The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-02-12
"ENDLESS CHAIN"


OtuCI lUI DOHuSs
NEW YoR., Feb. 12.-The Hon. Con-
rad N. JORDAN Is assistant treasurer In
charge OF the sub-treasury in Wall street.
He stands six feet three in his slippers.
He Is stiff and straight and solid, like an
obelisk. He Is the boss OF the establish
ment.
Mr.. Leopold Zimmerman Is the senior
of the the firm OF zimmerman x For
shay, 10 Wall street. They deal in gold
coin and bullion and all kinds OF money.
Mr.. Zimmermann's height Is q feet l.
His intimates call him Commodore Wal
nut.
Secretary Carlisle having made the al
lotments OF the new bonds, IT became
necessary for the successful bidders 10
turn In me first instalment OF their gold
to Assistant Treasurer Jordan. In the
majority of cases this was done through
money brokers like Mr.. zimmerman.
In many instances the successful bidders
did not have the gold TO deposit for their
BOMBS. In cases like this they hired
money brokers like Mr., Zim TO
turn In the greenDacks to Mr.. Jordan,
get the gold from him for the greenbacks
and then deposit the gold with Mr.. Jor-
dan TO pay on account for the bonds al
lotted TO them under their bids to Secre-
tary Carlisle.
Under this process Mr.. Jordan got rolled
yesterday I'm the rotunda OF the sub-treas-
ury and invited Mr.. zimmerman to leave
the building.
Later Mr.. Zimmerman told the reporters
that 1t was his fixed belief that "Mr. Jor-
a is a damned ass; a damned ass, sir."
IL all took place in the afternoon. All day
the money brokers n their patrons had
been turning in greenbacks TO get gol d
and then turning in the gold to pay for
bonds. At one clerks widnow o turn
i'm tn greenbacks; he old fast To them,
but gives you in return a draft on the
gold vault for the amount OF the green
backs. Then you hand this draft to Mr..
Male or some other e~nterprising and oblig-
ing sub-treasury official: The gold coin
in stout canvas bags Is then counted out
ard is usually run out on hand trucks TO
the Pine street entrance of the sub-treas-
ury and carted away to the money
brokers' office by John Barkley, the
official gold truckman for the sub-treas-
ury and the downtown banks. Barkley
succeeded his father in this business, who
conducted 1t for fifty years.
Yesterday, however, there was a inno-
vation. Mr.. zimmerman thought be
could get along without the services of
Truckman Barley. He had many
patrons to serve. He hustled about the
rotuuda with many OF his clients beside
him. He turned in the green backs by
the bushel. The gold coin was run out
TO him on the hand trucks from the gold
vault. With a list of the allotment OF
bonds to his patrons in hand, he checked
off the gold and ordered it back into the
gold vault, at the same time handing in
to the government bond clerk a certifi-
cate of deposit announcing that so much
gold had been deposited by him to pay
for Mr.. so and SOS bonds.
This went on for some time. AT last
Mr.. Jordan appeared in the rotunda. He
quite o~versbadowed MIR. zimmerman
when he declared:
~ won't allow this Office TO be made a
brokers' office. i object to receiving the
gold from you in this way"
Mr.. Zimmerman is short, but lively,
and isn't afraid to talk back. Peering up
at Mr.. Jordan he replied:
"You took 500, 600 from Whitehouse &
Co. in this way and now you won't take
1t in this way from other parties. You
favor one and not the other.
~ object to the delivery OF gold on the
floor of this building" was all that MIR.
Jordan said in reply.
'"I consider this favoritism," replied
Mr.. Zimmermann, pugnaciously, "anc !
appeal TO all present newspaper men and
all TO say If this is not favCritism."
'If you have any statements OF that
kind to make" responded M. Jordan,
''you must go outside and make them. T"
MIR. zimmerman accepted this to mean
that he must leave the building, and he
did. Aftervard he said:
"All this is humbug. It's humbug.
Mr.. Jordan Is a damned ass; a damned
ass. lie must be friendly 10 John Bark
lev. for its too ridiculous to think of be-
ing compelled to take tue gold around
the corner 10 my Office on n of John
Barkley's trucks only to turn back again
after raging the extra carriage and dump
it back into the sub-treasury. It's mud
die. muddle, middle. Just like every
thing this administration undertakes.
"sordan's a fine nan, he is. He took
the sos, 600 gold coin on the, floor from
W~hitehouse g. Co. and $3.50, 900 in gold
coin Tor Julian ID. Fairchild, president OF
Kings County Trust Company, in the
same way. Yet he refused to take in
the same way 800, 900 divided between ii.
p. Goldsmith Il Co., Russak Brothers q
Herzog. and Hoffman Brothers. It's al
damned favoritism. That's what is"
Mr.. Jordan explained that he wasn't
av are that the gold for Whitehouse IL Co.
and for the Kings County Trust Com
rany had been ~redepcsited in the SUBJ
treasury directly from the gold trucks
and fresh from the golG vault. He insisted
that the rotunda of the sub-treasury
should not be made a money brokers
Office.
These hanks have been appointed by
the Treasury Department as special de.
positories of public moneys pending the
payments on accounts OF the loan: This
Chase National, the First National, Ma.
I fiODaI Civ. the Hanover National, The