The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1913-10-18
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Copyrighted, 1918. international News servics)
Continued From Yesterday
SITTING ON vERANDA

1T is wonderful the latter told
Rives. enthusiastically. You can't
believe how well the world under
stands what this thing means and
how certain 1t Isl
My dear chap returned Rives,
with a cynical little laugh. you're
on the wrong track atog
What do you mean demanded
the engineer.
They were sitting on the veranda
of the house at Tunnel City over
looking the sea, where the white
caps glistened and CLEANED in the
moonlight. Rives looked out across
the heaving waste and laughed again.
You engineers are supposed to
study forces, but in this you have
ignored the greatest force in the
world"
What is that?y
Fear
Fear" echoed Allan. dumfounded.
Il don't get you at ALL.
ITS very simple Rives assured
him Men fear two things above all
others-death and poverty. Boldness
triumphs over death, when anything
does. and wealth over poverty. Your
tunnel scheme is bold and profitable,
and they admire 1t. Unable to triumph
themselves. they want to conquer
vicariously. They read the newspapers
TO get thrill out of other peoples
experiences because they don't dare
the experiences themselves. They
haven't the money nor the courage"
But" objected Allan, they must
believe in this thing or they wouldn't
put what money they have into It,"
They believe in it because they're
afraid not to- retorted Rives. Il am
just beginning to see how big this
thing is" he went on soberly. All
that has held back the upheayal-the
social revolution-is this fear. this
clinging to the little they have and
getting the sensation of having much
by reading about it in the news
papers
This tunnel" he went on. as Allan
listened in dead silence, "is. so far as
you know, going only to London. God
only knows how far it will go toward
shaping the destiny of our civilization.
You have started a panic with a re-
verse movement. Instead of boarding
because they are afraid. people are In
vesting because they are afraid. None
of them understand. but all of them
dimly feel that everything In the
world is going to be more or less in
timately connected with this scheme.
and if they don't get on the right side
of the fence they will be crushed
MIGHT GET MIXED
That, / believe is true" said Allan,
with faint pride.
But how about those that can't
get in-and those that may get in to
their sorrow? The survival of the
most interruptions is not necessarily
the law of the universe because 1t Is
the ruling spirit of our age. The
world will be paying tribute to the
tunnel company, and the world may
wake UP and ask why-and ask why
about a lot of other things"
II don't think the world Is going
to kick over being benefited" re-
turned Allan.
mo. but sometimes our Dement'S
are so much like impositions that a
near sighted and quick tempered man
is likely to get the two mixed up. In
the meantime, all we can do is go
ahead. But don't mistake the mo-
tive of your investors. You've simply
given them a new experience-a new
song. a song in keeping with the age
You're digging a hole and you're 60
ing to make them rich. It's like the
roar of the subway-they can under
stand IT. But that don't make them
like paying for rides to pay interest
on watered subway stock
Lets go in and get one little
drink" suggested Allan, rising with
a laugh. Il think you need it. Your
mental vision is obscured-"
NO. returned Rives, as he. too.
rose. my mental vision is again busy
regarding the ruins of the Tower OF
Babel"