The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-13
H. j. JEWETTAND THE ERIE
SOME INNER HISTORY RECLLLED
BIZ HIS DEATH.

NaANy = NtCtorN tor tno boFmer-NNny VOL
Tom Scott DIDN'T became President or tho
Erie RaiiwaJAstory OF the Receivcrship.
when Hugh J. Jewott died the other day
said n railroad man who was Of the inner cir
Gle in Erie Railway affairs during the critical
times that succeeded the regime OF Jay Gould
and James Fisk, Jr.. 'the newspapers made tho
error Of stating that he was called from his seat
in Congress to become receiver OF the Erie Rail-
way Company. Such was not the fact. How
he happened to be placed in charge of the Erie
Ia one Of the incidents In tho lively career Of that
corporation of which the public never had full
knowledge.
I'm the spring Of 1872 Jay Gould retired from
the control of tho Eric, owing to a conspiracy
against him formed by directors and officers of
the company whom he had placed in power
and whose fortunes hc had greatly advanced.
This conspiracy originated In London with the
owners Of tho Atlantic and Great Western Rail-
road, now the Erie's Nypano division. whose
plans for snddling that utterly bankrupt prop
erty on the Erie Gould had refused to asrco to.
1t Is the popular belief, because the newspapers
printed It that way at the time. that Jay
Gould's downfall as dictator Of the Erie was
caused by n bold and sudden coup made by
Gen. Sickles, who for that very purpose had
! been relieved from his post as United States
! Minister to Spain. and who. with force of arms
and tho aid Of the authorities, broke in upon the
astounded and transporting Gould and his ad-
visers, forced them to surrender, ovcrawed tho
directors, caused n number OF them to resign
and elected others in their places. As n matter
Of fact, the plans for the retirement OF Jay Gould
were laid weeks before Gen. sickles knew any
thing about them. although they were well
known to Jay Gould himself. The spectacular
and noisy coup was an entirely unnecessary
accompaniment OF the occasion, a happy after
thought of the Generals, and by it he captured
oil the honor of tho overthrow Of Gould. In
stead Of Gould's being forced out he dictated
his own terms Of capitulation. His down
fall was really a victory. He made n million
and o half In the rise in Erie stock that followed
1t, and then resigned his seat in the Board Of
Directors, in which the bold Eric rcscucrs had
not ventured to disturb him. He Immediately
began laying plans to recover control Of Erie,
and that he did not recover 1t two years later
was simply because circumstances induced him
to change his mind.
Peter H.. Watson. who had been Assistant
Secretary Of War under Stanton and was
known as a man of experience in railroad man.
fSsiRlsnt' c T@s slse is Ju hgei 1882 # The the rssi Esis
bSnd, as Of i 5s sams tG 1f s%lled sn TAi p% efntb5Fs1y IN Tine
owned the bankrupt, Atlantic and Great West
ern property. and whose policy was to have the
administration the famous dividends on Erie
stock were paid. although the company was
rninous discount to keep the road running.
Watson resigned in June. 1874, II had been
to resign. and the Erie Company was looking
about for a suitable man 70 take his place. Col:
p peoma1i ar iran Railr parSt Co nnne,pres was soi Gs Z tes
to take hold of the Erie, and he consented to do
SO. The arrangements were all made for his
ton from the Pennsyivsnia Company was
written, and would have been offered the very
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. died.
This changed the entire future Of Erie, Col:
the asS' Psn rssiF f1anis R tx rass' c slSEanreS Mas not OF
rendered. He was selected to succeed Thorn.
roads % T 'nH much h' better than taxing charge
Of u property. such as Erie was then: Col. Scott
thought. and he declined the honor of becoming
sea. They sought for a President among the rail
road men Of The county. but no one seemed to
Congress from Ohio at the time and whom Scott
knew to be a man of ability and experience in
railroad management. The Erie Railway Com
pany invited Jewett to, como and be its Presi.
on condition that the company should pay him
q salary Of 100000 q year and advance him
$15 q GO Of each !" years ,m salary rife for ten years ,ss bi or
Rest salary, that had ever been paid to a rail;
road President %anywSsr :; a bit the Erie : e agreed
return for Jewett's services. This was in July.
1874; Erie employees along the line were wait
"fhat's the way Nj. jkowyett cam to be called
to the Erie Presidency. The way he came to
story, About the first thing he discovered
after becoming President was that Jay Gould
the Erie into the hands Of a receiver and that
Gould had already selected the men who werc
to be the receivers sNs In.snb TS % G wers Il bd Ri " oid P Int
men. close in the confidence OF Gould. The
measures Gould had taken were proceedings
afHdavits made by >. III. Dunan, whose revela-
tions as general auditor, of the company under
that administration These affidavits averred
that the company was bankrupt and that men
stocRh SSdsRi'' by %saddii II upon pc It ali the bur
dens of the Atlantic and Great Western Rail
T wSs r Han or "aHG BY '1 another S'" against tho c sais
pany, brought by the Acknowledgement of the
State on The ssms Sfld Iy tss and a. the Ss inSt ha.r
pushed, nothing could have prevented Gould
from succeeding In his plans. but soon after
that neither the public nor the men concerned
with Gould eyer know. began to lag and drag,
and they really got not much beyond the pre-
I'm the first year Of wats9n's administration
s genius WY" Witch camo to be Known as Tho great
Erie restitution by which Gould turned oyer
g pssiI$en y W s,ooS. 5 s5S0'fIt II wi'a an t fSSse sas!
pany discontinued its suit against him to re.
cover Slo 600 900 which It claimed he owed i
not one.ninth Of what II was accepted by tho
company to be, and even IL all the s%ecuri'ief on
the list had been received by the company It
would not have amounted to more than $4,000
300. One item was 81 900, 600 in United States
Express stock. and that, owing TO some hitch in
getting control OF II by Gould himself. he did
not deliver. and suit was brought against him
for the stock or it's value. There could be no
doubt as TO thc'outcome Of the suit, and q judg.
ment against Gould for 81 .00O, 900 and costs
would have been as good AS the money.
$50 the litigation that had been begun to place
the Erio in the hands OF receivers suddenly
Jagged. and the suit OF the Erie against Gould
for the 81. 10000 OF express stock did NOT seem
to be urged, and at last both the Angel suit and
tho suit Of tho Attorney: Genera against the
Erie were discontinued. Then It became known
suit against Gould. and It was heard of no more.
"An9ther thing TINT Mr., JeTett came face to
was q lease TO the Erie Of tho bankrupt Atlantic
and Great Western Railroad on terms that
made OF the Eric simply a medium for earning
money to keep the Atlantic and Great Western
gong. This had been made in May, 1874.
President Jewett repudiated the lease. The
litigation that followed lasted ten years, and not