Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1912-04-16
His Last
Investment
By MICHAEL J. PORTER

When George Graham Colviile, at
the age Of twenty-five, was left a Leg
acy Of half million dollars by an
uncle. his friends said Of the lucky
man:
George is all right He won't risk
dollar of that money In speculation.
He Is young man with a wise old
head on him"
Young Mr.. Colyille had been living
for several years on an income from
that uncle He had HE'D quietly and
conseryatiyely. He vas a man OF
leisure. SO to say, but not spend
thrift. He kept out OF debt, did not
permit his tailor to rob him, and his
tips to chauffeurs and walters were
on a ten per cent. basis. He was just
the man to invest half a million dol
lars in real estate and wait years TO
see 1t double In value. When 1t was
known that the money had been de-
posted with trust company to await
safe investment, all the gray-haired
men in the club congratulated the
young man again.
The man who argues that he or any
other man can suddenly receive a
great gum Of money without making
any change In him is wrong. 1t Ii
money that makes most OF human ma
ture what II Is. In this case 1t did
not compel Mr.. Colville to seek more
aristocratic quarter to live in-his tips
did not increase-he did not seek to
cut dash In any direction. He con-
tinued to be a quiet, reserved young
man, apparently entirely satisfied
with the world at large. And that
was where he received his friends.
In the FIRST place. for long time
previous to getting his money, young
Colville had felt sure that If he had
Bome spare capitsi he could become
millionaire by speculation. In the
next, now that he had It, he was look
ing around for good things. He was
doing 1t very quietly and saying moth
ing. II he found good thing he
would gobble 1t and let other folks
take care OF themselves. He heard 1t
whispered one day that wheat was go
ing to jump 20 cents bushel. owing
to the wars In Europe. He invested
500 900 and wheat took sudden drop
of Is cents.
Mr.. Colville was somewhat aston
ished that things had not come out as
he had figured they would. but not at
all discouraged. He took a flyer in
cotton, and his investment flew away
with him. 1t wasn't that he was
wrong in his figuring, but that every
body else was wrong. The NJ. & M.
Irrigation company came under his
notice. No, they didn't advertise in
the papers, and they didn't send him
the circular that insured investors 100
per cent. profit. In restaurant one
evening he heard one man whisper 1t
to another He found the headquar-
tiers of the company after quite a
search and invested $4,000. Six
weeks later the federal authorities
had the swindlers in limbo.
There we're other things the quiet
and conservative young man went into
to his financial loss, and in the course
of year he dropped fifth of his for
tune. In each and every. case his
acumen and logic were right. He
would have made instead of lost II SO
and so hadn't stepped in. No, 1t was
no fault OF his. The wisest brokers
and bankers had been caught. He had
lost 100000, but he knew a way to
get 1t all back and as much more with
1t. Quietly-very quietly-a company
OF capitalists had brought up big tract
of land in the west through which a
river ran. 1t was a golden river. Its
bed was paved by nuggets. When
the waters had been turned aside
those nuggets could be shoveled into
empty sugar barrels. Dividends? One
thousand per cent at the very least.
and then there would be sinking
fund left to buy mountain Of radium
somewhere.
The information reached Mr.. Col
Vile like whisper. He didn't know
where the headquarters of the COM
pany was within five miles, and he
found himself very nervous for fear
the entire stock would be taken be-
fore he could offer his money.
At 1 o'clock on a certain Saturday
afternoon, as Mr.. Colville sat in the
parlor OF his bachelor apartments, his
valet announced:
"a young woman to see you, sir,
and she won't give her name"
"why won't she?" was asked.
"Dunro, sir. Women are queer
creatures"
"You said that I was busy, did
your"
''The busiest day you have had for
ten years, sir" : 'ss
But she wouldn't go away?"
mo, sir"