MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVI Ewi

MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVI EWi CONTENTS Some Early Missouri Bankers J. Ray Cable The Railroads of Missouri, 1850-1870 Paul W. Gates Selections from the Autobiography of Governor T. T. Crittenden, Part II Joseph B. McCullagh, Part VI Walter B. Stevens Joseph Pulitzer, Part V George S. Johns Missouriana Historical Notes and Comments Missouri History Not Found in Textbooks STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY o/* MISSOURI VOL. XXVI January, 1932 No. 2 OFFICERS OF THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI, 1928-1931 GEORGE A. MAHAN. Hannibal, President. LOUIS T. G0LDING, St. Joseph, First Vice-President. WALTER B. STEVENS, St. Louis, Second Vice-President. WALTER S. DICKEY,* Kansas City, Third Vice-President. CORNELIUS ROACH, Kansas City, Fourth Vice-President. R. M. LITTLE, Lexington, Fifth Vice-President. ALLEN McREYNOLDS, Carthage, Sixth Vice-President. R. B. PRICE, Columbia, Treasurer. FLOYD C. SHOEMAKER, Secretary and Librarian. *Deceased. BOARD OF TRUSTEES Term Expires at Annual Meeting, 1931 ROLLIN J. BRITTON,* Kansas ISIDOR LOEB, St. Louis. City. C. H. McCLURE, Kirksville. T. H. B. DUNNEGAN, Bolivar. JOHN ROTHENSTEINER, BEN L. EMMONS, St. Charles. St. Louis. STEPHEN B. HUNTER, CHAS. H. WHITAKER, Cape Girardeau. Clinton. *Deceased Term Expires at Annual Meeting, 1932 PHIL A. BENNETT, Springfield, ELMER O. JONES, LaPlata. W. E. CROWE, DeSoto. HENRY KRUG, JR., St. Joseph. FORREST C. DONNELL, WM. SOUTHERN, JR., St. Louis. Independence. BOYD DUDLEY, Gallatin. CHARLES L. WOODS, Rolla. J. F. HULL, Maryville. Term Expires at Annual Meeting, 1933 C. P. DORSEY, Cameron. H. S. STURGIS, Neosho. EUGENE FAIR, Kirksville. JONAS VILES, Columbia. THEODORE GARY, Kansas City. R. M. WHITE, Mexico. GEORGE A. MAHAN, Hannibal. WALTER WILLIAMS, Columbia. WM. R. PAINTER, Carrollton. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The twenty-six trustees, the president and secretary of the Society, the Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, and President of the Uni versity of Missouri, constitute the Executive Committee. FINANCE COMMITTEE R. M. WHITE, Chairman, Mexico. ISIDOR LOEB, St. Louis. WALTER WILLIAMS, Columbia. THE MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW VOL. XXVI JANUARY, 1932 NO. 2 CONTENTS Some Early Missouri Bankers 117 J. RAY CABLE The Railroads of Missouri, 1850-1870 126 PAUL W. GATES Selections From the Autobiography of Governor T. T. Crittenden, Part II 142 Joseph B. McCullagh, Part VI 153 WALTEB B. STEVENS Joseph Pulitzer, Part V 163 GEORGE S. JOHNS Missouriana 179 Historical Notes and Comments 192 Missouri History not Found in Textbooks 215 *#«&, FLOYD C. SHOEMAKER, Editor The Missouri Historical Review is published quarterly. The sub scription price is $1.00 a year. A complete set of the Review is still obtainable—Vols. 1-25, bound, $84.00; unbound, $Jf2.00. Prices of separate volumes given on request. All communications should be addressed to Floyd C. Shoemaker, The State Historical Society of Missouri. "Entered as second-class matter at the postoffice at Columbia, Missouri, under Act of Congress, October 3, 1917, Sec. 44#." CONTRIBUTORS CABLE, J. RAY, native Missourian, received his A. B. and B. S. from the University of Missouri, his M. A. from Chicago University, and his Ph. D. from Columbia University. He is associate professor of finance and banking in Washington University, St. Lpuis. GATES, PAUL W., did his graduate work in Clark, Wisconsin, and Harvard Universities. His doctorate thesis was "The Colonization Activi ties of the Illinois Central Railroad." He is assistant professor in history in Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa. CRITTENDEN, THOMAS T., lawyer, was governor of Missouri from 1881 to 1885. A native of Kentuck}' he came to Missouri in 1857, where he later served as a Federal officer during the Civil War, then as congressman, and later as consul-general to Mexico. He died in 1909. STEVENS, WALTE-R B., author and journalist, is the most popular historical writer in Missouri. Mr. Stevens has over a score of books to his credit and in 1921 published a "Centennial History of Missouri." He has held a number of important public positions, including the secre taryship of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis. He was formerly president of the State Historical Society. His home is in Burdick, Kansas. JOHNS, GEORGE S., a native Missourian, has been associated with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch since 1883. He has been successively dramatic critic, city editor, managing editor, editor editorial page, and associate editor. SOME EARLY MISSOURI BANKERS BY J. RAY CABLE Missouri banking began as a by-product of the fur trade. While Saint Louis was little more than a village, Manuel Lisa and the Chouteaus were pushing their stations up the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, and developing a trading business of large proportions. The head offices were located in Saint Louis, and here the necessary financing was done. There were no banking houses. Little