The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1909-11-11
CHAPTER II.

When Vernon went into the senate
that Tuesday morning and saw the
red rose lying on his desk he smiled,
and picking 1t up, raised it eagerly to
his face. But when he glanced about
the chamber and saw that a rose lay
on every other desk. his smile was
suddenly lost in a stare of amazement.
Once or twice, perhaps, flowers had
been placed by constituents ON the
desks OF certain senators, but never
had floral distribution, at once so
modest ond impartial, been made be-
fore. Several senator's, already lin
their seats, saw the check this Impair
TALLY gave Vernon's vanity. and they
laughed. Their laughter was of tone
the chandeliers Ginning in the breeze
that came through the open windows.
The lieutenant governor was just
ascending to his place He dropped
his gavel to the sounding board of his
desk.
"'fhe senate will be III order" he
said.
The chaplain rose, and the hum of
voices in the chamber ceased. Then.
while the senators stood with bowed
heads, Vernon saw the card that lay
or the desk beside the rose. Two little
jewels of the moisture that still spar
kled on the rase's petals shone on the
glazed surface of the card. Vernon
read 1t where 1t lay.
"Will the Hon. Morley Vernon
please to wear this rose to-day as a
token of his intention to support and
proposing an amendment to section
one. article seven of the constitutions"
The noise in the chamber began
again at the chaplain's amen"
New way to buttonhole a man,
eh?" said Vernon to Bull Burns, who
had the seat next vernons, Whats
1t all about, anyway"
Vernon took up his printed synopsis
of bills and resolutions.
"Oh, yes" he said, speaking as much
to himself as to Burns; "old man
Ames's resolution" Then he turned
to the calendar. There it was-house
joint resolution No 49, He glanced
at Burns again. Burns was fastening
his rose in his buttonhole.
so you're far it, eh?' he said.
"To hell with it," Burns growled in
the grufr voice that spoke for the First
district In trying to look down at
his own adornment he screwed his fat
neck fold on fold, into his low collar
and then. with grunt of satisfaction
lighted morning cigar,
"But--" Vernon began. surprises
multiplying. He looked about the
chamber. The secretary was reading
the journal of the preceding day and
che senators were variously occupied
reading newspapers, writing letters, OF
merely smoking; some We're gathered
In little groups, talking and laughing
But they all wore their roses. Vernon
might have concluded that house joint
resolution No. 10 was safe, had it not
been for the inconsistency of Burns
though inconsistency was nothing new
in Burns. Vernon ventured once more
with his neighbor
Looks as If the resolution were as
good as adopted, doesn't it?"
But Burns cast glance of pity nj
him, and then growled in half-humor
ous contempt The action stung Yer
non. Burns seemed to resent his pres
ence IN the senate as he always re-
scented the presence of Vernon's kind
in politics,
The rose still lay on Vernon's desk;
he was the only one of the 81 senators
of Illinois that had not put his rose
on He opened his bill file and turned
up house joint resolution No. 49, He
read it carefully, as he felt senator
should before making up his mind or
such an important, even revolutionary
measure He remembered that al
the time it had been adopted II
the house every one had laughed; nc
one, with the exception OF its author
Dr. Ames. had taken II seriously.
Ames was known 10 be a crank; he
was referred TO as Doc" Ames. usual
ly as "Old Doc" Ames, He had intro
duced more strange bills and resolu
lions than any member at that ses
sion: bills TO curb the homeopathisJs
bills TO anuihiate English sparrows
bills TO prohibit cigarettes, bill to cur
tail the liquor traffic, and now thi.
resolution providing for the submis
sion of an amendment to the consti
tuition that would extend the electora
franchise TO women.
His other measures had received lit