Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-11-23
Copyright. 1905 by In Bobbs-MHrIn Coz NJ
ODE Deluge
~ BY DAVID GRAHAM PHILLIPS N
l@S

buck yielded so readily to my demand
as 10 National Coal. The whole trouble
with me was that up to that time
had won all my victories by the plain.
est kind of straightaway hard work.
was imagining myself victor in contests
Of wit against wit, when, in fact, nc
n with any special equipment OF
brains had ever opposed me; all the
really strong men had been helping me
because they found me useful. Toe
easy success-there is the cline to the
wild folly that seems utterly incon-
sistent with the reputation for shrewd-
ness l had, and seemed to have earned.
/ can find a certain small amount of
legitimate excuse for my falling under
Langdon's spell. He had. and has, fas-
cinations, through personal magnetism,
which ii is hardly in human nature to
resist. But for my self-hypnotism in
the case of Roebuck. I find no excuse
whatever for myself.
lie sent for me and told me what
share in National Coal they had de-
cid a to give me for my M~anasquale
mines. "Langdon and Melville" said
he, think me too liberal. far too liber-
al, my boy. But / insisted-in you case
| felt we could afford to be generous
as well as just" All this with an air
that was a combination of the pastor
and the parent.
l can't even offer the excuse of not
having seen hat he was a ~hypocrite. |
felt his hypocrisy at once, and my first
impulse was to jump for my breast
works. But instantly my vanity got
behind me, held me in the OPEN, pushed
me on toward him. If you will notice,
almost all confidence" games rely for
success chiefly upon enlisting a mans
vanity to play the traitor to his judg-
ment. So, instead Of reading his lib
crafty as plain proof of intended
treachery, / read it as plain proof of
own greatness. and Of the fear it
had inspired in old Roebuck. Laugh
with me il you like; but, before you
laugh at me think carefully-those of
you who have ever put yourselves TO
the test on the field of action-think
carefully whether you have never found
hat your head decoration which you
thought a crown was in reality the
peaked and belled cap of the fool.
But my vanity was not done with me.
Led on by it, | proceeded to nave one
Of those ridiculous generous impulses
Il persuaded myself that there must
be some decency in this liberality,
in addition to the prudence which
l lattered myself was the chief
to Boebuck,' I thought. Il have been
misjudging his character" And in
credible though it seems, I said to him
with a good deal of genuine emotion:
II don't know how to thank you, Mr..
Roebuck. And, instead of trying, /
want to apologize to you. | have
thought many hard things against you;
have spoken soTne of them. [ had bet
ter have been attending to my WI
conscience, instead of criticislng
yours"
I had often thought his face about
the nos repuIsive, hypocrisy-glazed
.concourse Of evil passions that ever
a fieud in the flesh. 1t had
to me the fitting result of q
long career which, according to COM
mon report, was stained with murder,
with rapacity and heartless cruelty,
with the most brutal secret sensudlity,
and which had left i'm its wake the
ruins of lives and hearts and fortunes
innuwerable, / had looked on the vast
wealth he had heaped mountain high
rs q monument TO devil daring-other
men had, no doubt dreamed of doing
the Cerocious things he had done, but
their weak, human hearts failed when
it came TO executing such horrible acts,
and they had to be content with small
sr fortunes, with the comparatively
small fruits Of their comparatively
small infamies. He had dared all, he
had won: the most powerful bowed
with quaking knees before him. and
trembled lest they might, by a blunder-
look or word excite his anger and
cause him to snatch their possessions
from them.
Thus / had regarded him. accepting
universal Judgment, believing the
thousand and one stories. But as his
eyes, softened by his hugely generous
act, beamed upon me now, / was
amazed thai / had so misiudged him.
In that face which I hal thought
was, to my hypnotized gaze, the
look of strong, sincere-yes, h~oly-beau- |
~ and power-the look Of an archangel.
Thank you. Blackjack" said he in
q voice that made me feel as if T were
y little boy in the crossroads church,
believing I could almost see the angels
floating above the heads Of the singers
IN the choir behind the preacher.
THANK You. / am not surprised hat
vou have misjudged me. God has given
. great work to do. and those who
His will in this wicked world must
expect m~artyrdom. I should never have
had the courage to do what l have
what He has done through me.
had He not GUIDED my every step. You
are not a religious MANI"
81 try TO do what's square," said
I'd prefer not TO talk about that"
That's right That's right he an
proved earnestly. "A mans religion Is
q matter between himself and his God
| hope Matthey, you will never for
set that, unless you have daily. hourly
communion with Almighty God. Won
will never be able to bear the great
burdens. TO do the great work, fearless
ly, dlsregarding the lies of the wicked.
and, hardest Of all to endure. the hon.
estlT mistaken judgments of honest
men
I'm o into it, said I. And don't
to what lengths of foolish speech !
| should have gone had I not been
by ain office boy in%terrupting
with q care for him.
"Ah, here's Walters now" said he.
Then to the boy: Bring him in when
/ ring"
mo. sit down. Blackjack" he insisted.
You are in with us now, and you may
learn something by seeing how / deal
with the larger problems that face men
In these large undertakings, the prob
lens that have faced me in each new
enterprise / have inaugurated to the
glory Of God"
Naturally, I accepted with enthusi-
asm.
You would not believe what q mood
l had by this time been worked into by
my rampant and raging vanity and
cmotionalism and by his snakeiike
charming. Thank YOU I said. with
energetic warmth tina must have
secretly amused him nightly.
When by reorganization of the iron
industry proved such a great success.