The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1930-11-28
Proposed Statue of Solomon
in New York.

perintendent. Forty times, according
to the testimony Of the cashier (of the
Bank of North America, which Norris
established), between August 1, 1882,
and the time Morris goes out of office,
Haym Solomon comes to bat with his
timely check. No matter where he
gets the money; he gets it and it is
this money that saves the day.
"He sells bills when no one else can
sell them. More than that; he sells
without gouging, without profit, even.
Other brokers continue to harass the
superintendent by underselling the
market and hampering the sale Of his
bills. He has no trouble from Solomon.
One other great service he per-
forms, though to this day no one has
noticed it, nor given the slightest cred
it for it. With a magnificent disre-
gard of his own interests, he endorses
the paper Of the broken-backed govern
ment. No one else will do this. The
governments credit has ebbed and
ebbed until it has sunk from sight.
Everybody knows it is gone; sagscious
men believe it will never return. Salo-
mon endorses its paper and its officers
paper, and its Allies paper, and makes
himself personally liable for all. We
have the evidence; no need for specu-
lation or surmise."
All Of this was, of course, after
Corvallis surrender. Contrary to
popular belief the affair at Yorktown
did not end the Revolution. Great as
was that victory, the patriot cause was
still in danger and none realized that
more than Washington who immediate
ly after receiving the surrender began
making plans for the next seasons
campaign. He could not realize that
his victory had dealt the British min
istry a blow from which it could not
recover and that it was paving the
way to peace. That was still two
years away, and before it could be
realized there was still much yet to be
done. And, of course, the doing of
that had to be financed. So the bur-
den Of making good the victory Of
Yorktown fell upon Robert Morris and
his friend and helper, Haym Solomon.
It is impossible to estimate the full
text of Salomon's contribution to the
cause of liberty in terms Of such in
tangibles as moral support and foster
ing the will-to-win. But there is def
mite record of his tangible contribu-
tion, great in itself but smaller in i'm
portance than the intangible. For the
records show that Solomon advanced
in specie to Morris at various times
and in various sums total of $211 ,67S,
and although it can not be proved def
nitely that all of this was his own
money, it is probable that most Of it
was. But the main fact is that he
placed that money in Morris hands
when 1t was most needed and when
few others had sufficient faith in the
cause to risk even a fraction of that
sum.
And his reward? He died January
6, 1855, when he was only forty-tive
years old. There is no doubt that the
hardships he suffered in the British
prisons and in his labors for the Con-
tinental government shortened his life.
He was supposed to be rich, but after
his death it was found that he was
virtually bankrupt. He left widow
and four children facing poverty. He
had given his all to the cause of lib
erty. 'He died without formulating
any claims for reimbursement for the
sums he had advanced" writes Russell.
''In the opinion of later Investigators
he had entire confidence that when the
government should be established, it
would pay its obligations to him.
AS for his 'entire confidence" that
the government would pay its obliga-
tons to him, they were never realized.
For more than so years his heirs tried
to get some recompense from congress
but they never succeeded. "A repub-
lie soon forgets!"