The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-09-09


life to the worlds amazement and
dropped to earth in the darkness, but
none before has treated his contempt
raries to such a complete and truthful
record of his folly.
Ernest Benson, the Jubilee Juggins"
of England, left no memoirs of his sky
rocket career. Neither did Max Le-
baudy the Sugar Bowl of France. Nor
is Harry Thaw, of Pittsburg, who is now
making ducks and brakes of his fathers
millions in Paris. likely to do anything
half so sensible.
Scott McKeown's story OF the pace that
kills is a iaring signpost for young men
with miHions-and young men without.
He tells his story from Los Angeles as
follows: It seems like a dream flashing
with colored lights like those we saw in
New Orleans at the Mardi Gras last
year. In the dream stands a shape with
fellows and girls by the thousand in
circle round him. He is in the centre,
with the calcium lights turned square on
him. That's me. But there is more to
the dream. The lights blazed like fury
for awhile and the bands played and
the fellows cheered.
The girls? Oh! they did just what
girls always do-looked pretty and took
everything that was handed them.
The whole crowd in the dream simply
made the earth whirl a little swifter
while they were in the swim. They were
very fast themselves, you know. Well,
high lights, big crowd, good fellow,
pretty girls, and what goes with it, and
then-curtain.
That's the dream. But it is no dream,
as the fellow said in the play-it's the
real thing The money is all gone and
so the lights are out. We're going home
to the folks to forget it. How did the
million slip? Nobody knows but Provi-
dence, and He won't tell. That is, no
body knows exactly and all about it.
We didn't keep books in our crowd. The
cry was "a fig for tomorrow and ex-
pense be-!" So there is no record
Of how all the elegant gilt vanished.
It began this way. The McKeown
fortune was originally a matter of sew
eral millions. Ny share came to me
when I was twenty-one. I'm going on
for twen4y-three now. Most of my share
was in ready cash, and what wasn't
I soon converted into the coin that buys
the fizzy stuff. 1t was all gilt-edged any,
way and it was all mine. 1t could be
spent That was the trouble. I sup
pose it should have been tied up where
Scott McKaown could simply have drawn
his interest and let it go at that But
that is another story.
In 1898 1 came to California. had
been here before. knew plenty Of fell
lows. Pretty soon I knew a lot more. 1t
wasn't long before had a crowd with me
pretty much all of the time bigger than
the one that used to follow John j..
around.
But the more the merTier. That's what
what Solomon said, didn't he? Well,
they stayed with me: 1 could never lose
one Of them. don't say L wanted to.
Instead Of losing any got to know more
and more men.
They weren't cads, you know nor
CRATER" People are calling them
those names now, and the newspapers
are doing the same thing, because my
money went into their pockets But
what they got from me they got when
my eyes were OPEN. I wasn't swindled.
I paid for the lights and the music
! and the good pretty
girls and all that went to put the
| fiesta together, and I knew that the bills
were to pay. So don't call the men
| "grafters" nor the women. But, of
| course. you won't call the women any
names of any sort
1 never gambled much. A little, of
| course. I don't suppose I lost more than
! $50 eco on the races and at poker. That
sort Of fun never appealed to me very
much If it had I could easily have
dropped another million on that alone.
1 paid the bills for couple of years
| for my friends who travelled with me
up and down the coast and occasionally
East. Who were they? I said before
they were too many to enumerate. There
was Greer and Stackpole. Oh, I can't
repeat even a few of their names.
Why I save one chap $4,000 to start
him in business and make it possible
for him to marry a nice girl. Deuced
nice girl she was too! His name? Par
don me, I'll have to omit that in this
story He was my friend.
Well these people lived with me night
and day for eighteen months or so. We
travelled. paid all the bills. No man
ever paid for anything when I was by
/
and Stackpole were my secretaries for
a while. Maybe they had some sort OF
! accounts. but guess not. AIy lawyers,
or the folks lawyers, say things are
terribly muddled. So I guess nobody
/ kept score.
I remember one day girl suggested
| that trip to Coronado would be the
| proper caper. There were fifteen or
twenty of Us together on that day. We
were in Los Angeles. Things were not
| very lively there, SO everybody agreed
! that Coronado was the thing. We went.
/ The wines were good at the hotel, and
| a lot Of girls were there We had driv-
| irg in the daytime, some talloy-ho par
ties. a sail or two IN San Diego Bay. and
at night dancing and cards and wine.
You can bet Rome howled about that
time We simply owned the hotel.
All that time the train was waiting
| for Us 10 go back To Los Angeles. or TO
any other old place on the map. They
kent steam VI for us FIVE Or six DAYS,
and swelled the bill. Doctor, what
hill that was,
! was never stingy with money. \
friend Of mine could set what he needed.
There is 4 politician In san Francisco
that I guess would be in state prison If
it wasn't for Scott McKeown's money.
This fellow needed about $ISe0 n
make good with. He was that much
short in his accounts lie had been out
with q Iot of Us and was a nice fellow
a darned nice fellow. His friends told
me about him. II he didn't get that
money taat night ne was sone-. Well
he got it. 7 guest
W. 49, Is !. .,.,-,.. IN 7 q A--.-as