THE FIRST CORNER IN CURRENCY 125 



banker, who promptly loaned me one and a half 

 millions for three days and promised me another 

 million for the following day. My next two 

 calls gave me a million each for the day with 

 promises of more the next. Then a big import- 

 ing house loaned me a million and a half, also 

 with promises of more the next day. Men never 

 get over the childish vanity of dealing in large 

 sums and it was this fact that enabled me earlv 

 in the day to secure the loan of nearly ten million 

 dollars with promises for the following day that 

 would nearly double the amount. For about 

 half of these loans I gave our own certified 

 checks as security, expecting to substitute green- 

 backs on the following day. Several of the 

 houses making the larger loans agreed to draw 

 the greenbacks from their own banks the next 

 day and seal them up if I wished, subject to my 

 order on payment of the loan. 



When I got back to my office, although it was 

 yet early in the day, trouble had begun. Every 

 dollar of the near ten millions I had borrowed 

 had been called from some one else and stocks 



