The Norman Transcript. (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 20, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 1, 1909 Page: 3 of 8
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JOHN W. GATES T2LUS WHY
THEY ARE NOT BUILDING
WAS WILLING" TO INVEST MILLIONS
Constitution and Laws Caured Him
to Withdraw—Amendment to be
Initiated to the Voters
of the State
Oklahoma City, Okla., June 28.—
When the building of new railroads
In Oklahoma stopped about the time
of the constitutional convention, be-
cause of the uncertainty of investors
as to what the outcome of untried leg-
islative experiments would be, there
was great disappointment in those
portions of the (state without rail-
roads, and yet at the point of seeing
them constructed, surveys having
been made and rights of way nego-
tiated. Other communities that had
railroads, but needed more, were no
less disappointed.
In Oklahoma, as in all new coun-
tries, the development of natural re-
sources was made possible almost
wholly by railroads, without which
there would have been no available
markets, and without markets the
richest, resources are practically with-
out commercial value.
The present need of additional rail-
roads in Oklahoma is more imperative
than ever, yet beyond a small mile-
age that had been contracted for prior
to statehood there has not been a foot
of new main line construction since
that time. Unless this situation
should change, no one may safely
guess when more railroads will be
built, and if the change should be too
long delayed, even its final coming
might encounter a weakening in the
nation's phenomenal prosperity of
the last ten years, which would mean
that the building of new railroads
would not be attempted under any
circumstances, whatever the local in-
ducements.
One of the most succesful promot-
ers of big financial enterprises in the
United States is John W. Gates, a
man of great wealth. Gates came to
Oklahoma several weeks ago and mar-
velled at its undeveloped resources.
He was so impressed with what he
saw that privately he declared his wil-
lingness to make heavy investments
in property and In the building of a
branch line of the Fort Smith & West-
ern railroad, of which he is one of the
principal owners, if it were found
that the much disputed constitution
and laws of Oklahoma were not un-
friendly to such enterprises.
Gates suddenly and abruptly aban-
doned Oklahoma, of which an explana-
tion may be found in the following
correspondence.
W. W. Bierce, of Oklahoma City, is
a personal friend of Gates. On May
26, 1909, Gates wrote this letter to
Bierce:
"Dear Mr. Bierce:
"I enclose herewith letter received
from Mr. Harris yesterday, together
with opinion of his attorneys on the
laws of the state of Oklahoma. This
absolutely kills the project in my
mind and accounts for there having
been no new railroad building since
Oklahoma became a state. Under
these circumstances I cannot consent
to invest any money in Oklahoma R.
R. building at the present time.
"I have decided to sail for Europe
not later than June 9th.
"With regards to Mrs. Bierce and
asking you to return the enclosed let-
ters for my files, I am, yours very
truly.—John W. Gates."
Two days previous to the foregoing
Gates letter, the following letter to
Mr. Gates from John F. Harris, of
Harris, Winthrop & Co., of New York
City, was received:
"Dear Mr. Gates.—Referring to the
subject of the construction of a rail-
road from Oklahoma to Wichita Falls
to which I have given considerable
time and thought since my return to
New York.
"My railroad friends assure me
that no branch line will pay in the
state of Oklahoma or elsewhere at
the present time; that the only profit-
able railroad today is a main line
railroad, a railroad that has delivered
to It a very large amount of freight
from various branch roads so that its
tonnage per ton mile is very large.
"Furthermore, bankers and others
with whom we have heretofore been
associated in various enterprises, are
very reluctant. Indeed, in some in-
stances they absolutely refuse to be-
come associated in any enterprise in
the state of Oklahoma until its pres-
ent constitution and laws are modi-
fied. They realize that Oklahoma Is a
great state today, and that it will be
greater in the future, but its constitu-
tion and laws are such as to so se-
riously threaten and interfere with
Copying an English Law.
