San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-01-12
JAY GOULD.
Something About the Railway Magnate a. lie
Appeared In Boston.


Something About the Railway Magnats as lie
Appeared In Boston.
Imagine a mite of man, listless and
shaken in appearance, weighing but
little over 100 pounds. with no particu-
larly intelligent expression, aud in
fact, with hardly manifestation of any
kind of power or force in his whole
showing. Physically, indeed, he is
weak, and it is said of himself and
another distinguished New York capt.
talist, that they have but one lung be-
tween them. Mr.. Gould came into the
New York and New England meeting
and took his seat upon front settee,
near the platform. He slouched down
upon the bench so that his head rested
upon the rail of the settee back, and
he entered into the proceedings very
much as stunted farmers boy is wont
to do in country church, so far as
apparent interest in the exercisis
are concerned. During the routine he
was thus partially hidden from many
would-be inspectors who were peering
anxiously in his direction, his neigh
bors on other hand overlapping and
outbulking him. When the formal
business was over, and speeches were in
order, cries of "Gouldl Gould!" filed
the hall, and the little great man work
ed himself into o standing position.
If he had been country pumpkin es-
saying first speech in village lyceum,
he must have been laughed at as he
stood there. His face was wreathed
in shippers, and his whole manner was
an exaggerated shipper. When he at
last did speak, his utterance was labor.
ed aud hesitating and still simpering,
his voice light and with no taking quail
ity ,and the time was improved by many
to get look at Gould. He appeared
nervous and watchful, regarding the
close approach to himself of any stran-
ger, as though not entirely free from
apprehension that, even in such place,
and surrounded by friends, some
enemy might be seeking him. 1t is
said that since the attack made upon
him some time ago, he has never APP
peared abroad without the company of
STRIKER" who would protect him if
danger threatened, and he weuld GER
tainly need such helper if attacked,
even though, as is probably the case,
he is in no degree coward physically
So much for the personal appearance
of man who made his first entry into
New York city during the Crystal
Palace exhibition, and who, until the
year 1869, had never been reckoned
other than poor man. True, he was a
mere boy at the time of that first visit,
and all hopes and expectations for the
future were conferred in q continuance
which he carried in a mahogany box
under his arm, and priced Unfortunately
"a wonderful mouse-trap, that was all.
His mouse trap brought him nothing
but trouble, and it turned, as it has
turned one thousand times even in New
York, that mouse trap, even though
it be wonderful affair, is of no account
unless it be found in the right hands.
These are not the traps which Gould
was best fitted to manipulate. Mr..
Gould is now forty-fve years old, and
his friends apparently admire the state
ment, there was not Sympathetic or
winning feature about him. Inyolun-
tarily his critics viewing him now for
the first timo-said to themselves !:
"This is not the mighty Gould of the
Stock Exchange; the dictator, almost
absolute, of railroads worth $80,000,-
O0O!" Yet this was, indeed, the very
man, this slight built. apparent body of
weakness of forty-fve years contin-
uance. His reply to the calls of the
assemblage was, SO far AZ words were
concerned: II will make you speech
after our first dividend is declared"
He will never keep his word, whatever
turns, for he can no more make speech
than he can weigh ton. The meeting
over, the company sauntered and loiter-
ed about, exchanging words before get
ting upon the street again. This
was the golden opportunity when
they say he has made for himself
81 100000 for every year he has lived
in the world. They probably under
rate him in this direction, and his solid
individual wealth is, without doubt,
greater than these figures would repre-
sent. But on earth there is probably
no harder worker, no greater slave to
fortune, no more persistent follower OF
destiny than this same Jay Gould. In
business affairs he is an abnormal de-
velopment of humanity, and all his
manipulations are strokes of genius.
However, it does not now appear that
this sort of thing is to die with him.
for he has a son reported to be OF
greater genius than his father, in the
same directions.