The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1909-08-05


killed themselves--it was not the kind
OF crowd you would want shut up with
you in the dark! ! was shut up with
them. He had some sort of way of
switching OF the lights from the out
side. l never saw n face or heard a
voice. ] would have 10 sit there in
the dark after he thought had read
enough to occupy my mind. II was
unpleasant Perhaps you suppose that
brought me round TO his way OF think
ing?"
The colonel meditated. "I'll tell you
honestly" he said, after pause, II
was of that opinion. or something OF
the kind, until talked your case over
with my aunt"
The old dame is not a fool; what
did she say?"
she said no. he didn't convert you;
but he convinced you how other peo-
pie looked at your methods. You
couldn't get round the fact that a
majority Of your countrymen think
your type OF financier Is worse than
smallpox. and more contagious"
"Oh. she put It that way. did she?
| wish she would write prospectus
for me. Wen. you think she was
nearer right than your"
Il think you do; myself think II
was little OF both. You've got a
heart and a conscience originally.
though they have pretty well tanned
out in the weather; you didn't want
to be sorry for those people, but you
are. They have bothered you a lot;
but Il has bothered you more TO think
that instead OF going down the ages as
a colossal benefactor and empire
builder. you are hung up on the hook
TO see where you're at: and whore
you will be n the people get thor
oughly aroused. You all are building
bigger balloons when II ought TO be
you for the cyclone cellar! But you
are different. You can see ahead.
give you credit for seeing"
Have you ever considered" said
Keatcham. slowly. that in spite OF the
Ubiquitous greed OF the men you are
condemning, In spite OF their oppres-
sion of the people. the prosperity OF
the country Is unparalleled? How do
you explain it?'
Crops" said the colonel; the
crops were too big for you"
You might give us little credit
your aunt does. She was here today;
she is a manufacturer and she com.
nrohopaoa that Tho g,.othnIs 90 h..gt
ness cannot be revolutionized with
out somebody's getting hurt. Yet. on
the whole. the change might be i'm
mensely advantageous. Now. why
in a nutshell. do you condemn u.s."
You're after the opinion OF the av-
erage man. are your"
Il suppose so, the high average"
The colonel crossed his legs and un-
crossed them again; he looked straight
into the others eyes; his own mar
rowed with thought.
I'm tell you. said he. II don't
know much about the Street or high
finance or Industrial development
I'm a plain soldier; I'm not a manu-
facturer and I'm not a Speculation.
understand perfectly that you can't
have great changes without some
bodys getting hurt In the shufIle. 1t
Is beyond me to decide whether the
new industrial arrangements with the
stock jobber on top instead of the
manufacturer will make for better
or for worse-but | know this: Il is
against the fundamental law TO do
evil that good may come. And you
fellows In Wall street, when, TO get
rich quick. you lie about stocks In
order to buy cheap and then lie an
other way to sell dear; when you
make a panic out OF the whole cloth.
as you did in 1908, because, having
made about all you can out OF things
going up. you want 10 make all you
can out Of them going down; when
you play football with great railway
properties and insurance properties,
because you are as willing TO rob the
dead as the living: when you do all
that, and when your imitators, who
haven't so much brains or so much
decency as you. when they buy up leg
islatures and city councils aud their
imitators run the Black Hand business
and hold people up who have money
and are not strong enough, they think,
to hunt them down-why, not being a
philosopher. but Just plain soldier.
call It bad, rotten bad. What's more.
1 can tell you the American people
won't stand for t."
you think they can help them
selves?"
Il know they can. You fellows are
big, but you won't last over night II
the American people get really
aroused. And they are stirring in
their sleep and kicking of the bed
clothes"
yet you ought to belong to the
conservatives"
Il do. That's why the situation is
dangerous. You as an old San Fran.
ciscan ought to remember how con.
sentative was that celebrated Wig.
lance committee. II is when the long
suffering, pusillanimous. conservative
element gets fighting mad that some
thing is doing"
Maybe" muttered Keatcham.
houghtfully. Il believe we can man.