New-York tribune., 1901-03-03

THE PASSING THRONG.

P. C. Randolph. Of Boston. was formerly resi-
dent Of this city. and for a number Of years con-
nected with Wall Street house.
OPERATIONS Last evening at the Hotel Manhat-
OF FERDI- tan. in speaking Of the Wall Street
NAND WARD OF previous days Mr.. Randolph
said: One Of the most extraordi-
nary and pyrotechnical careers there have been in
the financial world OF this wonderful Republic was
that of Ferdinand Ward Ward must have had a
screw loose and very loose somewhere in his moral
makeup. He deliberately threw away the chance
Of becoming a very rich man by reputable methods
In business He did this gratuitously. and as far
as any one knows, simply because his mind turned
naturally to devious and dishonest channels. The
prestige of General Grants great assured TO
Ward. if he but exercised sound and discreet busi-
ness methods. lucrative. profitable and ever grow
him to prefer other methods S of dong BUSINESS
which which finally landed him inside the walls Of State
He had an absolutely ironclad nerve. He made
denim the man. you cannot help but admit and ad-
There was one case which developed after the fall
sum Of money which had trebled Under Wards
manipulation Accidentally this had tunbed
@ ae fo n ae to
his Mar nd aen Mad or ID f5 s9a s sa e of
toned was greater than the man had even sup
ske his oheg 3 Ward ta at he Sq % and e ySr
his cashier to draw check for the amount signed
hair He put It in his pc pocket @ and Va walked out
in his pocket was more than three times the sum
he had placed in Wards hands within the previous
tion that led him to believe the house was then in
eaa oyeT m & 90s0n @ the ian & in a which Ward
he had been misinformed. After about half an hour
returned the eheek g gneashed sh paS5 to %ard
and Tap 's s fer nee TGu n gaSs with a him m
Ten days later the crash came, and it was then de-
were actually short of money that had IL been
presented and cashed the failure could not have
Ward deliberately played on a phase of human
money in order to thus Win more But think how t,1
the minutes must have drawn out for him until
that check was returned"
Every one knows continued Mr.. Randolph
how Ward persuaded General Grant to borrow
hundred and forty odd Thousand
ONCE THAT dollars from William H. Wander
HIS NERVE bilt. when the house already
FAILED HIM ruined. He had wonderfully oily
and persuasive tongue. He knew
and how to get around them
Ward had habit of borrowing money from
time to time from certain then living in
New-York, but who had formerly been resident
of the Southwest This man had accommodated
him with various loans. ranging from $4,000 to
SZ599o they had however. always been punctuaily
Westerner said to him. Mr.. Ward have not
you wish for. but before 1 do So as a measure Of
ness and how it is conducted' Ward said very
well, and made vague statement concerning
government contracts. The Westerner's comment
That is very WELL Mr.. Ward, but from per-
sonal experience don't think there is much money
in government contracts, and in any event
must know more specifically to what you refer
Ward then came out plump and said that his hrrn
had a contract to supply the army In the South
west with oats for the cavalry. The Westerner
simply looked at him and said do you know
that come from that country? And let me tell
you something there is never oat that goes into
a horse there-nothing but cracked barley is fed
them That time when Wards Bessemer
steel nerve deserted him Speechessly. he took up
his hat and left the office.
The Westerner and his friends, 1t IS needless
10 saw were not caught IN the crash that fol-
lowed"