New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-10-09
FERDINAND YARDS DESPERATION

Ward grows desperate. lie published III me
Herdd Yesterday a long statement, giving the
history of the finn of Grant q Ward from his
Doint of view. He tries to involve Us many
corporations, firms, and individuals as he can
in the odium that has fallen upon himself, and
by giving n false cOlOring to the relations OF his
firm with corporations from whom money was
borrowed. he seeks to cast discrcdit on financial
institutions of the highest reputation and
standing. He cunmngly aims to cover his own
guilt under clOudOf words about the profits
which the Grants and others realized from his
operations, keeping out of sight the wcl-known
fact that these profits" were in most cases the
obligations of the firm which were made worth
less by the failure Nowhere in the ten
columns Of his statement does he refer 10 the
pcculiar system of finance by which lac secured
the large deposits, the enormous loans and the
so-caled profits the stealing OF the sccur-
tiles put III by one set of customers to make mp
tho stupend0us gains which he figured out for
the benefit Of others. He does not attempt to
explain the object for which he kept up tins
vast scheme Of deception and fraud. lie must
have known that the iirm could not be Heated
long by robbing some of its patrons to pay
Others. There has never been any evidence
that he mcdtated flight What he was t. gam
by tiding over the inevitable time of exposure
and ruin merely from day to day, neither he
nor any one else has yet explained. The only
reasonable theory appears To be that before
the Marine Bank fell hc had stored away some
of the spells in safe hands, or that he expected
To save from the wreck at least part of the
plumber that William 5. Warner finally sue
cecdcd in cxtOrting from him i'll the famous
interview in Wards house.
1t is perfectly plain that Ward has not yet
told the truth. lie i, keeping great deal back
though his reticcnce will do him no good.
Long tables of figures showing the gains which
the Grants and others might have drawn at
various dates if they Lad then closed their con-
nection with the firm. give no important light.
They did not draw out the profits, and their
fancied fortunes were swallowed up when the
failure came. Wards statement is not of n
nature to excite the least public sympathy Tor
him. nor is 1t Of any value in showing where
efforts to recover the stolen property should be
made. All the facts that he states bearing on
this point were known before and there Is not
one word in what he says that lessons his guilt
or should diminish by day his term at sing
Sing or Auburn. James ID. Fish, one OF his
partners in crime, has been in prison for
months. 1t should not be many days before
Ward joins him.
1t might almost be thought that Ward had
expected Mayor Grace to exert his influence to
tighten his punishment or to delay his trial
but that, disappointed in his hopes of aid from
that quarter, he had determined to do the
Mayor all the injury in his power Mr.. Grace
denies with great energy and emphasis Wards
assertion that he tried TO obtain an interest in
the firm of Grant 4 Ward, and declares that
there is no truth in the story that he cndcay'
orcd to get a Government contract by means oil
the firms supposed influence. Wards word is
of no weight against the Mayors. But Mr..
Grace would now occupy better position III
this community if he had kept himself
altogether clear of transactions with that firm.
lie must have known that the extraordinary
rates of interest that Grant a Ward were pay
ing could not be based on any honorable and
legitimate business methods. Was Mr.. Grace
willing to profit by Legitimate and dishonor-
able methods on the part of the frm7 The
Mayors explanation cannot be considered en-
tircy satisfactory. Was he accustomed to rely
implicitly on the advice Of James DPFish Yet
Mr.. Fish was VIGOROUSLY a ktc-llying, specula-
tive bank president, whose life was filled with
green-rOom scandals.