The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1885-10-15
a sLManLAR RHnrL1rLoM

Ferdinand Ward has e length, from
his enforced retlremsns In Ludlow street
jail in New York. given % The pubic a
long promised statement of the firm OF
Grant q Ward, whose financial disaster
brought rum and downfall to General
Grant and undoubtedly fastened the
death OF the great soldier.
The statement makes ten columns Of
closely printed matter in the New York
Herald, and reveals the secrets of certain
Wall street operators who were never
supposed 70 have been mixed up in the
transactions Of the house. Some of the
names are given in full, and In other in
stances only the initials are given, but
the whole revelation is one of systematic
villany from beginning 70 end.
Inc amount Of money invested in the
transactions of the concern is something
fabulous; and had not the operators be-
come fairly insane in their creed for
''more," there was q time when they
could have retired with princely for
tunes.
The accounts were most systematlcal-
ly kept. They show that U. s. Grant,
Jr., had drawn from the firm the sum of
$40 424 as cash profits, which he could
have retained IN money. but that anxious
for more he re-invested In what was
then thought TO be better than a gold
mine and lost. But this was in degree
insignificant to the profits of Col. Fred
Grant, for according to the figures Col.
Fred invested, drew out and re.in-
vested In the concern from first to last
the sum of $6,O9S, 800, receiving returns
OF $7.253,771, leaving clear profit Of
81, 1891. and these enormous figures
accumulated through munlficent growthG
from comparatively small sums, and
as the HERALD says were "a marvel Of
amazing finance"
Col. Fred followed the example of U.
g.. jr., and re-invested. The profits
sometimes ran as high as $50, 600 for the
use Of 100000 for sixty days. A mar
vel indeed.
It Is pleasant TO know that Ward re
lieves General Grant from all knowledge
of these entries on the book
or the details of the business. The ole
hero appears to have been as guileless a
child. He rode down to the office o
the concern In the morning and rode
back at night, knowing nothing abou
the inIricacies of the business, but realiz
ing that he was growing richer every
day, and was one night surprised by the
appearance Of Ward at his house. bring
ing with him for the general the sum o
$1,000 in bank notes, which he said h
had just made on a profitable venture
This should have opened the eyes OF any
ordinary business man, but when Gen
eral Grant gave his confidence to AM
one II was full and complete and he be
lIeved implicitly whatever a trustee
friend might tell him. His profits d.
not appear at any time to have riser
higher than $4,000. He was told Il
reInvest. He did so, the crash came anC
he was ruined, On the whole. the state
ment of Ward is a history of unscru
pulous greed, such as has not hIthert'
been revealed In the annals of Wal
street. It lays bare the chicanery of mer
who have stood high above all suspicion
He seems to have been made the soap,
goat for the others, but as the Herald
says IN Its editorial on the subject
"Public opinion rightly condemnl
Ward but in the light Of his exposures
public opinion will also demand tha'
ne shall not alone suffer the disgrace o.
the punishment. There Is force In the
words with which he concludes his lonl
conversation with the Herald. 81
seems TO me-" he says, shat these men
several OF them old enough to be nl
father, some of whom had conspicuou
fortunes in life before I was born, haV
ing used me and my eDdeavors to tn
tune Of millions of dollars of profits
having patted me on the back in tn,
MONDAY of prosperity. have now turne
away and slipped so fer into the back
ground that the public look to me alon
for explanation and for restitution.
have accepted my position, and IN orde
that might do what q man ought, hav
stripped myself. As to the position {
these others, who have not been Stripe
and who have not stripped themselves
1 leave the public to ponder and th
courts to determine.