You are not among them, and the
reason is that the chairman is jealous of you."
"He can have no reason to be jealous of me."
"The fact remains that he is. I strove to get him to appoint you. He
flatly refused to do so. I could get no reason from him. So I concluded
that he fears you would outshine him in the work that the committee
contemplates doing. Your speech was masterly. I am not given to
flattery. I say candidly that it was the best delivered at the
conference.
"Since I failed to get you on the committee of forty, I come to see if
you will aid me in a project that will make the committee superfluous; I
have an idea that the trust question, monopoly and the other social
problems can be speedily solved."
"You did not speak at the conference; that was the place to propound
such an idea," interposes Trueman.
"Quite true. But I held my peace there, because it was not a place to
bring forth the plan that I have evolved. You will agree with me if you
will hear me through.
"My plan requires in the first place the services of an honest man--one
who is proof against the blandishments of the Plutocrats--who will spurn
the offers of gold and office that will be tendered him by the men of
wealth when they perceive that he is on the eve of winning the popular
support.
"Such a man is hard to find in this age of commercialism which has all
but quenched the spark of true patriotism in the hearts of the people.
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