Largely owttag to the Indefatigable
efforts of Maj. Boudren of that city,
the board of education of Bridgeport,
Conn., has adopted what in ngland i:> |
known as the "Conscience Objectors' j
Act." Henceforth any parent who has {
a prejudice against vaccination may
obtain the admlslon of his children to
the public schools without submitting
them to vaccination by merely notify-
ing the superintendent of his scruples
in writing. j
corporations, that they prefer to in- :
vest elsewhere, where they are not i
so menaced.
"I have asked our attorneys to give \
me their opinion upon this matter, and !
enclose herewith their reply.
'In view of what I have stated above
I have come to the conclusion that I
do not care to recommend to our
friends and customers, nor to further
consider myself, the project referred
to in this letter. Yours very truly.—
John F. Harris."
The letter to Mr. Harris from his
attorneys bore the date May 24, 1909,
and read:
"Dear Mr. Harris.—We have exam-
ined the constitution and statutes of
the state of Oklahoma, with a view to
giving our opinion as to the advisa-
bility of investing capital in that
state in a railroad or other corporate
enterprise. Our opinion ii that it
would be highly inadvisable, unless
the assured profit on the proposed en.
terprlse was so large and quick In
its return that it would compen-
sate for the risk. Every obstacle
is placed in the way of Icfltln.aty
[business enterprise. Evo-y curpcra-1
Li hi is - ubject to the ti.'I visitorial
and inquisitorial power of the state
and its corporation commission. The
fullest control over corporations is
given to the corporation commission,
which is practically placed in the po-
sition of the owner and manager of a
corporation doing business in that
state. No corporation can own, hold
or control the stock of a\iy corpora-
tion engaged in the same kind of bus-
iness, in or out of the state. Every
public service corporation must sub-
| mit any difference with its employs*
i to arbitration.
"Without detailing the various pro-
; visions of the statutes and corpora-
tion laws of the state of Oklahoma,
there is no state the laws of which
are so drastic and place as many im-
pediments in the way of successful [
business enterprise and surround it
with so many dangers as the laws of
Oklahoma. Yours very truly—Gifford,
j Hobbs & Beard, New York, Attor-
neys."
Following this correspondence, Mr,
Bierce addressed this letter to G. B.
Stone, formerly president of the Ok-
lahoma City Chamber of Commerce:
"Dear Mr. Stone: Inclosed herewith
I hand you copy of a letter of 26th
ult., from Mr. John W. Gates to me,
also a copy of a letter of 24th ult.,
from his associate and broker, Mr.
John F. Harris, to Mr. Gates, together
with copy of a letter from Mr. Har-
ris' attorneys.
"These letters are self-explanatory
and show how necessary it is to have
our laws amended before there will
be any railroad building in the state
of Oklahoma.
"As you will remember Mr. Gates
told you and me personally he would
supply all the money necessary for
the building of this road, if tliera
were no legal complications.
"I have no objections to your sub-
mitting thi3 correspondence to the
Federated Commercial Clubs of the
state, for I have Mr. Gates' permis-
sion to do so.
"I truly hope the laws of Oklahoma
may be amended so that enterprises
like the Oklahoma & Texas railroad
may be a fact rather than on paper,
j Yours truly.—W. W. Bierce."
Section nine of article nine of the
Oklahoma constitution forbids a rail-
road company organized under the
laws of any other state, or of the
United States, in any way to purchase
or control a railroad organized under
the laws of Oklahoma. As a matter
of fact, most railroad systems have
been built up by the enterprise of
independent construction companies
that have pioneered unoccupied terri-
tory and built new lines that later be-
came essential to the old trunk line
companies that otherwise might never
have built these new lines. Undei*
the constitution and laws of Okla-
homa railroads may not be built in
this manner, nor may a railroad build
a new line through a subordinate con-
struction company, as is done In other
states.
The last Oklahoma legislature pro-
vided for the submission of an amend-
ment to this section of the constitu-
tion through the initiative to the peo-
ple at the next general election. The
need of the amendment at the earliest
possible moment was so apparent for
the development of the resources of
the state, that the Federation of Com-
mercial Clubs, at its state meeting
at Oklahoma City, arranged for the
circulation of Initiative petitions by a
special committee of twenty-five rep-
V'.entative business men in all parts
of the state asking that the proposed
amendment be submitted at a special
election to be called by the governor
as soon as possible.
