Evening Star Newspaper, September 6, 1931, Page 51

an officer of the public; but lest you should, like some others, believe more in private than in public credit, I hereby pledge myself to pay you the cost and charges of this flour in hard money. ! ‘I will enable you most honorably to fulfill your engagements. My character, ueility, and the public good are much more deeply concerned in doing so than yours is.’ ” In 1780, in conjunction with other patriots, he established a benk in Philadelphia prin- cipally for supplying the Army with provisions and rum. He headed the list with a subscrip- tion of £10,000, the total subscribed being £315,000 Pennsylvania money, and at a time when public credit was at its lowest ebb. ‘Th.ough this agency he supplied the Army with 3,000,000 rations and 300 hogsheads of rum. February 20, 1781, Robert Morris was unani- mously elected superintendent of finance, as before stated, an office he a>cepted after some coirespondence. At that time the Treasury was more than $2,500,000 in arrears, and we arc told that starvation then threatened the troops and that the paper bills of credit had 80 far depreciated that it required a burden- some mass to pay for just one article of clothing. He was the master mind in the establishing oi the Bank of Notth America, which in the first four months after it was opened loaned to the United States $400,000, followed almost immediately with a loan of $9,900 to the State oi Pcnnsylvania to enable it to pay its quota of the public contribution. INDu-:D. these are but a few of the things that Robe:t Moiris did for the cause of freedom at a time, too, when—as Franklin might put it—the leaders of the Revolution must hang together or they may hang sep- arately. Some men do not live long enough, others live too long. Morris, unfortunately, we must place in the latter class, for had he died imme- diately after the close of the war his character would have remained unimpeached for all time and his family and friends would have been saved much embarrassment. As before siated, he was born in 1734, and in 1790, when he was 56 years of age, we find him heavily plunging in real estate—anywhere, everywhere. He seem$ to have entirely lost his head! Unforturytely, the purchase of a tract near Geneva and the Genesee River proved succcssful, for he realized in selling it to an English \company a third of a million dollars, which only made him that more ven- turesome and reckless. Again he was more or less successful when with others, he purchased of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the third of a million dol- lars 4,000,000 acres of land in Western New York, his interest being 3,400,000 acres. ‘This was in 1791, and within two years he had sold to a Holland company all but 500,000 acres, which he reserved to himself. His purchases seem to have never becn on a small scale, and it is probable that at one time he owned more land in the United States than any other man. This may well be reckoned from the fact that between 1790 and 1793 he owned all of the State of New York west of the Seneca Lake, except a strip north and south through the center of that region. When in 1795 he, together with Nicholson and Greenleaf, formed the North American Land Co., his purchases, if possible, became more gigantic and the company even took title to property in Pennsylvania, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Kentucky, for which it paid 50 ccnts an acre—or took it over at that price—and immediately revalued it at £100 an acre. Indeed we who lived in Barnum's time, and who hold for that gentleman such a high estimation for his ability to fool the people, cannot help now but realize that this combination of financiers knew more tricks than the great showman ever dreamed of, except that Barnum died rich. HOWEVER‘ Morris probably made his big- gest mistake when he began to speculate in Washingzton property, for by this time he had undoubttdly lost his head entirely. In a report of the Commissioners of Wash- ington, dated January 28, 1801, and signed by William Thornton, Alexander White and W. Cranci, we find a copy of a contract betwcen Morris and G.eenleaf of December 24, 1793, in which referenc: is made to a prior agreement dated Scpemb:ir 23 of that year, in which it was sagrced by the Commissioners to transfer to James Greenleaf 3,000 lots at the price of £24 current money of Maryland for each lot, and to Robert Morris the same number of lots at £35 each. The agreement of December 24, 1793, was to consolidate and clarify the earlier agreement made with Greenleaf, acting for himself and Mo:ris, and is, in part, as follows: “Now thec:efore these articles witness, that the caid Commissioners have sold and con- tracted for the sale and conveyance, and do hereby for themselves and their successors, in consideration cf the covenants of the said Rob- ert Morris and James Greenleaf, hereinafter expressed, being fully executed and performed on their part, sell and contract for the sale and conveyance to them, the said Robert Morris and James Greenleaf as tenants in common, and their heirs, in fee, 6,000 lots of ground in the said city of Washington upon the average of 5,265 square feet for each lot, s0 that the aggre- gate in lots, rcckoning in the ways to the squares as the proportion thereof to the lots to be conveyed, shall amount to 31,590,000 square feet, 4,500 of which lots shall He to the south- west of Massachusetis avenue and the remain- ing 1,500 shall lie to the northeast of the said avenue, and that of the said 4,500 lots on the southwest of the said avenue the sald Robert Motris and James Greenleaf shall have the part of the city of Notley Young's land, and in that part of Daniel Carroll’s land which lies in the branches of the canal, clear of Carrellsburgh— and that the said Robert Motris and James Greenleaf shall have