FABULOUS BUT MYSTERIOUS BENEFACTIONS.
The private mail of the president of Harvard College contained one
morning, the latter part of April, 1895, a letter which was ever
afterwards preserved as the most important document in the archives of
the great university. Its appearance before it was opened gave no
indication of its importance. It was enclosed in a plain, square, white
envelope, postmarked “New York,” and in addition to the address it was
marked “Personal” in bold letters, heavily underlined.
As the president opened it and took out the single sheet of note-paper
within, another slip fell upon the table, blank side uppermost. The
shape and the perforated edge around two sides of the slip suggested a
check, and the president carelessly turned it over before looking at the
note. It was a check, and when he caught sight of the figures in one
corner the serene dignity of the eminent _savant_ was betrayed into an
exclamation that made him seem for the moment quite like other men. He
readjusted his spectacles in genuine agitation and stared at the check
for some moments before he recovered his self-possession sufficiently
to read the letter. This was the epistle:
STRONG & CO., Bankers and Brokers,
New Street, New York.
NEW YORK, April 23, 1895.
_My Dear Sir_:
By direction of one of our clients I send you herewith my personal
check for five million dollars ($5,000,000) payable to your
personal order. This money you are at liberty to devote to the
general uses of Harvard University, in such a manner as you and
your associates, the Fellows and Overseers, shall deem most
advantageous. The donor desires to remain entirely unknown in
connection with the gift. His only suggestion regarding its use is
that one million dollars more or less shall be devoted to the
equipment or support of the astronomical observatories which the
university has established in South America.
I remain, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
JOHN WHARTON.
P.S.--I shall esteem it a personal favor if you will confine all
information regarding my connection with the matter to as limited a
circle as possible.--J. W.
That was all--just a curt, matter-of-fact business communication. It
could not be a hoax, for the check was certified by the Chemical
National Bank. It needed but the president’s name on the back to make it
worth the five millions in cash which it called for. The more he thought
about it the nearer the president’s mind approached to a condition of
excitement. He got up and took a turn around the room. His secretary
came in just then, but stopped in amazement on discovering evidences of
an agitation which he had never detected before in his chief.
“Is there anything the matter, sir?” he asked anxiously.
“Nothing at all,” responded the head of America’s greatest university,
with a partial return to his usual placid manner. “I am glad you came
in. I wish you would call a special meeting of the Fellows, to be held
here at four o’clock this afternoon. Send special messengers and
telegrams and say that the business will be of the utmost importance.”
The secretary’s apprehensions increased, but he hastened to obey
instructions. The next day the papers announced the magnificent gift to
Harvard and tried in vain to gratify the universal curiosity about the
unknown donor.
If there was any envy of Harvard’s good fortune at New Haven, it was
dissipated two or three days later when Yale rejoiced in the receipt of
a mysterious gift of the same magnificent proportions. In the case of
Yale, however, the endowment was coupled with a condition or request
which excited much surprise and made no end of talk. The mysterious
donor asked that half of the five millions should be set apart as a fund
to be used under the direction of the Yale Scientific School in
practical investigation of the subject of aërial navigation. This was a
trust which the university accepted with a good deal of misgiving. When
the matter was considered by the trustees there was even some opposition
to the acceptance of this portion of the donation on such terms.
“Must we set our professors to building flying machines, and compel them
to risk their necks in balloons?” exclaimed one of the older members of
the board in some asperity, and with small measure of gratitude to the
giver of such a fund. “For my part, I hope the university will not go to
the absurd extreme of turning our scientific school into a Darius Green
workshop to gratify a generous but whimsical millionaire.”
But the old gentleman was in a small minority, and he was quite silenced
by the remarks of a younger and more progressive member, whose
investigations in practical science had made him famous. Besides, who
ever heard of a gift of $2,500,000 being refused by an educational
institution, no matter how hard the conditions?
“I do not regard this gift as either absurd or whimsical,” said the man
of science and sense, with much emphasis. “On the contrary, I welcome it
with enthusiasm as a practical pledge of the next and greatest triumph
of civilization. Aërial navigation is the one branch of practical
science in which America is not keeping pace with the foremost
investigators. France and Germany and even Russia have obtained better
results than we have. The reason, of course, is that there are military
incentives in Europe which do not exist here. But I firmly believe that
this gift will enable us to gain the same mastery of the paths of the
winds that we have already won over the land and the sea. No gift to the
cause of physical science could be more valuable and more timely than
this. I hope it will be accepted with the sincerest expression of our
gratitude.”
