Show Peter Potter Business Busi ess Privateer I ITHE THE CASE OF THE INDEPENDENT MATCH COMPANY i BY HENRY M HYDE HY E I II I r rY rr I II c I p 1 r Y J I NN L f H 14 1 r H I W r rT T I J r J If you follow my directions Potter aid its perfectly safe sal There a chance ch nce against you General Manager Graham of the In International International and Universal Match Cor Corporation Corporation Corporation commonly known as the match trust stood looking at the tape as it ran from the stock ticker with a troubled expression on his face Al 41 Already Already ready that day it marked a decline of oC five points in the stock of his great company That drop meant a loss of ofa a R round million dollars in the market alue value of ot the dollar stock Also it might mean the loss of Ids his position Already some of ot the di directors directors directors rectors were beginning to complain that he was a poor pool manager An office boy laid the evening paper on Grahams desk lesk and the general manager walked over and picked it up upA upA upA A sensational heading on the first page caught aught his eye To Fight the Trust it said Independent Match Company of Opens Local Headquarters Big Drop in Trust Securities and a R Bitter Struggle in Prospect For three years the Independent Match Company had been a thorn in inthe inthe inthe the side of or Graham Within thin a month of the absorption of all aU the existing match factories by the International and Universal Corporation the Inde Independent Independent Independent pendent company had opened its plant up In the sawmill country of Wisconsin where the raw material for its product way wa a cheap and plentiful From the first and up to the present resent it had con confined confined confined fined its efforts in the line of selling to the state of Wisconsin Graham had started in to fight it from the moment he first saw the announcement of ot its incorporation He had cut prices on matches publicly and an had given large secret seret rebates to jobbers buying in car carload carload carload load lots Every move moe he made had been bet n Immediately met by the Independent ent company Sometimes Indeed his moves had been anticipated And every ev every ery fry time he struck a blow at the In Independent Independent Independent dependent there had come from some mysterious source a fierce attack on the stock of his company both on the New York and Chicago exchanges It was the most puzzling and aggravating competition he had ever been called called c on onto onto onto to meet President Oldham of the International and Universal corporation walked Into Grahams office Oldham was a cor corporation corporation corporation lawyer who had drifted into the promoting of large corporations He was also known as a daring stock exchange operator Graham appealed to him Weve Yeve got to do something to those Independent people up at he lie said There simply raising the he evil cevil with us Preferred is down five points again agam today and the Independent ent announces they are are going to open local offices I worry about them an answered answered Oldham flipping the ashes es from his long Ions black cigar only got gOl a capita capital of and sure to go broke soon been going soing ahead steadily st for three years now said Graham and Instead of ot busting open openIng opening opening Ing up new territory all the time Well go after em then Go after em Sue the company Sue the indi individual vidual stockholders Cut prices some more Give em h hl hI 1 Oldham went out of the offices of the International and Universal and drop dropped dropped dropped ped in presently at the private room of If the senior member of a big firm finn on the stock exchange I suppose you jou ou bought me that In International International International and Universal stock on the break today he said Yes th the broker answered We got it at the tle low point The ten thou thousand thousand sand shares you had sold short show you a profit of six dollars a share Well ell you ou can buy bu me twice as much now and hold it for a rise ordered Oldham Jacobson chairman of the board of directors rs of the International came into General Manager Grahams office shortly after President Oldham had gone out Jacobson represented the solid aoUd financial interests in the director directorate ate He had been put in his present po position position to watch Oldham and he did not make a stock market foot toot football football ball of at the stock t Of f the corporation He listened to what hat Graham had to say and to the advice given by Oldham and sat a few minutes afterward say sa ing nothing and artistically blowing smoke rings through his nose nose I see he said finally Yell Well you OU Just turn the preparation of ot those thoe suits against the Independent over to Law Lawyer Lawyer yer 11 Thomas and Ill go and see him There any great hurry about starting them Id rather have our stock stay down where it is now for a awhile awhile awhile while anyhow Im tired of ot these sud sudden sudden den ups and downs When we land on the Independent company comp n the next time I 1 want to put them clear out of busi busl business business ness ress Im tired of these What hat do you thing about turning Peter Potter loose on the Job Ill go go and see Potter tomorrow said Graham if you say so