Chapter LVIII: Jay Gould (2)

“I think the directors declined, and I brought the suits
individually.”

“There is another letter of yours to the directors, requesting
them to begin suit against the Credit for a full accounting of
all profits, under certain alleged contracts,” etc.

“I think that was on a different set of contracts.”

Mr. Frederick L. Ames, the first witness called, testified that
he was formerly a stockholder in the Union Pacific Railroad, and
is a cousin of the Hon. Oliver Ames, Governor of the
Commonwealth. He was familiar with the relations of this road
and the Kansas Pacific Road prior to 1877. “I personally
attended,” he said, “to the affairs of the road under the
direction of my father, Oliver Ames. The first dividend of the
road was paid in 1875 or 1876. I do not remember the rate paid.
I was somewhat familiar with the condition of the Kansas
Pacific. I did not think the stock of much value in 1877. Mr.
Jay Gould was instrumental in buying up the Kansas Pacific
securities in 1876. I understood that he owned a large amount of
the funding bonds and unstamped incomes. I never knew what the
respective interests of any of the gentlemen interested were. I
owned no securities that entered into that pool. I received two
certificates for $50,000 each. I have not these in my possession
now. They were turned over to somebody. These certificates were
probably issued to every member of the pool. I think I paid
$100,000 to the Farmers’ Loan and Trust Company.”

Mr. Anderson—Have you been able to find those certificates, Mr.
Mink?

Controller Mink—They are not in our possession, sir.

Mr. Anderson—It is very strange that we cannot get any clue to
these certificates.

Continuing, Mr. Ames testified as to the manner in which the
business of the pool was conducted, a copy of the consolidated
mortgage being introduced in evidence.

“I do not remember,” he said, “that I ever contributed the
$388,000 funding bonds named in this mortgage. My connection
with this pool was limited to the advancement or the $100,000.
The pooling rates and mortgage rates were identical. I was a
director in the Kansas Pacific Road in 1879. I cannot explain
why bonds were issued to persons having claims against the road
at a rate which would exaggerate its indebtedness more than
$1,000,000. I exchanged my bonds for Kansas Pacific bonds. I do
not remember that, in 1880, $2,950,000 of preferred stock was
issued to Jay Gould at 75 when the bonds were worth 94. I do not
know of any other transaction of the kind. I do not know how the
Kansas Pacific Road came to be indebted to Jay Gould for
$2,000,000 at this time. All the directors were in favor of the
consolidation except Jay Gould. He was unwilling to accede to
any such terms as we thought we were entitled to, and seemed
very much agitated at the course we had taken. The final
consummation was reached at Mr. Gould’s house. I do not remember
that we would not let Mr. Gould leave the room until he had
signed the paper. The paper was signed by all present. The basis
of the consolidation was $50,000,000.”

When asked how he explained the payment of dividends by the
Union Pacific with a condition of affairs which requires a sale
of stock for the extinction of a floating debt, Mr. Ames said
that the declaration of the dividend was made upon the statement
of the net earnings, and the road might very well have earned
the dividends several times over and at the same time have been
building roads and borrowing money and using its funds for other
purposes, in addition to the property, which would not interfere
with the right to declare dividends. Mr. Ames also said that the
directors of the Union Pacific were largely controlled in
signing the agreement read at the forenoon session by the fact
that they were cornered by Jay Gould. “I think it has resulted
favorably for the Union Pacific,” he continued, “and I would not
take back the action if I could. I made nothing by the
consolidation, as I did not sell my Kansas Pacific stock, but
hold it now. Mr. Gould made about $3,500,000.”

Judge Dillon cross-examined Mr. Ames, and showed from his
evidence that he had no personal ends served by the
consolidation. He said that his interest in the Union Pacific is
larger now than it was in 1880, and that he is one of the
largest stockholders.

JAY GOULD AND HIS SYSTEM.

