The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1910-03-31
New NEWS OF. YESTERDAY
Only Time That Jay Gould Got
Boiling Mad.
UnsesmIy Domestic Behavior Of Busi
. ness Associate Nearly Betrayed
the Einancier Into Printing
an Attack ON Him.
BY e. J. EDWARDS.

BY e. J. EDWARDS.
Great as was his financial con
quests. probably the greatest of all Of
Jay Gould's victories was that which
he gained over his temper" said an
lold friend of the family to me at the
time of the little wizards death in
1892. I'm its natural state his was a
most unruly temper. Unmastered. II
would undoubtedly have led him into
all sort Of embarrassing situations
and. to my mind, seriously imperilled
the success of his aims in life. But
more than once have heard Russell
Sage say-and he certainly knew
that Mr.. Gould was the most even
tempered man with whom he had ever
been brought into business associa,
,tion.
\ Indeed, so complete was Mr.. Gould'a
mastery over his temper that can re.
call only one time when it ever got
the better of him. Then, curiously
enough, Mr.. Gould got boiling mad in
behalf of good friend and business
associate. and had not some Of his
closest friends been able finally to re.
strain him, there is no telling to what
lengths he would have let his fury
carry him.
"One day there came to Mr.. Gould's
ears report that to this, his friend
and business associate. second friend
ard business associate was acting SO
disloyally that there was grave dan.
ger of an unfortunate domestic dis.
turbance. Conduct of this sort was
the one thing that Mr.. Gould could
not forget or forgive. and instantly
the bounds that he had kept for so
many years on his temper burst and
his rage became truly terrifying.
His one thought. then, was to
drive the alleged disloyal friend out
of reputable business and social asso.
Citations. TO this end. and while his
fury was at its height, he had pre-.
pared bitter, vitriolic article which
purported to narrative of various
private episodes in this mans life.
This article, he exultantly told sew.
eral Of his friends when the com.
pleted manuscript was handed to him,
he was going to have published the
next day in the New York newspaper
that he then owned. I'll take the full
responsibility for its publication he
declared, and added that he would bs
only too glad to do SO, for he felt sure
that the publication of the article
would drive the man into obscurity, q
circumstance which would be little
enough recompense to the friend who
was in danger of being injured.
We'll. it was only after very long
and very earnest efforts on the part
of Mr.. Gould's confidantes that they
were at all able to swerve him in the
slightest from the plan of action that
he had mapped out in the heat of his
anger. But finally Mr.. Gould was re.
1uctantly dissuaded from making the
printed attack by the statement OF
one of his friends that, while the ar.
ticle would probably drive the man
into cbscurity, as Mr.. Gould hoped 1t
would, it also would probably cause
the public to feel great resentment in
the end against the bringer of such
unwelcome news, in which animus
would unquestionably be discerned.
"That was something which Mr..
Gould had not taken into account,
Nor had he thought what the effect of
such an article might be on his f.
nancial schemes. His sole idea was
to help good friend who, he be-
lieved, was facing a most serious dan.
ger. Later on, when his anger had
cooled and he had regained his usual
control of his temper, he admitted
that he probably would have done the
wrong thing had he persisted in hav.
ing the article published; and from
that time on to the day of his death
he was more than ever convinced Of
the great danger there is in doing
anything in the heat of passion"
Copyright. 1909. by E. J. Edwards.)