East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-09-22
CAVE UP FORTUNE To LEAD THE HUNGRY

counsel This office was connected
with the highest people in the coun-
try and in time, l made the acquaint-
ance of the most aristocratic set in
Scotland. | became a typical society
man, and moved in the atmosphere of
royalty even, coming in contact with
I the Duke of Fife. Eventually | be-
came the trustee of a very large es-
] tate in connection with the heirs of
4 the dukedom Of Fife, and had the
management Of their vast landed
holdings.
1t vas about this time that, in
E. o-- .lg about Scotland. managing
-io"- estates and buying and spec
4tatms in landed property. that I
came in contact with some Of my
fathers people who belonged to what
would be called the peasant proprie-
tary class. Though these people were
I'm a far humber state of life than
those with whom l moved, | soon
learned that they were worth more
than all the educated society people
and rich people put together. In the
humble homesteads of Caithness. I
found the highest standards Of virtue,
and, besides, the people possessed very
fine ideals of citizenship and human
ity. In the poorest cottages l often
came across photographs and memen-
toes Of famous scientists. explorers,
writer's. artists and people Of that
kind. began to realize the empti-
ness and yapidity Of the sort Of life
/ was leading, and, indeed, Of the life.
that is led generally by the so-called
upper classes
my business during this time in
creased enormously. In Edinburgh,
as a successful lawyer, ! had upward
Of II clerks under my employ; and n
had the sole management Of some of
the most important landed property
in Scotland. Before many years had
passed | had assets to the value of
natural aptitude for land manage
ment and speculation; and most of
the estates / handled succeeded adj
mirably. BY watching the land mar
ket l found that it was possible to buy
land, even in London, at prices at
which people usually place mortgages.
/ got hold Of a lot Of property just
before a great land boom came. You
can imagine what 1t paid me when I
began to realize on II.
Though practising as a lawyer at
this time / always tried TO act as a |
man and by attempting to perform
this dual duty ! lost my respect for
the law and lawyers generally. while |
my admiration for men, as men, in
creased. Naturally, my business deals
brought me In contact with a large |
number Of people who were not men
in any sense Of the term. Especially
in the commercial classes found |
mcanness and unscrupulousness. and
my soul often burned with shame at |
the transactions ! came across. Just
at this time-the physiological mo-
mcnt IT might be called-I came In |
contact with the works Of Tolstoy and |
Henry George and chanced to meet
Prince Peter Kropotkin. BY thinking
over the new problems which these
erea thinkers brought 10 my mind ]
')-mcd a plan for severing my con-
uection with all that class Of society
AMI all It's works in which I had been
engaged
81 decided 10 cut the painter and
devote my life 10 the cause Of the
people. One thing in England i'm
pressed me very deeply and that was
the condition of the people who own
ed no land The whole country 7
found to be in the hands Of very
few people. My business dealingsl