rty or forty-five per cent premium. He
attributed the excessive and rapid advance of the price of gold to the
persons who had sold short and who, becoming alarmed, attempted to
cover their sales by making purchases, and by bidding against each
other carried the price from about 140 to 160.

The same statement was made by Mr. Fisk as to the cause of the
excessive rise in the price of gold. He said: "It went up to sixty,
for the reason that there were in that market a hundred men short of
gold. There were banking houses which had stood for fifty years, and
who did not know but what they were ruined. They rushed into the
market to cover their shorts. I think it went from forty-five to
sixty without the purchase of more than $600,000 or $700,000 of gold.
It went there in consequence of the frightened bear interests. There
was a feeling that there was no gold in the market and that the
Government would not let any gold go out."

At the time of the gold panic, Gould and Fisk were interested in the
business of railway transportation from the West to the seaboard, and
Mr. Fisk made a statement which sets forth the theory on which he and
Gould professed to act. Fisk said: "The whole movement was based
upon a desire on our part to employ our men and work our power getting
surplus crops moved East and receiving for ourselves that portion of
the transportation properly belonging to our road. That was the
beginning of the movement, and the further operations were based upon
the promise of what Corbin said the Government would do."

From the testimony of Jay Gould and James Fisk, Jr., as it appeared
in the printed report, we are able to comprehend the characteristics
of the two men. Gould was cool and collected from beginning to end,
with no indication in his statements that the events of the 24th of
September had in any particular disturbed him in temper or nerve or
confidence in his ability to meet the exigencies of the situation.
On the other hand, the testimony of Fisk indicated the absence of the
qualities ascribed to Gould, and during his examination he failed to
maintain even ordinary equanimity of temper. He interfered with the
proceedings, and delivered this address to the committee: "I must
state that I must ask you gentlemen to summon witnesses whose names I
shall give you. My men are starving. When the newspapers told you
we were keeping away from this committee, I say to you that there is
no man in this