Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1901-10-24

Jay Cooke not only lived long
enough to retrieve his private for
times, so far as mere money could re-
establish him in the estimation OF the
world, but he lived to see the JudS-
ment of his earlier years justified in
the final success of the ventures that
had proved disastrous to him. He in
his last years has the respect OF those
who in the distress of the commercial
disaster that overwhelmed the nation
and involved the world had eXecrated
him as the one man more than all
others responsible for the 1873 panic
In the fury of the ruin which swept
the country in the fall Of 1873 people
forgot the services of Jay Cooke in ina
days when the nation found IN nm
the only man capable of furnishing
and willing to furnish the money with
which TO fight the rebellion. The men
VINO were carried down in the crash Of
the banking house of Jay Cook Il Co,
forgot that the man of whom General
Grant had said on the eve OF the sur
render of Lee, at is to his !abo:s
move than to those of any other man
chat the people of this country owe tue
continued life of the nation" was this
same Jay Cooke to whose speculative
ventures the financial panic was
charged.
It is not given to many men to sue
+hn almost sol :
Ginancial prop of great nation in time
OF distress and then in few years sec
the millions accumulated by a life
time of labor and brilliant ventures
swept away in a day. Still fewer have
been the men who, left without fortune
and for the time being almost without
friends, could enter again upon a
battle with the world and become a
second time multi-millionalre.
These have been some Of the achieve.
nlents of Jay Cooke, and there, when
his long life is viewed with backward
glance from the clos" is given the
key to the success which attended the
audacious conceptions and brilliant
achievements of this financial giant
He has said that his success depended
UPON the calm, even temperament
which he had inherited from his
parents and which he had preserved
through good and bad fortune,
Faith in His Country.
But there was another thing that
now seems the prominent charac-
teristic of the man and his plan Of
life that appeals to the patriotism Of
his fellow citizens, and that was his
unbouuded faith in the wealth-produc-
ing power of this country under proper
development His undertaking of the
construction of the Northern PaciliG
was based on this faith in the north
west country, his bOuyant confidence
during the time of war in the patriot
ism and the ability Of the masses OF
The people to furnish the money neeH-
ed by the government was the basis
Of his great operations of handling
the bonds Of the United States when
other bankers had declared that no
more money could be raised on tn
credit of the nation.
Jay Cooke was born at Sandusky
O., On Aug. 10, 1921, his father having
moved to that section when a young
man. The family on the fathers sid
descended from the original member
who came over in the Mayilower, and
his mothers ancestors came from tho
north of Ireland The father of Jay
Cooke was a distinguished lawyer Of
that section and was q member of con
gress. He labored under the handicap
Of the unusual name of ElcutherO, anil
of the father was responsible for the
tradition has it that the unusual name
simple name OF the son. II came
about that at a certain election the
opponent of the elder Cooke took ad-
vantage of the fact that the most of
the voters could be deceived and -
the subtle arts of the election day
worker around the pools induced them
to believe that Cookies name was
Luther. In this way enough of them
wrote it that way on their tickets TO
defeat Cooke and elect the other man
by a small margin The father deter
mined that his two sons, who were
then very young, should not be placed
"a a like disadvantage should they
ever become candidates for Office and
that they should have names so simple
and plain that nobody could be de-
ceiyed about them He called the old
est Pitt and the youngest Jay, and is
Jay this boy grew to be known the
world over
Attends School But Little.
Young Jay up to the time he was 8
years old had attended the local
schools but little and at the time
stated he quit them altogether. He
aad an acquaintance and friend in
young Indian. Ogontz. who afterwar'i
became a chieftain of his tribe, aud
with him Jay preferred to roam over
the hills and through the woods of the
neighborhood alternating hunting
With fishing. The attachment between
tbe white boy and the Indian was Of