Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1909-08-05

for you! Don't you know that would
help me and steady me? Won't you let
II be for you?" He came close to her
and stood with his arms folded, but she
drew away from him with a despairing
gesture.
"Oh, Wary she cried, wearily, 'you
poor, foolish boy Don't you know that
you must do all things for yourself?'
Yes he returned eagerly. II know
that; | understand perfectly but if you d
only let me feel that you wanted it
II want you to succeed, but you will
never do 1t for any one, if you don't do 1t
for yourself"
He went home by an early train next
morning to receive Saxton's consolation
and to turn again to his law books. Mar
grave, on behalf of the Transcontinental,
had offered to compromise the case of
the poor widow whose clothes lines had
been interfered with but Rarldan reject
ed this tender. He needed something on
whlch to vent his mad spirits and he
gave his thought to devising means of
transferring the widows cause to the
from State to federal courts was, Wary
frequently said, one of the best things
be did.
Porter's vacation was not altogether
wasted. AS he lounged about and phi
losophized to the Bostonians on West
ern business conditions, his restless mind
took hold of a new project. 1t was sug-
gested to him by the inquiries of Bos-
ton banker, who owned a considerable
amount of Carkson Traction bonds and
stock which he was anxious to sell. Por-
ter gave dscouraging account of the
company, whose history he knew thor
oughly. The Traction Company had been
organized in the boom days and its stock
had been inflated in keeping with the
prevailing spirit of the time. 1t was
first equipped with the cable system in
Difference to the Clarkson hills. but later
the company made the Introduction of
the trolley an excuse for a reorganization
of its finances with an even more gen
erous initiation. The panic then descend
ed any wrought a diminution of rev.
enue; the company was unable to make
the repairs which constantly became nee
essary, and the local management fell
into the hands of a series of corrupt di-
rectorateS.
There had been much litigation, and
some of the Eastern bondholders had
threatened a receivership; but the local
stockholders made plausible excuses for
the default of interest when approached
amicably, and when menaced grew in
solent and promised trouble if an attempt
were made to deprive them Of power.
secretary and treasurer under one ad-
ministration had connved to appropriate
large share of the daily cash receipts
and before they left the office they de-
stroyed or concealed the books and rec
ords of the company The effect of this
was to create a mystery as to the dis
tribution of the bonds and the stock.
When Porter came home from his sum-
mer vacation, the newspapers were de-
manding that steps be taken to declare
the Traction franchise forfeit. But the
franchise had been renewed lately and
had twenty years to run. This extension
had been procured by the element in con-
troll, and the foreign bondholders. bding
their time, were glad to avail themselves
of the political skill of the local officers.
Porter had been casually asked by his
cal market for the stock or bonds and
he had answered that there was not; that
the holders of shares in Clarkson kept
what they had because they could no
longer sell to one another and that they
were only waiting for the larger outside
and shareholders to assert
themselves Porter had ridden down to
Boston with his brother banker and when
they parted it was with an understand
ing that the Bostonian was to collect for
Porter the Clarkson Traction securities
that were held by New England banks,
a considerable amount, Porter knew
and he went home with a wellformed
plan of buying the control of the com
pany. Times were improving and he
had faith in Clarkson's future; he did
not believe in it so noisily as Timothy
Margrave did; but he knew the resources
of the tributary country, and he had,
what all successful business men must
have, an alert imagination.
1t was not necessary for Porter to dis
close the fact of his purchases to the
officers of the Traction Company, whom
he knew to be corrupt and vicious: the
transfer of ownership on the company's
books made no difference, as the original
stock books had been destroyed-a fact
which had become public property through
a legal effort to levy on the holdings Of a
in the interest of a creditor.
Moreover, if he could help it, Porter
never told any one about anything he did.
He even had several dummies in whose
names he frequently held securities and
~ ,lr
clerk in the Office of Fenton, Porter's
lawyer.
CHAPTER Y.
Wheaton had not long been an officer