The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-08-02
ALL NEW YORK is TALKING
ABOUT JAMES R. KEENE
The Collapse of His Wall Street Firm Recalls His
Romantic Financial Career

, dress him up in the old court costume
of Spain, with his well-trimmed whts-
kers and well-trimmed mustache, ana
he might have stepped from a canvas
by Velasquez, the famous Spanish
painter.
Keene does not get his manner of
speech from the Spanish, though, OK
cept that he is impetuous and voluble,
for it is rough and ready, with not a
trace of Hispanolian softness ana
grace Only on the Pacific coast, in
the early days of the gold fever could
any one have picked up so rugegd a
vocabulary. or one that bristles with
explosives as Keene's.
Keene's First Big Haul and His First
, Reverse.
It was in the early Bonanza days
late in the sixties-that James r.
Keene first showed his genius for
manipulating the stock markets.
Flood. Fair. O'Brien, Mackay and
their like were then the financial pow
| ers in California. The Bonanza mines
were then producing untold millions
and everybody who could was loading
up with Bonanza stock.
Keene now began to get together a
| modicum of knowledge both about
mining and the manipulation of stocks.
doing some sort of clerical work. There
he studied the situation carefully, and,
though surrounded by an eager specu-
lating crowd, he saved every dollar he
| could, setting his face as a flint against
the prevailing craze. What is more
to the purpose, he managed to save
$4,000 in real money, and, incidental
ly. he fell in love with Miss Sarah
Daingerfield, the daughter of United
not
gerfield
Possibly it was his desire to get
rich quickly that he might win the
bride of his choice, and possibly 1t was
from other motives; but at all events,
instead of going into the practice of
law as he at first intended, in San
Francisco, where he now located, he
speedily became a curbstOne broker.
This didn't help him with the Judge-a
Virginian of the most exclusive sort,
who despised "upstarts," as he term
ed keene, especially when they turned
curbstone brokers-but the young
man persevered, married the girl in
spite of her father, and presently be-
gan to make money fast Within a
few months he had got together a
surplus of 1926, 600 and by 1870 he
900. '
1t was then that he met his first big
reverse. The market went against
MN, and in one day he was so COM
pletely wiped out that it became nee
essary to sell off even his household
belongings. There came now period
OF real adversely to Keene. Even his
friends believed that he would do bet
ter to get job and stick to II than
10 go on with speculative career
heene being virtually the only nerson
IVing who held a different view.
HOW He Meet His First Reverse M
Magnitude.
His nerve came back to him speed-
n.y. however and as soon as he could
ne resumed as a curbstone broker II
was not easy, for at first evervone
showed natural lack of confidence in
ms Judgment. Step by step. though
ne regained his standing. and, at last.
ne made a friend of Senator FELTON,
then great power in the Coast finan-
cial world. Through this friendship
ne got firmly upon his feet again.
When the Bonanza stocks were at their
highest and when the Bonanza kings
were making more as spectators than
as miners, Keene began the first of
MS many famous bear campaigns.
Getting together every available cent
which he could make and scrape. he
set to work. First he conducted a.
most skillful literary campaign. in
the course of which he caused the
coast press to print long articles. show
ing by the presentation of information
about the Bonanza mines, which he
had gained in Virginia City during his
stay there, that the prices of the stocks
were far too high. When he had pro-
duced the impression he desired he be-
gan to SELL the stocks. Little by lit
tie he got his friends to let him sell for
them also, on commission, though none
of them owned a share to their names
Naturally many people held him to
be stark daft and nothing less, and
many there were who bought. Natur-
ally, too, his game, at first, was a
losing one, for he had at first to buy
the stocks at higher prices than he
had sold them, in order to make de-
liveries. But constant dropping wears
the rock. and there came a time when
the stocks wavered and broke.
Then Keene and his friends began
their harvest. Lower and lower went
the stocks, the literary campaign
then taking care of itself, and over and
over did Keene "sell' and buy for de-
livery at prices below his selling" fig
ures. Some of the stocks that had
been quoted at 500 and 500 went as low
as rs and 30. The Bank of California
went broke" William c. Ralston, its
president, killed himself, many fortunes
crumbled and only Keene and his allies
held up their heads. By 1875 his for
tune amounted to $3.000.000 at least
perhaps more. His accumulation of
enemies was also large and constantly
growing-it has been growing ever
since. by the way-and he had also
got together a large stock of ill-health.
His nervousness had triumphed over
his nerve, and indigestion had laid
him under a bondage which he has
never been able to escape.
Keene in New York to Take the
Scalp of JAY Gould.
When the doctors looked Keene
over at the end of his first bear cam
paign they declared his health so bad
ly shaken that he could escape COM
plete prostration only by prolonged
rest in Europe, and Keene started to
obey their mandate dutifully.
But to go to Europe from San
Francisco it is necessary to pass
through New York. BY the time
Keene had reached this town-early
in August, 1S76-he felt better, ana
concluded to rest here awhile before
sailing. While resting he took two
or three fiiers on Wall street. They
were successful and his health con-
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