The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-01-03
DEATH OF JAMES
R. KEENE, FOX
OF WALL ST.
Noted Horseman and Financier
Passes Away After Opera
ton, Early Today
Crossed Swords With Jay
Gould, and Only Man
Morgan Feared

New York, Jan. 3.-There was some
real mourning in sporting and hnan-
cial circles, today, when the death OF
James r. Keene. at 2:1o this morn
ing, in a private hospital, following
serious abdominal operation, became
generally known. Out of the market
for over year, and a chronic invalid
for almost two, his operations which
had taken millions from the optinnis-
tic operators who persisted in playing
the market to rise had been almost
forgotten and in some part forgiven.
The name of Keene, once a power TO
threaten, was now one of the trad1-
lions.
AS the ssOId gray fox of Wall street
he had been known for years. Art
less, many called him, and there was
no doubt that he was ruthless in his
methods The very last big operation
with which his name was connected
the Hockin pool-which collapsed
because it was claimed he had @"dou-
BILE crossed his associates and winch
brought ruin to dozens of small IN
vestors in the market west and east
was one of his character1st1c deaIs-
He SKINNED the cream and 1eft the
others to take the skim milk that was
left.
| ton Keene went to London. 1t was
given out that he was sick unto death
but he seemed to recover. An opera
ton was performed and 1t was de-
clared successful. This was in the
fall of 1911 and Keene had been IN
able to take any active interest IN
business since.
Three months ago, Keene returned
to America. He went to the Waldorf
but never left his room Then he
was taken to a private hospital and
yesterday another operation was per
! formed by DR.. James P. Tutt1e and
DR.. st. Clair Smith. 1t was an emer-
gency. last resort operation but it was
FoxhaII Keene. his son and pride,
! the one person who seemed able to
rouse the hnancier from his intense
him when he died His daughter and
other relatives were notified but too
late to reach the bedside.
James R. Keene had two passions
his son, FoxhaH excepted-opera-
tons on the bear side of the stock
market and horse racing At both he
don, Eng. in 1888. Tutored by pri-
vate teachers, Young Keene went to
Trinity college, Dublin, to complete
his education but a day or 50 after
| lieving his field limited the older
Keene recalled his boy and they came
to this country, going west. At Fort
Erie young Keene got job as a host
Ter, sticking to that job only long
enough to outfit himself as a miner.
He passed several years mining,
I neWspaper and and 4ghtI n Going dDnf fo
San Francisco he began Specializing
in mining stocks then as always on
the bear side and soon piled up his
/ Dangerfie1d there and they were mar
ried in 1859. A year later the market
went against him and and he he was soon
crash but within a week had made
a connection with Senator FELTON,
then ~ Just appointed as the treasure +ne
Felton's seat in the San Francisco
mining exchange.
Afterward, Keene declared war on
Jay Gould, then the biggest man on
Wall street. Keene opened his fight
with an attack on Bonanza mine
stock then selling at $500 share
Keene cleared up 100000 person
ally and fortunes for his friends run
ming the price to $25 a share
| During the resultant panic the bank
of California failed and its president
| William G. Ra1ston, killed himself
Keene reorganized the bank and then
street, this time to fight Gould. The
latter soon stripped the young Eng
lishnan, getting everything, even his
famous picture of the horse fair by
Rosa Bonheur. Gould hung it the
wall saying at the same time: There
is Keene's scalp. It looks good, for
he came here to take mine"
But in later years Keene got the
picture back. In 1880 Keene had an
other fortune, $12,00O,00O this time
Then he coupled up with Russell Sage
| anu NoSO gu LIS I q 1u4141O1IS DuL ne
came back again and in 1898 made
an alliance with the Havemeyers and
picked up $6,0oo.OOO in three years
In 1903 he fought Hartman and lost
but only part of his fortune this time
and he soon got most of it back. He
mad the reputation of being the only
man Morgan was afraid of and "the
king of them alp used Keene in his
financial operations to boost prices
This was one of the very few times
that Keene was on the bull side OF
of anything.
His passion outside of the market
was horse racing and he owned some
of the greatest thoroughbreds that
ever looked through a bride. Back
in 1879 he owned Spendthrift and in
later years he had WondersNthe
great Dominion, Ballot, Collin, Super
man-but to name them all would be
To call e of a LIT