DALEY'S STRENGTH WANES.
The appearance of the _Investigator_ next morning was like a thunderbolt
in the village of Cleverdale. It came out boldly against Senator
Hamblin, and charged that his action at the convention meant the
overthrow of his party. The editor stated that he had stood by the man
as long as he had even a piece of argument to catch his toes on, but
when the wisdom of the men controlling the convention could not bring
Senator Hamblin to see his duty, when a compromise candidate was asked
for and refused, it was time for all respectable men in the party to
declare themselves on the side of honesty, justice, and common-sense.
It cited the charges first brought by Sargent, copied Sargent's first
statement in full, and then charged that the profligate use of money had
done more than anything else to make the elective franchise a farce.
Senator Hamblin was held responsible for the disgrace of corrupting
voters in the village of Cleverdale. The article was a scathing
arraignment of Hamblin before the bar of public opinion, and apparently
its influence foreboded disaster to the regular candidate.
During the early morning hours Miller met his "boss" at the private
office of the latter, having previously seen the editor of the
_Advertiser_, who offered to sell his paper for twenty-five hundred
dollars. The price was considered high, but that being the best that
could be done, Miller was ordered to purchase the concern at once. One
of Cleverdale's young lawyers was placed in charge of the _Advertiser's_
editorial columns, and the first number devoted itself to Rawlings'
treachery and Daley's private character. The latter, the new editor
asserted, was, unlike that of Cæsar's wife, not above suspicion, while
Senator Hamblin's private character was pure and spotless.
The fight between the papers was so full of acrimony that Satan himself
would have delighted in it, had there been any possibility of his
receiving fire-proof copies. Both candidates were attacked, and the sins
of their ancestors were carefully elaborated and fired off as campaign
fireworks.
Previous to an election, American journalism of the party-organ stripe
has a demoralizing influence in the land. The good qualities of
candidates are briefly mentioned. But the bad qualities--ah! these are
what the party organs delight in. Not the part that their own candidate
occupies on the side of virtue; not the good that is in him; not the
intellectual qualifications he boasts of; not the nobleness of character
he possesses--none of these inspire the editor. No, all of this is
nothing: the amount of "pure cussedness" that can be attributed to the
opposing candidate is the indicator of journalistic inspiration. Many
a man who has thought himself a moral light has in an unguarded moment
accepted a nomination, and the astonishment of himself and friends to
see how corrupt he suddenly becomes is not infrequently a harbinger of
victory for the opposition. The English language can hardly furnish
adjectives to qualify such a man. Damned he is inevitably, and his
carcass when hung up is filled with arrows dipped in printer's poisoned
ink. When a foreigner picks up one of our party organs, during an
exciting political campaign, he cannot help thanking his Creator he
was not born in a land where public men are such rascals and robbers.
Cardinal Wolsey said, "Corruption wins not more than honesty," but
the dethroned favorite lived before America had gone into politics on
her own account, and then left the work to her parasites instead of
attending to it herself.
As an index to the feeling of the Cleverdale community, a very
interesting incident that occurred after the _Investigator's_ editor
came out against Senator Hamblin is valuable. One evening Editor
Rawlings, boldly entering the "Shades," walked up to Paddy Sullivan, and
extending his hand said:
"Good-evening, Paddy."
The man addressed rose slowly to his feet, the hot blood rushed to his
face, the florid countenance assuming an almost purple hue. Drawing back
from the outstretched hand as if it had been a viper preparing to strike
its fangs into his flesh, a look of scorn flashed from his bleared eyes,
his lips trembled, and his chin quivered as he roared:
"Shake hands! wid sich a dirty traither as yees? Judas Iscariot was a
white man beside the loike of yees, and Binedict Arnold a saint. Git out
av this house, ye villin! Bad cess to a loafer who sells hisself to a
tradin' thafe! Shake hands wid yees, is it? May me hand be cut from me
arrum afore it aven teches that pizen thing av yours."
Several men gathered about Rawlings, and each had a word to say.
"Well, gentlemen, what have I done?" asked Rawlings; "can't a
thoroughbred citizen call in here without being insulted? Come, boys,
let's take a drink. Set 'em up, Paddy."
"Set 'em up, Paddy? Not a domned set up here. D'ye hear?" and the
proprietor began pulling off his coat. "Now look ye here, Mr. Binedict
Arnold, there's the door! and if your dirty carcass isn't outside of it
in fifteen siconds, be jabers, I'm the darlint to throw yees out! No,
b'ys, yees kape back. Moind, I'm the jedge to settle wid him. Iditor,
git out!"
Rawlings, realizing that the angry Paddy was in earnest, slowly walked
toward the door, when an egg striking him full in the back caused him to
utter a savage oath.
"Paddy Sullivan, you and your gang of ruffians will repent this!"
During the interview Paddy failed to observe three men whispering
to his wife, back of the bar. The woman handing them a package, the
ugly-looking fellows stole out the side-door, and hid behind a tree as
Rawlings was leaving the saloon.