The following from the New York _Times_ of April 27, 1887, contains a graphic account of Mr. Gould’s mode of reviewing his system of railroads:

On first thought it seems almost impossible that Jay Gould has
only been a railroad magnate of the first class little more than
half a decade, yet such is the fact. In 1879 he owned only the
nucleus of his present Southwestern system of railroads, and as
the rival of the Wabash through considerable territory was the
Missouri Pacific, he felt by no means at ease regarding the
ultimate fate of his venture. Commodore Garrison owned a
controlling interest in Missouri Pacific, which was managed by
his brother Oliver. Commodore Garrison did not like Mr. Gould,
and would not have objected to make Gould’s purchase of Wabash a
dear bargain. He probably would have done so had it not been for
Oliver Garrison. The latter and Ben W. Lewis, Gould’s manager of
the Wabash, were close friends, and Garrison, as chief executive
of the Missouri Pacific, did nothing to injure Gould’s property.
But when Mr. Lewis called upon Mr. Gould in New York one day
toward the close of 1879, and tendered his resignation on the
ground of other interests which claimed his attention, Gould
immediately saw breakers ahead, and said so. Lewis suggested
that he remove the breakers by buying the control of Missouri
Pacific. The suggestion was not allowed to get moldy. Gould
called upon Oliver Garrison and offered $1,500,000 for the
Garrison interest in the road. Garrison was much surprised, and
said it would be necessary to consult with the Commodore. He
said, however, that $1,500,000 was at least $500,000 too low.
When the Commodore heard of Gould’s offer he rubbed his hands,
laughed, and put the price at $2,800,000. Gould retorted that he
could have bought it on the previous day for $2,000,000. The
Commodore explained that the difference between yesterday and
to-day was $800,000. Gould said nothing and retired. He made
another effort on the following day. The Commodore had been
thinking. His thoughts cost Mr. Gould $1,000,000, for his price
on the third day of the negotiations was $3,800,000. Mr. Gould
did not express his thoughts, but his speech demonstrated that
he appreciated the danger and expense of delay. He said, “I’ll
take it,” and he did. Thus from a beginning of less than 1,000
miles he secured control of a system of over 5,000, forming the
Missouri Pacific, Iron Mountain, and International and Great
Northern and their branches into one compact system. The
bargain, in comparison with the present value of the properly,
was as close a one as Mr. Gould ever managed to make, and from
the day it was closed he has lost no opportunity of extending
his railroad properly, which, with lines that are yet on paper,
but are almost certain to be built, is soon likely to embrace at
least 6,000 miles of rail.

Though the General Manager’s office is at St. Louis, and none of
the Gould roads—for the Wabash is not considered in the
system—run east of the Mississippi, nothing of importance is
transacted there without the knowledge and sanction of Mr.
Gould. Private wires run from the St. Louis office to the
Western Union Building, in which is Mr. Gould’s private office,
where he spends some hours each day sitting at a desk that never
ought to have cost more than $25.

He has traveled many times over every mile of his railroads.
There is an immensity of interest in such a trip when made for
the first time, or even the second or third, but it has been
made so often by Mr. Gould that he has thoroughly absorbed all
the pleasure to be obtained from it except that which smacks of
dollars and power. His trips occupy about three weeks from the
time his special car, the Convoy, leaves St. Louis until it
returns to that hot and dusty city of pageants and conventions.

When word is flashed to St. Louis that Mr. Gould is on his way,
every official on the system packs his head full of information,
and there is unwonted activity from Omaha to Galveston and from
Fort Worth to San Antonio. All of the system’s executive force
was selected either by Mr. Gould or by trusted officials in whom
he had implicit faith, and the heads of divisions who work for
Jay Gould could not work harder for anybody else, although in
some instances their bank accounts do not show it.

Mr. Gould lately was in the Southwest on a tour of inspection.
On his trips he is always accompanied by General Superintendent
Kerrigan, a New Yorker by birth, a South-westerner by education.
Physically they are in marked contrast. The cleanly shaven,
fair-complexioned Superintendent would make two of his employer.
In manner they are much alike, though Kerrigan has a spice of
bluffness that is lacking in the other. He has the composed,
unexcitable manner of Gould to perfection, and is never known,
no matter how great the provocation may be, to speak except in a
low-pitched tone. He is a walking railroad encyclopedia, and has
the topographical features of the Southwest—every corner of
it—at his fingers’ ends. He has been employed on railroads of
the system for over thirty years. From his Superintendent Mr.
Gould obtains such details as the latter gathers from the
Division Superintendents and other officials, but in making a
trip Mr. Gould insists upon stopping at every point included in
one of Mr. Kerrigan’s regular trips of supervision. He is always
accompanied by a stenographer, who is also a typewriter, and the
Superintendent and the heads of divisions follow the same plan.

