for upward of ST.
100000 Why, | have told my friends of
our fortune within a few days, little
dreaming Of the real state of affairs. Then
came the crash. My father came down
to the office on the day of the failure. and
as he walked across the floor toward me
said Father, everything is bursted and
we cannot get a cent out of the concern
That was the very first intlmatiOn he had
that there was the slightest trouble. Mr.
brother Fred. had borrowed largely from
his friends, and my brother Jesse put
some borrowed money into the firm on
the day previous to the failure.
$50 confident were we all that Grant &
Ward were making piles of money that
we invested everything we could get. l
only drew out money against my own ac-
count, but l kept putting in almost as
much. and the only real funds which / re-
tanned were about sufficient for our living
expenses. None of us liked to keep a dol
lar out of the firm that was not absolutely
needed, because we thought that we were
losing when we kept money that might be
earning very heavy profit. Several times
recently when l went to friends and asked
them for loans on the promise of enormous
interest they declared that such trans
action would be usurious. 1 never asked
for these loans again.
''To show you how little l knew about
the affairs of the firm, said when the
Marine Bank failed that it would simply
prevent us for time from giving certified
checks. No one in our family had any
idea that the firm had Overdrawn its ac-
count. When | secured loans upon the
bonds which had been given as collateral
for loans from our firm l did not know
that the bonds were being rehypothecat-
ed
THOSE IMMENSE pROFrTS