THE SEMI-WEEKLY ROB ETONIAN
THE
CASH
INTRIGUE
GEORGE RANDOLPH
CHESTER
j
Capyritffcl IM9. hy the kU-MfriII C.
SYNOPSIS
Phillip Kelvin, accompanied by his negro
bodyguard, Sam, Invades Wall street with
12.000,000 In a dress suit cass and begins
selling stocks, going short 4,000 shares
' dally. He meets .Rensselaer, an old com
rade. They call upon Elsie White and her pov
erty stricken family. Elsie apparently
loves Phillip. Broker Galleon warns Kel
vla he will be ruined, but Kelvin con
tinues to sell stocks.
Kelvin tells Wall street magnates that
a billion dollars of actual currencyhas
been withdrawn from circulation by Hen
ry Breed's bread trust. The cash corner
. causes a panic In stocks. Banker Pellman
endeavors to see Breed.
Breed refuses to release cash and stop
the panic. Kelvin declines to assist Pell
man, who discovers that Breed Is the
power behind Kelvin's stock operations.
Business goes to smash. Thousands are
starving. Kelvin assists Elsie White, who
learns that he has caused the panic. She
becomes Lillian Breed's maid at Forest
Lakes, the Breed estate.
Breed shows Lillian and Kelvin his steel
vault In the cellar, containing millions in
cash. His ambition Is to concentrate all
the money In the United States In this
vault
Blagg, Breed's wireless operator, plans
social revolution. He hates Breed and
loves Lillian. Breed and Kelvin plan to
control all the railroads. Breed sends for
fifillins, a great railroad man.
CHAPTER XIII.
BREED came out and called Rol
lins into the library, where Kel
vin was already seated. The
old man was almost childish In
his admiration of his two lieutenants,
as be cbose to call tbem.
"I hare been waiting for years for
this." said he, rubbing his clawllUe
hands together as he looked from the
one to the other of them. "In all my
years of money making my only worry
was that when the time came I might
not find capable men through which to
wield the ultimate power I craved.
Like most worry. It was wasted. You
two young men have done wonderful
work, but It has only Just begun."
"Precisely my errand." said Rollins,
with a rather wan smile. "The work
is only Just begun, and at the outset
I have found so much opposition that
I ran down here for moral support"
"You've come to the right place,"
laughed Kelvin. "At Forest Lakes we
are dealing almost exclusively In moral
support"
"Backed by the dead weight of more,
cash than was ever in one man's con
trol since time began." chuckled Breed.
"What are your difficulties, Mr. Rol
lins?" "Well." said Rollins. "I have practi
cally put the Unified Steel corporation
out of business as a monopoly. Here
Is a communication I had from Mac
Dougal. If ever a big man made a
whine in a letter MacDougal Is the
man. and here is this whine." And
With huge contempt he tossed down
a three page missive which Kelvin
read, with a smile.
"The answer," went on Rollins, "is
pen hearth steel and the control of
transportation. I have put them in di
rect competition with our own plants,
and they are underliildiug us. I In
tend to let them have some large con
tracts at a price we cannot touch. Now
I begin to have dreams."
"1 don't see any ditliculty In that.''
laughed Kelviu. "A man doesn't
dream mnuy dreams in the face of
failures. It's success that brings
dreams. I hare dreams of my own.
1 have done a little thinking about
these dreams of lute."
"I know you have," interposed Rol
lins. "Somebody has been doing n
great deal of thinking around here. At
first 1 thought it.was Mr. Breed, but now
1 know that he hires his thinking."
Breed himself was the first to ac
knowledge by a chuckle the truth of
this renin rk.
