the Vanderbilt roads, a provision also desired by
Drew. In fact it was the same bill in different form that had been voted
down so decisively a short time before.

But the real tug of war was to get the bill through the lower House.
Fabulous stories were told of money which would be expended and the
market quotations for votes never soared so high. Then, at the critical
moment, Vanderbilt surrendered, made a secret deal with his foe, and
withdrew his opposition to the bill. The anger of the disappointed
grafters and vote-sellers knew no bounds, and they immediately set
to work passing other bills which they felt would annoy or injure
Vanderbilt, with the hope that he would still be induced to give them
what they regarded as their rightful spoils.

The details of this settlement between Drew and Vanderbilt were not
announced until some months afterward. By the terms agreed on Vanderbilt
was relieved of 50,000 shares of Erie stock at 70, payable partly in
cash and partly in bonds guaranteed by the Erie, and received $1,000,000
in cash for an option given the Erie Railroad to purchase his remaining
50,000 shares at 70 within four months, besides about $430,000 to
compensate his friends who had worked so heroically for him. This total
sum of nearly $5,000,000 no doubt represented part of the "slush fund"
which Drew expected that the company would have to give up to the
venal legislators, and it was therefore no hardship to hand it over to
Vanderbilt instead.

As a part of the general settlement the Boston interests were relieved
of their $5,000,000 of largely worthless bonds of the Boston,
Hartford and Erie Railroad, for which they received $4,000,000 of Erie
securities. Thus in all about $9,000,000 in cash or securities was drawn
out of the Erie treasury in final settlement of this great stock market
manipulation. And this does not include the pickings of Gould and Fisk
and the smaller fry, of which there is no official record. But that
these gentlemen did not go empty-handed there is not the shadow of a
doubt!

The sensational stock-market deal between the Drew and Vanderbilt
interests was but a truce, however, and did not settle the troubles of
the Erie. Jay Gould was now becoming a dominating factor and in October
of 1868 was chosen president. The various stock-market struggles that
ensued from the ascendency of Jay Gould to the receivership of the Erie
in 1875 is a long and intricate tale. Suffice it to say that