Gould said that he had at this time passed the point where money-making was an object, and his only idea was in carrying out the system to merely see what could be done by combinations. The lines now spread through Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Arkansas and Indian Territory, Texas, Louisiana and Mexico. There _are central connections at Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago and New Orleans. All the construction of this system of roads was completed in 1882, and represented about ten thousand miles of road. The earnings of the lines when he

took jDossession of them were about seventy thousand dollars a month. The earnings for the month of August, 1883, were five million five hundred thousand dollars. In building up this system, the Southwest has been opened up and the country thrown open to civilization. Mr. Gould stated that he was a director in the Chicago and Northwest, Chicago and Rock Island, Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, New York and New England and several other smaller lines.

Incidental to his railroad interests he has become largely interested in the telegraphic business. This was on account of the intimate connection between the two industries. He was instrumental in starting the American Union to make it a competing line with the Western Union. He found it would be impossible to accomplish this on account of the extent of the latter's connections. He then turned his attention to getting control of Western Union by buying stock when it was low. Finding it a paying investment, he had been constantly increasing his interest. His subsequent history as a .successful business man, and finally as one of the greatest magnates of Wall Street, is well known, but has little to do with the literary annals of Westchester County.