Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1907-04-04
IN THOSE DAYS AROSE KINGS.

IN THOSE DAYS AROSE KINGS.
Imagine yourself back two years
and a half before Wild Week, back
at the time when the kings of finance
had just completed their apparently
final conquest of the industries of the
country, when they were seating
themselves Upon thrones encircled by
vast armies of capital and brains,
when all the governments of the ma
tion-national, state and ~city-were
PROSTATE under their iron heels.
You may remember that l was a not
lnconspicuous figure then. OF all
their financial agents, l vas the best
known, the most trusted by them, the
most believed in by the people. I
had a magnificent suite of offices in
the building that dominates Wall and
Broad streets. Boston claimed M
also, and Chicago; and in Philadel-
phia, New Orleans, st. Louis, San
Francisco, in the towns and rural dis
tricts tributary to the cities, thou
sands spoke of Blackjack as their
trusted adviser in matters Of finance.
My enemios-and l had them, numer-
GUS and venomous enough to prove
me a man worth while-my enemies
spoke of me as. the biggest bucket
shop gambler in the world"
Gambler I was-like all the other
manipulators of the markets. But
'bucket-shop" I never kept. AS the
kings of finance were the representa-
tives of the great merchants, manu-
facturers and investors, SO was l the
representative of the masses, Of those
who wished their small savings prop
erly invested. The power Of the big
fellows was founded upon wealth and
the brains wealth buys or DULLES or
seduces into its service; my power
was founded upon the hearts and
homes of the people, upon faith in my
frank honesty.
How had built up my power? By
recognizing the possibilities Of pub
licity, the chance which the broad
cast sowing of newspapers and maya
zines put within the reach of the in
dividual man to impress himself upon
the whole country, upon the whole
civilized world. The kings of finance
relied upon the assiduity and dexter
lty of sundry paid agents, operating
through the stealthy, clumsy, old
fashioned channels for the exercise Of
power. / relied only upon myself; !
had to trust to NO fallible, perhaps
traitorous, understrappers; through
the megaphone of the press l spoke
directly to the people.
MY enemies charge that ! always
have been INSCRIPTIONS and dishon-
est, So? Then how have lived and
thrived all these years in the glare
and blare of publicity?
1t is half-past three o'clock on a
May afternoon; a dismal, dreary rain
d. being whirled through the street
BY as nasty a wind as yer blew out
of the east. You are in the private
Office of that kings Of kings Henry
J.. Roebuck, philanthropist, eminent
%churchman, leading citizen and-in
business-as corrupt a creature as
ever used the domino of respectable.
ity. That Office is on the twelfth HOO
Of the Power Trust building-and the
Power Trust is Roebuck, and Roebuch
Is the Power Trust. He is seated al
his desk and, thinking do not see
him. is looking at me with an expires
sion of benevolent and melancholy
pity-the look with which he always
regarded any one whom the Roebucl
God had commanded Roebuck to de
stroy. He and his God were in con
slant communication; his God never
did anything except for his benefit
he never did anything except on thu
direct counsel or command Of his God
Just now his God Is commanding hin
10 destroy me, his confidential agen.
Ia shaping many a vast industrial en-
aar3siso and in inducing the public I,