when the secretary of the treasury reached his desk on the morning of saturday, the 2d of november, 1895, he notified the doorkeeper that he should be extremely busy for some hours, and that all callers must be refused. even members of congress must be denied admission. nevertheless, a few minutes later, the attendant came hesitatingly into the secretary’s private room with two cards, and said:
“these gentlemen insisted, sir, that i should bring you the message on one of their cards.”
visibly annoyed, the secretary took the cards, and glancing at the first exclaimed impatiently:
“robert brent—who is he?”
upon the second card, bearing the name of “john wharton,” he read the hastily scribbled words:
“a few minutes, please, upon business of the utmost public importance.”
the secretary’s manner changed instantly. “show the gentlemen in at once,” was his order. a moment later he greeted wharton cordially, saying:{282}
“you are the one man whom i am heartily glad to see to-day.”
“thank you, sir,” responded wharton. “i wish i could hope that my coming would justify your welcome. allow me to present my friend, mr. brent of new york.”
the two men shook hands, and when they had seated themselves near the secretary’s desk, wharton went on to say:
“let me explain at once that mr. brent is the principal for whom my firm has been acting in all the operations with which our name has been connected during the past year. it has been his money and only his which has been used. we have come to washington to put you in possession of certain information which is of the gravest importance to the nation, and to ask your advice and assistance. i should say at the outset that if even a suspicion of the truth which we are here to make known to you should transpire, it would work the greatest calamity to the country; so you will pardon me, i know, if i ask if we can speak without possibility of being overheard.”
“certainly, mr. wharton,” responded the secretary gravely, his glance resting first on one man and then on the other with an expression of keenest interest. “we are quite by ourselves, and we shall not be dis{283}turbed. i hope your facts are not as alarming as your words imply.”
“i fear they are, sir,” resumed wharton. “you know already a good deal about our investment of very large sums of money, originally in gold, since december of last year. we have expended in one way or another in this country and in england a total of about five hundred million dollars.”
“is it as much as that?” inquired the secretary surprised. “i knew it was a vast sum, but i imagined it was somewhat smaller.”
“yes, and you know, sir, what the effect has been. but you may not know that we have striven by every means in our power during the past few weeks to check and counteract the evils which have arisen and which have threatened. it has been with rather poor success, i admit, but that is because the task has been too great for us, and not by reason of any lack of effort or of monetary sacrifice upon our part.”
“i know more than you imagine, gentlemen,” interrupted the secretary warmly, “of the country’s indebtedness to you for your services during this crisis. i have seen mr. wharton’s hand in many places, and it has been more powerful for good than any of the resources of the government. ever since our conference last spring, mr. wharton, i have had the fullest confidence in your motives and in your patriotism.{284} had it been different, i should have endeavored to bring some influence to bear upon you before now.”
“you are very kind, sir, but the credit is mr. brent’s, whose instructions i have followed. but now we are at the end of our resources. no, our funds are not exhausted,” noticing the surprise in the secretary’s face. “it would be far better if they were. the fact is, and this is what we have come to tell you, that our funds are practically inexhaustible. mr. brent has still stored in new york more than five thousand tons of gold, or nearly three billions of dollars.”
the secretary of the treasury started forward in his chair, looking from one man to the other in agitated amazement.
“can this be true, gentlemen, five thousand tons of gold?” he exclaimed presently, in tones of gravest foreboding.
“literally true, sir, i am sorry to say,” replied brent, to whom the secretary seemed to turn for confirmation of wharton’s startling announcement.
“then, indeed, are we in danger—not only we but the whole world.” suddenly springing to his feet, the secretary pressed an electric button and said energetically, “gentlemen, this is not a matter for us alone. will you go with me at once to the president?{285}”
both men assented, and his confidential assistant appearing at that moment, the secretary said to him:
“telephone to the white house, and ask if the president will see me and two gentlemen at once upon a matter of the most vital importance.”
an affirmative reply came in a few moments, and the three men started for the executive mansion, the trip being made almost in silence. they were admitted at once, on reaching the white house, to the president’s private office.
the president, judging from the litter of papers upon the desk at which he sat, had been hard at work. he seemed slightly surprised at seeing two strangers enter with the secretary, but he acknowledged the introductions with quiet affability. he recognized wharton’s name at once and expressed especial satisfaction at meeting him just at that time.
