Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-10-18
FORMER FINANCIAL LIONS.
Hank Smith, a Former Wall Street
Millionaire.

Hank Smith, a Former Wall Street
Millionaire.
NEW YORK, Oct. 16.--A small, slightly
built, sandy complexioned man was
munching at q free lunch counter in Ce-
dar street the other day. The fact was OF
no Importance, only it happened to be
"Hank" Smith, the former Wall street
millionaire. He failed for million or
more last year, and has never got on his
feet again. He pulled down William
Heath, the broker, who found premature
grave. Henry N. Smith was almost as
unpopular in Wall street as j. Pierpont
Morgan, and wRs without the latter's
skin as a financier. He was simply a
Light Horse Harry Of speculation, but he
made ana lost two enormous fortunes.
he was formerly in the financial field as
lieutenant of jay Gould, and helped to
engineer the terrible black Friday gold
panic in 1869. MIR. Gould never forgeve
Smith for owing the books at the time
Of the famous Erie suits, and be let Will
lam Heath & Co., Smiths brokers, go to
the wall, knowing they would drag down
the bear Spectator with them. II. n.
Smith was persistent bear, and saw the
market go twenty points against him. In
MS best days he lived in fine style, and
had quite high position among those
who esteem successful speculations for
the wealth they have won. He was al.
ways exceedingly scrupulous in regard
to his personal appearance, and like
many another gallant in New York, wore
corsets. Owing to the peculiar angle as
sumed by his coat tails, he was once
called upon to officially, so to speak, deny
that he wore hustle. He did so with
ladylike pOut. He was purse proud and
supercilious. and as there was never much
to him but his money, he found few friends
In his overthrow. He had none of the
generous characteristics, for example, of
James 4. keene, who made some enc
mics by taking too independent a course
in his daring speculative campaigns. but
who has soul above money for mere
moneys sake, and whose nature Is
graced with the chivalrous instincts of a
knight OF the Round Table. He Is one of
the wounded lions of Wall street, but
may yet again shake Wall street by his
roaring. Then there was Daniel Drew,
an ignorant man, who boosted that he
read nothing, not even the newspapers.
W hen he no longer had the Erie treasury
at his back he was caught In the Niagara
swirl of blind speculation and swept to
his utter ruin. AS he walked slowly
along Wall street in the heyday Of his
wealth, bordering apparently on the drift
er in ''stOre clothes" on a visit to the city
to see the sights. He had small cunning,
which could not save him in the financial
tempests that whIstled through Wall
street. Jacob Little had his day still
earlier. He looked as swarthy as Cuban,
and old stagers in Wall street tell how he
embarked In enormous operations in
stocks, particularly Fort Wayne, and how
he tainted and had to be carried out Of the
old William street board room when a
bull leader of the day ran the market up
on him with lightning rapidity one morn
ing in 1854, if remember rightly, ana
Jacob Little, whose sombre face is now
seen on the walls of one of the rooms In
the Stock Exchange as one OF the former
speculative giants, collapsed physically
and financially. 1t was a knOckdowr
blow in the brutal ring of speculation,
and the victim never responded to the call
of "time." j have heard OF a man who
once borrowed half million easily who
became so reduced as to solicit loan Of
so cents from the same house OF which
he had formerly borrowed hundreds o.
thousands.
OSCAR 'WILLoUGHBY RIGGS.