Upon arriving at a station at which it has been decided to make
an inspection, Mr. Gould asks how long a stop will be made. The
answer may be “an hour.” Mr. Gould looks at his watch. He then
accompanies the Superintendent on a part of his rounds, listens
quietly to his talk with the railroad officials of the place,
and having heard all he cares to listen to, wanders around by
himself while the Superintendent picks up the information which
later he will give to his employer. Mr. Gould manifests no
impatience until the hour has been exhausted. But if the
engineer is not ready to start on the minute, and all hands are
not in their places on the car, he begins to fidget, and is
restless until a fresh start is made.

He is a strong advocate of method. The day’s work is laid out in
the morning and almost before the train starts in the morning he
has settled how many stops can be made during the day and where
the night can be spent. He dines and sleeps on board his car
from the start to the finish of a three weeks’ trip. At night
the Convoy is run to the quietest part of the yard, as the owner
objects to more noise than he can avoid at night, though he can
apparently stand as much as any one else in daylight. His car is
always a curiosity along the line, and people come from far and
near to look at it as it stands in the evening in a secluded
spot, secure in its loneliness. In some parts of the country
through which his roads run he is quite as much of a curiosity
in the eyes of the country folk as a circus, and were he to
stand on the platform after the manner of James G. Blaine, would
attract quite as big a crowd as that gentleman. He is never
apparently anxious to achieve notoriety in that way, and is
quite as modest in his demeanor while on one of his tours as he
is in his office or his Fifth Avenue mansion. In the latter, as
a few newspaper reporters know, he is more unassuming and far
more polite than a majority of his thousand-dollar employes.

Mr. Gould meets some odd as well as prominent people on his
trips and occasionally has a peculiar experience. On his first
visit to Galveston, Texas, he discovered that it was on an
island. Like a good many others he imagined it was on the
mainland. On this occasion a number of citizens had been
appointed to do him honor and he had promised to take up his
quarters at a hotel. The committee had neglected to secure
carriages for the party, and made a desperate effort just before
the arrival of his car to repair the omission. This it was
unable to do. There was an election at Galveston on that
particular day. It was a hot one, both the day and the election,
and everything on wheels had been bought up by the contending
parties. Twenty dollars was offered for a hack and refused. The
committee felt forlorn until Mr. Gould laughed at its dilemma
and remarked that he saw no hills that he couldn’t climb. This
is the only joke charged against Mr. Gould by the people who
live on the line of his roads, for the highest point of
Galveston is only three feet above the sea level. The
inhabitants claim four feet, and denounce as a libel the
statement made by people who live inland to the effect that tide
water is three feet higher than Galveston.

While skimming along over the International and Great Northern,
between Houston and Galveston, Mr. Gould cannot look on either
side of him without looking at land owned by A. A. Talmage,
manager of the Wabash Railroad. Mr. Talmage owns a tract or
ranch—though there are but few cattle on it—of 160,000 acres.
For this land Mr. Talmage paid 12½ cents per acre. He would
probably refuse to sell it to-day for $6 an acre. If Mr. Talmage
owned nothing else besides this ranch he might be considered
above want. Mr. Gould owns some land in different parts of the
country also, but as a proprietor of the soil he occupies a much
lower grade than Manager Talmage. George Gould probably owns as
much land—railroad land grants not considered—in the Southwest
as his father, and is always on the lookout for bargains. These
are always to be had at the close of a disastrous agricultural
or cattle season. Newcomers in Texas are liable to forget that
disastrous years only occur occasionally, and that in three
favorable seasons the profits will be large enough to stand one
bad season in three. They may hear of all this after they sell
out, but the old settler is not offering information that can
only be bought with experience until it is valuable as a
mournful reflection.

