Omaha daily bee., 1906-08-02

New York Express Company clerks
Deal I'm Panama Bonds.

Deal I'm Panama Bonds.
clerk who has worked fifteen years
behind desk on the top floor OF the Amer
lean Express companys New York ONCE
and was stoop-shouldered from driving az
pen all day long has set all wall street
talking. He is Samuel Byerley, who on
Saturday, July p, received notice from
Secretary Shaw that he had been awarded
I5,sOOOOo of the new Panama canal bonds.
Nobody else bid for the bonds but bank
ers and preferential holders syndicate
got S5,OOO0OO. Next to the syndicate Dyer
ley got the biggest block Of the bonds.
Thursday morning the express clerk dis
posed Of his bonds at a price which meant
profit for him of little over $4,000.
Bsche & Co. Of a Broadway, took the
bonds from him. They we're acting for
Fiske q Robinson, the representatives Of
the syndicate that got tl5,O0OOOO. They evil
IDENTIFY did not want their market to be
destroyed by the bonds which the express
clerk had. and he did not have any DIM
Guilty in getting them OF his hands.
After disposing OF the little bond deal
Byerley went back to the express office,
put on his coat, shook hands with his
fellow clerks, and started off on a two
months leave of absence. He is going
TO take his whole family to Europe on
what he has made on the investment of a
postage stamp. More than that, -when he
comes back he is to step into a bigger
job and get a raise.
The executive officers Of the express
company didn't know they had such a
clerk until the bond deal came out. Thurs
day they decided that a clerk with such
financial scumen might be Of more aid to
NInv. ct, ,t,a aa, &C.
ures on a set of books so II was deter
mined to shift him from the accounting de-
partment to the office of the treasurer
Just what salary he will get they wouldn't
say, but It will be a good deal more than
he has been getting.
Byerley, who has suddenly become a
Wall street figure. and the talk Of every
one concerned In making money, from the
humblest Office boy to the haughtiest mill
lionaire, is a small man. about 80 years
Of age and with hair just turning gray.
He was once a clerk in bank in Cali
forna. When he came to this city he
could get nothing better than clerking for
an express company. For seven years
Byerley has been arriving at o'clock in
the morning and quitting the desk at at
night, with an hour of for lunch. He
has a large family, including a daughter
nearly 20 years of age. They live in a
very small fat in Central Park west.
! Byerley's Job has been figuring out hal
ance sheets. He was accustomed to figure
| millions. but none of them belonged to
him. What Wall street is pondering Is
how he acquired knowledge for the bond
business sufficient for him to take such a
chance. They do not handle any such
things as bonds in Byerleys department.
The chance that Byerley took was open
| to any one who could afford a 2-ceut
| postage stamp TO carry a bid to Washing
| ton. For the first time since 1896 the gov
| eminent withdrew the usual order requir-
! ing a deposit when bids are filed. The
reason, 1t has been stated, was becaus.
there was some fear felt over the results
] OF the issue, owing to the stagnation of
THE investment market and money strin-
gency, and Secretary Shaw did not want
to put any obstacles in the way.
| When the announcement Of the sale was
made the clerk who had been bending over
figures in an ONCE with scores of clerks on
| the same footing himself saw his on
portunty. Then he did some remarka BILE
figuring. It was remarkable in that his
average bid figured out little bit better
than the big concerns. His average was
lpo'p' ilt dlSp WAS bhItNu aGHOuEH TO see
that the bonds would almost certainly 60
| up that the banks would need money for
crops soon, and that government bonds
will be in demand. But he only had until
| August 1 to do business. on August he
would have had to put up the money Ia
actually get the bonds, and that would
| have meant millions.
Byerley got word on Saturday the bonds
had been awarded TO him On Monday
| morning he walked into the office of Bache
& Co. He had to get special permission
from the express company to go out for
the few minutes. Nobody knew him in the
office of the bond house.
1--WE got a few bonds I'd like TO sell -
he said. pulling something out of his
| pocket.
The bond expert thought 1t would turn
out that he had some old scrip or some
mining company paper. When Byerley
showed him the official notification from
Washington the bond man almost fell ia
fit He offered Bache & Co. an option
on his bonds and the firm took It then
and there. But even then Beverley wasn't
sure that the concern would take the
bonds, and every day brought him nea rel
August and failure. He left Bache &
Co. and the next day got two more hours
special leave. He went around to some Of