Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-30

After a discussion which lasted for over
five hours. and the proposal and rejection
of a dozen different schemes. they came
to the conclusion that there was no way
out Of the difficulty, and that they would
have to face it with unblushing eff
frontery.
pirthy as the organizer of the whole
movement, and he on the other hand,
agreed to pose, not as the financier who
had coerced them to his will withathreatS.
but as the earnest and persuasive plealer
who had converted them by the sheer
strength of his reasoning and rhetoric.
The story was trifie thin, but Mr.. Lam
pirthy who was on the best of terms
with all of them. and who had already
made some compensation for their losses
by still further reducing the price of
paper, made proposal which was met
with general approval.
I'VE must all pull together in this" he
said, earnestly. Your interests are mine
first. WE'LL have forgotten that, and
want you to forget it. too. l will tell you
what / am going to do. am going to
make you each a present of five thousand
pounds worth of shares in one or the
other of my companies. And l am. in
addition, going to lodge two hundred and
fifty thousand pounds worth of shares
in each of your names. These latter you
will hold only as nominees but when the
whole affair is made public it will con-
will each appear to hold position which
will place you beyond the reach of criti-
cism.''
This proposal was received with enthu-
siasm and gratitude, and they all parted
on the best of terms.
1t was not long before the exposure be-
came an accomplished fact. The North
ern Bullet, paper of considerable infiu-
ence and large circulation in Yorkshire
and Lancashire, was approached. not by
Mr.. Lampirthy, but, in accordance with
a plan already agreed upon. by MIR. Nal
lard. as representative of a powerful COM
bination of newspaper proprietors and
papermakers.
Now the Northern Bullet. which had
every outward appearance of a prosper
on the verge Of bankruptcy. It's days
were already numbered. and having.
therefore. nothing to lose by expiring a
few weeks before its appointed time, it
resolved to die gloriously. 1t flung the
gauntlet in Mr.. Mallard's face. and the
day after the interview it published an
account Of the whole affair. containing all
the facts and some very strong comments
on the same. And for week afterward
it devoted half of its columns to an at
tempt at exposing the whole business.
But. owing to Mr.. Lampirthys foresight.
it failed to prove anything beyond the
fact that he and large number of news
paper proprietors had combined to change
the tone OF the EnSllSD press.
During hat brief week of glory the cir
culation rose like a thermometer placed
in boiling. water. Thousands of copies
were sold in London: the exposure was
the talk of England. AS all the great
newspapers were silent. the matter did
an exposure requires. But, in spite OF
this. the provincial paper rose to an
eminence which might have made it's for
tune If it had lived. 1t died gloriously.
h. Nor !,
ern Bullet ceased to exist. Thousands of
people asked for it, but there were no
copies to be had. for the simple reason
that there was no paper to print 1t on.
Its contract had expired. Like the bee.
it had left it's sting and died. The last
copy was printed on calico. A few thou
sands of these fetched shilling copy
and were preserved as curiosities.
The exposure at first caused little in
dignetion 1t also caused a good deal of
amusement among the thOughtlesS and
those most easily amused. Then there
came reaction among those who were
capable of sober thought. and who had
any religious or social ideals. 1t was
recognized that Mr.. Lampirthy and his
associates were banded together to do a
good work. and that they were sacrificing
their own interests for the sake of a
cause.
1t was not long before every one real
lied that the work of these newspapers
and the work OF the mad preacher.
Father Francis, were identical. Then it
was seen that they were not only iden-
teal. but that there was close and real
connection between them. The name OF
Father Francis began to occupy promi-
nent position in the news of the day: He
was praised as a stern and pure-minded
Zealot. as a great reformer.
1t was also stated that Mr.. Lampirthy.
the richest man in the world, had been
converted by the eloquence of this hum
BILE preacher: that the millionaire had
given up his home of ease and luxury.
and was now content with the bare ne
cessities of life.
Here was a fact which could not be de-
nied-a striking example of the value of
the new teachers doctrines. If Father
Francis had persuaded the richest man
in the world not only to devote his
wealth and intellect to the furtherance
living which had hitherto been considered
only fit for the laboring classes. there
was surely something of value in this
strange doctrine of simplicity. Mr.. Lam
pirthy was known to be a hard-headed
and clever financier. a man not at all
likely to be moved by the rantings of an
ordinary religious enthusiast. This
Father Francis was undoubtedly genius
and his words were worthy of considera-
ton.
new style of living was not entirely a
tribute to the eloquence or even the
prayers of the preacher. The millionaire
had left the Carlton Hotel and gone to
live in a single room. which he had rented
for three and sixpence a. week, not be-
cause he felt that it was the right and
proper thing for man to do. but be-
cause he saw that it was the only logical
outcome of the position in which he had
placed himself. 1t strengthened his situa-
ton at the time of the exposure; 1t raised
an unassailable bulwark against his ad-
versares. And, besides, 1t was not with
out attractions Of its own. There was.
at any rate, the novelty of fresh ex-
perience.
But Mr.. Lampirthy's work left little
time for any consideration of personal
comfort. and he slept as soundly in his
mean little bedroom as he had ever done
at the Carlton. He was in the whrl OF
a great contest and he had no time to
think of anything else. He possessed a
power which had shaken the whole of
England which had overthrown the
newspaper traditions Of century, which
was going to carry forward a movement
that might revolutionizs the world. Never
before had he felt SO keenly the extraor-
binary power of wealth, or the exulta-
ton of the man who fights with his
money. In the long record of his life
there had been many great victories. but
none like this. In all the others there
and dishonor. In this alone could he
point to clear. honorable purpose. And
though he was neither a good nor a
religious man, this thought gave him
both strength to fight and happiness at
the result of his warfare. He often re-
called the words Father Francis had
spoken at their first interview.
like to think about when be is dying.
Ja realfzed that the preacher had SpOkeD