The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-03-26
CHAPTER ~.
The School of Life-as-lt-is.

The School OF Gife-as-it-ts.
A day or so after 1 lost the only
case of consequence / had had in
more than a year. Buck Fessenden
came into my Office, and after dosing
me literally with those friendly pro-
testations and assurances which
please even when they do not con-
vince, said: Il know you won't give
me away, Sayler, and / can't stand
it any longer to watch you going on
this way. Don't you see the old man s
after you hammer and tongs? He'll
never let up. You won't get no eli
ents, and, IL you do, yoG won't win no
cases.
These last five words, spoken In
Bucks most significant manner, re-
vealed what my modesty-or, IL you
prefer it, my stupidity-had hidden
from me. | had known all along that
Dominick was keeping away and driv-
ing away my clients; but 1 had not
suspected his creatures on the bench.
To this day, after all these years Of
use, only with the greatest reluctance
and with a moral uneasiness which
would doubtless amuse most political
managers, do / send suggestions" or
"intimations" to my men in judicial
office-and 1 always do it. and always
have done it, indirectly. And | feel
relieved and grateful when my judges,
eager to serve the party" anticipate
me by sending me reassuring
hint.
/ did not let Buck see into my
mind. NONSENSE" i pooh-poohed;
I've no cause to complain of lack of
business; but even If l had, I'd not
blame Dominick or any one else but
myself" Then i gave him straight
but good -humored look. Drop it,
Buck" said /. What did the old
man send you to me for? What does
he want.
He was too crafty to defend an
indefensibe position. 'I'll admit he
did send me-" said he. with a grin.
but / came on my own account. too.
Do you want to make 1t up with him?
You can get back under the plum
tree If you'll say the word"
could see my mother, as l had
seen her two hours before at our poor
midday meal-an old, old woman, so
the misery this Dominick had brought
upon us. Before l could control my
self to speak, Buck burst out, a look
of alarm in his face: Don't say 1T.
Mr.. Sayler-I know know. told
him it'd be no use. Honest, he
amt as bad as you think-he don't
know no better. and it's because he
liked and still likes you that he
wants you back" He leaned across
the desk toward me, in his earnest
ness-and 1 could not doubt his sin
cerity. "Sayler," he went on, take
my advice, get out of the state. You
amt the sort that gives in, and no
more is he. You've got more nerve
than any other man I know, bar none,
but don't waste 1t on a fool fight.
You know enough about politics to
know what you're Up, against"
Thank YOU" said l, but I'll stay
on
He gave over trying to persuade me.
81 hope" said he. you've got a card
up your sleeve that the old man don't
know about
l made some vague reply. and he
soon went away. I felt that / had con-
firmed his belief in my fearlessness.
Yet. IL he could have looked into my
mind, how he would have laughed at
his creduIity. Probably he would
have pitied me, too, for 1t is one of
the curious facts of human nature
that men are amazed and even dis
gusted whenever they see-in others
the weaknesses that are universal
j doubt not, many who read these
memoirs will be quite honestly Phari-
saical. thanking heaven that they are
not touched with any of my infirmi-
ties.
1t may have been coincident. though
i think not, that, a few days after Fes-
senden's CALL a reform movement
against Dominick appeared cpon the
surface Of Jackson county politics. 1
thought at the time that il was the
watching for-the awakening of the
sluggish moral sentiment of the rank
and file of the voters / know now
that it was merely the result of a
quarrel among the corporations that
employed Dominick He had been
giving the largest Of them, Roe
bucks Universal Gas and Electric
company. called the Power trust
more than its proportional share of
the privileges and spoils. The others
had protested in vain, and as a last
resort had ordered their lawyers to
organize movement to purify"
Jackson county, Dominicks strong
hold.
I did not then know it, but 1 got
the nomination for county prosecutor
chiefly because none of the other law.
yers. not even those secretly directing