ght there," he agreed, "and that's because the
manufacturer of the highgrade line does business in the same way as the
popular-price concern. _Aber_ you take the composer of highgrade music
and all he does is compose. He's too proud to poosh it, Mr. Jassy;
whereas the feller what composes popular music he's just the same like
the feller what manufacturers a popular-price line of garments--he not
only manufacturers his line but he pooshes it till he gets a market for
it."

"There ain't no market for a highclass line of music," Jassy said
hopelessly.

"Why ain't there?" Max demanded. "Did you ever try to market a symphony?
Did Volkovisk ever try to get anybody with money interested in his
stuff? No, sirree, sir! All that feller does is to play it to a lot of
_Schnorrers_ like me, which no matter how much we like his work we
couldn't help him none. Now you take your own case, for instance. You
told us a few minutes ago you are writing some music for a new show.
Now, if you wouldn't mind my asking, who is putting in the capital for
that show?"

"Well," Jassy replied, "a feller called Benson is putting it in and part
of the capital is from his own money and the rest he borrows."

"Just like a new beginner would do in the garment business," Max
commented. "_Aber_ who does he borrow it from? A bank maybe--what?"

"Some he gets from a bank," Jassy replied, "and the rest is he trying to
raise elsewheres. To-night he tells me he is getting an introduction to
a business man which he hopes to lend from him five _oder_ ten thousand
dollars."

"Five _oder_ ten thousand dollars!" Max cried. "_Shema beni._ For five
thousand dollars Volkovisk could publish all the music he ever wrote and
give a whole lot of recitals in the bargain. One thousand dollars would
be enough even."

"That I wouldn't deny at all," Jassy rejoined. "_Aber_ who would you
find stands willing he should invest in Volkovisk's music a thousand
dollars? Would he ever get back his thousand dollars even, let alone any
profits?"

"It's a speculation, I admit," Max commented; "but you take Richard
Strauss, for instance, and if some feller would staked Strauss to a
thousand dollars capital when he needed it, understand me, not alone he
would got his money back but if we would say, for example, the thousand
dollars represents a ten-per-cent interest in Strauss' business, to-day
yet the feller would be worth his fifty thousand dollars, because
everybody knows what a