And so it was that in the small hours of the morning, Montague, pale
and nervous, but quite unshaken, was sitting and listening while his
brother unfolded before him a picture of the Metropolis as he had
come to see it. It was a city ruled by mighty forces--money-forces;
great families and fortunes, which had held their sway for
generations, and regarded the place, with all its swarming millions,
as their birthright. They possessed it utterly--they held it in the
hollow of their hands. Railroads and telegraphs and telephones--
banks and insurance and trust companies--all these they owned; and
the political machines and the legislatures, the courts and the
newspapers, the churches and the colleges. And their rule was for
plunder; all the streams of profit ran into their coffers. The
stranger who came to their city succeeded as he helped them in their
purposes, and failed if they could not use him. A great editor or
bishop was a man who taught their doctrines; a great statesman was a
man who made the laws for them; a great lawyer was one who helped
them to outwit the public.
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