The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1907-07-11

OF the Dand tnar mas plotted my ruin
and worked it will be either dead or
bankrupt"
Still Walks Wall Street.
Jay Gould has been dead these many
years. Keene still walks Wall street.
having paid off all his debts and made
several fortunes since 1884. But for
some years Keene was not so much of
figure in the street. Again they said
that he was down and out, just as they
had said it when he first lost his money
in San Francisco. He became during
those years more Of promoter than
an Independent operator. Having eat.
en- of bitter bread in the wheat corner
Keene took up something to sweeten
existence. He doomed sugar for the
Havemeyers. Incidentally he doomed
it for Keene, sweetening his tooth to
the extent Of some 100000.
Then Keene bit off large chew OF
tobacco, but not larger than he could
chew. Practically the same ring that
had tripped him up In the wheat bin
tried to strange him with tobacco
Juice, but Keene was keeping his own
counsel then. He had grown cautious.
He rushed $4,000 shares Of tobacco in
to the market, the price dropped from
156 to 115. the ring lost and Keene
won million and half in day.
Give man rope enough and he
will hang himself" says a wise one
Keene took a lot Of rope-American
Cordage added a few more MIL
lions to his pile, incidentally stringing
up few Of his enemies.
By that time which was a matter NJ
nine or ten years ago, James R, Keene
had succeeded in convincing Wall
street that If he ever returned to Cali
forn1a he could go in his own private
palace car or in an airshlp If he pre-
ferred to take that risk. There have
been ups and downs since, but never
an out, though it is understood that
Mr.. Keene lost largely by the failure
Of his son-in-law's firm, Talbot J. Tav-
Tor & Co., about four years ago. But
the keene family larder was secure in
any event. Many years ago a silent
partner, Mrs. Keene, persuaded her
husband to give her half Of his earn
ings. When Mr.. Keene made a million
Mrs. Keene was half a million richer.
AS the silent partner did not speculate,
the money remained in the family.
His First Big Horse Victory.
Mr.. Keene is known as a man of in
domitable energy. HE could get rich
in desert If any one could" says an
Intimate associate. This recalls story
In connection with the first big horse
flesh victory Of Keene's career. His
horse Foxhall won the Grand Prix at
Paris in 1881. Twenty years earlier
Keene had been at his Horsetown
stage, and one Of his acquaintance in
the California country was Dan Gait
land. When Foxhau won the Grand
Prix, Dan was still prospecting up in
Grant county, Ore, not far north Of
Horsetown. He heard the news and
rushed into the presence Of Tom Mer-
~, another acquaintance of the Cali
fornia Keene.
'Tom," said Dan, did yez hear
phwat Jim Keene done las Sundah?"
"And what was that?"
''The papers sez he bate the divil out
iv the frog eaters Wit horse named
Foxyhall.'
WELL" said Tom, ''from what re-
member about Jim he's a mighty hard
man to keep down.
"Roight We be-" rejoined Dan. eye
cud putt Jim Keene aboard a ship an
send him to say, an if the ship wuz
wrecked on a desert oisland Jim 'uld
be walkin' around, be wud, an the
mex day he'd be sellin' maps ~ the
place to all the natives"
Mr.. Keene has owned some of the
greatest horses on the turf This sea-
son his colt Peter Pan earned $751;
900 in four races in less than thirty
days. He owned Domino, over whose
Kentucky grave he erected a hand
some marble shaft. Other great ones
developed by Keene were Sysonby,
Commando, Cap and Bells and Tom
my Atkins.