CHAPTER XIV
J. MALCOLM WESTON
There is in this land of the free, where all men are created equal (onpaper), a class of financial sharpers, whose ambition and soleoccupation is to secure for themselves the wealth of others by the mostoccult and far-reaching scheming ever evolved by human brain. They toilnot, neither do they produce, yet Satan with all his archness is notequipped like one of these. There is no taint of illegality in theirmethods, they are outwardly the best of men, heralded by the press asgreat financiers, railroad magnates, oil, copper, and iron kings,praised by the rich and toadied to by the poor. They are envied by many,lauded by editors who seek advertisements, and (if they contributeliberally) praised by college presidents and preachers alike. Politicalfortunes are turned by their nod, laws enacted in their aid, the code ofmorals shaded in their favor, club doors opened, and society bowing lowwhichever way they turn. Only the toiling millions whose lives are onelong fight against poverty think or speak ill of them, and such are notconsidered. Those magnates of extortion so colossal that it is legal,have one trite expression that contains their contempt for the millionswho envy, and that is, "The public be d----d."
Of their operation on the chess board of finance little need be said. Itis known, or at least its results are, to high or low, rich or poor.These octopuses, or rather human sharks, organize trusts, corner everynecessity of life where conditions will permit; buy bankrupt railroads,inflate their stock, boom it by systematic deception and then unload itat top prices on the countless flocks of lambs ever ready to buy what isdear, and who never by any known process can be induced to buy what ischeap.
And those are financiers!
There is another class, usually with less money, but equal in brains andaudacity, who have come to be known as promoters. Relatively speakingthey should be called dogfish. They would be financiers if they could,but lacking capital to buy railroads, or corner everything on the earth,except water, they merely organize schemes and sell stock. How many, andhow varied those are, it is waste of space to specify. All that thepatient reader need do is consult the pages of any or all city dailiesand read the tempting list of schemes there to be found. All are alikein the main, for all offer safe investments, sure and ample returns,indorsed by names that glitter, and promise everything under thesun,--except to return your money if you do not get value promised.
Of this class was J. Malcolm Weston.
He had organized two or three glittering bubbles before the firm ofWeston & Hill was established, but from lack of capital failed to reapthe hoped-for reward. Then along came Hill, a retired manufacturer,whose history shall be given in due time, who had more money than brainsand more conceit than either. Weston, a shrewd and smooth-tonguedschemer, reading Hill at a glance, was not long in flattering thatgullible man into a partnership and taking him and his money into camp,as it were. For a time, and while Winn Hardy was serving apprenticeship,the firm conducted a fairly honest and respectable business. They boughtand sold stocks and bonds of all kinds, that is, they sold and thenbought to fill orders only,--a species of commission business perfectlysafe, but not satisfying to Weston. He longed to soar, to organize agreat scheme, a glittering bubble, to see his name in print as a king offinance, and do it on other people's money--and Hill's.
Then one day, while off with his broker, Simmons, on the latter's steamyacht, visiting various north coast islands, the impulse culminated.
"Why not buy one of these islands," said Simmons, "and start a quarrycompany? You can buy one for a song and a granite-quarrying industry_sounds_ safe and will catch the cautious. I am intending to build afine residence in the near future, and you can furnish me the stone. Inreturn, I'll market stock enough to pay for it. We can find an islandwith a harbor and buy it, or a part, which is all that is needful, andyou can do the rest." And thus the scheme was hatched, and when J.Malcolm Weston, the to-be great financier, returned to the city, he wassole owner of Jess Hutton's unused quarry and the Rockhaven GraniteCompany was born.
It took time, however, for Hill was a cautious man, holding on to hispurse-strings with the grip of death, and Weston must needs approach himcircuitously. Then there were outsiders to warm up, as it were, men ofsome financial standing whose names were of value, to interest; acharter to be obtained, and all the legal and business detail necessaryto the carrying out of a scheme to be attended to. It also needed all ofWeston's plausible arguments to perfect the plot, and summer came aroundagain before the conspiracy was ready to be launched. Then "the street"was cautious, and knowing Weston's reputation in the past, was noteager, or even willing, to buy this stock. At first, a few credulouspeople like Winn's aunt and two or three others who believed in Westonbought small lots, and the men whose names appeared on the prospectuswere each and all given stock in due ratio to their prominence. And thenSimmons began his fine work. He knew, and so did Weston, that everyshare they had given away would be offered for sale as soon as a pricefor it had been established "on 'change" and then the scheme would fallflat. But Simmons had ideas of his own. "We must wait," he said, "untilyour man Hardy has shipped us one or two loads of granite, then heraldthat fact repeatedly in the papers until the dear confiding public don'tknow whether one or ten shiploads have arrived, and then--declare adividend!"
It was not long after, and when Winn Hardy, the honest dupe that he was,was either zealously striving to push the Rockhaven Granite Companyinterests toward success, or thinking about what fine eyes Mona Huttonhad, that the _Market News_ contained the following item:--
"The first load of granite destined for the new and palatial residencewhich Richard Simmons, the well-known broker, is about to build, hasarrived. It came from the Rockhaven Granite Company's quarries on anisland they own, which produces the finest quality of building stoneobtainable."
A week later this item also appeared in the same financial sheet:--
"It is rumored that all the treasury stock of the Rockhaven GraniteCompany has been subscribed for and that this enterprising corporationis overwhelmed with orders for their excellent product. This is due tothe rapid growth of our beautiful city and the consequent demand forbuilding materials."
And J. Malcolm Weston, after reading them in the privacy of his office,stroked his abundant side whiskers with an admiring caress, while asmile of satisfaction spread over his genial face. It was the beginningof his long-cherished ambition to pose as a great financier and itfilled his soul with joy.
"A dozen or more of such items will start the ball rolling in gloriousshape," he said to Hill, "and boom Rockhaven to beat the cards."
But Hill, the narrow-minded and close-fisted man that he was, onlylooked cross, and sourly asked, "What did they cost?"
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