“Before paying it, I sent for Mr. Vanderbilt and received from him a most positive pledge that he would never again in any way interfere with the Line,” Palmer wrote. “I asked it in writing but this he declined to give, remarking that I knew his verbal promise could be fully relied on.”
Could be a part of the expectation that doing business by handshake is good thing...it's propogated by the powerful, not those that would benefit from it...follow te money
