t would be
accomplished. If he were absolutely bound, however, under heavy bonds to
do exactly as he had promised, his proposition would be so loaded that
it might go off in his own hands and blow him to pieces. The next day I
went personally before the Legislature and agreed to pay the State of
Massachusetts $1,000,000 for the charter Whitney had applied for, and
offered to give bonds to do all the things Whitney would give bonds to
do on receipt of it.

This proceeding caused a halt. It startled the public and set the
Whitney forces agape. My proposition was decidedly novel, and on its
face absurd--the State could not under the law accept a million dollars
or any other sum for its charter--but, on the other hand, it was the
quickest-acting horse-sense producer that could possibly have been
brought to bear. It was discussed everywhere. Men said: "Why not? If the
State has a valuable thing to give away, why should it not go to the one
who will pay the people the most money for it?" I had outflanked the
enemy, and if he gave battle it would have to be on my conditions.
Whitney was furious, and his privately owned Legislature cursed me for
interfering with its plans; but he and they recognized my advantage, and
that night I had a call from Mr. Whitney and his attorney, George Towle.

"What are you trying to do, Lawson?" Whitney asked.

"Only trying to protect from destruction the Boston gas companies of
which I am vice-president and general manager," I replied.

"But my proposition is a perfectly legitimate one," Whitney objected. "I
have got hold of this invention, which enables me to utilize my Dominion
coal in such a way that we can make coke out of it, and at the same time
get all the gas. This coal is cheap to produce and costs little per ton
to bring in. So I can sell gas cheaper than you can make it."

"And we have a plant for the manufacture and distribution of gas which
has cost us seventy years and millions of dollars to get together, and
we have also the customers to whom you must sell your cheap gas," I
returned. "If you can really do what you claim, why not go ahead, make
your gas, and sell it to us? We will distribute it to the people and we
will divide the profit, and you will make as much as though you did it
all, for you will not have a fight on hand nor be obliged to build up a
duplicate plant. That's all you can do now; you cannot get a charter to
duplicate our plant, because whatever price you offe