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Show i NEW NeWnS a 2' J?Cflllir'7frt fortune Saved Union Pacific j0hn Duff of Boston Sent His Securi- I ties to New Yok Just in, Time to Meet Payment on Land Grant Bonds. One of the great causes of the financial finan-cial panic of 1S73 was the failure of the banking house of Jay Cooke & Co. through having advanced too largely on the bonds of the Northern Pacific railroad, then In process of construction. Grave embarrassment was caused to many other railroad companies by the panic, and not the least embarrassed of these railroads was the Union Pacific, which, at that time, was regarded in the railroad and financial worlds as a Boston institution, in-stitution, since it was one of the great , railroad properties of the country J which Boston capital controlled. From about 1S66 John Duff of Boston, Bos-ton, who easily took rank with the I great financiers who began ' immedi- ; ately after the Civil war the work of developing the railroad systems of the country, had been prominently identified identi-fied with the Union Pacific. His was. in fact, a leading voice In the affairs of the company, and when it became evident, first to the officers of the company, and then to the public, that the Union Pacific was not in a position posi-tion to meet the next payments on its land grant bonds, Mr. Duff was greatly concerned. Ke had been so closely identified for seven years with the financial management of the company that he felt that his business credit, his personal honor, and, to, some extent, ex-tent, his investments, were involved in maintaining the credit of the Union Pacific. But how was that credit to be maintained, main-tained, with money in hiding everywhere, every-where, and with the Union Pacific treasury without the necessary funds to meet the payments soon due? Not taken into account by the folk who were confidently predicting a default de-fault by the Union Pacific was the grim determination of John Duff to protect his good name at all hazards; and so, the day before the coupons of the land grant -bonds were due, rir. ' Duff called into his office his son-in-law. Dr. William H. Bullard, and counted out in the latter's presence a little over three hundred thousand dollars in first class securities, which, but a short time before, Mr. Duff himself him-self had taken from his private strong box "William," said Mr. Duff, motioning to the securities, "I want you to pack these bonds In a traveling satchel, take the first train for New York, and as early as possible tomorrow morning call at the office of Morton, Bliss & Co., the railroad's fiscal agents, and offer them In my name as security for payment of the Union Pacific land grant coupons due tomorrow." There followed some detailed instructions, and Dr. Bullard was off for New York. Presenting himself at the banking house of Morton, Bliss & Co. on the morrow, a short while before the beginning be-ginning of the business day, Dr. Bullard Bul-lard opened his satchel in the presence of Mr. Levi P. Morton. "Mr. Morton," he said, "I have here a little over three hundred thousand dollars in securities of the very high-! high-! est grade. They are to be deposited I with you as collateral security. I ! have brought them from John Duff, in j Boston, and with this collateral as se-I se-I curity, Mr. Duff asks you to pay the ; Union Pacific land grant coupons due today and to keep on paying them un-i un-i til he sends you word to stop." I As Mr. Morgan began his examina-I examina-I tion of the securities. Dr. Bullard hap- pened to look from the banker's pri- vate office Into the main office of the banking house. It was swarming with clerks armed with coupons of the land grant bonds due within less than a quarter of an hour. Carefully, cautiously, Mr. Morton looked over the securities. Finally, as he laid down the last one, he nodded his head approvingly, the next moment mo-ment was Issuing instructions that the coupons should be paid until further orders, and within less than five minutes min-utes the first clerk to offer a Union Pacific coupon received his money, to the great astonishment not only of himself, but also of the other clerks there assembled, and, speedily thereafter, there-after, of all Wall street. For good financial news travels as fast as bad, and within an hour Union Pacific stock, which had been quoted as low as ten cents on the dollar, jumped to twenty-five, and John Duff's son-in-law had his first lesson in the effect of credit upon a railroad property. Until now, I believe, it has never been reported how the day was saved for the Union Pacific by John Duff pledging his own securities for money with which to pay the coupons. Mr. Duff himself never referred to this act of his, not even when he was openly accused of improperly using his official relatious with a nationally famous trust company to secure the funds so badly needed by the Union Pacific. (Copyright, 1910, by E J. Edwards. All Rights Reserved.) |