New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-08-29
JOHN PAUL AT SARATOGA.
A SERIOUS DISCOURSE ON STOCKS. 4

THEY ARE GIVEN sCRIPTURAL ANALOGY =
RAILROAD PRESIDENTS AND THEIR DEPRECIATING
INFLUENCE on THE PROPERTY THEY CONTROL
GOOD WORD FOR TIRE COMMODORE.
tFRoM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF TIE rRrBuSE''
SARATOGA, Aug. 25.-0ne night last week,
while the skeleton hand of Time the dial OF that
remarkable clock in the Grand Union Office was inur
eating in the morning. the real hour being ll;SV Vi o
night telegram from THE TRIBUNe ONCE ststnE 'H'
1t was rumored In New-YOrk that Commodore Na"u',
blt dying and requesting me TO ascertain II suo"
WAS the fact reused me from bllssul sumber, super
induced by the third reading OF one VI -! w.
ARTICLES and sent me out into the night. Meeting
several discousoate looking gentlemen whom knew as
concomitants OF the Commodore inquired was 10
dyingi was he sick was he dangerous AHoy
replied that they had found him deciaeuiy uSnSoio"S
that eveuing "a there not dollar left among them
since o,cloek they had been playing point euehre
win tina Commodore and had just left the card-table II
dying now they felt pretty certain that he'd go 10
heaven prepared order up and play IL alone every
fine n he held the same hand when they lett hlm
1.-The was sick man, they never wished TO play again
with an nvaild SO telegraphed you the substance VI
the conversation and went back to bed.
Next day saw that stocks went OF And II any one
WISHES 10 make me believe this in consequence
of a general belief in the COmmodore's critical Illness
that man will have to start In very early III the mornhs
and talk to pretty well along into the night-unna
give in from sheer exhaustion, in fact Tnat these
stories are started by tho "bears" is very ingenious
theory but focus il down under powerful glass ana
you will ind remarkably thin. II stocks showed
disposition slide of without any excuse Tor H. sna
holders would sell and save themselves. But
Just start some rumor-some absurd story that
carries falsehood its fsOe-and the innocent De-
lever IN the great OF the country and himself
will hang on 10 his holdings till they down consdera
bly, below the OF gravity in the confident cOncu
sion hegotten the nducve process OF reasoning tha
when the story disproyedas it must be on the NOR
ain tn
ures Aud the holders OF large blocks whose sales have
weakened the market. enabled to sell still more on
the reaction without frightening the little felowsou out
III there were no absurd for decline, outsiders
would DO asking what II meant.
There was time when 1 believed that "Jay Gould"
was always selling, and that the Vanderbilt
party" did nothing but buy. But at this bald
headed period OF my existence 1 retire at times to
ask where all the long stock comes FROM
For instance irGOuld and his myrmidons did nothing
but sell Western Union stock Of which they were not
the proud pOssessors, and the Commodore and his
friends nothing but buy, large as the stock Of that
Company is in the course OF year two there'd be
scarcity OF it, But there generally seems enough OF
them all to round, unless "corner Is developed
aud result invariably is that those who engineer
IL get hoisted worst OF all. 1 have an ardent ad-
miration Tor Commodore Vanderbilt and those
who are in his close confidence but do think
that occasionally they all OF them willing to spare
few of their investment securities TO friends "POints
are good their way, but i'll the everyday business OF
life one business man does not another TO buy
thing unless he has of it to SELL My establishment
has been moved several occasions when discovered
that the great operators of wast let about
the value of stock till has gone up 10 or 40 per cent
aud is selling somewhere near what it's worth. There
is no reason, however, that they should do
other than they do, If you sit down and
study human nature by the light Of tallOw
candle for "a minute Suppose, for instance that
Commodore Vanderbilt or Mr.. John Tracy, Mr. Rus
sell Sage or Jay Could In life with the laud
able OF making all Of their friends rich and ending
their exstences in respectable poor-housesi But
they each and all told their friends when they bought
stocks and also cOuided 10 them the precise time at
which they thought it best begin selling, other
than themselves would be riding in their carriages
You can Just bet for instance that wouldn't be walk
Ing Great complaint made because these noble and
uusefsh operators sell their friends but on
whom else could they sell out who else could
be persuaded 10 buyf Mr.. Russell Sage,
60 point my meaning exactly would find 1t rather diff
cult get Commodore Vanderbilt buy much St. Paul
Common above CO.; their intimacy does not stand upon
that basis nor cipher up to that exact figure. But
friend who starting for Europe pleasure trip,
and who had praseworthy ambition to make his ex-
pcnses by flyer in speculation, might very easily be
tempted to invest. They are nice men-these railway
maguates-al OF them, unsefsh in motive and honest
purpose, and d trust any Of them in the room
where 1 keep my greenbacks, without counting the
money, If knew how much there in the chest and
sitting it with symptoms of smallpox Wis
ible about But for all my confidence in them.
Tn swift act the friendly hints they drOD-not
30 swift formerly, mean For notice they're all
rich and yet knew them TO DO any work beyond
buying and selling the property, with the control Of
which they have cOntrived TO become intrusted Were
periodically inclined could here TO you parable
relate of a certain who went down to Jericho and
1ell among thieves who robbed hun Of his money and
took from hiIa bis clothing all but his shirt. And fell
lows from jericho proper and the suburbs went whist
ling by him. latent mnding their own business and
not caring much whether school kept not; but one
chap crossed over and said he Good Samaritan
whereupOn the unfortunate wayarer told his sad story
which the Good Samaritan heard through with tears
remarking at its close, in sympathetic tones: "ADd
they left you nothing but your shirtP adding
when assured that this about the size of IT,
Then guess II take that" and Immediately starting
for JOppa with 1t. Aud there was another certain r
perhaps should uncertain man, who was possessed
of several stocks, aud who cleaned himself OF
them the advice of great and good railroad presi
period, loading himself instead with the
stock which this great and good railroad president
supposed TO manipulate and control Aud verify, II you
will believe me. the last state Of that
THAI the first, far better would 1t have been had he
held manuy TO his original seven DEVILS for the last
one was the deck and did MT leave hide,
hOof OF the poor fellow who went long OF hlmi
There IL a deal said Of the difference between these
railway men, but consider botanoally, and you III
find that a Of pretty much the same muchness
runs through thenl-that they're all tarred with the
stick. Jay Gould robs the Erie road by taking the
money III way some pretext Horace Clark gets
control Of Lake Shore aud declares scrip div
dend of SOOOOO be divided between himself and his
friends Immediately bonding the road for 100000
top old bonded Indebtedness, complete neces
sary improvements What odds does it make whether
you take money out OF stockholders pockets direct or