OCR Text |
Show W----S--W---------- I HISTORICAL I I DEPARTMENT. :---0-S--S--S--3---S- PLOT TO KIDNAP GCULD. I 1 Strange Story of an Old Happening by the Author of It. j (Philadelphia North American.) j Jay Gould once narrowly escaped be- ! ing kidnaped. The details have just j come to light, but the essential fact J has been known to an inside Wall i street group for years, though no hint i of it has reached the reading public. An attempt was made to kidnap Mr. Gould and hold him for a ransom of I a value compared with which that demanded de-manded for Miss Ellen Stone seems j insignificant. The plot was developed ! not in Bulgaria. Italy or in the fast- I ntsses of the Rocky mountains, but in j the metropolitan district of Xew York j City. The would-be kidnapers were j I not professional criminals or brigands, ' ' but men of standing in the social and ! I financial world. For sheer audacity ! and desperation the plot has no equal i in romance or history. The facts have come to the surface through the re-j re-j cent publication of a novel having kid-j kid-j naping as its theme. Since Frederick Upham Adams wrote and published "The Kidnaped Million- aires" he has been in receipt of hundreds hun-dreds of letters from all types of writers. wri-ters. Mr. Adams is visiting with friends in Philadelphia, to whom he has shown some of the remarkable letters which he has received since his book was published. Among them are two which give in detail the story of the attempt to kidnap Jay Gould, and while these letters are not signed they give the outlines of a narrative seemingly founded on facts and written by men who participated in or were familiar with the plot described. "In the years spent as a Wall street correspondent," said Mr. Adams, "I heard many rumors of the attempt made to kidnap Mr. Gould, but they possessed so little verisimilitude that they were not worthy of mention or consideration. Since the publication of my book I have received many unsigned un-signed letters from men who are leading lead-ing factors in Wall street. Some of these were congratulatory, while others oth-ers warned me against taking liberties with our all-powerful millionaires. These cautious critics assured me that in case a New York millionaire ever is kidnaped I will be held responsible. ? "Last week," continued Mr. Adams, "I received two letters, both pertaining to the same subject the alleged attempt at-tempt to kidnap Jay Gould. Both were typewritten, on paper which gave no hint of the address of the writers. Both told substantially the same story, differing only in details. There was that difference in style and in the. use cf words and phrase which, to the skilled reader, stamped them as the product of different writers. "One gave the dates of the various alleged events, while the other was silent on this point. One gave the names of two parties who were innocent inno-cent figures in the drama, while the other indicated them by. dashes, but j neither letter gave any clue to the identity of the ten men .who formed ! and stood ready to carry out the plot." . 5 Mr. Adams would not consent to the publication of the letters, saying that they contained certain statements s which might cast suspicion on persons absolutely innocent of any complicity in the plot. One of the writers asserts that seven of the ten conspirators are living, and virtually admits that he is one of them. The other tells the story from the standpoint of a historian, without any Intimation as to how he obtained possession of the facts. Both substantially agree on the following remarkable narrative: After a campaign of manipulation which stirred Wall street to its depth. Jay Gould had succeeded in so securing secur-ing control of a certain stock as to ; become the absolute dictator of terms ' to a powerful opposing interest. Dur- j ing this long and bitter struggle no I quarter was given or expected by the ! contending factions. By a series of moves brilliant and audacious almost to the point of being unscrupulous, the great operator confounded his opponents, op-ponents, and the day was at hand when they muat submit to the terms named by the wizard of Wall street. - y Mr. Gould received scores of anonymous anony-mous letters from small speculators who had been caught in the net set for larger fish. These letters indulged in the usual threats against his life unless he would release his grasp on the market. Though usually impervious impervi-ous to matters of this kind, Mr. Gould called on Inspector Byrnes and turned these letters over to him in the hope thai some of the writers could be identified. iden-tified. Acting on the advice of the femous detective, he employed a body gt.ard and the Wall sfreet magnate and Byrnes had daily conferences. There was one man whose feet were j entangled in the Gould net who wrote no threatening, letters. He was young, handsome, athletic and resourceful. In a fateful moment he entered into a speculative deal, and almost before he knew it ruin was confronting him. His fortune was in the balance. He occupied occu-pied a high position in society. His approaching marriage to a. beautiful gir! was the topic of conversation in the gilded circles. Like others, he realized that it was useless to appeal to Mr. Gould for mercy, and he knew full well that there was nothing in the market situation which promised relief But, unlike others who saw ruin in the impending settlement, he had no thought of tame surrender. The crisis nerved him to an act which for boldness of conception has no parallel in the history of speculation. specu-lation. He broached his plan to a friend, who stood to lose a million. At first he met indignant refusal. But so eloquently did 'he urge his cause and so specious was he in extenuation of the proposed crime that he won the support and cooperation co-operation of his fellow victim. They confided their plot to eight others, and the ten bound themselves to a compact by oath. These ten men were wrorth millions and most of them were prominent in the financial and speculative