"1 used to hare to do it myself when
I was poor." he admitted, "but that
Is not the way to success. You can't
get rich that way any more than you
can by performing all your own man
ual labor. My success is built on an un
usual ability to discover men who can
think for me. But you two go ahead
and exchange your dreams; I am in
terested." "1 hare no objection to telling mine,"
said Kelvin. "I want to do a little
trust bussing. "
"I've tried it, and that's why I'm
here." laughed Rollins. "Trust bust
ing, with absolute control of every
mile of railroad in the United States,
Is the easiest thing in the world. Ray
mer. Speed. Melton Sears & Co. and
all the others have been making life
a burden to me. Strangely enough,
they don't want to be drawn and quar
tered." I hate them, every one," suddenly
snapped Breed. "A dozen times they
tried to gobble me up in the early
'days. 1 hare their photographs, too,
waiting to be checked off."
"We'll let yon check them off by and
T-r," replied, Rollins. "They "are crip
pled now. but it was a task. Even
with all my experience I didn't appre
ciate the full extent of the private
car graft. It was a colossal trick,
serving merely as a disguise for ex
cessive and absurd rebates."
' "Wfll. you stopped it," Kelvin con
soled him.
"Yes," I stopped it." admitted Rollins, i
..with a sigh "and the next thing: that
happened I had all the big pad era on
my neck."
"The only way to forget the attacks
of the packers." suggested Kelvin. "la
to attack the other monopolies. Ham
string them the first stroke."
"Goodr said Rollins, with relief.
"It's a pleasure to find that we want
the same thing without argument It's j
simple enough. I've merely to estab-
llsh my flat freight rate without undue
reduction for quantity and without re
bate, thus giving the small shipper an
equal chance with the big one. The j
Interstate commerce law may then go j
out of commission, for we will do the ;
same work which It was designed to
do. but In which it fulled."
Kelvin and Breed exchanged glances.
"Don't misunderstand me," went on
Rollins. "I consider the trusts as much
a product of natural law as the attrac
tion of gravitation, but where they at
tain to stupendous fatness merely on
abuses they cease to fulfill the need
which brought them into existence.
The greatest abuse of which the mo
nopolies have been guilty is in trans
portation. Probably more than half of
the freight carried is shipped by large
corporations, nearly every ton of It be
ing subject to a rebate or a drawback
of some sort, and this drain on the
railroads, amounting to millions every
year, must be made up by the small !
shippers. I can lower the present os-!
tenslble cost of transportation on a
flnf rata hnaia nnii mnke more monev I
for our stockholders."
Breed looked at Kelvin inquiringly.
Phillip nodded his hgjtd.
"I have been over some of the fig
ures," said Breed. "The aggregate is
appalling, but I am afraid that, after
all, we shall be compelled to allow cer
tain concessions in certain places."
Rollins turned slightly pale. "I have
been waiting for that remark," he said,
"but I want you to understand that
there will be no concession of any sort.
One exception I grant you, and that Is
the secret rebate on Mr. Breed's bread,
wheat and cereal shipments, which
was agreed upon in the first place;
other than that, absolutely none. 1 j
propose to manage these united rail-,
roads unhampered or I propose to cre
ate such a stench that public opinion
will revolt at the next stockholders'
meeting and you will be utterly un
able to secure proxies. Without prox
ies you have no railroad domination."
Again Breed and Kelvin exchanged
glances. Again Phillip nodded bis
head.
"You are quite right In your conten
tion. Mr. Rollins," admitted Kelvin.
"But you misunderstand us. We don't
Intend to Interfere with your absolute
control. "We do hope, however, to have
you see that our way of planning Is
right. Until theu we shall not even
bother you with advice. In the mean
time promulgate your flat rate sheet
and we'll stand behind you."
Rollins studied the matter over for
some time. "Very well." said he. "I
think that I shall remain at Forest
Lakes for a month or so. I had just
as lief have the avalanche of protests
come to me here as In New York. I
understand by this that you will nei
ther promise nor attempt to make any
concessions to these people."
"Absolutely none," declared Kelvin.
"We'll give you our bond on that."
"Your word Is enough at present,"
replied Rollins dryly. "If you will
stick to the letter of that I am per
fectly satisfied."
After Rollins had left the room Kel
vin turned inquiringly to Breed. "Will
be come in?" he asked anxiously.
"Who the time Js ripe, yes," assert
ed Breed confidently. "It is in his
blood, and when the time comes he'll
listen."
