The Savannah morning news., 1901-11-03

another caller appeared. His brother
had been arrested for "disorderly con-
duct" that charitable term that COW
ers multitude of sins. Would the
leader get him out? He would try.
Work was waiting for him at his Of
flee, but instead of going there he
went to the police court. There his con-
stituent's unfortunate brother and the
shopkeeper were awaiting him. In the
line of prisoners were two or three 9TH
er members of the district organiza-
ton, or friends of members, and each
of them had to be attended to. The
magistrate knew the leader, and the
leader knew the magistrate, and after
a little conversation the leader paid a
fine or so. the magistrate delivered a
reprimand or so, and the shopkeeper
and the unfortunate brother were dis
charged. While this had been going on
the leader had been appealed to a doz
en- times for aid of one sort or another
Some of the appeals he answered with
a contribution from his pocket, some
of them with a word of advice, some of
them he disregarded. This had taken
an hour. The leader had to get to his
office. He boarded a car and was salut-
ed respectfully by the driver and the
jobs to him. Once at his office his first
care was to telephone to the Bureau of
membranes and ask that the shop
keepers showcase be returned to him.
His next business was to receive three
or four callers, all of them in search of
work. They had no doubt that he could
get jobs for them. and he took their
names and added them to a portentous
list that he carried in his pocket. Then
he opened his mail. 1t consisted of ap-
peals, some for employment, some
from men for whom he had obtained
employment for transfers, requests
that he buy tickets to church fairs,
and dances, and schuetzenfests, and
benefits of all sorts and descriptions.
At luncheon he met a man who told
him of the efforts which a rival in the
district was making to supplant him.
That required attention and thought,
and immediate consultation with q
number of his lieutenants, the men
who had charge of the election dis
tricts under him.
In the afternoon the regular daily
visit to the city departments came.
The heads of all these departments
were fellow leaders, and they had the
parcelling out of the good things. For
every job to be given out there were
at least twenty applicants. and of the
twenty applicants at least a dozen
were leaders men" He got two
sweepers in the street cleaning depart
ment and a messenger in the finance
department, and an extra clerk in the
tax department. and that was a good
days work When he got back to his
office more mail had accumulated. Its
treatment was the same that the other
had received, and then the leader
started for supper. He wasn't going
home. He had to attend a fair and
spend some money and show himself;
and when he had done his duty by the
fair it was time for him to go to the
District Club and see what more there
was for him to do. There were fifty
men who wanted immediate financial
assistance, from ten cents to a dollar.
Twenty-Five men wanted work; three
or four wanted to get on to the police
force; three or four wanted to get in
the fire department. There were po-
licemen who wanted to be transferred
and advanced in grade, and clerks who
wanted to get vacations and increases
in salary, and all sorts of routine mat
tiers of that kind to take up time. Then
there was a woman whose husband
beat her. and who had come to the
leader for protection. and a husband
who had given up tryin' to live with
that woman" and expected the SYM
pathy and support of the leader. Then
there were men who had been arrested
and must be bailed out, and a whole
mass of minor details, to all of which
the leader listened attentively and at
tended scrupulously. 1t was midnight
when he got to his home. He had done
a hard days work. He was tired He
went TO bed but before he was fairly
aC1n fHA h1Il L.
pulled out of bed to furnish bail for
another constituent. Then he went to
bed again and was allowed to sleep
for a little while.
This is a sample day from the life
of a district leader. Philanthropy did
not prompt him to do the kindly acts
which he did. Had he not done them
he would have lost the friendship of
the men who made his leadership pos
sible, and as soon as he lost their
friendship his leadership was gone.
BY assuming the post of leader he had
assumed the responsibility of doing all
of the many things which had been
asked of him. He was the man to
whom every unemployed, every unfor-
tunate and every troubled member OF
the organization looked for practical
aid and sympathy. That was what
they had made him leader for: that
was what he had promised them when
they made him leader. Had he not
fulfilled the promise he would have
broken a contract none the less bind
ing, because never reduced to writing
and possibly never expressed in words.
Every man for whom he had done a
favor was his friend. or would be, and
would be his supporter, with all of the
other men whom he could influence,
until there came a rival who would
and could do more than he.
This particular leader began his DO
litical career by enrolling in the or
ganization. The first constituency he
had consisted of one man, and he won
his support by taking off his coat and
pitching into a fight and saving the old
man from pummelling. That ability
10 use his fists was the future leaders
first capital, and his willingness to do
so advertised him. He had to fight FOR
everything he got, for other men were
striving with the same ambition. lie
knew every inch Of the road 10 politi-
cal leadership from it's first beginnings.
Not a situation could arise In the dis
riot In which he did not know the in
side and the outside from practical ex-
perience. He had been as poor as any
OF those for whom his aid was invoked
He could sympathize with every man
and every woman IN the district. His
knowledge. his experience, his ability
20 put the mint 70 practical effective
ness and his willingness 20 DO 70 made
him the leader Of the district. IN return
for all this uncessing and unetlnted ef-
fort % please he constituents this
lsder received HIS reward IN many and
devious ways. His vanity Was fickled
A.