The exasperated editor unconsciously approached the trio, swearing
furiously at the outrage to his person, bitterly denouncing Senator
Hamblin, whom he held responsible for the insult. As he arrived at the
ambuscade, three men suddenly sprang out, and before recovering from
his surprise Rawlings was enveloped in a cloud of flour, the substance
filling his eyes and mouth and covering him from head to foot. For
once the _Investigator_ man could boast that he was a white man, but
he did not think to do it. And before he had recovered sufficiently to
recognize his assailants, they had fled.
Hearing approaching footsteps, he stepped aside as Senator Hamblin and
Cyrus Hart Miller passed. Hidden behind a tree, he gnashed his teeth
with rage as the objects of his hatred disappeared. He then left his
place of concealment and started homeward.
The campaign went on, and Senator Hamblin bled freely. His chances were
desperate, the Daley crowd drawing so heavily from him that at times the
election of the opposition party candidate seemed almost assured. Miller
was at work day and night, and wherever money could be used to win back
strong leaders the price was paid and the wanderers brought back to the
fold.
At the Cleverdale Woollen Mill, of which Senator Hamblin was a large
stockholder, three powerful bosses opposed him. One had seen the
necessity of "getting straight" for his employer, the others refusing
to see their duty, or rather their interest. Having been exhorted and
coaxed, it was evident they meant to "stick," and, each controlling many
men, it became necessary to resort to other means to prevent opposition
to the Senator.
As a warning to others, one of the bosses was to be removed from his
position at the factory. Of course it would not do to openly discharge
men for having political opinions of their own, for that would be called
proscription, and in this free land would never be tolerated. Besides,
a candidate could ill afford being called a "bulldozer," so, pay-day
arriving, one of the bosses was discharged, and informed that his work
did not please. He denounced the company for depriving him of the right
of enjoying his own opinions, the charge being indignantly denied, but
the company put a stanch Hamblin man in the vacant place, while the
other stubborn boss, thinking discretion the better part of valor, was
not slow in deserting Daley. The factory hands were soon made solid for
their employer, for in the factory were posted large placards bearing
the words:
EMPLOYÉS ARE EXPECTED
TO VOTE FOR
DARIUS HAMBLIN
FOR
STATE SENATOR.
Will any man vote the bread and butter from the mouths of his wife and
children?
Senator Hamblin meanwhile treated his daughter with great kindness.
He did not refer to the scene at the Opera House, or again forbid her
meeting Alden. He gave her large sums of money to distribute among the
charitable institutions and poor of Cleverdale. Belle was happy at
being allowed to assist the needy, and her father found her a valuable
aid to his ambition. It was not strange, with so much money wisely
distributed, that his canvass should grow more promising as election
drew nearer. Men were sent into every part of the senatorial district,
and if argumentative power availed not, more solid inducements were
used. The powerful railroad interests were helping Daley, but even
with the contributions from the great monopolies he continually lost
ground. When he was nominated the mad passions of his backers held full
sway, but as time passed men became cooler, and the irregularity of
Daley's nomination, as well as the interest of the party, were powerful
arguments in favor of Senator Hamblin. Here and there strong leaders
were recaptured, and returned with their followers to the support of the
regular nominee.
Miller managed the canvass with consummate skill. He was everywhere at
the right moment, while County Clerk Horton, Assemblyman Mannis, Paddy
Sullivan, and others were valuable auxiliaries. "The machine" showed its
great strength in the emergency, and demonstrated that the most powerful
engine of American politics, when the bosses instead of the people
have their hand on it, _is_ the machine. Daley's canvass dwindled to
insignificant proportions, although danger was by no means impossible,
for it was reported that Daley would withdraw and urge his friends to
support the opposite party's candidate. As for Rawlings, he had really
been a detriment to the bolters, for his malice and treachery were so
apparent that respectable people became disgusted with him, and the
_Investigator_ became a boomerang. Rawlings was treated with contempt
by his townsmen, and of course did not enjoy the respect of those who
purchased him.
A week before election day the cashier of the Cleverdale National Bank
died. The directors at once called a meeting and elected George Alden
cashier, choosing Sargent as teller to fill the vacancy caused by
Alden's promotion. Sargent's appointment was to be kept secret until
after election, lest it might endanger the bank president's success.
It was a proud day for George Alden when he was formally made cashier,
and Belle was agreeably surprised when her father spoke kindly of the
young man, although he added:
"I hope he will do nothing to destroy the confidence the directors have
placed in him, but, like all young men, he may fall into temptation.
He has greater responsibility than ever before, and in these days of
defalcations it is hard to tell who will fall. George Alden is only
human."
Belle, biting her lip with concealed vexation, was about to reply when a
glance from her mother stifled the words she would have spoken. Feeling
the significance of her father's remark, she went to her room to reflect
upon what she had heard.