That evening Rollins met Elsie
White coming down the kitchen steps
and joined her. She was so frank, so
wholesome, that he always had an in
definable impression of beiug the bet
ter for having talked with her. even
though nothing of moment had been
said.
"How the country agrees with you!"
he observed as he joined her. "You
were looking rather pale when I first
saw you here, but you have found
some marvelous rouge among these
trees."
"I like it very much," she admitted,
turning his compliment with a smile.
"I have already" grown to have a cer- i
tain amount of supercilious pity for j
city dwellers." j
"They really need it," he agreed, I
with a laugh, "and to prove that I am j
sincere in that remark 1 am going to ;
stop with you for a month or so."
"Good:" she exclaimed. "More peo- j
pie to enjoy Forest Lakes Is all that j
we need."
"Do they never hare any visitors."
Rollins inquired, "week end parties
and the like?"
"Never." she replied. "For festirl- ;
ties of that sort they go down occa-
sionally to Mr. Breed's other place in ;
Virginia, but Mr. Breed is very Je.nous
of baring any social life whatever j
here." j
Rollins strolled by her side until
they reached the cottage, where the
garrulous Mrs. White met them at the
door, i
Mrs. White was delighted to be in
troduced to Mr. Rollins.
"Elsie has told me all about what a
fine man you are, and fine men are
scarce enough any place. Are you go
ing to stay long this tfme?"
"ne pro i i sea us a month at least,
mother."
"That's nice." asserted Mrs. White.
"It's fine to hare a lot of good look
ing men around: My goodness! I tell
Elsie 6he never will have a chance to
get married if she stays here."
Rollins was so thankful to Elsie that
she laughed from sheer amusement
and gave him a chance to Join her.
His amusement and also his repressed
embarrassment were heightened when,
after Elsie had invited him to sit on
the. Tine clad little front stoorj, Mrs.
White sudden!jiDd conspicuously ab
sented herself. The two were silent
for a time, when they beard approach
ing voices.
"You had better come In with us."
said the voice of Blagg from Just be
yond the corner of the bouse. "The
organization now numbers more than
a quarter of a million, all of the down
trodden, sworn to serve the best In
terests of the poor."
"But if they are all poor people what
can they do to help themselves?" ob
jected the voice of Ben Wnlte.
"Rise up and overwhelm the exist
ing condition of things by the mere
weight of numbers." responded Blagg
quickly and tensely. "Moreover, the
organization Is not so poor as yon
might think. It has quite a snug little
sum In its own treasury, and, besides
that. 1 know where there Is $1,500,
000,000 in cash that we can seize upon
the moment we rise. Look here, Mr.
White. I want to explain to you the
system of our organization"
By the sound of the voices they were
slowly walking away. Elsie turned to
Rollins with a troubled frown.
"I don't like this Mr. Blagg." she de
clared. "He talks nearly every even
ing with father about some secret so
ciety he wishes him to Join, and 1 am
afraid."
Rollins laughed easily. "These so
cialistic organizations never do any
thing," he told her.
He thought no more of the matter
just then, but he did think more and
more frequeutly of Elsie White as the
days wore on. He knew that he had
lost caste with Mrs. Rensselaer the first
time she saw him with Lillian's maid,
but he did not care to hold caste with
Mrs. Rensselaer. The Rollins men
folk had held it as their right to marry
whom they chose, and he began a de
liberate courtship of Elsie White.
He avoided Lillian Breed from fas
tidious choice, but he spent much time
In his spare hours with Kelvin and
young Rensselaer.
One drowsy night he had dropped to
sleep upon a bench on the porch In the
shadow of a climbing rosebush. He
was awakened by the scrape of chairs
and became conscious of low and tense
voices quite near him.
"You. too, could love as I love," said
the voice of Blagg, trembling with re
pressed intensity, "could love with
seething brain, with pounding pulses,
with a heart the throbs of which would
hurt and hurt and hurt!"
"You are almost poetical In your
anatomy of the emotions," drawled the
contemptuous voice of Lillian Breed.