The Iron Mountain Railroad has a station called Malvern. It is
44 miles south of Little Rock. As his car pulls into Malvern Mr.
Gould sees on a narrow gauge railroad that also has a station
there an engine with a diamond-shaped head-light. The narrow
gauge road runs from Malvern to Hot Springs. Mr. Gould has no
interest in it, but he knows it was built and is owned—every
spike in it—by a man who received his first start in life from
the same man who placed him on his feet. The Hot Springs
railroad is owned by “Diamond Joe” Reynolds, who was started in
business many years ago by Zadock Pratt, of the town of
Prattsville, Greene county, N. Y., when the young man lived in
Sullivan county, right across the line of Delaware county,
Penn., where Jay Gould was enabled by Mr. Pratt to tan hides
with oak and hemlock bark, not after the fashion of Wall Street.
Reynolds and Gould were assisted by Mr. Pratt about the same
time. Reynolds is not as wealthy to-day as Mr. Gould, but he
owns all the money he wants, and Mr. Gould has often said it did
not need fifty millions to secure contentment. “Diamond Joe”
Reynolds is a rich man and he spends much of his time between
Chicago and Hot Springs. On his first visit to Hot Springs he
was compelled to stage it from Malvern. The ride disgusted him
as much as the Springs delighted him. He found a man who had
obtained a charter for a railroad from Malvern to the Springs
and who had no money. The charter and some money changed hands.
Reynolds built the railroad and owns it, rolling stock and all.
The road is 24 miles long. He made his money in wheat, but not
in Sullivan county. After getting a start there he went West and
shipped wheat from Wisconsin to Chicago. He shipped it in sacks
and marked the sacks with a diamond and inclosed in it the
letters “J. O.” It was from this circumstance, because the sacks
and trade mark became widely known, that he obtained the
sobriquet of “Diamond Joe,” and not as those who have only heard
of him think for a penchant for gems, and Mr. Reynolds is modest
as well as rich.

Mr. Gould travels like a rocket while inspecting his roads. In
this way he gets a certain amount of exercise, for, as travelers
know, a heavy train drawn at the rate of 50 miles an hour will
make little fuss in comparison with the antics of a single car
tacked to an engine making the same rate. Mr. Gould often
travels in the Convoy at a 50-mile gait, and during such a trip
he has been known to change seats—from one side of the car to
the other—not of his own volition, but without changing
countenance. So long as Superintendent Kerrigan keeps his hand
off the bell rope Mr. Gould makes no remonstrance, but accepts
his shaking without a grumble. He changed engineers on one of
his recent trips without knowing it. The engineer had been
running slowly, for reasons of his own, in spite of numerous
pulls at the bell cord. When, however, he discovered that dinner
was under way he pulled the throttle open, and the locomotive
darted ahead suddenly as if going through space. The jar cleaned
the table like a flash. At the next station the engineer was
promoted to a freight train.

A REMINISCENCE OF KANSAS PACIFIC.

There is an interesting piece of information regarding the deal in Kansas Pacific in the testimony of Mr. Artemus H. Holmes, formerly the attorney of that company, showing how the stock made a marvelous leap from two or three dollars to par in seven days. Mr. Holmes testified as follows:

From 1873 to 1877 the market value of all the Kansas Pacific
securities was extremely low. The Kansas Pacific stock was $2 to
$3 a share and practically valueless. Land grant bonds were
worth 10 cents on the dollar, and Denver extension about 40, but
ranged from 50 to 70 in 1876 to 1878. The first mortgage bonds
were below par, the company’s credit was gone and the stock
unmarketable. Sidney Dillon, who was then President of the
Kansas Pacific Company, was anxious to have the matter settled
as quickly as possible. At the former’s suggestion a friendly
suit was brought on January 17, 1880, before Judge Donohue, in
the Supreme Court, in this city, to settle the ownership of the
Denver Pacific stock. The trustees said they could not do
anything with the stock that would injure it. On January 20,
1880, Horace M. Ruggles, as referee, heard argument, the case
was closed in two days, the decision was made January 23 and the
decree signed by Judge Donohue on January 24, giving the stock
to the Gould party. Mr. Holmes stated: “All the time this was
pending the articles of consolidation were being drawn up, but I
did not know anything about it until they were signed on January
24.” Referee Ruggles decided that 29,000 snares of Denver
Pacific stock free from mortgages should pass to the Kansas
Pacific. This was put into the Union Pacific and 29,000 shares
of the consolidated company’s stock given in exchange, which
sold at par. The witness was sharply questioned as to what he
knew about Referee Ruggles’ report. He was asked if he knew who
wrote the report, or had any knowledge as to who did.

