Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-08

years. to attend the funeral of one who
had served him well. It was one of
the things did out of a sense of the
fitness of things For IS years. the innocuous
Finkelstein patient, plodding, an old faithful
in the bookkeeping department of the large
cooperage concern of which Ringing was preSi-
dent, had been part and parcel of the daily
routine; of the remunerative affairs which had
made Ringing, at go, many times millionaire.
Yes it was with sense of the appropriate
ness of such a gesture. that on the day OF
Finkelstein's funeral Ringing directed his
chauffeur to drive him to the residence of the
old employee who had delivered, through the
years. such faithful service.
1t was gratifying to come within sight OF
Finkelstein's home. It showed that here was
O man whose living wage had been sufacient
to enable him to dwell in the cleanliness and
decency of the small but well kept brick dwell
ing surrounded by its plot of garden which
stood on a tree lined little side street of small
suburb outside the limits of the great city;
here was q man whose employer, he, Ringing
had allowed decent living wage.
NOTHING remarkable about Finkelstein
l either except his dog-hke fidelity to
routine AS matter of fact, reflected Ringing
to himself, riding along the modest neighbor-
hoods which lay outside his pale, OF late
years he might easily have replaced Finkelstein
his custom to employ such tactics OF ingrati-
tude with employees of long standing. True
Ringing knew little enough about the staff
of his organization He was not gregarious
man, nor a particularly benign one when it
came to interesting himself in the lives Of
others. But in a general way, the employees
OF the cooperage concern were treated on tha
principle that good service entitled q man to
consideration and, except rare occasions,
dtSpiacementS and new faces were seldom IN
troduced into the concern.
Then, too in the event Of death or disaster
Of one sort or another. Ringing almost In
Variably appeared at the funeral or bedside of
the employee. In the case Of Strandermann,
who had broken two legs in a fall from a ladder
in the shops. Ringing had done the hand
some thing and employed Strandermann's son
in his fathers place, even though the boy was
inexperienced and caused difficulties.
And now Finkelstein the next to oldest en-
ploye Of the firm, was dead and Ringing ar
irving at the funeral saw at least two-thirds
OF the cooperage organization standing about
ON the lawn as he drove up.
Thereupon. surprises began to happen. They
standing about the little lawn, for
the reason that the house of Finkelstein was
crowded each of its two floors, that it
impossible for another human being to
cram into its doorways. Actually, before that
modest house that modest street, were Off
GERS of the law, trying to regulate the demon
stration that was taking place at the funeral
OF FinkelStein
"A ND that demonstration was prompted by
nothing more than the hundreds of men,
women and children who were bombarding
the house to pay last tribute to this man who
had lived humbly but apparently with such
superb grace. Men and women, unable to
jam their way into the house, were standing
the lawn and sidewalks weeping and holding
their children in arms, for the moment when
the bier of Finkelsten would appear at the
threshold on its way to the hearse at the curb
Riding up before this spectacle, Ringing was
struck with amazement. Great was the en-
barrassment of all concerned when it was found
that the great Ringing, the millionaire en-
ployer of the humble Finkelstein, could not
force entrance into the home to pay re-
Spect to the last of Finkestein. But without
effect the attempt of those in charge to
ind entrance for the employer of Finkelstein
Men, women and children crowded every
doorway, youngsters with whiting bouquets in
their hands, older folk exchanging low-voiced
"reminiscences of the many kindnesses and acts
of mercy of which they had been recipient at
the apparently sainted hands of this man who
had passed on.
- A man Of whom Ringing had never had
Che slightest conception! Why. Finkelssein had