Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-06

an officer OF the public; but Lest you should
like some others. believe more in private than
IN public credit hereby pledge myself to nav
you the cost and charges of this flour In hard
money. I will enable you most honoFably to
fulfill your engagements. My character uSilitv
and the public good are much more deeply
concerned in doing so than yours is "
In 1880 in conjunction with other patriots
he established oank in Philadelphia prin-
cipally for supplying the Army with provisions
and rum. He headed the list with a subscrip-
ton OF 10000. the total subscribed being
E3l5,000 Pennsylvania money and at q time
when public credit at its lowest ebb.
tn ough this agency he supplied the Army with
100000 rations and 800 hogsheads of rum
February 20, 1881. Robert Morris was unani-
mously elected superintendent of finance as
before stated. an office he accepted after some
correspondence. At that time the Treasury
was more than $4,000 in arrears and we
are told that starvation then threatened the
troops and that the paper bills of credit had
so far deprecated that 1t required a burden
some mass to pay for just one article of
clothing.
He was the master mind in the establishing
OF the Bank of North America, which in the
first four months after it was opened loaned to
the United States $400, 600 followed almost
immediately with a loan of 80 900 to the State
OF Pennsylvania to enable it to pay It's quota
OF the public contribution
INDEED, these are but few of the things
that Robert Morris did for the cause of
freedom at time, too, when-as Franklin
might put 1.-THE leaders of the Revolution
must hang together or they may hang sep
arately
some men do not live long enough others
live too long. Morris, unfot tunately we must
place In the latter class. for had he died imme-
diately after the close Of the war his character
would have remained unimpeached for all time
and his family and friends would have been
saved much embarrassment
AS before stated, he was born in 1874 and
In 1880. when he was Sc years OF age we find
him heavily plunging in real estate-anywhere
everywhere. He seems to have entirely lost
his head! Unforturvr tey, the purchase of a
tract near Geneva and the Genesee River
proved successful, for he realized in selling it
to an English company a third of a million
dollars. which only made him that more VEN
turesome and reckless
Again he was more less successful when
with others. he purchased of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, for the third of a million dol
lars 100000 acres of land in Western New
York, his interest being 3.4oo 900 acres This
was In 1871. and within two years he had sold
to Holland company all but 5O00 900 acres
which he reserved to himself. His purchases
seem to have never been on a small scale and
1t is probable that at one time he owned more
lano In the United States than any other man.
This may well be reckoned from the fact that
between 1890 and 1893 he owned all of the
State of New York west of the Seneca Lake.
except strip north and south through the
center of that region
When In 1885 he together with Nicholson and
Greenleaf, formed the North American Land
Co. his purchases if possible, became more
gigantic and the company even took title to
property in Pennsylvania Virginia North and
South Carolina. Georgia and Kentucky for
which IT paid so cents an acre-or took it over
at that price-and Immediately revalued It at
flo0 an acre. Indeed we who lived in Barnum.s
time. and who hold for that gentleman such
a high estimation for his ability to fool the
people, cannot help now but realize that this
combination of financiers knew more tricks
than the great Snowman dreamed Of
except that Bsrnum died rich
gest mistake when he began to speculate
in Washington property, for by this time he
had undoubtedly lost his head entirely.
In report Of the Commissioners of Wash
tngton, dated January %, 1901, and signed by
William Thornton, Alexander White and w.
Crancn, We find copy of a contract between
Morris and G.eenleaf of December "a, 1893 in
which reference is made to a prior agreement
dated September % of that year. in which it
was agreed by the Commissioners to transfer
to James Greenleaf 5000 lots at the price of
f24 current money of Maryland for each lot,
and to Robert Morris the same number of lots
at e35 each.
The agreement of December "a. 1893. was to
consolidate and clarity the earlier agreement
made with Greenleaf, acting for himself and
Morris. and is, in part, as follows:
Now Therefore these articles witness, that
the said Commissioners have sold and con-
tracted for the sale and conveyance. and do
hereby for themselves and their successors. in
consideration Of the covenants of the said Rob-