The fortune of the Vanderbilt family, at the present writing, is represented by the most extensive and different forms of property. Railroads, street railways, electric lighting systems, mines, industrial plants, express companies, land, and Government, State and municipal bonds—these are some of the forms. From one industrial plant alone—the Pullman Company—the Vanderbilts draw millions in revenue yearly. Formerly they owned their own palace car company, the Wagner, but it was merged with the Pullman. The frauds and extortions of the Pullman Company have been sufficiently dealt with in the particular chapter on Marshall Field. In the far-away Philippine Islands the Vanderbilts are engaged, with other magnates, in the exploitation of both the United States Government and the native population. The Visayan Railroad numbers one of the Vanderbilts among its directors. This railroad has already received a Government subsidy of $500,000, in addition to the free gift of a perpetual franchise, on the ground that "the railroad was necessary to the development of the archipelago."
But the Vanderbilts' principal property consists of the New York Central Railroad system. The Union Pacific Railroad, controlled by the Harriman-Standard Oil interests, now owns $14,000,000 of stock in the New York Central system, and has directors on the governing board. The probabilities are that the voting power of the New York Central, the Lake Shore and other Vanderbilt lines is passing into the hands of the Standard Oil interests, of which Harriman was both a part and an ally. This signifies that it is only a question of a short time when all or most of the railroads of the United States will be directed by one all-powerful and all-embracing trust.
But this does not by any means denote that the Vanderbilts have been stripped of their wealth. However much they may part with their stock, which gives the voting power, it will be found that, like William H. Vanderbilt, they hold a stupendous amount in railroad, and other kinds of, bonds. As the Astors and other rich families were perfectly willing, in 1867, to allow Commodore Vanderbilt to assume the management of the New York Central on the ground that under his bold direction their profits and loot would be greater, so the lackadaisical Vanderbilts of the present generation perhaps likewise looked upon Harriman, who proved his ability to accomplish vast fraudulent stock-watering operations and consolidations, and to oust lesser magnates. The New York Central, at this writing, still remains a Vanderbilt property, not so distinctively so as it was twenty years ago, yet strongly enough under the Vanderbilt domination. According to Moody, this railroad's net annual income in 1907 was $34,000,000. [Footnote: "Moody's Magazine," issue of August, 1908] In alluringly describing its present and prospective advantages and value Moody went on:
"To begin with, it has entry into the heart of New York City, with extensive passenger and freight terminals, all of which are bound to be of steadily increasing worth as the years go by, as New York continues to grow in population and wealth. It has, in addition, a practically 'water grade' line all the way from New York to Chicago, and, therefore, for all time must necessarily have a great advantage over lines like the Erie, the Lackawanna and others with heavy grades, many curves, etc. It has a myriad of small feeders and branches in growing and populous parts of the State of New York, as well as in the sections further to the west. It touches the Great Lakes at various points, operates water transportation for freight to all parts of the lakes; enters Chicago over its own tracks and competes aggressively with the Pennsylvania for all traffic to and from all parts of the Mississippi Valley and the West and Southwest. It is in no danger from disastrous competition in its own chosen territory, therefore, and constantly receives income of vast importance through a network of feeders which penetrate the territory of some of the largest of its rivals."
THE SORT OF ABILITY DISPLAYED.
The particular kind of ability by which one man, followed by his descendants, obtained the controlling ownership of this great railroad system, and of other properties, has been herein adequately set forth. Long has it been the custom to attribute to Commodore Vanderbilt and successive generations of Vanderbilts an almost supernatural "constructive genius," and to explain by that glib phrase their success in getting hold of their colossal wealth. This explanation is clumsy fiction that at once falls to pieces under historical scrutiny. The moment a genuine investigation is begun into the facts, the glamour of superior ability and respectability evaporates, and the Vanderbilt fortune stands out, like all other fortunes, as the product of a continuous chain of frauds.
Just as fifty years ago Commodore Vanderbilt was blackmailing his original millions without molestation by law, so today the Vanderbilts are pursuing methods outside the pale of law. Not all of the facts have been given, by any means; only the most important have been included in these chapters. For one thing, no mention has been made of their repeated violations of a law prohibiting the granting of rebates—a law which was stripped of its imprisonment clause by the railroad magnates, and made punishable by fine only. Time and time again in recent years has the New York Central been proved guilty in the courts of violating even this emasculated law. From the very inception of the Vanderbilt fortune the chronicle is the same, and ever the same—legalized theft by purchase of law, and lawlessness by evasion or defiance of law. With fraud it began, by fraud it has been increased and extended and perpetuated, and by fraud it is held.
CHAPTER IX
THE RISE OF THE GOULD FORTUNE
The greater part of this commanding fortune was originally heaped up, as was that of Commodore Vanderbilt, in about fifteen years, and at approximately the same time. One of the most powerful fortunes in the United States, it now controls, or has exercised a dominant share of the control, over more than 18,000 miles of railway, the total ownership of which is represented by considerably more than a billion dollars in stocks and bonds. The Gould fortune is also either openly or covertly paramount in many telegraph, transatlantic cable, mining, land and industrial corporations.