Page:The Wizard of Wall Street and his Wealth.djvu/186

 *ing" of stock. There were three elevated roads—the Metropolitan (formerly the "Gilbert," named after its originator, Dr. Gilbert), of which S. H. Kneeland was president; the second, the New York, of which Cyrus W. Field was president and of which Samuel J. Tilden was once a heavy stockholder, and the third, the Manhattan, of which Jay Gould and Russell Sage were the owners. The Metropolitan and the New York were bona-fide companies, actually owning railroads and rolling stock, but the Manhattan was a "paper" company, having a nominal charter and an organization, but not one inch of road. Yet these three companies were consolidated on equal terms, and Gould, Sage and Field became the owners. Later the control narrowed down to Gould and Sage.

Sage, Field and Kneeland are remarkable characters in Wall street history, and their names are intimately identified with Gould's—Sage and Field as associates, and Kneeland as an unpurchasable opponent. Russell Sage is one of the richest men of his generation. He came originally from Troy, where he ran a bank, and whose district he represented in Congress, before the war, for one or two terms. Then he entered Wall street. His great distinguishing trait was avarice. He worshipped the mighty dollar. Money-getting was his passion—not for the power and luxury which money can purchase, but for the mere pleasure of acquisition. He lived, it is true, on Fifth avenue, and gave somewhat to charity, but his habits were economical