The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-03-28

| IoAnS II 4or certain amount, q Stlpu-
laled amount; but the contract was to
other parties; and l said that | did not
see that there was anything the matter
Win that. A man had contract from
government for quantity of oats and
oatS was an article that could be pur-
chased very easily on the Chicago mar
ket, ana l said | didn't see any thing
wrong In that, as we had no contract.
Then, afterward, / began to hear, and
that wasn't long before the failure
whispers around that he was
saying that he had government CON
tracts, and 1 questioned him about it
ana he said that he had no such thing.
he SAID he wouldn't do anything that
was going to injure me, or ANYTHING
requested him not to do; and he SAID
ne had no contracts anywhere. 1t had
been said that he had city contracts,
and he as mnch as said to me that he
was very well acquainted with the city
otflclals. and that made it easy for him
te get contracts from the city, and
told him didn't know whether there
was much difference in contracts for
New York City and those made by the
government of the United States, so far
as that is concerned; then he told
me he had never a contract
at all of any kind with the
government of the United States.
or with the city of New York. That was
the way he did. Andh he gave me an in
stance, he says: NOW here is man
has section of railroad" and 1 don't
know what road it was, it was a road
going through Pittsburg, l think, con-
nected with the Reading road, he said
there was man had a section of that
road to build; and he said that that
man, if he could have money furnished
for his horses and his tools and his
little steam engine and everything he
needed there, he could work to very
much better advantage on his contract.
and that the firm of Grant & Ward
were TO let him have the money to do
that contract; let him have the money
to get along with. We'll" 1 said, lit
doesn't seem to me that that is very
good security; 1 shouldn't regard
that as very good security for your
money and mine; a man that has taken
contract and can't pay for the horses
and steam engines and picks and plows
and shovels, and so. can't be very good
security for money" ooh, but" he
said; we keep the contract in our posses
sion and the money is all paid into our
office" The road, he said, held back 10
per cent, until the work was done, and
they paid the contractor for every sub
division. l don't know what length
OF road that was that was
paid for, but they kept back
10 per cent. OF the contract, and that is
the way he explained it, and 1 supposed
he was more of business man than 1
EHtnk must nave lave See Been IF 1883, when we
went out to the western part of Pennsyl-
vania in the winter. and Fish was along.
and party of gentlemen, and We had a
special car. Ward was with the party,
but he wasn't discussed at all. Colonel
Grant was along, and there was Mr..
Fish and Ferdinand Ward and Joseph
r. Smith, Mayor Nelson and J. Nelson,
of Tappan City, Chamberlain and the
treasurer of the road.
Mr.. Spencer-Did Fish converse at all
about the business of Grant & Ward?
Al don't think he ever did. l
made remark, 1 recollect, that Ward
was man of wonderful ability, of
wonderful business capacity, or some
thing like that, and Fish said he never
had got anything so good in his life
before.
Q.-You didn't draw from the firm
were led to suppose had been made?
A.-No, 1 did not left them there
with the concern, and everything | had
beside, and 1 haven't got it out. I had
some little items, but I don't know
what amount, that were purchased by
some of them, for me, with the money
of the firm, that were profits of the
firm; they never were purchased, but
then they were supposed to be, and /
was charged with the purchase of them.
Q.-You drew, if | understand cor
rectly, from the firm, at the rate of
$1,000 month, during the year 1882
Ayes.
Q.-And at the rate of So 900 month
during the early part of 1882
Ayes.
Q.-Up to the time of the failure?
A.-Yes, sir.
Q.-And that was the limit of your
drafts upon the firm?
A.-That was the limit of my drafts.
Q.-As / understand it, General
Grant, everything you had was lost in
the failure of that firm?
A.-Everythlng had in the world
went. Ward came up here on the Sun
day night before the failure and asked
me to go down with him to see Mr.. New
comb, to see If he couldn't get $3.50, 900
from him. That he had himself raised
$3.50, 600, and that if he could raise $780,
600 it would carry the Marine bank
through; that we had 100000
in the Marine bank, besides ST.
100000 of securities in our vaults;
that we should be Inconvenience
very much if we couldn't carry the
bank through, and he said the Marine
bank was all sound and solid, if we had
time to collect in, or draw on little of
its time loans; and went down there
with him, and Newcomb was not at
home, and he asked if knew VIM. H.
Vanderbilt well enough TO ask him.
and I, after some little hesitation, said
/ did, and Vanderbilt loaned it to me
without hesitation. He said at the
time he gave it me that he was lending
it to me, and that he had no recollection
of ever having done such thing be-
fore, but that he would do it for me.
Well, that has taken all the remaining
property had.
Q.-The representation of Ward to
you was that your firm was in danger
on account of the critical condition Of
the Marine bank2
A.-Yes, sir, he said that we had
81. 300, 600 OF unpledged security in our
vault
Q.-Now, did Fish, at any time dur
ing the spring of 1884, communicate to