New York, July 3, 1885.
Hon. Wm. A. Post,
Deputy Attorney-General, State of New York:
The firm of Henry Clews & Co. did not solicit the account of the State of Georgia, but it was opened at the request of Mr. I. C. Plant, the leading private banker of Macon, Ga., and the most influential and affluent banker of the State of Georgia then and at the present time. Mr. Plant was brought to my office by Mr. P. C. Calhoun, President of the Fourth National Bank, which institution was the financial agent of the State of Georgia at the time. Mr. Calhoun introduced Mr. Plant to me, by giving that gentleman a very strong endorsement, and stated that Mr. Plant was in this city for the purpose of raising money for the State of Georgia, which money was required to pay off the members of the Legislature. Mr. Calhoun stated that his bank had loaned to Mr. Plant $400,000 on currency 7 per cent. Georgia bonds, and as money was very stringent at the present time and the calls were very numerous, he felt as though $400,000 was as much as he ought to loan in any one quarter. “But if you have any money, Mr. Clews, that you are willing to loan at the present time, if you will accommodate Mr. Plant, it may result in your doing some good business with the State of Georgia. I would say,” said he, “that you cannot advance money in any quarter where it would be safer than to loan on the Georgia State bonds which Mr. Plant will offer you. I know the State of Georgia well. I have ridden on horseback over almost every foot of ground in the State in my early life in my collecting trips. My father was in the saddlery and hardware business, and the larger part of his business was in that State. I know the people of this State; and as an evidence of my opinion of the future of this State and its bonds, I will say that if I had my choice to put my money into these bonds of the State of Georgia, or those of the State of New York, to leave to my family, I would give the bonds of Georgia the preference, for the reason that her debt is so small as compared with the debt of the State of New York at the present time, and the future of the State of Georgia is destined to be one of great prosperity.” Mr. Plant then said: “Mr. Clews, Mr. Calhoun has advanced $400,000 towards the amount I need, and I want $250,000 in addition. I know the money market is very tight [as it was at that time, money being worth 7 per cent. per annum and 1 per cent. per day commission]; still, I think, if you will loan this money to the State of Georgia, that it will enable you to make a connection which will prove profitable to you in the end.” I said: “Very well, Mr. Plant, I will make the loan to the State of the $250,000 which you require.” Mr. Plant then said: “Well, place it to the credit of the State of Georgia, and I will bring in 500,000 of Georgia 7 per cent. currency bonds, the same character of bonds which have been lodged as collateral with the Fourth National Bank. I will go at once to the Fourth National Bank, where they are, and bring them down here;” which he did. The $250,000 was then placed to the credit of the State and a telegram to that effect was sent to the Governor, and it was at once drawn out on the official drafts of the State. This started a correspondence with Governor Bullock, in his official capacity, he being entirely unknown to me before. Other applications were then made direct by the Governor for additional loans, which were made from time to time, until the amount so advanced reached to $1,650,000. After receiving, in addition to the 500,000 bonds referred to, 800,000 more of similar bonds came into our possession from time to time as collateral, being put up at 50 cents on the dollar; and when we afterwards received a large installment of the gold quarterly 7 per cent. bonds, having at that time an excess of collateral in our hands, we voluntarily forwarded to the State 500,000 of the Currency 7s. This was precisely and exactly the way my firm’s connection was commenced with the State of Georgia. Mr. I. C. Plant, who is still a banker of Macon, Ga., I am sure, will testify to the correctness of my statements.
