The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1915-04-30

| pigeons, seems to US not the most fat
uous thing in connection with the sit
uation. Rather to us, the waste of
character, Che waste Of men, is the
tragedy.
For instance, after Mr.. Holmes
started his fight and began to make
| things uncomfortable for the then
president Of the company, Nh. Dwight
| A. Jones, that gentleman proceeded to
drop dead in the MONDAY Club. Now
what was the use Of that? Mr.. Jones
had no logical object in doing what
he did, and Thereafter dropping dead
1t was highly stupid It would have
been far better if he had let the pres
idency Of the st. Joseph Lead Com
pany go to the devil, or to the right
man, rather than to have nearly
wrecked it and completely wrecked
himself. But what we have never yet
been able to understand is, suppose
Jones succeeded in his object taking
It for granted that he had one) what
! then? Would he have been any bet
ter off? Couldn't he see through men
any better than that? We will have
to give that up. 1t doesn't get us
anywhere.
| Well, to continue; with Jones out of
the way, one should have thought that
real mining man would now be chos
en- to look after the property, but, nay,
nay, that is not the way of financiers.
To be president Of the st. Joseph Lead
Company, is good thing" although
it killed Jones, and so Mr.. Clinton H.
Crane, a ship chandler by profession,
is made president. He may have
been made president because he was
ship chandler, or because he had
brown eyes, or there may have been
other reason. Incidentally, he is
cousin by marriage of Mr.. John Shep-
ley, of the st. Louis Union Trust Co.,
although we are quite sure, or would
be had not one of the directors re-
marked to Mr.. Guido Panteleoni, al
so demonstrating stakeholder, that
the company was a family matter"
and for him to 4keep his nose out of
it" that the relationship had nothing
whatever to do with the matter.
1t IS, though, in a sense nystify-
ing to one holding the old-fashioned
view chat merit is rewarded, ard that
the best man wins, to observe the st.
Joseph Lead Company, the st. Louis
Union Trust Company, ct al and their
methods.
For instance, when the Trust Com
pany decides that the security for
leans to the st. Joe Company are not
satisfactory, Notwithstanding the mi
racudous increase in The value of the
lands possessed by the company and
begins 70 get hungry for payments,
and finally insists on a bonded debt
being placed on the property, that the
said bond issue is not sold in the open
market, but is bid for exclusively and
turned over to Smith, Moore & Co,
represented by that great financier.
Mr. Jay Smith (who is a nephew Of
that as5ute celibate, Mr.. Robert
Bookings, who is director of the
st. Louis Union Trust Company, and
whose partner, Mr.. Moore, is the
husband Of the lady formerly known
as Miss Fannie Wickham, who is a |
niece of MIR. Daniel Catlin, eminent
tobacco magnate and director of the |
st. Louis Union Trust Company, and
whose son, Mr.. Daniel X. Catlin, rep
resents the interests of the Trust Es- |
tates, holding stock in the st. Joseph
Lead Company.
Also it is instructive to note that /
the firm of Nagel and Kirby. those |
profound lawyers, are attorneys in |
all matters pertaining to bond issues,
receiving some seven or eight thous- |
and dollars a clip for invaluable adj
vice in these matters, and would con-
vince US that these were truly super
legal minds, were it not that we are
thrown off a bit by the discovery that
Mr.. Nagel's wife is Mr.. John Shep-
ley's sister (Mr. John Shepley, direc-
tor of the st. Louis Union Trust Co.,
you understand, Of course), and that
Mr.. Arthur Shepley, also Of the firm
of Nagel & Kirby, is son-in-law of
Mr.. Ephron Catlin, large stakeholder
in the st. Joseph Lead Company. So
far as we can make out, the st. Jo-
seph Lead Company has the advan-
tage of tobacco advice, family coun-
sci, stupendous financial intellect, all
the benefits of the law, and vet from
the statements published by Mr..
Holmes, seems to be going backwards
at a frightful rate. Could it be pos
SlDlS tlldC man VINO KNOWS something
of lead and mining and practical man
agement of business, is what is need
ed?
All Of this, of course, none of our
business. AS we have stated, we
were merely trying to find out how
men get rich and why. We write to
clear our mind of doubt, and for no
other purpose We know how men
get rich now. 1t is done by marrying
fright" and we stiff feel as we have
always felt, that it faint with it."
but why do they do it, that question
will not down.
Has anyone got anything out of the
mess THAT is the point. Isn't it
all stupid and fatuous? Does it lead
anywhere but to hell, this sort of
thing? And yet it seems to be Amer
lean, but is that all there is to it?
Surely we must eliminate nepotism,
favoritism, finance" from business.
Surely there must be some return to
principles Of efficiency and the right