The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-01-04
jay Gould as q Barometer.

Jay Gould is by long odds the greatest
financial operator in America There is no
other who approaches him in the magnitude
OF his dealings, the amount of capital he
has invested in or the influence he can
bring to bear on the stock market and
through it, on the business of the whole
country. The Vanderbilt interests come
next, but they are divided among several
members, with the usual differences in
temperaments, opinions and purposes. Mr..
Gould's operations have the force of unity:
he acts by and for himself and is not
hampered by outside influence. Such a
man In such a position is necessarily an &C
curate Indicator of financial affairs, If we
know what he is doing or is about to do,
we know what the condition of the mys.
ferrous but all important factor called 'sthe
market is or is going to be.
1t is Important therefore, to note Mr..
Gould's position in the present financial
hurry Ii he has been unloading his stocks.
calling In his loans and turning everything
INTO cash that he could, it is sign that he
either anticipates a general panic or is
using his power to create one, which is
ABOUT the same thing, and it is time for
prudent people to prepare for great depres-
sion OF business ana financial distress. Has
he done so! Not bit of it. On the con
trary, he has been employing himself dur
Ing these weeks OF anxiety in perfecting a
zeal by which he acquired more speculative
property than ever; he has expanded in
stead OF contracting his business, and in
the numerous interviews that he has given
TO the newspapers he has invariably taken
d strong bullish tone and expressed IN
limited confidence in the resources of the
country and its ability TO recover from the
strain.
Was this talk all insincere! We do not
think So Ii it were, there could be Init
one object IN 1t, and that would be 20 keep
up the price of stocks until the great oper
ator could unload; but we do not find that
he has been selling. On the contrary, he
has been buying, and his talk has really
been contrary to his interests so far as the
stock market is concerned. His transac
tlons, TOO, have shown very plainly that he
DelleVed what he said. Jay Gould is
credited with The ambition to become the
greatest railway king in the world 1t is
certain he has just perfected scheme
Which gives him control of an enormous
system OF western roads. He could not DO
this without purchasing large amounts of
stock, and the fact that he bought at this
time shows that he does not expect stocks
to go much lower-as they surely would if
a general crash like that of 1873 were i'm
pending.
Jay Gould, then, may be regarded as
reliable barometer Of the couuJry's bust
Less, and it Is encouraging to find him so
persistently pointing to fair weather. If
he, tie man who has more at stake than
any other, in those unsteady properties,
stocks and bonds, is satisfied that be has
nothing to fear, the rest of US may as well
be treasured. 1t is not an ark that he is
building, to save himself while his coun
trymen are overwhelmed; it is q railroad.
which can only operate to advantage when
his countrymen are prosperous. 1t is safe
to travel IN his train. PHILADELPHIA Inquirer.