William Gaddis - J R

— Yes sir excuse me, hello…? Thank you, yes I’ll…

— Here give me that.

— I’m sorry sir they say Mister Black just left for a meeting at the White…

— And Beaton while you’re at it I want to know what you found out about that carload of…

— Zona damn it will you just let him…

— Yes ma’am excuse me a moment Governor regarding that Indian reservation lying directly in the…

— Beaton I said I want to know what you’ve done about that carload of niggers that parks right in front of my door on Beekman Place, I told you to report a stolen car a week ago and they were there yesterday big as life while you sit here with your…

— Zona damn it told him to get Broos on the phone Beaton what the devil you waiting for.

— Yes sir excuse me ma’am hello Miss Bulcke? Yes will you try to reach Senator Broos for the Governor please, we did trace the license ma’am but the car appears to belong to the United Nations Trade Commission from Malwi which has only one car it had not reported stolen, and since that is a DPL parking space reserved for cars bearing…

— Don’t tell me it’s a DPL parking space Beaton I paid good money to have it made a DPL parking space so Nick could pull in to the curb and I wouldn’t have to wade through an acre of dogshit to get to my own front door, and if you think I believe stories about something called Malwi you…

— No but ma’am apparently it is a small emerging country in…

— Little country right there east of Gandia Zona about the size of Stamper’s place, get all the labor for the mines there so damn poor’ll work for peanuts, now Beaton what’s this about…

— If you think I’m going to keep dancing around piles of dogshit to get to my own front door you’d better…

— Damn it Zona try to find some way to accommodate you now just be quiet, Beaton what’s…

— Yes excuse me sir, hello…? Oh yes he’s right here sir just a minute…

— Here give me that. Broos? got Stamper steaming in here any minute called to find out what you… who? No damn it I’m not holding the phone to my bad ear haven’t got a bad ear, what the devil you think I’ve been in the hospital for this time got two damn inner ear transplants, where… Work fine damn it did not think you sounded like Broos, just put a call in to him find out about that gang of Indians squatting in your way up there should have cleared them out twenty years ago, knew the eighty-third Congress couldn’t last forever same way they cleaned up the Klamaths and the Menomi, who? Who, Beaton…? No Beaton’s sitting right here hasn’t said a damn thing to me about it he… What in hell you still down there for board meeting thought you wanted to clear up JMI and these Dallas mortgages… No, no didn’t know that no, what kind of tissue damage… In beer? know you do but it sounds like damn foolishness, got Handler putting me back in next week myself wants to implant a damn heart pacer things keep up this way I… if Beaton’s what…? Hasn’t said a damn thing about that either so damn busy running errands for Zona… sitting right here yes…

— If that’s Charley I’ll tell his doctors where he got his tissue damage.

— Sends his regards Zona says if you’ve taken off a hundred pounds since he saw you he’ll introduce you to some of his friends.

— Tell him if that showgirl he just married bent over and spread her cheeks his doctors could all…

— Into what? What the devil’d you want him looking into that for, sold at around forty back before the war hasn’t been traded for years, last I heard deficits running over half a million whole damn thing was… Way their tax liens were piling up don’t see how they even held onto a few rights of way, ought to pick the whole thing up for a plugged nickel I’ll get Beaton going on it… Said what? by God anybody knows about these damn mining claims you should not worth the paper they’re written on, hasn’t said a damn thing to me about any development company either damn busy running errands for… No hell get Broos on it do a little logrolling with that old what’s his name sheep state senator been in since McKinley came right around last time on that damn waste dumping bill must have something to… Write the whole thing off don’t be a damn fool think the bank finances a consortium like this expects it to be written off? Just want to hold off on any merger talk till this Diamond tender’s straightened out calling Crawley now to withdraw it until… want him to call you where…? No what the devil you burning them down for… No sitting right here hasn’t said a damn thing about any movie film no… no be at the bank later call me there, here Beaton and don’t take any more calls till you straighten things out here, Stamper says you cleared up his damn Indian tribe why the devil didn’t you tell me.

— Yes sir I’ve been, I believe we’ll have no difficulty proving that this particular Indian reservation is not really a reservation as per treaty, appar…

— What the devil they all doing camping out there then.

— Yes sir apparently they were removed to this present site around the turn of the century from their original reservation further to the east where substantial deposits of limestone and gypsum had attracted the attention of the cement industry. Our sources say that any claims they might have had through any treaty involving that earlier reservation can be proved without validity regarding these lands they now occupy and that any attempt they might make to obstruct the…

— Point is Stamper don’t just want easements through there Beaton says he could come in hind tit on the whole deal unless he owns drilling rights and all the rest of it lock stock and barrel and with us banking it can’t take any damn chance.

— Of course sir once the treaty matter is determined and the lands recovered by the government their outright purchase can be arranged immediately through the Bureau of…

— Get onto it then don’t dawdle like you have with this damn Alberta and Western Stamper told you to look into, on their last legs twenty years ago should have had the whole thing signed sealed and delivered for him by now, Zona where the devil you going, don’t want that meeting to start till Blaufinger shows up.

— Do I need your permission to go take a…

— Sit still Beaton she can get there herself get back to business here.

— Yes sir I’ve looked into this for Mister Stamper and it appears that just recently this Alberta and Western Power Company was victimized in a scheme of pyramided debenture issues and falsely optimistic earnings forecasts in preparation for merger with this so called Ace Development Company which had of course been set up by the same operators. They had already doubled its ten cent issuing price in a simple buy-back scheme and evidently planned the merger with Alberta…

— By God Beaton how many damn millions already tied up in that pipeline deal Stamper sitting on those tar shale deposits up there and you’re talking penny stock frauds? Stick them in jail and get on with things.

— Yes sir I understand the SEC has brought mail fraud charges against one of the principals, a Mister Wall, and the man who posed as underwriter is being sought. The problem seems to be in dealing with the interests that bought heavily into both sides of the scheme, the debentures and the development company stock, with the obvious intention of seizing what assets there are when the scheme collapsed, these scattered power company sites and rights of way and the extensive mineral exploration claims that are causing Mister Stamper to…

— Well damn it who are they, what the devil’s all this…

— A report I was putting together from our various sources I thought you might want to review whenever…