Q. In order to prepare the decree which was signed on Jan. 24,
you must have had the finding before you, did you not? A. No.

Q. How could you prepare it without knowing what the finding
was, for the decree was presented the very next day? A. I must
withdraw that answer, and change it to yes.

Gov. Pattison—Do I understand you to say that the stock which
was exchanged had risen in a few days from $2 to $3 a share to
par. Mr. Holmes said that was a fact, and then this question was
put to him:

Q. In other words, Mr. Dillon had sworn on Jan. 17, 1880, that
the stock had no financial value, and yet on Jan. 24 it was
worth par. A. Yes.

This discloses another of Mr. Gould’s valuable secrets of the way to make money rapidly.

GOULD’S FIRST YACHTING EXPERIENCE.

There is a humorous story told of Mr. Gould’s first yachting experience, which was recently published in the Philadelphia _Press_, and its veracity vouched for by a living witness to the event. It is characteristic of Mr. Gould in some special respects, and runs as follows:

At the residence of a club man, whose reputation as a
_raconteur_ is nearly as great as that of his Burgundy, I
noticed a pretty model of a jib and mainsail yacht. Replying to
my admiring inquiry the club man explained:

“That is the model of a boat upon which were passed some of the
sunniest hours of my life. She was owned by one of the Cruger
family, of Cruger-on-the-Hudson, and has an added interest from
the fact that upon her Jay Gould acquired his first yachting
experience, and so eventful a one that I’ll bet he remembers it
to this day.

“Crugers—one of the oldest and best known families in the State,
intermarried as they are with other Knickerbockers like the
Schuylers, Livingstons and Van Rensselaers—owned all the land in
the neighborhood of the station subsequently named after them. A
portion of this property consisted of a brick yard, which was
rented to the son of old Schuyler Livingston. It was in 1853 or
1854, and Jay Gould had just failed in the tannery business in
Pennsylvania.

“Young Livingston’s leased brick yard wasn’t paying, and he
concluded that it needed a shrewd business man at its head. He
advertised for a partner, and one day there appeared in response
a small, dark gentleman, looking scrupulously neat in his black
broadcloth. He gave his name as Jay Gould. Pending negotiations,
Mr. Gould became the guest of the Crugers at the old mansion on
the hill. Every effort was put forth to entertain him during his
stay, the more as he seemed to regard favorably a partnership
with their young friend.

“One day Mr. Cruger invited Gould to a sail to Newburgh, and got
ready his yacht, of which that model is the reduction. Several
of us youngsters were taken along to help work the boat. Eugene
Cruger, a nephew of the yacht’s owner, was one of us. Peekskill
was reached and the whole party went up to the hotel.

“All the way up the river we had noticed that Mr. Gould was
uneasy, shifting about constantly on the deck, where he sat, and
squirming and twisting as if seeking to find a softer spot.
Nothing was said about it, of course, but when we landed Mr.
Gould himself furnished the explanation. From the heat of the
sun the yellow paint on the boat’s deck had become baked and
chalky, and it was not long before the little man discovered
that the dry powder was coming off on his trousers. Hence his
uneasiness. He concluded by saying he was afraid his broadcloth
nether garments would be, if they were not already, ruined, and
was determined to abandon the trip and return by rail. This Mr.
Cruger would not hear of, and promised to obviate the
difficulty. We all adjourned to a general store and Cruger
bought, for two shillings and a half, a pair of jean overalls.
These Mr. Gould put on when we went aboard the boat and
expressed his unqualified satisfaction at the result.

“On our trip back from Newburgh we again called at Peekskill,
and once more the party started for the hotel. This time Mr.
Gould declined the invitation to take something and preferred to
remain on board. About an hour was spent in the hotel, when
suddenly Mr. Cruger remembered that he wanted some white lead,
and young Eugene Cruger and I went with him to the store to
carry it down to the boat.