"I had no idea that the love of money
could affect one in that precise way."
"You don't mean that slur," he pro
tested angrily. "You know that if you
had not a dollar I would still have for
you this hunger that starves me, this
thirst that parches me, this flame that
burns me, this agony that makes me
cry out in the night."
"You ought not to encourage your
self In that attitude," she said, with
less contempt. "You are making a
breach in the confidence that Is placed
in you here."
"I would make a breach in the wall
of heaven." he retorted passionately,
"I would break and destroy It utterly,
would grind It to atoms, would scatter
its dust to the four winds, if by that I
might win you. And you could love,
I tell you. as madly as I do."
"Yes." she admitted slowly, "but not
you."
"I know,"' he responded bitterly, "but
you are wasting your affections. Kel
vin cares for no one but himself."
"Who told you to speak his name?
Don't make me hate you."
"I'd rather that than Indifference,"
ne declared, "eo hate me, for hate at
least Is an emotion. As for Kelvin, I
will not be silent about him, for I
think you're mistaken about even your
self. It is not Kelvin to whom you
are attracted, but the force be rep
resents. The power to achieve, that
is what you worship, but in your
dreams of the power he might acquire
you are blind to other possibilities. I,
too, can give you power. Join with
me and future historians will acclaim
us as the great liberators of the chain
ed and manacled American public."
"Splendid!"' she exclaimed, laughing
lightly. "I didn't even know they
needed liberation."
"You have much to learn," he return
ed. "Do you know that the army of
the unemployed now numbers nearly a
million? Do you know that there is
an organization among them and their
more fortunate brothers, aggregating
a quarter of a million, which is sworn
to change the existing order of thing,
so that every man' shall have an equal
opportunity? Listen a moment. I
could gain control of this organization
and increase it to 10.000,000 if I had
MONEY!
Don't come to Lumberton
with an empty wagon. We
pay cash for
Shingle Timber
cut in blocks 18 inches long,
not less than 15 inches wide.
" Heart Pine or Cypress. We
grind your corn whije you
wait We handle all kinds
of building supplies, Man
tles, Church Pews, Columns,"
Balisters, Brackets. Etc.
Will dress your lumber
cheap.
LUMBERTON NOVELTY
WORKS INC,
bll-
lion and a half dollars of cash."
"Of what are you talking r ner
tone now was a frightened one.
"The possibilities of a new and glori
ous order of things, a new social sys-
"TOrR TALK IS FERFF.CTLT BIL.LT, BUT
IT IS AMC8INO."
tern, a new form of government which
shall guarantee to every man an equal
distribution of earning capacity. I
need to rally 10.000,000 men to the
new cause. It will cost $150 per man.
That amounts to a billion and a half
of dollars. You have, let us say. in
fluential friends who have plenty of
money solid cash. Join me, help me
to raise this money; help me to carry
through to its glorious conclusion this
enormous benefit to humanity, and no
king and queen will have a firmer and
a more honored place in history than
we shall have."
"It Is a dream of folly." she protest
ed. "You woulcr expend all this enor
mous amount of money if you had It in
promoting only a new reign of terror."
"By no means." he declared and
laughed. "My 10,000.000 men would
need but to show their teeth and it
would all be over. There need not be a
blow struck."
The voice of Mrs. Rensselaer broke
in upon them, peremptorily calling
upon Lillian for some music.
"Coming," replied Lillian. She turn
ed to Blagg. "I must go In now," she
said to. him. "Your talk is perfectly
silly, but it is amuslnf. too. I find It
quite curious and interesting."
She hurried into the house, leaving
Blagg alone on the porch. As soon as
she had gone Blagg stepped down Into
the grounds and disappeared. Rollins
Bat quite still and thought for a long,
long time.
(To be continued.)
BedufnoPiunts
for beautifying the yard.
Also Decorative plants
for the house.
GUoIce Gut Flowers....
for weddint
and all social
events. Floral offerings
arranged in the most
artistic style at short
notice. Mail, telephone
and telegraph orders
promptly executed by
J. L. O'Quinn & Co.
Florists
Phone No. 149. Raleigh, N. C.
