Here was the great
white marble palace of the Johnsons--the ceilings, floors, and walls
of its state apartments had all been made in France; its fences and
gates, even its locks and hinges, had been made from special designs
by famous artists. The Johnsons were lords of railroads and coal,
and ruled the state of West Virginia with a terrible hand. The
courts and the legislature were but branches of old Johnson's
office, and Montague knew of mining villages which were owned
outright by the Company, and were like stockaded forts; the wretched
toilers could not buy so much as a pint of milk outside of the
Company store, and even the country doctor could not enter the gates
without a pass.
And beyond that was the home of the Warfields, whose fortune came
from great department stores, in which young girls worked for two
dollars and a half a week, and eked out their existence by
prostitution. And this was the summer that Warfield's youngest
daughter was launched, and for her debutante dance they built a
ballroom which cost thirty thousand dollars--and was torn down the
day afterwards!
And beyond this, upon the cliffs, was the castle of the Mayers,
whose fortunes came from coal.
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