a right to choese, to satisfy the residue of the said 4,500 lots, lying to the southwest of the Massachusetts avenue afore- said, on any part of the sald southwest side of the avenue that they shall think proper, ex- cepting such lots as shall lie in squares num- THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, SEPTEMBER 6, 1931. George Washington in consuliation with Morris and Hamilton at his house in New York. bered as follows, to wit., etc., etc.. And the lots lying in Carrclisburgh, and also further, excepting the water lots, including the water lots lying on the Easiern Branch, and also one half of the lots lying in Hamburgh, the lots in that pa:t of the city and b:longing to it, other than water lots, beipg to bz divided by alternate choice bctween the said commis- sioners and the said Robert Mowris and James Greenleafl. Provided, however, and it is hereby agreed by and between the parties to these presents, that the said Robert Morris and James Greenleal are entitled to the lots in Notley Young's land, and, of course, to the privilege of wharfing annexed thereto, and that lois ad- jeining the canal are not reckoned water lots; and that the said Robart Morris and James Greenleaf shall have a right to choose the re- maining 1,500 lots lying to the northeast of said Massachusetis avenue, or any part thercof they shall think p-oper, excepting onc-half of the squares which shall adjoin the spot that may be appropriated for a national university, which is expected to be fixed on the northeast side of the said avenue: and the said Robert Morris and James Greenleaf do hereby, in con- sideration of the agreement on the part of the said Commissioners hereinbefore set forth, for themselves, their heirs, executors and adminis- trators, jointly and severally agree to and with the said Commissioners to pay to them or their successors £30 current money of Maryland for each of the said 6,000 lots contracted, to bz sold as aforesaid. amounting to £180,000 current money aforesaid, in seven equal annual pay- ments without interest, and the first payment to be made on the 1st day of May next ensuing the date of these presents, and that they will build and erect yearly on some parts of the said lots 20 brick houses of two stories each, and each house covering 1,200 square feet, until the num- ber of 140 houses shall be built and erected.” conditions of it, he went to Europe to borrow more money with which enrich thes virgin Capital. All this happ:ncd beiore the year 1794, before the man had attained his thirtieth year. However, the operations of the syndicate con- trolling this vast quantity of city lots proved a complete failure, and a number of rich men werz ruined in the crash. Various suits were brought in court to straighten out ths tangle, but that of the United States for the recovery of six city blocks was the most prolonged. This case was instituted by United States District Attorney Thomas Swsnn in 13513, and eon- cluded 44 years latar by Robert Ould, who had been appointed te that office. Morris, who had continued to reside in Phil- adelphia, made frantic efforts to retrieve his fortunes with further speculations, but the hand of fate was set against him. Even the mansion he had begun building, in Philedel- phia about 1790, with L’Enfant, the designer of Washington, as architect, was proving a financial burden, and beside he was having trouble with the notsd French engineer, just as had the Commissioncrs of Washington and the first President. As Dr. Oberholtzer put; it: “Lete in Sep- tember, 1795, his patience was quite exhausted. The major had assured him that the house would be covered in the Autumn of that year, but it was urged that no marble could be s2cured, and Mr. Morris instructéd L’Enfant, therefore, to run up the walls the rest of the way in brick, and place a roof over the west wing. He had sold his hous: in High street, and was obliged to rent a residence at a cost of over {1,000 annually. If st°ns were taken immediately to cover a part of the building, he calculated thet he would bz able to oczupy it in the foliowing Spring or Summer. ‘Al- though it was not my intention to have the The Philadelphia residence of Robert Morris, designed by Maj. L’Enfant of Washington, but never completed. HIS early document bears the signature of Robert Morris, signed by his agent, James Greenleaf, and also the latter's own signature. Willlam Deakins, jr., appears as witness, and the Commissioners then holding office, Thomas Johnson, David Stewart and Daniel Carroll. Six thousand lots may not sound big, but in these lots there were approximately 50,000,000 square feet of ground. Greenleaf, who appears to have carried on the negotiations for the lots, for the syndicate, did not stop here, but soon afterward purchased from private individuals 420 other lots. It is stated that “several partnerships were formed, the most prominent being that entered into by John Nicholson, a wealthy merchant of Philadelphia, and Robert Moxris. © * ¢* Every dollar they possessed these two men intrusted to James Greenleaf, and assigning them an' interest in his pur- chase, and leaving them it fulit the building marble you have introduced into this building,’ Mr. Morris tells his architect, ‘vet an inclina- tion to indulge your genius induced me to per- mit so much of it. Had you executed my in- tentions instead of your own, my family would now have inhabited the house instead of being liable to be turned out of doors.’ ” HE constiuction of this fine mansion was the talk of the people of Philadelphia, because of its magnificence 2nd the fact of its being furnished with a mansard roof, the first ever seen in America. The building occupied the whole square on Chestnut street between Eight end Ninth and extended back to Samson and Walnut. Its wine cellars were said by the gossips to have been three stories deep and of corresponding roominess, L’Eufant agreed to bulld this house for $60,000, but up to that . 