Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-13
ROMANCES ~ SUCCES

"Tor a number of years 1 was the most hated man
IN the United States" said the lawyer smiliugly, but
then the American people had never heard Of the Pan
anna route, and those who had only looked upon 1t as
at was my task to convince them otherwise. sell
the canal, secure the money and deliver the goods
This he did after a battle royal that ran through
the courts Of America and France and underwent the
fire Of a Congressional investigation and a fractional
political opposition.
"My only hope is" said Mr.. Cromwell, in this con.
nection, that l shall be Instrumental in re-Cstablish-
ing a treaty between Colombia and Panama. and that
is about to thke place. A protocol has already been
signed"
His feat in selling and delivering the old Panama
Canal Company and its property TO the United States
was a coup that reversed the policy Of the government
and made an lsthmian canal feasible. His activities
as fiscal agent of the government of Panama have
contributed to make him a man to be reckoned with
In the politico-hnancial world, and have thrown him
into close relation with President Roosevelt and Sec.
retary Taft, the result Of which has been his selection
as the legal adviser" Of the Republican National
Committee a relation involving the scrutiny of the
81 source of all dough that flows into the Golfers OF
the campaign strong box.
But Mr.. Cromwell has a genius for work and well
comes any responsibility that presages big results.
There has been hardly a financial tangle In the last
twenty years in which he has not been the court OF
last appeal. He has been the power behind te tnroEe
Of many business concerns that have fallen INTO le
Jungle of bad management.
The public began to first hear of Mr.. Cromwell
about eighteen years ago. when New YORK Went
through a money panic not dissimilar to that recently
experienced. One of the best known wan street
firms failed for 100000. Mr.. Cromwell was at
that time a Junior partner of Mr.. Sullivan, and not
long out Of the Columbia Law School. In six weeks
be Strengthened out the tangled affairs of this hrm-
Decker. Howell Il Co-and put them on their feet.
The fee the court awarded him for his work
$500, OOO-was perhaps the largest ever awarded to
any lawyer up to that time, although Mr.. Cromwell
declined 1t and was paid the sum OF $4,000, whiGh
he asked. Even this amount was so large ana the
act of the young lawyer so unusual that his fame
spread throughout the country.
The next financial battle that he won was In mn
ravelling and adjusting the complex Affairs OF that
Napoleon of finance, Henry r. Ives, who came 10
grief in one of the worst failures In the history OF
Wal street. Mr.. Cromwell salvaged the Ives wreck
and whipped it into tangible shape so that Business
was resumed by the firm. The receivership OF a
S13, 600 600 failure was his next achievements, ana
with the ease of a woman doing fancy work he UNI
wound the tangled affairs Of Price, Mccormick u 20.
1t was Mr.. Cromwell who was counsel for the ke-
organization Committee Of the Northern SECURITIES
Company, and over a period of years he literally
worked day and night in placing that bulky combina-
ton of affiliated railroad interests on Its feet ana
eventually saving it from disaster.
For a long time Mr.. Cromwell was the sole con-
trolling and dominating influence in Northern Pacific
affairs. He reorganized and put on its teet he Lrod-
uce Exchange Trust Company; he settled the affairs
OF the Metropolitan Fire Engine Company, and sue
ceeded in untangling the terrible muddle of the
American Ship Building Company and made a Her
culean effort to reconcile the Hyde and Alexander
factions in the Equitable Life Assurance Society.
"Every one of these transactions was a BATTLE
said Mr.. Cromwell, rehectively, in contemplating
some of the engagements Of the past. "A battle,
sometimes, that seemed as If we would never be able
to bring to a successful issue; a battle In winch
there was never a moment to be lost, and during the
fighting Of which l never permitted anything to inter
fere for a moment"
"Work' is the golden text Of Mr.. C~romwells SER
mon Of life. But work is a game with nina game
to win, quickly, effectively and absolutely. He is a
diplomat, a mediator, who fights his battles behind
the s~cenes-and counsels adjustment where differ
ences seem irrevocable. He is seldom heard o III
court, never associated with sensational trials, and
yet he has quietly settled some Of the most colossal
financial tangles, that even shocked" Wall street.
This is the man, as 1 saw him, who has been per
soma grata at the White House for two administra-
tons, and who, If Mr.. Taft is elected, will be close in
the counsels of a third; the man who is perhaps the
most powerful figure in the meeting places of Ameri-
can politico- finance and the most skilled arbitrator
of men and affairs in the legal world, where hundreds
Of millions are on the table.