Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-08-16
The Argus Daily Short Story
Two Fortunes-By David Walter Church.
Copyrighted. 1911. by Associated Literary Press

, Those in his employ are loaded with
luxuries.
1t seems to be the desire Of all men
to live in palace, for all men who ac-
quire immense fortunes build such
structures to live in. Nevertheless
their abodes are typical Of their ori-
gin. Pedro built his palace, and when
he got 1t finished and furnished it was
wonderful TO behold, especially in the
latter respect. The furniture all came
from abroad. The most costly bed
steads, chairs and cabinets were ship
ped from Paris; rugs came from the
orient, and Pedro, instead of walking
on the wooden fioOr-or. more likely,
the dirt f1oor-to which he had been
accustomed, sank in the soft sub
stances manufactured by Persian
workmen.
But the NEST curious freak Of this
suddenly enriched man was 4 mania
for pianos. His palace was filed with
them. They. too. came from those fac
tories where the most skilled work
men were employed in their building,
and their mechanism was encased in
the most costly woods, often beauti-
fully inlaid. They were in his par
lOrs, in his living rooms, bedrooms
anywhere, everywhere where there
was room for them, and room in Pc
dro's palace was abundant.
Singularly enough but one selfish
motive guides this suddenly enriched
man. The rest are all altruistic. He
Is besieged by persons eager to buy
his mine, or If they cannot do that at
least a part of it. BY selling and
permitting educated business men to
work it the income could be greatly
increased. But no argument, no
amount OF cajoling, could move the
man who had sworn he would not
sell.
Then It was represented to him that
by certain simple business teforms he
might himself make his mine pay
more largely. All the ore taken from
it was carried down the hill on mules.
Why not build a little railroad for the
purpose, which could be operated at
much less expense? But what would
those do who now make their living
by driving the mulesY' asked PEDRO.
The simple business scheme is re-
fused. -Wastefulness continues. The
owners employees draw immense sal
aries, and how much they steal be-
sides does not appear, except in the
opulent manner in which they live.
VIII the mine always stand this
waste, this drain? VIII there not
come a day when the vein win run
out? And then? Well, then the sill
yer king and those who are sucking
his wealth will collapse.
Among them all there IS one who
foresees such a result. Pedro's wife
had drudged as a peon until the mine
was opened. She remembered that
part of her life and had no desire to
return to IT. Why not from this river
OF wealth on which they were floating
turn aside something to support them
In case the fountain should dry upI
And so she did. Instead OF putting
away a few copper coins at a time as
her father-in-law had done with which
to bug his rock, she took 81 600 bills
and hid them For years she stored
away these bills. No one knew that
they were being hidden, no one knew
their hiding place. The waste, the ex-
trayagance, the money sucking By en-
ployees, relations. dependents contin-
ued, but every now and again the for
mer peon woman hid away a thousand
dollar BIN.
True enough, what Sonora Alvarado
foresaw at last came about. The
earth taken out OF the mine became
less rich. Instead OF producing $4,000
q day It produced but few hundred
dollars to the ton. Ali II was worth
must be paid 70 those who carried II