He should have known better than to say
that to me; it is such an ancient, worn-out platitude."
"I know. I've been to political meetin's. The widows and orphans
are always hangin' on the success of the Republican party--or the
Democratic, whichever way you vote. The amount of tears shed over their
investments by fellers you wouldn't trust with a brass five-cent piece,
is somethin' amazin'. Go on; I didn't mean to interrupt."
"Then he switched to a more personal appeal. He said he had taken a
fancy to me; had liked me from the very beginning. He recognized my
unusual genius at first sight and had gone as far as to make plans
bearing directly on my future. He was associated with men of wealth and
business sagacity. Large deals, of which the Trolley Combine was but
one, were on foot. He and his friends needed a representative on the
press--a publicity agent, so to speak. Some of the greatest corporations
employed men of that kind, and the salaries paid were large and the
opportunities afforded greater still. Well, that's true enough. I know
writers who are doing just that thing and getting rich at it. I suppose
they've squared their consciences somehow and are willing to write lies
and misleading articles for what there is in it. I can't, that's all;
I'm not built that way, and I told him so.
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