Morris tribune., 1885-04-15
Jim Keene.

One of the most recent as well as
most impressive wrecks of speculation,
writes a New York correspondent to the
Troy Times, is found in Jim Keene, who
is now one of the poor devils of Wall
street A few years ago his name was
Photographed among the most success
full OF modern money kings, but to-day
if his debts were paid he has hardly
enough left to buy him q dinner. His
career has been one of sudden and sur
prising change, and is peculiarly illus
trative of what is commonly called good
luck and bad luck. His early success
turned his head and he thought he
could not make mistake, but he
learned at last that it was just as easy
to lose money as to make it, and in fact
little easier.
Keene began in California as school
teacher, but soon turned speculator and
made an immense fortune. Then he
came to this city and created sensa-
ton by his bold movements. He has
operated in opium, pork, gas, mines,
horses, grain, and stocks, and seemed
ready to take in whatever might be Of
fered. He was the brains of the famous
corner in wheat in 1879, and, indeed,
that was lucky year for him in more
than one operation. Some Of our read
ers may remember the tremendous bull
movement in Lake Shore which marked
the time referred to, and thus brought
out the exclamation of Uncle Rufus
Hatch: 81 did intend to 60 into Lake
Shore along with Jim Kcene." Uncle
Rufus, however, got left, while Jim piled
up his profits to a degree that made
Wall street stare.
That year was his palmy time. He
then had a villa at Newport worth
100000, and also fine house in town,
and he kept racing stable in England
in addition to his splendid stud of horses
at home. "Foxhall" and "Spendthrift'
gave him prominence in British sport
ing circles and bore off some of the best
prizes, though at heavy expense. His
luck seemed to extend as far as. he
reached. He thought he could crush
Jay Gould and become sole king OF
Wall street. He extended his opera
tions and went into fancy stocks with
an eagerness which surprised all his as
sociates. The consequence was that he
was loaded in every direction when the
shrinkage came, and his wealth disap-
peared with a rapidity that has rarely
been cqualed When, however, a man
is loaded with Denver ard Rio Grande
at par, and unloads at s, it does not
take long to clean him out. How
strange it now seems that this worth
less bubble was one of his heaviest
deals, and that he stuck to it with a
reckless determination. Last June he
failed, and since then he has been strug-
Cling to keep merely home, but his
share in an apartment-house has just
been sold, and the man who so recently
was reckoned at $10,000,0OO is now al
most an object of charity. Such is life
in Wall street.
There was time when he was point
ed out in Wall street with the eXclama-
ton: "There goes Jim Keene with
81, 900, 900 in each pocket Now, how
ever, the word is: There goes Jim
Keene-all blown in.' He has tried to
keep up nerve under this collapse, but
his face bears the mark of disappoint-
ment. He was thin before his troubles
began, and this makes his 1ive-feet-nine-
inch frame look still taller. His mus
tache and stubby beard have lost that
expression of power that they once
seemed to have, and his fiery tempera-
ment is abated. There was a time
when he was ready for q quarrel at a
moments notice, and when he damned
the market or the brokers in the live
liest manner; but when mans pockets
are empty he is generally less bolster
Gus. His day is now over, and he may
take his place among the hungry crowd
of curbstone brokers and guttersnipes.
As indicative of the rapid change
of fortunes in Wall Street, it is now an
nounced that Keene has again made an
immense stake by shrewd and success
full speculation in stocks. By some the
amount is placed as high as S75O,OOO.
This is additional evidence that his for
mer prosperity was due not alone to
'.luck," but that brains and energy
have something to do with his success.