Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1906-10-12
attractive investments OF thar COR, :.

attractive investments OF that sort"
That would have been quite enough
to tip it off, to Wilmot that the time
had come for reaching out from con.
troll OF railway to control of mine He
lost no time; he easily forced one
mining property after another into a
position where its owners were glad
were eager-to sell all or part of the
wreck OF it at fair price" to him
and Roebuck and "our friends" II
was as the result of one of these
moves that the great Manasouale
mines were so hemmed in by ruinous
freight rates, by strike troubles. BY
Hoods from broken machinery and
mysteriously leaky dams, that was
abe TO buy them at a fair price
that is, at less than one-fiftb their
value. But at the time-and for a
long time afterward-I did not know
on my honor did not suspect, what was
the cause, the sole cause, of the
change OF the coal region from a place
OF peaceful industry, content with fair
profits, to an industrial chaos with
ruin impending.
Once the railways and mining com
panies were all on the verge of bank.
ruptcy, Roebuck and his friends"
were ready to buy. here control for
purposes OF speculation, there owner
ship for purposes of permanent in.
vestment. This is what is known as
the recognizing stage The processes
OF high finance are very simple-flrst
buy the comparatively small holdings
necessary to create confusion and dis.
aster; second, create confusion and
disaster, buying up more and more
wreckage; third, reOrganize: fourth.
offer the new stocks and bonds to the
public with mighty blare of trum.
pets which produces boom market:
fifth, unload on the public, pass divi.
dends, issue unfavorable statements.
depress prices, buy back cheap what
you have sold dear. Repeat ad in.
finitum, for the law is for tha
laughter of the strong, and the public
is an eager ass. To keep up the fic.
ton OF responsibility" the inside ring
divides into two parties for its cam.
paigns-one party to break down, the
other to build up. One takes the
profits from destruction and departs.
perhaps to construct elsewhere; the
other takes the profits from construc.
ton and departs, perhaps to destroy
elsewhere. AS their collision is mere
ly tacit, no conscience need twitch.
must add that, at the time of which
| am writing, did not realize the ex.
istence of this conspiracy. knew, Of
course, that many lawless and savage
things were done, that there were ras.
Gals among the high financiers, and
that almost all financiers now and
then did things that were more or less
rascally; but ! did not know, did not
suspect, that high finance was through
and through brigandage, and that the
high financier, by long and unmolested
practice of brigandage, had come to
look on it as legitimate, lawful bust.
ness, and on laws forbidding or ham.
pering it as outrageous, socialistic, an.
archistic, attacks upon the social or.
der!"
Roebuck had given me the impress.
sion that it would be six months, at
least, before what was in those fatu.
Gus days thinking Of as "our" plan for
putting the coal industry on a sound
business basis" would be ready for the
public. So when he sent for me short.
ly after became engaged to Miss Ell.
lerSly. and said: Melville will publish
the plan on the first of next month and
Will open the subscription books on
the third-a Thursday" | was taken
by surprise and was anything but
pleased. His words meant that. il |
wished to make great fortune, now
was the time to buy coal stocks, and
buy heavi,y-for on the very day of
the publication of the plan every coal
stock would surely soar. Buy must;
not to buy was to throw away for.
tune. Yet how could | buy when
was gambling in textile up to my limit
OF safety, If not beyond!
| did not dare confess to Roebuck
what was doing in textile. He was
bitterly opposed to stock gambling,
denouncing 1t as both immoral and
unbusinesslike. No gambling for him!
When his business sagacity and fore
sight 81 informed him a certain stock
was going to be worth a great deal
more than 1t was then quoted at, he
would buy outright In large quaint.
ties; when that same sagacity and
foresight Of the fellow who has him.
self marked the cards warned him
that a stock was about to fall, he sold
outright. But gamble-never! And I
felt that If he should learn that | had
staked large part of my entire for.
tune on a single gambling operation,
ne would straightway cut me Of from