Page:The Wizard of Wall Street and his Wealth.djvu/80

 Vanderbilt had obtained control of the Harlem and Hudson River roads; he now aimed at the ownership of Erie. Space will not permit the telling of the story of this famous contest. It can be found in detail in Mr. Adams' interesting chapter. It is a story of extraordinary stock operations, of millions lost and won; of securities issued by the bushel and with little or no regard for law or equity; of large and intricate litigation; of judges bought, legislators bribed, of directors defying injunctions and fleeing to another state to escape arrest. Vanderbilt, having been defeated in other efforts to get his fingers on the Erie road, resolved, if possible, to buy a controlling interest, and his brokers were set at work on this difficult job. Drew resolved to let Vanderbilt have as much stock as he wanted, but entered into a bargain with Gould and Fisk by which the railroad king should be defeated by issuing and marketing an unlimited number of new securities. So Drew sold and Vanderbilt bought. The latter, having in remembrance Drew's famous convertible stock trick, resorted to the courts to prevent him from issuing any more stock. Injunctions were issued enjoining Drew and all the directors of the road from issuing any stock. Counter-injunctions were obtained by the Drew-Gould party. One judge would issue an order commanding certain things to be done which another judge simultaneously commanded should not be done. Judges in New York, Brooklyn, Albany and Binghamton issued contradictory injunctions. Such a legal pandemonium has never been seen