It is generally admitted that this
| amendment is a move in the right di-
rection but it is doubtful if the !
amendment of this section of the con- ;
stitution alone would be sufficient. It !
is hoped that the people will study |
the subject for themselves and find
out how great are the constitutional
restrictions on capital for big enter- |
prise3, and if all these restrictions !
, are necessary, and if they do more j
harm than good.
Italian Justice Slow.
Sometimes Italian courts work with
painful slowness. A man named
Pietri, who has 'been in prison in
Italy .awaiting trial on a charge of
murder since Sep'emjber, 1870 is
about to face the jury. The first hear-
ing of the case was interrupted by the
foundling of the kingdom of Italy.
Then the presiding magistrate and
tow of the principal witnesses died,
and the matter dropped oul of official
notice.
OTD) Lin
<BT r?'P
MBfnT u
AV£S ^
BEMV£r
musmm w ray mam
cwytticttr /tot sr A.c. a. co.
SYNOPSIS.
Th# story opens with the shipwreck of
the steamer on which Miss Uenevievc
Leslie, an American heiress, Lord Win-
thrope, an Englishman, and Tom Blake,
a brusque American, were passengers.
The three were tossed upon an unin-
habited Island and were the only ones
not drowned. Blake recovered from a
drunken stupor. Blake, shunned on the
boat, because of his roughness, became
a haro as preserver of the helpless pair.
The Englishman was suing for the hand
of Miss Leslie.
CHAPTER if.—Continued.
"Oh, but Mr. Blake, I am sure it
must be a mistake; I am sure that if
it is explained to papa—"
"Yes; we'll cable papa to-night.
Meantime, we've something else to do.
Suppose you two get a hustle on your-
selves, and scrape up something to
eat. I'm going out to see what's left
ot that blamed old tub."
"Surely you'll not venture to swim
out so far!" protested Winthrope. "I
saw the steamer sink as we cast off.''
"Looks like a mast sticking up out
there. Maybe some of the rigging is
loose."
"But the sharks! These waters
swarm with the vile creatures. You
must not risk your life!"
"'Cause why? If I do, the babes in
the woods will be left without even
the robins to cover them, poor things!
But cheer up!—maybe the mud-hens
will do it with lovely water-lilies."
"Please, Mr. Blake, do not be so
cruel!" sobbed Miss Leslie, her tears
starting afresh. "The sun makes my
head ache dreadfully, and I have no
hat or shade, and I'm becoming so
thirsty!"
"And you think you've only to wait,
and half a dozen stewards will come
running with parasols and ice water.
Neither you nor Winthrope seem to
've got your eyes open. Just suppose
you get Busy and do something. Win-
thrope, chase yourself over the mud,
and get together a mess of fish that
are not too dead. Must be dozens, aft-
the blow. As for you, Miss Jenny, I
guess you can pick up some reeds and
rig a headgear out of this handker-
chief— Wait, a moment. Put on my
coat, if you don't want to be broiled
alive through the holes of that peek-a-
boo."
"But I say, Blake—" began Win-
thrope.
"Don't say—do!" rejoined Blake;
and he started down the muddy shore.
Though the tide was at flood, there
was now no cyclone to drive the sea
above the beach, and Blake walked a
quarter of a mile before he reached
the water's edge. There wag little
surf, and he paused only a few mo-
ments to peer out across the low
swells before he commenced to strip.
Winthrope and Miss Leslie had been
watching his movements; now the
girl rose in a little flurry of haste,
and set to gathering reeds. Winthrope
would have spoken, but, Beeing her
embarrassment, smiled to himself, and
began strolling about in search of fish.