“‘How’d the overalls work, Mr. Cruger?’ was the salutation of
the storekeeper. Then before answer could be returned, he added
admiringly: ‘That friend o’ yourn is purty shrewd.’

“‘Who, Mr. Gould? Yes, he appears to be a thorough business
man.’

“‘Well, I sh’d say so! He can drive a mighty sharp bargain.’

“‘Drive a sharp bargain?’ repeated Cruger, all at sea. ‘What do
you mean?’

“‘Why, don’t you know he was in here ’bout three quarters of an
hour ago, and sold me back the overalls you bought for him.’

“‘Thunder, no!’ roared Cruger in astonishment.

“‘Well, sir, he jest did that. He kem in here, tole me he’d no
fu’ther use for ’em, that they was as good as when I sold ’em,
an’ after we’d haggled awhile he ’greed ter take two shillin’
fur ’em, which I paid him. Here’s the overalls.’

“I can shut my eyes now,” went on the jolly club man, with a
hearty laugh, suiting the action to the words, “and call up Mr.
Cruger’s face with its mingled expression of amazement and
incredulity. He left the store in silence. Not until we had
nearly reached the boat did he speak. Then he only said, ‘Boys,
I’ll fix him for that?’ We reached home without any reference to
the incident. On the way back Mr. Gould sat upon his
pocket-handkerchief.

“The same night Mr. Cruger perfected his plan. Next day Mr.
Cruger proposed a fishing party. Mr. Gould declined to go. He
had concluded, he said, not to take an interest in young
Livingston’s brickyard, and would return to the city on the
afternoon train. A business engagement, involving quite a sum of
money, had to be kept. His host argued with him, but for a time
to no purpose. The saturnine little man had a tremendous amount
of determination in his composition. Finally a compromise was
effected, it being agreed that he should put Gould off at a
station in time to catch the train. That he must catch it
without fail, he most emphatically declared.

“The day passed on and we were off Sing Sing, when we saw the
smoke of the coming train. We had been running free before the
wind, but immediately Mr. Cruger, who was at the stick, shoved
it down; we hauled in on the sheets and headed for the Eastern
shore. Mr. Gould was by this time on his feet, clinging to the
windward coaming, the deepest anxiety pictured on his face. Just
there the water shoals rapidly. We were within fifty feet of the
shore, opposite the railroad depot. The time had now come for
Mr. Cruger’s revenge.

“‘Let go the main and jib sheets!’ he shouted. ‘Down with your
board!’

“Never was order more eagerly obeyed. The sheets whizzed through
the blocks, ready hands slipped out the pin and jammed down the
centre-board, and in a second the yacht, with a grating shock
and shaking sails, came to a stand, fast on the sandy bottom.
There she was bound to stay until the obstructing board was
lifted again.

“‘What’s the matter?’ exclaimed Mr. Gould, anxiously. Of course
he had not detected the ruse, for he knew no more about the
working of a yacht than a sea cow does about differential
calculus.”

“‘I’m afraid we’re aground,’ replied Mr. Cruger, with a fine
assumption of sadness. ‘Boys, get out the sweeps and push her
off.’

“We struggled with the long oars in a great show of ardor, while
Gould watched us in breathless suspense, between hope and fear.
But as we had taken care to put the sweeps overboard astern, the
harder we shoved the faster we stuck. The little man’s
suspicions were not in the slightest degree aroused and he
turned in despair to Mr. Cruger.

“‘What shall I do!’ he almost wailed. ‘I’ve got to catch that
train!’

“‘Then,’ replied the joker, solemnly, ‘you’ll have to wade or
swim.’