money was in circulation. One of the more important traders, Auguste Chouteau, hit upon the plan of entering the value of the purchased peltry on his books in livres, thus giving the seller a credit on which he could draw. Later, receipts were issued for these amounts, and they passed current as a kind of money. When sufficient peltry had accumulated in the warehouses to justify a shipment, the furs were sent to New Orleans or Montreal, accompanied by drafts drawn on the buyer. These drafts, for the most part, were paid in merchandise. Grad ually it became the custom for the fur houses to cash drafts, make collections, sell exchange, and make loans. They were exercising most of the functions of banking, and in fact, furnished all such facilities as existed until 1813. In that year, Missouri's first bank, The Bank of Saint Louis, was chartered on petition of Pierre Chouteau and a group of representative St. Louis business men.1 The bank opened on December 13, 1816. The list of men inter ested in the new venture contains the names of many who were destined to be of great importance in Missouri and Western history. Among them were Rufus Easton, delegate to Con gress, Samuel Hammond, former territorial governor, and J. B. C. Lucas. Auguste Chouteau, Bernard Pratfe, and Manuel Lisa, were among those representing the fur trading interests.2 Thomas Hart Benton, who came to St. Louis iGeyer, H. S., Digest of the Laws of Missouri, St. Louis, 1819, p. 86. *City Directory of Saint Louis, 1816. (117) 118 MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW in 1815, became a stockholder in the bank. Samuel Hammond was made president of the new institution, but he seems not to have taken an active part in its management. Control was in the hands of J. G. B. Smith, cashier, who failed to realize the dangers of inflation, issued circulation contrary to the provisions of the charter, and made heavy real estate loans in Kentucky.3 This resulted in his removal on February 11, 1818, by order of the board of directors. However, the action was not unanimous, and three directors resigned. At this juncture, a group of stockholders, not members of the board, among whom was Thomas H. Benton, determined to take possession of the bank. They locked the building, and held it until dispossessed by court action. During the summer of 1819, the bank was closed for liquidation; but judging from the numerous suits filed in the local courts, the settlement was not satisfactory.4 Speculation, internal strife, and inexperi ence had ruined Missouri's first chartered bank. Meanwhile, another group of Saint Louis business men became interested in banking. They represented the fur traders, who had been much dissatisfied with the conduct of The Bank of Saint Louis, and who had been carrying on their own banking transactions by means of an informal partnership organization. Auguste Chouteau presented a petition to the General Assembly, asking that this partner ship be reconstructed and recognized as a chartered bank. The petition was granted, and The Bank of Missouri came into being January 31, 1817.5 Among those interested were Auguste Chouteau, Thomas Riddick, J. B. C. Lucas, Alexander McNair, Thomas H. Benton, and L. W. Boggs.6 The bank opened for business in the basement of the Chouteau House on Main Street, with Auguste Chouteau as president, and L. W. Boggs as cashier.7 Chouteau retained active con trol for two years, and was succeeded by Thomas Riddick. The bank was successful in securing a large public deposit, 3Pope, J., Part Which Banks have Played in the Commercial Development of the State, Proceedings Mo. Bankers Ass'n, 1905. ^Missouri Gazette, numerous issues, 1818-1819. *Geyer, op. cit., p. 74. *CUy Directory Saint Louis, 1817, 1818, 1819. 7See Saint Louis Republic, Centennial Edition, July 12, 1908. SOME EARLY MISSOURI BANKERS 119 and soon, with this as a back-log, began to indulge in con siderable speculative activity. In 1821, in response to con tinued rumors about the bank, the General Assembly ap pointed a committee of investigation; but when the report was presented, it was decided that it should not be printed.8 However, the bank soon went into liquidation. The manage ment had been highly unsound. Much of the capital had been paid by stock notes, and the directors themselves owed the bank $75,869.86 more than its total capital stock.9 Ben ton was a director, and a heavy borrower.10 Probably his education was the most important result of the failure. Missouri had experienced two bank failures; the next bank was to be a distinct success. In 1829 The Bank of the United States opened a branch in Saint Louis, and placed it in charge of a young Saint Louis business man, John O'Fallon. He showed marked credit ability, and gave Saint Louis a four- year demonstration of the value of a sound bank. Altho loans were made largely on personal security, the largest Suspended Debt Account ever reported for the Saint Louis office was $2712 for 1834.11 Altho The Bank of the United States was a political storm center during these years, the Saint Louis branch escaped censure.

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