The Washington times., 1938-01-24

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eting circumstances. Either you
obeyed the laws and were good
citizen or you didn't obey them
and were a criminal. When you
we're a criminal, then every mans
hand was against you or should be.
This sentimentalizing over Grim
nals was more responsible than
any other single factor for the
prevalence of crime in the United
States.
His name was Russell Maitland
and his father was a judge. Judge
Maitland of the APPELLATE Court.
To understand Russell, you must
have a faint idea of the judge.
Maitland was very aristocratic
looking man who was not as arls.
tocratic as he looked. He hao
come, as the French used to say
it so well, from the people" His
father was a laborer with the
abcrer's awe of formal education,
30 the judge was sent through
school.
He finished in law and took
whatever he could get in the way
of cases. He wasn't squeamish at
first. He handled plenty of Grim
inals, defending them from the
law. But his contacts with them
gave him no understanding of
them.
This gift brought him fairly
swiftly away from criminal law
into corporation law, which, some
bitter lawyers say, is another
branch of it. He rose swiftly to
his judgeship and gathered sew
eral millions on the way.
PontifeX was the son of him and
Marie Delaney, a ShoWgirl who
was a genius at snobbery.
You couldn't blame Pontifex,
really. He was brought up in an
atmosphere of intolerance. The
Judge was intolerant of all human
weaknesses.
The woman was intolerant of
all people she considered below her
and slavish to those she recog.
nized as above her. She narHed
the child Russell because it sound
ed different and genteel to her and
wasn't Russell Sage once a very
great man?
The other boys in st. James
prep school, where Russell pre-
pared for Harvard, hung his
narle, Pontifex, on him. In full, it
was Pontifex Maximus, the High
Priest.
And he was so called because he
firmly believed that he was the
last word on any problem of ethics
by which boys of that age are con,
fronted.
Other boys might have linger.
ing doubt as to the availability or
the finalty of justice of any law
They might feel the law, any law
might be a good one in the case
Of everyone else but not in theil
own. But Pontifex never had any
such wicked and Senseless ideas
Until that night.
NA4U14CA was a Do11y
youth. He inherited a powerful
body from his maternal grand
father, who had been a ditch
digger - though Mrs. Maitland
would have cut off her right arm
rather than admit it. He was big,
then, and strong and intolerant.
And when he went to Harvard, he
was like any of the other de luxe
young men you might see slouch-
ing through the yard.
UNSAVORY PLACE
That night a group of them
went over the Charles River from
Cambridge to Boylston Street to
have time. They had it, 1t
took them quite while to gather
1t.
It was around four in the morn
ing that they ended up in a place
no better than it should be just
off Winter Street on the water
front.
It was an unSavory place, a sa-
loon with back room and a place
where girls came in and met the
gentlemen if the gentlemen's rov-
ing eyes lighted on them drinking
alone there at the tables.
The eyes of all the young gentle
men that night were rowing with
the possible exception of Pontifex
Pont1teX, more than little drunk
was eXpounding on some law OF
other, when Richard Dubrey Sd
stepped grandly over to a table
across the room and struck up ar
acquaintance with a young lady
who looked, but wasn't, lonely.
While Richard was thrusting his
altogether unwelcome attentions
upon her. the lady's escort, a mos
uncouth but very powerful youne
man came back from somewhere
and objected.
His objections were offered a.
the end of his fist with all hi,
strength behind it, and Richarc
described a perfect arc as he flew
backward and landed under {
table.
But he rose from rocking floo
and dove into the fight again
Somehow a bottle had becomt
fastened to his hand and n
brought it down heavily on heat
which rose before him.
The head belonged to the younl
man who had objected so phys
cally to Richard 3d's attempte,
monopoly of the lady. He wen
down, signing softly.
FATAL FIGHT