The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-08-20
The Poor :. EINatcd BondhO1der."
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Upon one the most crowded thorough
| fares CT great and hcarllesS city stood q
man holding out hrs hat to the passers~by.
| lie had evidently seen better days. There
was faded elegance about the de6riS OF
his clothing, and his ruddy nose had lost
| its original brightness. The mute appeal
| OF the empty hat touched the sensibtities
OF the populace. The striker and the
granger. the laboring man and the man
who lives by making speeches to the labor
ing man, all looked at him with those eyes
OF pity that arc so soothing to the empty
stomach. and said sadly rs they passed
on. "Alas poor bIoated bondbolder!" The
heart OF the philanthropst bled for the poor
bondholder; and he said to himself, as is
his habit, Somebody else ought to minis
ter 10 the wants OF yon sorrowing capital
ist. After all, he is our fellow-creature."
RepressinC, therefore, the temporary weak
ness that urged him to drop cent into the
appealing void OF the mute yet eloquent
hat, he approached the bloated bondholder,
and said in those rich tones that are so sat-
isfying to the pangs OF hunger, "Prythee,
friend. tell me thy sad history" Touched
by the kindly voice OF philanthropy, the
| bloatcd bondholder turned upon him the
starlike sorrows Of immortal eyes, and sang
slowly from his place
Sad is my fate. said the hcartbr0ken stranger:
The hlinncr ana beat to the Refuge may flee:
But have no shelter from striker or granger
No Interest nor dividend comes unto me.
Then Subsidng into prose, in broken
voice husky with emotion, he spakc to this
effect: "Sr, have seen better days. was
born Of rich but dishonest parents, and
while yet youth sat at the feet OF capital
and learned all the occult lore OF political
economy. During my giddy youth loved
the rapture OF the chase, and hunted the
wild bull and bear TO their secret lair with
tra-la-a-la through the breezy copses OF
Wall street. But as l older grew, joining
a corsair crew, / learned the wisdom OF in
vestine my capital in legitimate enterprises.
| took stock in rich railroads, magnificent
coal-landS, in ocean steamships, in insu-
rance companies, in air lines, in trust COM
panies, in real estate, in banks-in short, in
every Legitimate way in which capital can
link its dcstinies with labor I invested and
took stock. I took mortgages-trst, second,
and third: ! took preferred stock, bonds,
scrip-all these securities ] now hold. l am
bloated bondholder."
Here emotion choked his voice; his fca-
lures worked convulslyely, and 4 small pei
lucid drop, holding in solution phosphate
OF lime and chloride OF sodium, trickled
down his once ruddy nose. The sympa-
thies Of the phlanthropist were so deeply
stirred that he inadvertently put his hand
in his pocket and caught up cent; but
the touch OF that small metallic disc re-
stored him to practical life. He dropped
the coin back into his pocket, and again
wheeled his car-Aap towards the de-
tectcd capitalist. The latter resumed: 81
have little more to add. Business, as
perhaps You are aware, collapsed from
inflated and fictitious prosperity. Was
that my fault? The great lines Of railway
in which l held interests suffered for lack
OF business and began to collapse. People
lost interest in coal, and coal sank in price.
Real estate sank to half its value. Insurance
companies husted-eXcuse the vulgar ex-
preston. The public yearning for air-lines
subsidized, and bank officers ran away with
the entire proceeds of banks. Were all
these my fault. Wasn't it I that lost most
by them? Yet !, the innocent b. T., was
held up to Scorn and eXecratlon. But this
is not the worst. was made the object OF
the unvenomed hatred Of the granger. l,
had never hurt the granger. He came 10
me and begged me to lend him my money
to build railroads. He gave me his bonds.
1t was through him that became
'bloated,' and it was my money that built
his railroads. Well, sir, as soon as his roads
were built, | was called Shylock, and
made the victim OF his political, judicial,
legislative, and executive revenge. The
more he refused to pay my bonds, the
more he rppudiated, the more he called me
4 Shylock and bloated bondholder. He
passed laws to run my railroad in his inter-
est instead of mine, and then derided the
financial soundness OF the institutions.
Then came the strikes. The grangers
had cut down the freights until the
roads couldn't pay; now the strik-
erS insist that freights shall be
put up SO that they can pay the
hands. The coal hands strike because
they don't get enough. / can't pay more
because the railroad hands say that freightS
must go up, and consumers won't have coal
at present prices. Allthe workingmen want
me to do different things, but as none of my
investments pay can't do any. can only
bear their abuse in silent misery. And so /
came on the street. have seen better days.
And now, sir, can YOU help poor old
bloatcd bondholder. The philanthropiSt
looked at the detected capitalist with moist
cned eyes. He put his hand to his pocket,
buttoned it up, and walked slowly and sad
ly away.
One OF the morning papers alleges that
certain goods recently entered at our Gus
tom-house "were undervalued ut least to