7 e time the work was discontinued for want of funds, the cost, as stated, had greatly exceeded this amount. However, L’Enfant, too, lost all he had when the owner of the mansion failed, Morris staved off his creditors as best he could, but the crisis came, and he went to:a debtor’s prison on February 16, 1798, and ré- mained there until August 26, 1801. Nearly five years later, on May 8, 1806, he breathed his last in Philadelphia and was buried there in the family vault of Wiliam White in the churchyard of Christ Church. His will as given by Allen C. Clark in his excellent book, “Greenleaf and Law im the Pederal City,” reads: “In the name of God Amen, I, Robert Morris of the City of Philadelphia, formerly a merchant, &c., &c., do now make and declare this present writing to contain and to be my last will and testament hereby revoking all wills by me made and declared of precedent dates. Imprimis I give my gold watch to my son Robert, it was my fathers and left to me at his death and hath been carefully kept and valued by me ever since. Item I give my gold-headed cane to my son Thomas, the head was given to me by the late John Hancock, Esq., when Presi- dent of Congress and the cane was the gift of James Wilson, Esq., whilst a member of Congress. Item I give to my son Henry my copying press and the paper which were sent to me a present from Sir Robert Herries of London—Item I give to my daughter, Hetty (now Mrs. Marshall) my silver vase or punch cup which imported from London many years agd and have since purchased again—Item I give to my daughter Maria (now Mrs. Nixon) my silver voiler which 1 also imported from London many years ago, and which I have lately repurchased—Item I give to my frierd Gouverneur Morris, Esq., my telescope espying glass being the same that I bought of a French refugee from Cepe Francois then at Trenton and which I since purchased again of Mr. Hall, officcr of the bankrupt office— Item I give and bequeath all the other property which I now possess or may hereafter acquire whether real or personal or all that shall or may belong to me at the time of my death to my dearly beloved wife Mary Morris for her use and comfort during her life and to be disposed of as she pleases at or before her decease when no doubt she will make such distribution of the same amongst our children as she may then think most proper. Here 1 have to express my regret at having lost a very large fortune acquired by honest industry which .1 had long hoped and expected to enjoy with my family during my own life and then to distribute it amongst those of them that should outlive, fate has determined otherwise and we must submit to the decree, which I have done with patience and fortitude. Lastly I do hereby nominate and appoint my said dearly beloved wife Mary Morris sole exec'i- trix of this my last will and tsstament mas and declared as such on this thirteenth da- of June 1804. “ROBERT. MORRIS. THOMAS MORRIS, one of the sons n tioned in the above will, was a lawyer, : served es a Representative in Congress f. New York from 1801 to 1803, when he declin nomination. He subsequently was appointe United States marshal for the southern distri . of New York in 1816, 1820, 1825, and 1829, and died in New York City, March 12, 1849. In an effort to get all thes information he could pertaining to the life of Robert Morris, the writer consuited Pouison's American Daily Advertiser of Philadelphia, hoping to find theie a sketch of the financier at the time of his death, but all he found was the foilowing deat. notice in the issue of May 10, 1806: “Died—Thursday night, after a tedious and lingering illness, Robert Morris, Esq., whose signal and important services to his country during our Revolutionary struggle with Great Britain, are well known throughout the United States.™ Quite a brief notice for the leading Phila- delphia paper at that time, regarding a man who had financed the American Revolution. served in the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence and the Cemsti- tution of the United States, declined the offer to be the first Secretary of the ‘Treasury, and represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate in the First Congress. He had his faults, we must admit, but his virtues were far greater. - Food Inspectors Active Smxous illness of thousands of people was probably averted through the activity of the food inspectors of the Department of Agri- culture who discovered shipments of 43,000 cases of partly decomposed salmon. The ship- pers were prosecuted and fined, the judge pub- licly expressing his regret that he could not send the convicted men to jail. Some idea of the activities of the food in- spectors is contained in the figures for on: month, which included the seizure of nearly 200 shipments of preparations of foods and drugs found to be substandard or adulterated. Of the shipments seized, 88 were medicines and 65 foods, with the others of a miscellaneous nature. On the order of a Federal commissioner 120 - 000 cans of ether found to be high in acidity and useless were cut, covered with oil and set afire. Another case prosecuted was the shipment of a liniment that was advertised as a cure for cancer, tuberculosis, pneumonia, influenza, lo- comotor ataxia and other equally serious dis- eases. This liniment, upun analysis, was found to contain turpentine oil. mustard oil, ammonia water, eggs and a swall quantity of other in- gredients equally inefiective in the treatment of some of the diseases supposed to be cured by the liniment. . ‘The activities of the imspectors have done much to rid the country of misbranded, sub- standard and adulteratsd products, and thei- vigilance is believed to have made the shipment of such products almost certain of failure,