The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1909-07-29
"A New Trust
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His daughter the beautiful BILLY"
Ames, had accepted the count, his
wife, Mrs. Jack" Ames, had approved
OF her daughters acceptance OF the
count while, John J. Ames, president
of three trusts and q director of four
others, had given in to the urgings OF
his wife and daughter and admitted
Sat count for son-in-law would
OF be so bad after all.
But at the time OF his going in to
! . wife and daughter, John J. Ames
Lad had no definite idea Of the dollar
= ue of a count. None of his trusts
dealt in counts, dukes; lords, or nobil-
1y at ALL but only in the products OF
good American sol and water-pure.
ly commercial commodities like pig
iron and canned salmon. Nobility was
something about which he had read
little and knew nothing definitely.
81 reckon a million in pig-iron stock
and a couple O. thousand year ought
to make the count feel his oats" was
the way that John j. Ames had sized
up the situation at it's beginning, but
now he was a much better informed
lAs44 anu llAC li4AOA AA4,ANlOb hoh az
quired OF experience had made him
rather angry.
For after the beautiful BILLY" Ames
had accepted the count, the latter had
come to John J. Ames and informed
that proud parent Of his proposed al.
lance with the Ames family-an alli-
ance to be consummated as soon as
10 80 ho
match and had arranged the financial
det2.!s ct TO desired alliance.
John j. Ames shook the hand of his
prospective son-in-law. Very we'll,
counJ, I'll step around and have a
talk with your lawyers" Whereupon
Ames called upon the counts lawyers
to so over with them the financial bud
get of the alliance.
Then it was that John J. Ames, in
his own opinion, had cause enough to
get angry. A million dollars in pig
iron stock and 100000 a year would
never do, so the lawyers informed
him. The counts blood was much too
blue for that trifing sum.
Ames angrily quit the lawyers, vow.
ing If the count wanted his daughter
"Billy" he, John j. Ames, would give
the pair his blessing, a million in
pig-iron stock and 100000 a year,
but he'd be blessed-or something
stronger-if he would pay off a $1,000
600 mortgage on the count.
So John ]. Ames returned to his
lie and daughter and informed them
:. he had put down his foot on the
INT proposition and would keep it
JWn so hard that no pansies would
or blossom there.
IT this BILLY" dried her young,
Ire romantic eyes, wondering II dear
old Tom. back in New York, was still
the same loving. eligible bachelor that
he had been on certain memorable
eve, while Mrs. Jack" Ames straight
way set silken trap to snare for a
soI-in-law one of the nobility whose
price did not come too high for her
husbands o. X.
She succeeded very quickly In her
purpose, or rather the beauty and re-
ported wealth of Billy" like a gold
en- shaft, soon brought down a duke,
towering like falcon in his pride of
place.; and few days later John J.
Ames was referred by the duke to the
latter's lawyers, who would arrange
the financial end of the proposed al
lance of the duke with the beautiful
BILLY"
They were the same lawyers to
whom Ames had been referred by the
count consequently it was with some
Ill grace that the millionaire called
around to see these legal gentlemen.
He found them doing business at
the same Paris address, but found two
other Americans ahead Of him, wait.
ing to interview the lawyers.
John ]. Ames personally knew both
OF these Americans, and knew each
to have a beautiful eligible daughter,
at which Ames decided in his blunt
way that they too had been referred
to the lawyers by certain prospective
sons-in-law.
He questioned them on the point
and found that such was the fact.
This was enough light on the subject
for John ]. Ames to see greater dis
tance than beyond his nose, and when
he was shown into the presence Of the
dukes lawyers he bluntly charged
them with being a syndicate that had
cornered the market of eligible blue
blood and was forcing up the price OF
noble sons-in-law on American mil.
lionaire fathers.
The lawyers assured him that such
was practically the truth. They rep
resented the Rex Title-Trust of Eu.
rope and Asia. and the dominions be-
yond the seas. with branches from
London to Bagdad, and while there
were other trusts engaged in a similar
business. they were not worth serious
consideration, controlling. as they did.
merely few minor German barons
and French and Spanish mobiles Of a
pretending line, and one epileptic
king.
"A trust OF titled husbands for
American girls-selling lords and