The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-10-29
ln1 MILL" SyAlREs OF VIEW YORK.
" ON the London Spectator,

- ,<er'of the new American plutocracy Tney seem
20 b0risng 10 position which, In the extent OF the
influence IL confers Is without parallel In the his
tory OF aristocraces or s paraleed only by that OF
the few Roman families which united to hereditary
station In the republic the command OF masses OF
treasure and armies OF debtors. There are men as
rich In England ana men perhaps as INSCRIPTIONS
in Europe but for men unresIrained in the use OF
their power as defiant OF opinion. OF the law. OF
their own reputation, OF all that limits the applica.
ton OF extraordinary means, We must seek n the
East or in the history Of the old pagan world.
Roman Senator would destroy province 10 re.
cover his interest on loan, or raise o civil war
to rid himself OF mis- debts. and the American
"l1ngn leaders seem willing to force on . national
bankruptcy, or ruin an army OF shareholders, az
more incidental strokes In some grand operation"
or rather game, for In many cases they seem actu-
ated ny the determination to Wn ct least rs nncn as
with IL is said 4lb 600 900 sterling-want WIN the
few scores OF thousands he makes when IN some huge
railway campaign ne crusnes thousand iamiiiesf
Yet ne brushes them. In Europe nrSt Class NH
llonnaire OF that sort would dread financial dlstur
bance a. ne wonid dread an earthquake. In America
he makes one. The game, the excitement, the noto-
rely seem to be the Temptations OF these men even
more than the profit, and the whole scene suggests
that IN America as IN Rome safety comes quick 10
the very rch that for the man OF millions life has
few interests; that tile hunger for excitement has
reached the height where nothing will CRAFTY
9qt oats OF me ogg Or nags .y mai
tom which q community can exhibit. The
operation walch has recently CONFUSED New York
aud shaken American credit throughout the world
was not In itset very extraordinary one. American
currency Is paper, but oil duties must be paid III
gold, and good many contracts must be fulfilled Ia
one way or another py transfers u bullion. cold,
therefore, becomes an article OF prime neces-
silly 70 trade, and one specially liable 70 be
monopO!iZe1. Most transactions OF the KIND are
excessively dangerous. because, though the world
must nave tae artic,e cay, Tor example, qlinlne or
lallow or quicksilver, IN al or which munopolies
have been attempted, still the world can wait, and
appeal 10 science Tor ald but the gold wes wanged
hnms dateiy, every day, and couia not be super
seeded by anything Else nobody could or would take
anything out OF bond TIL he knew what he would
nave 10 pay In ouues which he could not know
TIL the price q gold had settled Itself.
they could get possession OF all he available
gold they could get their own price Tor It,
aud the gold IN stock beng every where very limit
Ell quantity they .auced themselves rich enough TO
do 1t. Given rev men sufficiently confident IN one
another, and sufficiently rich TO begin the game,
piedging their gold rs they got It. and there s 10
thlng very extraordinary DC very arseeing III such
plan, which was indeed very nperiecty organ
ized The ring having either forgotten or been de-
ceiyed by the largest bullion holder In the country,
the Treasury OF the ln ell states. The really extra
ordinary thilg ls thai men OF such wealth and such
capacity should nave been willing TO run such FISK
anu endangef the commercial safety OF the Union III
such spirit OF recAessness. Gamblers do very mad
things SOMETIMES but In Europe vasL wealth seems
to sooer men. and The city could no more think OF
the Rothschllds or Barinx5, Ur any first CLASS bank
ers playing roage-e.-no!r after tina. fashion than
OF their trying 10 shut the Bank of England for
the sake OF studying the physcgnoncai marAs VI
despair on splendid scale. Tne effort TO do sucn
q thing would cost any millionaire more cash
in consequent depreciation his credit than ne
could nope 70 MAKE by ms operation. III America,
we rear, nad Messrs. Fisk, Gould and the rest won
the game ana stood out yictors amid the surround
ing rum their credit would have been increased
They very nearly did win. BY steady purchases they
forced god up from l33 TO l60-that Is they raised
the price ~ some twenty i've per cent, ana might
as they intended nave sent 1t up ltty, out that the
treasury, after giving them time To exhaust tem-
serves, poured gold from lie Vauls into the market.