And so it was. National curiosity was again aroused to highest pitch.
Nor was it allowed to subside, for within a month fresh benefactions,
all anonymous and all dealing with large sums, were announced. Chicago’s
fund for a memorial of the Columbian Fair received a round million. New
York rejoiced in the news that Samuel J. Tilden’s thwarted attempt to
provide a magnificent free library for his fellow-citizens was to
succeed after all. Three millions had come from somewhere--the trustees
would not say where--to be used in carrying out the plans of the dead
statesman on the same scale that he had wisely designed.
Wellesley and Vassar became involved in the same delightful mystery.
Woman’s curiosity in her chief seats of learning was put under the
strain of accepting without question gifts of $2,000,000 to each
institution from an unknown hand. The test or the temptation was safely
borne, for no hint of even the manner in which the princely fortunes
were bestowed ever reached an outsider’s ear. There were no restrictions
accompanying these gifts, beyond a request in each case that they should
be devoted mainly to those branches of training and study which best
fitted woman for the domestic circle. Inasmuch as this suggestion was
construed to admit of almost any interpretation in the field of “the
higher education of woman,” it was felt to be no restriction at all. Who
dared assert that a knowledge of Greek, a familiarity with the latest
mysteries of astronomy, and a training in the higher mathematics did not
deserve important places in the equipment of woman for the domestic
circle of 1895? When it was proposed in the governing boards of the two
colleges that the departments of physical training, English literature,
music, and the culinary art should benefit in greater proportion than
certain others under the new funds, the makers of the suggestion were
frowned upon with some scorn. It was undoubtedly the intention of their
unknown benefactor, so declared the more advanced spirits in the great
cause of “the emancipation of woman,” that his money should be used in
providing that broad culture which alone would make the woman of the
twentieth century the highest development of her sex. She should have
the same advantages, the same training as her brothers. In no other way
could she become “best fitted for the domestic circle.”
No such impetus was ever given the cause of education in America as it
received in the spring of 1895 from this great series of contributions.
The subject became a matter of world-wide wonder and discussion. It did
not seem possible that such treasure could come all from one source, and
yet no such epidemic of generosity among millionaires had ever been
heard of. There were not half a dozen men in the country who could make
presents of $5,000,000 checks. Speculation, and there was plenty of it,
was in vain, however. The secret was well kept by all its possessors,
and beyond a few hints that the eccentric distributor of millions was a
New Yorker, who kept a balance of at least $5,000,000 in cash always on
hand at the Chemical Bank, nothing transpired.
In the rapid life of the American metropolis curiosity over this subject
was soon overshadowed by a new wonder. The city’s most grievous public
problem, the _bête noire_ of a decade, was suddenly solved. Vainly had
private enterprise and public commissions sought to provide the
congested city a satisfactory system of rapid transit. The growth of
the town had been checked, its prosperity had been restricted, and
infinite personal discomfort had been suffered by its citizens, because
of the peculiar difficulties of the situation. In a city long and
narrow, densely populated, and surrounded on three sides by water, the
quick arteries of passenger travel must go below the surface or into the
air. Everybody who has traveled on the London underground railroad will
admit that the tunnel system is to be avoided at any reasonable expense.
But everybody else who has walked beneath the elevated tracks in New
York, or lodged near the line, will say that railways in the public
streets are an almost intolerable nuisance.
The only system satisfactory in itself which had been proposed in New
York was a great four-track viaduct line, running, not through the
streets, but upon its own location cut through the center of the blocks
from end to end of the city. But the plan could not be considered for a
moment. The expense was prohibitive. It would cost $100,000,000 for
right of way and construction, to say nothing of equipment. The revenue
from such a road would not pay interest on such an enormous sum, and
private capital would not undertake the enterprise. Some people had
urged the project upon the city as a municipal undertaking. Perhaps in
an ideal community such a suggestion might be valuable, but not in a
city ruled by Tammany Hall or any other political party.
So the question was at a deadlock, and the evils of the situation had
become well-nigh intolerable, when the mayor of New York received one
day in June a letter from the now well-known firm of Strong & Co.,
containing an amazing proposition. They were prepared to organize a
corporation, and guarantee the construction of such a viaduct road as
had been proposed, provided the city would consent to certain
conditions. The road would be built with the proceeds of an issue of
$100,000,000 in bonds, which Strong & Co. offered to subscribe in full.
