The Winslow mail., 1897-04-03
. HE machine" Of one Of the polit
ical parties of Butte County was

for the ratification of the county con-
vention was in progress. Everything
had been settled without friction up to
a certain point, but here the making of
candidates came to full stop. Some
one must be selected to run for Super
intendent of Schools, and some one else
must be found who was disnterested
enough to stand for the place of County
Surveyor, with the nominal emOlu-
ments pertaining thereto. This latter
problem was settled, after brief dis
cusson, by the powers insisting that Al
Wood, the incumbent, who was present,
must stand for reelection, whether he
liked it or not; but duly qualified can
didate for Superintendent of Schools
was not so easily found. The man who
had held that position for two years
past had the bad taste to give up his
office and his grasp on life at the same
time, only two weeks before, thus leav-
ing his party in quandary for candi-
date to succeed him. OF course, there
were plenty Of asprants for the nom
inati0n. but most of them were unavail-
able for reasons political, and the can
didate must be a person who was pop
ular with the voters of the county.
Jimmie" Van Vert, the handsome
young assayer of the Spread Eagle
Mill, had been sitting in a dark corner
Of the office in which the conference
was being held, smoking quietly and
saying very little until now; but he
finally put in his oar long enough to
suggest that professor" Striker, the
young principal Of the local school,
would make good man for the office.
"Ya-as," assented Judge Bullock the
venerable Justice of the Peace, 'but
they don't know him out in tn kentry,
an we got t have some feller th't en-
ketch tn aoutside vote. Now, Jimmie,
look yere. What's tn matter with you
runnin' FIR Superintendent y'rself?"
Don't get me mixed in on deal
like thatw calculated Van Vert, fer
vently. II don't want any old Office.
I've got troubles enough now"
But Judge BulIocks suggestion met
with unanimous approval on the part
Of all the others present, and, very
much against his will, Mr.. Van Vert
was slated for the nomination, and
duly placed in nomintion by the conven-
ton a few days later. 1t was two
weeks before he found out what sort
of an opponent he was to have, and
then, much to his disgust, he learned
that the other party had nominated a
girl.
throw up the canvass. The idea of the
other fellows thinking that he could be
beaten by woman. Then he cOnSOled
himself with the reflection that perhaps
they knew they couldn't beat him, and
had merely put up this Miss Smith to
act as a forlorn hope. Thenceforth he
did not put much activity into his can
vass, but attended to business pretty
much as usual, serene in the belief that
the voters of Butte County were not
yet arrived at the stage of progression
when they would permit woman to
hold office. And all this time, be 1t
known, this heretofore unknown and
mysterious Miss Smith was becoming
known to the voters Of the county, and,
what was more, she was winning a
good deal Of support from sources upon
which Van Vert confidently counted.
1t lacked only about ten days of cleo
ton day when Van Vert, with a sud
den shock, came to his senses. Two or
three things had occurred to detract
from his overconfdence. Among these
was the avowal on the part Of several
personal and political friends of their
intention to support Miss Smith, giving
as their reasons that she had a good
record as an educator and was without
doubt we'll qualified for the office; that
she wanted the office, and was making
a hard fight for it; and that Van Vert
didn't want it and didn't need it. On
top Of this he was Informed that his
opponent had been out in the ''cow dis
tricts," and had the cowboy vote pretty
we'll "cinched." This cheering an
nouncement came from two or three of
the "bosses" who called on him to see
If he didn't think it worth while to get
out and save his political scalp by "rus-
tling" like the rest of the candidates.
We'll have the committee fix some
dates for you to speak, and you've got
to fill 'em, Jimmie; if you don't you're
a gone goose" said they.
So, with the inward fear that he
might, after all, be defeated, Van Vert
began in earnest the effort to save him
self. He did not care for the office. but
he dreaded defeat at the hands of
woman, being one of the kind of men
who do not believe the gentler sex has
any business in politics. He pictured
Miss Smith as big, gaunt, red-haired,
self-assertlve person, with large red
hands and snappy way of speaking
and was quite surprised to learn that
she was really very ladylike young
woman, tipping the beam at about 10
pounds.
1t lacked but four days of election
day, and the various candidates were
putting In every hour possible in max
Ing speeches and seeing their constit-
uents and other people. Van Vert ha d
put in some very telling work in several
places where 1t would do the most good
but in two or three precincts it was
fonnd that q strong sentiment I'm favor