268 A SAGA OF THE SEAS 
ping prices of elevated-railway stock. ‘The drop became more 
and more drastic. He flung his fortune into the gap, but it 
proved insufficient. More stock was being sold than he was 
able to buy. He lost out. 
The Manhattan Company had been doing well for several 
years and was a profitable investment. It attracted small cap- 
italists who trusted the management and who believed that 
an even brighter future was ahead. The stock was quoted 
above its par value of a hundred dollars a share. Since the re- 
duction of the fare to five cents in the previous autumn, the 
crowds using its service had increased tremendously. 
Field believed that higher prices for the stock were justi- 
fied and could be brought about. He gained the impression 
that two well-known financiers, Jay Gould and Russell 
Sage, agreed with him and would cooperate in a movement 
to build the price higher, as they were large holders of Man- 
hattan stock. Gould afterward said that he warned Field 
against the venture. At that time, Gould and Sage were two 
of the greatest powers in Wall Street. Field considered them 
his friends and supporters. 
Field had been a large holder of elevated-railway stock 
since he acquired his original holding in New York Elevated 
Railroad at a low price because of the discouraging conditions. 
His constructive work in reorganizing and improving the ele- 
vated lines had greatly increased the value of his investment. 
There had been additional stock issued and other complica- 
tions, including a merger, by which an operating company, 
the Manhattan, had combined the original Third and Ninth 
Avenue lines with the Second and Sixth Avenue lines of an- 
other company. 
Encouraged by what he believed was promise of support 
from Gould and Sage, Field now began adding other thou- 
sands, bought in the open market, to the thousands of shares 
of Manhattan stock that he already owned. The price quoted 
on the Exchange strengthened and began to rise. Apparently 