The State of Georgia gold 7 per cent. quarterly interest bonds were placed by the Governor of Georgia in my firm’s hands as additional collateral against the advances made to the State, with full instructions to sell same and credit avails. Application was made by request of Governor Bullock to have this issue of bonds placed on the regular list of the New York Stock Exchange, and after a full investigation by that body, they were admitted. A portion of these gold bonds were sold in this country and the balance in Europe. When the Georgia Bond Committee came here 77,000 of these bonds were in Europe in the banker’s hands there for sale, and my New York firm held 25,000, all others received having been sold. These 102 bonds were reported to this committee as unsold at that time, but soon thereafter, and before the Act of repudiation was passed by the Georgia Legislature, these 102 bonds were sold and reported as sold, and I think the price was 97½, and the State’s account was credited with the avails, and the proper authorities of the State were duly notified thereof. Up to the time of sale of these 102 bonds our standing order to sell continued and was never revoked; because, however, these 102,000 had been reported to the Georgia Bond Committee when in this city as being on hand at that time, they were repudiated, together with the other bonds which we were supposed to still hold. The New York Stock Exchange was called upon by the Treasurer of the State of Georgia to order struck from the list these 102 bonds, and the Exchange was compelled to be governed thereby, as official notice had been received of their repudiation. The following were the numbers of these bonds * * * * You will perceive that the numbers are not consecutive, thus showing that they were not the last of the bonds placed in our hands. The low numbers were received first and the highest numbers last, in the deliveries made to us by Governor Bullock. Under this statement of facts, which I am prepared to prove, I insist that these 102,000 bonds are as binding upon the State of Georgia as any of those which are now recognized. My fellow members of the Stock Exchange who have made investigation fully confirm this opinion. A large number of the coupons of these bonds were paid by the State on these 102,000 bonds, thus showing the State’s recognition of them at one time. My firm repeatedly called upon the officials of the State of Georgia to pay the balance due, but we could get no response. After waiting patiently a very long time, we called in eminent counsel for advice in this matter, and under said advice the Governor and Treasurer of the State of Georgia were notified in the regular legal form that if the said indebtedness was not paid on or before a specified date the collateral in our hands, each item being specified, belonging to the State, would be sold at public auction at the Merchants’ Exchange Rooms, 111 Broadway, at 12 o’clock, by A. H. Muller & Sons, auctioneers. This notice of said sale, together with list of securities, was inserted in the newspapers; the sale took place, and the 800,000 Currency and other bonds were disposed of to the highest bidders, and the State’s account credited with the avails. All these securities should be considered, therefore, as having passed out of my firm’s possession and in the hands of other holders for value. The State of Georgia in this matter is certainly amenable to New York laws, and the entire business was conducted in accordance with said law. Governor Bullock’s successors did all they could to depreciate the securities issued by their predecessors, and are responsible for the low prices which the State of Georgia bonds afterward sold for, as during Governor Bullock’s administration the State 7s were at about par and the first mortgage Brunswick & Albany bonds, guaranteed by the State, sold at 90 and upwards. As an evidence of the high credit which my firm had worked up for the State, we bought out the first million issued of Brunswick & Albany First bonds guaranteed by the State of Georgia, in the Berlin and Frankfort markets at 104, and there were seven millions of bids therefor, and the one million had to be distributed pro rata amongst the said bidders. In testimony of the correctness of this statement, I refer you to Mr. Budge, the head active partner of Hallgarten & Co., and Mr. Schiff the head active partner of Kuhn, Loeb & Co., of this city, who were interested with me, and through these two gentlemen the bonds were sold. After this great success, I ask you, or any fair-minded man, was not my firm entitled to continue to advance upon Brunswick & Albany first mortgage bonds endorsed by Georgia? and as the 275 Cartersville & Van Wert bonds, endorsed by the State of Georgia, were offered to my firm shortly after this signal success as collateral, were they not also equally justified in advancing 167,000 upon them? and in that way, and in that alone, these securities came into our hands. I most positively assert that my firm never had any other pecuniary interests but as herewith set forth in these two enterprises. At the time of the repudiation of the State, my firm held
| 750,000 | Brunswick & Albany first mortgage bonds, endorsed by State of Georgia. |
| 275,000 | Cartersville & Van Wert first mortgage bonds, endorsed by State of Georgia. |
| 587,000 | State of Georgia Gold 7s. |
| 350,000 | Brunswick & Albany first mortgage bonds. |
| 400,000 | Coupons cashed by us on the State of Georgia securities, but a legal claim against the State. |
| 800,000 | State of Georgia Currency 7s. |
| —— | |
| 3,162,000 |
Also, a judgment of 525,000 obtained in favor of Henry Clews & Co. in the State courts of Georgia against the Brunswick & Albany Railroad Company, being an amount due my firm over and above all securities in our hands. My firm also obtained in the United States District Court of Georgia a judgment to secure our advances of 167,000 to the Cartersville & Van Wert Company. Neither of these judgments have ever been satisfied.
This leaves out entirely the 102,000 Georgia 7s (quarterlies), as well as many other scattering lots of different issues of the State of Georgia securities. The past due bonds referred to by Mr. Hammond were being hawked about, both here and in London, for the purpose of forcing their payment, and the holders threatened to use them to interfere with the sale of the gold 7s which we were about to bring out in this and foreign markets. I mentioned this matter to Governor Bullock when on a visit here. He then directed me to buy up such of these bonds which were in troublesome hands, and as they were a demand claim against funds then in the State Treasury, all you have to do, he said, is to charge up the amount which you paid for said bonds to the State’s account and retain in your hands the bonds as collateral, and when the State is flush enough I’ll see that you are paid direct from the Treasury. These past due bonds belonged to us, and were taken up by our money and not the State’s; the 98,000 which were cancelled, which Mr. Hammond refers to, were so cancelled by error, which I am fully prepared at any time to prove. The depreciation in Georgia State bonds which Mr. Hammond refers to did not exist during Governor Bullock’s administration, but was brought about by his successors in office, as they did all they possibly could to depreciate the bonds of the State authorized and issued by the previous Legislature.
I have the honor to remain,
Your obedient servant,