It was no difficult search. The
marshy ground was strewn with dead
sea-creatures, many of which were al-
ready shriveling and drying in the
sun. Some of the fish had a familiar
look, and Winthrope turned them over
with the tip of his shoe. He even
went so far as to stoop to pick up a
large mullet; but shrank back, re-
pulsed by its stiffness and the unnat-
ural shape into which the sun was
warping it.
He found himself near the beach,
and stood for half an hour or more
watching the black dot far out in the
water—all that was to be seen of
Blake. The American, after wading
off-shore another quarter of a mile,
had reached swimming depth, and was
heading out among the reefs with
steady, vigorous strokes. Half a mile
or so beyond him Winthrope could
now make out the goal for which he
was aiming—the one remaining top-
mast of the steanger.
"By Jove, these waters are full of
sharks!" murmured Winthrope, star-
ing at the steadily receding dot until
it disappeared behind the wall of surf
which spumed up over one of the outer
reefs.
A call from Miss Leslie interrupted
his watch, and he hastened to rejoin
her. After several failures, she had
contrived to knot Blake's handkerchief
tn three or four reeds in the form of a
little sunshade. Her shoulders were
protected by Blake's coat. It made a
heavy wrap, but it shut out the blis-
tering sun rays, which, as Blake had
foreseen, had quickly begun to burn
the girl's delicate skin through her
open-work bodice.
Thus protected, she was fairly safe
from the sun. But the sun was by no
means the worst feature of the situa-
tion. While Winthrope was yet several
yards distant, the girl began to com-
plain to him. "I'm so thirsty, Mr.
Winthrope! Where is there any wa-
ter? Please get me a drink at once,
Mr. Winthrope!"
"But, my dear Miss Leslie, there is
no water. These pools are all sea-
water. I must say, I'm deuced dry
myself. I can't see why that cad
should go oft and leave us like this,
"indeed, it is a shame—Oh, I'm so
thirsty! Do you think it would help
if we ate something?"
"Make it all the worse. Besides,
how could we cook anything? All j
these reeds are green. 1
>8
Two or Three Small Fish Lay Faintly Wriggling on the Surface.
"But Mr. Blake said to gather some
fish. Had you not best—"
"He can pick up all he wants. I
shall not touch the beastly things."
"Then I suppose there is nothing to
do but wait for him."
"Yes, if the sharks do not get him."
Miss Leslie uttered a little moan,
and Winthrope, seeing that she was
on the verge of tears, hastened to re-
assure her. "Don't worry about him.
Miss Genevieve! He'll soon return,
with nothing worse than a blistered
back. Fellows of that sort are born
to hang, you know."
"But if he should be—if anything
should happen to him!"
Winthrope shrugged his shoulders,
and drew out his silver cigarette case.
It was more than half-full, and he was
highly gratified to find that neither the
cigarettes nor the vesta matches in the
cover had been reached by the wet.
"By Jove, here's luck!" he ex-
claimed, and he bowed to Miss Leslie.
"Pardon me, but if you have no ob-
jections—"
The girl nodded as a matter of form,
and Winthrope hastened to light the
cigarette already in his fingers. The
smoke by no means tended to lessen
the dryness of his mouth; yet It put
him in a reflective mood, and in think-
ing over what he had read of ship-
wrecked parties, he remembered that
a pebble held in the mouth is supposed
to ease one's thirst.
To be sure, there was not a sign of
a pebble within miles of where they
sat; but after some reflection, it oc-
curred to him that one of his steel
keys might do as well. At first Miss
Leslie was reluctant to try the ex-
periment, and only the increasing dry-
ness of her mouth forced her to seek
the promised relief. Though it failed
to quench her thirst, she was agree-
ably surprised to find that the little
fiat bar of metal eased her craving to
a marked degree.
Winthrope now thought to rig a
shade as Miss Leslie had done, out of
reeds and his handkerchief, for the
sun was scorching his unprotected
head. Thus sheltered, the two
crouched as comfortably as they could
upon the half-dried crest of the hum-
mock and waited impatiently for the
return of Blake.
CHAPTER III.
