Middletown transcript., 1899-06-24
+" POLITICAL ENEMIES BUSINESS
FRIENDS.''

"Sun" may or may not be true. As polit
cal gossip it is interesting to the TRAr
scRrPT's readers:
A good story Of clever financiering
going about town. The principals in thi
game of finance are of such prominence i
the State that considerable interest is mar
ifested in the particular manner in whic
the manipulators of this financial dea
were controlled.
The whole affair is the concluding fea
ture of the Delaware river steamboat wa
in which the Philadelphia and Smyrn
Transportation Company and the nov
extinct Brady Steamboat Company wer
the opponents. The war stretched over
period of two years and the specific cause
which led to its close have all been related
in these columns. How the Brady Steam
boat Company in the hands of George F
Brady. the well-known capitalist of Mid
dletown, passed under the control of tht
Philadelphia and Smyrna Transportation
Company just at time when every sur
face indication pointed to the collapse ol
the latter org ,nization.
Congressman John H. Hofft cker is the
president and leading owner of the Phila-
delphia and Smyrna Transportation Com.
pany. His company for months past had
been unable to cope successfully with the
opposing steamboat line. Every week
found the Brady Company claiming the
custom of former patrons of Congressman
Hofecker's Company. All Kent county
watched the struggle. No one expected to
see the Philadelphia and Smyrna Transpor-
tation Company weather the storm which
was gradually beating its financial supports
to the ground. Yet the company stayed.
1t continued in the field against the power
of blows that have wrecked many like
organizations 1t is now believed that
confidence in Congressman Hofecker is
the only thing that inspired the patrons of
the Transportation Company to remain
loyal.
The SUI rsequent game of fnanciering,
out of which the Congressman came a
proud winner, seems to have justified that
confidence.
The game was desperate one. Its first
step was to gain possession of the opposing
company. Congressman Hoffecker's COM
pany through local real estate brokerage
did that. They secured the option on the
Brady Steamboat Company by the payment
of $1,000 and an agreement to pay the re-
mainder of the amount of purchase money,
$4,000, within ten days.
The $1,000 was placed, and the Trans
portation Company's officials set to work
to raise the $4,000. The effort to bring
forth the necessary $4,000 developed the
desperateness of the Transportation Com
pany's condition. The success of the ven-
ture meant everything to Congressman
Hoffecker. His holdings in the company
represented his most valuable interests.
Eight days past aud the $4,000 was yet
not in sight. 1t began to look like failure
and the former minority owners of the
Brady Company who opposed its sale by
George F. Brady, were cheerful in the
belief that they would be enabled to retain
possession of the Company.
Both local banks had refused a loan and
the TRANSFORMATION Company was unable to
extract the am punt from any local capita
list. On the ninth day Congressman Hof-
fscker assured the directors that their
agreements would be met, and with this
took a train for Wilmington.
He was gone all dav. That afternoon he
was in communication with the president
OF the Wilmington and Northern Railroad,
Colonel Henry A. dupont. The $4,000
was due at 12 O'Clock the next day. That
day came, and shortly before the appointed
hour Colonel A. G. McCausland, superin-
tendent of the Wilmington and Northern
Railroad and a personal representative of
Colonel dupont, met the owners of the
Brady Steamboat Company and delivered
to them for the Philadelphia and Smyrna
Transportation Company his personal
cheque for the required amount. Colonel
McCausland was then made a stockholder
of the new company.
Here was indeed a story. Political enemies
we're Congressman Hoffecker and Colonel
dupont. Each was struggling for recogni-
tion at the hands Of President Mckinley,
and at moment when assistance of the
most stable kind was needed Colonel du-
Pont came to the aid Of Congressman Hot.
fecker.