The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-04-22
HE STOLE MILLIONS.
~. Career in wslI street - Ha'''''e
v,.,..r-st.I. se.ooo,oo In Three
y,.r.-CIsansd spissosns Once

| The New YORK gun W
fishes this sketch of the wonderful
Of Henry S. Ives, the Nap''eo"
r,uro. - wbo died at Asheville. N. u
on April nth: ,.,,
In the spring of ls2. Henry 5. ives 'ei'
tho Connecticut town OF Litchfeid 70 con'e
IN New York and seek his fortune i''
denarture made the least possible S'"
IT,, was the only son Of an internal rev
enue detective, who lived rev Hi"e'
from Litcbfeld on a small, poor iai"'
left him by his father. who had oeeh IL
PRESBYTERIAN preacher. The farm was
worth only $500. and was mortgased 10
nearly its fun value. So. when the o'u
| detective died, the boy, who was "eaA
| and small for his age, decided that ne
was burden rather than heip' anu 'ei
| his sisters to run the farm as they p'easeu,
Ives was nearly eighteen years oiu
| then. but did not seem to be more tha'
| sixteen. He was thin and angular anu
| not at all good looking. with mop y.
| tow hair and bad complexion ne hau
| a pair of gray eyes which were weak ana
therefore had little sharpness In their
expression AS he had no friends and
little education. he was only able 10 get
a place as spittoon cleaner and sweeper
In the business Offices of Harper e. Bro
Tiers. After he had been with the Har-
pers a year and a half he had changed
much for the better in appearance. lie
dressed better and his face had grown
! handsomer He boosted that he under
stood the publishing business from top
TO bottom. and could run any part of
| the establishment. This boast was laugh
| ed at, and the spittoon cleaner remained
a spittoon cleaner.
So he began to look about for a better
job than his, which paid only 81 a week.
Somehow or other he managed TO get a
place as clerk at SO week in the office
of Charles r. Wing, broker He was
assigned TO the work OF going over rail-
road reports and tabulating the earnings
for the information of customers OF the
firm. He proved that he had mind of
surprising quickness. In a short time he
was familiar with the railroad business
in all its details. He lived with the utmost
frugalty and speculated In the smallest
way, but with a judgment that brought
success. Mr.. Wing also noticed that
young Ives was fond of listening to all
the conversation of his customers. He
reprimanded him in vain. Henry's ears
were always cooked and nothing escaped
him.
After he had served a few months In
Wings office, he astounded that gentle
man one day by proposing partnership
Mr. Wing declined the offer, and told the
clerk that he had got on too fast for a
80 place. and had better go somewhere
else.
Young Ives found a desk in another
oiilce' ana soon made his first sensational
iioNe' Inc western Union had just
bought up small telegraph companv.
but, as the law forbade its conplete an.
sorption, few shares were left upon the
market. Young Ives bought up all of
these shares quietly Then lie went
around to a dozen brokers and entered
INTO a contract with each separately to
furnish him with so many shares of this
same stock on a certain day. When
that day came the brokers went into the
market and tried to buy the sock. They
were astounded to find that all the shares
mad been bought by Ives.
Under their contract they must furnish
the stock to Ives. SO they would have TO
buy II from him at whatever figure he
chose to ask. They stormed and raved.
but he was calm, smiling. end inexorabla.
They appealed TO the Board OF Governors.
1t was clear that the transaction was a
fraud and yet the situation was difficult.
At last the board arbitrarily declared
the contracts invalid and checkmatcd the
nineteen-year-old echemer.
While he was a clerk in Wings office
Ives had often spoken of a certain rail-
road as fine prey for a man who want
ed to get rich. This road was the Min
eral Range a few miles In length hid
den away in an uncivilzed part Of Min
nesota. unknown in New York. 1t paid
dividends of 10 per cent. on a small
capital stock. 1t was very rich because
Ii was the only means of Transporting
the products OF certain great Minnesota
copper mines to the lake. Ives laid his
scheme before his friends. He had then
$4,000. George II. Stayner also had lit
tie money.
Just at this time which was early in
1885, Boston syndicate started TO par
allel the Mineral Range. This fright
ened the stockholders so that they sold
their stock TO Ives and his friends at a
very low figure. AS the Ives party had
little money. II resorted to a most in
genious scheme. 1t invested as much
cash as it could afford to give up. 1t
then hypothetical the stock thus obtain
ed, and with the money bought more.
This process was kept up until Ives was
able TO appear at the stockholders meet
ing IN July. 1885, with a majority OF the
stock. and to get full control of the
road. On various pretexts he proceeded
to gut the treasury Of the road. From
July. 1885. until December 1886. he devot- |
cd himself TO IL so assiduousy that he |
had stolen $S3S,36i.
But before December, 1886. other In |
terests of greater magnitude were occupy |
ing this boy thief. BY January /. 1856. |
he and his friends had got enough TO |
start a banking house. On February / |
1856. the name of Henry S. Ives g. Co. |
appeared upon the doors Of some splen- |
ddly furnished offices at q Nassau |
street The new firm called themselves |
bankers, brokers, and dealers in rail- |
road investments. The members were |
Ives. Stayner and young Thomas Dore-
mus, taken In because he had a seat In |
the Stock Exchange. which the other |
two could not get.
Ives had been revolving in his mind |
scheme for grand transcontinental rail-
way. He looked about for an entering |
wedge. He settled upon the Cincinnati, |
Hamilton * Dayton-a road running to |
the north from Cincinnati, and having |
fine surplus, fine income, and a |
drowsy Board Of Directors. The Nine |
raj Range could not furnish enough cap
itai for this tremendous steal
SO Christopher Meyer, an old can't
tallst. was drawn into the scheme. STAY
ner owed him money. Stayner went and
paid 1t when the old man least expected |
II. lie fell into Stayner's clutches. which
meant into lves's grasp a grasp that
never relaxed until the old man was
dead. Not even then, If a certain story