“i have thought several times within the last month of inviting you to call upon me,” continued the president, “for i have no doubt you can supply us with valuable information and suggestions bearing upon the financial situation.”
wharton was about to express his appreciation of the honor, when the secretary of the treasury addressed his chief with such gravity of manner that conventional commonplaces were dropped at once.{286}
“mr. wharton and mr. brent have come to me with a statement of such tremendous import that i have brought them here at once without inquiring into particulars. i should say in the first place,” explained the secretary, while the president listened with close and rather surprised attention, “that mr. brent is the owner of all the gold which has been so mysteriously introduced into circulation during the past year, and that mr. wharton has been his agent in all the transactions with which we are familiar. the fact which i have hastened to bring instantly to your attention is this: these gentlemen inform me that the amount of virgin gold which they have thus far put upon the market is about five hundred millions, but this enormous sum is less than one sixth of their total store of the metal.”
the president, while the secretary was speaking, had been unconsciously fingering a large paper-weight near the edge of his desk. his surprise was so great at the cabinet officer’s last words, that by an involuntary movement he sent the heavy implement clattering to the floor. no one in the anxious group noticed the noise. the secretary began pacing the room nervously. brent’s face was melancholy, wharton’s worried and worn. the president seemed to lose color for a moment, and then an expression of stern determination such as gathers in the faces of{287} resolute men confronting sudden emergencies came upon his. there was a trace of sternness in his voice also when, after looking keenly at brent for a moment, he inquired:
“can this be true, mr. brent?”
“yes,” answered brent, almost guiltily, “unfortunately it is true.”
“may i ask what you propose doing with this gold?” pursued the president.
“that i do not know, sir. it is to ask your advice that i am here. the responsibility is too great for me. i stand ready to devote it to whatever purpose will best conserve the interests of the country and of humanity,” was the reply.
“thank god for that!” responded the president, evidently much relieved, “for you have in your hands a power for evil greater than i imagined any man possessed. what you have done already has not made me suspicious of your motives, although you will probably admit that some mistakes have been made. can you tell us the history of this gold, where it is, and whether the source whence it comes is exhausted?”
“i will gladly tell you everything except the location of its original bed,” brent replied. “that is a secret which is not mine to share. it was chiefly to prevent the overrunning of the region by gold{288}hunters that i was permitted to take it away. besides, the knowledge is no longer of importance, because i assure you that the wonderful deposit is completely exhausted. the gold, some five thousand tons remaining, is stored in a private vault in new york. it will remain there until the soundest wisdom i can avail myself of determines its final disposition.”
the president left his chair, walked over to the young man, and held out his hand. brent rose in some surprise and accepted the hand-clasp, while the president exclaimed warmly:
“mr. brent, i honor you for that sentiment, and the country will honor you. unless you were governed by a generous spirit, we should be face to face with almost certain ruin. as it is, a more difficult problem it would be hard to imagine. i confess i should not venture to suggest a solution without long and careful deliberation. but it is not a new problem to you two gentlemen. will you not give us fully your views of the situation?”
“mr. wharton is much better able to discuss the matter than i am,” responded brent, while all four drew up chairs in a close group. “we have endeavored during the past month to ward off or mitigate such evils as we could in the commercial and financial worlds by various expedients and palliative measures, some of them wise perhaps, and some of them{289} otherwise. we have come to the conclusion, however, that it is beyond our power unaided to restore tranquillity and soundness. we have succeeded in withdrawing about one hundred and fifty millions in cash from circulation. another hundred millions of the five hundred millions distributed was placed abroad, and at a fair estimate i should judge about fifty millions more had found its way out of the country. so i calculate that the circulating medium in the united states is about two hundred millions greater than it was one year ago, or before we began operations. that is the situation as i understand it regarding the present placing of the gold which i have introduced into the market. for the future, i am anxious to co?perate in any way you may advise for the relief of present difficulties.
“then comes the larger question of the disposal of the remaining three billions of gold now on my hands. it is as much a matter of concern to the whole world as to america. i should like to submit the problem to a commission, necessarily small, and composed of the highest statesmanship and financial wisdom of the world. i know of no way of doing this except through you. it would, i think, be within your power to convene such an international monetary conference. only the great powers need be invited, and without disclosing the secret, even to the heads of{290} governments, an intimation of the importance of the matter could be conveyed through diplomatic channels, and thus you could secure the selection of delegates of the highest ability and influence. of course no hint of the truth must be allowed to transpire until this conference has decided upon a final policy, and arrangements have been made for putting it into execution.”
the president listened to brent’s statement with close attention and manifest interest. he remained for some moments in profound thought. at length he said:
“on first consideration, mr. brent, i am inclined to approve of your suggestion unreservedly. there are difficulties, but i think they might be overcome. i will talk the matter over with the secretary, and we will all discuss it together again a little later. what is more pressing for the moment is our present policy. the congress, as you know, meets next week. i was engaged in reshaping my message when you came in. after what you have told me, it may be necessary to redraft it entirely. i was prepared to recommend vigorous measures to bring about restoration of confidence, even to the suspension of the free coinage of gold, if such a policy seemed advisable. but with all the other mints of the world still open, and with your assurance that no more additions will be made to the{291} unnatural supply of gold, such a course appears to be unnecessary. we have already curtailed the work of the mints. you know they have all been coining gold day and night at top speed for months, and still have been unable to handle a fraction of the metal offered. hereafter they will run only during regular hours and at ordinary capacity. have you noticed, by the way, gentlemen, how completely you have solved the silver problem?”
