The story
“The president of the big corporation was able and just and did not realize that there was an effort to displace him. The head of the conspiracy was the vice-president of the company, who posed as one of his chief’s most loyal friends. Secretly, however, he was organizing certain dissatisfied stockholders, and expected that he would succeed to the place of his superior. A day or so before the annual meeting, the president was stricken at his summer home. He confidently sent for the vice-president, gave him the proxies for his stock, and believed that everything would be clear sailing. Then the conspirator went away, met one of his allies, boastingly told him of his success. Fortunately for the sick man, his daughter gained wind of the plot and took steps to defeat it. She induced her father to give her a new proxy, and started for the mainland. She missed the ferry boat and boldly took a neighbor’s yacht and ran it across the bay. She arrived at the mainland too late to catch the last train, but she commandeered an automobile, and by a wild ride was able to reach the board room in time to save her father.”
Summary from The Moving Picture World · 11 October 1913
Another synopsis, from Reel Life · 4 October 19132 min
“Much has been said in the newspapers and magazines about the absolute commercialism of this age, but few of us realize to what an absolutely unscrupulous extent it is being carried—or how dangerous the proposition is getting toward our welfare as a nation. Mr. Lonergan has shown us something of this in his play: A Daughter Worth While—and no one who sees it can fail to appreciate the utter ruthlessness of our modern business conditions. The president of a large corporation—a ‘fighter’ of 45, who was exceedingly able and just in his methods—had a little too much of both qualities to please certain members of his board. His vice-president, whom he trusted implicitly, was the leader of a conspiracy to oust him from control of the corporation. On the day before the annual meeting, the resident was seized with a sudden illness which made it impossible for him to appear at the meeting. Sending for the vice-president, he gave him proxies for his stock—believing that his interests would be safeguarded. In his elation at this unexpected placing of full power in his hands, the vice-president boastingly told one of his fellow conspirators before leaving the island upon which the president’s summer home was situated—of the proxies he held. And the president’s daughter accidentally overheard it.
“Running into the sick man’s room, she induced him to give her fresh proxies, superseding the others—(a somewhat difficult matter to arrange, by the way)—and started for the mainland. Missing the ferryboat, she tried to obtain the use of a neighbor’s power yacht. Being refused, she piratically commandeered it anyway—but reached the mainland too late for the last train which would have brought her to the city in time for the meeting. She managed, however, to find a six-cylinder touring car—and beat the train into the city—reaching the boardroom in time to defeat the conspiring stockholders. The play emphasizes very strongly that greed for money and power which is sapping the integrity of the American nation today. And it helps toward that ideal condition of life when such old-fashioned virtues as truth and honesty again come into favor.”
