THE LEADERS OF THE NEW YORK "GOLD RING."

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 619, 6 January 1870, Page 3

THE LEADERS OF THE NEW YORK "GOLD RING."

" The New York correspondent of the London Daily News, writing to that journal on the recent gold panic in New York, gives the following account of the leaders of the "gold ring" : —Although the name of Fisk is a household word here, and carries terror and dismay into the heart of every holder of Erie Railway stock, yet, as his fame is hardly European, it may interest some of your readers to know who he is, and who he was. Mr James Fisk first appeared before the public as a circus rider. Although he gained a considerable reputation for jumping through fiery hoops, and balancing himself upon the backs of horses, he had a soul above such, vulgar triumphs, and left the arena in order to engage in commercial pursuits. For several years he travelled through New England with a pedlar's pack, and traded •in wooden nutmegs and other Yankee notions. He felt that he was born for better things, and exchanged his pack for a stool in the office of Mr Drew, who then shared the railway throne with Commodore Vanderbilt. His shrewdness soon attracted the attention of his principal, and, having acquired a little money, he gave up his clerkship, and, with the aid of Mr Drew, became an " operator" in Wall street. As he was intelligent and perfectly unscrupulous, he was employed by many persons to do their dirty work, and to bear the abuse which followed detection. In the course of his business, he made the acquaintance of a certain Jay Gould, a third-rate stockbroker, and of a pettifoper named Lane. These three worthies, like the two centurions of Tacitus, who determined to revolutionise the Roman Empire, determined

to make themselves absolute possessors of the Erie Railroad ; and, like the centurions, they succeeded. The wonderful manoeuvres by which three obscure individuals became masters of a wealthy railroad company are too well known. At present, Mr Fisk, Mr Gould, and Mr Lane form an executive committee, who manipulate all the finances of tho Erie Company, and who own besides a fleet of steamers. They keep a judge in their pay to interpret the law in their favor, and they are able to carry any new law which they may require through the State Legislature at Albany. Although the earnings of the Erio Railroad must be largely in excess of the expenditure, they pay to their shareholders no dividends. All the money that comes into the exchequer is devoted, to corrupting officials and judges, and making purchases for the company, by which they, enrich themselves. The directors of several English lines of railroad do not enjoy the absolute confidence of their shareholders ; but what would be said if the chairman of an English railroad were to buy Coveut Garden Theatre, sell it for double the amount which he paid for it to the company, transact business in the greenroom, and carry on an opera with the proceeds of the railroad ? Yet this is what has been done by Mr Fisk. The offices of the Erie Railroad are in that excellent freehold which he sold to the company, the "Grand Opera House;" and the money of the Erie shareholders goes to keep up a theatrical company. Englishmen who have invested their money in the line will be glad to hear that their enterprising president recently produced Sardou's comedy of " Patrie" in a very creditable manner, and that at the present moment their money is employed in reviving the legitimate drama by the representation of one of Shakespeare's play. There is a species of Royal bos, in which on most evenings Mr Fisk is to be seen dealing out hospitality from a well-furnished buffet to his friends and admirers. As I am fond of making the acquaintance of celebrities in their homes, I was introduced to Mr Fisk the other day in his box, and partook of a glass of excellent champagne, f;>r which, and for the play, which was well acted, I beg to tender my thanks to the proprietors of Erie stock.