Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-16

against US. SO much worse things than
they can possibly make out your election
to be. that it'll soon be almost neglected"
They're beginning to drop me already
and go back to marrying those poor devils
OF ours In the legislature" said Wood
ruff.
"A few weeks more" 1 went on, and
you'll be safe, and you are to stay chair
man. no matter what happens. When they
| have leisure to attack you therell be
nothing to attack. The people will have
dismissed the matter from their minds.
1hey don't care to watch the threshing of
cid straw"
I saw that I had lifted a weight from
him, though he said nothing.
l. So much for my first move toward the
Christening of my clients. Further and
even more effective In the same direction.
l cut down our campaign fund for the
legislative ticket to one-ffth what 1t
, usually was; and, without even Wood
rufus knowing 1T, 1 heavily subsidized the
opposition machine. Wherever it could
be done with safety l arranged for the
trading off of our legislative ticket for
our candidate for governor. The legis-
!ature is hopelessly lost" I told Wood
ruff; we must concentrate on the COVER
norship. We must save what we can In
fact, so overwhelmingly was our party in
the majority, and so loyal were its rank
and file, that it was only by the most
careful arrangement of weak candidates
and of insufficient campaign funds that !
, was able to throw the Legislature to the
opposition. Our candidate for governor,
Walbrook-Burbank was Ineligible to
second successive term-was elected by
a comfortable plurality. And, by the way,
l saw to 1t that the party organs gave
| Woodruff enthusiastic praise for rescu-
ing much from what had looked like
utter ruin.
My clients had been uneasy ever since
the furious popular outburst which had
followed their breaking away from my d.
rection and restraint When they saw an
opposition legislature they readily be-
cd hat how in 10 /"
about the impending reign of radical.
ism" Silliman, the opposition leader, had
accepted John Markhams offer of one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars for
Croffut's seat In the Senate; but / d.
rected him to send Neerhoft one of
the widest and cleverest of the OPP
position radicals. He dared not DISC
hey me. Neerhoft went and Mark
ham never saw again the seven
ty-five thousand he had paid Siiliman as
retainer"
Veerhoft In the United States Senate
gave nv clients the chi!ls but l was pre-
pairing the fever for them also. | had Sill
Imam introduce bills in beth houses of the
legislature that reached for the privileges
of the big corporations and initiated pro-
ceedings to expose their corruption. had
Woodruff suggest to Governor Walbrook
that in view of the popular clamor, he
ought to recommend measures for equal
izing taxation and readjusting the prices of
franchises. AS my clients We're bonded and
capitalized on the basis of no expense either
for taxes or for franchises. the governor S
suggestion eagerly adopted by Sll!imans
horde" foreshadowed ruin. II the meas
ures should be passed, all the dividends and
interest they were paying on water
would go into the public treasury.
My clients came to me, singly and IN
pairs, to grovel and to implore. An inter-
esting study these arrogant gentlemen
made as they cringed, utterly Indifferent to
the appearance of self-respect, in their
agony for their imperiled millions. A
mother would shrink from abasing herself
to save the life of her child as these men
abased themselves in the hope of saving
their dollars. How they fawned and fiat
tered! They begged my pardon for having
diSrega rded my advice: they assured me
that if l would only exert that same ge-
MUS of mine which had conceived the COM
bine, l could devise some way of saving
them from this tidal wave Of popular
clamor-for they hadn't suspicion of my
part in making that tidal wave
Reluctantly l consented to see what l
can do
The instant change in the atmosphere of
the capital, the instant cutlery from the or
gans of both parties that the people had
voted for reform, not for confiscatory rev.
olution" completed my demonstration.
My clients realized who was master of the
machines. The threatening storm rapidly
scattered; the people, relieved that the Sill
Imam program of upheaVal was not to
be carried out, were glad enough to see
the old conservative" order restored
is better not rot slowly by corruption than
to be frightened to death by revolution.
thereafter we must trust to your judg-
ment in these political matters. Harvey,
said Roebuck. The manager must be per-
mitted to manage"
| smiled at the righteousness of this
speech. II did not ruff1e me Roebuck was
one of those men who say their prayers IN
a patroniZing tone.
Yes ! was master But il is only now, in
the retrospect of years, that l have any
sense of triumph: for | had won the
premacy with small effort. comparatively
with the small effort required of him who
sees the conditions of situation clearly,
and, instead of trying to combat or to
change them, intelligently uses them to his
ends Nor do now regard my achievement
as marvellous Everything was in my favor;
against me there was nothing-no organiza-
ton no plan, no knowledge of my aim. l
wonder how much of their supernal glory
would be left to the worlds men of action,
from its Alexanders and NapOleons down
to its successful bandits and ward bosses, If
mankind were in the habit of looking at
what the winner had opposed to him-AleX-
ander faced only by focks of sheep-like
Asiatic slaves; Napoleon routing the badly
trained wretchedly differed soldiers Of de-
cadent nonarchies, and the bandit or ward
boss overcoming peaceful and unprepared
and unorganized citizens. Who would erect
statues or write euolgies to a man for now
ing a field of corn stalks with scythe!
Mankind is never more amusing than IN IT'S
hero worship.
No. l should simply have been stupid
had failed.
But-even had 1 been disposed to rein in
and congratulate myself at the quarter
stretch | could not have done il. A man
has, perhaps some choice as to his mount
before he enters the race for success. But,
once in the saddle and off, he must let the
reins go: his control Is confined to whip
and spur.
no