Evening star., 1898-05-28


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portunity of the SOL
SAENNA dier, but 1t has made
sNENSSfikSHYH fortunes as well as
3k w RSMM regulations. 7 h e
HFASSKAf struggle for victory
VyN NWNE at the front has had
EWf>U1 ~ its parallel in the
y 4&-tER- equally fierce strug-
~HS= gle for wealth on the
80 stock exchange.
~ 1t was Waterloo
that made secure the
fame of Wellington as a soldier. It was
waterloo that made secure also the finan-
cial dynasty of tfe- Rothschilds.
Shrewd old Nathan Rothschild had wait
ed for Napoleon's downfall, firm in the
faith that 1t must sooner or later come.
His agents had followed the Corsican in
his various campaigns that he might have
the first news of his overthrow, and during
the days that Immediately preceded Water
loo was himself with: the British army. In
deed. he kept 50 close to the commander-in in
chief that the Iron Duke" not knowing
him. fancied he mus be either q spy or
possible assassin and threatened to hang
him II he again appeared near headquar-
ters.
The day OF the great battle Rothschild,
from his horse on the hill of Hougoumont,
watched the struggle Of the nations, and
wnen at last he saw that the French army
was in retreat, posted of to Brussels as
fast as his horse could carry him, from
whence q carriage in waiting conveyed
him to Ostend. There he found a storm
raging on the channel and the sailors fear
full to cross. But he knew neither fear nor
danger when he saw the CLINT of gold. He
onered first six, then eight hundred francs
to be taken to the English coast. At last
nfP VII 4
francs fisherman having greater courage
or greater cupidity than his fellows under
took the dangerous task. Before nightfall
Rothschild had landed at Dover and with
his way to London. On the Goth of June
he appeared at the stock exchange He
told his friends; In confidence, of course,
that Blucher's army had been utterly de-
stroyed by Nap8leonsat Lgny on the 10th
and 18th, and that as a result of this de-
feat there could'be NO hope for Wellington
His whisperings poisoned the public faith
on every side. The funds went tumbling
while private and public credit ceased to
exist. , :
When the Reaction Came.
AS stocks and bonds went down Roths-
child bought all the eonsols, bills and notes
he could raise the money to pay for Then
he waited secure in his knowledge of the
reaction that would follow the news from
Waterloo. On the, 22d of June this news
reached London, Values went up more
rapidly than they had previously gone down
and shrewd old Nathan Rothschfld counted
as his some six millions more of gold >
3 Or all the great fortunes of America the
one most distinctly and 'legitimately a war
fortune Is that Of the, Du Points, who for
almost century have controlled the man.
ufacture of gunpowder In the United
States. +Eo5~G a. =
In 1902 Eleuthere Treme Du Pont, a
ref StoI iSha
aware, where he commenced in a small
way the manufacture of explosives The
war of 1872 and the Mexican war did much
for the industry which his descendants car
ried on In every generation one more
members of the family have paid for the
family riches with, their lives through ex-
plosions in the mills for the Du Points
must be their own chemists and supertn-
tendents and mechanics. The priceless Sc
crets of their craft pass from father to
son. During the civil war their contract
with the government involved millions of
dollars, and the present war with Spain
when the cost Of firing a single >projectile
is enormous, will add greatly to their
wealth. which is estimated to exceed one
hundred millions. -
During the Civil War.
Most of the fortunes9in America. today
coma directly Or Indirectly as a result of
the expansion and development occa stoned
by the civil war. ~.
The first effect of the war was to paralyze
trade Of every sort, the next was to stimu-
late it. The speculative fever broke out in
1852. Men speculated in ill the food prod
ucts, in coal, iron, dry goods and gold. Very
few Of these purely speculative fortunes
were lasting, however. They were made
and lost almost In a day. One of the most
interesting phases of this way time specula-
ton were the operatfons in gold which were
first conducted In dirty And dingy news
stall called ''Glpin's rooms" at the corner
of William street and Exchange rlace New
York city. In two or three months 1t be-
came the center of the gold business of the
United States During the war, when gold
reached 2S5, the trade amounted to millions
a day and immense fortunes were suddenly
made, the majority of which were as sud
denly lost in March OF 1853, when gold fell
seventy-four points. 60
Specializing in Gold.
The speculation lin gold eliminated in
1859. in widespread ruin. This was On what
Is known as Black Friday, when Jay Gould
and Jim Fiske tried 10 force Il up to 200.
Fiske had entered into the venture on
Geuld's assurance that President Grants s
brother-in-law, Gen. Porter, his private sec
rstary, and Butterfield, the assistant sec
retary of the treasury, were to have an in
terest in the speculation. Fiske was aware
that together they could buy all the gold in
New York city, but he feared the s10O, OOO-
600 in the subtreasury, for he knew an offer
from the government to sen any part of
that would meaa their ruin, as he said
Our phantom gold cart stand the real
stuff" However, when ne was told that
corruption was tSplay "a part in the specu-
lation, he felt at homeland safs They pre-
pared for the strsgsaeby buying the Fifth
NATIONAL Bank Of New York.
On the 23d OF Eeptehfber. the day bafcre
the bubble broke sGeAM and Fiske had
about $4,000 oHndep6eit there, but their
checks were certiiedis.to the amount Of
$SOO0,OO0. .-@-:-s 4a~fS H1zer 't's
The government n1eaAtime had been In
formed of the &ttiSA OF the bank. and
three examiners fsfss1sent to New York
morning; but they permitted the bank to
transact its regular BAsiness,,. though no
more checks werge CERTIFIED wnich were not
covered by a depSsft
Panic HAT Hat soilowea.
On Wednesday .ethet price of gold had
been 14O1z, a rise Of fiv8 cents This would
have given profit Of save millions Of dol
lars to the ,conspirators had they chosen
| to sell. but they held and Thursday gold
reached 150 On FridaN morning 1t climb
ed to 160-and then at the critical moment
came the news that the government had
opened the vaults ofithe subtreasury. In