“yes, sir,” responded brent smiling. “we have almost succeeded in both demonetizing gold and remonetizing silver.”
“true,” resumed the president, “and you have quite succeeded in demonstrating the folly and futility of trying to maintain by legislation the value of an oversupplied article, be it silver or gold or anything else. we attempted the impossible in this country more persistently than anywhere else, and we suffered a heavier penalty. now your deluge of gold has restored the old-fashioned ratio of the world’s production of the two metals, and the price of silver without any legislation or manipulation, simply in obedience to the laws of trade, has risen to its old level. perhaps it would be more correct to say that gold had descended toward the silver level. if it should become known that you still held five thousand tons of gold ready to turn into money, does anybody suppose{292} that an act of the congress or any other fiat of government could maintain gold as the standard of value? i have no doubt, however, that the friends of silver will come forward next week with some interesting proposals on behalf of that no longer despised metal. the situation will be difficult to control, very difficult indeed, pending the solution of your greater problem. i cannot help wishing you had placed these facts before me a month ago. then i should not have felt it my duty to call an extra session.”
the president leaned back in his chair, drummed mechanically upon the desk, and for some time was lost in deep thought. the others were silent likewise. presently collecting himself, and addressing both wharton and brent, the chief of the nation said earnestly:
“gentlemen, i shall deal with you in this matter with complete frankness and without reserve or formality, just as if you were members of my cabinet. the subject is too great, too portentous, for us to allow any consideration save the best welfare of the country, of the world, to enter into our treatment of it. i hope you will give me the fullest benefit of the most earnest thought you can devote to it. let it be a personal matter between us, as between men having a common duty. i have absolute faith in your{293} integrity of motive. your action in coming to me with your momentous secret is sufficient proof of that. now let us have a few hours to digest this tremendous announcement. no man’s mind—not mine at least—can comprehend all at once the infinite bearings and significance of such news. the secretary and i will both have a better grasp of the subject after sleeping upon it. will you not come here again to-morrow afternoon, say at two o’clock, and we will have a long talk? then we will dine quietly and put our heads together over it again in the evening.”
brent and wharton heartily thanked the president for his expression of confidence in them, accepted his invitation, and withdrew. the secretary remained with his chief. the sun had long set when he left the white house.
the next day’s conference at the executive mansion was long and interesting. it is not necessary to report it in detail. it rambled over the vast ramifications of the subject in a more haphazard and cursory way than the matter was afterwards treated by the more deliberate tribunal to which it was eventually referred. the president appeared rather tired and anxious when he greeted his guests, and so did the secretary of the treasury.
“i told you we should be better able to deal with{294} our difficulty after a night’s sleep,” remarked the president with a smile, as he grasped brent’s hands. “i for one did not find it an easy matter to sleep upon.”
“nor i,” observed the secretary sententiously.
“wharton and i, on the contrary, have enjoyed better rest the last two nights, since deciding to share our responsibility with you, than we have had for weeks,” responded brent, with some appearance of elation.
“probably then your clearer heads have been more fertile than ours in plans for meeting the emergency,” suggested the president, adding, with a twinkle of humor in his eye, “it would be only fair for you to point out some line of escape from the dangers with which you have surrounded us.”
brent’s attempt to smile in response to this sally was not very mirthful.
“my poor brain,” he said, “is quite callous under any spur to effort in that direction. in fact, i have so completely lost confidence in it, that only the other day i begged my friend wharton to take the whole load of gold off my shoulders, and dispose of it in any way he liked.”
