There was a statute of New York which authorized any railroad to create and issue its own stock in exchange for the stock of any other road under lease to it. The Ring had obtained the Buffalo, Bradford & Pittsburg road, which was comparatively worthless, for carrying out this scheme. The Erie management then set about supplying themselves with the amount of Erie stock required, by leasing their own road to the road of which they were directors. They then created stock and issued it to themselves in exchange under the authority vested in them by law. The nominal price of the road with which they worked this game of legerdemain was $250,000. They issued bonds in its name for two millions of dollars, payable to one of themselves as trustee. Vanderbilt, before he could get a “corner” in Erie, had to place a limit to the issue of the stock. Otherwise he would have been throwing away millions, like pouring water into a sieve, in his attempt to make a “corner.” Drew was enjoined by the Commodore to return to the Treasury 68,000 shares of the capital stock of Erie. This was the amount that was said to remain in the unsettled transactions of the Erie corner of 1866. This was the sword of Damocles which Vanderbilt had suspended over Drew’s devoted head. Vanderbilt thus undertook to play the double game of manipulating the courts and the stock market at the same time, and against wily opponents, who were experts in both operations. There were at this time three competitors for the possession of Erie in the field. The Drew party, the Vanderbilt party, and the Boston, Hartford and Erie party. Drew had tried to appease Vanderbilt to some extent, and had an interview with him at Vanderbilt’s own house prior to the election of the Erie directors. He agreed to “let up” on Vanderbilt, and offered him greater swing in purchasing Erie, while, on the other hand, Vanderbilt consented not to press the proceedings in court against Drew. Before this, the Boston party and Vanderbilt had been fixing matters to oust Drew from the Erie directory. Now, Vanderbilt changed his tactics, and resolved to let Drew remain. The Boston party was with him, but to keep up the appearance of what had been formerly determined, the new board was to be elected ostensibly without Drew, and a vacancy created afterwards by which he could be chosen in the board. This method of whipping the Devil around the stump was adopted to put public opinion off its guard, and help to forward Vanderbilt’s purposes of consolidation. The election scheme was successfully effected, but the ruse, though well conceived, fell far short of accomplishing its designs.