New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1921-08-26

service and criminal proceedings on
charge of conspiracy will be Instituted
at once"
l thought things were beginning to
look pretty serious for us if Mr.. Dun
ton was going to try to drag us into
the courts, but Mr.. Norcross was still
smiling when lie handed me the last
and latest telegram in the bunch. 1t
was from Mr.. Chadwick. and was good
naturally %laconic.
"To G. Norcross, G.. NJ,
portal City.
"Just returned from trip TO Seattle.
What's doing OF the Short Line?
Chadwick"
"a couple Of kilograms, Jimmie" said
the chief, as he passed this last wire
over. and | got my notebook ready.
"To b. Dunton, New York. Strike is
sympathetic and not subject to COM
promise. Mails moving regularly, but
all other traffic suspended indefinitely.
My office closes today, and my reslg-
nation, effective at once, goes to you
on Fast Mail tonight
"Now one to Mr.. Chadwick, and you
may send it in CODE" he directed
crisply. Then he dictated:
"See newspapers for account strike.
Hatch and eight of his associates were
killed last night in railroad wreck.
Dunton has demanded my resignation
and | have given II. Have plan for
complete reorganization along lines
discussed in beginning, and need your
help. At market opening tomorrow
sell L. $. l.. large blocks and repur-
chase in driblets as price goes down.
Repeat until ! tell you to stop. Wire
quick if you are with u.s."
Just as ! was taking the last sen.
tence, Mr.. Ripley and Billoughby came
in, and Mr.. Norcross took them both
into the third o Of the suite and
shut the door. An hour later when
the door opened and they came out.
the boss was summing up the new or
ders to B%illoughby: There's a lot TO
do, and you have my authority to hire
all the help you need. See the bank
ers yourself, personally, and get them
TO interest other local buyers along the
line, the more of them, and the smaller
they are, the better. I'll take care Of
Portal City, myself. I've had Van
Britt on the wire and he is taking care
of the employees-yes, that goes as II
lies, and is n part of the original plan:
every man who works for T.. s. L. is
going to own a bit Of stock, if we have
to carry him for it and let him pay a
dollar a week. More than that. they
shall have representation on the board
if they want it. And while you're
knocking about. take time to show
these c. s. & W. folks how they can
climb back into the saddle. Red Tower
is down and out, now, and they can
keep il out If they want to-"
1 suppose I might rattle this old
type-machine of mine indefinitely and
tell the story of the financial fight that
filled the next few days; of how the
boss and Mr.. Ripley and Billoughby
got the bankers and practically every
body together all along the Short Line
and sprung the big plan upon them.
was nothing less than the snap
ping up. on a tumbling stock market,
of the opportunity now presented to
them of owning-actually owning in
fee simple-their wi railroad. the
to be done quietly through Mr..
brokers In Chicago and
New York.
There was some opposition and
and s~ee-sawing back and
forth, of course, but the newspapers,
led by the Mountaineer, took hold, and
then, pretty soon, everybody took
hold; after which the only trouble was
to keep people-our w rank and file
among them-from buying P. s. L.
Common so fast that the New York
RS would catch on and run the price
up.
They didn't catch on-not until after
t was too late; and the minute Mr..
Chadwick wired us from Chicago that
were safe, the strike went of, as
Tou might say, between two minutes,