The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1911-05-24
CHAPTER XVIII Continued.

work in any city il this country.
Wherever he lands he's sure OF COM
Portable living.
I was told that out West some men
were making as high as SO day.
! had also qualified in a more modest
way as a mechanical craftsman: L
could draw my own plans Tor WORK from
the plans of others.
BY now / had also become a fairly
proficient Italian scholar. i could speak
the language tiuently and read 1t fairly
we'll 1t wasn't the fault of Giuseppe II
my pronunciation was sometimes queer
and if very often l used the jargon OF
the provinces.
My object was served as long as
could make myself understood to the
men. And i could do that perfectly.
This year / watched Rafferty's prog
ress with something like envy. The
firm was ID. Rafferty, & Co." Within
two months l began to see the name on
work.
Within six months he secured a big
contract for repaVtng long stretch OF
street in our ward. l knew our firm
had put in bid on it and knew they
must have been in a position to put in
a mighty low bid.
/ didn't wonder so much about how
Dan got this away from us as / did
how he got ii away from Sweeney.
That was explained to me later when
/ found that Sweeney was in reality
back oe the liquor dealers and had
taken this method to bring Dan back
to the fold, once he found he couldn't
check his progress.
During this year Dan bought a new
house and married. We went to the
Wedding and II was a grand affair with
half the ward there. Mrs. Rafferty, was
a nice looking girl, daughter of a we'll
TODD 1r1shman In the real estate bust
ness.
She had received a good education in
O1fnTnfhnr q irI no
could be proud of. The house was an
old-fashioned structure built by one of
the old families who had been forced to
move by the foreign invasion. Mrs.
Rafferty, had furnished it somewhat
lavfshly but comfortably.
As Ruth and 1 came back that night
said:
myself by now
81 guess it's better as it is, Billy"
she said, with a smile.
OF course. it was better, but
my preset position. felt.
uncomfortable at still being merely a
foreman.
When we reached the house Ruth and
] took the bank book and figured out
Just what our capital in money was.
Including the boys savings, which we
could use in an emergency, it amounted
TO $500. During the first year we
we came down here with, made 5000
During the second year we saved 1890.
During the third year we saved $500.
This made total of s1,19O in the bank.
The boy had saved more than $500 over
his clothes in the last two years.
It was Rafferty, who helped me turn
this over in real estate deal in which
he was interested: l made 5000 by that.
Everything Rafferty, touched now
seemed to turn to money.
One reason was that he was thrown in
contact with money makers, all OF
whom were anxious to help him. He
received any number of tips from those
eager to win his favor.
Among the tips were many that were
legitimate enough, like the one he
shared with me- but there were also
board. But to Dan all was fair in bust
ness and politics. Yet 1 don't know a
man I'd sooner trust upon his honor
In a purely personal matter.
He wouldn't graft from his friends,
however much he might from the city.
In fact, his whole code, as far as
could see, was based upon this unsVerv-
ing loyalty to his friends and scrupu-
ious honesty in dealing with them.
It was only when honesty became alb
stract that he couldn't see 1t. You
could put a thousand dollars in gold in
his keeping without security and come
back twenty years later and find Vt
safe But &c scheme week to frame
up a deal to cheat the city out OF a
hundred dollars.
And he'd do it with his head in the
air and a grin on his face. I've seen
the same thing done by educated men
who knew better. l wouldn't trust the
latter with Decent piece without first
The money I had saved didn't repre-
sent all my capital. ! had as my chief
asset the gang OF men I had drilled.
Everything else being equal, they stood
ready to work for me in preference to
anV other in the city.
In fact, their value as machine de
pended on me. If I had been dis
INV place the gang would have resolved
itself again into merely one hundred
Nor was this my only other asset.
had established myself as a reliable
man in the eyes Of a large group OF
business men. This meant credit. Nor
must ] leave out Dan and his influence.
He stood ready to back me, not only
financially, but personally. And he
knew me well enough to know this
would not involve anything but bust
ness obligation on my part.
With these things in mind then felt
ready to take a radical departure from
the routine Of my life when the oppor-
tunity came. But ] made up my mind
would wait for the opportunity.
must have a chance which would not
involve too much capital and in which
nv chief asset would be the gang. Fur
thern1Ore II must be chance that
could use without resorting to pull.
Not only that. but It must be some
thing on which I could prove myself to
such good advantage that other bust.
ness would he sure to follow. I couldn't
cut loose with my men and leave them
stranded at the end Of a single job.
I watched every public proposal and
analyzed them all. I found that they
very quickly resolved themselves Into
Dams crowd. kept my ears wide oper
for private contracts, but by the time
heard of any was too late. So wait
ed for perhaps three months.
Then l saw in the daily paper wha1
seemed to me my opportunity. 1t was
an open bid for some park construction
which was under the guardianship of 9
commission. 1t was a grading job, and
so would require nothing but the sim
plest equipment.
l looked over the ground and figured
out the gangs part in 1t first. Then
went to Rafferty, and told him what
wanted in the way of teams.
wanted only the carts and horses.
would put my own men to work WIZ
them. asked him to take my note fol
the cost.
'I'll take your word, Carleton III
said. "Thot's enough
agreed and offered to secure for me any
thing / wanted for the work.
went back to Ruth and we sat oowr
and figured the matter all over ono
again. We stripped it down to hgur'
so low that my chief proht would conn
on the time 1 could save with my ma