Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-07-15
COSTLY INTRODUCTIONs
Many People Wished to Know Col.
North, and Hooley Once Was in
Great Demand.


Great Demand.
according to an article on costly in
Productions. which appears in a Lon
don weekly. $4,000 is the record SIM
paid for the privilege of sbaking
somebody's hand. This was the nrice
pa,d on one occasion for a handshake
with the late Col. North, and that
nun Ola Ihancier was SO enraeed
When ne heard Of the transaction that
ne cut his friendship with the intro
ducer then and there, and paid the
money pack to the man who had
sought the acknowledgements it out Of
his own pocket.
But II all the tales one hears in the
city are true, and Col. North had I'M
dcrtaken TO reimburse all the sums
when had been paid to. obtain his
hahdshake, he would not have died so
r4ch as he did. Twenty. thirty and
nifty pounds were sums frequently
PAID for INTRODUCES to the nitrate
king by persons who expected him To
help them make their fortunes. Need
less 10 say, the money was practically
thrown away in most cases.
H''i f. i. I1ooley was IN the zenith
or ms meteoric success, there was
hardly d pushing man of inventions or
business who did not seek the famous
findncier. and the consequence was
that Mr. Hooley had to draw a Gordon
around himself to keep wildcap
schemers away. or he would have
never had time to do business.
Mr.. Hooley's intimate friends might
have afnaSsed fortunes in fees for in
Productions. for all sorts OF sums were
offered FOR such service. In one case
$4,000 was offered and declined.
while a fee of $1,000 was paid for a
handshake with MIR. Hooley by a
Midland county merchant. who want
ed his business floated. only week or
two before the crash came.
or course. Mr.. HOoley Was no party
10 these brides. OF which he may be
totally ignorant 10 this day. II half
the brides that were offered for intro
duo ton To the meteoric flnancier were
accepted. MI. Hoolcy's friends made
more out OF h!rn than he made out of
himself.
It has been hintod that another ia
nous 1luancicr who was nadly
sought after BY hundreds of people
who wanted him to finance their
X hemcs. employed q fIicnd to accept
al brides offered in this manner. and
that the two shared the amounts.
which We're not infrequently very
considerable.
The truth is the linancier discovered
that a certain friend was making a
to him people with schemes and CON
Germs and that he threatened the
friend with exposure unless the friend
supplied him with a complete list Of
the names Of persons from whom he
had accepted brihcs for introductionq
and fully repaid all such sums. The
friend laughed at the threat. refused
to comply with either Of the demands
ana declared that he would give out
that the amounts had all been shared
with the iinancier himself If the lat
ter mentioned the matter to anyone.
The tinanNicr dared not imperil his
reputation by being slandeIed in this
way. and was. therefore. compelled To
keep silent Hut after his death.
when it became known that his friend
INV iifbi 'd'h'd It'l TOiIs' " MN at ~
much a time. the introducer declared
that il had always been done with the
knowledge of the hnancier, who had
nad half of all the sums obtained in
this way. Hence the rumor. which il
absolutely without foundation.
The introdUccr admitted that he had
made $i0,eG0 by introducing people 10
the iinancier. which shows the bald
improhability of his assertion that he
only took half the proffcred brides,
since it was hardly likely that $50. 900
was forthcoming for mere introduc-
tonS to the finanCier
4 millionaire money lender once
offered one Of the aristocratic clients
the return of all the latter'S promis-
sorry notes. amounting to nearly 500
coo, if he would introduce him socially
10 three titled gentlemen. and he
faithfully redeemed his promise. on
another occasion the same millionaire
offered To knock off Sl500 of a debt
owed him by a client if the latter gave
4 dinner to some Of the smarter OF his
friends and invited the money lender.
The money lender was so plea seti
with the success of the dinner that he
increased the deduction to $200O.-Tit
Bits.