The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-15


who claimed to be and posed as his warm
est friends was one of the many causes of
our earliest EN- barrassment.
When the public contrast the treatment
OF such men as Gen. Gordon and Gen.
Porter of the Grant family with what he
received at our hands they will not be
slow in discovering that his only enemies
were not those with whom he was openly
associated
General Grant was induced to connect
himself with concerns that basely be-
trayed him, and the firm of Grant & Ward
was obliged to bear the brunt of the
strain caused by these betrayals.
General Grant told me that General
Porter had induced him to take $500, 900
of West Shore bonds on the assurance
that no more than 10 per cent. would ever
be called, when in reality the whole $780,
600 was called, and Grant & Ward were
obliged to find the money and also furnish
$4,000 for debenture bonds, which made
$3.50, 900. where he supposed he would only
have $4,000 to pay at the outside.
General Grant was drawn into all sorts
of schemes by supposed friends who
wanted his name TO float their enter
prises on the promise of enormous divi-
dends without risk or the expenditure of
any considerable sums of money. These
schemes almost invariably turned out
disastrously and the firm was called upon
to foot the bills.
EXTREMELY RISKY TRANSACTIONS.
Instead of being one to induce him to
enter into extremely risky transactions l
was really restrainer, and in many cases
persuaded him not to go into ventu es
which he brought into our Office and in
which he had implicit faith, born of the
assurance of friends who knew that
even with his connection they were ex-
tremelY doubtful and without it abso-
lutely hopeless
One of the most coolly audacious things
connected with the whole business was
the alacrity with which the directors of
the Marine Bank to a man repudiated the
hazardous risks and denied all knowledge
of the large loans made just before the
failure of that concern, when in truth
these loans were approved of and voted
by full board of directors, who knew all
the ms and outs of the transactions in
question When the real danger came
they retreated behind an absurd and un-
true claim of ignorance, which would in
itself be criminal in any body Of men in
trusted with the care of large sums of
money by depositors.
Prior to the pardoning of Mr.. Fish he
made the statement that he would have
to come out of prison and go to work.
This was the main argument when his
friends sought executive clemency for the
financier. His poverty was at that time
absolutely appalling, but we have no well
authenticated account of his having en-
gagged in either physical or mental labor
since returning to the city. BY referring
to the foregoing schedule it will be seen
that there IS small probability of his ever
applying to any Of the street railway COM
panies for employment
A LACK OF REPORTS.
Why is it we hear nothing concerning
the affairs of Grant 81 Ward now?
Possibly my seclusion prevented my
reading the reports of the receiver and
possibly the failure of the receiver to pub
lish any prevented any or many other
interested parties from reading them.
There should have at least been a show
of some dividends from the securities of
the concern, as in one case alone one of
these securities brought the handsome
sum of 81 100000. l refer to the old
Booths theater property, at the corner of
Sixth avenue and Twenty-third street,
which, am informed, sold for the above
price.
Possibly these questions are leading,
but they are of interest to the clients of
Grant Il Ward, as well as myself
While on the subject of the receiver it
may be well to recall the appointment of
a man who was interested in all of Grant
Il Wards schemes to act as receiver, as
additional protection to the Grant family,
but it may possibly escape the notice of
the public that it has been in the power of
the same receiver to thus far completely
cover up the transactions of the firm with
Gen. Horace Porter, Gen. Gordon, Work,
Warner and others, whose interests and
connections with the firm will make in
tereSting reading when published.
NOT THE ONLY SUFFERER.
Had been the only sufferer by and
through the failure of Grant & Ward and
the Marine Bank 1 would have been IN
doubtedly open to the charge of seeking
both sympathy and redress long after all
interest in the affairs of these two con-
Germs had ceased to be of moment to all
but those most intimately connected with
them, but as several members of the
Ward family have been accused of aiding
me in the concealment of the millions
have beeneharged with making and saving
it is but justice to the people thus &C
cused to show how impossible it was for
me to be the possessOr of the sums 1 was
supposed to have placed to my own credit
during the time the two establishments
in question were in existence. 1 can only
clear those unjustly accused by showing
where the s., 000,00 deficit of the defunct
firm really went and how the disburse-
ment was made
While it is possible for those most deep
ly involved in any questionable transac-
ton to cry, ''Stop thief" and point to
the one member of a company which the
public selects as the most guilty party as
1.-THE hardened criminall'' and be loudest
in the demand for his punishment, it i'll
becomes people so deep in a transaction as
to be completely submerged in the whirl-
pool made by the sinking ship to use the
first breath gained after coming to the
surface in loud cries for the arrest and
punishment of one of their fellows with
whom they were associated in every de-
tail of the business that was to make them
all rich men.
THE CRIME WAS IN FAILURE.
Had the firm of Grant & Ward been
uccessful-which it would have been but
for an entirely unforeseen and unlocked
for circumstance, and a circumstance that
no management could avert-thOse inter
ested in the house would have been proud
to claim every dollar made by the tran
sactions in which we were engaged, and
not one of them would have been able to
see anything wrong in the methods of
the arch fiend who led them all by the
nose.
The crime then consisted in my failure
and not in my methods, as all innocent
men connected with the firm were after
the profits made by the transactions, in
which they could see nothing wrong until
they failed; then they all suddenly dis
L.