The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1921-06-17
CHAPTER XIV
The pipsomanIae

people were careful not TO make any
public announcement Of the things
they were doing or going to do. But
bad news has wings Of It's own. Mr..
Norcross was SIN in the midst of his
mail diciation 10 re the morning after
the bolom-all tha different bottoms
fell out when Mr. H0rnack came
buleing In.
WHATS all this fire-alarm that's
/. been sprung about new elevator
tluaf" he demanded, chewing on bis
ciear as if II were something he were
trying 10 eat ITS all over town that
c. s. {. w. has been secretly reorgan-
lied W;ta the Hatch crowd in control.
Tn having a perfect cyclone Of tele-
phone calls asking what, and how,
and why"
The boss reply ignored the details.
"Ne're in for it again." he announced
briefly. THE local companies couldn't
hold on TO a good thing when they had
it, The stock has been swept up,
first into little heaps, and then into
big ones and now the Hatch people
have forced a practical consolidation"
rs that the fact?-- only the way
you are doping it out" queried the
traffic manager.
at is the fact. Hatch came here
last night to tell me about 1t; also,
to tell me where we were to get Off"
Hornack bit off a piece of the chewed
cigar and took a fresh hold on 1t.
Does he think for one holy half
minute that we're going to sit down
quietly and let him undo all the good
work that's been done" he rasped
lie doeS-just that He's putting
us in the nlne-hole, Hornack, and up
to the present moment haven't found
the way to climb out of It,"
'But the ground IeaSesf" Hornack
began. "Why can't we pun them on
him?'
1--WE might, ii we hadn't been shot
dead in our tracks by the very men
who ought to he backing rs to win"
said the boss soberly. And then he
went on to tell about the new grip
Hatch had on US.
Of course, Hornack blew up at that,
and what he said wasn't for publica-
ton. For a minute or so the air of
the Office was blue. When he got
down to common, ordinary English
again he was saying, between cusses:
Gut you can't let it stand at that,
Norcross; you simply can't"
Il don't intend to-" was the even
toned rejoinder. "But anything we
can do will always lack the element
of tinality, Hornack, while Wall Street
owns us. I've said 1t hundred times
and I'll say it again: the only hope
for the public service corporation to-
day lies in a distribution of its securl-
ties among the people it actually
serves"
Hornacks teeth met in the middle
of the chewed cigar.
"rhat's excellent logic-bully good
logic, if anybody should ask you But
we're fighting a condition, not theory.
Nobody wants p S. l.. Common even
at thirty-twO. You wouldn't advise
your worst enemy to buy it at that
figure
81 don't know" said the boss, kind
OF musingly You're forgetting the
water that's been put into it from time
10 tine by the spectators and reor-
gani2erS; there has been 3 good deal
OF That, first and last. Nevertheless,
value for value, you know, and | know,
that the property is worth more than
thirty-tWo, including the bonds. What
I mean is that If anybody would buy
the control at that figure,-the con-
troll. mind you, and not merely minor
ity-and handle the road purely as a
Notwithstanding business proposition
he wouldn't lose money; he'd make
money-a lot of it,"
"All of which doesn't get us any
where in the present pinch" returned
the traffic manager. II suppose Wen
have TO wait until Hatch makes his
first move, and I've still got fight
enough left in me to hope that he'll
make 1t suddenly. Punch the button
for me if anything new develops. Tn
going back to swing on to my tele-
phone"
Following this talk with Hornack
there was try-out with Billoughby
and Juneman, but as this three-cor-
nered conference was held in the pri-
vate room of the suite, l don't know
what was said A little farther along,
when the boss was once more whiting
at the dictation, Mr.. Van Britt strolled
in MIR. NOrcross told me to take my
bunch of notes to May and then he
gave Mr.. Van Britt his inning, start
inc off with: well, how is the gen
eral superintendent this fine morn
ing:"
Mr. Van Britt wrinkled his nose.
The general superintendent is
wondering, one more time, why under
the starry heavens he is out here in
this country that God has forgotten,
scrapping for a living on this one
horse railroad of yours when he might
be in good little old New York, liv-
ing easy and clipping coupons in the
Safety-deposit room OF a Broad street
bank"
The boss laughed at thar, and I'm