Evening star., 1899-03-18

But he soon adjusted himself to his new
surroundings. one If the first big deals
that he went into was the Western Union
pool which Jay Gould was engineering. In
this they netted a million between them
Six years had elapsed since the paEie Of
a. Prices We're at their lowest ebb.
keene. carefully studying the market and
the conditions of the country, he had
always done. was convinced that rock
bottom had been reached and that a great
advance was coming. He baught heavily,
stalking the bulk of his fortune on his
judgment in the matter. The rise in values
came and continued beyond the expecta-
tion of those who had predicted Il. Keene
added between eight and .ine millions 10
his fortune
People looked at Keene in wonder Here
was a who had made a fortune of
fourteen millions by speculation who had
cleared nearly ten millions ja Wall street
in three years. His fortune was without
parallel for the rapidity of its accumua-
ton. He came to be looked upon as n sort
of financial wizard. 1t said that he
could not lose Perhaps Keene came TO
have little of the same feeling.
After his great success Keene branched
out in every direction He lived in the
princely fashion agreeable to his nature,
he gave away thousands, and gave advice
to his friends on which they made thou
sands; He was fond Of racing. so he bought
stable and became a leading figure in
turf affairs. At the same time he specu-
lated in oil, wheat, stocks. anything.
Fighting Jay Gould.
1t was in 1885 that Keene. in vulgar par
lance, bit off more than he could chew. He
tried to corner the wheat market an at
tempt that has been a fatal stumbling block
to other able financiers. In this same year
his horse Foxhall won the Grand Prix in
Paris 1t was an honor that Keene priced
dearly, and when it came he was engaged
in struggle that involved practically his
whole fortune. Under the stimulus of ris-
ing prices the western farmers rushed their
wheat to market faster than Keene with
his millions could absorb it, jaw Gould
had been watching Keene's course with in
tereSt and saw the vulnerable spot. With
Addison Cammack he set out TO bear the
market on the interests that Keene was
concerned in. At the same time the news
papers began denouncing the corner and
its hackers. Some of Keene's partners in
the combine became timid and sold out.
The load was too heavy for the Californian
to carry alone and he went down under IL.
Over seven millions OF his accumulations
were swept away. He tried desperately to
recoup himself on what remained, but could
not do it. Men whom he had aided before
were willing to profit by his downfall, and
in the language of the street, he was sold
out" He had the modification of seeing
the shares that he was unable 20 hold on to
advance over 30 per cent within n few
months under the skillful manipulation of
Gould and his associates.
After His Great Failure.
Keene was not overwhelmed by his mis-
fortune. He set to work quietly TO regain
what he had lost. For a time he was heard
of but little. He was in Wall street. and
was making progress, but he did not at
tempt any Napoleonic maneuvers. Sull he
made money at a rate that could not be
accounted otherwise than rapid. He paid
off all the obligations remaining from his
disastrous venture and gradually returned
to something like his old position in the
affairs of the street
When the present period of commercial
prosperity came Enthusiastically into view
last fall, at the conclusion of the war.
Keene recalled his experience of twenty
years ago and resolved to profit by it. He
was not guided by precedent, however, but
by his appreciation of existing conditions.
Heavy crops in the west had brought in
large earnings to the western railroads.
Improved financial conditions were certain
to make investments plentiful and to send
prices up. Heavy earnings were certain to
make this advance strongly felt in the
group of railroad shares known as the
granger stocks. Accordingly Keen bought
grangers and advised others to do the same.
How much his operations will yield him is
unknown, for the end Is not yet, but his
fortune Is once more restored to the ten
million mark and is not likely to fall be-
low Ii again.
Keens is an optimist but not an Illusion
ary. His Judgment has been ripened and
matured by experience. In the interview in
which he gave the public the benefit OF his
opinions he concluded.
"A higher level of prices for our securl-
ties is inevitable. There are certainly many
stocks selling much below their Intrinsic
and prospective value. There is abundant
money. Foreign and domestic business con-
ditions are the best in the history Of the
country: and these can only mean material
increases In the value OF railroad and in
dustriaI securities"
Keene holds the same opinion today that
he did on December 8. When asked in re-
gard to the matter he said:
''There may be q few stocks that are SELL
ing too high now, but the great majority
are well within their worth. Prices have
gone to a higher level because they belong
there, and they will not fall until business
conditions offer a decided change The ma
ton has gained in wealth a billion and a
half on foreign exchanges in the past three
years and is feeling the good effect Of this
increase now. Values will go still higher,
according to my judgment" E. w. MAYO.