The sun., 1879-02-28
Who Ruiued Bayard TayIor,

look at III
Who Ruined Bayard raylort
The senate ON Tuesday put in tho Def
cheney bill an amendment giving $1,000 TO
the widow Of the late BAYARD TAYLOR, at
the time of his death Minister to Germany.
Tie argument used in favor of making this
donation Of the peoples money to n private
individual 10 that Mr.. TAYLOR left hia family
i'm poor circumstances, and that IL Is grace
ful and becoming thing for the people TO re-
llcvc their necessities.
But who made BAYARD TAYLOR poor
man, so that when he died his widow was
harasscd by debts she could not pay, and
her unhappy condition was exposed to the
world II certainly was not the people of
tho United States. For more than n quarter
Of century Mr.. TAYLOR was successful
author and lecturer. and very few OF our
literary men had so wide and so lomg-con-
tinucd popularity as he. He early attained
prominent position as an author In the
public estimation and his pen could always
secure him handsome living. And when
he had passed middle lite he secured one of
the richest prizes In the public service. n
diplomatic place which gave him very
large salary. Yet he left behind him too lit
tle for the support Of his widow, for whose
relief an appropriation is now sought from
tho public treasury.
The most strenuous advocate ot such an
| appropriation IL the Tribune, owned and con-
| trullcd 10y JAY GOULD. and edited in his ser
wee 10y young man from tho West named
WmrFLtw REID. Her" that IL, Mrs.
TAyLoRs. friends earnestly hopo that be-
fore -hc arrives" says Mr.. GouLD's con
frdcrate, Congress will have done some
thing to relieve the extreme embarrassment
in which the family "a placed through Mr..
! TANLoKs acceptance of Government
Office"
There is an ostontation OF friendly sym
pathy in these words, yet they not only say
what is'fal~e, but they are also uttered by
, the men who themselves brought BAyARp
! TAILOR To the poverty In which he died,
who are responsible for the cmbarrassments
| in which his family finds itself aud OF which
these very men are now making parade
whi'a insults the memory Of the dead. 1t
* nonsense TO say that Mr. TAYLoR's pow
crty was duo to his accepting a Government
onlce which gave him $l7,5Oo salary. His
obtaining of tho place was great stroke Of
] kONl ltl ANitt lti hlilis anu ht HO ltRhih'h "
| BY means Of its rewards he hoped to repair
in part at least, the losses which had
troubled him in his later years, and reduced
him from u man with competency to be
hired laboror for his daily bread
Mr.. TAYLOR was the owner Of several
shares in tho Tribune, in which he had in
vested the savings Of his earlier years.
During the life Of HORACE GREELEY these
shares had yielded him a very handsome
income, great enough indeed to be ample
for tho support Of his family in case Of his
death. Undoubtedly the possession Of this
! property, which long experience had taught
him to think would continue 10 be produc-
tive, gave him assurance for the future, and
relieved his mind Of fears for the we'll
bolng Of those dependent on him.
But upon the death Of Mr.. GREELEY, after
first having b"cn bought 10y the late Mr.
WILLIAM OKroN, the aiority OF the shares,
ifty-onc in number, were obtained by JAY
GOULD. the Wall street shark, who got con-
trul OF the paper ia order to run ii in th,
interest Of his stock-iobbing schencs Mr.
GOULD paid for those shares the large price
OF S5l0.0O0: and estimating their value by
the profits Of the Tribune prior 10 the tim,
Of Mr.. GREELEY'S running for the Prcs
dcncy and taking into the account hand
some fund which had been accumulated ant
the real estate owned by the Tribune Asso
citation, they probably did not bring mor'
than they were then worth.
But JAY GOULD and the young editor h,
hired to preside over the establishment n
once set themselves to work 10 ruin the prop
erty, perhaps not intentionally, but by S,
L.,
1Fibtine To pay dividends on its stock, and /,
sap the foundations Of its character. IL be
! came the shameless agent Of the Wall stree
shark in his stock-iobbing operations; an'
the young editor sought to cover up its rea
purposes by the publication OF sentmenta
? swnsh and lapdoodle. Such stun as tha
= with which nc crowded the leading column
Of the Tribune had never before appeared Il
, New York daily newspaper.
Not content with thus perverting the TTiL
3 me, this pair took the money II had accumu
l lated for a new building, borrowed eevcra
Q hundred thousand dollars more, and ereet'
I the present prepOsterous structure. which
4 when completed, was hardly worth NOR
1 than the mortgage on it. The owners Of th
r minority Of the stock were helpless in thel
s hands, and they could only gricve as the
y saw their property so dissipated.
q hinco the death of HORACE GREELEY not
= single dividend has been paid by the Trib,s,
y and its stock for which JAY GoULD pal
= sl0,OO0 share, was subsequently offered d
1880 share without finding purchase
!, Perhaps JAY GOULD, by reason OF the nid
- hns givcn him in his stOcG iobbing has mad
4 his control of the Tribune pay him for h
!, investment; but the shares ho does not ow
r are worthless Nobody will buy them, an
!, they yield no income now, nor are tho
n likely W bc productive In tho future. If Il
j. were forced tar sell out, what with hs au
$ the various other liens on the propcrt.
O IL IL probable that the minority stockholdcl
+. would not get n cent.
IS Mr. TAYLOR wils one Of these stockholdcr
Il and one Of the bitterest sufferers from Il