“and he spurned the offer? you are indeed a modern midas, mr. brent, cursed with sumless gold beyond even the craving of human cupidity. it is{295} not easy to convince the mind that fable has become reality, that solid, scientific, nineteenth-century life is suddenly confronted with a condition which society is utterly unprepared to meet.”
the president gave rein to his thought in this strain for a moment longer. then he turned resolutely to the concrete problem in hand, saying:
“my attitude toward the congress is, under the circumstances, somewhat embarrassing. i have summoned a special session to deal with the financial situation. the aspect of affairs had very much changed before you came to me yesterday with your startling revelation. precautions which i would have recommended a month ago are no longer expedient. in view of what you have told me, the less legislation we have just now the better. i have about decided to advise the calling of a monetary conference—the world-wide financial disturbance is sufficient justification for it—and to suggest two or three harmless palliative measures for giving relief to present monetary distress, and for strengthening public confidence. do you think of any better plan?”
the discussion became general and informal, and soon drifted into various branches of the subject of temporary policy. by the time the dinner hour had arrived, all were agreed that the president’s suggested attitude toward congress was the wisest that could be{296} adopted. measures for holding in check erratic and dangerous legislation which might be threatened were also considered. it was arranged that brent and wharton should, as far as possible, influence the tone of finance and speculation in harmony with the policy of the administration, and co?perate actively with the government in any emergency which might arise.
it was a quiet, informal dinner at which brent, wharton, and the secretary of the treasury joined the presidential household. finance and other weighty affairs were not allowed to chill the cordial, homelike atmosphere, which the presence of womanly tact and grace made particularly attractive to the two bachelor strangers. sunday evening at the white house is usually the one strictly home hour of the week, but brent and wharton were not for a moment allowed to discover that they were unwonted intruders upon a much cherished privilege. the meal was not a long one, and when it was over the gentlemen withdrew for their cigars to the president’s “den,” as he termed it.
there the conversation soon drifted back to the greater feature of brent’s golden problem—the proper disposition of his hidden billions. aside from the obvious escape from the dilemma by casting away the whole treasure and the secret with it, no one had any positive plan to advocate. various tentative sug{297}gestions were discussed as they arose in one mind or another, but there seemed to be strong objections to all of them. although it was midnight before the discussion became wearisome, nothing definite had been arrived at beyond a general conviction that the problem which would confront the proposed convention of the wise men of finance would prove to be many times deeper, higher, broader, weightier, than any unexpected obstacle which had yet arisen in the path of civilization.
brent and wharton returned the next day to new york. they prepared to co?perate with the administration for the maintenance of financial and commercial tranquillity in every possible way. then came the assembling of congress. some disappointment was expressed in many quarters over the president’s message. more had been expected of the administration in the way of relief legislation than the document suggested. but if there was any lack of financial panaceas, congress speedily supplied it. the variety of schemes and measures for accomplishing all manner of desirable ends seemed infinite. the deluge of private bills soon disappeared in committee archives, most of them attracting no attention on their rapid path to oblivion. the president proved a true prophet in the matter of propositions regarding silver. most of the low grade silver mines{298} of the west, which had shut down two years before owing to the demonetization of the metal and its low price, had reopened, and were producing at their utmost capacity. there had been much investment and speculative buying of the metal for a few months, in consequence of the decline or superabundance of gold. the champions of the silver interest now came forward with proposals that the free coinage of gold should be suspended, and that at least one half the production of the mints should be silver, at the re?stablished ratio of fifteen to one, which for centuries had marked the relative value of the two metals.
the attitude finally taken by the administration party, as it came to be known, was not one of direct opposition to the silver men. it was urged that the whole question was too widespread in its bearings for the american congress, or any other single legislative authority, to attempt to give it independent solution. the world had grown too small, and all its interests were too closely interwoven for any country to be able to maintain an individual monetary policy. unity of principle and of action had become indispensable. the united states had learned this lesson at sore expense only two years before, and to seek its repetition would be a stupendous folly.
the argument prevailed. the opposition to silver on the old grounds had disappeared. the demand{299} simply for international co?peration could not be reasonably resisted. the suggestion of an international monetary conference speedily received unanimous approval. the invitation was issued by the president to only the principal european powers late in november. it received a promptly favorable response in every case, and it was soon decided that the conference should meet in paris on the second week in january of the following year, 1896.
congress turned its attention to temporary and special measures for mitigating commercial and industrial distress. the general paralysis of business continued, and everybody felt that the suspense would last until the united action of the nations had settled the world’s monetary policy. there was, therefore, a widespread feeling of impatience for the assembling and the decision of the paris conference.
wharton and brent found plenty to do in these intervening weeks. after all they had done during october in fighting panic and distress, and under brent’s determination not to use any fresh capital from his store, they were no longer able to dominate all markets with controlling hand as they had done for months before. they accomplished much, however, in steadying prices in the stock market, the loan market, and some of the markets for staple produce and manufactures, and the lapse of time without fresh serious{300} disasters begot a sort of confidence in the public mind. the administration, partly by means of its alliance with the authors of the financial crisis, was able to do much in the same line. brent and wharton were in constant communication with the secretary of the treasury and the president, and they made frequent trips to washington for consultation.
on one of these occasions the president invited brent to act as one of the american delegates to the monetary conference. the young man promptly declined.
