Mexico Missouri message., 1917-07-12

1
lies, and had In each of them proved
himself man of his hands who could
not only take punishment, but could
hammer an opponent swiftly and neat
ly into any desired state of subsection.
Come in here and sit down; I want
to talk to you" was the way williams
began 1t; and after Smith had found
a chair the chief went on: "Say, Smith,
you're too good man for anything I've
got for you here. Haven't you realized
! that?"
Smith pulled a memorandum book
from his hip pocket and ran his eye
over the private record he had been
keeping.
i've shown you how to effect few
little savings which total up something
like 10 per cent Of your cost of produc-
ton and operation" he said. Don't
you think I'm earning my wages2"
"That's all right; I've been keeping
tab, too, and / know what you're do
ing. But you are not beginning to earn
what you ought to, either for yourself
or the company" put in the chief
shrewdly. And then: "Loosen up,
Smith, and tell me something about
yourself. Who are you, and where do
you come from, and what sort of a job
have you been holding DOWN."
Smiths reply was as surprising as 1t
was seemingly irrelevant.
eff you're not too busy, Mr.. Williams,
guess you'd better make out my time
check" he said quietly.
Williams took a reflective half-min-
ute for consideration, turning the sud.
den request over deliberately In his
mind, as his habit was.
II suppose by that you mean that
you'll quit before you will consent to
open up on your record?" he assumed.
you've guessed it." said the man
who had sealed the book of his past.
Again Williams took little time. 1t
was discouraging to have his own and
the colonels prefgurlngs as to Smiths
probable state and standing so prompt
ly verified.
II suppose you know the plain infer
ence you're leaving, when you say a
thing like that?"
Smith made the sign of assent. "It
leaves you entirely at liberty to finish
out the story to suit yourself" he adj
mitted adding: 1.-THE back numbers
my back numbers-are my own, Mr..
Williams. I've kept a file of them, as
everybody does, but I don't have to
produce it on request"
"Of course, there's nothing compul-
sorry about your producing it. But I'M
less you are what they call In this
country q crooked crook, you are
standing in your own light. You have
such a staving good head for figures
and finances that it seems pity for
you to be wasting 1t here on an under
graduates job in cost-cutting. Any
young fellow just out of technical
school could do what you're doing In
the way of pairing down expenses"
The cost-cutter's smile was mildly
incredulous.
Nobody seemed to be doing 1t be-
fore 1 came" he offered.
NO" Williams allowed. "that's the
fact. To tell the plain truth, we've had
bigger things to wrestle with; and we
have them yet, for that matter-enough
of them to go all around the job twice
and tie in bowknot."
"FinancesT queried Smith. feeling
some of the back-numter instincts stir
ring within him.
The chief engineer nodded; then he
looked up with twinkle'in his closely
set gray eyes. "If you'll tell me why
you tried to kill Burdell the other day,
maybe I'll open up the record-Our
recorder you"
This time the cost-cutter's smile was
good-naturedly derlsive, and it ignored
the reference to Burdell.
"You don't have to open up your
recorder me; it's the talk of the
camp. You people are undercapital-
ized-to boil it down into one word.
Isn't that about the way 1t sizes up"
''That is the way it has turned out;
though we had capital enough to begin
with. We've been bled to death by
damage suits"
Smith shook his head. "Why haven't
you hired a frst-class attorney, Mr..
Williams?"
"We've had the best we could find.
but the other fellows have beaten as
to it, every time. But the legal end of
1t hasn't been the whole thing or the
biggest part of It. What we are need
ing most Is a man who knows a little
something about corporation fights and
high finance" And at this the engi
neer forgot the Smith disabilities, real
or inferential, and went on TO explain
in detail the peculiar helplessness of
the Tlmanyoni company as the antag-
Onlst Of the as yet unnamed land and
irrigation trust