The Washington herald., 1919-05-20
SUCCESTSCOULD
burr AS TRUSTEE
Litigation, If fPressed, Likely
To Run Three Years,
Holland Says.

Some who were In friendly relations
with Jay Gould and who have also
maintained cordial association with
George Gould. are wondering whether
~ might not be well to advise George
Gould to resign as trustee Of the Gould
estate. They say that although such
action might be regarded as q par
ial admission that the accusations
made by one Of his brothers ana py MS
sister. the Duchess, have some basis
I IN fact. nevertheless IL he were to re-
Iign his trusteeship II would make I'M
possible public exposure Of certain
suspected family scandals relating to
money which are likely to come out
IL the present legal proceedings are
continued.
The action which has been brought
Sy one of his brothers and one OF hs
listers Is likely, IL pressed. to run
Its course In the courts, for three
years at least, and possibly longer.
In that time 1t seems to be inevitable
hat certain family secrets which ars
pased upon the management OF the
state which was left in trust by Jay
5ould. aggregatiing about eighty mil
Ions. will be revealed, possibly to the
distress or humiliation of the famlly'
This litigation has attracted much
more than local attention. This Is
hue to the fact that George could
ias become-in fact. has been Tor a
ong time-prominent among the mon
" great capital and great invest
nents in industries and railroads IN
he United States. So also one OF
lis sisters. who married first one and
hen. after securing divorce. another
'oreign noblernan, has attracted 10
ierself much notice: whereas another
lister. Helen. has gained nationwide
respect and admiration for her vari-
rus philanthropies and for the rev.
ilation of her high ideals OF what
rue American wonanhood should be.
The Gould Estate.
Many have been the surmises and
.uesses respecting the. present-day
ralue of the estate which Jay Gould
eft In trust. Some have estimated
hat George Gould's management OF
he estate has been so successful, that
he property has increased in value
many millions. Others who have been
amiliar with many Of Mr.. Gould 5
transactions that have been upon a
arge scale have found themselves
rendering whether by reason OF
osses the estate has not deprecated,
1t might be easy to prove an ac-
usation that George Gould had not
n all instances been a successful
manager. The Missouri Pacific Rail-
Dad when il passed out of his con-
rol through the brilliant and dras-
ic action taken by one of the lead
nE firms of International Bankers.
epresented. according to the best
hla lnal nvar
he value of the property as that
7as inventoried at the time Of Jay
;ould's death. The action which
aused the loss of his control of
he Missouri Pacific was not taken
ntil after the International Bank
rs had attempted by every con-
iIliatory and compromising method
o bring Mr.. Gould into satisfactory
greement The bankers at last
eIieved that Mr.. Gould was unrea-
onably obstinate and that IT was
Imperative that such action be ia
on as would cause the control OF
he property to pass from him.
George GouId's Methods.
Frequently comments have been
1ade which express wonder that
Ir. Gould should have so managed
he Missouri Pacific property as to
ause his fathers purpose in at
smpting to build up this system to
Q somewhat impaired. He was
aid to be somewhat narrow. II
nder his employ a railroad exc
utive was receiving a salary. say
{ $50, 900 dollars a year and earned
:. nevertheless George Gould. ac-
ording to common understanding.
as willing to let such executive 60
ecause he could engage another
ian at half the salary. But what
e gained in this way the Missouri
acific lost. some say millions. in
eterioration. ineficiency and un-
killful railroad management.
The Pittsburgh Terminal.
Those who are familiar with the
iStory of the Pittsburgh Terminal
Az that through a mistaken judgment
n the part Of George Gould a loss OF
0.O0O.CC0 was entailed. He did have
pportunity to make a bargain with
,rmer Governor Myron Herrick of
hio and Washington F.. Connor. by
,eans of which the Wheeling Rail-
/ oad Company passed into his posses
OF. lie was also a member OF a
Indicate which had undertaken to
uild the Pittsburgh terminal at a
,st of sl5.o0o.oIo. A certain deal or
,ade was in progress which. had Mr.
ould agreed to Il. would have per-
lifted tho syndicate to make a profit
$4,000 on its SIS. .n00. 900 capital.
ut he would not agree to Il. He
ought the Wheeling. retained posses
on Of tho Wabash and made a favor
oIe contract with Andrew Carnegie
herby the Wabash was to receive
ON the Carnegie Company a certain
rye amoust OF tonnage outgoing and
coming. But the Pittsburgh ternI-
nj Is said to have cost $4,000, 900
ore than the original estimate.
The transaction as a whole is spoken
by men who understand this thing
having been financially unfortu-
ate.
Undoubtedly IL the trial which has
Ist begun runs its full course to the
Ighest court there will be abundant
svelations of George Gould's man.
yrement as chief trustee Of the great
state which his father left in trust.
'pparentiy from expressions used by
ounsel. of whom there are already