Evening journal., 1907-10-26
What | Know About
Delaware Politics and
Other Things
TwENTY.THlRD ARTICLE.
By Washington Hastings

Upon the conclusion OF the war between the states
and the restoration Of peace and
business thought that the country would be
visited by period Of dull business and hard tines"
but precisely the reverse was the case
Instead Of the and destruction Of the
mpoverishiHg the country it enrich it; and
the conditions which the itself created
by very property and also
by the tremendous consumption products Of all kinds
by the government the prosecution the war instead
of damaging business appeared to increase
ty many fold.
Money plentiful, such was-a dollar really
worth about forty ccnts-cred FOR any who
garded as fairly honest and Industrious was easily obtained
the price an Knas OF commodities high and the
gin for profit good, the wages or working people
were at the top notch and everything appeared to be
going along swimmingly-unfortunate Il only
seemingly SO and TO a large degree fictitious!
All this however, rendered the election Of General
Grant In 1872 for second term comparatively easy
task for the Republicans notwithstanding the fact that
ms opponent on The Democratic ticket was the pathetic
figure OF Horace Greeley and that he bitterly opposed
and vndctiyey unrelentngiy and untruthfuiy assaed
y sueh former hepupheahs as Chaiies sumner Cnules
Francis Adams. Salmon =. Chase Lyman Trumbull and
many other less though equally virulent enemies.
AS has been said business was good and prices
high. / In the iron business at that time and
paid az different times as nigh as ninety dollars ton
for scrap iron delivered board vessel in New York,
from seven to ten cents a pound for the material
which manufactured It didn't much mind the price Of
my raw material, the profit was comfortable and
and business partner at the time, thought that
could stand the conditions we'll else could.
the gospel gathering harvest building
barns and laying up goods for many
We perhaps all about the admonition, thou foo
this night thy soul shall be required Of theei"
But the night came as st always does comel The
period OF great prosperity which the country enjoyed
from the close OF the until the mid-summer
autumn Of 1872 began to show signs OF abatement and
prudent men began TO take in sail lttei and by the
first Of January 1873 number Of business in VIII
mington sailing their vessels under CLOSE reef
donly-such things always happen suddenk-dne bright
morning the whole world startled by the announce
ment of the failure OF the great banking house Of Jay
Cooke and Company the bankers who had "hoated."
IS the loans Of the National Government
during The war and placed some OF the bonds in every
country In Europe And the night which followed that
bright morning pretty dark for many
be somewhat "extended" in his operations-as many
wero just they today For the panic of 1878
had begun! remember that in New York
that day. whittier ! went in those days about once
month 20 buy and sell iron. The Remembrance is stil
vivdl shall never forget ~ And the expense Of
being considered by my reader as somewhat egotstica
win tell about It, .
had arrived in New York the evening before and
went TO the Gilsey House, where had put up for
down TO the largest dealers in iron
in the city. the firm OF Daniel w Richards y Company
After the usual "dcker" and doubtless, many words
bought from them two hundred and nifty OF
iron at what seems and then, the fabulous
price of seventy-hve dollars ton After the usual
passing of the sale note took my "Belt-Line"
down town IL / could victmize
some other New York iron man. suppose. Al South
and Wall streets lef the car and that there
and old rushing to and fro II they
were possessedmany Of them old men with locks
walked the street to the OF Nassau where
saw, leaning against the wall Of the sub-Treasury
building, with his head bowed and his hands in his
trousers pockets, looking intently at the ground.
the late JAY Could had frequently him before in
hotel corridors and like "forrick," knew him we'll
by sight The New banking house Jay Cooke
& Company directly Nassau street at the
corner of Wall asked the FIRST other that found
standing still, what the matter Why he said.
you know? jay Cookies faledi II startled me trhe
for moment but thought to myself that don't con-
Cpru g. m mot iu Val Ruf n
minute later thought that It did me- and per-
haps concerned me a great deall
There may have been giants those days there
were no telephones so approached cabby the curb
and asked him "can you take 10 % Mangn street
right quick?" YES" he said We'll" said take me
there lust as Quick as Won cant" o vou want no aNgs
he asked "Yes" said "nyl" And. after we got out
OF the crooked down and
way we did fairly nv for ne galoped his horse and
fully expected every minute would be smashed
from nv destination rapped ON the glass ana stopped
him. out and proceeded the the way foot
walked the Office of my friends and. trying
as calm and collected as possble said Dan want 10
cancel that order" looked up his desk at me
and said What's the matter with you?" said.
ing only rye heard something ana don't want the iron
He thought that had heard from home that had had
had often happened before and didn't tell him any bet
ter said right" he tore M his sale note
and up mine. and breathed freely. 1 sup
pose that / showed it for he again said what's the
ailedl' Mr. Richards and his partner, Morton B Smith
jumped their chairs as though bomb shell had
exploded i'm the Office will not repeat all OF the Lam
guage they used-especally Dan" but they bent the
third commandment badly they didn't it. But
after they had become composed Dan" said to his
partner. well Mort were a pretty pair OF chumps
let this countryman over here get away with
| ms like thisi" Then all went down town and had
/ lunch with them their expense Within year
bought that identical lot Of iron from
| two dollars and forty cents delivered alongside
] our wharf In Wilmington and made IL into "ship
plates at two and three quarter pound!
(ro be contnued)
The scholarly William T. Byerly. professor of mathe-
matics at Harvard. asked by a student