The Washington herald., 1907-01-27
CHAPTER Xxx.

The Great PhiIipsbu-g Conference.
IF ever you so TO Phllipsburg. which is
in Wyoming. not far from the Montana
line you Will hear the people proclaim
the greatness Of the town in which they
live. You expect this sort Of thing in
the far West, and you are prepared for
it, but you viii be surprised at the nature
of the Philipsburg boast. Its proud in
habitants viii not tell you that 1t is
bound 10 be the largest city between the
Missouri and the Coast, they VIII not as
sert that since the horizon touches the
earth at an equal distance on all sides
of the town. it is. therefore. The natural
center of the world; but they viii tell
you stories Of the great Phiuipsburg Con-
ference, and some of them viii not be
far from the truth.
PhIlipsburg is but hamlet. fed by an
irrigation ditch that leads the Iife-giving
waters down from a distant mountain.
and it has neither the beauty of nature
nor that given by the hand of man, but
the people viii point Importantly 10 the
square wooden hotel of only two stories.
and tell You that there occurred the
great crisis in the most famous and pic
turesqUe Presidential campaign ever
Wdged in the United States: they win
even lead you TO the very room in which
the big talk occurred, and say, in lowered
voices, that the furniture is exactly the
same, and arranged just as it was on
that momentous night when the history
of the world might have been changed
IN this room the people Of Phifpsburg
have a TeverenuaI air, and there is cause
Tor It,
Tho affair did not begin at PhiliDsburg
lit merely had its climax there-but far
away on the dusty plains Of Eastern
Washington, where the wheat grows so
tai that il dubbed and seethed as the
candidate and his party travelled east
ward stopping and speaking many times
by the way. 1t was all about the tariff.
a dry subject in itself. but, as tall oaks
from little acorns grow, so a dry sub
ject often can make interesting people do
interesting things.
Al the convention that nominated Mr.
Grayson for the Presidency the subject of
the tariff had been left somewhat vague
IN the platform. not from deliberate pur-
pose. but merely through the drift Of
events. the question had not interested
the people greatly in some time, other
things connected with both the foreign
and internal policy of the government
particularly the continued occupation of
the Philippines and "a projected new
banking system, were more 20 the fore;
but as the campaign proceeded certain
events caused the tariff also to be-
brought into issue and 20 receive a large
share of public attention.
Now. a clever man-ab0ve all. one as
clever as Jimmy Grays0u-cOuld avoid
giving q decided opinion upon this sub
jcct. It is party creed for a candidate
To stand upon his platform, and as the
platform contained no tariff plank, he
was not obliged TO take amy stand upon
the tariff. Such "a course would seem
good politics. toe, but Harley knew that
NJ. GIays0n favored a reduction OF
the tariff and a liberal measure CT
reciprocity with negnboring States. and
he dreaded the time when the candidate
should declare himself upon the subject:
he did not see how he could do il with
out losing many votes, because there was
a serious difference of view inside his
own party. And Harley's dread grew out
of his intense desire to see Mr.. Grayson
elected. His hero was not perfect-no
man was; there were soIge important
truths which he did not Yet know, but he
was honest, able, and true, and he came
nearer TO being the ideal candidate than
any other man whom he had ever seen.
Above all ne represented the principles
which Harley. from the bottom Of his
soul, wished 10 triumph
The fight had been begun against great
odds against powerful interests consCIi-
dated in a battle lire thar at first seemed
impervious, but by tremendous efforts
they had made progress; the vast. energy
and the winning personality of Mr.. Gray
son were a strong weapon, and Harley
was gradually sensible that the people
were Taliying around him in increasing
numbers, and by people he did not merely
mean the masses of the lowest. those who
never raise themselves, Harley was never
such dCmagOgue as 10 think that q man
was bad because he had achieved some
Thing in the world and had prOspered: he
had TOO honest and clear "a mind to put
premium upon incapacity and idIeuess.
Lately he had begun 10 have h0pe-a
feeling that Mr. Crays1n might be elected
despite The King Hummer detection