The Argosy, March 1907 — page 6: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

although there are times when the only argument worth using is a swift smash in the jaw, there are likewise times when to invoke force would only render them mutinous and ugly. “But Davis seemed to have an in- stinctive knack about it. He got more work out of his hands than any other two sawmill men in the woods, and he did it with less fuss. Inside of two years he was out of debt %d_had begun to enlarge his field of operations. It was about this time, too, that, as I have al- ready intimated to you, he succeeded in skinning some of us old-timers out of some rather profitable contracts. | “Still, he was too sharp not to real- izethat sooner or later we would get back at him, so he evolved a plan for consolidating all the warring timber in- terests of the locality in one controlling company. I laughed at him when he first outlined his proposition to me. *Tt’s a good scheme; all right,’ I had to admit, ‘but the millennium will be here and the lion and the lamb trotting in double harness before you ever get it accomplished,’ ‘“T didn’t prove much of a prophet, though,’”’ Judson grinned. “ In less than six months Gardiner frad all our signa- tures to an agreement, and we, who had been at loggerheads for years, were duly organized into the Spring Creek Timber Company, from which, as you are aware, came the Spring Creek Railway Com pany, in order that we might have an outlet for our lumber end cecal.” “Ves.” broke in one of the others spitefully, “and you might also mention that at the consolidation Davis unloaded his old mill on us at a price three times its value.” “Well, I don’t know,” argued Judson. ‘““He held out for a pretty stiff bargain, I’ll admit; but he made no false claims in the matter. He told us that if prop- erly managed the plant would earn five per cent on our investment. Where we fell down was in not figuring that his management was accountable for four and a half per cent of the five.” _ “ He did not remain with you, then, I gather?” observed the director from New York with an appreciative smile. “Oh, no,” rejoined Judson. “ Gar- diner had always looked forward to be- THE ARGOSY.. coming a civil engineer, and as soo.u % he got rid of the mill he went righ off to New York to start his education He’s been over at Columbia four years now.” | The director from New York contem- plated the toes of his boots for two or three minutes in silence; then he glanced up with quick decision at the little cir- cle regarding him. He was the representative of the moneyed interests which had furnished the bulk of the Spring Creek’s backing, and, his word was to a certain extent authoritative. “Gentlemen,” he said trenchantly, “ I. am inclined to think that the suggestion offered by our president is decidedly in point, and that this board cannot*do a wiser thing than adopt it.” He paused a moment before the little gasp of amazed dissent which swept the room; then his face hardened into reso- lute lines. ‘What is our situation?” he de- manded, stepping to the table, and point- ing significantly to a blue-print map there spread out. ‘‘ Here we are a lit- tle stretch of track originally built, as has been stated, to afford you men trans- portation facilities for your coal and lumber, but afterward, with our aid, ex- tended in a direct line westward to the Great Lakes. “Your only Eastern outlet has been over the Pennsylvania’ Midland, and in completing the extension we had no doubt but that the same arrangement = would be continued, and that we would thus. be enabled to compete for through business to and from the East. I recall these facts mereiy to make clear the point at which I am driving, for 1 am aware that the dilemma we are facing is only too well known to ail of us. : “fo resume, then, the Midland, or rather Sylvester Burns, who is its~con- trolling sj rit, recognizing the value uf the extended.Spring Creek, has repudi-— ated its covenants with us, and winning out against us in the courts by means of a technicality, has left us stranded up here in the mountains. with no possible way of getting our freight to tide- water. == “The motive of all this is very is, in fact, the same which actua