File:"My country, 'tis of thee!" or, The United States of America; past, present and future. A philosophic view of American history and of our present status, to be seen in the Columbian exhibition (1892) (14598164247).jpg

Identifier: mycountrytisofth00john (find matches)
Title: "My country, 'tis of thee!" or, The United States of America; past, present and future. A philosophic view of American history and of our present status, to be seen in the Columbian exhibition
Year: 1892 (1890s)
Authors: Johnson, Willis Fletcher, 1857-1931 Habberton, John, 1842-1921
Subjects:
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. Y. Huber co.
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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he swindles and abuses in railroadmanagement owe their conception to the scan-dalous example of Fisk and Gould in the ErieRailroad. One or two of the little tricks playedby Gould and his partner in that road, will givean idea of the possibilities of profit in dishonestrailway management. When Gould becamepresident and treasurer of the road twenty yearsago, the Brie had a very favorable and long-standing lease of the Chemung and Canan-daigua roads. The rental was exceedingly low,having been made at a time when the leasedlines were in financial trouble. By the termsof the. contract, if the Erie should at any timefail to pay the rental, the lease was to be therebyabrogated. Under the circumstances, the secu-rities of these roads were naturally selling for amere song. Gould, through his agents, quietlybought up these securities for about their weightin waste paper, thus becoming the sole owner ofthe roads. Then, in his capacity as presidentand treasurer of the Erie, he deliberately failed
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RAILROADS. 449 to pay the rental, tlius cutting off tlie road fromits lease and leaving him free to dispose of it ashe pleased. He thereupon sold the roads to theNorthern Central Railroad of Pennsylvania forthree million dollars. Again, the Northern Railroad of New Jerseyhad a stock capital of $159,000 and $300,000of bonds. It had never been able to earn divi-dends on this small amount of stock. It wasleased to the Erie on favorable terms. Here wasanother example of Goulds genius. Four mil-lion dollars in bonds were issued on the prop-erty, and a million dollars of stock, which wasdivided among the conspirators; and then, togive these securities a market value, a new leasewas made to the Erie by which the latter guaran-teed thirty-five per cent, of the roads net earn-ings—enough to pay interest on the enormouscreation of new bonds and four or five per cent,on the stock. One more instance: The National Stock YardCompany was organized by the conspirators.The Erie Company advanced a mi

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