rice of rails in the present steel-market and the distance of
Madison Square from muddy water, Mawruss, it would be anyhow unpractical
to duck or ride on rails the number of Reds which attended that
meeting, even supposing enough respectable people could be found who
would take the trouble."

"As a matter of fact, Abe," Morris said, "it don't even pay to encourage
them speech-making Reds by thinking they are important enough to be
ducked in muddy water. After all, most of them are still young and
sooner or later they would got to go to work, and once a man goes to
work in this country it is only a matter of time when he gets up into
the capitalistic class."

"There is also another thing to be considered about these here Reds,
Mawruss," Abe said. "As Reds, they couldn't be taken altogether
seriously, because Reds would be Reds only up to a certain point. After
that they're Yellow."

XXII

THEY DISCUSS THE SIGNING OF IT

"Yes, Mawruss, when the history of this here Peace Conference is
written, y'understand, a whole lot of things which up to now has been
mysteries will be made very plain to the people which has got
twenty-five dollars to invest in such a history and the spare time in
which to read it," Abe Potash said to his partner Morris Perlmutter a
few days after the treaty was signed.

"There will be a great many people who will try to find the time at
that," Morris commented, "because I see by the morning paper that one of
Mr. Wilson's relatives has bought for him in Southern California a piece
of property especially for Mr. Wilson to write the history of the Peace
Conference in, and why should he go to all that expense if there wasn't
a big market for such a history?"

"I wonder did Mr. Wilson have to pay much money for the history rights
to the Peace Conference?" Abe asked.

"What do you mean--did he pay much money?" Morris exclaimed. "Anybody
can write a history of the Peace Conference without paying a cent for
the privilege, and even if they couldn't, y'understand, who is going to
bid against Mr. Wilson, because when it comes to what actually happened
at them confidential meetings between Mr. Wilson, Clemenceau, and Lord
George, Abe, Mr. Wilson had a monopoly of the raw material in the
history line. He didn't even let Colonel House in on it, so you can bet
your life if there was any competitors of Mr. Wilson trying to get a few
ideas for a competing line of popular-price Peace Conference histori