Daniel Drew

Something big on the Anvil From: The Book Of Daniel Drew Doubleday & Company, Inc. Copyright 1910
Page 157. The early cow gets the dew, and those who were on the stock exchange back in those days made money. For the Civil War was coming on. We didn’t know it then. Still, we knew that something big was on the anvil. There was a stir in the air. Nobody knew what was going to happen next. And we made big bets, so to speak, as to what would come off on the morrow. Even the most unlikely speckilation would sometimes win, affairs were that unsettled. The very existence of the nation was uncertain. Nobody knew just where we stood. At such seasons, speckilators have good times. When excitement is high and one thing as likely to happen as another, it gets people worked up to venture big sums. Page 158. The Book Of Daniel Drew When the Civil War finally broke out, I wasn’t sure for a spell whether I wanted to see York State go into it or not. Because, if the nation went to smash, and our state was mixed up in it, we would be in the smash-up, too. Whilst, if we stayed out of the muss, and the smash-up came, we could save our bacon. Because our state, and particularly New York City, was in position to get along even if there wasn’t any nation. In fact, there might be advantages in being independent of the rest of the country— a sovereignty all by ourselves. Fernando Wood, who was Mayor of New York when the War broke out, suggested this in a message to the Common Council. He wanted them to consider whether it might not be to our advantage to become a free and independent city. Said he: “ Why should not New York City, instead of supporting, by her contributions in revenues, two-thirds of the expenses of the United States, become also equally independent? As a free city with but a nominal duty on imports, her local government would be supported without taxes upon her people. Thus we could live free from taxes, and have cheap goods nearly duty-free.” It was a puzzle, and I for one couldn’t just make up my mind. We in New York were a commercial set. We didn’t have New England’s hot-headedness to get excited over Negro cotton-pickers down south. Page 159. The Book Of Daniel Drew And if the general smash-up was to come, it was true that New York as a free and soverign city, having such a fine harbor location, could get good from Europe free of duty and keep all of that tariff money to herself. But then, on the other hand, it was to the advantage of us money kings to have a big country to operate in; because railroads cross the country without regard to state boundaries. We wanted a big landscape so we could do a big business. It was a hard thing to decide, whether to go in for the war and stand by the Union, or stay out and make ourselves free and independent. But Abe Lincoln came to New York and made a speech in Cooper Union. That turned the people towards the preservation of the Union. It wasn’t much of a stump speech. Lincoln’s voice I always thought was too huskey to make him a popular talker. But people who came away from Cooper Union that night got the notion that this question of standing by the Union was really of considerable importance. The speech made a lot of talk over the city, and even roused some of the boys on the street, who commonly were calm-headed like myself. Then when, on top of that speech, the shots were fired on Fort Sumter, it made such an almighty stir among the people generally that we Wall Street men had to get in step. A fellow would have been very unpopular then, if he had stood out against the war. It was now a case of fight it out, no matter what the cost. Page 160. The Book Of Daniel Drew What won’t make butter must go into cheese. If the War must come, I decided to make it help my fortunes. And I must say that I soon began to wonder how I had been of two minds as to the advantage or disadvantage of a war. For I saw very quickly that the War of the Rebellion was going to be a money-maker for me. Along with ordinary happenings, we fellows in Wall Street now had in addition the fortunes of war to speckilate about and that always makes great doings on a stock exchange. It’s good fishing in troubled waters. As I look back now, I see that I never made more money, or had four years that were all in all more genuinely prosperous, than those four years of the War. Commonly, the things that belong to guns and battles and soldiers don’t appeal to me. I made some money once— I guess I’ve mentioned it in these papers, somewheres— by wearing a knapsack for the Government, in the War of 1812. But I saw even as a boy that this thing they call patriotism is a mighty slow way in which to roll up a fortune. I have noticed since, that the fellows who are all the time hurrahing for their country don’t get fat bank accounts. For instance, there was all of that talk about the Missouri Compromise. When I was getting started in Wall Street there were people who talked of nothing else but Missouri— discussing sometimes way into the night. Page 161. The Book Of Daniel Drew And they are for the most part poor men to-day. Whilst all of that time I was giving myself to business, and piling up money. But now I saw that I could turn this very thing of war into a helpful friend. Because, with McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign, a tall business began in Wall Street. I found myself getting really interested in the movements of armies and such like things. For now it stood me in hand to keep track of the doings at the front. In fact, we financial men organized a way for getting early news from the seat of war. A silver key will open any kind of a lock. We had on our pay-roll sutlers, reporters, private soldiers and officers even up to generals. Also, there were politicians in Washington, even a Congressman or two, whom we used to pay. We found that it was a good plan also to have an understanding with telegraph operators, because when they were sending important messages to the Government from the seat of war, they could favour us by sending the news also to us— sometimes before they sent it to Washington. Big officials who wouldn’t accept money could usually be reached by giving them some shares in the stock we were manipulating. (We didn’t dare make offers of this kind to Abe himself. Lincoln was an unpractical man, so far as making money went. All he thought about was to save the Union. He used to get very peevish at some of us money kings.) Page 162. The Book Of Daniel Drew During these days of the War we who were on the inside could call the turn of a stock long before the general public. This made very profitable business. In fact, I got to taking a great interest in the Boys in Blue. I came to look upon them as heroes. Their pay, to be sure, would have to come out of the taxes. We rich men would have to foot most of the bill. Still, I didn’t let that thought bother me. I felt that the Boys in Blue, sometimes tramping all night through fever swamps and across mountains, or lying in the camp hospitals sick and wounded and dying, earned all the monthly pay they got. Because they were beating the waters, so to speak, and we in Wall Street were getting the fish. There was the Antietam Campaign, for instance. It was worth a good deal to a Wall Street speculator, that one campaign. Because, whilst the people all through the North were still wondering what was the fate of that expedition, we, by our underground telegraph lines, so to speak, knew the outcome of the campaign, and turned it to such good use in the stock market that we made almost enough from that one deal to pay the wages of every Boy in Blue in that army. When Richmond was finally taken, I for one was sorry to have the War come to an end, so great had been my change of view towards the whole affair. The Harlem Corner, Buy the book.

