The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1899-01-02
o. H. P. BELMONT MAY SUE.
Wall Street Gossip Over His Retire
ment From the Firm.


New York, Jan. 1.-ollver H. P. Bel
monts suddenly announced retirement
from the Belmont banking firm has set
Wall Street to talking.
That there was some friction in the rich
company has been vaguely reported in the
street, but it was not generally supposed
that the breach was wide enough to cause
a dissolution of the firm.
Now report has it that there is even like
lihood of lawsuit before the difficulties
are Strengthened out.
Ostensibly the reason for the parting of
the brothers is the expiration of the arti-
cles of agreement. Among the partners is
August Belmont, but those articles were, of
course, renewable, and. had all been pleas
ant in the business, it is hardly likely that
the mere expiration of the articles of part
nership between the brothers would have
parted them.
August Belmont has been head of the
banking firm since his fathers death, q
period that saw the business already great
double or triple. Oliver H. p. Belmont has
taken less conspicuous part in the affairs
OF the firm.
or late years August Belmont & Co.
have been in some tremendous enterprises.
but the biggest thing with which the firm
name is associated was the Cleveland bond
issue. The Belmonts and ]. Pierpont Nor
gan formed a syndicate that took the
whole issue OF these bonds and cleared a
profit of S17 600. 000 on the deal. 1t is said
that o. H. p. Belmont is dissatisfied with
what is named as his share OF the earnings
Of the firm. and particularly with the man
ner in which he was treated in the distri-
button of the plunder of the bond deal.
ba hrin gtrif ffN. rive
there are likely to he revealed matters
that the Congressional committee that in
veStigated the Cleveland bond issue was
unable to extract from the GnaHcicrs.
The talk of q disagreement in the lirm
on the subject of the bond transaction was
revived when o. II. =. Bclmont's weekly
paper the Verdict. appeared. In the first
issue of the Verdict the principal cartoon
represented J. Piarpont Morgan. with
whom the Belmonts were associated In the
organization of the bond syndicate, stand
ing, tamhourine in hand, beside a hrnd
organ that Cornelius Vanderbilt was grind
ing while . monkey with the face Of
Chauncey n. Depew was about TO get 4
penny labeled "SeratorshiD" from
Thomas c. Platt.
In an interview on the Democratic char
acter of the Verdict's saUtatory. in which
it pronounced in favor Of an income tax
and bitterly 0ssailed the trusts and the
big corporations. and generally INDUCED
in opinions that bankers and the kind call
anarChistic and revolutionary. o. II. p.
Belmont used this language:
u believe in the Old fashioned, cOuserVa-
tive. above board and legitimate methods
of business as understood by the founder
of the firm to which l belong. as opposed
TO what are called modern business meth
ods. which are, believe, simply coaspira-
cies for the concentration of wealth in the
hands of the few to the end of crushing
the many, and because l still believe in
the methods OF the founder OF A Belmont
G Co. which caused him to be regarded as
a leader both in fiaance and the Democracy
of this community