Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1891-03-26
MRS. GRANTS INVESTMENT.
She Thought Standard OH People Were
Backing Steam Heating Concern.

Backing u Steam Heating Concern.
New YORK, March 25.-A strange
understanding has arisen between
the widow Of Gen. L. 5. Grant and
| Wallace c. Andrews, in relation TO the
! investment OF a large sum of money.
The amount In question is $4,000,
and according TO statements which
| Mrs. Grant has just made. Mr. Andrews
was intruste3 with tL.s sum for invest
ment by Mrs. Grant, but he did not in
vest it in exactly the way that she in
tended or was led to understand at the
| time.
The statement of Mrs. Grants side Of
the case, rs referred to above, is CON
tained In long letter which was re-
ceived by John d. Rockefeller, the
Standard Oil magnate, on Monday last.
1t was written by Mrs. Grant, and In
substance is about as follows
Some three years ago Mrs. Grant,
knowing that Mr.. Andrews was a stock
holder in the Standard Oil Trust, asked
him, to invest $50, 900 for her in the stock
okthat corporation. Mr.. Andrews in
formed her, she writes, that he was
about selling out his Standard Oil stocks
and was going into much bigger
thing, and he advised Mrs. Grant
that there would be a great opportu-
nifty for the investment OF her $50, 900
at better advantage than in the Stand
ard Oil stock, II she would come in on
the ground floor Of the new enterprise.
The scheme which Mr.. Andrews re-
ferred TO was the New York Steam
Heating Company, the concern which
keeps New York supplied with yolca-
noes in the streets and SpurtS its min
gled sewer gas and steam into the nos
trilS of downtown pedestrians. Mr..
Andrews and others were organizing
this company at that time, aud Mrs.
Grant says she got the impression from
Mr.. Andrews conversation that the
Standard Oil magnateS were behind the
steam company as its financial hackers,
and that their all-powerful influences
was going to make it a perfect bonanza.
On this understanding-tha the
Steam Company was virtually Stan
dard Oil enterprise-MrS. Grant says she
gave Mr.. Andrews her check for S55, 900
and he transferred TO her block OF
stock in the New York Steam Company.
Mrs. Grants object in writing TO Mr..
Rockefeller, who is President of the
Standard Oil Trust, was to ask him to
please be so good as TO have her stock in
the Steam Company exchanged to stock
i'm the Standard Oil Trust. Mrs. Grant
naively xplained-with a wOman's idea
Of buSiness-that she was tired OF walt
ing for dividends on Steam stock which
never came, and she wanted her shares
exchanged for those Of the Oil Trust,
which pay big dividends with great reg
ularity.
Mr.. Rockefeller was greatly surprised
at this letter from Mrs. Grant. He made
haste to answer il, assuring her that he
was powerleSS to grant her request as TO
the exchange OF stock. He explained
at length that neither the Standard Oil
Company nor any OF its trustees were
the hackers or promoters OF the Steam
Company. either directly or Indirectly,
and that they never had anything 10 do
with the affairs of Mr.. Andrews COM
pauy. Any impression that the Steam
Company's certificates could be ex-
changed for Standard Oil Trust shares
was entirely unwarrantcd. As to Mr.
Andrews himself, he had not been con
nected with the Standard oil Company
for several years.