The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-11-06

companied by an accentuated cry of
victory, exultant, arrogant, merciless.
The Chairman's Last Hope.
From that time on no one cherished
hope, save only the chairman. He was
as adamant in his declarations that
the news had been doctored. "Claim
everything he cried, as others, in like
circumstances had before his day, and
this attitude he maintained till the af-
ternoon of the following day.
Well before midnight the band be-
gan to break up and by o'clock near
~ all had disappeared, slipping away
by ones and twos and threes with
heads bowed and eyes cast down.
NOT so with the chairman. He re-
manned; hoping against hope and wide
eyed, till just about the time that the
gray of the dawn crept in through the
windows. Then he stretched his tired
body upon one of the tables and
closed his eyes in the dead sleep
of one who is wholly exhausted. At 2
OF the afternoon on Wednesday he
opened them again. Before he broke
his fast he called a stenog1Iapher. to
whom he dictated a last defiant
claim" that after all, later returns
in two or three states might change
the figures so as to show victory in
stead of defeat.
me- OhS AFTER
If the day before election is depress
ing at national headquarters because
OF the suspense, how shall the days
Immediately following defeat at head
quarters be described? The thing is
impossible; the situation can only be
indicated. If the air is. blue with
: good cigar smoke election night, 1t is
bluer still with unadulterated gloom
on the days following defeat. Only
those are there whose melancholy
duty it is to close up the place,
burn the records and stationery and
otherwise attend the obsequies of a
collapsed campaign. over these
squalid ceremonies it were better that
the veil were tightly drawn.
When It's a Victory.
Receiving the returns when they
bring news of victory is quite another
matter. Then hilarity, sometimes
verging on the extravagant, takes the
place of gloom.
Four years later than the occasion
above described the returns were re-
ceived by the strongest and best or
dered political organization in the
country at its headquarters, after a
campaign which all the members of
the organization thought they had
good reason to believe successful. So
confident were they of the result that
the ladies', as we'll as the men, were
invited to come to the organizations
headquarters and receive the news as
it came in over the wire.
Celebrating the Result.
The shipping department whence
millions of documents" had been sent
out over the land during the campaign
was cleared off desks and mailing ia
los TIaYre, 49,,
cious hall. Handsome chairs took the
place of the shipping apparatus, and
the place was brilliantly illuminated.
Evening raiment was the rule, and the
gathering assumed the appearance of
a swell social function. Glossy white
shirt fronts cleaned in snowy relief
against black waistcoats; jewels spar
killed. on dainty fingers and graceful
necks; the murmur of masculine voices
was comnlemented by the silvery
laughter of high-bred women.
As before. those who were inclined
to figures brought with them tabula-
tions for comparison, and, as before,
there were preparations for the dis
counting OF early returns. But this
time the returns were of another COL
or. Message after message was click
ed off by the wire and read out sonor-
ouslY. but all the news received that
nlgnt was good news to those who
heard it there. There were no groans
of dismay, only cheers and happy
laughter.
! BY o'clock. said the experts with
the tabulations. there was no further
uncertainty. BY 10 the whole party
had resolved itself informally into an
amateur glee club. Half an hour later
the happy gathering desisted from the
hearing of returns and the singing of
songs, and devoted itself to the dis
position of good things to eat.
When this party separated there was
no breaking away in ones and twos
and threes in order to avoid the at
tention of the unfriendly. no hanging
of heads. no casting down of eyes.
This time victory, not defeat was in
the air, and it was the fellows of the
other side who were plunged in deep
est gloom.
The Strain of Inaction Now On.
To-day the strain of inaction has al
ready settled over headquarters" in
both political camps pending the thir-
tIeth presidential election through
which. the country will have passed