Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1908-10-02

had recently benefited So Signally by
his decision. Interviewed ly Il report
rr. Judge Rossluore Indignantly denied
Icing Interested in any VA; in the
company. I'll" rupon the same paper
returned To- the attack. stating that the
Judge mast surely he mistaken. as the
records showed sale of stock Ia him
81 the time the company WAS known
ns the Alaskan Mining company
When he read this the judge was over
whclmed. Ii Wns true then, They
had not slandcrcd him 1t was he VIII"
had lied. but how innoccntly how III
n"ccntly,
His daughter Shirley, who was his
greatest friend and comfort. was then
I'm Europe She had gone To the con
tincnt to rest after work ing for months
on novel which she had just pub
Eshod. His wife. entirely without eX-
porienCe In business matters and some
what of an invalid. was helpless to ad-
wise him. But to his Old and tried
friend. ex-Judge Stott. Judge Ross
more explained the facts rs they were.
Stott shook his head. ITS II conspir-
acy." he cried. And John II. Ryder
Is behind It," RosSmore refused to be-
neve that any man could SO deliberate
ly try to encompass another's destruc-
ton, but when more newspaper stories
came out he began to realize that Stott
was right and that his enemies had IN
deed dealt him Il deadly blow. One
newspaper boldly stated that Judge
Rossmore was down on the mining
company's books for $4,000 more
stock than he had paid for, and 1t went
OH to ask II this were payment for the
favorable decision just rendered. Ross
more, helpless. ChIldlike rs he was In
business matters. now fully realized
the seriousness OF his position. My
God. My Cod" lie cried ~ he bowed
his head down on his desk And for IL
whole day he remained closcted in his
library. no one venturng near him.
AS John Ryder sat there sphinxlke
at the head OF the directors table he
reviewed all this in his mind. His own
part In the work wns now done. and
well done, and he had come to this
meeting today TO tell them Of his tri-
umpiI. Cries of ''rhe chair. The
chair. arose on every side. Senator
Roberts leaned over to Ryder AMI
whispered something in his ear.
With an acqIieSccEt gesture John
Ryder tapped the table with his gavel
and rose 10 address his fellow direct
OrS. Instantly the room was silent
again rs the tomb. One might have
heard pin drop. so intense was the
attention. All eyes were fixed ON the
chairman. The uir itself seemed
charged with electricity that needed
but spark to set ii ablaze.
Speaking deliberately and dspas-
sionately. the master dissembler he
gan.
They had all listened carefully, he
said. To what had been stated by pre-
vious speakers. The situation no doubt
was very critical, but they had wealth
cred worse storms. and he had every
reason to hope they would outlive this
storm. 1t was true that pubic opinion
was greatly incensed against the rail
roads and. indeed. against all organ
tied capital and was seeking to injure
them through the courts. For time
this agitation would hurt business and
lessen the dividends. for 1t meant not
| only smaller annual earnings. but that
lot Of money must Ike spent In Wash
ington.
The eyes Of the listeners. who were
hanging on every word. involuntarlly
turned In the direction of Senator Rob
erts. but the latter. Mt that moment
busily engaged in rummaging among
lot OF papers. seemed to have missed
| this significant allusiOn to the roads
expenses In the District Of Columbia
Ryder continued:
In his experience such waves of re-
form were periodical and soon wear
| themselves out, when things go on
| just as they did before Much OF the
| agitation doubtless was strike for
| graft They would have to 20 down I'm
their pockets. he supposed. and then
| these yellow newspapers and these
S'i"" hluruIiltS unit wire UNTklUS
Mt their heels would let them 20. But
In regard to the particular case now Mt
| issue-this Auburndale dccision-there
! had been no way Of preventing 1t. In
| fluence had been used. but to no eff
feet. The thing to do now was to pre-
vent any such disasters In future by
remNvin: the author Of them.
| The directors bent eagerly forward.
Had Ryder really got some plan up his
sleeve. after all? The faces around
the table looked brighter, and the d.
rectOrs cleared their throats and set
tied themselves down In their chairs
as audiences do in the thcater when
the drama is reaching its climax.
The board. continued Ryder with Icy
calmness, had perhaps heard and also
seen in the newspapers the stories re-
garding Judge Rossmore and his al
legged connection with the Great North
western company. Perhaps they had
not believed these stories. 1t was only
natural. He had not believed them
himself. But he had taken the trou-
| cAS W AhfuAiC tllc very
! carefully, and he regretted to say that
the stories were true In fact, they
were no longer denied by Judge Ross
more himself.
| The directors look Ell at each other In
amaZement Clasps Of establishment,
incredulity, satisfaction. were heard all
over the room. The rumors We're true,
then? Was 1t possible? Incredible!
Investigation, Ryder went on, had
shown that Judge ROssmore was not
only Interested In the company In
whose favor as judge OF the supreme
court he had rendered an important de-
| cision; but, what was worse, lie had ac-
ccpted from that company valuable
| gift-that Is. $4,000 worth of stock
| for which he had given absolutely
nothing In return unless. as some
! claimed. the weight OF his influence on
| the bench. These facts were very ugly
/ and so unanswerable that Judge Ross
more did not attempt to answer them,
and the important news which he, the
i .,t.. ,t.,,, L..