Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-09-23

Tuscaloosa and Fayette counties,
Alabama, and $4,000 acres in the
Birmingham district; 1000 acres in
the city of Brunswick and along the
harbor for six miles, and the plants
in process of construction, 1s OPEN
hearth furnaces, five blast furnaces,
blooming mill, rod mill, cotton-tie
mill, ship-building plant, rail and car
mill.
"Why should run round to the
Knickerbocker with Mr.. Archbold's e
letter? felt bigger than he did. !
saw visions Of wealth and power, but
alas! all that coal and iron land.
valued at forty million dollars, was a
fake. Poor old Machen, 1t killed him
dead. Umsted did not have a thing
but options. Here is what happened:
II went back south, confident that
everything was all right. Umsted
took me down to Baltimore with him.
and I was vastly flattered that this
financial giant should value my aid
and select me for the important work
of negotiating for Tennessee coal and
iron. He explained to me that he and
were coal magnates; that we had no
use for railroad except to get cheap
freights; that the real owners Of the
Tennessee GOA, and iron were railroad
men most interested in the Seaboard.
We would trade the Brunswick and
Birmingham for Tennessee coal and
iron, and give stock in the Mohawk
Valley Steel and Wire for the differ
ence. These negotiations were well
under way, and the Independent iron
companies were dickering with us all
the time. We had a whole floor Of
elegant offices at No. 100 Broadway,
N. Y. The situation, as size 1t UP
now, was that a real uneasiness was
created in Southern railroad circles
and U. s. steel A friend of mine in
the senate, now dead, came and warn
ed me to quit or I'd be wiped out.
Well, that made me the more deter
mined. I never dreamed but that all
Of the resources in the prospectus
were bona fde. I did have an invin-
chile repugnance to Umsted's coarse,
vulgar ways-like a fat hog at the
feed trough-but thought that he was
just type Of many new made western
millionaires. I came near kicking
out Of the traces once, but he treated
me so nicely and raised my already
big salary, which, however, I never
got before the bust came. I had Just
been to Columbus, Ca, to see the city
council, and I laid over Sundaysat a
pretty little town in Georgia, when I
saw in the papers about a receiver
ship for the Brunswick and Birming-
ham. left my private car (and the
Lord only knows what became Of it)
as never saw 1t again. Umsted was
gone, the railroad in the hands Of a
receiver, and was personal endorser
on $4,000 Of construction company
paper. 1t was published in the pa
pers, that didn't have money enough
to pay my hotel bill. OF course that
was absurd, but the result was sur
prising. I don't believe any man on
earth has ever had better friends than
I; offers of assistance poured in from
every side. One ex-senator, God
bless him, happened to be in the city
and came right down and wanted to
give me a check, and insisted on my
going west as law partner. Well,
that is neither here nor there. I
came back but with scars and
wounds than none who haven't been
way up on the mountain top and then
in the black pit can appreciate.
worked in New York and made money
and left there because prefer making
corn and cotton and living among my
own kith and kin.
well, I guess I have said about
enough, unless you wish to ask some
questions. hate to talk about these
things, and today is the first time I
have read over that Internal pros
pectus SINCE"
Senator, you haven't mentioned Mr..
Sibley.
"WelI, Sibley didn't have one thing
to do with it. I don't think that I
ever knew, until those letters came
out, that he knew Mr.. Archbold. or
that was acquainted with him. Why,
that was a greater astonishment to me
than to any one else in the world.
Sibley was a very important figure In
the house when I went there. He
made the best free silver speech IN
the house in the debate on the Sher-
man act. He was rich man and a
great entertainer. 1t Is no unusual
thing for members Of congress to ac-
commodate each other. I have loan
ed many a man money, some from this
state, more than once. borrowed
money from Sibley once, for thirty
days, and repaid the loan. The only
business transaction that I recall out
side of this, is negotiating to sell Sibley
some Of the Green Consolidated Cop
per stocks, of which company con-
gresham Latimer was director. 1t
is good company, and If order Is re-
stored in Mexico a man that has much
Of the stock will be rich"
Senator, what kind Of a man Is Mr..
Archbold? .
"Well, physically. he Is a small man
with a big mans head. 1t Is not so
much money tNese big fellows are af-
ter no man so small as to aim at
mere money-making is big enough to
make much. They want power; that
is what we are all striving for, power.
Then, whether we are great or not,
depends upon how we use that pow
er. Mr.. Archbold is an intellectual
man, very courteous and refined. He
is kind hearted and generous in his
instincts. I do not believe any meri-
torious appeal is ever made to him
that he does not respond. He does it
quietly, without newspaper notoriety.
I understand he helps along the line
Of Industrial schools; he believes in
tho hind of charity that helms q man