Hes an expensive proposition though you know Well so are these drops In our stock You Just let Potter go after atter the Independent people And whatever you do dont say a word about it to a soul Oldham mien t sus suspect suspect suspect i it f f 3 The office boy brought in a later edi edition edition tion of at an evening paper Jacobson picked It up Well Nell he wasted any time has he he said presently pointing out to Graham an Interview with President Oldham in which the latter declared war to t the knife on the Independent company I have given g en orders President Oldham declared d to have suits started for infringement of or our patents and large damages against the officers and directors of the Independent company compan The International International International and Universal Match Corporation will follow the most vigorous course possible in protecting the interests of its stockholders Well v ell said Jacobson shortly no nobody nobody nobody body on the street will pay any atten attention attention attention tion to that anyhow until either you jou ou or orI orI orI I confirm it And just what we wont do Its about time the old man was left holding the bag Next afternoon Graham went over overto overto overto to the office of Peter Potter It was located on the nineteenth floor noor above the ground in the mysterious and lone lonely lonely ly 1 jungles of or the great Astoria sky skyscraper skyscraper skyscraper scraper P Potter Real Estate was the simple sign on the office door Be Before Before Before fore now a real estate sign has covered a multitude of sins sinsAn sinsAn sinsAn An old colored man In buttons took Grahams card into lt to the inner office In Into Into into to which Graham was presently usher ushered ed Peter Potter was standing in the center of the room when he entered Potter greeted his caller with a nod but did not offer to sit down He was wasa a tall slender man with a long lean face and broad shoulders shoulders shoulders ders Although the two were alone in inthe Inthe inthe the room Graham talked in a low tone inaudible a few rew feet away As for Pot Potter Potter Potter ter he stood sideways to his caller and listened saying nothing more than thanes yes es or indeed at long Intervals and looking steadily out of the window where above the towering roMs the signal smokes of the savages of com commerce commerce commerce merce waved and fluttered in the breeze from the lake As Potter listened he rocked to and fro from heels to toes like some great greTat bird about to take flight for its distant eyrie eyrle His eyes were round and bright and fierce like an eagles and when he shrugged his broad shoulders and sunk his head down between them the re resemblance resemblance resemblance semblance was still stronger So the situation Graham was saying The Independent people seem to have plenty of money mone And AndI I cant figure out where they get It from Oldham has plenty of ready cash he asked Potter casually Oh yes answered Graham hes got money all right but I 1 should think hed hardly dare Dare my dear boy interrupted Potter Why h its just a part of the game gameWell Well anyhow we e want to turn the case over to you How soon can you let me know Ill call caU you OU up tomor tomorrow row lf If you please Call me up questioned Potter Do you ou think I do business over the telephone If It drop in about 5 I may be able to tell you whether er Ill undertake to handle the case fease Graham looked around the great bare bre room There was no typewriter no busy bookkeepers no telephone booth none of the usual machinery of business Nothing was in sight but Potters flat topped desk unuttered with papers and two wooden noden chairs The working plant of Peter Potter otter business privateer was plainly located under his derby hat Ill call at 5 tomorrow said Graham as he left the room Peter Potter sent his colored man out with instructions to buy bu half a dozen boxes of matches made by the Inde Independent Independent pendent pendant Match company Be sure and get the Independent matches said Potter and get a dozen boxes in the tile original wrapper I must have them in the unbroken wrapper I Potter took the bundle of matches home with him that evening to his bachelor apartment on the North Side He went directly to the kitchen and put away the bundle unwrapped Be sure and leave that bundle where I r have put it until morning he I e said to his Chinese butler Next morning after a leisurely break breakfast breakfast breakfast fast he went out into tire kitchen and got the bundle untouched He carried it into his living room tore the tho paper and opened a box of matches He took tooka a match from the box and struck stick it iton iton Iton on the side It did not light He tried a dozen more Not one of them the n would light He emptied the box of ot matches onto a sheet of ot white paper and laid it outside the window on a case originally made for printing photographs where the thc sun would fall f full upon it all the morning They he lay down on a couch In the front room and started to reread The Three Guardsmen for the twentieth time Toward noon he roused himself went to the window and took in the paper on which the matches had been exposed The paper felt hot to the touch so fervid had been the rays of the sun sunHe sunHe sunHe He tried to