Page:The Wizard of Wall Street and his Wealth.djvu/188

 Mr. Field sought almost equal distinction in connection with the elevated railroads, whose great importance he comprehended, and he made a bid for popularity by insisting on a reduction of the fares from 10 to 5 cents against the wishes of Gould and Sage. Sage first became acquainted with Gould in Troy. Field first became identified with him in 1879, when he (Field) was president of the Wabash railroad, though we have seen him as a guest at the famous banquet given to President Grant on "Jim" Fisk's steamboat in 1869.

Mr. Gould turned his attention to the elevated railroads in this city early in 1881. The Manhattan company was then in control of all the lines as lessee, and to Mr. Gould's keen vision that company presented the appearance of being on the verge of financial disaster. The Manhattan company had issued $13,000,000 of stock—pure water—and had divided the same equally between the Metropolitan and the New York companies. There was much criticism of the action of the Manhattan corporation in issuing so large a quantity of stock which was wholly unrepresented by property. The attorney-general of this state, Hamilton Ward, obtained permission from Judge Donohue, May 18, 1881, to begin a suit for the dissolution of the Manhattan company's charter and the appointment of a receiver. Other suits were begun about the same time to restrain the Manhattan company from paying any dividends on its stock. Of course these suits tended to depress Manhattan stock in the stock market.