Something big on the Anvil
From: The Book Of Daniel Drew
Doubleday & Company, Inc. Copyright 1910

Page 157.
The early cow gets the dew, and those who were on the stock exchange back in those days made money. For the Civil War was coming on. We didn’t know it then. Still, we knew that something big was on the anvil. There was a stir in the air. Nobody knew what was going to happen next. And we made big bets, so to speak, as to what would come off on the morrow. Even the most unlikely speckilation would sometimes win, affairs were that unsettled. The very existence of the nation was uncertain. Nobody knew just where we stood. At such seasons, speckilators have good times. When excitement is high and one thing as likely to happen as another, it gets people worked up to venture big sums.

Page 158. The Book Of Daniel Drew
When the Civil War finally broke out, I wasn’t sure for a spell whether I wanted to see York State go into it or not. Because, if the nation went to smash, and our state was mixed up in it, we would be in the smash-up, too. Whilst, if we stayed out of the muss, and the smash-up came, we could save our bacon. Because our state, and particularly New York City, was in position to get along even if there wasn’t any nation. In fact, there might be advantages in being independent of the rest of the country— a sovereignty all by ourselves. Fernando Wood, who was Mayor of New York when the War broke out, suggested this in a  message to the Common Council. He wanted them to consider whether it might not be to our advantage to become a  free and independent city. Said he:
“ Why should not New York City, instead of supporting, by her contributions in revenues, two-thirds of the expenses of the United States, become also equally independent? As  a free city with but  a nominal duty on imports, her  local government would be supported without taxes upon  her people. Thus we could live free from taxes, and have cheap goods nearly duty-free.”

It was a puzzle, and I for one couldn’t just make up my mind. We in New York were a commercial set. We  didn’t have New England’s hot-headedness to get excited over Negro cotton-pickers down south.

