The Sunday globe., 1901-06-30
THE WONDER LIP.
Whose Tales 0utriVal MunchauSen
and Marco Polo.
EX.SECRETARY FRANK VANDERBILT
Returns from Abroad and ParaIpes His COun'
tumon by Tho Extent Of His Financial, Sclen'
taC, and Economic knowledge His One Small
Head Acquired In few Brief MOnths-whO
Pays the Expenses Of this Modern AnnaniasP

in New York harbor OF one Frank A.
Vanderlip, at one time Assistant sec
retary of the Treasury. Since theh tne
type-melting machines and the wires
have been kept hot chronicllng what
the so-called man intends to do' anu
what he intends not to 90.
The authorship of all these an
nouncements has not been given, put,
Judging from past references to that
gentleman's executive doings, 1t is ialr
10 presume his own hand and pen had
somewhat to do with the fulsome no,
tices of his arrival on American SOIL
and his subsequent movements.
IN a view to keep the pubic mlnd
fu1lv advised of his greatness, 1t has
again been told that ms "TRIP aDrVSu
was for the purpose OF studying sne
financial methods of Europe SO In@S
when he returned to America ne coulJ 'tlJ
teach his fellow-citizens OF the Onleeu ,,
States how they could make noney
and nay the national deve.
1t is now said he actually uid sVuuy
finance in principalities he VlslIeu' no
tably Russia, England and france
He conyersed with number Oh as
tinguished statesmen and hnanclers'
and presumably with several OF tne
crowned heads and is now prepared 10
impart his knowledge to Secretary
Gage, and that most wonderful GAP
met officer will in due time give IL 10
let II be said here that Mr.. Wander
lin is a most remarkable man. lie lelt
Washington late in February or early
in March. 1901. lle went directly 10
New York. He did not larry long, pqt
shipped at once for foreign shores lie
returned and was again in Washlng-
ton the latter part Of June the same
wear. He was absent from his people
some of whom doubtless missed him
NOT unite four months, but in that time
he performed incredible feats or men
tal valor. To use a somewhat lneie'
cont nhrase. che done" Great Britain
and ireland, all the great nations Oh
continental Europe, and some Oh Vne
smaller ones in less, tnan one huhureu
and twenty days. In that prlet space
oF time-two weeks OF which must
have been spent in Improbable puke'
ing in the broad and blue AtlahIlC-
he accomplished what capaDle-DuI
unite as widely known men as ne
such financiers as Hamilton, walker
CaIlatin and Sherman-could not nave
ACCOMPLISHED in a lifetime, tnat IS 10
absorb and thoroughly know ana un'
derstand European finance.
In Russia-as he tells the story
he was especially honored, The Czar s
distingui sheed officers of state must
nave stood in profound awe when their
aves first rested on the spectacled ersI-
while reporter of a Chicago paper, VINO
had come so far to absorb in such a
little while all they knew II must
be he was familiar with the Russian
tonque That was a small matter; II
he was not he could soon learn IT, he
must have had a thorough knowledge
of II TO converse so fuently as he says
he did He held frequent conferences
With them. and in almost no time they
oo,,id teach him no more. They aban-
doned for the moment-for the pleas
ure of enjoying his distlnguisneu paes.
ence-the consideration OF Ihe eiil
barrassing Chinese problem, the Ia!S'
ing means to build the siberian ran
way and the rehabilitation OF the NUS
sian Navy. They devoted all thelr en-.
ergies in cramming into has ponueIous
brain the intricacy OF their empire
monetary affairs. 1t must be So otneI,
wise even Vanderlip could not nave
learned in such a minimum time all ne
claims he has hidden away IN MS ao
normal head. w.
ant there are few such men as van
derlip. Perhaps none other; and II ne
tell the truth, he succeeded IN uolne
what mortal man never dld DeIorei
learned the entire system OF the rus
sian fiscal establishment IN the leW
days he spent in St. petersburg ne
distanced the intellectual feats OF
peter the Great. The latter left MS
capital and spent years away from II
to learn what the doughty American
corralled in less than a Thousand
hours. Peter the Great was not CIT
cumstance-using another queer
nhrase-to Vanderlip. The latter went
saw. learned, absorbed and left the
C7ars dominions Strange to say, the
sun rose the next day on the towers ol
Moscow. and the world moved on.
In England he Gonversed with q
somewhat obscure individual, but he
nrobably could teach Vanderlip some
thing It is hardly probable, either
tbat he could, Tor man to teach van
derlin must be a more than common
nerson. 1t is a pity the great traveller
could not have gotten in,o the cham
hers Of Englands leading statesmen
Rovalty ought to have honored him
II NAV be that King Edward and sal
ishurv were too busy with the ap
nroaching coronation to give audience
to the Windy Citys emissary ana II
NAV be they did no. realize what
loss il was to them not to know MIN
and what a loss o the world 1t Woulc
he if they did not ten him all tnel
knew. But, perish the latter thought'
1t must be they did give him an au
dience. and his innate modesty has Tor
hidden him to let it be known.
He visited Germany and France
and soon there was nothing Frencf
statesmen could teach him. In mo
ment. in the twinkling OF an eye, h'
knew il all. The assignats of the Rev
omtion, the schemes on John Law, the
indemnity to Germany after the over
throw Of the empire in 1870, indeed al
the devious ways of raising revenue
back to the days of Charlemange h'
knew by intuition, and instead o
French inanciers teaching him, h'
gave them to understand he coulC
teach them. A most wonderful man
1t is presumed from his interview
that he visited Sweden and Norway
Denmark, Portugal, Belgium anC
Switzerland In the latter country the
people govern and the referendum II
a part Of her system. But Switzer
land could not teach Vanderlip any
thing. Although it was known as
republic some years before he wal
born, its statesmen were men of too
small calibre for him to waste tint
upon. The financiers of England
France and Russia were enough fol
him.
TO show his fertility Of resource, il
4bo ,,idst of his intense study. b,