Year: 1872

POCKETS-LOoK OUT Fur HIM.


Henry N. Smith is known throughcu
the country as one of the most desperat


and successful operators in Wall street


1t was he who became so noted at til


Black Friday time as the head of tn


firm of Smith, Gould L. Martin it wa


he who was i, with Fisk with the bol,
operators against the Erie railway ant
it was he who made corner on green


backs last winter by carrying $4,000 OO(
on hi, person and locking it up in tn,
Tenth national back-which last opera
ton became the subject of Congressiona
inquiry. Smith came on to Washingto,
aud was examined The committee die
not get mnch comfort out of his answers
They asked him if he had locked up So,
100000 in greenbacks He frankly said
he had. They asked why he did it
He freely acknowledged that he did it tc
make money by the operation. and wan.
ted to know what the committee intended
to do about it. Without answering, the
members of the committee asked what
right he had to lock up that amount o;
money. Then lie got angry and told
them it was none of their business that
the money was his own that he could do
what he liked with it and it was about
this time that the committee found they
had made a mistake. SHith collected
about fifty dollars witness fees and re-
turned to New York, and that was the
last of the silly investigation.


A gentleman who was a witness be-
fore the committee said that Smith actu-
ally carried the S5,OOO,OOO on his person
for two days. The lining of his coat
was filled with pockets, and into these
the money was stored. Smith is about
thirty FIVE or thirty eight yea,s of age,
short of stature, slight of frame, and red
of hair The latter he wears cut close
and his whiskers la mii,taire, or nut
ton chop, with moustache. His name is
not Henry N. nor Henry n. Smith, but
Norman Henry Smith. He is native
of Tioga, Pennsylvania, little village
which is shut in with charming grace
from the outside world by circle of
hills. which in the fall presents such an
enchanting appearance that it clings to
ones memory forever. In this pretty
little village, this monster operator was
born, and he is to this day call ed plain
Tom Smith, a nick name he got when a
baby. 1t is nothing against Tom that he
spent his young days about as other vii
lage boys do and it is nothing against him
that he learned the shoemaker's trade
and was an excellent workman


1t is said there that Tom Smith can
make the best fine" boot of any man in
America. A love scrape, if am correct
ly informed, drove him from his hammer
and lapstone and took him to Buffalo a
year or two before the war While there
he attended course of instruction in one
of the Business Colleges" which were
so common then. From this he operated
in Buffalo in small way, going finally
to albany He could not long remain in
such a place. and he turned his eyes to
ward New York. His career as a money
maker is withouta parallel in history. 1t
would be idle to estimate his wealth, for
to day it might be twenty millions and
tomorrow ten.


lie is called the successor of Jim Fisk,
but this is an insult to him. He possess
es the same reckless daring but be brought
to his experience keener and more de-
liberate judgment and intelligence than
Fisk had Besides he has none of the
fast qualities which Fisk possessed
He has no desire to display his wealth
ostentatiously he does not care to build
an opera house that he may have the
privilege of the green room. and he is not
likely to run line of steamers merely to
show himself in an admiral's uniform, nor
to show himself at the head of regiment
at the cost of thousands of dollars. He
lives as becomes very wealthy man,
and owns number Of the best horses that
money can buy, merely for bis own driv-
ing. He has considerable money inves
ted in rea! estate in his native town where
he has provided handsomely for his faith
er and mother.