The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1918-08-07
A fictitious
Plutoc:rat
Copyright
By TOM MASON

self to the accumulation of vast means,
sort of twentieth century halo that
surrounds man, so to speak, Is none
the less pronounced in the case Of Ca
leb Yellowboise because he chances
to be fictitious parsonage.
A fictitious person is much more like
~ to be true to himself and to be more
free in his movements than his coun.
terpart in real life because the neces-
sity for his being on guard is never
paramount. I was saying something
like this the other evening to Caleb
Yellowboise as we sat in one of his
palaces.
"And yet" he said, "you must re-
member that, while in a sense your
statement is correct, at the same time
I must in my actions and in my
thoughts live up to the reality which
as fictitious parsonage represent In
real life. In other words, the reality
of my Righteousness depends wholly
upon my fidelity to my prototype"
my dear Caleb" said, laying my
hand warningly on his arm, "you may
not escape me with any such subtle
sophistry. You wish to conceal from
me the hidden springs Of your char
acter, your weaknesses, your defects,
by taking refuge behind the sincerity
of your Righteousness. You feel intui-
lively that I am here to criticize you,
to pick you to pieces, and you shrink
from the operation. NY9u try to head
me off, therefore, by endeavoring to
convince me that you are in reality
real and must be governed by actions
identical with reality. You must re-
member that If you were really real
would in all probability not be here to
censure you, but to beg. Is it not a
pleasure for me once in my life to
take the owner Of hundred millions
into his own private room, sit him
down in chair and tell him what !
think Of him?"
anyone would think" said Caleb
Yellowboise, "that you are actuated by
personal animosity against me, as If
you considered me reprobate or
something equally reprehensible."
"Admirable!' exclaimed. my dear
Caleb, your stimulation Of reality is so
good that am almost tempted to ask
you for loan If for nothing more than
to humor your whim." ...
"The fact is" said Caleb Yellow
boise, II am not as seem. am one
Of the most envied and one Of the most
miserable Of human creatures--envied
because of my possessions and mlser-
able because of them"
''But, my dear fellow" exclaimed.
"why should you, let this incubus of a
fortune Cypress you? Why not ignore
it, overlook 1t, and go on your way
without thinking Of it?"
"Ah, said Caleb sadly, II might
might If it were only that. But you
forgot that the very habit of thought
engendered by lifetime Of accumula-
ton cannot be shuffled off so easily. To
gain this end have made many sacri-
fees, and now my nature, warped and
sullen, refuses to respond to more es-
thetic impulses"
1T isn't your conscience, is itT' I
suggested. ia
"No!" replied my friend decislvely.
II can't say that my conscience figures
to any extent. realized in the begin
ming that it was no quarter, and my
conscience never came to the front to
harass me. OF course there are times
when perhaps hear Of some poor
devil who has gone to the wall-when
I happened to turn on the screws that
I feel tinge Of regret, but the chances
are he would be squeezed anyway.
After I had made a little got the taste
Of blood. You see, my personal wants
were few. didn't care about pictures
then or books or scenery or anything
like that. I thought a good deal Of my
wife, and wanted to make her happy;
but, above all, I wanted power"
"And Of course you got it, said.
'sThat's one of the things" he contin-
ued, shat bother me. can't make up
my mind now whether have any pow
er or not. Sometimes think have,
and sometimes think I haven't. I
haven't created anything. I've had
some fun, Of course. It's fun to play
any game and win, but I begin to see
now that the game isn't worth as big
candle as thought it was. Railroads
have been built in my name, iron foun-
dries started, libraries founded, and so
forth. But If T wanted railroad built
I got an engineer to construct it, as I
got architects to plan my buildings. 1t
is true furnished the capital for all
these things, but even this I didn't
make. I got 1t from the other fellows.
In the meantime my wife and daugh-
tiers have grown up without me.
They've learned things haven't had
time for. OF course I've had the edges
rubbed off, but a man has to be caught
young to learn proper appreciation OF
some things. And as for my sons"
"Stop! p cried. Enough" antici-
pated a positive enjoyment from a
more thorough understanding Of your
character, but this-this is heartrend-
ing!"
The owner Of a hundred millions
sighed deeply. 'You see how it u.s." he
ropJ;od ct hovo rovor confidod IN anv.