Omaha daily bee., 1883-06-25
A KEENE GAME.
How a California Millionaire Tried to
Break Jay Gould,
And Hurled n Boomerang of Large
Dimensions.
The End of q Short Story.

New YORK, June ID hear that jim
Keene is pretty well cleaned out. OF
course you know who Jim Keene is. Eli
Well, he came on here from California q
few years ago with several millions and a
palace car of his own. He got in with
Sam Ward, and made that mushy old
fraud rich. Ward in return acted as a
sort of wet-nurse for Keene. The Cali
fornia millionaire was shoddy. He was
about as much of the manners and GUS
toms of polite society as a barn-door
knows about a foot race. He was loud,
and full of brag, and boiling owe with
vanity concerning his own ability.
Ward undertook to tone him down
and make a gentleman of him. He
has not altogether succeeded, but he has
earned every cent he has made out of
Keene, because it was q tough job. He
did not get Keene reasonably quiet before
that bursting flower of California society
had given it out at the top of his voice
that his visit to the east was for the Ok
press purpose of breaking up Jay Gould.
Several people undertook to reason with
him. They pointed out that in carrying
forward such o scheme as the one he had
in view a number of well-meaning per-
sons had been rapidly and violently emf
grated to the very head waters of Salt
river. Keene was relentless. He had
come clear across the continent to make
it warm for Jay Gould, and he was going
to get away with that contract if he had
to spend three months at it.
Mr.. Gould is still on deck. When
somebody told him what Mr.. Keene had
in mind he smiled a tender, regretful
smile, and said he was sorry, because he
really did not wish to send Mr.. Keene
home on a special gravel car.
Keene went to work. He got q lot Of
Gould's enemies together, arranged a
syndicate, and fixed up a corner i'll West
ern Union. They got together for one
day a few millions of demands on Gould,
30 heavy that they thought the sudden
descent upon him would be heavy
enough to break a man considerably
more solid than he. Then they sent
orders to Gould to meet them at the
Windsor hotel.
He chuckled softly and went up there
with an assumption of anxiety that was
delicious. They talked pretty big. They
said they had him by the neck. He
asked them what they would take to let
him up Keene's friends said that Gould
must quit the street and 60 to Europe.
He said he would consider it. He went
out and left them in jubilation and
champagne. Inabout half anhour q change
came over the effect of their dream.
Gould returned with q wicked smile on
his sallow face, and said: "Gentlemen, ]
shall be glad TO meet al demands made
upon me tomorrow at the opening oi
business hours. / am not sailing for Eu.
rope this week." During that short half.
hour of his absence he had seen Russell
Sage.
Glow much do you want2" asked the
author of puts and calls.
"Six Millions" responded Gould, al
though it had been six dollars.
Sage made out his check, and Goult
had It in his pocket, when the crusher
called him in. Next day Keene was hi
first visitor. Gould's friends say h
whimpered like a whipped pup, ant
wanted to sell out the men who ha,
helped him in his first attack on the ma
he wanted to break. But Gould know
how to be merciless, and Mr.. Jim Keen
had to shell out his dollars that day on
market that went booming up to tn
moon under Gould's handling. Keen
kept away from Gould for q while afte
this little episode, But Gould did nc
let up on Keene. He is not
man who does let up when his wrat
rises. He went to work calmly an
systematically. There was a young man
recent addition to the street, in whor
Gould took an interest. His name wa
Woerrishoffer, and he represented a larg
amount of Dutch funds invested in thi
country. Personally, he was not wealthy
though he held a position of large re
sponsibility. This young man soon bt
gan to hold long fabulations with dashin
young Wash Conner, Gould's broker. H
also began to make some pretty spry ops
rations on the street. He grew rich. b
almost precisely the same ratio Keen
grew poor. This was certainly a significar
coincidence. What made matters hards
for the California man. he was anxious I
cut a dash. So he went in for horses
and he is out q stack of money on TIL
branch of speculation. He paid bi
prices for pictures and ran q whirl of Lii
in Newport, On the whole, he travele
at q lively gait. The silent, sallow Ii
tie man down Broadway held his peat
and smiled grimly. Woerrishoffer a
cumulated more and more money, an
went down to the bay every night wit
dashing Mr.. Conner in their privat
steam yacht.
The other day Keene sold for $14,0(
painting that cost him $24, 600. III
silent sallow little man bought it in, an
smiled still more grimly. Keene g
himself interviewed for the purpose
saying he thought a panic was brewing {
Wall street, which was one way of int
mating his intention of getting on
Then it became whispered about that M
Keene meant to try a trip to Europ
He was going ''to look after his horses
80 they said. Gould's friends wise
said they hoped he would find Their
The fact of the matter seems to b
from all l can hear, that Keene h
lost an enormous amount of money, al
has by the same token given up the Ia,
of breaking Gould. Break Gould, indee'
You might as well try to break the Bar
of England. With Russell Sage, Sidn,
Dillon, and Westenshoffer's enormo'
Dutch funds at his back, added to h
own immense pile (he is to-day the rio
est man in America, Vanderbilt not @
cepted), there is no combination in Il
country that can worry him. So it
well for Keene to pull out and go hir
self upon the little trip he had fgur,
out for Gould.
LRANDRR RICHARDSON,