The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1906-10-25
TIE PRINCETON UNION: THURSDAY, OCTOBER Is, 1906


you that you cannot refuse freight
formally rendered to you for carriage
unless you can show an actual inabil-
ity. In that case you must show that
you are doing your best by all shippers
alike; that you are treating them with
an equal hand. You perfectly we'll
know you are not doing that You
know you have cars in plenty. You
know you are deliberately discriminate
ing against this mine and in favor of
its rival 1 make formal demand on
behalf Of the company I represent for
all cars needed FOR the shipment of
this freight. If they are not forthcom-
ing, as you say they will not be, give
notice that will dump the coal by the
side of your loading side track and
leave it there at your risk. Good
night" And Duncan shut off the tele-
graph instrument and devoted himself
to the preparation of his letter of de-
lmand.
1t should be explained that the young
man was not making bluff''-in the
igurative phrase Of that time and
country-when he telegraphed in this
way to the general freight agent. He
had his facts we'll in hand. AS soon
as Davidson's intimation had come to
him to the effect that the railroad Of
ficials were standing in" with the
proprietors of the Quentin mine he had
telegraphed for Joe Arnold to come to
him by a train that would arrive at
midnight. Joe Arnold was detective
of rare gifts and, incidentally, a re-
porter on a Chicago newspaper. Cap
tain Will Hallam often had occasion to
employ Joe and thus Duncan had come
into acquaintance with the young
mans peculiar abilities for finding out
things.
| To this man, when he came by the
midnight train, Duncan said:
81 must know who are the stock
holders in the Quentin mine, both those
of record and those whose names do
not appear on the stock books. If pos
sible I must know also what each
stakeholder actually paid for his
shares. You must hurry. I must have
this information by noon tomorrow.
You'll need to use money, perhaps.
Here's stake for expenses. Come back
on the noon train tomorrow"
And Joe Arnold came back, bringing
with him quite all the information that
Guilford Duncan wanted and con-
siderably more, for he brought with
him transcripts Of all the correspond
ence that had passed between the rail-
road people and the mine proprietors,
including dispatch which the general
freight agent had sent a little after
midnight that morning to Napoleon
Tandy, saying:
Hallam has got that sharp young fell
low Duncan at work, and, as you are
| aware, he knows his business and his
| rights. I'm afraid he'll make formal
proffer of freight and demand for cars.
| I wish you could come here, but of course
you can't so long as you wish your stock
| holdings in that mine down there. and
| your relations with us to be kept secret.
Please telegraph any instructions you
may wish.
That dispatch, Of course, had been
sent not from the mines, but from the
general freight agents Office in an
other town. But there We're always
men in those days who were deeply
interested to learn what was going on
among the masters of finance, and one
Of these overcurious ones was a GER
| tain telegraph operator. It was his
practice to take off the wires what
ever dispatches there might be passing
between Napier Tandy and the rail-
road people.
Thus it came about that Joe Arnold
brought to Guilford Duncan a mass of
accurate and detailed information
which enabled him to take the high
hand in his telegraphic controversy
with the general freight agent when
that person, late in the evening, called
him up on the wire in answer to his
letter, received the night before. Thus
was Duncan armed cap-a-pie for the
telegraphic controversy. And thus it
came about that during the next six
days there were hundred cars shunt-
ed to Redwood side tracks, where they
were rapidly loaded with the coal out
put Of the Redwood mine.
| GnN Dl CNH1nr,,1,1,n