Arizona republican., 1900-11-21
CL ARK'S LITTLE JOKE
But Professor Treadwsll Fails to See
 the Humor in It.

When a man gets lto be a millionaire he stumbles into all sorts of invest merits, speculative and otherwise. Sen ator w. A. Clark of Montana and Ari- zona, that was, and is to be, is no ex- ception to the general rule. He is too busy a man to take the whole world into his confidence in the matter of lhis private affairs, yet some of his deals from time to time are too big to be hidden under a bushel, or even a circus tent, and eventually are made public The latest thing to be heard in these parts is an enterprise for the supplying of the Chinese empire, and perhaps all Asia, wlJh a high class shooting iron.
 Professor George A. Treadwell, who is stopping at the Hotel Adams, is a great friend of Senator Clark and his business associate in several specula- tions. So intimate are their relations, in fact, that in or der to untangle their private affairs it becomes necessary to resOlt to a great deal of strategy and some- times an appeal to the courts. They try their best to unravel things in a friend ly sort of manner and when they find it can't be done they give the lawyers a chance. Some Cne has to support the lawyers anyway. and they are not the men to shirk their share of the duty. Professor Treadwell intimated yester day that he thought he had a dividend due on a joint speculation with MT. Clark, but he couldn't tsll at pr5 sent whether 1t was a million dollars or whether it was too small a matter to mention in his will. However, he was getting worked up into d proper frame of mind to find out one way or an other.
 When pressed for the story he said that in the early nineties he had a friend by the name of H. R. Reed who was connected win the American lega- ton in China. He was an observing man and had not lived in that country long till he realized the necessities of the Chinese army in the matter of fire arms. But few of thcir troops were supplied with guns, and the weapons they did have were old fashioned and ineffective.
 He set himself to the task of per fecting an up-to-date gun and then took the Chinese government into his confidence. They wanted his goods and proposed to start a gun factory and pay him d royalty on the guns manufactured. But MT. Reed knew enough about the Chinese character to think twice before acting. He also knew enough about the Chinese gov crnment to know that no white man I-,,A (1npP session of his invention, there was no way of keeping check on the Mongol output. They could make guns by the thousand and pay him royalty by the hundred. MT. Reed thought there was a million in it, and he thought he knew better way of getting it out. He resolved, therefore, to establish a plant in China, make the guns and sell them to the government.
 But this would require capital, so he returned to New York and meeting MT. Treadwell. he told him he would give him a certain percentage of the profits if he would place him in touch with capital. It was a good proposition, and Mir. Treadwell conducted him to the office of his intimate friend, MT. Clark.
 About the only definite information MT. Treadwell has been able to get hold of since then is the fact that MT. Reed was backed for $2OOO.0OO, and that the gun plant was erected in Chi ma. But he did not bother about it a great deal. He had other irons in the fire. and his mining business kept him pretty busy In 1894. the dogs of war got out of their Asiatic kennel and hair flew to beat the band for several months. The Japs and the Chinamen mixed to a finish. Everybody knows the result, and Japan gained recognl- ton as a world power.
 Shortly after this, Professor Tread well met Senator Clark in New York and it occurred to him that there must have been something doing in the gun trade in China during the preceding two years, so he asked him how things were getting along with himself and his friend Reed, and intimated that there was a little matter of percent age that he had been looking forward to eXpectantly. The senator replied that inasmuch as the Chinamen had been whipped to a standstill, he guessed the blame gun must have been a failure. Since then, whenever Pro- lessor Treadwell has found time hang ing heavily on his hands, he amuses himself by writing to Senator Clark and asking him for an accounting in the matter of the Chinese gun fac- tory. But, as stated in the beginning of the story, Mir. Clark is a busy man and has very little time for small af- fairs.
 But MT. Treadwell says the machin- cry of the law is a wonderful restora- tive for an absent mind, and his next demand will have an official seal on it