The Vital Question

Summary

In the labyrinthine corridors of early twentieth-century commerce, 'The Vital Question' unfolds as a harrowing study of ethical erosion and the devastating ripple effects of corporate malfeasance. The narrative centers on King, a titan of industry whose precarious empire teeters on the brink of collapse as an investigative committee begins to unearth his clandestine, 'shady' dealings. Distraught and cornered, King seeks counsel from Worden, a man whose outward camaraderie masks a predatory opportunism. Worden directs him toward Scarsdale, a legal luminary of unimpeachable character who also happens to be the betrothed of King’s daughter, Beatrice. When the full extent of King’s moral bankruptcy is laid bare, Scarsdale faces a soul-crushing ultimatum: compromise his judicial integrity to salvage his future father-in-law or uphold the law and lose the woman he loves. Scarsdale chooses the latter, a decision that precipitates a cascade of tragedies: King’s suicide, the squandering of the family’s meager inheritance by the dissolute brother Dick, and Beatrice’s eventual descent into a coercive marriage with Worden to save her brother from a forgery charge. Years later, a transformed Scarsdale—now a crusading District Attorney—finds himself pitted against Worden, who has risen to become the head of a corrupt Beef Trust. The resolution arrives not through the gavel, but through a visceral, shadowy confrontation in Worden’s study, where a single gunshot in the dark resets the scales of justice, finally liberating Beatrice from her gilded cage and reuniting the estranged lovers.

Synopsis

King, a businessman, has reason to believe that an investigating committee has been appointed to inquire into the workings of certain shady deals with which his name has been connected. While he is brooding over the matter, Worden comes in and King tells him of his trouble and is advised to consult a clever lawyer. Worden recommends Scarsdale for the job. King looks hopefully upon this advice for Scarsdale is engaged to his daughter Beatrice. When King finally reveals his true motive, Scarsdale is greatly perturbed. The proposition as it stands reads King's salvation or the loss of Beatrice. Scarsdale turns down the case and bids Beatrice farewell. King's creditors get after him and King commits suicide. Beatrice holds Scarsdale morally responsible for her father's death. She refuses to see him. The small amount of money Mr. King left is soon exhausted, for Dick, Beatrice's brother, speedily gets rid of it by dissipation. Beatrice, facing a financial crisis, appeals to Warden for assistance. When Dick returns in a maudlin condition his sister remonstrates with him for his action, and Worden, who is standing nearby, suggests that Beatrice marry him, and thus obtain a protector for her brother. Deep down in her heart Beatrice still cherishes a regard for her former lover, Scarsdale, and she refuses Worden's offer. When Dick comes out of a drunken stupor, he finds himself penniless. To obtain money for further dissipation, he forges Worden's name to a check. The forgery discovered, Dick is just about to be sent to prison. Beatrice appeals to Worden to withdraw the charge. Worden refuses to intervene. Beatrice makes a final plea. Her distress arouses the brute feeling to Worden's mind, and he tells her he will drop the charge if Beatrice will repay him by becoming his wife. Beatrice sobbingly consents. Scarsdale has gradually climbed the ladder of success. After years of earnest endeavor he is made district attorney. His first campaign is against the Beef Trust. It happens that Worden is head of the Trust. Later, through a trick, Scarsdale and Dick are brought to Worden's home where together with a henchman, he hopes to get certain damaging evidence on the district attorney. A fight follows and the four men upset an electric library lamp, leaving the room in darkness. A revolver shot rings out and silence follows. It is discovered that Worden has been killed by the man he had hired and the latter is captured by the police in his attempt to escape. With Worden out of the way, Scarsdale and Beatrice renew their old love and look with promise on the future.