you will."

"Miss Carmen!" exclaimed the President. "We really must consider our
interview ended. Let us make an appointment for another day."

"I guess the appointment was made for to-day," the girl said softly.
"And by a higher power than any of us. Mr. Ames is the type of man who
is slowly turning our Republican form of government into a despotism
of wealth. He boasts that his power is already greater than a czar's.
You bow before it; and so the awful monster of privilege goes on
unhampered, coiling its slimy tentacles about our national resources,
our public utilities, and natural wealth. I--I can't see how you, the
head of this great nation, can stand trembling by and see him do it.
It is to me incomprehensible."

The President flushed. He made as if to reply, but restrained himself.
Carmen gave no indication of leaving. A stern look then came into the
President's face. He stood for a few minutes in thought. Then he
turned again to his desk and sat down.

"Please be seated," he said, "both of you. I don't know what quarrel
there is between you two, and I am not interested in it. But you, Miss
Carmen, represent the press; Mr. Ames, business. The things which have
been voiced here this morning must remain with us alone. Now let us
see if we can not meet on common ground. Is the attitude of your
newspaper, Miss Carmen, one of hostility toward great wealth?"

"The Express raises its voice only against the folly and wickedness of
the human mind, not against personality," replied the girl.

"But you are attacking Mr. Ames."

"No. We attack only the human thought which manifests in him. We
oppose the carnal thought which expresses itself in the folly, the
madness of strife for excessive wealth. It is that strife that makes
our hospitals and asylums a disgraceful necessity. It makes the
immigrant hordes of Europe flock here because they are attracted by
the horrible social system which fosters the growth of great fortunes
and makes their acquisition possible. Our alms-houses and prisons
increase in number every year. It is because rich men misuse their
wealth, trample justice under foot, and prostitute a whole nation's
conscience."

"But the rich need not do that. They do not all--"

"It is a law of human thought," said Carmen in reply, "that mankind in
time become like that which has absorbed their attention. Rich men
obey this law with utmost precision. They acquire the nature and
character of their god, gold