FLEXIBILITY
Cornelius Vanderbilt, who controlled the New York Central, regarded Jay Gould, who headed the lesser Erie Railroad, as an upstart. At one time, he made an attempt to force Gould out of the railroad business. This was during the period when cattle from the West were shipped to Buffalo, then re-shipped over one of these two lines to New York city. The prevailing rate for a carload was $100. Vanderbilt cut the price to $75. As anticipated, Gould reduced it to $50. Vanderbilt went to $25. Gould made it $10. Determined to prevail, Vanderbilt slashed the price to $1 a carload. That was enough for Gould. He refused to meet this last price, and the business went to the New York Central. Although it had been expensive, Vanderbilt felt that it had been worth it to bring Gould to his knees. But his triumph was short-lived. After a few weeks had passed, he learned that Gould had bought all the cattle coming into…
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