Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1881-06-16
A NAPOLEON OF FINANCE.
What an English Paper Thinks of Mr..
Jay Gould.

Jay Gould.
Pail Mall Gazette
There is now going on in America
development Of the power of an indi-
vidual capitalist, which is well worth
attention as a feature in modern socie-
ty. The tendency of capital in that
country to roll up with extraordinary
rapidity, has often been noticed, and
nowhere else in the world could the
collosal fortunes of Astor, Vanderbilt,
or A. Z. Stewart have been accumu-
lated within the lifetime of one man.
But the operations of Mr.. Jay Gould
are of far greater extent than those of
any previous capitalist, and the move.
ment of which he is the head, is so
clearly Il portion of general evolution,
that we on this side of the Atlantic
may note his course with profit to our
selves. Mr.. Jay Gould is chiefly known
here rs one of the famous Erie trium-
virate-Fisk and Lane being the other
two-who carried on a successful war
in shares, by the aid of n printing press
kept in full work on their premises.
Drew and Vanderbilt found to their
cost that it was impossible to corner
or control stock, when all the scrib-
ling paper in New York could be
brought into the market against them.
Some day, doubtless, calm inquirer
will set forth the philosophy of the
corner in full, and when he does so Mr..
Jay Gould will assuredly figure as the
founder of school. Never, perhaps,
was bolder game played in its way
than that of this very Erie triumyirate
in rigging the gold market. The story
is oil, but its moral is ever applicable.
AT the time when their operations be-
gan, gold and greenbacks stood in
definite relation to one another; they
iluctuated more or less, of course, as
that or this buyer came into the mar
ket; but nothing vely serious had oc-
Cured since the great imitation of the
civil war. Suddenly the happy idea
came into the heads of these worthless,
or rather into the head of one of them,
to purchase all the gold in sight and
lock it up; those who were obliged to
buy gold for business purposes, were
compelled by their necessities to buy at
the figure demanded by the ring. The
matter began to get serious. Gold
went up and up, like tube of mercury
in boiling water; there was no saying
where it would end. New York,
excitable at all times, went nearly out
of its senses. A mob at length collect
ed in front of the Office of the three
manipulators, and affairs looked rath-
er ugly for the triumverate. TO bOr-
row phrase from Mr.. Jey0ns mathe-
maticO-mctaphysiCal language of econo-
my, the ultimate dillerentiations of
final utility figured in the shape of II
lamp post and rope This, it has
always been said, did not suit Mr.. Jay
Gould. The introduction of brute
force formed no part of his calcula-
tions, and in American parlance he
cleft" without even stopping to open
the glass door which afforded the only
way to the rear. Ills bOlder allies
stood it out, the United States treasur-
er sold gold, and the corner came TO an
end.
1t is unnecessary to follow Mr..
Gould through his various phases Of
stock jobbing after this. "COlncrs" are
devoid of interest, whether in gold,
wheat, pork, or anything else, save us
showing the power which, under our
present system of production and ex-
change, may be grpped by an unscru-
pulous man or a knot of men working
to the same end. But it was only as a
gambler in stocks that Mr.. Jay Gould
was known, and il was presumed that
his lack of physical courage, and the
loss of one or two of his associates
would cripple him for larger schemes.
Precisely the contrary has occurred,
and from the long period of depression,
between 1878 and 1880 this strange
financial genius has emerged as beyond
all comparison the ablest handler of
capital in the United States. That he
is acting in accordance with the ten
dency of events does not, of course, de-
tract from his ability; but the result is
remarkable, and would be dangerous
but for the fact that the same power
that broke up the gold ring can step in
to lay its hand upon the ablest com
bination for the benefit of the few and
turn it to the advantage of the many.
His mode of operation is peculiar, and,
according to Trustworthy evidence,
his own immediate associates, after u
long discussion, in which he himself
had taken little or no part, are often
unaware of the course which will be
ultimately adopted. The mere money
part of the business seems to have no
special charms for the chief organizer; !;
he buys a state legislature as he buys
newspapers Or railways, as portion of
u general scheme of consolidation
which extends beyond what perhaps he
himself foresees. AS result of ser.
les of extraordinarily successful opera
tions, Mr.. Jay Gould has acquired a
prestige something similar to that
which Prince Bismarck has or had in
European politics. Any successful
oup is attributed to his skillful pro-
cecdings. But men are only beginning
to perceive the outcome of his maneu-
VerS.
There are others moving in the same
direction, but at this moment Mr.. Jay
Gould is master of the main line of
communication between the Atlantic
and Pacific slopes, is laying his plans,
according to all accounts, for combina-
ton with the other roads being pushed
through in United States territory,
has monopoly of the telegraphic COM
munications, proposes to connect them
with submarine cables in the same in
terest, while the project of line of
purely freight steamers carrying in
connection with his affiliated roads
from the west is also attributed to
him. Now, clearly, even assuming
that some of these plans break down
for the time, only a general tendency
in favor of combination as against com.
petition could enable one man or any
number of men to obtain such power
as this. Permit it to be used without
regulation-say the anti-monopolists
of the states-and an imperittm in i'm.
perio will follow such as the world has
navnr ypt qppn Cnrnnrnt;npo ora al