“i want to keep out of the public eye as long as i possibly can, sir,” he explained. “there are to be only two delegates from each country, and the natural selection will be a leading statesman and a great financier. if you should select an unknown man for a post more important than even a seat in your cabinet, the country would be amazed, and then a great hue and cry would be raised against you and against me. it would also distinctly imperil the secret of the existence of this gold, which we must guard at any cost. no, sir, i must not attend the conference in any official capacity. i am prepared to go there and explain my position to the members in secret session. that will naturally be expected of me. but i must not be publicly identified with the conference and its raison d’être in any way whatsoever.”
“you are entirely right, mr. brent,” responded{301} the president. “you are, however, fully entitled to sit upon this board if you choose. i can afford to ignore any public criticisms of my action in appointing you until events bring my justification. but, as you have said, we cannot afford to increase by a feather’s weight the danger of discovery of your secret. i have decided to ask the secretary of the treasury to go as one american representative. can you suggest the second? mr. wharton might be named with propriety. he has come before the public so prominently during the last year as the director of vast financial schemes, that his selection would be regarded as appropriate.”
“no, sir, i think not,” said brent thoughtfully. “in the first place, it will be necessary for him to remain in new york in charge of my affairs while i am abroad, and then, too, the selection of an older and better known man would be more acceptable both to the american public and to the foreign members of the board. wharton and i, you know,” brent added smiling, “are part and parcel of the case. we are the accomplices of the defendant treasure which is to be tried, and we cannot sit upon the jury.”
“would that more of our countrymen were as diffident of renown and power!” exclaimed the president, with a fervor born of a ripe experience with clamorous american ambition.{302}
for nearly a month before sailing for europe late in december, brent was busy night and day. not only did the demands of the monetary situation occupy much of his time, but he was obliged to give his personal attention to the fitting out of his first annual shipload of supplies, which according to his compact with the chieftain of the caillitchets must arrive in patagonia on the 1st of january. he chartered a stanch steamship of about four thousand tons, and loaded her with a large and valuable cargo. he made his purchases with a great deal of care. arms and ammunition of the latest patterns, he sent according to stipulation. clothing and fabrics, appropriate to primitive wants in a severe climate, he supplied liberally. large quantities of food-stuffs in various non-perishable forms were put on board. he included also a collection of simpler labor-saving implements and agricultural tools, in hope that they might encourage new industrial ambitions among the stern and valorous people of the far south. the cargo when completed quite filled the ship, and represented an expenditure of nearly a million dollars.
to captain penniman of the mystery was intrusted the command of the expedition. his instructions were to clear for buenos ayres, and after re-coaling, to proceed to the natural harbor on the coast of patagonia, which brent indicated upon the chart.{303} minute directions were given for navigating the inlet, and the exact spot for anchoring was pointed out on the special chart which brent supplied. he was to remain there until a native should bring to him a document, of which brent furnished a facsimile. then he was to discharge his entire cargo upon rafts which the natives would bring alongside. this accomplished, he would receive from the native who produced the original document a sealed packet. thereupon he should sail at once to new york and deliver the packet to brent or his representative at strong & co.’s office in new street. the steamer sailed from new york on its mission in due course, december 7.
during the last few days before his departure, brent made an emergency agreement with wharton and the president. it seemed wise to take some precautions regarding a course of action in case of the disclosure, accidental or otherwise, of the secret of his treasure-house during his absence in europe. each of the four who had knowledge of the facts was convinced that a premature betrayal of the truth would plunge the world into financial chaos, unless the danger could be removed by a single stroke. it was therefore arranged that if necessity should arise, every one of the wooden cases in brent’s vault would be loaded as quickly and quietly as possible under protection of the united states authorities upon one{304} or two men-of-war to be kept in readiness in new york harbor. these vessels would at once put to sea, and their cargoes would be thrown overboard in mid-ocean. as soon as this had been accomplished, the president would issue a proclamation setting forth all the facts and assuring the world that all danger had passed.
all the quartet, who considered the matter one afternoon at the executive mansion, heartily approved of this arrangement, and they one and all felt a large measure of relief when the dreaded emergency had been provided for.
on saturday, the 28th of december, brent sailed for europe in company with the secretary of the treasury and the great banker who had been named as the second representative of the united states at the international monetary conference to meet in paris two weeks later.
