Page:The Wizard of Wall Street and his Wealth.djvu/177

 friend was Gen. Eckert, and for him I started another company, the American Union—and we carried it forward until a proposition was made to merge it also into the Western Union. As the stock of the latter went down, I bought a large interest in it, and found that the only way out was to put the two companies together. Gen. Eckert became general manager of the whole system. Meantime, I bought so much of its property and its earning power that I have kept increasing my interest. I thought it better to let my income go into the things that I was in myself, and I have never sold any of my interests, but have devoted my income to increasing them. This is the whole history of it."

This beautiful account of Gould's devotion to a friend, to the extent of starting a telegraph company for him, does not, however, tell the whole story. Gould's policy in regard to the American Union was twofold. It was to establish a competing company so strong that the Western Union would have to absorb it, or else it would absorb the Western Union. The result was that the Western Union did absorb the American Union and Gould absorbed the Western Union! By the aid of his rival company Gould kept hammering at the stock of the Western Union, then controlled by Vanderbilt. By every art known to Wall street speculation he forced the price down as low as he could. He sold the stock "short" in large amounts, and in buying to cover bought enough additional to place him in control. Then he consolidated the two companies and 100,000