The San Francisco call., 1905-08-27

/ was not succeeding ana what SWEEP
there must be before Jackson county
could have any legal reform. l made an
even more vigorous campaign Tor re-
election than / had made four years De-
fore The farmers stood by me fairly
we'll, but the town went Overwhelmingly
against me. Why? Because l was DAD
for business" and. If reelected, would
be still worse. The corporations with
whose law-breaking interfered were
threatening to remove their plants
from Pulaski-that would have meant
the departure of thousands of the mer-
chants best customers, and the de-
struction of the towns prosperity. L
think the election was fairly honest.
Dominick's man beat me by about the
same majority by which i had been
elected.
Bad for business!-the most potent
of political slogans. And 1t will In
evitably result some day in the con-
centration of absolute power, political
! and allsother kinds. in the hands OF the
few who are strongest and cleveresr.
For they, can make the people bitterly
regret and speedily repent having tried
to correct abuses; and the people, TO
save their dollars, will sacrifice
their. liberty. 1 doubt II they
will. in our time at least, learn
to see far enough TO realize that who
therefore, their dollars too.
BY my defeat in that typical contest
was disheartened. embittered-and ruined
For, in my enthusiasm anc confidence
had gone deeply into debt for the eT-
penses of the reform campaign AT mid
night of election day l descended into
the black cave of despair For three
weeks i explored it. When ! returned to
the surface, was a man. ready to deal
with men on the terms of human nature
] had learned my lesson.
For woman the cost of the attainment
OF womanhoods s maturity is the beautiful.
the divine freshness of g:rihood- For
man, the cost of the attainment of man
hoods full strength and poIer is equally
great, and equally sad,-his divine faith
in human nature, his divine belief that
abstract justice and right and truth rule
the world.
Even now, when life is redeeming some
of those large promises to pay which L
had long ago given up as hopeless bad
debts; even now, it gives me wrench
to remember the cruelest chapter In that
bitter lesson. So ceetain had l been OF
reelection that l had arranged to go to
Boston the day after my triumph at the
polls For / knew from friends of the
!. Crosbys in Pulaski that Elizabeth was
still unmarried, was not engaged, and
upon that l had built high a romantic
! hope.
Il made up my mind that mother and L
must leave Pulaski, thatir must give up
the law and must, in Chicago or Cleve-
land get something to do that would
bringsfn a living at once. Before found
courage to tell her that which would
blast hopes wrapped round and rooted
in her very heart, and, fortunately. be-
fore had to confess to her the debts
l had. made, Edward Ramsay threw me
a lifeline.
He came bustling into my office one
afternoon, big and broad, and obviously
pleased with himself, and, therefore, with
the world. He had hardy changed in
THE years since we were at Ann Arbor
together. He had kept UP our friendship,
and had insisted on visiting me several
times though not in the past four
years, which had been as busy
for him as for me. Latterly his
letters urging me to visit him at their
great country place, away at the other
end of the State, had set me hard task
Of inventing excuses.
well, weil.' he exclaimed, shaking my
hand violently in both his. '.You wouldn't
come to see me. so I've come to you.
I tried not to show the nervousness this
announcement stirred. I'm afraid you'll
find our hospitality rather uncomfort-
able,,, was all l said Mother and l, had
gust of prosperity; and when the storm
began to gather, she straightway close
reefed
'.Thanks, but can't stop with you this
time, said he. I'm making an inspec-
ton of the Power Trusts properties, and
I've got mother and sister along. We're
living inS the private car the company
gives me Nor the tour. He went on to
tell how. since his fathers death, he had
been forced into responsibilities. and was.
among many other things, member of
the Power Trusts executive committee.
Soon came the inevitable question. And
how are you getting on"
$50 so," replied /; mot too well, just
at the present. / was beaten, you know,
and have to go back to my practice in
January"
wish you lived in my part of the
State" said he. But the Ramsay Com
pany hasn't anything down here He
reflected moment, then beamed. II can
get you the legal business of the Power
Trust If you want IT." he said. Their
lawyer down here goes on the bench you
know-he was on the ticket that won.
Roebuck wanted a good, safe. first-class
man on the bench in this circuit
But he added nothing more about the
Power Trust vacancy at Pulaski True, my
first impulse was that | couldn't and
wouldn't accept: also, / told myself IL
slider me-. Still, 1 wished to hear, and his
failure to return to the subject settled
once more the clouds his coming had
lifted somewhat
Mother was not we'll enough to have
the Ramsays at the house that evening.
so | dined with them in the car. Mrs.
Ramsay was ti1s same simple. silent ILL
at-ease person had first met at the
Ann Arbor rnmencement-probably the
same that she had been ever since her
husbands wealth and her children's s
infection with newfangled ideas had
forced her from the plain ways of her
youth. / liked her, but / was not so
well pleased with her daughter. Car
lotta was then twenty-five. had abund-
ant. noticeably nice brown hair. an in
different skin, pettish lips and rest
less eyes. little too close together
a spoiled willful young woman, taking
to herself the defereVce that had been
paid chiefly to her wealth. She treated
me as if / were a candidate for her
favor whom she was testing so that
she might decide whether she would
be graciously pleased to tolerate him.
Usually, superciliousness had not dis
turbed me- 1t rs a cheap and harmless