Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-12-21

real money out of it, but after he had
started the Post he began to realize in
a different way. He sold out the Her
aid and the Post before the combine
of the Herald and Times, selling the
Herald building, but holding the
ground under it at long term lease.
holding the Post building for himself:
In that same year he started the
! Chronicle.
His papers made him enemies also,
but these he ignored or crushed, at
least temporarily. But his powerful
enemies were those that he raised up
against himself in politics.
! Ardent Adnirer of Sport.
Walsh. at one time, was an ardent
admirer of sport. In the early days Of
! baseball in Chicago, when Tom Foley
and others were struggling to give the
! city pennant winning team, Walsh
saw the possibility of big returns from
the game if handled in businesslike
fashion. Stock companies were form
| ed to control the club and these after
i a time were glad to let their stock go
at par Walsh acquired lot Of 1t.
After the National league was firm
ly organized and the old Chicago team
was winning remnants and fortunes,
Walsh and Spalding got the club. They
finally located it on ground that be-
longed to them out at Polk and Lin
coin streets and put in fine plant.
But. when the team lost and kept
losing year after year, Walsh lost in
terest. Also because he could not
brook opposition, he broke with An
son, and was the primary cause of
Anson's being let out after twenty-five
years of service. For the last three
years Walsh, according to President
; Hart, has had no connection with the
club, and when the team was sold last
fall Hart appeared as the owner OF
: fWalsh's stock When the sale was
: made no one except the principals
! knew.
Politics Aid to Bank.
81 Scores of minor ventures occupied
his time, but in 1879 Walsh moved to-
i ward the realization Of his second
$ great ambition in life He wanted q
: bank and the way to get it, he saw,
e was through politics. Active in poll
$ tics for years, one of the powers be-
I hind the throne in every move of the
democracy, Walsh apparently wanted
nothing but honor of winning at the
u game of politics until 1879 when he
I: became south park commissioner. The
l following year Martin ]. Russell, one
y of the editors OF Walsh's paper, be-
: came south park commissioner.
u u Why they wanted to be on the south
y park board is easy to guess The
funds of the south park board must be
: deposited in some bank, and the bank
that secures such deposits is rich. II
; is one of the favorite moves in politics
= is to get control Of public moneys tc
i use the excess interest that it may
! earn.
d covets Park Moneys Interest.
/ However it may be, financiers ir
Chicago tell this story Of the founding
u OF the Chicago National bank. Walsh
u as south park commissioner, saw the
: possibilities of having public money
y in his possession. 1t was in bank
1 and, according to the flnanciers, the
l interest was 100000 a year.
8 1t is declared that, through the
: south park board with himself ant
u Russell on the board, with two votes
y, out Of the necessary three, the inter
= est on south park money was taker
T. and used to establish the Chicago
d National bank. Whether that stor.
be true, it is certain that as soon as
II the Chicago National bank was estab
3 lished, the south park money wa!
!, transferred there. and the new bank
a with a big working interest to g
y upon, launched out for bigger game.
y 1t was seen at once that the publ,
: money was a rich thing for any bank
Is and for nearly twenty-five years /
was.
le Besides the south park board Their,
Is was the fund Of the Lincoln parl
"a board, the west park board. the cit.
~ of Chicago, the county of Cook, AM
II the state of Illinois to aim for
= Seeks All Public Funds.
le With his banll-his second amb
>. tion-realized, Walsh went out afte
ie the biggest thing in banking, the cor
" " troll of all the public moneys. H
~ wanted everything in sight.
y But to get all of the public fund
under control and hold them ther
:, Walsh was obliged to plan for pei
- manent control of both the republica
- and democratic officials, or majorit
10 of them Up to that time, except o
!. the tariff, he had been a consisten
=, democrat. But he turned then TO
nc republican assistance.
az He recalled John M. Smyth, VIII
- had been his rival selling newspaper!
~ ~, and with Smyth, the republican leade
~ Walsh effected an alliance. Frederic
~ ~ Blount was then, in 1884, as h
90 was untir recently, treasurer of tn
~. west park board. Walsh secured hir
" as vice president of the Chicago N;
ticnal bank, and the funds of the Yves
park system were divided into Walsh
VI. bank.
ID William 2. Lorimer, Chris Name
no and the republican crowd fell in wit
.Ie Walsh's and Blount's plan. There wa
IA no opposition among the polite;
Mt leaders. John NJ Smyth became
# director in the Chicago National.
w Reaches for Small Depositors.
I'd Walsh, having national BAN
To naturally wanted a savings bank, S
ar. that he might utilize the small sa
;poc DP bo ootfipo ho nc