New Britain herald., 1923-05-16
Thought Road Cheap

war il remained for Jay Gould t0 her come the first finaneieE
 Fought Road Cheap
 The Gould family fortune dates from 1 s60, when Jay Gould, a partner 1 in his fathers hardware store in delaware county, New York, bought for la cents on the dollar control ling interest in the Rutland and Washington railroad, a little bank ruPt line running between Troy New York and Rutland, Vt, Young Gould, in addition ta selling hardware, had studied surveying in his spare time, and took an interest in railroad build, ing as a result Of these studies, Two years after purehasing the road, Jay Gould had succeeded in ekr irieating it from financial difficulties whereupan he sold at is0 the interest eFiginally acquired at i0, This was inc first feat of that generalship which, over and over in later life, made him the foremost railroad de- yeloper of his time,
 George Jay Gould, even when quite young. showed an inclination to fol- low in the footsteps of his father. He received a thorough education from private instructors. and subsequently, entered Columbia university but was moi graduated.
 Was Hard Worker
 After n tour Of Europe, he became il clerk in the Western Union office, where he developed such an aptitude for detail that he soon became the assistant of his father. George Gould wns nt his desk ten hours day. and often remained long into the night. learning the business which. when he became Its viee-president few years later. operated more than a million miles Of telegraph wire,
 This apprenticeship prepared him for the responsibility devolving upon hlm when Jay Gould died. Soon after he obtained full charge of his fathers interests. ho called upon !. Pierpont Morgan in regard 10 the purchase of the New York and Northern railway by the Manhattan Elevated road. Something was said which angered Mir. Gould. and hc vowed never to en- ter the Morgan offices again. Friend of Rockefeller Fearing. however, that he had made n powerful enemy. he determined to IneGtraize its effect by an alliance with the financial interests of the world. He called upon John D. Rockefeller, outlined his plans, and asked the oil magnate's advice. There was some thing in young Gould's manner that won the friendship of MT. Rockefeller and a plan for harmonious operation of the Rockefeller and Gould railroad interests was arranged.
 Next. MT. Gould seized upon cir constance which brought him close to Andrew Carnegie, who was engaged in controversy with the Pennsyl- vana railroad at the time. The Iron master offered Gould liberal con- tract in exchange for bringing the Wa bash road into Pittsburgh on it's way to the Atlantic coast, and through these concessions the railroad builder secured another powerful friend.
 Successful Career
 For two decades after the death of his father, George Gould continued to manage the vast properties, and many financiers and railroad men have de- clared that he frequently surpassed his famous mentor in his capacity to weave an indefinite tumble of rail- roads into a definite and complete sys- tenn.
 He was a director of the Denver and Rio Grande railway company the Rio Grande Southern railroad. the Utah Fuel company of the Manhat- tan Railway company. During his ca reer he had been president of the Llt- tie Rock and Fort Smith railway. nresident and chairman of the board of directors of the Missouri Pacific railway: president of the Texas and Pacific railway; president of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and southern railway; president of the 1nternation- al and Great Northern railway; d1rec- tor of the Wabash railroad, and vice nres,dent of the Western Union Tele- graph company.
 Removed as Executor
 Dissatisfaction among other of the heirs of Jay Gould over Georges handling of the estate, however, had been growing for some time, and Tn July, 1919, he was removed as ex- ecutor and trustee by court order.
 MT. Gould's first marriage was in 1886 to Edith Kingdom. who dropped dead while playing golf on the Gould estate at Lakewood, N. J., in Novem- ber 1921. From this union there