the conflict-第49节

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　other　and　much　smaller　abuses。　　The　Workingmen's　League　said　that　it　would　end　every　abuse　existing　law　did　not　securely　protect；　and　it　meant　what　it　said。

Its　campaign　fund　was　the　dues　paid　in　by　its　members　and　the　profits　from　the　New　Day。　　Its　financial　books　were　open　for　free　inspection。　　Not　so　the　othersand　that　in　itself　was　proof　enough　of　sinister　intentions。

Under　Victor　Dorn's　shrewd　direction；　the　League　candidates　published；　each　man　in　a　sworn　statement；　a　complete　description　of　all　the　property　owned　by　himself　and　by　his　wife。　　‘‘The　character　of　a　man's　property；''　said　the　New　Day；　‘‘is　an　indication　of　how　that　man　will　act　in　public　affairs。　　Therefore；　every　candidate　for　public　trust　owes　it　to　the　people　to　tell　them　just　what　his　property　interests　are。　　The　League　candidates　do　thisand　an　effective　answer　the　schedules　make　to　the　charge　that　the　League's　candidates　are　men　who　have　‘no　stake　in　the　community。'　　Now；　let　Mr。　Sawyer；　Mr。　Hull；　Mr。　Galland　and　the　rest　of　the　League's　opponents　do　likewise。　　Let　us　read　how　many　shares　of　water　and　ice　stock　Mr。　Sawyer　owns。　　Let　us　hear　from　Mr。　Hull　about　his　traction　holdingsthose　of　the　Hull　estate　from　which　he　draws　his　entire　income。　　As　for　Mr。　Galland；　it　would　be　easier　for　him　to　give　the　list　of　public　and　semi…public　corporations　in　which　he　is　not　largely　interested。　　But　let　him　be　specific；　since　he　asks　the　people　to　trust　him　as　judge　between　them　and　those　corporations　of　which　he　is　almost　as　large　an　owner　as　is　his　father…in…law。''

This　line　of　attackand　the　publication　of　the　largest　contributors　to　the　Republican　and　Democratic…　Reform　campaign　fundcaused　a　great　deal　of　public　and　private　discussion。　　Large　crowds　cheered　Hull　when　he；　without　doing　the　charges　the　honor　of　repeating　them；　　denounced　the　‘‘undignified　and　demagogic　methods　of　our　desperate　opponents。''　　The　smaller　Sawyer　crowds　applauded　Sawyer　when　he　waxed　indignant　over　the　attempts　of　those　‘‘socialists　and　anarchists；　haters　of　this　free　country　and　spitters　upon　its　glorious　flag；　to　set　poor　against　rich；　to　destroy　our　splendid　American　tradition　of　a　free　field　and　no　favors；　and　let　the　best　man　win！''

Sawyer；　and　Davy；　all　the　candidates　of　the　machines　and　the　reformers　for　that　matter；　made　excellent　public　appearances。　　They　discoursed　eloquently　about　popular　rights　and　wrongs。　　They　denounced　corruption；　they　stood　strongly　for　the　right　and　renounced　and　denounced　the　devil　and　all　his　works。　　They　promised　to　do　far　more　for　the　people　than　did　the　Leaguers；　for　Victor　Dorn　had　trained　his　men　to　tell　the　exact　truth　the　difficulty　of　doing　anything　for　the　people　at　any　near　time　or　in　any　brief　period　because　at　a　single　election　but　a　small　part　of　the　effective　offices　could　be　changed；　and　sweeping　changes　must　be　made　before　there　could　be　sweeping　benefits。　　‘‘We'll　do　all　we　can；''　was　their　promise。　　‘‘Their　county　government　and　their　state　government　and　their　courts　won't　let　us　do　much。　　But　a　beginning　has　to　be　made。　　Let's　make　it！''

David　Hull's　public　appearance　was　especially　good。　　Not　so　effective　as　it　has　now　become；　because　he　was　only　a　novice　at　campaigning　in　that　year。　　But　he　looked；　wellhandsome；　yet　not　too　handsome；　upper　class；　but　not　arrogant；　serious；　frank　and　kindly。　　And　he　talked　in　a　plain；　honest　wayyou　felt　that　no　interest；　however　greedy；　desperate　and　powerful；　would　dare　approach　that　man　with　an　improper　proposal　and　you　quite　forgot　in　real　affairs　the　crude　improper　proposal　is　never　the　method　of　approach。　　When　Davy；　with　grave　emotion；　referred　to　the　‘‘pitiful　efforts　to　smirch　the　personal　character　of　candidates；''　you　could　not　but　burn　with　scorn　of　the　Victor　Dorn　tactics。　　What　if　Hull　did　own　gas　and　water　and　ice　and　traction　and　railway　stocks？　　Mustn't　a　rich　man　invest　his　money　somehow？　　And　how　could　he　more　creditably　invest　it　than　in　local　enterprises　and　in　enterprises　that　opened　up　the　country　and　gave　employment　to　labor？　　What　if　the　dividends　were　improperly；　even　criminally；　earned？　　Must　he　therefore　throw　the　dividends　paid　him　into　the　street？　　As　for　a　man　of　such　associations　and　financial　interests　being　unfit　fairly　to　administer　public　affairs；　what　balderdash！　　Who　could　be　more　fit　than　this　educated；　high　minded　man；　of　large　private　means；　willing　to　devote　himself　to　the　public　service　instead　of　drinking　himself　to　death　or　doing　nothing　at　all。　　You　would　have　felt；　as　you　looked　at　Davy　and　listened　to　him；　that　it　was　little　short　of　marvelous　that　a　man　could　be　so　self…　sacrificing　as　to　consent　to　run　the　gauntlet　of　low　mudslingers　for　no　reward　but　an　office　with　a　salary　of　three　thousand　a　year。　　And　you　would　have　been　afraid　that；　if　something　was　not　done　to　stop　these　mudslingers；　such　men　as　David　Hull　would　abandon　their　patriotic　efforts　to　save　their　countryand　then　WHAT　would　become　of　the　country？