These bonds should bear interest--and here was the amazing feature of
the proposition--at the rate of one per cent per annum. No one could
doubt that the proposed road would easily earn the necessary $1,000,000
per year for payment of interest on bonds which the proposition called
for, and it would surely yield a substantial sum for dividends on stock
in addition.
The principal conditions imposed by Messrs. Strong & Co. in making their
extraordinary offer was that the motive power used on the road should be
electricity, or some other element than steam, and that a uniform rate
of fare of five cents within the city limits should never be exceeded.
It was further insisted that the charter should provide that the city
should not take over the road by purchase or otherwise without the
consent of two thirds of the bond-holders, and that capital stock should
be issued only upon payment of its face value in cash into the company’s
treasury, the total amount of such stock never to exceed $20,000,000,
except by consent of the bond-holders. Messrs. Strong & Co. further
suggested that dividends upon stock should be limited to ten per cent.
When earnings exceeded the sum necessary for the payment of a ten per
cent dividend, fares should be reduced below the current rate. If the
mayor and his advisers approved of the plan as outlined they were
invited to join in the name of the city with Messrs. Strong & Co. and
others in petitioning the General Assembly at Albany for the necessary
legislation.
The mayor read slowly the letter in which the plan was set forth in much
greater detail than above outlined. When he had finished he looked out
of the window upon the trees in the City Hall Park and whistled softly.
He allowed his mind to dwell for a few moments upon the significance of
what was contained in the plain epistle he held in his hand. Its meaning
for the metropolis of the western world, over which he presided, was
beyond his mental grasp at first. The one great peril which threatened
to dwarf its prosperity and stunt its growth had been removed at a
single stroke. It was too good to be true, and the mayor read the long
letter from beginning to end a second time. The proposition was clear
and specific, and the potent signature left no doubt of its genuineness.
The mayor would have lost no time in sharing the good news with his
friends and with the city itself; but a postscript contained a request
that the matter should be regarded as confidential until there had been
a personal exchange of views upon the subject. Messrs. Strong & Co.
expressed a desire for a private consultation at any time the mayor
might appoint. So the private secretary of His Honor was dispatched at
once to New Street, to say that the mayor was quite ready to place his
entire day, if desired, at the disposal of the firm.
Mr. John Wharton returned with the secretary to the City Hall, and for
more than three hours he was closeted alone with the chief magistrate.
When his visitor had gone the mayor dictated to his stenographer a
statement for the press. He outlined the proposition of Strong & Co.,
who, he said, were acting on behalf of a syndicate which preferred to
conceal its identity. Of its ability to carry out its proposal, the
mayor declared he had received abundant assurance. The offer was not in
his estimation, the mayor explained, in any ordinary sense a business
proposition. It took rank instead as the greatest private or public
benefaction of modern times. It was a boon which would change the whole
future history of the metropolis and of the Empire State. It was an
inestimable gift, and he called upon the city to join him in unmeasured
gratitude to the unknown donors. Regarding the practical execution of
the scheme, the mayor said:
“I have not hesitated to assure Messrs. Strong & Co., informally, that
they may count upon the city’s grateful and unanimous acceptance of this
munificent proposal, with all the public-spirited conditions which are
attached. Although approval by the state legislature is necessary, I
feel that an appeal to the governor to summon a special session for the
purpose is not called for. Any material opposition to a plan so
magnificent and patriotic is not conceivable. There appears, therefore,
to be no good reason why the great preliminary work which such an
enterprise involves should not proceed at once. Actual construction can
then begin immediately after the necessary legislation has been provided
next winter.”
There was a sensation in the morning newspaper offices when the mayor’s
proclamation was received, and an army of reporters searched the city
for more information about the latest wonder of wealth and philanthropy.
The next morning all New York wondered, and so did the world at large.
And the only people who did not join in the general rejoicing were the
owners of the Manhattan Elevated Railroad. They saw in the announcement,
beneath the black-typed headlines in all the newspapers, the doom of
their great monopoly, the sudden birth of a power greater than theirs.
