Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1907-07-27

got hold OF Roebuck. He's giving q
dinner at the Auditorium tomorrow
night. It's a dinner of IL covers /
think you can guess who ten Of 'en
are for. The eleventh is for Dom
inick!"
That was enough. grasped the
situation instantly. The one weak
spot in my control of my state was
my having left the city bosses their
local power. instead OF myself ruling
the cities from the state capital Why
had I done this? Perhaps the bottom
reason was that ! shrank from per-
hitting any part of the machine for
which / was directly responsible TO
be financed by collections from vice
and crime / admit that the distinc-
ton between corporate privilege and
plumber and the pickings and steal
ings and prosttutions of individuals
is more apparent than real. admit
that the kinds of vice and crime
tolerated are far more harmful than
the other sorts which are petty and
make loathing outcasts OF their
wretched practitioners. Still, ! was
snob or Pharisee or Puritan enough
TO feel and to act upon the imagin-
airy distinction. And so, | had left
the city bosses locally Independent
for. without the revenues and other
aids from vice and crime, what city
political machine could be kept up?"
"Dominick!" l exclaimed.
eoid XXYn0drrH aNouy
Mr. Sayler, the point is Just here.
don't blame you for wanting to get
out If had any other game, I'd get
out myself But what's to become
Of us-all of your friends, not only
In this state but throughout the
country Are you going to stand by
and see them slaughtered and not
lift finger to help emp"
There was no answering him. Yet
the spur of vanity, which clipped into
me at thought of myself thrown down
and out by these cheap ingrates and
scoundrels, had almost instantly
ceased to sting, and my sense of
weary disgust had returned. If
went into the battle again, what work
faced me? The same old monotonous
round To outf1ank Burbank and Good,
rich by tricks as old as war and pol
itics, and effective only because hui
man stupidity is infinite and unteach-
able. To beat down and whip back
into the ranks again these bandits
of commerce disguised as respectable.
church-going, law-upholding men of
property-and to do this by the same
old method of terror and force.
You can't leave us in the lurch."
said Doc. And the game promises
to be interesting once more. ] don't
like racing on the fiat. It's the hur-
dies that makes the fun"
pictured myself again a circus
horse going round and round the
ring, jumping the same old hurdles
at the same old intervals Take my
place. Doc" said |.
He shook his head. I'm a good
second" said he, but rotten bad
first"
1t was true enough. He mysteri-
ous1y lacked that mysterious some.
thing which, when a man happens
to have been born with it, makes
other men yield him the command
give it to him, force it on him, If
he hangs back.
What do you want me to do?" I
asked
THAT dinner tomorrow night is in
suiteL. Go toit--that's the shortest way
to put Roebuck and Dominick out of
business. Face EN- and they'll
skulk."
TITS risk" said I. saw at once
that he was right, but ! was in a re-
luctant humor.
Not bit of it, was his confident
reply Il had horse that was crazy
would run away on any old provo
cation. But no matter how busy he
was at kicking up the dust and the
dashboard, you could always halt him
by ringing a bell once. He'd been
in the street car service. That's the
way 1t is with men, especially strong
men, that have been broken to the
bell. They hear it ring and they
can't resist. Go up and ring the
bell"
Go ring it yourself" said L
You're the bell" said he.