Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-11-02
THE ROTHSCHILDS.
BEGINNING OF THE FINANCIAL CA
REER OF A GREAT HOUSE.


Foundation of Their Fortune-How tha
Firm Of the Five Brothers Was Consta,
| tuted-Waterloo.
The original name of Rothschild was Bauer.
The family adopted the name Of Rothschild
| Red Shield from the sign which the founder
of the house kept over his dingy little shop
in Frankfort-on- the Main, in the odoriferous
quarter called the Judengasse Jews street,,
says Henry Clews in his Twenty Years
| in Wall Street" In this little shop. Mayer
Ansem Rothschild, the founder OF the house,
| discounted bills, changed money, examined
the quality Of coins, bought cheap and sold
! dear. How do you get 50 rich, Mr.. Roths-
childT said friend OF old Anselm one day,
as lie leaned over his dusky little counter.
| The reply zas: II buys sheep and sells
! 'deer'a His knowledge of the quality OF
1 coins was marvellous He had the instinct
of genius in detecting everything in the form
of money or jewelry that was not genuine.
At the age of II young Rothschiid took rank
/ with the best, oldest and ablest inancisrs Of
| Frankfort.
| 1t is not generally known that Rothschild's
! first great start in financial life was given
him by the use of the $40, 100000 which was
paid to the landgrave of Hesse, Frederic II,
/ by George Ill of England, for Il, 900 Hessians
| to help whip George Washington and retain
the American colonies. This blood money
was the original basis of the vast fortune Of
| the Rothschiids. 1t was deposited with Meyer
| Anselm by William TX, the successor Of
| Frederic, whose example was followed by
other great ones Of the earth, and in few
years the agents of kings and princes OF
Europe were flocking TO Frankfort to nego-
tiate loans with Rothschild on behalf Of their
mighty patrons.
The $4,000, 900, which was obtained on de-
post, remained with the house of Rothschild
nine years. and when Napoleon invaded Ger
many III the interim, the money, together
with other valuables, was hidden in wine
casks in Rothschild's cellar, but the conqueror
never thought of tapping the casks. After
peace was proclaimed, and William, who had
been obliged to seek safety in fight, returned
home, old Rothschild was dead but his son
Anselm handed over to the prince every dol
lar of the S4O,OOO, 900, and rendered him an
additional per cent interest for the entire
time of the deposit. The prince made him
present CT the interest.
The elder Rothschild had five sons, namely:
Anselm who succeeded his father in Frank
fort; Solomon, of Vienna; Nathan Meyer, Of
London: Charles, of Naples, and James, Of
Paris According to their fathers will, the
five sons were to constitute but one firm, in
which they were to enjoy equal profits and
never divide the fortune. The business was
to be managed at Frankfort as headquarters,
to which great money center all the profits
from the other moneyed capitals were to be
raled in.
All the annual settlements were made at
Frankfort. and the brothers met there once a
year for a general conference. This system
continues, and, though the original five
brothers have all passed over to the ma jority,
the last of them, James, having died in Paris
in 1868, at the ripe age Of u, yet the repre-
sentatives Of the house i'll the large cities Of
Europe sustain the principles OF union, har-
mony and consolidation laid down by old
Anselm Meyer Rothschild
The greatest specu lator OF the five brothers
was Nathan Meyer Rothschild, the third son
of the great old man. He made the grand
hit of his life after the battle of Waterloo.
He kept watching the movements Of the OPP
posing armies on the continent, and followed
Wellington very closely as he approached the
famous field 1t seems that the Iron Duke
was not at all pleased with Nathan's atten-
ton to him, as he took him for either spy
or an assassin, and was On the point of having
him arrested several times. But Nathan
kept his purpose steadily in view, in spite of
the fact that bullets were wbizzing around
his ears in showers He sat on his horse Oh
the hill of Hougomont with perfect COM
posture, in the teenling rain, the whole after
noon, looking upon that terrible struggle
that was to decide the destiny of nations,
until Butcher arrived and the French were
put to rout. AS soon as Nathan saw this he
put spurs to his horse and made all possible
haste to Brussels, where carriage and swift
horses were in waiting to carry him to
Ostend.
AT daylight the next morning he arrived
on the Belgian coast where he found it ex-
ceedingly difficult to obtain q boat, the sea
being very rongh. At length he obtained a
boatman as courageous as himself, who un-
dertook the task for 2,500f., and landed him
at Dover in the evening He lost no time,
but with relays of the swiftest horses pushed
forward to London, and was on the exchange
next morning ready for business long before
the opening of the market. This was the
morning of the Goth, only a day and two
nights after the battle that decided the fate
Of nations. Nathan had performed great
feat. He acted his role we'll. Like the great
hero whose political history had just closed,
Nathan was grand, gloomy and peculiar"
in the financial sense Of the phrase. He was
an embodiment Of the latest information
from the continent. The great operators
f1ocked around him, asking him, What is
the newsr' Nathan sighed heavily, and
seemed reluctant to tell. Eventually this
important piece of information was ex-
torted from him in strict confidence
Butcher, at the head of his vast army Of
veterans, was defeated by Napoleon at
Ligny, on the 10th and 18th tof june, and
there can be no hope for Wellington with
his comparatively small and undisciplined
force This statement was substantially
true-Blucher had been repulsed at Ligny
The duke had an awkward squad, with the
exception of the English, the Irish and the
Scots Greys, to marshal in fighting order,
but he ''got there all the same" Nathan's
secret point oozed cut, and in less than an
hour after opening there was perfect panic
on the London Stock Exchange
Nathan had bis brokers at work, first sell
ing short" end then, when the market
reached bedrock, buying on the ''long" SIDE
he bought everything that he could raise,
borrow or beg the money for-consols,
notes and bills When the news Of yelling
tons victory arrived>forty eight hours after
Nathan had begun to manipulate the mar
ket, and when he was Long OF everything
that be had money OF credit to purchase,
securities went up with boom Nathan
realized SC, COO, 900.