Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-11

1t, was ludlCTOuSly simple. Alter carroll mad
SO merciessly smashed Swaynes hypothesis
of a defalcation, by appearing in person with
the bonds and other securities, the secretary
had stalked out moodily, and now he was in
The Thinking Machines small reception room
staring goomy at the floor.
"My first diagnosis fits the case" remarked
the di1ninutive scientist: idle curiosity with
complications. You see, Mr.. Swayne, you
business men are too practical, if l may say
You in this instance could not or would
not see beyond the obvious. A little magma
ton would have aided you-imagination
coupled with a knowledge of the rudimentary
rules of logic. Logic doesn't make mistakes
it is certainly infalible as that two and
two make four, not sometimes but all the time.
Briefly l knew from your first statement
of the case that Mr.. Carroll compare
lively poor, despite the fact that he is the
head of this great company. In n1nety-nlne
cases out of hundred every man wants to get
rich. Mr. Carroll had increased the earnings of
his company; but he had not increased his
own, therefore let us credit him with desire
to get rich. If he did not have such desire,
he would not be in the position he now holds.
The moment we allow for this. and also allow
for the fact that the securities were returned
intact, we have the solution of the entire
affair. l am admitting that not only did Mr..
Carroll disappear from his private Office at
the times you specify; but that he was also
gone from that office practically all the time
he kept the door locked.
acquaintance with them to know that money
begets money! it is possible to make or lose
millions in hour. Therefore if Mr.. Carroll
could get all the securities of the company
into his possession for an hour, and cared to
do SO, he could work wonders IN the open
market. This is precisely what he did. By
trick, We'll say, he got them together in
way which could not arouse even your sus-
picions, and used them the market The
inference is that he made money by the use
of for hat hn1Ir tha fact
that he brought them back shows that he did
not lose money, or he would not have had
them. So, that's all of it: Mr.. Carroll used
the firms money to make money for himself.
Technically he has committed crime; but"
q 1t is a crime them" demanded Swayne.
" He was the criminal then, when he accused
me of-of stealing the United States bonds?"
By accusing you of apPropriating or mis-
placing those bonds he did the necessary
thing" replied The Thinking Machine; that
is, distracted your attention and gave him
self, even in Your eyes, the best possible ex-
cuse for getting all the securities together,
without glimmer of light as to his pur-
pose when he got them. Mr.. Carroll is very
remarkable and very able man; he knows
what he wants, and he knows how to get it.
In other words, he is tremendously resource
full
But how-how did he leave that private
office to use the securities, say in market
transaction" Swayne insisted.
Simply enough" was the reply. Il don't
know; but l dare say through a window. 1t
is a simple matter to stand on a window sill
and swing yourself to the sill of the next win
dow, particularly when a has the steady
nerve and strength of this man. If per-
chance the next room was unoccupied, you
see how simple it would have been for Mr..
Carroll to leave his office and remain away
for hours, with the door of his private office
locked behind him. There is really no mystery
about the affair at all. 1t is simply question
of how much the transaction netted Mr.. Car
roll
An hour later the board of directors of the
Carroll -Swayne Mcfarland Company met in
the room adjoining Carrolls private Office.
The call had been issued by Swayne without
consulting President Carroll. The secretary
stated the case pithily, violently even. Car
roll listened to the end
Il am very glad that the directors have
met" he said then as he rose. $ have COM
mitted a crime technically, as Mr.. Swayne
says. By that crime have made little more
than two million dollars. The tremendous
power which the millions of securities of this
company gave me allowed me to turn the
market upside down, to manipulate it at will,
then to withdraw. This com any is old; it's
conservative. If this thing becomes known
outside, it will hurt But this company has
its securities again, intact; l have made a
fortune. If the company chooses to accept
one-half of what l made, to hold the other
half it IS agreeable to me- [ had intended