The Coolidge examiner., 1932-04-29

peIlou VI twenty-five years, tO
attend the funeral of one who had
served him we'll. 1t was one of the
things one did out of a sense of the
fitness of things. For twenty-five
years, the innOcuous Finkelstein, pa
tient, plodding, an old faithful in the
bookkeeping department of the large
cOoperage concern of which Ring
ling was president, had been part
and parcel of the daily routine; OF
the remunerative affairs which had
made Ringing, at sixty, many times
a millionaire.
Yes, it was with a sense of ap-
pr0priateness Of Sdch 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. 1t
showed that here was a man whose
living wage had been sufficient to
enable him to dwell in the cleanli-
ness and decency of the small but
well-kept brick dwelling. surrounded
by its plot of garden which stood on
a tree lined little side street of a
small suburb outside the limits of
the great city; here was a man
whose employer, he, Ringing, had
allowed a decent living wage
Nothing remarkable about Finkel-
stein either, except his dog-like fidel-
ity TO routine. AS matter of fact,
reflected Ringing TO himself, riding
along the modest neighborhoods
which lay so outside his pale, of late
years he might easily have re-
placed Finkelstein with a younger
man. But no, it had not been his
custom to employ such tactics OF
ingratitude with employees of long
standing. True Ringing knew little
enough about the staff Of his organ
iZation. He was not a gregarious
man. nor a particularly benign one
when it came to interesting himself
in the lives Of others. But in a gen
eral way, the employees of the coop
erage concern were treated on the
principle that good service entitled
man to consideration and. except
on rare occasions, displacements
and new faces were seldom intro
duced into the concern.
Then, too. in the event of death or
disaster Of one sort or another Ring
ling almost invariably appeared at
the funeral or bedside of the en-
ployee. in the case of Strandermann.
who had broken two legs in a fall
from a ladder in the shops. Ring
ling had done the handsome thing
and employed Strandermann's son
in his fathers place. even though
the son was inexperienced and
caused difficulties
And now Finkelstein, the next TO
Oldest employee of the firm. was
dead, and Ringing arriving 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 were standing about
on the little lawn. for the reason
that the house of Finkelstein was So
crowded. on each of it's two floors
thar it was impossible for another
human being TO crowd into its door.
ways. Actually. before thai modest
house on that modest street, were
officers of the law. trying to regu-
late the demonstration that was tax.
ing place AT the funeral of Finkel-
stein.
And that demonstration was
prompted by nothing more than the
hundreds of men. women and chill.
dren who were bOmbarding the
house TO pay last tribute TO this man
who had lived humbly but apparent
ly with such superb grace. Men and
women, unable 10 jam their way into
the house, were standing on the
lawn and sidewalks weeping and
holding their children in arms for
the moment when the bier of Fink
elstein would appear at the threshold
on its way 10 the hearSe al the curb
Riding up before this spectacle
Ringling was struck with amaze
ment. Great was the embarrassment
of all concerned when il was found
that the great Ringlin9 the million.
aire employer of the humble Finkel.
stem. could not even force entrance
into the home TO pay respects 10 the
last of FinkelStein. Bur withuut eff
feet was the attempt of th~se in
charge tO find entrance for the en-
ployer of Finkelstein
Men. women and children crowd
ed every doorway. youngsters with
willing bouquets in their hands. old
er folk exchanging low voiced rem,
iniScences OF the many kindnesses
and acts OF mercy of which they
had been recipient ar the apparent
ly sainted hands of this man who
had passed on
man of whom Ringling had
never mad the slightest conception!
Why. Finkelstein had been Just auv
unobtrusive faithful employee, cour.