How could they cope with it, how could they compel the city’s
inhabitants to tolerate any longer their makeshift devices for
postponing rather than solving a vital problem? They were helpless
before this new monetary force, just as the people had been helpless
before the selfish tyranny of the railroad company’s short-sightedness.
Political power the Manhattan Company’s managers had, both in the
municipal councils and at Albany, but of what use to exert it in face of
such a proposition as this? No politician of any party would dare to put
a straw in the way of its execution.
It is sometimes safe to defy an indifferent majority, but he is a fool
who throws himself before the Juggernaut of roused and unanimous public
opinion. The owners of the Manhattan Elevated Road were not fools in all
things; so the first effect of the mayor’s news was a sharp decline in
the price of their shares. The danger was, however, a distant one for
them. By no possibility could so vast an undertaking be completed under
five years, and within that time conditions would probably so change
that there would be traffic enough to yield a reasonable profit to both
systems. New bridges both to Long Island and New Jersey, to say nothing
of tunnels, were also under way. These would furnish partial relief to
the congestion, while they would bring fresh traffic to the short
distance service, which would become an important part of the elevated
railroad system. Competition in what may be termed the trunk-line
business need not, therefore, be disastrous to existing rapid transit
lines. It would rather come as a relief, just as the street-car lines
found the opening of the elevated roads to be twenty years before.
But the public paid little attention to the first discomforture of the
elevated railroad magnates. Rather they rejoiced in it, especially as
the erstwhile masters of the situation soon began to manifest a more
conciliatory attitude toward their suffering patrons. A new principle
seemed to have been discovered in the offices of the octopus
corporation. Grievances that were easy of correction were remedied.
Public opinion was worth catering to when you needed it. Arrogant
defiance on one side, and exasperated endurance and hearty hatred on the
other, was a condition of things which must not be allowed to continue,
when the sufferers and haters would soon be in a position to take full
revenge. So a very strange but becoming humility softened the attitude
of New York’s purveyors of so-called rapid transit. They endeavored to
convince the people that really they were doing the best they could. And
so unresentful is the average New Yorker, that after a few smiles at the
hypocrisy of it all, he accepted the new facilities now supplied, and
was appeased.
Public curiosity found little to feed on in its search after the secret
of the new monster rapid transit fund. The newspapers interviewed every
reputed millionaire in the city. All expressed entire ignorance of the
scheme and its authors. It was plain, several newspapers declared, that
no man or set of men could accumulate such a treasure without the
world’s having some knowledge of their wealth. Some of those who denied
having any information on the subject must, therefore, be lying. And
forthwith a large portion of the press fell to speculating as to who the
mysterious Crœsus might be. For several days, everybody in the office of
Strong & Co. was besieged with inquiries, not only from newspaper men,
but from all manner of people. The annoyance became so wearisome that
the firm drew up a statement which they sent to the newspapers, setting
forth with some emphasis the fact that they were not at liberty to
furnish any information about either the rapid transit scheme itself or
its promoters. The plans were still crude. As fast as they were
perfected they would be submitted to the authorities for approval, and
would be given to the public. Meantime, they reserved the right to
refuse to answer any inquiry bearing upon the subject.
After a few days, public interest became less keen. The quest seemed
hopeless. Two or three multi-millionaires, whose names had been used
with persistent freedom by certain journals, in spite of their denials,
sent such emphatic contradictions of the stories which credited them
with generosity, that the mystery was, by nearly all, abandoned as
unfathomable.
When the matter had ceased to occupy the first place in public
attention, nearly a month after the mayor’s original announcement, the
following article appeared one morning, in double-headed type, on the
first page of the _Sun_:
“The series of financial mysteries which has astonished the world during
the past few months can reasonably be ascribed, in the absence of
definite knowledge, to no more than a single source. Since early in
December the mints and the bullion market have been glutted with gold. A
flood of the precious metal has been poured into the Assay Office in
this city at the rate of $50,000,000 a month. Prices in the stock
market, in the face of most unfavorable conditions, have been forced to
an abnormally high level by the rising tide of yellow treasure. The
supply of actual money in the country has been increased during the
last six months by almost, if not quite, $300,000,000.
