Evening journal., 1910-12-16
BY "HOiIand."

"In an experience OF a quarter OF
century as a banker, ] witnessed |
the erect I'm several cases Of a sudden |
accession of great fortune, and in two |
or three cases the reYc Sc effect Of |
ltho sudden loss of fortune" was I
once told by the late William T. Cor !
nell, at one time president of an inn |
poTtant trust company in New York. |
But | think the strangest OF all the |
experiences was one tnat happened at !
the time ! was cashier of the old
Union Bank, in New Yo-k, an institu
ton winch is no longer in existence.
That experience knocked galley west
my pIeconceiyed notion tnat o poor
man, VINO suddenly came into possess |
sion OF a considerable fortune, would
be so bewidei cd or excited that Tor
time he would not know whether he
was on foot or on no. setback.
There came into the Union Bank
one day in the late seventies a de-
cidedly rustic looking man, who was,
] should say, about forty years of
= age He wore the conventional chin-
, wnisker, and there was decided
twang in mis- voice. He was appar-
I enty suspicious OF everybody. TIA
3 asked iOr me, and when 1 had gone to
MIN said tuat ne was little curious
p to know wnctac. the bonds OF an old
] railroad company, whose name ne
mentioned, we've worm a copper Or
: not.
! ~ will look the matter up said,
! but it Is my impression that the rail-
3 road has been absorbed by the New
? York Cent al
"'Well, said he, Just for the fun Of
/ it, and because I'm a leetle curious,
suppose you nnd out and let me know.
3 III como in again bs and Dy, OF III
! alt IIgnl down Aeic aud wait
1t was easy 10 see tnat the man
, was not inspi cd by pure curiosity. |
. therefore made inquiries, and speedily
. lea ned tnat az the time CommOdO.e
! Vanderbilt took over some OF thetIail-
Dads OF Western New folK, iucol pO-
rating them into nis New iorK Cen
:, tai system, there was among the
!, number one wmcn was builJ from
= pudalo sourheIly. 10 nad been built
upon stock subscriptions from the
sale OF ponds TO the people OF the dis
tfict through wnicn the railroad ian.
The CommOdO- olfelod TO take up tnc
under lying bonds, and TO pay tor tnem
y in casn or with stock in the Central.
u he secured all OF the bonds except
i one block. This block repi esented a
e lace value OF sixty thousand dollars
u although | learned that when tho
IT bonds were ma keted they were sold
s for about fifty ceuts on the dollas-
u and the Commodore advertised Ior it
s. and caused his agents to hunl high
y and low for it, but could get no track
% OF It. Still, those bonds were a lien
X on the prope- ty, and would be until
J. paid
IS 81 told the rustic that thought the
s. bonds to which nc referred could be
y easily sold for cash, and he asked me:
q How much can anybody get for
II them? ! took him over to a firm Of
g broke s, who represented the Commo-
m dore in Now York Central matters,
and after a long siege with the strang-
g cr we got him to admit that he mad
N the missing bonds somewhere in his
ID pocket.
ii "Well. to make a long story short,
'n he negotiated all that day with the
A. brokers, and they. having found out
D. by telegraph that the man was re-
OF liable, at last agreed TO pay him a
II hundred cents upon the dollar for the
~ bonds, and made out check for sixty
. thousand dolla-s One OF their em-
ployes came TO our bank with the man
and the check / asked the mau
If he wouldn't like to take a draft II
Buffalo for the amount, telling him
that he could conveniently carry IL in
Il that form. and get tho money in
II Buffalo.
Look here. said he, is that piece
OF writing good for sixty thousand
en- dollars?"
LIT certainly is, i said.
"'Well, then, / want sixty thousand
dollars, and / don't want any writ
ing I want money that know about.
"'It may be dangerous for you tc
carry so large an amount upon yonl
person, | said.
There amt nobody slick enough
to get that money away f-om me- hc
replied. I just want 10 see what sixty
thousand dollars looks like, what Il
feels like, and whether il breaks my
back to carry 1t around with me.
never had more than sixty dollars al
one time 10 money
'We cashed the check. and gave hin
bills OF large denominations. FL
handled each bill as though II we-e ;
treasure, closely sc-utinized II, ant
placed it with the others In piece o
brown paper of the kind shopkoepeu
do up parcels in. Then he tied up tn,
paper parcel with a stout cord, took
re. little chain from his pocket, fastene,
t. one end Of II to the cord aud In
IN other to his wrist, and went away.
ell "He got home safely, / afterward
St learned. But he kept the money Il
~ his house, paying it out from time q
len time for farms and lands he bought o
at took mortgages upon. II seemed tina
ave the mans father, unbeknown to any
ize body I'm his family, had bought tn
bonds at the time they were issue
lde and hidden them away in the house
ing and died without saying anything {
ich anybody about It. He had miser'
her hoard from which he dew t6 paw 70
res. the bonds. In rummaging around Ii
em attic, preparatory to making some re
EEL pairs. the son found his short cut E.
Use riches"
yer Copy light. 1910 by L. ]. Edward:
on All rights reserved.)
Isl
peri Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will tell q
ter a Governor and an Ambitions pru