Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1894-04-21
Tnc Nanolcon of Financc.

The Napoleon OF Finance.
Henry :, Ives, the Napoleon of fl
nance, who died at Ashevlle, n. c., or
Tuesday night, was born in Litchfeld,
Conn, in 1859. His father was a Gus
tom house broker. His first employ
ment in New York was with Harper
Bros, who discharged him for hypoth-
ecating postage stamps. He then
worked in several business houses, and
about 1883 got his first chance at Wall
street life.
He had about $4,000, which he lost
in various speculative enterprises. FL
naily he made the acquaintance OF
Henry Stayner, and the two proceeded
% pack the Mineral Range Railroad.
They made considerable money out of
his, and then proceeded TO get posses
sion of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and
Dayton Railroad.
The plan rs devised and unfolded by
Ives was to obtain sufficient block Of
stock to control the election, and to
call meeting of the board ofdirectors,
aud then have the board OF directors or
the executive committee pass resolu-
tions authorizing the firm OF Henry 5.
Ives x Co. to act as fiscal agents ofthe
railroad, and have the funds Of the
company deposited with Henry ).
Ives x Co., and utilize these
funds to pay in part for the stock
which thev had purchased. and so
obtain control of the railroad company
for comparatively nothing, or making
the company's funds pay for It's own
stock. In fact, the procedure in this
respect was to be much the same as in
the Mineral Range deal, except it was
to be, of course, on larger scale,
commensurate with the size and value
Of the road.
The plotters secured bare majority
Of the stock by the annual election in
June, 1856, because Ives raised enough
money by over-issuiag Cincinnati, Ham
ilton and Dayton certificates TO buy in
lot of II $50 legitimate shares that were
held at l50 by a pool. Ives bad Stay
ner made president and took the vice
presidency himself Then, with his
filled board OF directors, he ordered
an issue of preferred stock to an amount
MOTTO exceed $l0,000,000. He had his
firm made the hscal agents of the road,
moved the treasury and transfer offices
to New York and started in with q
whoop on the Baltimore and Ohio
deal. which proved his undoing.
In March Mr. Ives went to Baltimore
and took up a plan which Alfred
fully had relinquished, TO head q
syndicate to buy Mr.. Garrett's road.
He gave $1,S00,000 of the new
and preferred Chicago, Hamilton
and Dayton stock to Garrett with
100000 cash as forfeit, began to hob
mob with Jay Gould on the latters
yacht, and began to borrow money to
carry out the deal and also to buy in
branch lines to make trunk line to st.
Louis and from there to the Pacific.
Just incidentally he snapped up con-
trolling interest in the NandaIia road,
and got enough roads to make, with a
new line of 60 miles, a complete line to
the seaboard.
Just here came the slip-up in his ca
was not behind Ives and people began
to call in the enormous loans that Ives
had made. If he could have held them
oil until he had gotten a S5,50000O
mortgage on the new road, he might
have been hailed as the financier OF the
century. But when the feeling OF dis
trust regarding him came to be openly
expressed Garrett appeared in an open
letter annulling all Baltimore and ONO
negotiations and the downfall followed.
The firm OF Henry 5. Ives Il Co. fail
ed for $l5, 100000 in August, 1881, and
William Nelson Cromwell was made
assignee. There were many who be-
lieved that the firm would come out all
right, and it was not until September,
l>S9, that Ives was brought to trial
before Recorder Smyth for an enor-
nous over-issue of shares of Cincinnati.
Hamilton and Dayton stock. The Trial
was the topic of interest throughout b ,
financial world, and there was general
feeling of disgust when the jurors an
nounced themselves unable TO agree.
1t was believed that new trial would
be ordered, but Ives was clever enough
10 effect a compromise with his credi-
tors at about ) cents on the dollar and
got out of Ludlow-streot jail or March
Is 1890, after years Incarceration.
After this Mr.. Ives returned TO Wall
street and speculated freely until June,
1881, when he was attacked with hemor-
rhages and was obliged to go south.
He appeared to have saved plenty OF
money from his wreck, and entertained
lavishly when he married Miss Lillian
Gertrude Seafs, comic opera singer
IN New York, November 2l, 1892. The
old indictments against him had been
dismissed the previous June, and he
declared himself happy and at peace
wltnall the world. His name appeared
again in February, 1898, in connection
with scheme TO control the Cleveland
Akron and Columbus Railroad, but ht
ialled to do anything with the plan OF
account of his reputation, and since
then the public has heard little or moth
Ing OF him.