But　Victor　and　his　associateson　the　platform；　in　the　paper；　in　posters　and　dodgers　and　leaflets　continued　to　press　home　the　ugly　questionsand　continued　to　call　attention　to　the　fact　that；　while　there　had　been　ample　opportunity；　none　of　the　candidates　had　answered　any　of　the　questions。　　And　presentlykeeping　up　this　line　of　attackVictor　opened　out　in　another。　　He　had　Falconer；　the　League　candidate　for　judge；　draw　up　a　careful　statement　of　exactly　what　each　public　officer　could　do　under　existing　law　to　end　or　to　check　the　most　flagrant　of　the　abuses　from　which　the　people　of　Remsen　City　were　suffering。　　With　this　statement　as　a　basis；　he　formulated　a　series　of　questions‘‘Yes　or　no？　　If　you　are　elected；　will　you　or　will　you　not？''　　The　League　candidates　promptly　gave　the　specific　pledges。　　Sawyer　dodged。　　David　Hull　was　more　adroit。　　He　held　up　a　copy　of　the　list　of　questions　at　a　big　meeting　in　Odd　Fellows'　Hall。

‘‘Our　opponents　have　resorted　to　a　familiar　trick　the　question　and　the　pledge。''　　（Applause。　　Sensation。　　Fear　lest　‘‘our　candidate''　was　about　to　‘‘put　his　foot　in　it。''）　　‘‘We　need　resort　to　no　tricks。　　I　promptly　and　frankly；　for　our　whole　ticket；　answer　their　questions。　　I　say；　‘We　will　lay　hold　of　ANY　and　EVERY　abuse；　as　soon　as　it　presents　itself；　and　WILL　SMASH　IT。''

Applause；　cheers；　whistlingsa　demonstration　lasting　nearly　five　minutes　by　a　watch　held　by　Gamaliel　Tooker；　who　had　a　mania　for　gathering　records　of　all　kinds　and　who　had　voted　for　every　Republican　candidate　for　President　since　the　party　was　founded。　　Davy　did　not　again　refer　to　Victor　Dorn's　questions。　　But　Victor　continued　to　press　them　and　to　ask　whether　a　public　officer　ought　not　to　go　and　present　himself　to　abuses；　instead　of　waiting　for　them　to　hunt　him　out　and　present　themselves　to　him。

Such　was　the　campaign　as　the　public　saw　it。　　And　such　was　in　reality　the　campaign　of　the　Leaguers。　　But　the　real　campaignthe　one　conducted　by　Kelly　and　Housewas　entirely　different。　　They　were　not　talking；　they　were　working。

They　were　working　on　a　plan　based　somewhat　after　this　fashion：

In　former　and　happier　days；　when　people　left　politics　to　politicians　and　minded　their　own　business；　about　ninety…five　per　cent。　of　the　voters　voted　their　straight　party　tickets　like　good　soldiers。　　Then　politics　was　a　high…class　business；　and　politicians　devoted　themselves　to　getting　out　the　full　party　vote　and　to　buying　or　cajoling　to　one　side　or　the　other　the　doubtful　ten　per　cent　that　held　the　balance　of　power。　　That　golden　age；　however；　had　passed。　　People　had　gotten　into　the　habit　of　fancying　that；　because　certain　men　had　grown　very；　very　rich　through　their　own　genius　for　money…making；　supplemented　perhaps　by　accidental　favors　from　law　and　public　officials；　therefore　politics　in　some　way　might　possibly　concern　the　private　citizen；　might　account　for　the　curious　discrepancy　between　his　labor　and　its　reward。　　The　impression　was　growing　that；　while　the　energy　of　the　citizen　determined　the　PRODUCTION　of　wealth；　it　was　politics　that　determined　the　distribution　of　wealth。　　And　under　the　influence　of　this　impression；　the　percentage　of　sober；　steady；　reliable　voters　who　‘‘stood　by　the　grand　old　party''　had　shrunk　to　about　seventy；　while　the　percentage　of　voters　who　had　to　be　worried　about　had　grown　to　about　thirty。

The　Kelly…House　problem　was；　what　shall　we　do　as　to　that　annoying　thirty　per　cent？

Kellyfor　he　was　THE　brain　of　the　bi…partisan　machine；　proposed　to　throw　the　election　to　the　House…　Reform　‘‘combine。''　　His　henchmen　and　House's　made　a　careful　poll；　and　he　sat　up　all　night　growing　haggard　and　puffy…eyed　over　the　result。　　According　to　this　poll；　not　only　was　the　League's　entire　ticket　to　be　elected；　but　also　Galland；　despite　his　having　the　Republican；　the　Democratic　and　the　Reform　nominations；　was　to　be　beaten　by　the　League's　Falconer。　　He　couldn't　understand　it。　　The　Sawyer　meetings　were　quite　up　to　his　expectations　and　indicated　that　the　Republican　rank　and　file　was　preparing　to　swallow　the　Sawyer　dose　without　blinking。　　The　Alliance　and　the　Democratic　meetings　were　equally　satisfactory。　　Hull　was　‘‘making　a　hit。''　　Everywhere　he　had　big　crowds　and　enthusiasm。　　The　League　meetings　were　only　slightly　better　attended　than　during　the　last　campaign；　no　indicatio