Ask for price list
BRI6K !
Good : Commercial : Brick
100,000
for sale, making more every
day.
Cash prices per M.
$5.50, $6.50 and $7.50.
Special prices on large lots
Acme Brick Co.
5-4tf (Incorporated)
Lumberton, North Carolina
KIDNEV CURE
WILL CURB YOU
of any case of Kidney or
Bladder disease that is not
beyond the reach of medl-
cine. Take it at oncer Do
i not risk having Bright'; Dis
ease or Diabetes. There is
nothing gained by delay.
ffOo. and f 1.00 Botflee
rvtl SUBSTITUTES
fOLEY KIDNEY PHIS
fou Back ac ms Kiomcysand blaodih
your opportunities to command
Kb
FIIEVS
Do you need a Headstone or a Monument?
Do you want select Material?
Do you want first-class Workmanship?
Do you want name and dates exactly correct?
Do you want us to pay the freight?
Do you want your work erected by an experienced iraa?
Do you want a square deal and courteous treatment?
If so give your order to
MECKLENBURG MARBLE 4 GRANITE CO., ClarloQe, N. C.
I
JW our Mlmman
5-1-tf Mr. I. V. Hooper, office with W.H. Kinlaw. Lumberter NL C-
The Ideal Summer Resort
Until you spend a vacation at Ellerbe Springs, you can't app?y
ciate the full meaning of "best vacation." The climate is ideal
always plesint and cool, and the attractions are many.
Ellerbe Springs water is netej for the cure of Indigestion, quick
relief from Hay fever and Asthma. The hotel is one of modern coicy
fort, and the fare has made the resort famous.
The resort is reached via Seabjard to Rockingham, N'. C, thenrv
by automobile line to the Springs, eleven miles over good roads. For
booklet and rates address,
Ellerbe
A. C. CORPENTNG, Manager Bccklagham, S. C.
Itinning
Don't forget that we have in connec
tion with our regular Hardware Store an
up-to-date Tin Shop. We are prepared to
do all kinds of
Metal and Slate Roofing,
Guttering, Etc. dt
We repair all kinds of Ice Boxes,
Freezers and Refrigerators. Estimates
cheerfully furnished. Out of town work
will have prompt attention. 'Phone either
29 or 60,
McAllister Hardware Co.
5 - 29 -
SUPPLIES FOR THE
PARMER
It matters not what you need in the
way of arm Implements, Grocer
ies, Dry Goods, etc., we can supply
YOUR WANTS'. O
We have everything for everybody jjj
at the right prices. Call and let us
show you. - O
McEachem, Johnson & McGeachy Co, o
St Pauls,
9-9
Vehicles
Buggies, Wagons and Harness
the most complete line shown
in town. Standard grades,
stylish and at reasonable prices.
When in the market do not
fail to see us. We have the
goods. Hackney, Babcock,
Washington and Wrenn bug
gies. Hackney wagons.
j w.
I. LINKHAW
LUMBERTON, N. C.
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Low
Round Trip Fares from Lumberton
Tickets on sale July 7, 8 and 9. 1911, $19.55 Atlantic City, N. J. Ac
count Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Final return limit July
20, which may be extended to August 20, by depositing ticket and payirr
$1 00.
Rochester, N. Y. $26.60.
Account A. A. O. N. Mystic Shrine. Final return limit July 18, which
may be extended to August 15, by depositing ticket and paying $1.X.
These Rates areTOpen to the Public.
'" For illustrated booklets discriptive of each of the above cities and tiipw
and for schedules, Pullman reservations, etc., call on S. R. Clary, Trartx
Manager V. & C S. Railroad, Lumberton, C or address
W. J. CRAIG, T. C. WHITE.
Passenger Traffic Manager, General Passenger Agent,
Wilmington, N. C.
Subscribe for The
Springs Hotel,
lmd
N. C.
5?
Robesonian, $1.50
r