Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-11-02

unsaid at the interview, after my com.
panion5 filling me full of advice, we
felt, after all. that everything must be
left to my discretion TO say and to act
as thought best.
This council Of war was held in my
room i'll the Grosvenor. I had arrived
from Paris ut o'clock Mac and ]
breakfasted together at s. George join
cd rs ut 0, and we talked until 10, and
then we set out together for the bank.
Arriving there, they remained outside
watching for my temperance. Enter
ing the bank, sent in my card-F. A.
Warren-by livcried fiunky and was
Immediately ushered into the managers
parlor. he has long since gone over to
the majority. SO here Twill not so much
as name or describe him. Sufficient to
say that as Soon as / set eyes upon him
thought that we would have no partic-
uiar difficulty in carrying out our plans.
The manager, who had been told that
was a railroad contractor, expressed
himself highly gratified to have me do
my business through the bank and said
they would do all i'll their power to ac-
colnmodate me. l told him that Of course
was financing large sums and would
require moro or less discounts before the
year was ont. Then l came away, and
meeting my two friends outside Of the
bank in answer to their eager inquiries
rs to what had TRANSFERRED 1 told them
that so far rs tho bank officials were con-
cerned our way to the vaults of the bank
was wide open.
The next day went to the Continental
bank in Lombard street and bought
sight exchange Oh Paris for 200, 900
francs, paying for it by check on the
Bank of England I was given a note
of identification to the Paris agent of
the bank.
That night left Victoria station for
Paris. AT 10 the next morning had my
money, and going to the Place de Ia
Bourse, near tho exchange, I commits
stoned broker, who was a member of
the exchange, to purchase bills in Lon
don for $4,000. l cautioned him to buy
bills drawn only on we'll known bank
ing houses. About O'Clock he had the
bills ready. paid him the amount,
along; with his commission, and eyamin-
ing the paper found he had purchased for
me about what l wanted.
will explain, for the benefit Of any
reader not convcrsant with financial
transactions, that if John Russell, cot
ton broker i'll Savannah, ships Il thou
sand bales of cotton to firm in Man.
chester, the firm in Manchester author
ICES him to draw bill Of exchange ON
their firm, payable at some London bank
at three or six months time, for the
value Of the cotton. We will say the
price is 100000. Russell draws ten bills
for fl,0OO each, say, payable at the
Union bank Of London. He gives these
bills to a money broker in Savannah.
who sells them on the exchange and
gets for them whatever the rate of ex-
change may then be on London. The
president of the Georgia Central railroad
may have ordered a thousand tons OF
steel rails i'll England for his road, and
to pay for them he orders broker to
buy for him bills ON London to the
amount Of the cost Of the rails. He pur-
chases the Russell bills, and these bills
Of exchange he sends in payment to the
steel rail manufacturers in England; so,
as matter of fact, the president of the
Georgia Central pays Russell for his
thousand bales of cotton, but has the
bills of exchange. So, in place of eIO,-
900 in gold being freighted twice across
the ocean. the ten pieces of paper cross
only once. These ten bills for 81 900
each, drawn on the Union bank of Lon
don mt six months, in due time are pre-
sented at that bank and are duly ac-
copied.
Instead Of commercial notes or bills
they are now known rs acceptances and
are Just as good as u bank note There
fore II the owner, no matter who he is,
wants the money at once any bank will
discount all or either for the face value.
less the interest. In every commercial
center of the world these accepted bills
are being discounted by banks and
noneyed corporations for enormous
sums, but by 10 bank in the world in
such huge amounts as by the Bank of
England. Its daily discounts run into
the millions.
What our plan was will be made clear
later.
The evening of the day of my arrival
i'll Paris found me on the express speed-
ing toCa!ais. Two hours past midnight
was Oh the miserable little passenger
steamer that plies across the chopping
channel and which suppose has seen
more of human misery than all the
fleets that sail the Atlantic, for the
channel has strong countercurrents. and
wind. tide and currents seem ever to be
in violent opposition, and here
Fer across the main doth float
A sad and solemn swell,
The Wild fantastic, fitful note
OF Triton's breathing shell.
And Triton (old Neptune's other
name) makes all passers over this part
of his realm pay ample tribute for "his
I fantastic, fitful note"
The Paris night express lands one at
early dawn in London, nearly always
weak ON the legs, however. l breakfast
ed with Mac, and after that took til,
bills to the various banks on which the,