Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-07-25
THE PATH HE CHOSE
By HOWARD DEv1NE
(copyr4ght. lOOA. by Daily Story Pub. co.

tG the State-DOCh determined to WreSt fame and fortune in the keen strife in- cident to transforming wilderness to an empire.
 Chamberlain was ardent, impetuous and often rash. There was where he gained his strength with his fellows.
 Morton was cold, clear and practical, never losing sight of the end in view or sacrificing point from motives of sem timent. His hold on his fellows came not at all from friendship or enthusi- asm, but from that impulse in man kind which involuntarily admires sheer force of intellect-and the man who wins.
 Chamberlain had by far the best start and the most in his favor He came of good blood and his family had furnished men of mark In many of the walks of life for many generations. He had good education, and while his immediate fam fly was not at all in good financial cir cumstances, his connections smoothed the way to business relations which relieved him of many of the financial endorsements of young lawyer.
 Morton had no family connections but were a handicap to him. What education he had was what he had acquired by his own efforts and by contact with the world, aided by his own native wit and unyielding energy. When he first came to the state he was not admitted to the bar but was clerk in real estate off, flee. He was sharp as a steel trap, how ever, and made himself exceedingly val- uable. Soon after he plunged into poli- tics he began to study law, and by adroit manipulation added to indefatig- able work succeeded in obtaining his li- cense to practice in just half the time the statutes provided. There were hints of questionable afidavits, but the young man stood so well in his examination that he went through all right. The older lawyers predicted failure. But he displayed native ingenuity in several important cases which routed his de- tractors and silenced hls critics. At the same time he did not devote his best en- ergies to the law, and from the first succeeded in holding an influential place in the manipulation of the inner work ings of politics, and incidentally also was generally on the public pay roll in some capacity.
 Tn the meantime Chamberlain was winning a name and place for himself in the practice of the law. He, too, was deeply in politics, and was an important no petty office, and was altogether more popular with the people than with the politicians
 Ttwas between these two strong, prom ising, virile young men that Helen Wins ton was asked to choose. The rivalry leaped the bounds of politics and busi- ness and invaded the domains of love. Both became ardent suitors of the dash ing, black-eyed girl with the musical voice and the soft womanly ways Through all the years of their upward. struggle both wooed her assiduously, and to both she gave warm friendship and cordial od-fellowship nothing more. As the years grew both became more insistent, but she would not choose. Indeed, she could not fathom her own mind Sheliked both--admired both immensely and thoroughly enjoyed herself in theiracompany. Moreover, be- ing true daughter of Eve, she took not a little joy in having these two brilliant young men dangling in her train. She liked the dash and go of Chamberlain, and was charmed by his scintillating wit as we'll as his chivalrous and kindly man. ners. On the other hand, she admired the keen intellect of Morton and stood in some little secret awe of his dominating personality. While hiswit bit more than that of Chamberlain, 1t was not less true, and he was good company in all the term implies.
 Time ran on and both men in success sion became members of the state legis- lature and occupied strong positions in the upper councils of the party in the state. Morton was particularly strong in practical politics-in that depart ment of activity which produced tangi- ble results. Chamberlain became a power on the stump and his Judgment was eagerly sought in the matter of framing platforms and deciding on is- sues
 Still, Helen refused to decide between them, and both men declined to retire
 Then came novel situation in the po- litical world, bringing with 1t marvel ous opportunity. One of the United States senators representing the state died. It was at a time when new indus trial conditions had created new issues and party lines wavered. It became plain at once that none of the old leaders and idols could be elected without seri- ously imperiling the supremacy of the party which had controlled the state for decades. New men were sought, who could preserve the traditions of the party and at the same time satisfy to some extent the demands of the popular trend of thought In the agitation re- garding the senatorial succession the names both of Chamberlain and Morton were mentioned by the newspapers as promising and potent young leaders of the party who were in line with the ad- vanced thought Singularly enough at this particular time both young men were pressing their suits for the hand of Helen Winston in the most imperative man. ner. The girl was nearly distracted at |