Show f ROOM off BLAW BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON I 1 24 Is the sixtieth anniversary of V an event now almost for ff gotten which at the time gs almost shook the nation jal to its foundations for j september 24 1809 has jyl gone down in history as y black friday the day that the gold market in wall street was cornered bringing a financial crisis which was felt through out the country and shaking the conal dence of the american people in some 0 the highest public in ohp land a day of ruin insanity and despair the two outstanding figures in this story are jay gould and col james risk jr gould was a strong char acter even though not an admirable one a lone wolf who Is described as gifted for silent intrigue and never to be satisfied except when deceiving every one as to his anten alons although fish waa no ess ruthless and darlng than gould he was at least a more likable character A recent biography of him under the appropriate title of jubilee jim written by robert H fuller and published by the macmullin company shows him ns a picturesque character a moral jackdaw alth a continual hunger tor the peacock feather of public consideration As n peddler showman civil war profiteer lator manipulator of railway stocks corrupter of judges an elusive wit ness at public investigations where his and antics tickled the pub lie fancy mightily risk s life was a flamboyant melodrama of industrial anarchy personal ostentation and private luxury fisk had been a partner as nearly a partner as any two men could be when one was jay gould with gould in the famous erie railroad manipulations for the undoing of corneous Cor nenus and in come of the political financial schemes of boss tweed ao gould took him into his scheme to corner all the gold in the country two problems faced alie conspirators one was to buy all the gold in sight a comparatively simple matter for there was only about of it in alon the other and the more risky was to keep the united states treas airy which had from sell ing gold while the operation was on and hr hrabina alIna the corner gould s first step was to seek the aid of A K a wall street who had married a slater of president grant when grant stopped in ew lork in june while on the way to the peace jubilee in boston he visited at alie home of bis brother in law where gould called upon ohp president when grant con n his way to ipton it was on one of I 1 iska fall river steamers as the guest 0 gould and risk dur ing the trip gould led the conversa alon to the subjects of gold and crops and sought to convince the president that the government should favor a higher price for gold since it would give the farmers a belter price for their crops thus making better busl ness for the railroads and the country as a whole believing that he had won grant over to his views gould embarked upon his campaign and on september 2 began to buy gold in wall street on that day he bought a million and a halt dollars worth for corban and an other million and a halt for general butterfield and gen horace porter both of whom later repudiated the liase as having been made w without their knowledge within two days gold went up two points and with each point rise corban made soon afterwards gould invited risk into the scheme assuring him that butterfield in charge of the sub treasury in bew lorl and the dent were fixed all right so fasl began to buy heavily immediately gold began to climb and by wednesday september 22 it stood at at this point grant becoming dis by corban s part in the manupu latsons on the exchange sent word through his sister to close out his speculations as quickly as possible gould tried to bribe corban into garding the presidents instructions but corban refused then gould seeing his scheme about to collapse de to double cross his own asso elates lie gave secret orders to his brokers to begin to sell gold fask dept faith with gould and continued to buy hen the market closed on thursday september 23 gold bad reached the high mark of but worse was to come the nest day destined to be known ai black friday the next morning risk entered the gold room and loudly gave orders to albert his broker to buy all the gold available up to next be sent orders to put it up to by noon it was up to and who biad bought CO millions now had in his name for risks account halt of all the gold in the country of what followed fuller writes it seems absurd that the orders given by jim in deaths heaths back room and executed by that jumping jack spey era have paralyzed business as they did from boston to san francisco wall street s bedlam was only a sample thousands of men in every city were reading the astounding figures that came out ot the tape figures that told that they were ruined the fluctuations in the prace ot gold were so rapid that it was im possible to keep up with them no speculator outside the gold room hid a chance to protect himself he five lila order to buy or sell and alter that he was in the hands of blind fortune he might as well have gone as tr have tried to follow what was going on in that densely packed eating ooin where men were thrust i ins their heads into the basin of the little fountain to cool them of the 1 fever that prevented reasoning men who owned stocks and bonds had to throw them overboard tor what they I 1 could get in order to pay their gold j losses demoralization was general every fluctuation of a point in tha c price of gold meant gains and losses j ot millions and that day under tha f pressure of the tremendous forces that f were represented by the bulls and t bears the price wavered like a weather vane in an easterly gale who 1 could tell where these feverish pulsa alons in the price would lead fask was declaring that gold would reach two hundred maybe he was right per i haps the whisperings about a conspiracy among publeo officials with president grant at their head to make fortunes by speculating in gold on the bull sade were true after all only the united states treasury could smash the clique that was boosting gold and the doors of the treasury seemed to be fast locked in the meantime ms had been pouring in from all parts of alie coun try to president grant and the secre tary of the treasury begging them to order a sale of treasury gold to pro vent a crash in the business of the country grant decided to sell five millions and authorized the treasury to announce the sale but the break had already come james brown a scotch banker acting for a group ot merchants and bankers entered aba gold room soon after fask s brokers had bid the price up to and amid the din and confusion shouted that they would take any part of the 5 at that quotation sold at said brown quietly A moment later he sold a second mil lion at then 5 at ago then the market broke ten minutes later word came from the sub treasury of the ordera to sell tour millions of treasure gold it ta believed that brown already knew of resident grants order when be made his first offer but the main fact Is that his action started the break and the announcement no from washington corn the within fifteen minutes the price of gold had fallen 29 points the corner in gold was ended A mob led by brokers demanding a settlement gathered in front of the brokerage house of gould smith and martin howling for gould A similar mob assembled in front of the office of fask and beldin for alste but the two conspirators who had expected some such result as this had fled from wall street when the market broke and sought refuge in the erie offices in fluks grand opera bouse where they were guarded by their band of hired thugs gould Is said to have made eleven out of bis coup despite the tact thit he had betrayed fask the latter forgave him and they con friends As a matter of fact flab lost nothing for with the ald ot boss tweeds corrupt he was successful in his millions la debts when the whole affair was later before the garfield committee it wa found that halt of the business houses on wall street had been ruined and it was not until the report of their committee became public that public suspicion of gants part in the conspiracy was allayed for neither the president nor any of his kin except hla brother in law had i one amit from the shame of black friday |