Evening star., 1917-10-14
CHAPTER XIV.

starr
CHAPTER XIV.
A policeman peremptorily stopped
Herkomer at 23d street.
st s'pose you think forty miles IL
crawlin'. doncha?" he asked. Then MS
Jaw dropped as he recognized the com
missioner. "'Scuse me. sir" he began
Il didn't know
Jump in here" Herkomer cut MN
short. "I don't want any other foois
holding me up. Not that you didn
do YOUR duty" he added hastily as the
officer flushed at the epithet- IT'S al
right Jump in"
Hereafter. near-sighted policemen
not recognizing their chief ana ho'
granting him the right of way over
all traffic, would yield to the blue UNI
form, of the traffic officer. AS for the
cross-town corner whence Herkomer nae
dragged the guardian OF the Ia
well. .3d street must look after ltseAi
Wall street needed the commissioner
more than ed street needed ponce
man. -, ws1I
S.reet.s needs it occurred to him that
beadouarters should know his pres
ence But he dismissed this iaea.
Headquarters could wait. he eouiu w
nothing there as yet-unless' OF soui VI :. =,
manic deeenerated into riot; and eve
so. his subordinates could cope WIZ
anything like that.
He was in the financial district now
his blue-garbed companion was St i
ing up in the machine, hoarsels pa"
ing for the right of way. when was
,iSan Vet of the scores of thousands
on the streets and sidewalks hardi!
one gave r. glance toward the Facins
machine. they were too intent on their
thoughts, their fears, to when news
boys gave shouting expression:
"Panic on Wall street. Pane on
Wall street,
"stay by the car" Herkomer COM
manded the officer as he drew up Pc
fore the Seventy third National. ne
aljghted and ran up the steps 10 oo
met halfway by Malcolm.
The debonair young. genius 9I
finance was no longer debonair- ae
fairly seized Herkomer by the arm;
dragging him past the long Queue OF
customers, practically all of whom.
the commissioner noted. were at tne
paving teller's windows. Herkomer
pursed his lips. A panic that, quar- :
Ter of an hour after the newspoys are
shrieking it on the streets, mas start
ed incipieut runs upon banks is pretty
serious.
But Herkomer hid his feeling from
the banker and was smiling as ne
faced Malcolm across desk IN the
latter's private Office.
A certain calm about Herkomer
made Malcolm ashamed of his own
fright He swallowed painfully. and
when he spoke he spoke deliberately:
The exchange -. opened pene attsr stsaalny annn.
ing time. however. it was deluged
with selling orders. Selling orders
that didn't come in thousand-share
lots, but in ten-thousand. in twenty
thousand-share orders.
desperately. terribly wrong Since
the exchange closed shortly after the
beginning of the great war there
been nothing like this. And this
panic-why. there's no excuse Tor II.
The country is prosperous. making
-Don't wander" advised Herkomer.
Malcolm brought himself back to the
question of the moment
IT was at the office of one OF the
governors of the exchange when the
thing started. From the beginning l
could see that 1t promised to be bad.
so I raced over here to my bank to
steady my people against the rush
our customers. But I've kept in touch
with the governors. While you were
On your way down here they 'phoned
me again-its the Conybear-Clurg-
Prendergast-L -Larned -Mikells crowd that
started this. Their brokers-we know
that the big selling houses are operat-
ing for them. although they'll admit
nothing-started with an attack on
Conybear's own pet stock. Amalga-
mated Products-to throw dust in
was only the beginning-transporta
tion. textiles. steel-everything is
being thrown overheard
And it's been done without any
rhyme or reason. except the greed of
Conybear and his crowd, That's why
he took his cash reserve from my
vaults this morning. I don't know
how much he had in gold certificates.
but / do know that it was over fifty
millions. for he said as much once.
Think. In addition to the prestige of
his name. in addition to the credits
he'll establish with all the stock he's
sold. he'll have fifty millions-and
millions. tens of millions more that
the others will furnish-to buy at the
low marks that will be established to-
day and
But what's his game? Just to make
money on a bear market"
Malcolm shook his head despairingly.
There's been a rumor that he intended
TO combine Amalgamated Products and
all the transcontinental railroads and
coastwise shipping lines I know that
he and several others went to the
President a year ago, asking him what
Sherman law and the other antitrust
laws"
"A megalomaniac"' cried Herkomer
Maybe. But Conybear had it worked
out wonderfully. He showed the
Presid ent exactly how such a combina-
tion would reduce the cost of living.
would make for efficiency and all that
sort Of thing. Government ownership
of everything-only Conybear and his
associates were to be the government,
But the President dismissed him i'm
mediately. 1t was absurd for Cony-
bear to propose such thing But the
laws can't prevent him from owning a
majority of the different industries He
can go around having interloeking di-
rectorates. too. He can. with his crowd.
tance. do away with wasteful compe-
tition-
TT sound worthy" interpolated
Herkomer.
"Of course. Those things always
sound well. Only. Conybear will use
wealth. But only saint from heaven
bearing st. Peters seal would be able
to get the consent of the American
people and government to what on the
face OF it. Is return to those prin-
ciples of private ownership without
public responsibility from which we
have only recently escaped.
But Conybear seems to have been
obsessed with the idea Of combination.
And IL not combination in name, combi-
nation in effect And what better time
than now. when Europe is dreadfully
IN debt. when we've loaned millions.
billions. almost, abroad and Europe is
buyine none OF our stocks or bonds.'
What has that to do with it?" de-
manded Herkomer
lit.