The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-02-08
A NEAT OPERATION.

II has always been known that Mr.. IRE
nor ". Park, at one time resident OF this
CITY. made "A good thing of his sale of the
Panama Railroad to the Panama Cana
Company, but the exact figures have never
been officially stated till now. The French
company appointed a committee in this
country to negotiate the purchase. The
secretary of that company, Mr. Charles
Colne. unbOsOmed himself on the subject to
the Congressional investigating committee
on Monday.
There were 10000 shares of Panama Rail
road stock, and they were worth $40 a
share. Thirty-six thousand would have
given the Frenchmen control. but. for rea-
sons best known to themselves, they bought
6S 634 shares. For these shares the company
paid $500 a share. Somebody. therefore,
pocketed the neat sum of S10,295. 100 on the
transaction. 1t seldom happens that so
handsome an operation falls in the way OF
a Spectator.
At the time the trade was made TrenOr w.
Park was presidentO OF the Panama Railroad,
and controlled individually and through
his friends heavy block OF the stock. lie
probably could have given the canal conf
pany control without buying share. But
he was smart enough to see that here was
an extremely fat goose indeed which cried
aloud for pluckihg. So be secured calls and
options on nearly all the outside stock. 1t
was matter of common talk at the time in
New YORK, and, though il was suspected
that Park might be buying for the French
men, no one had any idea of the vastness
of the scheme he had formed He had no
sooner got $4,000 out Of the rocco shares
practically in his hands than he went to
work to frighten De Lesseps. BE put up
rates Of freight on the railroad to such
figures that the company was paying more
for transportation than for construction.
Then be invited his friends in Congress
10 fire OFF the Monroe doctrine at the
Freuchmen's heads. Quite a number Of
Cungressmeu proved by alb that if the
French once got a footing on the 18th
mus there would be nothing for the Ameri-
can eagle but to fold its pinions aud fly to
the most inaccessible pinnacle OF the Rocky
Mountains. Adroit interviews with influ-
entail editors brought the force of public
opinion to bear on the necessity Of saving
the continent from European aggression.
Well-concerted efforts Of this kind created
quite q feeling. and the administration did
not disguise the fact that it was uneasy.
The plan succeeded perfectly. The
Frenchmen went to Park and said that
they realized they were in his power.
They would take his stock off his hands.
carrying the control of the company. and
would pay him something over the market
price. But Park had not read VANITY
Fair" for nothing. He remembered that
when Joe Osborne wanted TO buy one OF
al-r-f- Fro l.
at the time of the battle of Waterloo that
smart little lady informed him that RaNdon
had forbidden her to sell the horses sep
| arately. Joe must take both OF neither.
So Park told the Frenchmen that he must
sell 6S, 900 shares or none ut all. This was a
staggering blow; but the property was
good, ana after some demur De Lesseps
agreed TO buy them all.
When Park named his price his figure
! took the Frenchmen's breath away. Twc
! hundred and ninety per cent? Then Park
/ played his trump card. He said he did not
care about selling at all. He drew the
| canal committees attention to the fact
that there was great deal Of feeling among
| the public against French occupation oil
| the isthmus, and he had them observe that
! The feeling would be aggravated by an an
nOuncement that the company had bought
/ the railroad. Much pressure was being
! brought to bear on the President TO live Or
/ 90 the Monroe d0ctiine. He remarked that
/ the administration was in Quandary.
! did not care to 90 before the people with
record Of having surrendered American
rights. and yet war with France would b.
expensive. Under the circumstances h,
put it 10 his French friends whether they
did not think that q satisfactory solution o.
the difficulty would be for the Government
! Of the United States TO buy the railroad as
| the English Government had bought tht
Suez canal Rather than risk war he fell
sure that Congress would pay $500 a share
! for tile property.
This settled the question. If the United
States bought the road. the canal project
| would be dead as Julius Caesar. De Lessee p
| agreed to Mr.. Parks terms. and Drexsl
Morgan & Co. and the Seligmans paid oveI
| q