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had gathered up a large amount of the old city warrants, and who now wanted his money, in
order to invest it in bonanza offers in the West, called on Stener, and also on the mayor. He with
Simpson and Butler made up the Big Three.
"I think something ought to be done about these warrants that
are outstanding," he explained. "I am carrying a large amount of them, and there are others. We
have helped the city a long time by saying nothing; but now I think that something ought to be
done. Mr. Butler and Mr. Simpson feel the same way. Couldn't these new loan certificates be
listed on the stock exchange and the money raised that way? Some clever broker could bring
them to par."
Stener was greatly flattered by the visit from Mollenhauer. Rarely did he trouble to put in a
personal appearance, and then only for the weight and effect his presence would have. He
called on the mayor and the president of council, much as he called on Stener, with a lofty,
distant, inscrutable air. They were as office-boys to him.
In order to understand exactly the motive for Mollenhauer's interest in Stener, and the
significance of this visit and Stener's subsequent action in regard to it, it will be necessary to
scan the political horizon for some little distance back. Although George W. Stener was in a way
a political henchman and appointee of Mollenhauer's, the latter was only vaguely acquainted
with him. He had seen him before; knew of him; had agreed that his name should be put on the
local slate largely because he had been assured by those who were closest to him and who did
his bidding that Stener was "all right," that he would do as he was told, that he would cause no
one any trouble, etc. In fact, during several previous administrations, Mollenhauer had
maintained a subsurface connection with the treasury, but never so close a one as could easily
be traced. He was too conspicuous a man politically and financially for that. But he was not
above a plan, in which Simpson if not Butler shared, of using political and commercial stool-
pigeons to bleed the city treasury as much as possible without creating a scandal. In fact, for
some years previous to this, various agents had already been employed--Edward Strobik,
president of council, Asa Conklin, the then incumbent of the mayor's chair, Thomas Wycroft,
alderman, Jacob Harmon, alderman, and others--to organize dummy companies under various
names, whose business it was to deal in those things which the city needed--lumber, stone,
steel, iron, cement--a long list--and of course, always at a fat profit to those ultimately behind the
dummy companies, so organized. It saved the city the trouble of looking far and wide for honest
and reasonable dealers.
Since the action of at least three of these dummies will have something to do with the
development of Cowperwood's story, they may be briefly described. Edward Strobik, the chief of
them, and the one most useful to Mollenhauer, in a minor way, was a very spry person of about
thirty-five at this time--lean and somewhat forceful, with black hair, black eyes, and an
inordinately large black mustache. He was dapper, inclined to noticeable clothing-- a pair of
striped trousers, a white vest, a black cutaway coat and a high silk hat. His markedly ornamental
shoes were always polished to perfection, and his immaculate appearance gave him the
nickname of "The Dude" among some. Nevertheless he was quite able on a small scale, and
was well liked by many.
His two closest associates, Messrs. Thomas Wycroft and Jacob Harmon, were rather less
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