River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-02-13

| despair. At last he began to question
the wisdom of his course. Should he
not fight his battle at closer range?
| What If he were in reality engaged IN
mortal combat with Bivens' millions
for Mans soul and body! The idea
was too hideous to he thinkable.
And yet the more he thought of the
scene of their parting, the more sick
ening became the conviction that her
| anger at his use of an ugly word was
merely a subterfuge to break their en-
| gagement- The peridy and cruelty of
such an act was too hideous for belief
yet If the thing were possible!
One evening he made up his mind to
go at once and fight for his old place
beside her on any terms she would
grant He seized his hat and opened
| the door. To his amaZement Bivens
was leisurely ascending the steps.
Stuart stepped into the parlor and sat
down with resignation to await his
entrance.
To his amazement he heard the maid
say:
"This way, sir. DR.. Woodman asks
you to wait for him in the library"
So Bivens was calling on his arch
enemy by appointment. Stuart replac-
| ed his hat on the rack and returned to
his room, determined to await the out
come of this extraordinary visit.
On DR.. Woodlands entrance Bivens
rose to greet him with unusual ANNA
| ton and unmistakable good will.
/ When the doctor grasped the out
stretched hand a more striking con-
trast could scarcely be imagined-the
one big, bluff, jovial, sunny, powerful
and straight of figure as he was al
ways straight in speech and manners,
the fnancier small and weak in body,
| his movements sinuous, flexible, with
eyes that never looked at the man he
was talking to, yet always seemed to
be taking in everything in the room.
"Well, Bivens, what can l do for
you? / understand from your note
that the matter is important"
"Of the gravest Importance to us
both, DOCTOR" he answered, with a
smile. For a peculiar personal reason
want US to get together and settle our
differences"
Are there any differences between
us? You go your way, and l go mine.
You run your business to suit yourself,
and I'll do the same. The worlds big
enough for us BOTH
That's just the trouble" Bivens in
terrupted. ut isn't. We are entering
new era of combination, merger, CO.
operation"
Compulsory co-operationr' the doc
/ tor laughed.
1T may be so at last" the little man
said soberly Certainly the old idea
of competition is played out. We no
| longer believe that business men
should try to cut each others throats."
| "Oh, l seer sneered the doctor.
'They should get together, corral their
customers and cut their throats."
"You must recognize the fact that the
drug trade is a business enterprise, not
charity organization"
even so, still happen to know that
within stones throw of my store
swarms a population of quarter of
million human beings so poor that only
300 of them ever have access to bath
room You ask me to enter with you
into a criminal conspiracy to suppress
freedom of trade and use fraud and
! violence if necessary to vim
"Fraud and violenceY' Bivens inter-
rupted, smilingly.
Certainly. What sort of merchandise
does the Organizer of modern in
dustry bring to market? Tricks and
subterfuges in the form of printed pa
per called stocks, which represent no
value From the moment a financier
once tastes this blood he becomes a
beast"
"Come, come, doctor, you must real
ize the fact that in the drug business
we are bringing order out of chaos
and at last putting the trade on a pay
ing basis"
But at what price! You have
closed mills instead Of opening them,
thrown out of work thousands. lower
ed the price paid for raw material,
bringing ruin to it's producers, increas-
ed the price charged for your products
/ to the ruin of the consumer, and sad
uIGu mIl1lOuS VI 1CIlIlOuS dSOI0 OL LAC
! backs of their children yet unborn.
The price of living has been increas
ing steadily with the organization of
each industry into trust Where will
it end?'
| Bivens' eyes narrowed to the merest
points Of concentrated light, while an
amused smile played about them.
"The trust is here to stay, doctor.
/ Legislation against it is as absurd and
futile as movement to stop the tides.
You cannot make economy crime,
progress a misdemeanor, or efficiency
a felony! If so, you can destroy the
/ trusts"
"I'm not clear yet how it is to be
done,' was the passionate answer,
''but as sure as God lives we are going
to do something. At present we are
! putting wreckers in charge of organ
! ization and famine producers in charge
/ of production. 1t can't last believe
in this republic. For the moment the
! people are asleep. But time is slowly
! shaping the issue that will move the
last laggard. We are beginning dimly
!