Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1885-08-14
OF bravo mon dead; of hcarthstones
OvorQrnwn with wpeda?

i
| OF man I'm all tho past proclaim
| He only cared for god-gold and namo;
| For that his name might live,
| He oft has carved IL deop in living,
Quivering human flesh;
| Just as he mar'd tho beauty OF tho hills,
And bard the streams from out their places,
And scar'd tho face of nature
with deep. seams cut in her face
| In his mad search for gold
A very foolish thought IL was-that
of John Parsons-tkat rich company
which had expended moro than one
hundred thousand dollars in erecting
water fumes and sluices for washing
down the hills and gathering gold,
would cease operations just because a
few thousand acres of vineyard and
grain lands would be destroyed, and
the homes of hundred poor mon
made desolate.
And yet John Parsons saw nothing
foolish in the thought. On the contrary
he felt momcntarily certain that when
he should show Mr.. Jobbers how the
stones and earth washed down would
be carried through the sluice into the
gorge, and from there into the creek,
filing up its bed and causing it to seek
new channels; that with. the first great
flood the sand and gravel would be
carried over the whole valley, and set
tling as the water receded, render abso-
lutely valueless thousands and thou
sands of acres of fine agricultural lands
worth more to future generations than
all the gold in the mountains; land now
covered with vineyards and orchards
and the cottages of honest people, who
had made every dollar they possessed
by hard work-surely. he thought,
| thn,r l. t1,;e will
not refuse to cease their work of
destruction and leave the settlers in
peace. Surely, these men who are al
ready rich and can provide their fami-
lies with every luxury, will not deprive
others of their homes in order to pile
up heaps of gold that can add nothing
to their own comfort.
"No, no." he said to himself, 'it is
not possible that they can be so heart
less as that. They have not considered
the damage it will do to the ranchmen
and their families or they would never
have gone on with the work." and he
began to blame himself that he had
not sooner called their attention to the
fact, and so have saved these generous
men who Were to suffer the loss of so
much wealth rather than wrong others,
and to devise means for raising at least
a portion of it among his neighbors,
who would thus have escaped the
threatened destruction.
1t could be arranged, he thought,
and no one suffer very greatly. He
would give five hundred or even a
thousand dollars himself. 1t was only
Just that he should, since he had al
TO 10, ho,
expenditures without calling their at
tention to the damage that would be
done, and doubtless many Others would
do as much. Yes. it could all be ar
ranged easily, and his home would be
saved after all.
All this passed through John Par
sons brain in a moment as he turned
to follow Mr.. Jobbers.
He did not reason it out 1t came as
an inspiration. In an instant the
whole situation, the degree of response
bility of each interested party, and the
requirements of justice, stood out as
clearly as the clouds, when illumined
by the lightnings, stand out against
the blackness of earth and sky at mid.
night.
Yet when he found himself in the
Office of the company, and had been
introduced to the representative of the
New York stockholders, he did not fee
quite so certain that they would see il
in the same light in which he saw it; OIL
that the inspiration which had come tc
him had reached their minds also.
Somehow that look of self-sutliciency
and air of assured prosperity brought
| hanly fhn n1NnIS and u,nIa oil 1o rly
again.
But he would not abandon the idea.
He would point out the wrong about tc
he done, and ask for justice.
And so, slowly and brokenly at first
and then rapidly, and with u native elo.
quence that his ungrammatical words
could not hide. he poured out the story
of his hopes and fears, mingled with ;
bit of his past history; the wrongs ht
had suffered, he and his, and of hi
willingness to give largely to help re
imburse the company for their expendi
lures, if they would stop the supply o.
water and SO remove the danger which
threatened his home.
When he began speaking. Mr.. Job
bers turned towards him with look o
surprise upon his red face that speedily
turned to one of incredulity, and botf
gave place to contempt, and when Johr
Parsons ceased speaking the English
man turned to his partner.
"Well, Hi never" he said, speaking
each word separately and with .empha
sis. "I1if o isn't a-haskin' of us tc
give up our henterprise and let the golC
remain in the ills where it is no use t.
hanybody, just because the earth tha
composes 'em may be washed dowI
upon lis blarsted DIT of ranch"
Mr.. Jobbers' partner smiled. A
least the muscles Of his face drew bacl
from the mouth slightly. He evidently
pitied the ignorance of man wht
could make such n request, and WHIT
now sat with his arm thrown about hi
boy, Johnny having crept to his sid
while he had been speaking.
"You evidently fail to comprehend
the situation, Mr.. Parsons" he said
"What would your ranch be worth
you could not sell its productsp
"Gold," he continued, sis the world
medium of exchange, and gold must b
had in order to carry on business. AL
trade and commerce would cease il tn
ouPpiy VI Soit oltl lOb htCp pdCC VIII
the increased power of the production
. of the people. You yourself could no
, exchange your grapes and other fruit
for wearing apparel-the comforts an
, necessities of life-if it were not for tn
gold which is coined into money
1--WE do not know" he went on
, ''why the gold was placed in such fin
! particles as to require that the hills b
washed down in order to obtain it, bu
! undoubtedly it was for some wise pun
. pose; and in bringing it forth we ar
doing great thing for civilization, an
q for the common people as well as th
rich; SO you see you are acting YER
a seltishly as well as foolishly in suggest
/ ing such thing as stopping work o
! the mines.n
a And to all this John Parsons coul
. answer not word.
Z He felt that his opponents reasonin
!, was fallacious, even blasphemous. Ths
| f.ss. .l,,a a 4. ~