President Benjamin Harrison Acknowledges J. Pierpont Morgan’s Primacy in the New York Financial World

“I know Mr. Morgan's very high standing and that no one could better represent the financial world in New York.”

This document has been sold. Contact Us

He must, however, support the candidacy of a former Comptroller of the Currency to lead the U.S. delegation at the International Monetary Conference of 1892; Harrison also frets about the health of his dying wife, saying: “I hope to be able to start this evening for Loon Lake to join Mrs. Harrison...

Read More

President Benjamin Harrison Acknowledges J. Pierpont Morgan’s Primacy in the New York Financial World

“I know Mr. Morgan's very high standing and that no one could better represent the financial world in New York.”

He must, however, support the candidacy of a former Comptroller of the Currency to lead the U.S. delegation at the International Monetary Conference of 1892; Harrison also frets about the health of his dying wife, saying: “I hope to be able to start this evening for Loon Lake to join Mrs. Harrison who needs me there very much. I myself very much need some rest; but I fear that attendance upon and anxiety about her will not make my stay there very restful.”

International trade greatly increased in the industrialized 1860s, and it could function best when there was a stable, commonly accepted international currency exchange. A conference of representatives of twenty leading commercial nations convened in Paris in 1867 and agreed to recommend to their governments formal negotiations toward a common gold coinage. But its recommendations received little support at home, as governments were reluctant to be seen to tinker with the contents of their coins, and significant bimetallic sentiment of the silver interests undermined support for a universal gold standard. Also supporting the silver interests was sentiment in the agrarian communities and among small business that the more currency in circulation, the better for them. And that meant promoting a greater reliance on silver, not a lesser.

In the 1870s the government of the United States invited representatives of the leading powers to meet in Paris for the purpose of considering the desirability of retaining the unrestricted use of silver for coinage, and the adoption of international bimetallism, by the acceptance of a gold/silver ratio to be fixed by agreement. The European states accepted the American proposition that it was necessary to maintain the monetary functions of silver, but declined to bind the discretion of particular states as to the methods to be employed. So that conference also failed.

A third conference was held in 1881 in Paris in consequence of the continuing fall in the value of silver. It was convened at the invitation of United States government under pressure from domestic silver interests to arrest the decline of silver, primarily by adopting a bimetallic standard with a fixed silver/gold ratio that highly valued the former. The characteristic of this conference was the greater strength of support given to the bimetallic proposal by France and the United States, set against the opposition of the delegates of the smaller European countries, and the refusal of Germany to promise any cooperation. The consequence of this was the adjournment of the conference to obtain fresh instructions, which, however, were never furnished.

The fourth (and last) of the silver/gold international monetary conferences was called for Brussels in November 1892 on the initiative of the United States. Interests within the U.S. immediately began jockeying for position, hoping to have a say in choosing the chief American delegate and thus influence policy at the conference. One of those interested in representing the U.S. was renowned financier J. Pierpont Morgan.

Cornelius N. Bliss was a partner in one of the largest wholesale dry-goods firms in the country. He was also chairman of the Republican committee in New York in 1887 and 1888, and contributed much to the success of the Benjamin Harrison ticket in his state in the 1888 election. He served as treasurer of the Republican National Committee from 1892 to 1904. He turned down the offer of becoming Secretary of the Treasury under President McKinley, but accepted the post of Secretary of the Interior, maintaining that position until 1899. Bliss’s neighbor in Manhattan was J. Pierpont Morgan, and Bliss’s son became a business associate of Morgan’s. Bliss promoted Morgan’s interests in the political world. He wrote to President Harrison on Morgan’s behalf.

Henry W. Cannon was United States Comptroller of the Currency from 1884 to 1886. When he left office he became president of Chase National Bank in New York. Secretary of State Charles Foster wanted Cannon to fill the lead American post at the conference.

Typed letter signed, on Executive Mansion letterhead, Washington, August 5, 1892, to Bliss and marked “Private”, acknowledging Morgan’s position of primacy in the financial world, but indicating that the post had been promised to Cannon. “I have your note of the 2nd. Mr. Hiscock when he first named Mr. Morgan the matter of the selection of Commissioners for the Silver Conference had progressed so far that I was afraid it would be difficult to make changes. I know Mr. Morgan’s very high standing and that no one could better represent the financial world in New York. The Secretary of the Treasury, however, had talked with Mr. Cannon and had used him, perhaps, in some correspondence that has been going on with a view to ascertain foreign sentiment; and I find that he feels so committed that I could not make a change without creating a little friction. It looks now as if the matter would have to stand as he had arranged it; but of course you will say nothing about this. I hope to be able to start this evening for Loon Lake to join Mrs. Harrison who needs me there very much. I myself very much need some rest; but I fear that attendance upon and anxiety about her will not make my stay there very restful.”

A full representation of the powers attended, but delay arose from the absence of definite proposals by the United States government. These, when they were presented, proved to be only a reaffirmation of the same bimetallic policy. The conference, therefore, proceeded to consider the plans of Baron de Rothschild for the more extended use of silver. But his suggestions were merely alleviations, and failed to gain any effective support. The Brussels conference adjourned and never resumed its sittings. After this, the currency issue passed into a new stage in which action was national rather than international. The method of procedure by international conference was abandoned. In the U.S., the issue became a major political difference between the parties, with the Republicans preferring a standard that favored gold and Democrats one that favored silver.

In late 1891, First Lady Caroline Scott Harrison began to battle tuberculosis, which at the time had no known effective treatment. She tried to fulfill her social obligations but, after her condition worsened, she traveled to spend the summer of 1892 in the Adirondack Mountains at Loon Lake. She took a turn for the worst in September, just a month after her husband, in this letter, showed such anxiety for her health and well being. She returned to the White House on September 20, where she died on October 25, 1892.

We obtained this letter from the Bliss descendants, and it has never before been offered for sale.

Frame, Display, Preserve

Each frame is custom constructed, using only proper museum archival materials. This includes:The finest frames, tailored to match the document you have chosen. These can period style, antiqued, gilded, wood, etc. Fabric mats, including silk and satin, as well as museum mat board with hand painted bevels. Attachment of the document to the matting to ensure its protection. This "hinging" is done according to archival standards. Protective "glass," or Tru Vue Optium Acrylic glazing, which is shatter resistant, 99% UV protective, and anti-reflective. You benefit from our decades of experience in designing and creating beautiful, compelling, and protective framed historical documents.

Learn more about our Framing Services