Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1907-06-29

about. When Iowa was called and
cast its vote sohdly for him, / knew
he had failed
"Hc white Ne ISL" said Mrs.
Sandys. who was looking at him
through opera-glasses.
I borrowed them and saw that his
gaze was fixed on a box on the other
side Of the huge auditorium. on
woman in that box--l had only to look
at her to see which woman She was
beautiful of that type Of charm which
the French sum up in the phrase the
woman OF 80" / have heard crowds
below too often to be moved by it,
though the 10000 or 10000 gathered
under that roof were outdoing the
cannonade of any thunderstorm. But
that woman's look ia response to Scar.
borough's-there was sympathy and
understanding it it, and more, inf
nitetly more. He had been crushed for
the moment-and understand enough
OF his situation to understand what a
blow to all hts plans this untimely
apparent triumph was She was
showing that she, too, felt the blow,
but she was also sending a message
of courage to him--one OF those mes.
sages that transcend words. like music,
like the perfumes of flowers and
fields, like that which fills us as we
look straight up into clear night
sky. lowered the glasses and looked
away could not bear it. For the
moment / hated INUNDATED myself
for it.
l heard Carlotts asking a woman in
the box next ours the name of the
woman with the white plume in the
big black hat In the seventh box on
the other side
Mrs. Scarborough was the an.
swer
"Oh is that she?' exclaimed Mrs
Sandys, almost snatching her glasses
from me In her eagerness. You
know who she was-John Dumont's
widow-you remember him? She
to have attracted two such men"
But Scarborough was nominated
now He waved aside those who
tried to take him up and bear him to
the platform. He walked down the
aisle alone and assembled amid tense
silence; he stood looking calmly out.
His face had lost its whiteness OF a
few minutes before. AS he stood
there, big and still, sort OF embodi-
ment of fearlessness, / wondered
and ! fancy many others were won
dering he was about to re-
fuse the nomination. But an in
stant's thought drove the wild notion
from my mind He could not strike
that deadly blow at his party.
Fellow delegates" said he--a clear
er, more musical voice than his l
have never heard-'I thank you for
this honor AS you know, ] opposed
the platform you saw fit to adopt.
have nothing to retract. / do not like
1t. But after all, candidate must be
his own platform. And j bring my
public record as proof of my pledge
that" he paused and the silence
was tremendous. He went on, each
word distinct and by itself-"if | am
elected-a long pause-'T shall obey
the constitution pause-'I
shall enforce the lawss'
He was descending the aisle be-
fore the silence was broken---a feeble,
ripping applause. significant of disap-
pointment at what seemed an anti
climax. He had merely repeated in
condensed form the oath of Office
which a president takes at his in
auguration But somehow-rlo doubt,
1t was the magic of his voice and his
manner and superb presence-those
simple words kept on ringing: and all
at once--full half minute must have
elapsed. long time in such circum-
stances-all at once the enormous
meaning of the two phrases doomed
into the brains of those thousands: II
this man is elected, there will be a
president without fear or favor, and
he will really obey the constitution,
will really enforce the laws! That
little speech, though only a repetition
of an cath embodied in oar century
old supreme law, was a firebrand to
light the torch of revolution, of revolu-
ton back toward what the republic
used to be before differences of wealth
divided its people into upper middle
and lower classes before enthroned
corporate combinations made equality
before the law mockery, before the
development of our vast material re
sources restored to the intelligent and
energetic few their power over the
careless and purposeless many.
AS the multitude realized his mean
ing-I doubt If many times in all his
tory such sight and sound has burst
upon mortal ears and eyes. For the
moment | was daunted; it was i'm
possible not to think that here was
the whole people, not to feel that
Scarborough had been chosen presi-
dent and was about to fulfil his
pledge Daunted yet thrilled, too.
For, at bottom, are we not all pas
sionate dreamerS of abstract right and