The evening times., 1898-12-16
CALVIN S. BRICE'S
TRAITS OF CHARACTER
HOW HE BUILT UP A FORTUNE
Aggressive Business Qualities Mani
Tested i'm building a Railroad With
Other Peoples Money.

New York, Dec. 16.-It has been
said that when Mr. Brice went
into law partnership with James
Irvine, at Lima, Ohio, they tossed pen
nies to decide which should be a Demo-
crat and which Republican. They
meant TO get all the practice they could
from both parties. a friend of Mr. Brice
said last night that what they really
tossed to settle was which should have
his name first in the firm title The man
who was To be Ohio's Senator lost, for
the plate on their office door read Irvine
& Brice
Mr.. Brice, in 1870, came to the conclu-
sion that lawyering in a small Ohio town
was slow work. Then he conceived the
idea of completing the Fremont, Lima
and Union Railroad. He put through the
legislature a law called the Basil act,
which allowed townships to issue bonds
TO pay for the construction of railroad
lines within their limits. He issued his
bonds, and had them held by innocent
parties before the supreme court could
declare the act unconstitutional But TO
build the road and get the bonds issued
on 1t before the courts could interfere
required work at night and on Sunday.
too.
This stroke was the foundation of Mr..
Brice's fortune He made great deal
of money out of 1t. The Fremont, Lima
and Union Railroad is now the Lake Erie
and Western.
The ex-senator rom Ohio married hap
PLY. His wife was a Miss Miley, a
school teacher. She put the wedding off
Tor many years, saying: You'll never
have enough money to keep wife"
The Nickel Plate Road which Mr.. Brice
began to build in 1880 had been projected
since 1853 and partly graded. 1t was Mr.
Brice's idea to extend it SO that it should
parallel the Lake Shore. When Mr. w.
III. Vanderbilt refused to buy il from him.
saying: Il can purchase it cheaper at
foreclosure" Mr. Brice went to Jay Gould
and asked him to go over the line in an
observation car and pose as an intending
customer. Before the Gould train had
reached Chicago Mr.. Vanderbilt had
bought control from Mr.. Brice. An init
mate friend of the ex-senator said yes
terday that Mr.. Gould received 100000 for
this service. The agreement between
Gould and Brice was that Gould should
neither admit nor deny any statement
that was circulated as to his intentions
toward the Nickel Plate.
When the Vanderbilt representatives
met MT. BrlCe ana MS IrlenuS at the Oh
flee of the Farmers Loan and Trust Com
pany To take over the stock Mr.. Brice
suddenly said: LAS / understood it, you
were to take all my stock at the price l
named and all that of my friends.
Certainly not" replied the Vanderbilts.
I'VE only want control.
Mr.. Brice thereupon gathered all his
share certificates into a tin box. If you
won't buy my friends stock at the same
figure you pay for mine this deal is off, :
and ne started for the door The Wander
bihs' agents ran after him and bringing
him back, consented to his terms, r
Gen. Sam Thomas, the partner of Mr..
Brice was as white as a sheet while this
was going on, as the deal meant millions
to them, and any interference with 1t
would entail enormous losses On both.
Afterward Mr.. Brice said to the general:
Il should think an old poker player like
YOU would know bluff when he saw ii.
1t is said that Mr. Brice made two or
three millions out of the Nickel Plate
deal.