The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-08

"rome If discarding the old and utilizing
.So new. Even as Senator Billings WAS fall
,aS into the bottomless pit OF oblivion, Con-
nressnan-at-Large Merriheld was chosen
ss,th Sa wages aid as a Sequoia Senator.
An a.tute, a necessary game for one who
.,s, depend rather upon polity than popu-
,aritv. Despite his long service Mr.. saw
are was neither personally known nor loVeo
tn any general extent in Sequoia.
Elected in the first instance through the
manipulation and bribery Of the Legisia.
,ure, he had retained his seat by trick and
intrigue, Feared by many, distrusted by
sone, he was accepted as inevitable by all.
To me. however, who once and again had
,,tnessed the devious methods by which the
SENATOR had first jointly directed and then
Ingly appropriated and consumed a col
laag,Ie's strength, there was a marked
diGerence in the present situation. Merrl-
feld was an unknown quantity, unfettered
BY a dubious past.
swept into Office by independent voters
"a the exponent of restriction OF corporate
privilege, Mr.. Savage had been forced TO
sdont both him and his platform for lack
dbetter. To-day in the sight OF Sequoians
tho two stood side by side, the veteran poll
tician, the young publicist, a pair equally
noble. to be honored equally because repre-
enting the right. 80,
How long would such equality last I
Would Mortified submit to dictation; and
was il not at once an asset and a defect OF
NV Senator that he must be master!
Knowing, too, how avid Mr.. Savage was
IN assimilate and benefit by all odds and
..,;n ,yoc mt cllrnrisnd to have
him turn the talk OF moments OF leisure TO
the subject Of his colleague.
Mortified is a flint fellow. eh, Buffum2'
he said one evening. drawing the renection
seemingly from his cigar.
They all spoke well Of him in the House,
SIR" / replied, "as a quiet, industrious, con-
scientious member
.Faugh! You might as well be speaking
Of a brother at a synod. How did he spend
his timer
-Grubbing mostly in the Ways and Means
Committee, and at the Congressional LII
brary--
Il know, l know; hammering impracti-
cable notions about taxation into an i'm
possible bill. But there are other rooms
besides committee rooms; other resorts open
after dark besides the library
knew / would have to come to it. When
once the Senator began to cross-question
he never let up until both subject and object
were exhausted. Sc / admitted that in
the early days Of the preceding Congress
had heard the boys at the Capitol joking
about the, aptitude with which a green
member like Merriheld had discovered
the desirability Of a friendship with a navy
widow
1Aha!" cried the Senator, zone OF those
detached wives who cultivate philosophy
40 satisfactorily in Washington, while the
exigencies Of the naval service keep their
husbands In foreign parts. A modern
amendment Of the refrain, For mel must
work while women must weep You
didn't mention the lady's name, my good
BufYum.
They referred to Mrs. Richard. sir
l answered reluctantly. Her husband,
Lieut.. Jack Richard, has been of at the
Asiatio station now more than two years
There Is no denying that they were seen
together a great deal, but o know how
readily evil is inferred here-1 don't
believe
Il know Jack Richard for a handsome
soamp who would have been cashiered 6
dozen times over had he got his deserts,
and that is quite enough for me. Spare me
YOUR conclusions, Buffum. You are never
more tiresome than when you are moraliz-
ing With q yawn my Senator went his
way.
found It consoling to my sef-respeot
to reflect that this sorry bit Of gossip was
but a blind lead after all. Not being asked,
| had not seen fit to mention that Mrs.
Richard was no longer Ia town, having
Joined her husband during the summer AT
H%ongkonG.
forgot, or perhaps ignored, the fact that
in the Senator's orderly brain every such
scrap Of discredit was filed away as SYSTEM
atically az were letters and papers in our
Office waiting and ready for the day when
1t might be put TO an even more ~disoreditab
use.
The even course Of events for the session
and the year tended to put his incident
out OF mind. Nothing could be h1ore ami
cable than the relations Of tho W Senators
at Washington, nor more ha rmonious thar
the union Of their forces In Sequoia.
Senator Merrifeld kept pegging away at
his corporate taxation plan, gratifed by
the open aid and comfort he received from
his colleague and u~ndismayed by the
obsta cles which his collea que secretly put
in his way; but, as often hap ems at the
national capital. where political perspective
is cit distorted or laoking, success seemed
impossible because too close at hand to be
seen.
Out in sequoia there was a reign Of good
feeling in the party In power. Already
the people were planning to apply to State
corporations the reform in axation with
which the Senators were identified. Not
the keenest eye could detect h faintest
cloud on the future horizon OF either.
As a necessary corollary, no young,
ambitious, vigorous aspirant for public
favor was rising with whose fortunes
Senator Savage might combine shohld he
deem it necessary to throw Merrifeld in
order to help himself. Then the unexpected
happened.
' Certain damaging evidence was brought
out in a Congressional investigation OF the
Transmontane Railroad. Under the whip
and spur Of popular Indignation a bill
introduced by Senator Merrifield for the
valuation and taxation OF It's franchises