affairs of the metropolis. They pledged themselves them-selves to kidnap Jay Gould and to hold him until such time as he signed such papers, or delivered such stock as would cancel the contracts which threatened them with ruin. Confident of the success of their plans, they did not hesitate to sell large blocks of stock in anticipation of the panic which certainly would follow the disappearance of the master mind of Wall street. Unconscious of the plotting plot-ting of these wealthy desperadoes and secure in his position, Mr. Gould observed ob-served all their offerings and smiled at the rashness of those who dared challenge chal-lenge his supremacy. ' vj' -V The plot agreed upon was a combination com-bination of the one outlined in Mr. Adams novel and the one employed in "die famous Cronin murder case in Chicago, several years ago. In the Cronin Cro-nin case the crime was committed in the Carlson cottage, which was rented and fitted up for this special purpose. The Gould conspirators leased quarters and furnshed them as club rooms. They contemplated no violence. Their weapon weap-on was the proffered hospitality of club fellows. A swift steam yacht, the property of one of the conspirators, was in the East river and anchored off Fourteenth street. This was the prototype of Hes-tor's Hes-tor's "Shark." in "The Kidnaped Millionaires." Mil-lionaires." Like the "Shark," this yacht was officered by men who would not hesitate to carry out orders. Every move was carefully discussed by the plotters, and the day drew nigh when the crucial step must be taken. . They assured the co-operation of a clerk in Mr. Gould's employ and kept in accurate touch with the dajly movements move-ments and with his future appointments. appoint-ments. They had a dozen expedients with which to induce Mr. Gould's presence pres-ence in the new club rooms, but by accident a means suggested itself which promised absolute safety and success. -i - The ten grimly congratulated themselves them-selves that night over many a basket of wine, and the following day sold more blocks of stock, in anticipation of the approaching denouement. Their plan was perfect. Every possible con- j tingency had been foreseen and pro- vided against so they argued. The following afternoon a letter was delivered at Mr. Gould's office which was signed with the name of one of the leading financiers and statesmen of j New York state. It was, of course, a forgery, but it was a perfect one. The signature was apparently that of Dan- j iel Drew. The letter was an invitation I to spend an evening at a select social j club to which Mr. Drew belonged. It i was a new organization, composed of men most of whom Mr. Gould knew, andhe had promised to be Mr. Drew's guest at the latter's earliest convenience. conven-ience. Mr. Gould had, therefore, been expecting ex-pecting the invitation. He was reading read-ing it in his office, when Inspector ' Byrnes was announced and admitted. All threatening and suspicious letters were daily examined by the detectives, in the hope that some of the writers might be captured. Mr. Gould turned over the usual hatch of anonymous letters, and watched his companion as he read them. He dropped the invitation from Mr. Drew on the table, and stepped "to the door to talk in whispers to a broker bro-ker who was in charge of his interests. Inspector Byrnes picked up the letter and read it. He was just reading the signature when Mr. Gould returned to his desk. Mr. Byrnes handed the letter to Mr. Gould. . "I don't suppose you intended that I should read that letter," said the detective. de-tective. "I guess there's no. harm done," said Mr. Gould, with a smile. "It's only an invitation from Mr. Drew." "Are you. going to accept it?" asked Byrnes. Mr. Gould answered in the affirmative, affirma-tive, and asked if there was any reason rea-son why he should not do so. ft " "There is a good reason," said Inspector In-spector Byrnes. "That letter is not from Mr. Drew. Mr. Drew is not in the cit3 He went to Albany this morning. morn-ing. There is no club house at that address." Tha great financier turned pale. ''What does it mean?" he gasped. "Some of your Wall street friends probably wish to entertain you for an indefinite period," said Byrnes, with a grim smile. "You had better relinquish relin-quish all social pleasures until this deal is over, and keep my men in sight every moment. I will visit this club myself." In less than half an hour the new club rooms were in the possession of the police, but they found the rooms I vacant, and no member knocked for ' admission. The plot had failed, but so I well laid were their plans that the vvord of warning came and circulated I among them almost instantly. They ! made no attempt at flight, and by no sign on either side was the world ac-! ac-! quaintsd with what had been planned ! and failed. If the detectives fathomed the plot they took no action. As a j matter of fact, the social and financial finan-cial standing of the men involved was such that the public would have hesitated hesi-tated to believe them guilty, even though the charges were fortified by the strongest evidence. s i it Mr. Gould had gone to the address given in the forged letter he would have been taken from its rooms and placed on board the yacht. A spot on the southern shore of Cuba had been selected as his destination, and here the financier would have been held for so long a time as suited the wishes of his captors. Every provision had been made for his comfort, and he would have suffered no violence at the hands of his kidnapers. The men who formed the plot believed that it wrould have been impossible to discover their identity, iden-tity, and the fact that the failure of the conspiracy did not reveal the principals prin-cipals gees to prove that they were right. Such is the remarkable story as outlined out-lined in the letters now in Mr. Adams' possession. One of the letters asserts that seven of the ten conspirators are living, but gives no hint of what befell be-fell the young man who formed the conspiracy. |