intimacy
many of the remarkable men in every department of life, but I think
Commodore Vanderbilt was the most original. I had been well
acquainted for some years both with the commodore and his son,
William H. When I became attorney my relations were more intimate
than those usually existing. I was in daily consultation with the
commodore during the ten years prior to his death, and with his
son from 1866 to 1885, when he died.

The commodore was constantly, because of his wealth and power,
importuned by people who wished to interest him in their schemes.
Most of the great and progressive enterprises of his time were
presented to him. He would listen patiently, ask a few questions,
and in a short time grasp the whole subject. Then with wonderful
quickness and unerring judgment he would render his decision.
No one knew by what process he arrived at these conclusions.
They seemed to be the results as much of inspiration as of insight.

The Civil War closed in 1865, and one of its lessons had been
the necessity for more railroads. The country had discovered
that without transportation its vast and fertile territories could
neither be populated nor made productive. Every mile of railroad
carried settlers, opened farms and increased the national resources
and wealth. The economical and critical conditions of the country,
owing to the expansion of the currency and banking conditions,
facilitated and encouraged vast schemes of railroad construction.
This and a wild speculation resulted in the panic of 1873. Nearly
the whole country went bankrupt. The recovery was rapid, and
the constructive talent of the Republic saw that the restoration of
credit and prosperity must be led by railway solvency. In August,
1874, Commodore Vanderbilt invited the representatives of the
other and competitive lines to a conference at Saratoga. Owing,
however, to the jealousies and hostilities of the period, only the
New York Central, the Pennsylvania, and the Erie railways were
represented.

The eastern railway situation was then dominated by Commodore
Vanderbilt, Colonel Thomas A. Scott, of the Pennsylvania, and
John W. Garrett, of the Baltimore and Ohio. Both Scott and Garrett
were original men and empire builders. There was neither
governmental nor State regulation. The head of a railway system
had practically unlimited power in the operation of his road.
The people were so anxious for the construction of railways that
they