Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-08-05
CHAPTER XXIII.
Discomfort in the Ranks.

$3.50 family the pleasant home
hour habit, the Railroader now stood
alone, silent, without emotion, hia
shrewd face an empty, expressionless
mask of gray, his eyes alone burning
like live Goals, showing that the brain
within in no way shared the outer
shells inertia.
1--WE got to work this out later
when I've more time" he muttered.
And with the resolve came the i'm.
pulse so common to him when trou-
bled or excited.
"Gaines!" he called to the butler,
who, late though the hour was, had
night to retire, Gaines! order Dun
derberg saddled and brought around
in fifteen minutes, and have Giles
ride with NE tonight"
Caleb went up to his dressing-room
and hastily changed into his riding
clothes
AS he strapped on the second of his
spurs a confused babel of sound arose
just beyond his dressing-room This
apartment served as a sort of ante
chamber to the study. The noise,
therefore, must have come, he knew,
from the bevy of men he had left
there. This patent fact dawned on
COnover as a surprise. He had for
gotten his followers existence, for
gotten the undecided election, the i'm
pending Grafton returns on which it's
result would hang. He had even,
since Wendell's departure. forgotten
Jerrys plight and his own rage and
modification thereat All life-all the
future-now concentrated for him,
about the Denzlow packet, whose con-
tents must by this time, or by morn
ing at latest, be known to the au-
thorities. This last and greatest blow
had filed all his emotions, driving out
lesser thoughts, fears, hopes and
griefs, as a cyclone might rip to thin
air the dawn mists over lake.
Now, at the clamor in the study, he
pulled himself together The iron
will still held. He strobe to the con-
Meeting door and opened it. The
tumult had died down, and Staatz
alone was now speaking. So intent
were the speaker and his hearers that
none noted the Boss's advent from SO
unexpected a quarter. On the thresh-
old stood Caleb, surveying the scene
with quiet contempt.
And that's how it isl" Staatz was
declaiming. Were licked. Licked!
Pretty sort of news for Democrats
this isl" picking UP newly-broken
length of ticker tape around which
the other men had been clustering.
"'City of Grafton, complete: Con-
over 800, Standish 1881 Is it a
wonder you all went nutty when you
got it? In Grafton, too. stronghold of
Democracy This means the State
for Standish by an easy 1000, maybe
more. And who's to blame? Are
yon? Am I? Not us. We've had
the whole party's had-our hands
tied behind us. And we were sent in
to fight like that. Could We use the
good old moves? Not us! 1t must be
kid-glove silk-sock, amachoor politics,
| mseting Standish Oh his own ground.
No wonder he licked us! A Prohibi-
ZIONIST could have licked men that
were hampered like we were. And
who was it tied our hands? Who got
the party beat and the Machine
smashed? Who did it? Caleb Con-
overt"
He paused painting and seating with
wrath. Then, encouraged by MUIR
muir of assent that ran around the
ring of listeners, he beloved:
1--WE amt in politics for our health,
are we? It's our bread and butter.
! That bread and buffers been snatched
/ away from us. Who by? Caleb Con-
over! Are you going to be led by the
| nose any longer by man who be-
trays you like that? For my part I'm
tired of wearing his collar
A growl of appreciation greeted his
query. His below changed to lower
tone of persuasion.
81 amt saying" he resumed, "but
what Conovers done work for the
Machine. In his day he was a great
man, but his days past He's break
! luS up. OOA ILLS Campaign ~ wv AN
is? Makes us throw our chances out
of the winder for Standish to pick up.
And when we're waiting news from
the deciding city he plays phono-
graph, and then wanders off and most
likely forgets we're here. There's an
other thing: How did Richard Croker
and Charlie Murphy and Matt Quay
and N. Bonaparte and all the rest OF
the big bosses hold their power? BY
keeping their mouths shut. When
Croker once began to talk, what hap
pened? Down tumbled all his power.
Same with Quay Same with N'pol-
con. Same with all of 'em. Talking
was the first sign of losing hold.
Look at Conover's case. We can all
remember when words was as hard
to get out Of him as dollars. How
about him now? Talks to anyone.
tell you he's breaking up. Unless we
want the Machine to break up for
good and all, too we got to get new
Leader"
IF the new Leaders you, Adolphe
-.