The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1906-12-29

you half million dollars which you
shall use in the way that will do the
most good. I myself have given away
many millions of dollars. I have en-
dowed a few colleges and I have given
money to build a library in every COM
munity where they have asked for it.
Still, the newspapers say that am a
hard man
And T. spoke up the other
strange visitor, have given away
many millions of dollars for education
and yet these same newspapers say
that it is tainted money Now, what
we wish you to do is to take this mill
| lion dollars-here it is and do with
it that thing which you decide will ac-
complish the greatest good. Without
saying another word, the two strange
visitors left my room and closed the
door, leaving the million in two-thou-
sand dollar bills upon my table.
This is a strange situation for q
poor hustler like me to be in,' I
thought, "but here the money is left
with me. What shall do with it?
can't build any libraries or endoW any
niversities-that's a cinch-because
my two strange visitors have tried
this and are still roasted by the
newspapers. I don't exactly believe it
would be right to them or fair to the
people to whom / gave it if I stood
down on the street corner and hand
ed out hundred or thousand to
| everyone who came along until It was
| all gone. I'll start big hat factory
said I, and I'm going to start it on this
basis.
Instead of building a factory In a
| smoky city on a dusty, murky street,
| I'll go out to a suburban town and
build it where / can have grass and
trees around 1t. I shall keep it clean
and hang beautiful pictures on the
walls that will inspire my workmen. !
shall build hospital and library and
a clubhouse, and homes for my work
men. l shall see, too, that my workers
are made happy by having something
uplifting to do during their hours ofIeis-
ure. do not see why some of them may
not be students and others teachers.
do not see why they should not organize
an orchestra and choral society, or
the young women study music and
learn to paint, and do other pleasant
things during the hours that they
might otherwise waste. And dreamed
that all this could be done very easily.
!" It seems to me- I thought, that
1 would not be giving my workers
their full and just dues when I did
nothing more than pay them sheir
weekly wages. | will. I resolved pay
myself a reasonable interest, four per
cent, upon my million dollars Then
will take the rest of the earnings and
divide it. | will take half because my
capital is worth something capital be-
ing accumulated labor-and the other
half will distribute among those who
worked for me in proportion to what
each one has earned
His Vision Realized.
My dream did not end here, for Just
before l awoke. with the sun shining
ii my face, l saw a little colony that Il
had built after / had been running nay
factory for ten years. My bushes, AID
grown SO great that I had built addi-
tlon after addition to my plant. My
workers all had good, comfortable
homes; they dressed well; were con-
tented, intelligent, progressive and
some Of them We're accomplished. The
children skipping ropes in our little
park were clean and happy. A few Of
the very old men, who had grown too
old to work sat on benches looking at
the little ones and speaking with graf
itude Of the pensions that made them
comfortable. Ivy vines grew over the
trick walls of my factory and big sleek
forses pulled heavy loads Of cases to-
ward the freight houses
While this one man had told HIS
dream all those who sat around the
table looked straight at MIN, listening
intently. For a moment after he had
quit speaking, all were quiet until the
hat manufacturer said to his salesman,
We'll, let us hope that your dream
may come true! It's made Of the right
stuff"
Copyright, 1906, by Joseph B. Bowles)