Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1905-03-03

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The late Jay Cooke of oEontz. Pa,
Who was known a. the finaB CT Of the
American civil war. hal story which
D.. uz.-l O. love Ia relate n a dinner
g,cu In Sterling. y. Y. by feter
Town 10 himself. SECRETARY Chase,
Horace Greelcy. Thomas A. scott aud n
few other men OF note, who were
abput 60 form company To develop
some Iocal iron mines. says Washing
ton correspondent OF the New York
Post.
The feast was spread NJ country
hotel. aud Mr.. Greeley lest the table
Ia Tive midst Of IL for some purpose.
Ills absence was attributed TO his well
known eccentrlcity. and no one thought
anything Of II till the discovery was ac-
.cllcntally made that ia quitting the
building the editor had he.peJ himself
TO a white oyeFcoat belonging 10 his
host. which he mistook In his absent
minded way for the old garment that
had become historic on his own back.
Now. Mr.. Townsend was as convivial
Ia his habits as Mr.. Greeley was alb
stemiouS. and In the pocket of his
overcoat lac had that evening hidden
bottle of very choice whisky, 50
messenger was sent to scour the vii
lage for Greeley and presently brought
him back. oyercoat, bottle AMI ail-in-
deed, the neck of the bottle was stick
ing out of Il side pocket, much to the
good mans chagrin when his attention
was called to it.
At once the party resolved itself into
court and put Greeley on trial. Chase
presided as Judge. Townsend conducted
the prosecution, Scott. Cooke and the
rest of the big moneyed men present
served as jury, and Greeley was con
victed of three offenses-grand larceny
in the theft of an overcoat, maintaining
an unlicensed bar in his side pocket
and hypocrisy in pretending to be
total abstainer, but carrying off spritu-
Gus liquors to be drunk by him at night
and in secret place. His sentence
was to set up champagne dinner for
the same party at the next time and
place they could all be brought to-
gether.
For the twenty-first consecutive year
Jay Cooke gave his annual reception to
the girls of the OgontZ pa school last
year, says the Philadelphia North
American. This reception was looked
forward to in OgontZ with as much
eagerness rs is the assembly, although
the reception was vastly more eXclu-
sive. Tie veteran fnancer got UP out
of sickbed to act as host to Ibis
girls" as he called the students.
He was assisted in receiving by the
twenty-five members of the senior class
who also superintendent the serving of
dinner The younger girls sat down on
the floor around the big, old fashioned
fireplace where a wood fire cracked
and roared into the chimney. The
guests were served at special table
in an adjoining room, where Mr.. Cooke
dned with the senior class after he
had seen the feast in the big room well
under way.
The seniors sang their class song and
toasted the man who formerly had his
home on the beautiful estate now oc-
cupied by their school. Mr. Cooke re-
piled very briefly. His face was fairly
beaming with delight. This man VINO
once swayed the destinies of the nation
counted his financial conquests as moth
ing in comparison with the January
frolics with Ibis girls" He never for
got one of them, and he always made
1t point to get acquainted with the
new ones.
The potatoes that were served at the
dinner were cooked in the ashes on
the open fireplace. and the ham was
heated there on the crane.
After dinner Mr.. Cooke stood ut one
end of the hall and instructed the girls
to fall in line and march past him,
holding out their aprons. Into each
apron he dropped box of candy,
oranges. bananas and bouquet done
up in the Victorian style with tin foil
and paper tunnels. Mr.. Cooke always
had the bouquets prepared in this fash
ion, because. he said. that was the
style when he was married.
When Jay Cooke was in business
there always stood upon his ledger an
account called the 20. p. J. Account"
says the Philadelphia Record. AT each
semiannual closing of the books of Jay
Cooke & Co. tenth of the firms profits
were passed to this account and thence
distributed in charity and in the ad-
vancement of religious teaching. A
great deal Of money-a tenth, in fact, Of
all that the firm earned during its long
life-was thus devoted to benevolence.
The account was called 80. p. j." be-
cause those letters stand for "Old Pa
triarch Jacob" and Jacob. as all Chris
tians know. was the inspired originator
of the system of giving tithes to, God.
When the firm of Jay Cooke & Co.
failed--Mr Cooke later recovered his
fortunes nobly-its head said: How
wise we We're to give tenth of our
profits always to o. p. j. Otherwise
all that money would have been lost
too"
During the elder Cookies term in con-
gress there was very general time of
finn nninl rarocc,as.o II, tho Iuoct and ON