Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-12-05
SILAS WEGG.

Racy Points
Special Correspondence of the Globe.
New YORK, Dec. 1.-Luring an incoming
ship to destruction on rock bound shores b,
means of false lights and signals was once
common crime on the coasts of America AM
Britain, and it is strongly suspected tha
even now instances of it occur, the work o
wretches whose sole aim IS plumber. Il
commerce there is species of wrecking
which, though not destructive of life, pre-
sents opportunities for robbery, which Ger
tain class of respectable business houses ar,
not slow TO take advantage OF. l allude Il
the system which prevails in New York Of s
merchant Turing others to give credit to s
firm, largely indebted to him, and on The
brink of failure, and then by confessions O,
Judgment previously secured, secure himsel!
f1lly snd leave the others in The lurch.
MILLIONAIRE MARAuDERs.
There is an immense dry goods house
here, say, for the purposes of this letter
Scalper & Co., who are extensively engaged
in circumventing and destroying their small
er competitors by the wrecking system ]
have described. They have many custo-
mers throughout the country to whom they
supply all the goods wanted 10 carry on their
business. So long as they pay Up regularly
it is all right, and Scalper e. Co. take Jealous
care that they buy from no other house but
themselves. These country traders are
known in the trade generally as "Scalper
Houses" and it was az understood thing
that Scalper houses bought nearly everything
from Scalper & Co. The time came when
one of these customers, say Tagrag & Co.,
of Pittopolis, began to run behind and were
owing Scalper d Co. 100000 or more.
Then they suddenly ceased to be known as
Scalper house and commenced buying
right and left from other New York houses,
succeeding so we'll that in few weeks they
had got possession Of goods to the extent OF
S650,G00 or more. The trade knowing the
relations they had with Scalper & Co. of
course sent their investigators there to ask
about the standing of T8grag & Co. The
great house spoke in the highest terms of
Tagrag d Co., and assured all inquirers that
there were no liens against them, and that
their statements could be implicitly relied
upon. Under these circumstances all was
serene for the Pittopolis concern, They
improved each shining hour and two
months afte rwards stopped payment.
THE CONFESSION OF JUDGMENT swTNDLF.
It was then found that lot Of preferences
mad been made to wives and sisters and
cousins, and a lot of confessions of iudg-
nnent, among which56gured one to Scalper &
Co., for the full amount OF their claim, over
100000, which they lost no time IN levying
upon the goods of other people. It was
found that the confessions of Judgment had
only been filed few days, but it is discovered
that Scalper & Go. had their Judgment in
their pocket at the very time they were boost
ing up the credit Of the failed firm. A COZ
fession of judgment is of course not lien
until fled, and on this slim plea ScaIper d
Co. justify their statement that there were
no judgments against Tsgrag & Co. This
plan OF collecting debts By confscating the
goods Of others is known in the trade IS
Unloading" and the great millionaire,
Christian concern Of Scalper & Co. is the
chief exponent of it in this city. Under
this system OF bare faced robbery it is no
wonder that the jobbing trade of New York
is now in the hands of dozen houses, where
fifty o. sixty used to live handsomely upon it.
CONCERNING JAY GOULD.
The most conside rable figure in the fnar-
cial world to-day is undoubtedly Mr.. Jay
Gould. In the prime of life, daring, alb
ssemious, industrious, unsecial, by the ex-
ercise of his consnmmate genius he has
achieved position, power and influence
never before attained by any one man. He
owns or controls at this moment 10000 or
10000 miles of railroad, and it is not too
much to say that the stocks of three fourths
O. the railroads Of the country are at his
mercy, to be dragged up or beaten down at
his will and to his inevitable profit. He
owns or controls railroads in all parts of the
country which compete with other lines, and
it is an easy matter, by cutting the rates for
freight or passengers on any one of these to
engender competition which Will cause the
stock of the rival road to tumble 90 or 80
per cent, when, having previously sold the
stock ''short" to large amount, Mr.. Gould
rakes IN profit of half or three-ouarters
Of million. Then, after buying
largely for the rise, be terminates the war
and the stock at once appreciates, enabling
him to take another profit at his leisure.
Having always at command ten or twenty
millions of loose cash, Mr.. Gould can repeat
this operation as often as he chooses.
Gould commenced operating in stocks IL
1859 or 1860, and hes been SO uniformly
successful that he is nov called worth sixty
or seVenty-ive millions Of dollars, and as he
keeps adding to his wealth at the rate Of
seven to ten millions year, it is safe to say
that in few years he will be the richest man
IN America. w. 81. Vanderbilt has probably
$125,000,000, but his wealth increases slowly
IS compared with Gould's, and it is alto
gether likely the latter Will have passed the
Vanderbilt limi. in five or ten years. Gould
Is sn inexpensive man, with no extravagant
tastes; he has no bad habits, and does
not drink, smoke or gamble, while
the Vanderbilts run to fast horses,
high living and palatiaI residences,
filed with unproductive riches n the shape
Of pictures, statuary and bric-a- brac. The
prudent Dutch ways OF w. e. Vanderbilt
aye exemptifed by his selling out the New
York Central to an enormous extent a;
S1.25 and putting the proceeds into the 4
per cent. bonds. New York Central is now
Sl.45 and rising rapidly, paying per cent
dividends, with prospect of eighty on paw.
ing 10 per cent. Gould would fret his hear.
out if only one half OF his fortune Vas in
such shape as only to pay him e beeearly
per cent. per annum when, by rapid and skill
tul operations, he can make Der Cent. 8
month or more on his capital In 1873 be
bought thousands of shares of Union Pacific
at 20 and sold them at 95. Later
he bought Wabash g: or z, reorganizea the
road and raised the stock to so for preferred
and IA for common stock. The purchase O.
vast amount of Kansas and Texas at abou
Irph so Ia II