The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-02-27

s~tapper cne size "a We head. -
mo more than you are"
"Or you?"
"Oh, WE'LL" the colonel TESTED, eve
all have a prejudice in favor Of our
own sanity. What I meant was that
Mercer is a bit Of fanatic; his hard
luck has-well, prejudiced him."
Keatcham's cold, firm lips straight
ened> into his peculiar smile. which
was rather of perception than Of
humor. 9t
One might say Of him-Aunt Rebec.
ca Winter did say Of him-that he
saw the incongruous, which makes up
| for humor, but he never enjoyed it;
possibly it was only another factor in
his contempt Of mankind.
Colonel" said Keatcham, do. you
! think Wall street is den of thieves?''
II do" said the colonel promptly.
II should like to take a machine gun
! or two and clean you all OUT
Keatcham did not smile; he blinked
his eyes and nodded. II presume a
good many people share your opinion
+, Of u.s.
Millions" replied the colonel.
Again Keatcham nodded. II thought
so," said he. "Of course you are all
OF: Wall street is as necessary to the
commonwealth as the pores to your
skin; they don't make the poison in
! the system any more than the pores
do; they only let it escape. And sup
pose you think that big financiers who
control the trusts and the railways
and"
"Us," the colonel struck in, "well?"
! "You think we are thieves and liars
and murderers and despots?"
Cali of that" said the colonel placid
ly; "also FOOLS"
"You certainly don't mtnce your
words
you don't want me to. What use
would my opinion be. in a one-thou-
sandth attenuation? You're no homeo-
path; and whatever else you may be,
you're no coward" . ..-5
"Yet, you think surrendered to
Mercer? You think ! did it because
was afraid he would kill me? sup.
pose he would have killed me If
/ hadn't, eh?" t& r.
.He can speak for himself about
that; he seems-well an earnest sort
OF man. But don't think you, gave ii
because you were afraid, If, that Is
what you mean. You are no more
afraid than he was! You wanted to
live, probably; you had big things on
hand. The Midland was only a trump
in the game; you could win the odd
trick with something else; you let the
Midland co."
pretty close. "-Keatcham really
smiled-"but there is a good deaf
more of it. was shut up with the
results Of my-my work. He did it
very cleverly. I had nothing to dis.
tract me. There were the big type
written pages about the foolish peo-
pie who had lost their money, in some
cases really through my course, most
" because they got scared and let go
and were wiped out when, IL they had
had confidence in me and held on,
they would be very much better Oh,
now. But they didn't, and they were
ruined and they starved and took
their boys out of college and mort
gagged their COMPOUNDED homes that
had been in their families ever since
Adam; and the old people died of
broken hearts and the girls went
wrong and some of the idiotic cutters
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. never saw face or heard a
voice. would have to sit there in
the dark after he thought had read
enough to occupy my mind. 1t was
unpleasant. Perhaps you suppose tha'
brought me round to his way Of think
ing?"
The colonel meditated. "I'll tell you
honestly" he said, after a pause, II
was of that opinion, or something of
the kind, until talked your case over
with my aunt"
The old dame Is not . 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 q
majority of >your countrymen think
your type Of financier is worse than
smallpox, and more contagious"
/. "Oh, she put 1t that way, did she?
I wish she would write prospectus
for me. Well, you think she was
nearer right than you?"
Il think you do; I myself think It
was a 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 q lot;
but it has bothered you more to think
that instead of going down the ages as
a colossal benefactor and empire
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