Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-05-06

Clive's standard. BY series of fiery
speeches he succeeded in rousing
certain hitherto dormant enthusiasm
among the business men of the town.
They found to their surprise that he
was neither a visionary nor a mere
sgtator; that he based his plans not
on some Utopian Altruria of high
sohled commonwealth but on practi.
cal basis of clean government.
He pointed out to them how utterly
the Machine ran the Mountain State;
how the railroads and the vested in
terests of the party clique sent their
own representatives to the Legisla-
ture, and then made them grant
fraudulent franchise after fraudulent
franchise to the men who sent them
there. How the taxes were raised
and so distributed that the brunt fell
upon the people who least profited by
the State expenditures and by the
legalized wholesale rooberieg. How,
in fact, the populace of Granite and Of
the whole Mountain State were being
ridden at will by a handful of un-
scrupulous men.
That Caleb Conover was the head
and front Of the clique referred to
everyone was well aware, yet Standish
studiously avoided all mention OF his
name, all personal vitupsration.
Whereat Caleb Conovsr wondered
nightly Stsnographic reports OF
Gives speeches and of the inorsag-
ingly large and enthusiastic meetings
he addressed were carefully eonnsd
by the Railroadsr. And the tolerant
grin with which he read the hrst of
these reports changed gradually to a
scowl as time went on.
He had made no effort to suppress
or in any way to modest these early
meetings. He wanted to try out his
young opponents strength, gauge his
following and his methods. But when,
to his growing establishment, he found
Give was actually winning respect
full, ever larger. hearing in his home
town, he decided it was high time to
call a halt Accordingly he sum-
moned Billy Shevlin.
Whats doing?" he asked CURLY, as
he received his henchman in the
Mausoleum study.
"To-nights the big rally at Snyder's
Opera House, you know" replied
Billy. "Standish's booked to make his
star speech before he starts ON his
State tour. He's got team of Good
Comment geezers from Boston to do
q spiSl apd hos coJlip, tbic tho hi
gest scream of the campaign so far.
Say, that young feller's maxim an
awful lot of noise, Boss. When are
you soin' to give us the Office to put
the combination on his mouth? On
the level he amt dom you no good.
The Silk Socks is with him already
and he's winner with the business
bunch in family groups"
Look here said Caleb, pointing
out of the study's north window,
which commanded view OF exclusive
Pompton Avenue and it's almost
equally fashionable cross streets,
how would you figure up the popu-
lation of that DISTRICT"
The Seekers? You knows
we'll rs me- Thirty-eight hundred in
round numbers
"And over there?" pointing east.
9TH business districk? An easy
10000"
Say $4,000 in both. s'poss they are
all for young Seandish. Now look
here"
He crossed the long room and ran
up the shade of one of the south win
dows The great marble house stood
on the edge of a hill-crest, overlook
ing q distant vista of mean, winding
streets, dirty intsrminable rows of
tenements, factories and small shops
Through the centre, like huge
snake, the tracks of the C. G. &c x.
wound their way, and over all a
smeared pail of reek and coal smoke
brooded like some vast bird of prey.
| Coal yards, docks, freight houses, ele-
vators, shanties-and once more that
| interminable sea of dingy, squalid
| domiciles.
| whats the population down there,
Billy"
"Hundred'n ten thousand, six hun
| dred au'-" began Shevlin glibly.
AN every soul of them solid for you,
Boss. Sixteen thousand to hundred
| n'-ten-thous-"
''Thats right So long as the
| youngsters content to speak his little
! pieces here in Granite, I've stood by
and let him talk 1t would be time
enough to put in a spoke when he
| started across country. But this
/ blowout tonight is different. The
| stories of it will get in the Boston
and Philadelphia and New York pa
| pers. So"
'.Well?"
/ so there won't be any meeting?'
eff you say so, it goes. Will | give
! the boys the office to rough-house the
joint"
.And have every out-of-State paper