The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-11-14
MIR. vANDERBILrs GOLD.
Calculations Intended to Show the Enormous
Wealth of the Money King.


NJohn Swintons Paper.
Now that Vanderbilt. the giant of Fifth avenue
has made another rush into the papers, urging
his fellow capitalists to reduce the wages OF their
workingmen, which he says are so high as to
ruin the country, we again bring to notice the
fact (which we illustrated in November of last
year) that this same Vanderbilt himself is worth
two hundred millions of dollars-or, In an array
of figures $500, 600, 000-of which about $o0 O0O-
900 are in United States bonds. that can be
turned into gold any moment at the sub treasury
in this city, and the rest in stocks ana BONDS
which he often puts above par-an locked up IN
his great iron vault in Forty second street.-the
greater part of it made" nut OF the producers Oh
the United States within the past fifteen years.
The ordinary mind can get no sort of notion OF
such stupendous pyramid of gold as SOU, OOO,-
900. Put it into pyramid OF Egypt, What a
monument it would make in the desert for lts
owner! or put it into an obelisk over his tomb,
the stone column in our park would look like a
pigmy to a giant.
Vanderbit's capital of gold is greater than all
the gold there was in the world conquering
Rome in the gittering rein of Augustus Caesar:
1t is greater than the whole amount of gold
and sill .er there was in the civilized world IN
1892, at the time of the discovery of America;
when according to Prof Newberry, there were
between $3.50, 600 600 and 5000, 000 O00
II is more than the entire product for the past
hundred years of the great gold mines of the
Gar of Russia.
1t is more than the whole product for two
years OF all the gold mines OF the WOflu.
IL is nearly twice as much as all the precious
metals produced thus far in the gold and silver
bearing State of Colorado.
II is about equal to the total product of all the
gold mines of California during the four years
from 1S48 to 1852 when Mr. Chevalier dreaded
lest the deluge of gold should overturn the
world
To get and to give some notion of the appear
ance Of our giants capital in gold, here stand
in the vaults of the sub treasury of the United
States, feasting my eyes upon this prodigious
sum of money in coin. L won't say IL is all gold
that cutters here, for there is bagatelle of thlr
ty odd millions in silver; but there are 5000 0OO
900 in coin, and gold coin 'by large majority.
AS l stand before it, and find myself able to look
upon it at one fell swoop, queer thoughts troop
through my brain, like squadrons of light cav
airy ralying to the fore, as it were What
teeming subject to think of!
The gold is packed in small canvas bags, 3d.
900 to a bag, and as gaze, golden nimbus
gathers about each bag, the many finally resolv-
ing themselves into one grand aureola, encircng
the entire collection and paling the gas-lights in
the vaults. Gold, bright yellow goldl And two
Observation-Disclosures of -dollars-worth-of -
200 OOO 900 golden dollar coins! or
so. 900 900 quarter eagles! or
40, 1000, 900 half eagles! or
20, 900, 900 eagles! or
TO- 000 600 double eagles
Heaven and earth, and gnomes that are in the
earth, guarding her precious metals, what could
tremendous amount of gold} Can you take in
with your minds eye this array of dollars and
khold them in view while you count them, say at
the rate of sixty a minuteY You can if your
staying powers will enable you to hold out for
six years, four months and five days. The best
way to do is to spread them out against gray
toned sky, say, midway between the horizon and
zenith, and begin your count from the north
pole, swinging eastward round the circle.
Lay them in line, edges touching; then pick
mp a hundred one at time, pile them on top of
Sthe first one, and then go for and come back
with the second hundred, and so on through the
successive hundreds; how long could you fight it
out on that line--which would reach from New
York to St Louisiana how many miles would
YOU travel before you gathered them in-the
5000, 000000l
200 900, 900 dollars in gold! or
$50 tons of gold or
700. 900 pounds of gold or
II, 200, 900 ounces (avoirdupois) of goldl
How many freight cars would be required to
carry this gold9 Ten, you'll say at jump. But
stop; ten tons is about the NAHUM weight that
is carried by freight car; consequently, at that
allowance, we should have a train of thirty five
freight cars; and what train for the robbers of
the West to loot
How many licensed vendors horses would be
required to draw this stupenduous weight of
gold2 Well, suppose you say 1.400, allowing a
quarter Of a ton to each-a liberal allowance,
too.
How many "Jumbos" would 1t take to draw
This amount Of gold from the sub treasury?
Well, there are Jumbos and Jumbos. Of the
AFRICAN or Indian variety, seventy could walk
off with it, giving five tons to each. And what
a show they would make-seventy Jumbos.
Turn the gold into golden ''eagles'-$10 coins
lay them in circle, edges touching what
would be the circumference of that circle and
how long would it take Maud s to swing around
st, at the rate of 2:l0 to the inlet Answering
che latter part of this interrogatorv first, you
Say at jump six minutes and thirty seconds.
You are of your base, for it would be ring
over 300 miles in circumference, and Maud s.,
speeding at the rate of 2:10, mile after
anile, would not pass under the string"
at the conclusion of this most
extraordinary heat, until the expiration of twelve
hOurs and forty minutes. Yes, reader, Maud s.,
Jay Eye-See, any other phenomenal flyer
speeding each and every mile in 210would
be twelve hours and forty minutes swinging
round this golden circle. 1 could give you the
circumference of this circle but it will only be
pleasure to you to figure out the distance to be
travelled
To switch off again Two hundred millions of
gold, run into square bar a foot thick said
Bar would be about how long do you Think
One hundred feet Ell! Well, friend you would
get badly left if you sold it ''unslght, unseen
for three hundred foot bartlett by $50 feet
or 500 Cos 00O
To shoulder this tremendous bar OF gold and
fake it up to your residence on Fifth avenue,
how many men would be required, good for 100
pounds each-more than the average man would
carry for any considerable distancef Seven
$housand, readerl What procession they would
make, marching lock step. Stop 1t just
ours to me that than 100 could
possibly put their shoulders to this foot-thiek
800 feet bar of gold, walking never so close, and
shat that number couldn't begin to raise it from
She ground. In that shape. without rollers it
would take seven times seventy "Jumbos" to
drag it along. So let ii lie there 1t will be
safe.
Fifty men, standing on Park row, and giving
the dollars away at the rate of 81. 900 a day.
would have to stand there eleven years before
their work was done This, however. would be
an easier job Fifty eleven years giving
away 100000, 600, at the rate, i'll the aggregate
of $50, 900 day
Two hundred million dollarsl What palace
of gold it would make for Vanderbilt in Fifth
avenue for which his present palace might be
the coal bunker.