Their remaining strength did not sutice TO Guy that
the ouboie our5t, aud they STOOD with huge masses
Of contracts to receive gold at price il did not
letch. Though they won enormously az nrst, stll
with their opect they must nave hed on 90 their
contracts TO great extent ana the ultimate DIFF
lereneesh must nave oeen !reulu. During the
fight resources had been accumulated 10y
the ring and their adSsrsaries BY enormous
sales OF securities, when were hung away at almost
any price United states bonds, for example,
being sod IN large parcels twenty per cent below
market rate, ana one great railway ialtlng SIKH per
cent IN iorty-ei9ht hours, aud fortunes changed
hands In a rev minutes or course, IN such a scene
the specially OF the American character the strange
ana 70 Us inexphcable something IN their brains
which makes them SO distinct from tue English the
liability 10 mental hectic, came out IN fun force.
Brokers went mad, tainted. iei III ana died: the
Gold Room was Ike an asylum with the patients all
loose and furious; the clerks in the Gold Bank sat
Ia permanent session; the bank was at LAST com
PEELED 10 shut Its doors merely TO get through Its
WORK, and desperate attempts were made by the
losers To lynch tue chie author OF their msfaruncs,
over the country business stopped, no man knowing
at what price to SOIL because he coud not tell what
import duty he might not have 10 pay on taking his
orders out OF bond. The effect Was, IN fact, pre-
cisely as II Mr. Gladstone had announced IN
Parliament that he was about to Increase all
import duties indefinitely, without fixing either
the time or amount The spasm was too
snort TO create much ruin beyond speeulat-
ing circles, but had 1t lasted, as bus Tor Mr. Bout.
wells action II might have lasted, weeks it TOO
much 10 say that every dealer the United States
would have been more or iess impoverished and
fr4 q fran faH ina fu
every man VINO had contracted 10 deliver goods out
OF bond on any OF these three days was nned from
twenty 10 thirty per cent on the amount OF duty
that 10, probably, mis- whole profit. mir. Fisks anger
was, In Iact, on the throat OF every man IN every
port o. the Union.
Inc American press Is already asking anxiously
where The remedy for this state OF affairs can he
found, and it has reason FOR It's anxiety There Is
not the slightest security that the experiment NAV
not be repeated by men much stronger than
Messrs. Fisk Could and government cannot
be DC always descending In shower of gold
the subject men rich and imbued with
such thirst for gaming might st rretrievaDle
three or four SPECTATORS like Mr.. Vanderbilt from
mastering all the railways III the country or reduc-
Ing their shares TO nominal vaues holding all tho
roa, or even making an attack on four, or dong
any other act wncn men possessed OF immense
resources and standing IN sympathy apart from the
community dghtns ike the Blrons or Old for their
own hands, without reference 10 the welfare OF any
nos directly connected with themselves may be
abe 70 conceive Congress has no power over
them-Deing preclnded from annullug tue obiga-
uol oil any contraCt-the judiciary is In their pay,
aud even II they stepped beyond the law which they
need not DO, juries could not DO found to convict
them. They cannot be deprived OF their wealth with
out social CONFUSION; they cannot be lyncned,
Tor they could RAISE regiments OF armed
bravoes, and apparently they cannot 90
induced to forego this use OF wealth. Amid
such colossal gambling every other excitement
seems inslpid, aud life without excitement ~ TO chem
dreary waste. What are they 10 dog In Eng and
a man with ten millions would enter potIcs or
"a "A 4tlv !
or engage IN mat miserable but exciting social strife
which apsorbs 30 many brans; but IN America all
these careers are closed, wealth being, after GER
tam point, nearly useless to secure career. It IL
often asserted tnat the readiness with watch .sD-
cietyp IN Europe adopts the very ricn Is discreuta
BILE to tile great that Is IN fact violation or the
nrst Jaw or good societies, that Refinement, not
wealth, ls tue sine qua non OF admiss0n but 1t must
not he forgotten that society IN the act OF adoption
Imposes certain restraints which tns history OF New
YORK SHOWS to be or value. IL Is not wen that great
skll ~ getting together millions should be rewarded
win peeraee, political influence, high position Ia
society and tue general difference OF all around nut
IL IL Elucn better that IL should be 50 rewarded