The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-06-07

NEW YoKK, June Gas soon as the col
lapse of Barring Bros. & Co. was announced
the New York World sent a staff cores
pondent TO the Argentine Republic t.
! inquire into the investments which precip
itated the failure. The correspondent
after thorough investigation was made
tells a remarkable story, showing how
Charles H. Sanford, Yankee drummer
for the sale of pills and toilet preparations
| first secured membership in the American
| firm of S. B. Hale & Co., in Buenos Ayres
| and, after making S1,000,000 by single
| financial COUP went 10 London, won The
confidence OF Lord RevelstOke, head of the
Barring firm. and thence returning tc
Argentine, invested several millions of the
Barings' gold in doubtful enterprises anG
| securities.
Twenty-Five years ago Sanford was or
the east coast of South America, travelling
as drummer for New York firm deal
| ing in drugs and chemicals This firm
! failed, and he turned his attention to the
! firm of S. B. Hale & Co, whose members
were about to retire. He used the mater.
nal love of Mrs. Pearson, daughter of Sam
uel Hale, and wife of John r. Pearson, as
| a lever to further his interests, and finally
! the house of Samuel B. Hale & Co was
continued, with the quondam pill drum.
mer Sanford as one of the partners San
! lOTu ODUdlucu luli COuLfUl anu engaged IL
foolhardy enterprises, which would have
ended in ruin but for the private fortunes
of Hale and Pearson. Then came the
stroke Of the Yankees life. After the
revolution, the provincial government
| found it necessary to consolidate the debt.
In order to accomplish this purpose, the
outstanding loans had to be taken up, in
Guiding the popular" loan held by Hale
q Co.
Sanford intrigued with the government
in behalf of the popular" loan, and it is
current there that he Subsidized" certain
officials whose favor was useful to the re-
aliZation of his hopes. Gold and paper
were now at par. The loan was taken UP
by the government in paper, and the safes
of Hale q Co. were cleared of certificates
which had cost the firm many anxious
moments. The European loans were
paid IN gold and the prosperity which
ensued, solely by reason of good luck and
the parity of gold, turned in profit of
upward of 81, 100000
Shortly afterward Sanford went to Eng
land and besieged Lord Revelstoke. head
of the firm of Barring Bros. & Co, and
won him over. When Sanford departed
from London he carried with him the con-
fidence and admiration of Lord Revel-
| stoke, and with a million dollars of the
| Barring bank behind him to spend and in
vest in the universe of chances. The cor
| respondent then relates in detail the story
of the investment of the Barring gold by
Sanford,
First, he was obliged to subsidize gov
ernment officials to obtain the great water
works contract. The estimated cost of the
works on which interest was to be allowed
was S36. 800, 600 in gold. The price OF the
concession to Barring Bros & Co, through
). B. Hale q Co. was $21, ,000, 900 in gold,
payable to the minister of finance in three
ell Al.
but there is another side to the business.
and it forms dark chapter in the record
of the Barring bank.
Nothing is conceded from the govern
ment in Argentine without a price-from
the president down to the janitors in public
Offices, everybody expects consideration
for his services in addition the regular
stipend. The concessions were obtained,
as was previously mentioned, by Sanford
In order to secure the great contract,
Sanford was compelled to bid high
Jaurez Celman was chief executive of
Argentine. Celman realized upwards of
$500 900 for his fee" in granting these
concessions. An additional sum of $780,
600 was also paid the president, if the
statements OF some responsible parties at
BucnCs AyreS are accurate The minister
of the interior, Dr. Wild, another of the
gang of sharpers who formed Argentiue's
Doodle ring, received 5000. 900 for his share
OF the deal
1t proved a difficult task for this CORE
spondeut TO trace the entire disposition of
the Barring corruption fund used in the
waterworks deal The belief is current
that nearly s., ,0U0. 900 were spent in ''pre-
liminaries," as the expression runs in
Buenos Ayres Sanford is popularity
credited with securing personal ''commis-
sions" which put him high above low
water mark. Having secured the contract.
Barring Bros. u Co, forwarded Sanford
two instaliments of S7,000O0O each. and a
third OF like amount will fall due this
summer. Other sums were advanced at
various times, until now, the CORE
Spondent estimates, the governments
liability to Barring Bros 6 Co. on this
single enterprise is nearly 100000
he continues: The losses of Barring
Bros. & Co., from the water-works invest
ment viii not be as great, proportionately,
as IN their purchases of bonds and other
money invested here, which no one out
side Of the confidential circles of the
houses employees and those OF their agents
can describe" The correspondent learned.
however, that amounts ranging from So
UO0,OJO TO twice or three times that amount
were obtained by various provinces for
internal improvements. One of these
loans 10 Cordova the correspondent SAYS,
l. larger than the entire province is worth
The Barings also have large investments
in railroad bonds, but these the corre-pon-
dent thinks, viii yield fair returns in
time