Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1909-05-13
CHAPTER H..

When Vernon went into the senate
that Tuesday morning and saw the
red rose lying on his desk he smiled,
and picking it 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 Amusement.
Once or twice, perhaps, flowers had
been placed by constituents on the
desks OF certain senators, but never
had a floral distribution, at once so
modest and impartial, beer made be.
fore. Several senators, already in
their seats, saw the check this impair.
tialitS gave NernOn's vanity, and they
laughed. Their laughter was of a tone
with the tinkle of the crystal prisms OF
the chandeliers, Ginning in the breeze
that came through the open win
dCws.
The lieutenant governor was Just
ascending to his place. He dropped
his gavel to the sounding board of his
desk.
1.-The senate will be in ORDER he
said.
The chaplain rose, and the hum of
voices in the chamber ceased. Then.
while the senators stood with bowed
hei,ds, Vernon saw the card hat lay
OF the desk beside the rose. Two little
jewels of the moisture that still p
klcd on the roses petals shone on the
glazed surface of the card. Vernon
Icdd II where II lay.
viii the Hon. Morley Vernon
please to YEA this rose today as a
token of his intention to support and
vote for house joint resolution No. 1a
proposing an amendment to section
one, article seven of the constitu-
tom"
The noise in the chamber began
again at the chaplain's Amen"
New way to b%uttonholc a a
eh?" said Vernon to Bull Burns, who
had the seat next Vernon's. whats
it 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 nan
Ames's resolution" Then he turned
to the calendar. There 1t was-hOuse
Joint resolution No. 10. He glanced
at Burns again. Burns was fastening
his rose in his %buttonhole.
so you're for it, EN-" he said.
"To hell with it," Burns growled in
the gruff 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
md then, with a grunt of satisfaction,
lighted a morning cigar.
But" Vernon began, surprises
multiplying. He looked about the
chamber. The secretary was reading
the journal Of the preceding day and
the sana 'ors were v%ariously occupied,
reading newspapers, writing letters, or
merely smoking; some were 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 1t 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 a glance of pity at
him, and then growled in half-bumor-
GUS 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 or Vernon's desk;
he wal the only one of the 81 senator's
of Illinois that had not put his rose
on. He opened his bill file and turned
I'D house joint resolution No. 10. He
read 1t carefully, as he felt a senator
should before making up his mind on
such an important, even revolutionary
measure. He remembered that at
the time 1t had been adopted in
the house every one had laughed; no
one, with the exception Of its author,
DR.. Ames, had taken 1t seriously.
Ames was known 10 be a crank; he