The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1906-06-22

pose | am queer as you say But to
me il would seem despicable thing to
take advantage OF the fact that you
need me in these affairs of yours. You
have hidden me be frank. | will be so
When | came to Cairo | sought work
of the hard physical kind at the small
wages that such work commands. You
quickly gave me better work and lar
ger pay than | had expected to earn
for months to come. Little by little
you have advanced me In your regard
until now I seem TO enjoy your con-
fidence When you first brought me
into contact with the big men Of af-
fairs - more or less big i was op-
pressed with an exaggerated sense or
their greatness Presently discovered
that, while you are always deferenttal
toward them, you are distinctly their
superior in intellect and in your grasp
OF affairs. You allow them to think
that they are your masters, while in
fact you never fail to have your way,
and to compel them and the many mil
lions OF other peoples money whose
use they control to your own pur-
poses"
At this point Hallam uttered low
chuckle.
"A little later | discovered another
fact" continued Duncan. 1T slowly
dawned upon my mind that you put
me forward in your conferences with
tions and my initiative more than you
did theirs. Thinking Of that, came
at last to the conclusion that | must.
in fact be superior to these men In
those qualities that originate, execute.
achieve; otherwise. with your genius
for affairs, you would have suppressed
me and listened to them"
Again Hallam chuckled.
"Then another thought occurred to
me- The only reason why they can
execute plans that conceive. while
cannot, is that they have considerable
money of their own and command Of
much greater sums not their own,
while have neither They have the
tools and the materials; ! have neither.
The clumsiest mechanic who has tools
and materials to work with can do
things that the most skillful mechanic
who has neither tools nor materials
cannot do.
81 have decided therefore. to possess
myself Of tools and materials in order
that may make myself a master
workman and do my part In the great
nation building enterprises of the time
and country"
would you mind explaining what
you mean by that?" interrupted Hal
lam.
What is going on here in the west
does not Impress you in the same way
In which ii impresses me-" said Dun
can. You men Of affairs are just now
beginning to do the very greatest work
of nation building that has ever been
done since time began, but you are so
close to your work that you do not
appreciate its colossal proportions. You
have no perspective. In that | have the
advantage of you. May go on ard set
forth the whole of my thoughtY
Eyes; certainly. / want to hear. Go
on"
"Well then, let me explain and illus
trate. A little while ago, in going over
your accounts, | discovered that the
cotton and grain you shipped from
Cairo to New York must be five times
transferred from one car to another.
That entailed enormous and needless
expense in addition to the delay. A
few weeks ago | suggested to a confer
ence of railroad nabobs at your house
that you should organize line OF
through freight cars, which should be
loaded at Cairo, st. Louis, Chicago or
anywhere else in the west and hauled
through to New York, Boston or any
where else in the east without breaking
bulk. The saving Of expense was SO
obvious that you put a hundred thou
sand dollars into the line, and the rail-
road magnates made specially good
terms for the hauling of the car. You
expect and will get dividends from
your investment. The railroad men see
profit for their companies in the oper-
oliOh VI lLC nat 10 lhdl gOu
and they foresee of advantage In my
view that is the very smallest part OF
the matter"
How do you mean"
"Why taking cotton as a basis OF
reckoning, this through line system of
transportation, owned independently
Of the railroads, will make an impor-
tant saving in the cost Of raw mate
terlals to the owners of New England
mills. They will run more splndles
and set more looms a-going than they
would have done without the through
lines cheapening of raw material.
They will pay better wages and reap
larger profits. They will produce more
goods, and they will sell them at
smaller price. The farmer in the west
will pay less for his cotton goods and
get more for his grain because of the
through lines cheapening of transpor
tation. He and his wife and his chill
dren will dress better at less cost than
they otherwise could do Bear In mind
that the lines cars will carry other
things than cotton. The people of the
east will get their breadstuffs and their
hng 90 oh