The Worth of Fire.
n«
l^1"' "ti i-
"Ti HOUGH the sea within the
reefs was fast smoothing
to a glassy plain in the
dead calm, they did not see Blake on
his return until he struck shallow wa-
ter and stood up to wade ashore. The j
tide had begun to ebb before he!
started landward, and though he was
a powerful swimmer, the long pull
against the current hud so tired him
that when he took to wading he
moved at a tortoise-like gait.
"The hloomin' loafer!" commented
Winthrope. He glanced quickly about,
and at sight of Miss Leslie's arching
brows, hastened to add: "Beg par-
don! He—ah—reminds me so much
of a navvv. vou know.'*
Miss Leslie made no reply.
At last Blake was out of the water
and toiling up the muddy beach to the
spot where he had left his clothes.
While dressing he seemed to recover
from his exertions in the water, for
the moment he had finished he sprang
to his feet and came forward at a
brisk pace.
As he approached, Winthrope
waved his fifth cigarette at him with
languid enthusiasm, and called out as
heartily as his dry lips would per-
mit: "I say, Blake, deuced glad the
sharks didn't get you!"
"Sharks?—bah! All you have to do
is to splash a little, and they haul off."
"How about the steamer, Mr.
Blake?" asked Miss Leslie, turning to
face him.
"All under but the maintopmast—
curse it!—wire rigging at that!
Couldn't even get a bolt."
"A bolt?"
"Not a bolt; and here we are as
good as naked on this infernal—Hey,
you! what you doing with that match?
Light your cigarette—light it!— Dam-
nation!"
Heedless of Blake's warning cry,
Winthrope had struck his last vesta,
and now, angry and bewildered, he
stood staring while the little taper
burned itself out. With an oath, Blake
sprang to catch it as it dropped from
between Winthrope's fingers. But he
was too far away. It fell among the
damp rushes, spluttered, and flared
out.
For a moment Blake knelt, staring
at the rushes as though stupefied;
then lie sprang up before Winthrope,
his bronzed face purple with anger.
"Where's your matchbox? Got any
more?" he demanded.
"Last one, I fancy—yes; last one
and there are still two cigarettes. But
look here, Blake, I can't tolerate your
talking so deucedly—"
"You Idiot! you—you— Hell! and
every one for cigarettes!"
From a growl Blake's voice burst
into a roar of fury, and sprang upon
Winthrope like a wild beast. His
hands closed upon the Englishman's
throat, and he began fo shake him
about, paying no heed to the blows
his victim showered upon his face and
body, blows which soon began to les-
sen in force.
Terror-stricken, Miss Leslie put her
hands over her eyes, and began to
scream—the piercing shriek that will
unnerve the strongest man. Blake
paused as though transfixed, and as the
half-suffocated Englishman struggled
In his grasp, he flung him on the
ground and turned to the screaming
girl.
"Stop that squawking!" he said. The
girl cowed down. "So; that's better
Next time keep your mouth shut."
"You—you brute!"
"Good! You've got a little spun*,
eh?"
"You coward—to attack a man not
half your strength!"
"Steady, steady, young lady! I'm
warm enough yet; I've still half a
mind to wring his fool neck."
"But why should you be so angry?
What has he done, that you—"
"Why—why? Lord! what hasn't he
done? This coast fairly swarms with
beasts. We've not the suiell of a gun;
and now this idiot—this dough-head—
has gone and thrown away our only
chance—fire—and on his measly ciga-
rettes!" Blake choked with returning
rage.
Winthrope, still panting for breath,
began to creep away, at the same time
unclasping a small penknife He was
white with fear; but his gray eyes—
which on shipboard Blake had neve*
seen other than offensively supercili-
ous—now glinted in a manner that
served to alter the American's mood.
"That'll do," he said. "Come here
and show me that knife."
"I'll show It you where It will do the
most good," muttered Winthrope, ris-
ing hastily to repel the expected at-
tack.
"So you've got a little sand, too,"
said Blake, almost good-naturedly.
