The Dickenson County herald. [volume] (Clintwood, Va.) 1927-1930, 1930-01-16

of ais environment. TO Paul it meant
less thar tres with birds sing
in its branches.
In his thirteenth year came three
events of vital Importance in the
shaping of his future. First his moth
er died. No one would ever know the
terrible, unhealing wound it cut in
PauPs heart. 1t was James Kirke, the
hardened and power-seeking jugger.
naut of flesh and blood who went to
pieces when he discovered that death
had been fearless enough to cross his
path. His agony was like a storm
tragic for time, and quickly over
He settled back into the fierce strife
of his money getting Dy the time raul
began to grieve. But the shadow and
the fact of death changed him little
He saw himself alone except for his
son. And this son, after years of
passing interest on his part, became
the kernel of his plans and ambitions
He was now king. Some day his DO,
would be king And II was his desire
and his decision that he should he Il
greater king than himself Pride fired
his resolution.
But here the geographical genius of
Fate again stepped in with humors Of
its own. In another Fifth avenue
home baby girl was born to the wife
enemy, Henry purand A few months
later, three thousand miles or more
away. an Immigrant ship left fol
America. On hoard this ship was a
clear-eyed, hopeful wcodcutter from
the mountain country of central Eu
rope. With. him were his wife and
baby. They were an unimportanl
three. The sea might have swallowed
them and no one would have cared
very much, for their adventure wis
only one of millions Il a similar kind
The immigrant baby's fortune began
and ended with the tcw little clothes
she wore. The other baby was worth
millions one second after she came
into the world.
Paul continued to grow up. and witt
equal steadiness his father continued
to amass fortune and influence II
was his passion to smash and break
down, then devour and build up-until
some one called him the Anaconda. u
name which fitted him so we'll that the
newspapers would have used it had
they dared Kirke WIS always within
the legal boundaries of his couutryS
laws. He absorbed shipping com
panies, railroads, coal mines and tim
berlands, and sent oui his engineers
to corner vast water power rights
From an industrial point Of view n,
was cor.structively an asset, for whel
ever he broke down " consumed small
activities he built up Hrger ones Bur
morally and officially his brain wa,
! inspired by covetous and avid desire
| to rule. He was intOlel ent of rivalry,
/ and this brought him each year In
t closer and more deadly contact with
! the equally far-reaching interests of
Henry Durand Tha titanic struggle
between these two Goiiaths of finan-
ctlI and industrial activities is a part
of Wall street history The more in
teresting story Of Paul and the two
/ babies is known only to a few, chiefly
/ about Lac St Jean.
! That his father married again soon
after Molly Kirke's death and had
another son did not hurt Paul, except
| that 1t made him grieve more deeply
! for his mother and added to his Ioneli
ness. lie got along only fairly well
| in college. because he could never
| completely shackle his mind to duties
! that were confined within stone and
I brick walls. 1t took him an extra
| year to finish an engineering course.
| and after thai he was never happy
except when in the open spaces In
! Il business way he was interested only
! in his fathers timberands and such
wat empower projects as were stu
ated in the wilderness AS whole he
was disappointment to his parent.
| One restless night the greatest of
all his ideas came 10 James Kirke
| The next day he went boldly and In
friendly spirit to the office of Henry
Durand, and for hours the two colossi
talked ever Kirkes suggestion that
their interests combined into one
giant force of countless millions They
parted friends In little while they
/ were seen at the clubs together. Later
the all-powerfu Kirke-Durand cor
! poration became a reality. The
tlinty old warriors worked hand in
hand theil assets multiplied Their
palatial homes were scenes of mutual
intercourse Their wives were init
mate Their children became ac
quainted
In his thirty second year Paul mar
rieh Claire Durand
In his thirty eighth year the son of
one of the richest men In New York,
he was officially IN charge of the
huge engineering work on the Mistas
SIM river in the wilderness north of
Lac St. Jean and had been three years
on the job.
During these three years he had
known Carla HaIdan.
lie was thinking of Carla as he