Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1884-01-11
The Northern Pacific Change

1nC ->O'tlcTn Tdclnc Onange.
New YORK, Jan. 4.-The annual
meeting of the Board of Directors
of the Northern Pacific Railroad
is being hid in the offices of The
company. Present, Frederick Bill.
hngs, A II. Barney, John Wells, r
II. Rals'on, Robert Morris, t. +.
Cakes, j. Pierrepont Morgan, Au-
gust Belmont, j. L. Stackpole,
Benz. +. Cheney, John c. Bulleti
aud Henry 4. Johnston. President
Henry NliIard's resignation has been
presented.
The following letter from Villa,d
was read by the directors:
81 hereby offer my resignation as
president of your board. 1 feel
constrained 20 'ake this step for two
reasons. One is that l am suffering
from nervous prostration, which rem
deis me no longer capable of pro-
fery dlscharin.; my official duties.
and my phys:c. III advises absolute
absientlon from all active employ
ment as a condition of recovery of
my health. The other reason is that
IN my opinion, no less than in that
! of my per onal and business friends
tie Interests of the comp any call fog
the severance OF my connection with
IT. II is painful to me that such
should be the unj ust result of the
years of severe labor and consuming
anxiety which l have spent in nv
endeavor to serve the company to
the best of my ability; but NV feel.
ings should not stand in the way of
the welfare of the stockholders. l
am consoled by an abiding confid-
ence that the future will completed,
indicate all my action. l may, as
soon rs my health permits, ask the
rrivelege OF submitting summary
of my administration of the com
panys AFFAIR.". Allow me to express
TO You III conslusion my sincere
thanks for the cordial support and
appreciative sympathy you have at
all times extended to me.
H. WILLARD"
The resignation was accepted.
The New York Herald says: We
print an interview with q friend OF
Henry Willard, concerning his rela.
tiOns with the N. z. and its kin.
bred corporations, and concerning
bis health and private fortune, which
will be read With great interest, and
we believe, with great sympathy
The fact that the reporter was re-
ferred by Willard to this gentleman
for an authoritative statement gives
the report an air of truthfulness.
Following are passages from the in
terview:
Willard is ruined in his private
fortune. He has not as much money
to-day Is you have. All has gone
to help the great enterprise he was
at the head of. There can be no
question of his conscientiousness or
integrity, for which. he has sacri-
feed his private fortune to support
the Northern Pacific. He has moth
ing left-absolutely nothing. His
stocks, bonds, two residences, all
ale involved in the wreck. He has
saved nothing. He never was 80
rich as reported. He was not worth
SO 900. 900. Five would be nearer
the figure"
"Did the CONVEX sation with Bill.
lings take place as reported?"
" Yes, last Sunday Billings called
to see Willard. Billings, you know,
bad .quarrelled with Willard, and
there was some ill feeling between
them. When Billings called and
found him sick in bed, and found
that he had impoverished himself in
bis efforts to support the company,
Ri lings expressed entire faith in Vii
lard 3 integrity, and there was q scene
OF reconciliation between the two.
When the rascals on Wall street
made their combined attack on the
stocks, Willard was straining every
nerve to preserve the company's
credit. and began to sacrifice his
own money. To make matters worse
be was away from the city and had
to do business by telegraph. A GER
tain banking firm WIS in difficulty
and would have failed if be had not
come to it's rescue, by raising money
on stocks and bonds belonging to
him. So he has gone on sacrificing
his own fortune, until everything he
owns is pledged. But there is one
source of strain on him that 1 have
not mentioned. Money has been
entrusted in his hands to invest for
other people, all financial men know
what that experience is. His friends
would insist on his investing their
savings for them. When the stock
went down, such was Wizards sense
Ut honor that I have known him.
many a time, to put his hand in o
his own pocket and purchase stocks
to save them from depreciatiny. 1
suppose he has lost million dollars
in this way"