New-York tribune., 1905-02-17
JAY COOKE DEAD.
The Noted Financier Passes decay
at the Age of SO.

Philadelphia Feb. 16-Jay Cooke, whose fame
as f1nancier was once worldwide died tonight
at the home of his son-in-law, Charles D. Bar
ney, at Ogontz, suburb of this city. Mr..
Cooke was eighty-three years old. He had been
complaining of general debility, the result of
old age, for several years. His condition was
not considered serious. however, and his death
tonight came rather suddenly Last Monday
he entertained his guests 125 young women
attending the Ogontz school and their friends.
On that occasion he appeared to be in good
spirits and the last to leave the reception
room.
Mr. Cookies family, relatives and friends were
informed of his illness early to-day and many
of them, including Mrs. Butler, Mrs Barney and
Jay Cooke, jr., his children, were present when
he died Few, except his closest neghbors,
knew that he ILL.,
Jay Cooke was born in sandusky. Ohio on August
10. 1921 Leaving a country grocery store for
clerkship in Philadelphia banking house, he be-
came. attaining his majority. partner in the
firm of w. E. Clark & Co. and made money rap
idly for himself and his patrons.
In 1858 he retired from the banking business and
became interested in large railroad enterprises,
some of them in the western part of Pennsylvania
and OF them in the gragt Northwest destined
10 become the theatre OF ine most satsf1I evnt
of his Iife-the inception OF the Northern Pacific
Railroad. In this time he negotiated the sale of
the Pennsylvania State Canal. which led TO the
completion of of the greatest railroad systems
of the world-the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The house Of Jay Cooke & Co is widely remem-
bered through the work il accomplished in raising
the money necessary to carry the operations
Of the government in the Civil War. Colossal as
! the figures may appear. it is a fact that in one
year during which il was the sole financial agent
of the government, the house of Jay Cooke & Co,
transacted business of $1,000 900. This in
the year in which the great 7SO government loans
were foated.
Within less than FIVE months of that year Jay
Cooke & Co. paid to the United States Government
$a3o,oO00o0 in gold Indeed the reputation of Mr..
Cooke and his place in history will be fixed by
these enormous negotiations Of the government
during the Civil War. He may be compared with
Robert Morris. for what Morris did for Washington
Jay Cooke & Co. did for Lincoln and Stanton.
AT the outbreak of the the National Treas
ury empty, and il became necessary 10 raise
at times 100000 day. Chase, Fessenden and
McCulloch had exhausted all their ingenuity, and
finally Mr.. Cooke called upon and ap-
pointed sole fiscal agent Of the government. Gen
ea Grant. after the war in a letter Mr.. Cooke,
said that through his efforts the nation was in
debted for the means that rendered military sue
cess possible.
One morning Mr.. Cooke going to his place of
business in a streetcar when he heard that Presi-
dent Lincoln had been shot. He Instantly marked
out his course of action. His firm held a vast
amount of government paper. Without going to
his office. Mr.. Cooke sought a telegraph office and
instructed his agents in every city in the North
advance the price of government bonds a half cent
Then he waited until noon that fateful April Is,
and again gave orders to raise the price of bonds
another half cent Just before the close of business
that day he again raised them hall cent and the
day he kept them the upward tendency.
1t took money and great pluck this but Cooke
had both On the second day he telegraphed the
Treasury Department a Washington to know if it
would support him. The reply came back that it
would Everybody was nonplussed Spectators
who had gone short on the market could not
why the Presidents death did not break the market
Ffnanciers in London could not then get the news
by wire, now. and the danger was that when
they did get 1t they would send so many bonds back
here that the North would be swamped. When,
however. they saw no falling off in the price but
instead a steady rise. they concluded there
danger and held their bonds The people of this
country did the same And thus by the prompt
action of Jay Cooke panic was averted.
Mr Cookies vast enterprises in floating govern
ment loans gave him wide foreign acquaintance,
and after acquiring a controlling interest in the
company organized under the old Purham charter
for a road from Lake Superior to Puget Sound. the
fight against the Union Pacific syndicate for the
special act of Congress authorizing bonoed in
debtedness was successfully carried out. Then came
the celebrated meeting at Ogontz. Mr.. Cookies
mer home. near Philadelphia. where the Northern
Pacific scheme was talked over with Baron Gerolt
then German Minister the United States of
the chief figures. and number of leading German
bankers on that evening Mr.. Cooke received
exchange on Amsterdam for $500 900 in gold n
mere guarantee for an agreement that these bank
ers would contribute $4,000 900 to build the Northern
Pacific
The negotiations went on. and in the mean time
the house of Jay Cooke & Co. held this S5ooOo0 OF
gold in its vaults. Two days before the outbreak
of the Franco -Prussian War Mr. Cooke received
cable message that the $5OOC0.Oo0 would within
forty-eight hours be on deposit in a weli know9q
the Northern Pacific Railroad on the broad basis
planned by Mr. Cooke and his friends appeareeo 20
be assured Within two days war was declared
between France and Prussia, and the guarantee OF
$50 900 COO fell through and the 100000 was returned
by Mr. Cooke 80, "a, -. -.
-But Mr. Cooke and his friends still did not lose
faith in their Northwestern enterprise. pool or
Continued on third page.