strike a dozen or more of i ithe the matches Not one of them would work works Something resembling res a smile passed pass d over Potters Potiers fa e a aI aJ 1 r I J Its perfectly simple he said That evening at 5 Graham general manager of the International and Universal was ushered into Pot Potters Potters Potters private office Potter was standing up leaning for forward forward forward ward over one side of his desk his right elbow on its top and his face sup supported supported supported ported on his right hand He was star starIng staring staring Ing out of the window and with his right forefinger beating a regular tat tattoo tattoo tattoo too against the side of his beaklike nose I 1 shall want thousand dollars down said Peter Potter pres presently presently presently and fifty thousand dollars more when the Independent company goes into the hands of a receiver And it will take at least ninety days das perhaps longer to get results a big fee Mr Potter said Graham So are the chances I 1 take Potter announced If It it to teach Old Oldham Oldham Oldham ham a lesson I care about fooling with it at all allAre allAre allAre Are you sure about it Well now look here if you have any an doubts better handle the thing yourself The next day Jacobson chairman of the board of directors of the International International International and Universal Corporation drew from his personal account and Graham took the money over to Pot Potters Potters Potters office And now I dont care to see you ou or hear from you until the failure of the Independent company is announced said Potter It will be three months from now at the shortest The same afternoon Peter Potter took the train for Milwaukee where he put up at a leading club During the even evenIng evening evening Ing there came into the library where Potter was sitting the junior member and active manager of a large jobbing firm in the grocery line He did dl not seem to be especially glad to see Pot Potter Potter Potter ter nor did the latter display any sur surprising surprising surprising warmth in greeting the whole wholesale wholesale wholesale sale merchant For all that the two men sat down side by side and talked together for an hour over a cigar and anda a highball or two If you ou follow my directions Potter said its perfectly safe There a chance against you you Heres five thousand down and the minute you get all the goods out Ill pay you twenty five thousand dollars d more The Jobber walked home that night with his head in do a whirl That Potter he said slowly thim to him himself self shaking his head half in admira admiration admiration admiration tion and half halt in something like fear tear That Potter Hes a very devil Potter went straight back to Chicago During the next week the Independent Match company received an order from the jobbing house of Parsons Taft Tatt in Milwaukee the biggest house in its line In the state and one with which the Independent people had never be before before before fore been able to do any business The order called for five carloads of matches and the managers of the In Independent Independent Independent dependent company com pan were overjoyed President Oldham of ot the Universal heard of it and ordered his brokers to sell out the twenty thousand shares of Universal stock they had bought for him The deal netted him a slight loss buthe but lie he saw great opportunities on the theother theother theother other side of the market A few tew more sales like that reported to Parsons Taft would certainly cause a big drop droll in the trust stock He would play that end of the game to his own profit It happened strangely enough that on the day the five carloads of matches were received in Milwaukee the house of Parsons 8 Taft found Itself with a astrike astrike astrike strike of freight handlers on its hands A great lot of goods were coming In at atthe atthe the time same time and Mr Taft was obliged to assume personal direction in handling them In addition to its regu regular regular regular lar store the firm conducted a large warehouse and in the con confusion confusion fusion incident to t the strike a good many errors were made Goods which should have been sent to the cold stor storage storage storage age plant were sent to the store and vice versa The strike lasted only onh forty hours Then things took their normal course again and peace paco and quiet sot set settled tied down over the whole tangled sit situation situation situation About bout forty days went by b Then all the traveling salesmen of Parsons Taft who covered the time states of Wis Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin Iowa and Minnesota in their s began to sell independent matches to the retail dealers dt alers They met mft mc t the cut ut rates made by the sales eales salesmen salesmen men of tile the trust and appealed to the sympathies of the rural dealers to pat patronize patronize patronize an independent They The were suc successful successful successful At least one dealer in almost every enry town in the three states ordered anti antitrust antitrust antitrust trust matches The goods wee were shipped One week later Taft of Parsons Taft found a letter in his mornings mail mall which caused him to suppress a smile It came from a retail grocer at Beloit Wis Vis Parsons Taft Gents |