Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-11-01
William Nelson Cromwell==Who? What? Why?

dent Mckinley and Secretary of State
Nicaragua route. When President
Who is William Nelson Cromwell!
What is he doing in this campaign
Why is he doing il? What great de-
votion to public purity and pubic
morality has he ever exhibited? what
are his methods and purposes?
Until 1891 Mr.. Cromwell had been
hardly heard of. Who's Who" gives
neither his age nor his birthplace.
A Brooklyn orphan boy who learned
bookkeeping in a railroad Office ana
then worked his way through Colum'
bia Law School, he finally got a JOB
in the law Office OF Aigernon S. Sulli'
van. The first big case in which he
was known was when the broker
firm of Decker. Howell & Co. failed.
involving $l0Ooo.OO0. Mr.. Cromwell
was assignee. In less than two
months he had paid creditors In full
and the firm resumed business. The
court allowed him fee of $500. 900
and the firm gave him a costly Sill
yer service. When Price Meteor
mick & Co., the cotton brokers. fail
ed for $13,000,OO0. Mr.. Cromwell was
called in, paid their creditors in full
and put them on their feet again.
These two case started him on his
most successful career as Wall
street surgeon. Since then he has
had an unparalleled record as nego'
tiator. a reorganizer. a pacifier.
He was counsel for J. p. Morgan IN
the Northern Pacific. the promotions
of the So, OO0,O 900 National Tube Com
pany, the American Cotton Oil Com
pany and the United States Steel
Trust. He conducted the Evansville
and Terre Haute receivership, the re-
organizations of the Crude Rubber
Company, d. Appleton & Co, H. |.
Nicholson & Co.. Henry S. Ives, the
Seventh National Bank, the Mercan'
tile National Bank and many others.
Before 1900 Mr.. Cromwell was
known as lone CT the wealthiest law
yers in New York" He bought a
house on Fifth avenue The real-es'
tate news Of the day described him
as "the young millionaire His BANK
account was large from the fees ne
received, and he had a room full OF
bronze and silver tributes, along with
the illuminated resolution which MS
reorganized clients had given him IN
token of gratitude Col. Mann, OF
Town Topics. put him on the list as
a suitable subscriber to "Fads and
FancieS."
Mr.. Cromwell won Edward H. Har'
riman's admiration by the successful
way in which, representing Morgan
and Hill. he troke the Hartman hold
on the Governments transcontinentai
transportation and conducted the
Northern Pacific legal fight. At that
time the Panama Railroad was vlr-
tually controlled by the Southern
Pacific through a traffic agreement
Mr. Cromwell was made its counsel.
This brought him into touch with the
old Panama Canal Company, because
the Panama Railroad was the only
dividend-paying asset which this com
pany had.
The Panama Canal:
Ferdinand de LessepS organized the
old French Panama Canal Company
in 1879 under a concession obtained
from Colombia The de Lesseps COM
pany issued several hundred million
dollars of stocks and bonds before IL
became insolvent. 1t owned !ot OF
abandoned machinery. uncompieted
excavations and the Colombian con-
cession which was soon to expire by
]imitat ion. Work had been stopped.
The bonds were in default. Its STOCK
was quoted at next to nothing.
There had been an agitation in Con-
gress for some years for an inter
oceanic canal. This was opposed by
the great transcontinental railroad
systems. The leaders OF Congress
favored the Nicaragua route. A COM
mission of engineers investigated a
number Of routes and reported In
favor Of Nicaragua.
At the time Mr.. Cromwell appeared
as counsel for the Panama Canal
Company, hardly anybody knew thai
it was not the old de Lesseps COM
pany which Mr.. Cromwell represent
ed. but a new company which was
born, lived and died in mystery. Mr..
Cromwell had the new canal company
registered at the tribunal Of Com
merce in Paris, but the list Of stock
holders did not show the real owners.
|, he's never become public just
what this company was or how it
was manipulated. The only tangible
public documents we're those which
Senator Morgan produced at the
Washington investigation. One OF
these was an agreement between MT.
Cromwell and the rev French canal
company under which an American
Panama canal company was to be or
ganized with a capital Of $60,00o.ooo
preferred and S45.sOO.o00 common
stock. This American company was
to take all Of its property and con-
cessions.
A 100000 Syndicate:
A 5000. 900 syndicate was formed
70 finance the new French and Amer!-