New-York tribune., 1919-01-24
DOLPHUS BLAGDON was wearing a

4 six hat ''' '',''''S
The hat itself was not extraord-
nary, save as all silk hats are 1t was one
of F'rsbys latest block; it shone superbly;
it was new. In these things it was like a
thousand other hats. But there was one
Fact Of great significance about it, it was
the first silk hat that Blagdon ever owned.
Yet, as most people will remember Blag-
don had reached the age of fifty, was enor-
mously wealthy, and had attained the apex
Of his monstrous power
The power, Of course emanated from
proprietorship over the continent mbrac-
ing string of sensational daily journals
known Blagdon papers; the wealth came
largely from the same source; the fifty
years had piled up naturally, as years will;
but the silk hat none of Natures
doings, nor Of Blagdons. 1t was his wfe's
achievement - the glittering crown of
decades patient effort on the part of that
pretty precocious persistent little lady
Mrs. Blagdon persuaded her husband
to wear a silk hat because she had So
cial aspirations. An invitation to the
wedding Of the daughter of Mrs De
Wllloughby Jones was step upward and
the silk hat was a necessary emblem of
the advance. Blagdon had always re-
fused to wear silk hat. because he as
serted it would not be becoming. But
that not the real reason
Having deluged others in streams of un-
desired and undesirable publicity. he was
none the less himself afraid of publicity
Of kind most men would deem quite
harmless. The truth was that he cared
even less to be photographed in group
composed Of fashionables than fashion
abes cared to be photographed with him.
Least of all he cared to be photographed
in a SILK hat. For years the cartoonists on
ms various newspapers had used the silk
nat as symbol for unhalowed wealth.
placing 1T upon the heads of bestial figures
labelled "Greed," "the Trusts" wall
Street." Money Power" and "the Interests"
The idea of placing silk hat upon his own
head, in the face of all this. had ALWAYS
struck him unpleasantly homogeneous.
At~)the mere incongruity, however. he
would not have violently rebelled The
trouble was that newspaper photographers
were always taking photographs OF groups
OF distinguished persons al political gather
'hgs, IN the grandstand at parades, and at
events of social consequence. TO being in
such pictures he had no objection-but not
with silk hat. Decidedly not. For, though
he could exclude silk-hatted portraits of
himself from his papers he could not
keep them out Of others and such pictures
of him, getting into print. might cause
readers of the Blagdon papers to do a
little thinking about Blagdon. And though
Skinner, and Blagdon's other editorial
writers, were continually urging their pub
ilc-in capital letters-to "rHINK," no one
knew better than Blagdon that were his
readers really to follow this advice thev
soon would cease to be his readers.
The wedding day found Mrs. Blagdon
i'll, but she insisted "Dolph," as she
called him, go, SO he sends for Cvpran
Skinner, his chief editorial writer, to
accompany him. Silk hats are no novelty
to Skinner Mrs Blagdon insists they go
in her gold and blue landaulet On the
way they talk over the policy of s"The
Patriot" Blagdon's paper. and at rail
road crossing Blagdon orders the car
stopped, so the footman can close the
car window The crossing was guarded
by armed Joe Zwaarf 4 foreigner,
whose mind, unsupported by his employ
ers, had been affected by a blow and the
work completed by much broodng over
the editorials and cartoons in Blagdon's
paper. Zwaarf looked up from one of
these cartoons to see Bagdon and Skin
ner in their blue and gold car
They were pgs-pigs in silk hats, like
that picture in the paper He knew the
Grady figure we'll, in its various present.
ments, but the guise in which it meant the
most to him was that revealed by one of
the cartoons upon his shanty wall, in which
the silk-hatted pig, riding in shiny motor.
was running over poor little man tagged
Inc Ordinary Citizen Joe knew how it
felt to be run overs Change the automobile
to train, and he had been that little man
himself He began to hate the trains and
the automobiles, but Of all tho things hs