"Say, that's not so bad. We'll call it
quits on the matches. Though how
you could go and throw them away—"
"Deuce take it, man! How should I
know? I've never before been in a
wreck."
"Neither have I—this kind. But I
tell you, we've got to keep our think
tanks going. It's a guess if we see to-
morrow, and that's no joke. Now do
you wonder I got hot?"
"Indeed, no! I've been an ass, and
here's my hand to it—if you really
mean It's quits."
"it's quits all right, long as you
don't run out of sand," responded
Blake, and he gripped the other's soft
hand until the Englishman winced.
"So; that's settled. I've got a hot
temper, but I don't hold grudges. Now,
where're your fish?"
"1—well, they were all spoiled."
"Spoiled?"
"The sun had shriveled them."
"And you call that spoiled! We're
like to eat them rotten before we're
through with this picnic. How about
the pools?"
"Pools? Do you know, Blake, I never
thought of the pools. I stopped to
watch you, and then we were so anx-
ious about you—
Blake grunted and turned on his
heel to wade into the half-drained pool
in whose midst he had been deposited
by the hurricane.
Two or three small fish lay faintly
wriggling on the surface. As Blake
splashed through the water to seize
them his foot struck against a living
body which floundered violently and
flashed a brilliant forked tail above the
muddy water. Blake sprang over the
fish, which was entangled In the
reeds, and with a kick flung vit clear
out upon the ground.
"A coryphene!" cried Winthrope,
and he ran forward to stare at the
gorgeously colored prize.
"Coryphene?" repeated Blake, fol-
lowing his example. "Good to eat?"
"Fine as salmon. This is only a
small one, but—"
"Fifteen pounds if an ounce!" cried
Blake, and he thrust his hand In his
pocket. There was a moment's si-
lence, and Winthrope, glancing up, saw
the other staring in blank dismay.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Lost my knife."
"When?—In the pool? If we felt
about—"
"No; aboard ship, or in the surf—"
"Here is my knife."
"Yes; almost big enough to whittle
a match! Mine would have done us
some good."
"It is the best steel."
"All right; let's see you cut up the
fish."
"But you know, Blake, I shouldn't
know how to go about it. I never did
such a thing."
"And you, Miss Jenny? Girls are
supposed to know about cooking."
"1 never cooked anything in all my
life, Mr. Blake, and it's alive—and—
and I am very thirsty, Mr. Blake!"
'Lord!" commented Blake. "Give
me that knife."
Though the blade was so small, the
American's hand was strong. After
some little haggling, the coryphene
was killed and dressed. Blake washed
both if and his hands in the pool, and
began to cut slices of flesh from the
llsh's tail.
"We have no fire," Winthrope re-
minded him, flushing at the word.
"That's true," assented Blake, in a
cheerful tone, and he offered Win-
thrope two of the pieces of raw flesh.
"Here's your breakfast. The trimmed
piece is for Miss Leslie."
"But it's raw! Really, I could not
think of eating raw fish. Could you.
Miss Leslie?"
Miss Leslie shuddered. "Oh, no! —
and I'm so thirsty I could not eat any-
thing."
"You bet you can!" replied Blake.
"Jloth of you take that fish and go to
chewing. It's the stuff to ease your
thirst while we look for water. Good
Lord!—In a week you'll be glad to eat
raw snake. Finnleky over clean fish,
when you swallow canvas-back all but
raw, and beef running blood, and raw
oysters with their stomachs full of dis-
integrated animal matter, to put it
politely. You couldn't tell rattlesnake
broth from chicken, and dog makes
first-rate veal—when you've got to eat
it. I've had it straight frohi them that
knows that over in France they eat
snails and fish-worms. It's all a mat-
ter of custom or the style."
(TO Mil CONTSNVKDJ
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Burke, J. J. The Norman Transcript. (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 20, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 1, 1909, newspaper, July 1, 1909; Norman, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc138658/m1/3/?q=led+zeppelin: accessed June 13, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.