Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1901-12-13
THE QUARREL STARTED.

voAfy IN wall street, ON the Turf
and In Politics.
TO James z. Eeenc the Success Of
the fusion ticket ut the late election in
New York came as u soothing balm,
says the New York Herald. To him
the overthrow of the Tammany organ.
tzation signifed mainly the discomf-
ture Of William G. Whitney, who had
espoused the Shepard aus and be-
tween whom and himself there exists
n feud In finance, in sport and in poll
tics so bitter in its Intensity that any
cause championed by Mr.. Whitney is
sure to find an opponent in Mr.. Keene.
Strange stories are told in Wall street
Of the assistance rendered to the fu-
sion candidates, and especially t Will
liam Travers jerome. by Mr.. Keene.
The we'll known operator is said to
have opened his purse on the very day
that Mr.. Whitney declared for Shep-
ard, and he is credited with generous
contributions to the campaign fund.
But, what is of more Importance, Mr..
Keene is said to have aided MIR. Je-
rome with advice, given through mu-
tual friends. and to have kept him in
formed concerning certain happenings
In which he believed the fusion candi-
dates interests We're involved.
1t traiaspfres that friends Of Mr..
hsene furnished Judge Jerome with
the information that Senator Plat and
MIR. Whitney had met In the Office of
Thomas +. Ryan, it was asserted, to
=: hiH .asect and tk:- Jya.c -
rome's attack on Platt and Whitney
was inspired from the same quarter.
Whatever part MI. Keene may have
played, his motives arc easily traced by
men in Wall street. 1t was said by
those protesting to know that the con-
ference between Senator Plat and Mr..
Whitney had no direct bearing on Judge
Jcrome's candidacy, but that Mr..
keene's friends. recognizing in the can
didatc for district attorney an able ally,
concluded tc array iiim against lir.
Whitney by telling only half the truth.
At all events, Mr.. Keene and his
friends see in the result Of the election
a personal triumph over Mr.. Whitney
and his associates in the Metropolitan
Street Railway company, and they re-
joice accordingly.
Bad feeling between Mr.. Keene and
MIR. Whitney was engcndered in the
spring Of 1898, having it's origin in Mr..
keene's manipulation Of Metropolitan
stock. At that time there was a pool
in this stock. and Mr.. Keene was the
field marshal of the traction forces on
the floor of the Stock Exchange. He
engineered q bull movement in the Sc
curity, and on Feb. IA Metropolitan
touched 1711a. Suddenly and without
warming that day a large quantity Of
tiie stool. was thrown on the market,
and the price broke to 1851.
1t was seven months later that the
real! break in the relations Of Mr..
Whitney and the pool manager oc-
CURED. This time there was no quib-
Oh both sides and the foundation was
laid for the feud. which has been
waged bitterly ever since.
For several months Mr. Keenc had
been manipulating the stock of the
American Tobacco company. in whicl,
Mr.. Whitney and his friends were
iargel.. interested. Under his guild
:,nce quotations had been raised to an
Unprecedented level. and in the latter
part of September. ISIS. plans for con-
trolling the tobacco Industry of the
country and executing Il sensational
corp in the stock market were we'll
under way. Mr.. Keene was the only
member of the pool to figure openly in
this 'transaction.
M.. Keelc himself explained the
situation in an Interview published in
The Herald 1T the time.
THE detection of any one large hold
err of tobacco stock" he said. would
naturally produce serious consequences
in the market. When the most in
dlbitable evidence was furnished to
me- that one or two members of the
pool had sold l sold my stock, and did
1t promptly. at between S145 and $13G
a share"
Mr.. Keene is said to have purchased
his stock-some forty thousand shares
at Approximately $S7 a share. and his
profits We're estimated to be not fa:
from $1,50O.O00. Mr.. Whitney's broth
cr-in-law, Oliver III. Payne, and Messrs.
Duke. Schley and Terrell. representing
various interests. were seriously en-
barrassed by Mr.. Keene's precipitate
selling. which upset-for the time be-
ing at least-the ambitious plans of
the pool.
When taken to task by Mr.. Whitney.
rs the Wall street legend runs, Mr..
Keene is said to have pulled his cigar
n%onchalantly and replied: why GER
tainly l sold. When l go into Il race of
this kind. l never permit myself to be
left at the post"
Whatever the facts may be it is cer-
tain that no quarter has been given in
the battle royal in which these glad
iators of finance have been engaged
since the fall OF 1898 on the floor of the
Stock Exchange. on the turf and in the
arena of politics. Marshaling his
-..-..k c--.