Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-03-28
GRANTS STORY OF RUIN.
HOW SPIDER WARD LED HIM
INTO HIS TRAP.

the hauOefDllE Loan.
NEW YORK, March 27.--Col. Fred Grant
sat up all night last night, and until .
I o'clock this morning, with his father, the
General, and until that hour the latter
did not sleep. He paced up and down the
room all the time, and was restless and
uneasy. This morning he slept a little
usual breakfast. Gen. Grant was
not feeling very badly, and looked
| well to-day. During the morning
Col. Grant read some of the testimony
taken yesterday to the General, and the
latter made some corrections in it. The
General Twill revise his testimony before it
is sent down to the court to be read and
placed in evidence.
The testimony of Gen. Grant. in the
trial of eX-President Fish, of lie Marine
Bank, has been given to the public. 1t
is in the form of questions by the counsel
and replies by the Witness. Some eX-
tracts are given herewith. He was ques-
toned by Mr.. Clark, counsel for the de-
fendant:
'You were partner in the firm of
Grant 81 WardY'
'Yes, sir; am informed that was at
the time the failure took place."
"YOu became member of that firm on
or about Nov. l, 1SSO?'
Il don't remember; l suppose so if the
books say so. L never knew that [ was
anything else than special partner clear
to the end"
AT or about that time you paid in
$50,OO0 to the firm?"
"Yes; paid in $4,000 first. and shortly
afterward $4,000 more; l don't remember
the dates.'
"And the second $50, 900 was shortly af-
ter the first?'
'Yes. sir."
80 that in all you actually paid in
$100,000?"
81 paid in 100000 on May 1, 1884,
WHAT HE THOUGHT HE WAS WORTH.
'What did you understand you were
worth. About what?v
Il supposed | was worth we'll nigh to a
million dGllars."
Gen. Grant testified that he had a dim
recollection of receiving a letter from
President Fish about July 8, 1882. and a
photograph, but had not been able to find
1t and he was under the impression that
the letter made public by Mr.. Fish was
net the one received by him (Grant.) He
bad made diligent search for the letter
and had hoped TO find it, but all his life
his habits about preserving cOrrespOr-
dence had been careless. He advanced
the suggestion that the letter about
| been cared for by Ferdinand Ward.
HIS ADMISSION TO THE FIRM.
Gen. Grant concluded his REPLIES to
Mr.. Clark with the following statement:
Il might state here, although | don't
know whether it would have any effect or
not, that at the time l went in the firm |
had very small income, but l had some
money that my son had saved for me
WhIle / was abroad, some money that 1
had left, and which he had so managed
that | had saved some of it, and he pro-
posed to let NE have half of his interest
in the firm so that l would have an in
come to live upon, and there was after
ward an income raised for me, and after
that the firm generously concluded
to let me IN as a half partner,
and then afterward as whole
partner-special, not general-generous-
ly as thought at the time"
THE GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS.
Being questioned by Mr.. Root, counsel
Tor the government, he was asked:
Ibid you observe IN the letter which
| you received from MIR. Fish, and to. which
a letter, which has been identified by Won.
and which is entirely in your handWrit-
ing, was an answer, any reference to
| government cOntracts?'
mo; there was not. I told Mr.. Ward
when 1t was mentioned that there never
must be any government contracts.
There is nothing wrong in being engaged
in government contracts more than in
| anything else, unless made wrong bv the
acts of an individual, but l had been
President OF the United States.
and did not think that it
was suitable to have my name
connected with government contracts,
and knew that there was no large profit
in them, except by dishonest measures.
NO PLACE FOR HIM.
"Ihere are some men who get govern
ment contracts year in and year out, and
whether they manage their affairs dis
honestly to make profit or not they are
sometimes supposed to, and l did not
think that 1t was any place for me-"
And you did not find in that letter that
| you received any reference to anything of
that sOrtY'
II did not find anything of that sort or
| should have stopped, but as a matter of
fact may never have seen that letter.
Mr.. Ward may just simply have given
| me statement of the contents of that
letter when at his Office"
Further along in the eXami nation the
following occurs:
'As understand, Gen. Grant, every
| thing that you had was lost in the failure
of the firm:'
EVERYTHING GONE.
'Everything that | had IN the world
went. Mr. w ard O9me up here on the
Sunday night before the failure, and
asked me to go down with him to see Mr..
Newcomb to see if he couldn't get $780,
| GOO from him; that he had himself raised
| 100000, and if he could raise $3.50, 900 more
it would carry the Marine Bank
| through; that we had $500, 900 in the Ma
rine Bank, besides 81, ,3O0, 900 of securities
N y ifc. hat
venienced very much if we couldn't carry
the bank through, and he said
the Marine Bank was all sound and solid
| if it had time to collect in or draw in a
little OF its time loans, and l went down
there with him.
THE VANDERBILT LOAN.
"Mr. NewcOmb was not at home, and he
asked if | knew VIM. H. Vanderbilt well
enough to ask him, and |, after some lit
tie hesitation, said that | did, and Mr..
| Vanderbilt loaned it to me without any
| hesitation at all. He said at the time he
| gave it to me that he was lending this to
me, and that he had no recollection of
ever having done such thing before, but
that he would do it for me. Well. that
has taken all the remaining property that
| had.V
"The representation Of Mr.. Ward to YOU
| was that your firm was in danger on
account of the critical condition of the
Marine Bank?'
"Yes, sir. He said that we had 1,3OO,-
| 600 of unpledged securities in our vault"
Gle did not tell you that the firm owed
the Marine Bank $1,3O0,000?
ooh, no."
''Or that the firm was oyerdrawn in the
neighbOrhOOd of million of dollarsP
MAKING A GOOD SHOWING.
"NO, sir. He said that we had in our
own vaults, of our own securities. 81. .3OO.-
600, and that we had $500, 900 to our credit
in the Marine Bank. Now that | think
of 1t, 1t was seven hundred and odd
| thousand dollars,and he then said $150,O00
more that he had got of me was that
much more to help the bank, and l found
| that his statement, when / went down to
| the Office after the failure, was correct so
| far as the books of Grant q Ward
| showed
Snow, did Mr.. Fish at any time during
| the spring of 1884 communicate any dis
| trust on his part of MIR. Ward?'
'tNO, sir. If he had l should have been
| very ready, have no doubt, to take dis
! trust"
Explosions NOW Down 100 Miners.
VIENNA, March 27.-Forty men were
| to-day imprisoned, and it is believed that
all Of them were instantly killed by an
explosion of fire-damp IN the DOmbrau-
Ornau Mining Company's cOlliery at
| Trappan, in Austrian-SiIesia.
Fifty-siX miners We're killed today by