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Newspaper Page Text
ONE HUNDRED CENTS ON THE, DOLLAR -By George Elrner Cobb: After five years, of, hard work Wil--fred Ashton. walked down the steps of the neat little factor he .had dom inated a ruined naiCThe "morning, was bright 'an'd beautiful, th'e'air like new wine, all naturerseemed;disport ing.in the brilliant sunlight! 'But his heart was like lead: The -plant was in the hands ofa, receiver,rand he was a bankrupt. ' ,', ' Wardells had done.this Wardens, the upstarts, the business "pirates. "We Have an Offer for the Assets in Bulki" The elder of . that firm. had been taken in off, the street pennilessly Ashton, had, been, given workh'acf learn'ed the secrets of the. busin'eSs,. and ha'done out to exploit themon .his own. ac count. The rival house" jnanfactured a' counting machine. .In some way Wardell had secured the sdle;right to manufacture a nrachine the sale of which was.Ashton'schief source of revenue. Trade'feEofE. jVardells. spjead; and .flourished ' like a green banyou tree. .Ashton & Co. went down hill fast. ... ' . And now ruin! Reckoning up anxiously; Wilfred had found that the plant'and his' other resources would pay off about seventy-five per cent of the. debts.' JThis i.was that crushed him. Son ot'a business man of clean, straight record, proud of his. honor able business reputation, what had been swept away was as nothing to him if he could but have paid one hundred cents on the dollar. He reached the office of his lawyer, de jected and. hopeless. "We have an offer for the assets in ; bulk," explained the. attorney. "It will square the secured indebtedness entirely. It will also take care of all the other liabilities, except about two thousand." "If I could onljr reach that!" ex- claimed Wilfred. "It,is those credit- -ore, small, struggling firms, that need their .money. Is there no way I can reach this deficit?" "A way has been opened," an nounced the lawyer, "a. remarkable one. There is. the- list of the unse cured creditors,' and he pushed over a written page, "and here is two thousand, handed to. me by a brother 1 attorney, representing a mysterious .client, who does not wish to be known." "You amaze me," cried Wilfred, his Jace shining, his eyes filling with t gratful tears, "who could have done v me this kind act?" f He thought of two brothers of his dead mother. -Family differences had t estranged them, but surely .this gracious help in, the. time of need had, , come from them. Wilfred signed the t I. O. U: extended to him by the law- yer. His heart seemed singing with- in him. , "A mere matter of forms,'' remark- ' ed the attorney "the jrioney willr never be asked for." "But it will be given," insisted Wil-j fred. "Bless the giver! All the ob stacles before me,are as'trifles.now