Page 159. The Book Of Daniel Drew
And if the general smash-up was to come, it was true that New York as a free and soverign city, having such a fine harbor location, could get good from Europe free of duty and keep all of that tariff money to herself. But then, on the other hand, it was to the advantage of us money kings to have a big country to  operate in; because railroads cross the country without regard to state boundaries. We wanted a big landscape so we could do a  big business. It was a hard thing to decide, whether to go in for the war and stand by the Union, or stay out and make ourselves free and independent.   But Abe Lincoln came to New York and made a speech in Cooper Union. That turned the people towards the preservation of the Union. It wasn’t much of a stump speech. Lincoln’s voice I always thought was too huskey to make him a popular talker. But people who came away from Cooper Union that night got the notion that this question of standing by the Union was really of considerable importance. The speech made a lot of  talk over the city, and even roused some of the boys on the street, who commonly were calm-headed like myself. Then  when, on top of that speech, the shots were fired on Fort Sumter, it made such an almighty stir among the people generally that we Wall Street men had to get in step. A  fellow would have been very unpopular then, if he had stood out against the war. It was now a case of fight it out, no matter what the cost.

Page 160. The Book Of Daniel Drew
What won’t make butter must go into cheese. If the War must come, I decided to make it help my fortunes. And I must say that I soon began to wonder how I had been of two minds as to the advantage or disadvantage of a war. For  I saw very quickly that the War of the Rebellion was going to be a money-maker for me. Along with ordinary happenings, we fellows in Wall Street now had in addition the fortunes of war to speckilate about and that always makes great doings on a stock exchange. It’s good fishing in troubled waters. As I look back now, I see that I never made more money, or had four years that were all in all more genuinely prosperous, than those four years of the War. Commonly, the things that belong to guns and battles and soldiers don’t appeal to me. I made some money once— I  guess I’ve mentioned  it in these papers, somewheres— by  wearing a  knapsack for the Government, in the War of  1812. But  I  saw even as a boy that this thing they call patriotism is a mighty slow way in which to roll up a  fortune. I have noticed since, that the fellows who are all  the time hurrahing for their country don’t get fat bank accounts. For instance, there was all of that talk about the  Missouri Compromise. When I was getting started in Wall Street there were people who talked of nothing else but  Missouri— discussing sometimes way into the night.

Page 161. The Book Of Daniel Drew
And they are for the most part poor men to-day. Whilst all  of that time I was giving myself to business, and piling  up  money.
But  now I saw that I could turn this very thing of war into a  helpful friend. Because, with McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign, a  tall business began in Wall Street. I  found myself getting really interested in the movements of armies and such like things. For now it stood me in hand to keep track of the doings at the front. In fact, we financial men organized a way for getting early news from the seat of  war. A  silver key will open any kind of a lock. We had on our pay-roll sutlers, reporters, private soldiers and officers even up to generals. Also, there were politicians in  Washington, even a Congressman or two, whom we used to pay. We found that it was a good plan also to have an understanding with telegraph operators, because when they were sending important messages to the Government from the seat of war, they could favour us by sending the news also to us— sometimes before they sent it to Washington. Big officials who wouldn’t accept money could usually be reached by giving them some shares in the stock we were manipulating. (We didn’t dare make offers of this kind to Abe himself.   Lincoln was an unpractical man, so far as making money went. All he thought about was to save the  Union. He used to get very peevish at some of us money kings.)

Page 162. The Book Of Daniel Drew
During these days of the War we who were on the inside could call the turn of a stock long before the general public.
This made very profitable business. In fact, I got to taking a  great interest in the Boys in Blue. I came to look upon them as  heroes. Their pay, to be sure, would have to come out of the taxes. We rich men would have to foot most of the bill. Still,  I didn’t let that thought bother me. I  felt that the Boys in Blue, sometimes tramping all night through fever swamps and across mountains, or lying in the camp hospitals sick and wounded and dying, earned all the monthly pay they got. Because they were beating the waters, so to speak, and we in Wall Street were getting the fish. There was the Antietam Campaign, for instance. It was worth a good deal to a Wall Street speculator, that one campaign. Because, whilst the people all through the North were still wondering what was the fate of that expedition, we, by our underground telegraph lines, so to speak, knew the outcome of the campaign, and turned it to such good use in the stock market that we made almost enough from that one deal to pay the wages of every Boy in Blue in that army. When Richmond was finally taken, I for one was sorry to have the War come to an end, so great had been my change of view towards the whole affair.

The Harlem Corner, Buy the book.