The Virginia enterprise., 1909-02-26

sacrifice both privacy and
Individuality. A few weeks, however,
taught me that my fears were ground.
less. If Clarke employed his wonder
full powers in my case, it was only in
anticipating my wants.
Shortly after the time of which I
speak, we had caller in Henry Boil
ton of the firm of Bolton & Com
pany. Clark was his host and he in
:'icated that we were ready to hear
his story.
WELL" began Bolton, "as you per-
haps know, am the senior member Of
the stock brokerage firm of Bolton &
Co. Possibly you do not know the po-
stion my firm holds in the financial
world, for our work is confidential in
the extreme. To the world at large we
are members of the principal ex-
changes both here and in the east
doing general stock brokerage busi-
ness with branch house in New
York and private telegraph service
AS matter OF fact, though, and I
tell it to you in confidence, which l am
assured by my friend you will not be-
tray, our actual business is organizing
trusts
l will say by way of parenthesis
that the business deals of Bolton &
Co. have since become SO we'll known
to the world through the investiga-
t1ons of the department Of commerce
and labor that I am not violating this
confidence in the course IF this mar
rative.
I'VE are closely affiliated With the
we'll known firm Of P. J. Forsan &
Co. Of New York." continued Mr.. Boil
ton. Most of the combinations of cap.
ital which the house of Forgan has
backed openly have in reality had
their inception in our Office. I may
say, without egotism, that I am the
father of the modern trust idea, for
l had 1t worked out in detail Is years
ago.
Recently our most fortunate VEN
lures have been in cornering the man.
ufacture of minor articles which are,
however. important necessaries in
household economy. There was the
lamp chimney trust, the potato masher
trust, the can-opener and cork-screw
trust, and many others which might
mention, all of which were ideas Of
mine, and were organized in our office.
We have also had hand in practi-
cally all of the better known combina-
lions Of capital within the last half
dozen years.
Il am telling you this, not in boast
full way, but because it is necessary
that you should have a thorough un-
derstandlng of the details of our busi-
ness and because it has an important
bearing, l believe, on what is to
follow.
Naturally we receive large daily
mail from our house in New York,
which, as you doubtless know, is in
charge Of James H. Hazen, my SON.
in-law. The mail invariably includes
daily report of the business done by
the New York house. 1 give this mail
my personal attention.
1T was about six months ago that
l first noticed something peculiar in
IAAo OOPoA Iu0AI u Oul UuS4uSSS. Ou0
day, in going through the New York
mail, observed an error in the SPELL
ing OF some common word in the daily
report. 1t rather grated on me and
took my pen and corrected it. AS 1
turned the sheet over upon the blotter
my eye was attracted by a sentence
lightly written in pencil on the back.
The hand was the merest childish
scrawl and the substance so utter
ly foolish that paid no attention to It.
l thought 1t likely that one of the chill
dren Of the clerk, whose duty it was
to write up the report, had been in
the office scribbling on the blanks.
Here is the report
Mr.. Bolton took document from an
imposing pocketbook and laid it upon
the table. We read upon it the follow
ing sentences:
Il see two black cats on the back.
yard fence"
well, what do you think of it?'
asked Bolton after Clark had studied
the scrawl for few minutes.
Evidently a disguised hand" an
swered Clarke. This new system of
vertical writing is the easiest penman.
ship imaginable under which to hide q
characteristic hand. But go on. This
certainly is not sufficient excuse for
calling In an expert"
Certainly not" answered Bolton.
II should have thought nothing of this
had it not been for the events which
followed. I do not say that I imme.
diately connected these events with
this scrawl, but you will see how !
was led to this inference as I proceed.
AT the time this report reached me
we had just concluded with the house
of Forgan & Co. an arrangement to
buy up all of the broom factories in
the country and organize them into q
trust. The broom, as you know, is an
Insignificant article, but it is found in
every home in America. Our plans
were going nicely. We had every fac.
tory in the country save one. This
one, however, had an output equal to
the combined output of all the others,
and its purchase was absolutely neces.
sary to our plans.
when this daily report came we
were just opening negotiations for its
purchase with every prospect Of sue.