“Various educational and other worthy institutions have been enriched
within a few weeks by anonymous gifts amounting, at a safe estimate, to
the vast sum of $22,000,000. There is good authority for saying that in
one or two instances the checks received by the beneficiaries have come
from the same banking house in this city which is credited with handling
the bulk of the vast deposits of gold at the Assay Office. It is a
reasonable inference that all these great benefactions have come from
the same treasury. There are not more than half a dozen private fortunes
in America large enough to afford charitable disbursements upon such a
scale. The owners of these fortunes have denied all knowledge of the
great donations. There is no good reason for doubting their word upon
this point.
“Messrs. Strong & Co. are the only persons who are known in connection
with this mysterious wealth. They refuse all information about the
origin and extent of the fabulous riches which they are distributing
broadcast, or about the identity of their principals. They are, of
course, thoroughly within their legal rights in declining to take the
public into their confidence. But the matter has become one of
tremendous public concern. The stability of trade, the money value of
every description of vested interests, in fact, the industrial,
commercial, and financial welfare of the country, all are directly
involved in the rapid manipulation of such vast sums. While admitting
that this modern Midas has used his power most beneficently thus far, it
should be pointed out that the possibilities of evil are enormous. In
simple self-protection, therefore, the public is justified in seeking by
all honorable means to learn what portends from the same source.
“Taking into consideration all the circumstances, the conclusion is
forced upon any reasonable mind that it is virgin treasure which is
dazzling the world. In other words, it is an outpouring of gold from
nature’s storehouse, and not from any of man’s reservoirs, that we are
witnessing. Thus far we are in utter ignorance of the location of the
new El Dorado. That it is a region of almost inconceivable richness has
been amply demonstrated. Nothing in the history of the Californian or
Australian gold-fields will compare with it. The secret has been so well
kept that it is impossible that it can be in the possession of many
persons. It is a fair inference, therefore, that the deposit is within
an extremely small area, and that the precious metal abounds there in an
almost pure state. But in what quantities? Is the supply inexhaustible?
The earth’s yield of gold is usually estimated in ounces. We now have it
supplied by the ton.
“The question of an oversupply of gold may become a serious, even an
appalling one. The problem threatens soon to become vital. The mystery
cannot remain a mystery much longer. Civilization may in self-defense
soon demand its solution. In the meantime, a single hint may be offered.
Early in November last, the steamship _Richmond_ returned from a
mysterious trip, several weeks in length, under private charter. She
brought back a cargo, said to consist of ores and other minerals from
South America. Was there any connection between her cargo and the sudden
distribution of gold which began in this market a month after her
arrival?”
Late in the afternoon of the day this article appeared in the _Sun_, the
head of one of the most prominent law firms in New York entered the
office of that paper, and was soon closeted with the publisher. The two
men were friends, and they chatted for a few moments on indifferent
topics. Then said the lawyer seriously:
“Now to business, for I have come on an extraordinary errand. I remember
a few years ago that some of your quarrelsome contemporaries accused the
_Sun_, among other things, of being for sale. You replied to the
insinuation in a short editorial which said, Yes, the _Sun_ was for
sale, and the price was $5,000,000. What I want to know is, whether that
offer still holds good.”
“No, the price has gone up,” was the smiling reply.
“What is it now?”
“Ten millions.”
“Are you prepared to turn the property over at that figure?”
“Oh, yes--for spot cash,” still smiling.
“Will certified checks do?” and the lawyer took several checks from a
wallet, and laid them on the desk in front of the other.
“See here, B----, what does this mean?” exclaimed the publisher,
glancing from the drafts to his friend, while all signs of levity
disappeared.
“Precisely what I have been saying. I am ready to close the bargain at
the figures you have mentioned.”
“Who are you acting for?”
“That is the one thing I cannot tell you. Does it make any difference?
If so, I can assure you that there is no political or other game back of
the transaction. There is no intention to make any change whatever in
the conduct of the paper, if our offer is accepted. But it must be
accepted at once or it will be withdrawn. What do you say?”
“Of course, I must consult Mr. Dana and the other owners. I believe,
however, it will be accepted.”
“Can you give me a final answer to-morrow?”
“I think so. Will you come in in the morning and talk the matter over
with the directors? We can meet here at noon.”
“Yes, I will be here,” said the lawyer, picking up his checks and rising
to go. “By the way, would it be fair under the circumstances for me to
ask a single favor?”
“Certainly--anything in my power.”
“It is only that you will delay any investigation of the gold mystery
until this matter is settled.”
“Oh, now I see which way the wind blows. We’ll talk of that to-morrow.”