The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-01-29


sorrow was manifest; and all that.
Mr.. Oliver called the bluff so quick
1t made their heads swim. He at once
said he would take the job alone. and
as an evidence of good faith. he IN
creased his bond in a few moments
from the original 2 million dollars to .
millions. This was jolt No. l.
Now Mr. Oliver and Mr.. Gangs in
their original bid agreed to complete
the Panama job for 6% per cent of the
actual price of the completion. The
Macarthur Gillespie aggregation from
New York city. which the president
and Mr.. Taft really wanted to favor
it is said, had bid on IL per cent of the
price of the completed job This was
one reason why the administration hes
ftated in giving the contract to the New
York firm in the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS it
was so much higher than Oliver. But if
Oliver could be frozen out, by means
of ejecting Bangs. without hurting
divers feelings too much, then the
New York concern could have the job
something was said about the New
York concerns bid in divers presence
He calmly suggested to the president
and secretary of war, that the reason
why he was so low was because he was
not paying per cent velvet to the
New York banking and financing
crowd! This was jolt No. 2. For Oliver
either had enough money, or could COM
borrow, nor cut it up with other per-
sons.
when Oliver had jolted them twice,
things began to come his way. Like
another famous financing deal when
another Kansan jolted the New York
eFs-it was when Charles S. Jobes,
now of Kansas City, for his bank, took
the whole of a big Philippine bond is
sue-the New Workers began to sit up
and take notice, and to call loudly and
IT,
to New York, that the thing might be
talked over. So Mr.. Oliver went over
to New York one afternoon; but he
had no sooner arrived than he was
telephoned by his friends whom he
had left on guard here that the thing
was working nicely at this end of the
line, and that he would get the con-
tract before shutdown. So Mr.. Oliver
never went near Mr.. Hartman ana
other able gentleman of finance who
were back of the MacArthur-Gillespi
bid, according to private account, and
who were to get the per cent vel
vet being the difference between the
Oliver and the Macarthur Gillespie
bids"
True enough, that very night an
nouncement was made from the White
House and war office that Oliver had
won-but that Bangs was out.
Oliver is an interesting character.
He has contracts now involving, 1t is
SdlQ, IlIIy IIlllIlOH QOlldTS- he mas done
some of the biggest jobs in the coun-
try. He has the unlimited confidence
of railroads., banks, trust companies,
fnanciers and now the government.
He is active, square, hard working. re-
sourceful. He has a beautiful home
near Knoxville, and travels in his own
private car. But he works all the
time. He says he means business on
the canal contract, and one look at
him makes you believe him. Plain
and unassuming. not overly-well,
though neatly dressed, he is clear OF
eye. firm of jaw, clean-cut of feature
and words, and straight to the point.
He does not loaf. he does not waste
words. yet he is friendly and compan-
ionable. He has been surrounded
here for a week at the Raleigh, one of
the big hotels of the town. with a
crowd of from ten to fifty strong men
of the south and southwest who have
come here voluntarily to testify as to
his responsibility and ability faithfully
and we'll to perform the duties impos-
these have been railroad presidents,
vice presidents, bank presidents, big
contractors, promoters, miners. repre-
sentatives of the st. Louis chamber of
commerce, and the like. Some of
these men do not like oliver PERSONAL
lyAone of them was here three days
plugging for Oliver, and he dislikes
him so much that he would not speak
to hfm-yet they all testify to his re-
sponsibility and ability, so great is the
character and reputati of the man.
Oliver, twenty some-odd years ago,
was a schoolboy in the public schools
of Wichita. Kan. His schoolmate was
Victor Murdoch. Another schoolmate
was C. NJ. Fechheimer, the we'll known
lawyer and Republican of Chickasha,
Indian Territory. Oliver had few
spare minutes now and then in the
past week and most of them have
been spent with Murdoch and Fech-
heimer, the latter being in Washington
on business. The three were small
boys in the public schools. as has been
said. They ran together; two of them
always sat together: and boy like they
fought. Oliver told Fechheimer in a
crowd in the Raleigh the other night
that he we'll remembers when the
Chickasha man pounded him, the big
contractor good and hard one day. He
also testifies to the youthful pugnacity
of the red headed Kansas representa-
tive.
But this is the story of Oliver-Wil-
liam ]. Oliver-and how he got the
biggest contract of modern times
against great odds-opposed by the
government and administration from
whom he secured it. And he was a
Kansas boy! r. H. F.
HAS A NEW FORM OF SCOOTER.