The Washington times., 1920-12-23

serfaiIy here by permission OF the
Macmillan Co. and made into .
moi picture By Cosmopoiftsn Pro-
ducttoas. will he released as q
Paramosnt-Arteraf picture.
Author of Orchard CarveI." "rAe
Crisis ana Many other Novels
of Worldwide Popularity.
IL n ND what leads you TO sup
IA pose" Mr.. Parr inquired.
that the Consolidated
fractions Company was not organ
tied in good faith? Do you think
that business men are always in
fallible? The street car lines OF
this city were at skies and sevens.
nghting each other; money was
being wasted by poor manage
ment. The idea behind the COM
pany was a public spirited one. to
give the citizens cheaper and bet
ter service by more modern
equipment, by a wider system OF
transfer. 1t seems to me, Mr..
Holder, that you put yourself In
q more quixotic position than the
so-called reformers when you as
sumo that the men who organize
q company in good faith are per-
sonally responsible for every share
of stock that is sold, and for the
welfare OF every individual who
may buy the stock. We force no
one to buy 1t. They do so at
their own risk. i myself have
thousands of dollars of worthless
stock in my safe. l have never
complained"
The full force of Holders indig-
nation went into his reply.
II am not talking about the i'm
perfect code of human justice under
which we live, Mr.. Parr," he cried.
"This Is not case in which court
of law may eXonerate you, 1t Is
between you and your God. But l
have taken the trouble to find out,
from unquestioned sources. the
truth about the Consolidated Trac-
tions< Company shall not go into
the details at length-they are
doubtless familiar to you. l know
that the legal genius of Mr.. Lang
maid, one of my vestry, made pos
sible the organization OF the COM
pany, and thereby evaded the plain
spirit of the law of the State. l
know that one branch line was
bought for two hundred and hfty
thousand dollars, and capitalized
for three millions, and that most or
the others were scandalously over
capitalized. l know that while tne
coming transaction was still
secret, you and other gentlemen
connected with the matter bought
up large interests in other lines
which you proceeded to lease 10
yourselves at guaranteed DIVIDENDS
which these lines do not earn.
know that the first large DIVIDEND
was paid out of capital. And the
stock which you sold to poor Car
vim never could have been anything
but worthless.
THE TRACTION SCANDAL.
"If, in spite of these facts, You
do not deem yourself responsible
for the misery which has been
caused, If your conscience is now
clear, it is my duty to tell you that
there is a higher bar of Justice
Because you are a clergyman,
Mr.. Holder" he began, because
you are the rector of st. Johns,
have allowed you to say things to
me which 1 would not have per-
mitted from any other man.
II dislike being personal, but you
have forced it upon me. / dislike
to refer to what have already done
in the matter of charities, but
limited to you awhile ago of a pro-
ject 1 have conceived and almost
perfected of gifts on a much larger
scale than 1 have ever attempted
The financier stared at him mean
fngly. "And l had you in mind as
Il hnt ri
consult. whom 1 should associate
with myself in the matter. We can
not change human nature, but we
can better conditions by wise Civ
ing. / do not refer now to the set
Element house, which 1 am ready
to help make and maintain as the
best in the country, but I have in
mind a system to be carried out
with the consent and aid of the
municipal government, of play
grounds, baths. parks, places Of
recreation. and hospitals. for the
benefit of the people. which will
put our city in the very forefront Of
progress.
"And I believe, as practical
man, 1 can convince you that the
betterment which you and / so
earnestly desire can be brought
about in no other way. Agitation
can only result in, anarchy and
misery for all"
Holders wrath, as he rose from
his chair, was Of the sort that ap-
pears incredibly to add to the
physical stature-the bewildering
spiritual wrath which is rare in
deed, and carries all before it.
Don't tempt me, Mr.. Parr?" he