He said he would be delighted to give
prominence to this commendable feature. I described the bridge as a
toll-gate on the continental highway and this appeared to please him.
It was all plain and easy sailing, and when he left the office, Mr.
Morgan clapped me on the shoulder and said:
"Thank you, young man; you have raised the price of those bonds five
per cent this morning."
"All right, Mr. Morgan," I replied; "now show me how I can raise them
five per cent more for you."
The issue was a great success, and the money for the St. Louis Bridge
was obtained. I had a considerable margin of profit upon the
negotiation. This was my first financial negotiation with the bankers
of Europe. Mr. Pullman told me a few days later that Mr. Morgan at a
dinner party had told the telegraphic incident and predicted, "That
young man will be heard from."
After closing with Mr. Morgan, I visited my native town, Dunfermline,
and at that time made the town a gift of public baths. It is notable
largely because it was the first considerable gift I had ever made.
Long before that I had, at my Uncle Lauder's suggestion, sent a
subscription to the fund for the Wallace Monument on Stirling Heights
overlooking Bannockburn. It was not much, but I was then in the
telegraph office and it was considerable out of a revenue of thirty
dollars per month with family expenses staring us in the face.
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