The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1912-04-05
A WELL SET TRAP
Shared a BIackmaiIer Who Dared
TO Invade Wall Street.
TRIED TO WORK JAY GOULD.


There" he said TO his favorite part
ner, flinging down a letter which had
been addressed to Mrs. Jay Gould. 81
don't mind their writing their scurri-
Gus things to me, but when they begin
to send them TO my wife it's got to be
stopped. What can you dO?'
The partner first read the letter. The
writer promised that he had lost great
deal of money specializing i'm Gould
stocks, especially Missouri Pacific, and
required that he be advised how TO get
back what he had lost and more be-
sides. Unless Mr.. Gould impaired 10
him straight, bona fide money making
information he would destroy Mrs.
Gould. The manner i'm which he de-
sired the information TO be impaired
was this: Every morning an advertise
ment should be inserted i'm the personal
column of Il certain New York news
paper advising him when to buy and
when to sell Missouri Pacific. The ad-
vertisement should be written i'm n code
which he had devised so that he alone
would receive and understand the tip.
81 think ] can catch him." said Mr..
Gould's partner. "Just leave it to me-"
Mr.. Gould was for calling in Inspec-
tor Byrnes at once. but his partner
thought they had better wait until
they had laid mine for the offender.
The partner, who had shrewd un-
Outstanding Of human nature, proceed
ed i'm an unexpected manner. II hap
pened that Mr.. GOuld's firm was very
active i'm Missouri Pacific and CON
troled the stocks fluctuations. On
the next day an advertisement was
inserted, as the blackmailer had re-
quested, informing him agreeably tn
| his code TO buy Missouri Pacific and
to watch for further instructions. Mis-
| souri, Pacific stock went up. a few
| days later another advertisement was
| inserted telling him to sell Missouri
| Pacific. And Missouri Pacific declin-
| ed Again he was told when TO buy
it and again when TO sell it, and when
this had been repeated a number of
| times the partner was ready to spring
the trap. He inserted an advertise
ment which took the blackmailer off
his guard. II read somewhat like this:
Missouri Pacific.-The person who
has been receiving information to his
own profit about the movements Of
this stock has not kept faith with us.
| He has been imparting il TO others.
| For that reason il is discontinued"
| That was not true. There was not
| the slightest reason to believe that the
blaekmailer had impaired his informa-
ton TO others; there had been even
no conclusive evidence of his acting
on it for himself, as he would not be
| likely TO speculate on so large a scale
rs TO be recognized i'm the stock mar
| ket But even in a few hundred shares
at a time n man could make great
deal of money i'm n short time if he
knew beforehand infallibly when the
price would rise and when it would
! fall. Mr.. Goulds partner counted
upon the mans natural impulse when
accused Of having, by his own lack
OF discretion, slain his goose The i'm
| pulse would be to deny that he had
broken faith. The chances were that
1
was To nail him as he mailed the letter
Inspector Byrnes was now called
into the case. The accusing advertise
ment was printed or Sunday morning,
so that if the blackmailer posted a
letter during the day 1t would be all
the easier to catch him. Inspector
! Byrnes stationed a man at every mail
box i'm the postal district from which
the original letter of threat had been
| posted TO Mrs. Gould. Every man who
posted letter anywhere i'm that dis
tlict that Sunday was under suspicion
| Before he was out of sight a detec-
tive, under pretense of posting one Of
pass key and had inspected the letter
last deposited.
And Just before dark letter adj
dressed to Jay Gould was posted by a
well dressed young man, who ten min
utes later was i'm the Office Of Inspector
Byrnes protesting Indignantly and de
claring his family connections. He did
not know on what evidence he had
been taken. Mr.. Gould's partner was
summoned. and he opened the letter,
which was exactly the one expected.
The writer warmly and truthfully de
MED that he had impaired the Missouri
Pacific information to any one and said
that therefore he should expect to con-
tinue receiving i ms before.
But the blackmailcr was no more sur.
prised when confronted by the letter
than Mr. Gould's partner was when he
saw the blackmailer. for II turned out
that he was socially well connected.
lie was. in fact, the son of man for
whom one member OF the Gould firm
entertained feelings OF friendship. He
had done badly with everything and
had at last resorted To blackmail. His
threat to do violence TO Mrs. Gould
was empty. though there was no know
ing beforehand that such was the case.
Mr.. Gould was not easily Modified. He
thought an example should be made OF
one Of the few threatening letter writ
ers Wall street had over caught red
handed. The pleading Of the young
mans family at length prevailed, and
he was lei off.-New York Post.