McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1884-12-18
HIS GOLD.
The Wealth Of william H. Vanderbilt Of New
| YOrk-the Enormous Show II Maks.

AAO VCoAbn VI w NdHueTDllt Oh NEW
York-the Enormous Show 1t Maks.
Now that Vanderbilt, the giant of
Fifth Avenue, has made another rush
into the papers, urging his fellow-cap-
italists 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 il
Illustrated in November of last year)
that this same Vanderbilt himself is
worth two hundred millions of dollars,
or, in an array of figures. 5000, 900, 900,
of which about $50.00O,OO 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 and bonds, which he often puts
above par-all locked up in his great
iron vault on Forty-second street.-the
greater part of it ''made" out of the
producers of the United States within
the past fifteen years.
The ordinary mind can get no sort
Of notion of such stupenduous pvra-
mid of gold as 5000, 100000. Put it
into pyramid of Egypt, what monu-
ment it would make in the desert for
its owner! Or put it into an obelisk
over his tomb, the stone column in our
park would look like a pigmy to a
giant.
Vanderbilt's capital of gold is greater
than all the gold there was in the
world-conquering Rome in the glitter
ing reign of Augustus Caesar.
1t is greater than the whole amount
r,f cold nd Gil fho ~,
ilized world in 1902, at the time of the
discovery of America. when, according
to Professor Newberry. there were be-
tween $3.50, 100000 and S200,00O,000.
1t is more than the entire product
for the past one 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 world.
1t is nearly twice as much as all the
precious metals produced thus far in
the gold and silver-bearing state of
Colorado.
1t is about equal to the total product
of all the gold mines of California dur
ing the four years from 1S40 to 1852
when Mr.. Chevalier dreaded lest the
deluge of gold should overturn the
world.
To get and to give some notion of
the appearance of our giants capital
in gold, here 1 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 it
is all gold that glitters here, for there
is bagatelle of thirty odd millions in
silver; but there are two hundred mil
lions in coin, and gold coin "by large
majority" AS l stand before it and
find myself able to look upon it with
one fell swoop, queer thoughts troop
through my brain, like squadrons of
light cavalry rallying to the fore, as it
were. What teeming subject to
think of!
The gold is packed in small canvas
bags, $4,000 to bag, and as / gaze a
golden nimbus gathers about each bag,
the many finally resolving themselves
into one grand aureola encircling the
entire collection, and paling the gas
light in the vaults. Gold, bright yellow
gold and Observation-Disclosures
worth-of-it!
200,000,000 golden dollar coins or
100000 quarter eagles or
40,000,000 half eagles ! or
100000 eagles or
100000 double eagles
Heaven and earth, and gnomes that
are in the earth guarding her precious
metals, what could mortal do and
what could he not do with this ire
mendous amount of gold? Can you
take in with your minds eye this array
of dollars and hold them in view while
you count them, say at the rate of
sixty a minute? You can, if your
staying powers will enable you to hold
out six years, four months and five
days. The best way to do is to spread
them out against a 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 up hundred, one at a time,
pile them on top of the first one, and
then 90 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 S2OO,OOO,OO0.
200,000,000 dollars in gold! or
$50 tons of gold or
100000 pounds of gold or
100000 ounces (avoirdupois) of
gold!
How many freight cars would be re-
CURED to carry this golde Ten, you'll |
say at a jump. But stop ten tons is
about the maximum 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 STU
pendous weight of gold9 Well, sup
pose we say 400, allowing quarter
Of ton to each-a liberal allowance,
too.
uo, ,,,,,1- .EJ,,,log'' would ~ tolyo |