The bee. (Earlington, Ky.) 1889-19??, 1914-05-22
Jim Treadway's Price

you told me to go to his home town, and
see if l could dig up anything of his past, or
find any other possible way of getting him.. He
owns a nice farm and is lawyer of exceptional
ability, as you all know He was man of ex-
ceptiona honesty well fitted to take high place
at the bar but he has devoted his talents towards
aiding his friends and neghbors and consequently
has not gotten very rich at it. He is married and
has two children, girl and boy. The boys
education was finished at an agricultural col.
ege, with the idea of putting him in charge of the
farm. Treadways idea, however, was to give him
a couple of years in commercial work, so that ht
would be fairly we'll equipped business man
when he went on the farm, and could apply bust
methods to farm life. Before Treadway's
nomination to the Legislature the boy secured
position at our station at home, with the idea OF
acquiring some knowledge of shipping. and Of
railroad work. | found him to be a bright and
manly fellow who had been kept at home pretty
closely. ! was there ostensbly as a man Of
means and l sent for man named Johnson in
our employ, who was about thirty-hve years old
and who had reputation for being adebt at
cards. / instructed Johnson to make the &C
quaintance of young Treadway and to show him
good time generally, that he was not to know me
and he was to manage an introduction as strang-
ers, that if possible he to arrange to get
young Treadway to playing cards. Ny scheme
worked out in great shape. Young Treadway
refused Johnson's proposition for game of cards
twice, but finally one evening when he
not quite sober he fell for it, and we had
town participating and young Treadway won A
little more than week ago l saw to it that the
cashier of the l. X. L. Railroad there was pro-
NOTED to another station and young Treadway
was given the job. You can imagine the rest Of
the story, gentlemen. On last Saturday night we
played and young Treadway lost over hundred
dollars, and | was one of the principal winners:
He asked me to wait until Monday and stated
that he had some money in the building asso-
citation, which he would try to draw out then, or
that Tuesday was his monthly pay day. when he
could pay it from his wages. | told him that
must have my money as was leaving town Sun
day morning and ntmated that if he did not
have the money to lose that he did not have any
business playing cards and that it would not be
good thing for the company to know that he
had been playing My talk of such nature
that it had the effect l desired and he met me,
just before train time the next morning at the
station and gave me the money. Early Monday
morning auditor in Unexpectedly, of
course, to him, but not to me, checked up his
accounts and found him short just the amount he
had paid me. The auditor who had had his in
structions, at first threatened the boy with ar
rest although he told him that he had more than
enough in the building association, of his own
to cover up the amount. The matter finally
settled by the boy agreeing to come to the State
Capitol with the auditor and explain the matter
to his father. When they reached here they went
direct to Jim Treadway's room and the story
was told him. Treadway offered to make good
at once, but, of course that wasn't what we were
after, and the final result was that the auditor
agreed not to prosecute the boy if Jim Treadway
would vote against the bill, that he said was his
only alternative. 1t seems, however, that the
boy told his father the whole story in full and
my name was mentioned. When the boy de-
scribed me to Treadway he saw through the
whole thing at once. At any rate he has prom
Used to vote against the bill" And Meyer beamed
on his audience, for he felt that he had landed a
big thing for his road.
Wells looked at him for moment and then
said: Meyers, you are contemplate cur, in
all my dealings in politics have never con-
descended to such trick as that but ! want to
tell both you and Gordon that if in the future
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