Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-08-26

He was n big man-this agent-fault
Iessly dressed and bearing IN air o
ease and conscious well being yer,
soothing to the senses. Faultless. too
was his manner toward his superiors-
suave. deterrent, but not too deterrent.
All. that is a very great thing-tt
acquire a manner like that. II Glide
smiled, Burson radiated pleasure; II
Glider frowned, Burson breathed 9
deprecating regret. and yet he never
reused the savage desire to kick that 9
more suppIiant and cringing servant
might have done.
For Burson respected himself. in a
very modest and unobtrusive way. and
thus begat respect in his betters. But
for all that he often experienced trou'
blesome days. and one glance at Mr..
| elders lean face had conveyed clear
~ to Burson that this was going to be
| one of the most troublesome of them
all.
"Ahem." Glider shut his spectacle
| case with a snap and glared at his
agent. II see profits far below normal
again. sir. l notice in the Bowes
street house alone the bill for plumbing
| is over $500 for the past year"
II have been wanting to speak to you
about the Bowes street place." began
Burson. extracting a letter from the
file at his elbow. you see, Mr.. Glider.
the Bowes street plumbing is in pref
ty bad condition; there's been quite
little agitation recently in some of
the papers about an epidemic of
typhoid down there, and this morning
1 got this letter from the head of the
social settlement in the district
Lot of nonsense" was elders only
comment as he tossed the letter down
half read.
But you see they threaten a health
board investigation"
You ought to know as well as any
body, Burson. how little we have to
fear from the board of health"
Yes, 1 know they have been very
kind"
The point is what are you going to
do to bring up this credit balance? At
the present rate of decline another year
or two may see the balance on the
other side altogether" said Glider.
Burson faced himself for a battle,
though his manner was as suave, as
gracious as ever.
II am sorry to say. MIR. Glider, that
L can't see any way of stopping the
leak unless you are prepared to spend
n lump sum on new plumbing. In the
Bowes street place alone a thousand
dollars ought to be spent Immediately.
A great many of the tenements remain
empty simply because they are not hab-
liable, even for the sort of people who
live in that section. We cannot re-
duce the rents without establishing a |
very bad precedent. and of course | |
could not put in any very extensive re- |
pairs without consulting you
Extensive repairs" calculated Gil
der, now thoroughly aroused. For |
heavens sake, Burson, one would !
imagine you were letting on Fifth ave
nue. instead Of slum tenements. You
are dealing with a class that has no
business to expect luxuries. It's scum
plain scum. demanding new and up |
to date plumbing in its dens.''
"Of course what you say is true"
agreed Burson. but times are chang |
ing everywhere, and 1 can assure you. |
sir, the people in the tenements now |
are not the sort we had there ten years |
dSO. II SLO"S " |
deal with them, and in this Bowes
street house especially we've had no
end of trouble.
"One of my men was pitched down
the steps only last week by a burly |
giant who declared he wouldn't pay his |
rent until the leak from the floor above
was stopped. OF course we set him
out, but it's had very bad effect on
the others. especially as the typhoid is
very bad in the house. and the settle
ment workers have led them to believe
it's entirely due to the pipes
More likely it's due to their own
dirt and filth"' snapped Glider. pacing
up and down. But look
to you. Burson. to straighten this out
That's what 1 pay you for, and 1 ex-
pect you TO do it"
II have been doing my best 1 in
tend to go down there myself this
afternoon and look the house over. /
am having plumber meet me there to
submit estimates
At the word estimates a sudden
CLEAN of suspicion lit in elders eyes
'Estimates-graft! Aha"'
II think. I'll just go down with you.
Burson. and Wen look it over to-
gether"
Burson's dismay was evident
"Oh, Mr.. Glider. I'm sure you
wouldn't like that! You've no idea
how filthy and vile the streets and peo-
pie are down there. 1t wouldn't do at
all to so in your car. in the present
state or things. and I'm sure you
relish the ride on the street
,ars"
This served. of course. to fix the idea
'nly the more firmly fin Mr.. elders
mind. He would certainly go: OF that
3urson might be certain.
Once having made the resolution he
'orged calmly ahead. hut before he had
raversed half the distance from the
treet car to the entrance or the BoweB ;
treet house he had begun TO realize
ONE OF the difficulties OF which Bur