Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1907-02-06

I've come to suggest. Mr. Roe
buck" said /, that you let my house
-Blackbck and company-announce
the coal reorganization plan. 1t would
| give me a great lift, and Melville and
his bank don't need prestige. My daily
letters to the public on investments
have, as you know. got me a big fol-
| lowing that would help me make the
| fiotation an even bigger success than
it's bound to be, no matter who an
nounces it and invites subscriptions"
As thus proposed that l be in a
jiffy caught UP from the extremely
humble level of reputed bucket-shop
| dealer into the highest heaven of high
| finance, that l be made the official
spokesman of the financial gods. his
| expression was SO ludicrous that 1 al.
most lost my gravity. l suspect, for a
moment he thought l had gone mad.
His manner, when he recovered him.
self sufficiently to speak, was GER
| tainly not unlike what it would have
been had he found himself alone be-
fore dangerous lunatic who was
armed with bomb.
You know how anxious | am to
help you, to further your interests,
| Matthew, said he wheedlingly Il
| know no man who has brighter flu
| ture. But-not SO fast, not so fast,
young man. OF course, you will ap-
| pear as one of the reorganizing COM
mittee-but we could not afford 70
| have the announcement come through
| any less strong and old established
house than the National Industrial
bank
AT least. you can make me joint
announcer with them urged
Perhaps = yes : possibly - Well
see,' said he soothingly There is
plenty of time"
Plenty of time" | assented, as II
quite content. Il only wanted to put
the matter before you And l arose
to go.
Have you heard the news of textile
common" he asked.
Yes" said I carelessly. Then, all
in an instant, a plan took shape in my
mind Il own good deal of the
| stock, and l must say, l don't like
this raise
Why" he inquired
Because I'm sure it's a stock job
bling scheme replied l boldly. Il
know the dividend wasn't earned l
don't like that sort of thing, Mr.. Roe
buck. Not because it's unlawful-the
laws are so clumsy that a practical
man often must disregard them. But
because it is tampering with the repu-
tation and the stability of a great en-
terprise for the sake of few millions
of dishonest profit. I'm surprised at
Langdon"
Il hope you're wrong, Matthew
was Roebucks only comment. He
questioned me no further, and went
away. confident that, when the crash
came in the morning, if comes it must,
there would be no more astonished
man in Wall street than Henry ]. Roe
buck. How he must have laughed; or,
rather, would have laughed, if his sort
of human hyena expressed its emo
tons in the human way.
From him, straight to my lawyers,
Whitehouse & Fisher, in the Mills
| building
Il want you to send for the news
paper reporters at once" said | to
Fisher, "and tell them that in my be-
half you are going to apply for an in
| junction against the textile trust, for
bidding them to take any further
| steps toward that increase of divi-
| dend. Tell them l, as large stock
| holder, and representing a group OF
| large stockholders, purpose to stop
| the paying of unearned dividends
| Fisher knew how closely connected
my house and the textile trust had
been; but he showed, and probably
| felt no establishment. He was too ex-
perienced in the ways of finance and
financiers: 1t was matter of in.
difference to him whether was trying
| to assassinate my friend and ally, or
was feinting at Langdon, to lure the
| public within reach so that we might.
together, fall upon it and make q
| battue.
Not without some regret did thus
arrange to attack my friend in his abb
| sence. IT'LL" l reasoned, his blum.
| der in trusting some leaky person
with his secret is the cause of my
! portland I'll not have to justify my
self to him for trying to save myself
| What effect my injunction would have
| | could not foresee. Certainly 1t could
| not save me from the loss or my for
| tune; but, possibly, it might check the
| upward course of the stock long
enough to enable me to snatch myself
| from ruin, and to cling to firm ground
until the coal deal drew me up to
| safety.
My next call was at the Interstate
Trust company. / found Corey wait
| ing for me in a most uneasy state OF
mind.
rs there any truth in this story
about your was the question ne
pumped at me.
What story?" said I, and a hard
flight had to keep my confusion and
alarm from the surface. For, appar-
l