“Already the train was in sight, two miles away, and whatever
was to be done had to be done quickly. As I have said, there was
plenty of grit in the embryo railroad king, and quick as a wink
he was out of his sable clothes and standing before us clad only
in his aggressively scarlet undergarments. Holding his precious
broadcloth suit above his head, he stepped into the water,
which, shallow as it was, reached to the armpits of the little
gentleman. Then he started for the shore, his short, thin legs
working back and forth in a most comical fashion as he strove to
quicken his pace. The station platform was crowded with people,
and very soon the strange figure approaching them was descried.
A peal of laughter from 500 throats rolled over the water to us,
the ladies hiding their blushes behind parasols and fans. The
men shouted with laughter. Finally the wader reached the base of
the stone wall, and for a moment covered with confusion—and but
little else—stood upon the rock, one scarlet leg uplifted,
looking for all the world like a flamingo on the shore of a
Florida bayou, while the air was split with shrieks of laughter,
in which we now unreservedly joined. Then came the climax of the
joke, which nearly paralyzed the unfortunate victim.

‘Haul on your sheets, boys, and up with the board!’ was Cruger’s
order. As the yacht gathered headway and swept by within ten
feet of the astonished Mr. Gould, we laughingly bade him
good-bye, advising a warm mustard bath when he got home.

“Then his quick mind took in the full force of the practical
joke we had worked upon him and his dark face was a study for a
painter. But the train had already reached the station, taken on
its passengers and the wheels were beginning to turn again for
its run to the city. As Gould scrambled up the wall, his glossy
black suit still pressed affectionately to his bosom, the ‘All
aboard!’ had sounded and the cars were moving. Every window was
filled with laughing faces as he raced over the sand and stones
and was dragged by two brakemen on to the rear platform, panting
and dripping. The last glimpse we caught of him was as the train
entered the prison tunnel. Then, supported on either side by the
railroad men, he was making frantic plunges in his efforts to
thrust his streaming legs into his trousers as the platform
reeled and rocked beneath him.”

“Did he ever return Mr. Cruger the two shillings?” the writer
inquired.

“Return the two shillings!” echoed the club man. For a moment he
was silent. Then, as a retrospective gleam crept into his eyes,
he slowly shook his head and, with seeming irrelevancy, said:

“I—guess—you—are—not—very—well—acquainted—with—Mr.—Jay—Gould.”

The above story was submitted to Mr. Eugene Cruger at his
residence, No. 1211 Livingston Avenue, together with the inquiry
as to its accuracy. Mr. Cruger made the following reply: “I must
say that I can’t imagine who can have furnished these
particulars, for most of those who took part in the incidents
related have gone forever. Whoever the informant may be,
however, it cannot be denied that you have received a true
account of what occurred. I enjoyed the affair at that period,
but time has softened things and the recollection is not without
its unpleasant side.”

The success of Mr. Gould in securing the Baltimore and Ohio Telegraph to be consolidated with Western Union, has placed him at the head of the greatest telegraph monopoly in the world, practically beyond competition. It remains to be seen whether or not Congress will take any action towards the creation of a Government telegraph that will afford a guarantee of protection against extortionate rates. It is true that Western Union has lowered its rates, but this is generally regarded as a conciliatory move of a temporary character on the part of Mr. Gould for the purpose of showing that Government telegraphy is not a necessity, and that as soon as the attention of Congress is turned away from the question rates will go up again.

While I should not approve of the Government going so far as to condemn Western Union property, and making a purchase thereof on an appraised valuation, still I do believe that proper Congressional action should be taken to provide supervision and protective control over the telegraphic communication throughout the country. My idea is that the Government should interfere rather as a regulator than an owner, being careful to avoid everything that could be construed into monopoly on its own part, any more than in connection with our railroad system.

Mr. Gould went to Europe late in the fall, and visited several places there ostensibly for health, pleasure, and recreation. What his secret and ultimate designs may be has not yet transpired, although they have been a leading topic of much conjecture among financiers and Wall Street magnates since his arrival on the other side. One of the best things got off on this subject was, that when Mr. Gould sent in his card to one of the Rothschilds, the latter requested the messenger to inform the gentleman that Europe was not for sale.

He returned about the end of March to find some of his railroads, especially in Missouri Pacific system, in a somewhat crippled condition.

With a feeling of deep humility that I have made many important omissions in Mr. Gould’s variegated career, although I have surrendered all the space to him that I can very well afford, I now beg to take my leave of him, at least so far as the present edition is concerned.

_Cyrus W. Field._
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