The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1915-04-30
ON GETTING RICH
from LIST Page. \

/
agement. He is irritated by unfair.
ness, nepotism, inefficiency, incompe-
tency, and the therefore mulcting OF
small stockholders who are not in as
favorable position to stand it as he
is.
There is nothing in the world that
is so stimulating to us as to discover
a prize fighter who cares more fol-
the rules of the game than the prize
To us it smacks Of a high order OF
| intelligence, for we cannot see that
the prize-the goals worth much
but fight to preserve ones instincts
for that which is fair and abstractly
right-to possess ones soul, in short
is to realize In measure what life is
about. We have never been able to
see the difference between a hundred
dollars a month and a hundred thou
sand month, for if it comes down to
brass tacks, we'd a whole lot rather
be an insignificant little parasite than
creature covered with parasites.
To spend ones life in struggling to
hold on to that to which one was
never in ones heart entitled, seems
to US rather futile and extravagant
method of disposing of ones time on
earth.
Mr.. Holmes pamphlets, however,
were very Illuminating to us in some
respects. We learned how men get
rich, although we could not get from
them the slightest hint, as to why
they do, which we have explained, is
really what we are after.
The st. Joseph Lead Company was
formed some fifty-four years ago by
three gentlemen by the names of Wy
man Jones, G. B. Parsons and F. P.
| Graves. These were men of creative
ability, natural honesty and only
sanely ambitious, which is to say, that
they realized that in attempting to
get something for nothing, one gen
orally gets nothing for something.
They built the st. Joseph Lead Com
pay step by step, which is the only
way one can build pyramid, or ones
own character, and must have had
great satisfaction in doing the work
and in feeling that it was built solidly,
and that they had left a little monu-
ment of their steadfastness and abil-
ity and honesty.
Of course they died, or all except Mr..
Graves did, and then the st. Joseph
Lead Company passed into the hands
Of the heirs. Mr.. r. S. Parsons be-
came General Manager Of the prop
erty, succeeding his father, and MIR.
Dwight Jones of New York became
president. Instead of lead and min
ing men they were fnanciers. They
paid large dividends. They bought
land at 100000, and thereafter, in
order to pay unearned dividends, held
meeting among themselves and re-
valued, like. true philosophers, the
same land, placing it at $6,000,000,
which made the books balance all
right, showed that they were great
managers, and that everything was
lovely and sweet. After that to run
up an Indebtedness of $8,000,0 1000 was
hardly to be called finance, it was that
simple. All that had to be done was
to go TO the st. Louis Union Trust
Company and few other local ia
vorites among banks and borrow
money, and the easiest way being OBJ
viously the best, this way, of course,
done. otIs
Well, to make the story longer, Mr..
Robert Holmes, representing about a
million dollars worth Of stock at par,
began TO take an interest in the af-
fairs of the company, and succeeded |
in electing himself director, and con-
senting to the election as director
of Mr.. NJ f. Watts, of the law firm of |
Watts, Gentry and Lee, whose SER
vices were engaged, it seems, through
Holmes lifelong friendship with Mr.. |
Edwin w. Lee of that firm.
Now this thing Of director of a |
corporation taking any interest in
the affairs of the company was uncon-
almost immoral, and so |
Mr.. Holmes found himself before he
knew it, SO to speak, in the midst of |
a battle of words. He was, of course,
in time, ousted as director, Mr.
Watts alligning himself with the en-
envy in approved fashion.
Now would you not, gentle reader,
suppose that Mr.. Holmes in electing
his candidate, Mr.. Watts, to the
Board, would be entitled to feel that
he had won a victory? However, it
is very difficult in financial circles to
precisely ascertain when a victory is
a victory or vice versa, for no sooner,
as we have perceived, was Mr.. Watts
elected to the Board than he became
converted to the point of view held
by the inimical directors, and re-
nounced Mr.. Holmes entirely. This
action of Mr.. Watts convinced us,
that whatever may hereinafter be said
about him, that he was at least not a
venal person, as many may be led to
suppose. No, he was not that at all,
rather we would say that he con-
WINGED us that Mr.. Holmes was a mani
of very bad character, intent on dire
things, for is it not quite apparent
that even his own director could not
see things his way, so soon as they
were pointed out, and it was there
fore necessary, as you plainly see, for
Mr.. Watts to renounce Mr.. Holmes,
as his financial interest lay
in other directions.
Since that time, Mr.. Holmes has
spent his time in writing voluminous
about conditions in the st.
Joseph Lead Company and sending
them to the stockholders. If what
these pamphlets contain is truth, then
surely it is stranger than fiction, and
H. ls..k.- A L. II