The Garland globe. [volume] (Garland, Utah) 1906-191?, 1907-10-05

puI Ht was NnCOnNlUCeu. Two
found he intends to abandon the ship
and leave me to go down with it," he
persisted. He believes he can escape
and denounce me- as the arch rascal
who planned the combine. and can
convince people that fooled him
| into it,
Ingenious: but | happened to know
that II was false. Pardon me. Mr.
Langdon," said | with stiff courtesy.
Il repeat, | can do nothing for you
| Good morning" And | went at my
work as II he were already gone.
Had | been .vindictive, | would have
led him out to humiliate himself
more deeply, IL greater depths of
humiliation there are than those to
which he voluntarily descended. But
| wished to spare him; let him see
the uselessness Of his mission. He
looked at me In silence-the look OF
hate that can come only from crea-
ture weak as well as wicked think
1t was all his keen sense Of humor
could do to save him from a melo-
dramatic outbreak. He slipped into
his habitual pose, rose and withdrew
without another word All this fright
and groveling and treachery for plum.
der, the loss Of which would not i'm.
pair his fortune-plunder he had
stolen with many jest and gibe at
his helpless victims Like most OF our
debonair dollars chasers, he was q
good sportsman only when the game
was with him.
That afternoon he threw his Coal
holdings on the market in great
blocks. His treachery took Roebuck
completely by surprise-for Roebuck
believed In this fair-weather gentle
man" foul-weather coward, and neg
lected to allow for that quicksand that
is always under the foundation OF the
man who has inherited, not earned,
his wealth. But for the laundering
credulity of rascals, would honest
men ever get their dues. Roebucks
brokers had bought many thousands
of Langdons shares at the high arti-
fetal price before Roebuck grasped
the situation-that II was not my foh
lowers recklessly gambling TO break
the prices, but Langdon unloading on
his pal" AS soon as he saw, he
abruptly withdrew from the market.
When the Stock Exchange closed, Ma
tional Coal securities were offered at
prices ranging from II for the bonds
to two for the common and three for
the preferred-offered and no takers.
well, you've done It," said Joe,
coming with the news that Thornley,,
OF the Discount and Deposit bank, had
been appointed receiver.
I've made beginning" replied l.
! had decided to concentrate upon
Roebuck, because he was the richest
and most powerful of THE Seven"
For, in my pictures of the three main
phases Of "fnance"--the industrial,
the life insurance and the banking
he, as arch plotter in every kind OF
respectable skulduggery. was neces-
sarily In the foreground. My original
intention was to demolish the Power
Trust or, at least, to compel him to
buy back all of its stock which he had
worked of on the public. had col.
lected many interesting facts about IL,
facts typical of the conditions that
finance" has established In so many
of our industries.
For instance, | was prepared to
show that the actual earnings Of the
Power Trust was two and half times
what its reports to stockholders al.
legged; that the concealed profits were
diverted into the pockets of Roebuck,
his sons, IL other relatives and four
Of The Seven" the lions share go.
ing, OF course, to the lion. Like al
most all the great industrial enter.
prises, too strong for the law and too
remote for the supervision of their
stockholders, 1t gathered in enormous
revenues to disburse them chiefly in
salaries and commissions ana rake
offs on contracts to favorites. | had
proof that In one year 1t had written
or IL millions Of profit and loss, 10
millions Of which had found its way
to Roebucks pocket.
had no choice must turn aside
from Roebuck; must first show tna'
while Textile was, In sense, sound
just at that time, IL had been unsound,
and would be unsound again as soon
as Langdon had gathered in a sufii.
cient number OF lambs to make
battue worth the while of a man deal.
ing In nothing less than seven figures.
| proceeded to do so.
The market yielded slowly. Under
my first days attack Textile preferred
fell six points, Textile common three.
While | was in the midst of debating
my letter for the second days attack,
! suddenly came to full stop. |
found across my way this thought:
Isn't 1t strange that Langdon, after
humbling himself to you, should make
this bold challenge? It's a trap"
No more at present" said l. to my
stenographer, And don't write out
what I've already dictated"
! shut myself in and busted myself
at the telephone, Half an hour after
| set my secret machinery in motion,
a messenger brought me an pnyOlODe