Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1910-09-16

for SO many centuries has carried the
bulldog race Of yellow-haired, strong.
jawed Anglo-Saxons to victory against
hopeless odds came to his aid. He
shook his big shoulders as II tossing
off some physical weight, entered his
rooms and switched on the electric
light.
On his study table lay a special de-
livery letter, neatly typewriter, as
was the single sheet of foolscap II
contained. Standish glanced at the
bottom Of the page. There was no
signature. Then he read:
THE date for the various county
conventions has not been formally set
1t is unofficially given as a week from
Saturday. Instead. the caucus will be
held in three Of the eight counties mex.
Saturday The Machines men know
this. The Leagues don't 1t will be
sprung as surprise, with two days
notice instead of the customary seven.
This will keep many of the Leagues
people from attending At the Bow.
den and Jericho caucuses kilograms
will be received saying you have
withdrawn.
AT Matawan and Haldane the reg
ular delegates will be notified to meet
at the town halls. While they ar.
waiting outside the locked front doors,
the county chairman and his own
crowd will step in the back way and
hold their caucus and elect their dele
gates. Floaters will be brought into
several counties. In Wills County the
chairman will fail to hear the names
of your delegates. Have your mana
ger arrange for the Wills men to bolt
at the right time. Force the State
Committee at once to declare the date
for the county conventions. Notify
the Leagues men at Matawan and
Haldane OF the back door trick. and
have the telegraph operators at Jeri-
cho and Bowdon warned not to re.
ceive or transmit any fake message
of your withdrawal.
"On your State tour you will find
newspapers closed to your speeches
and advertisements, and number of
the halls engaged before you get to
town. Arrange for injunctions re-
straining the papers from barring your
notices, and have someone go ahead
of you to secure halls. And arrange
for police protection to break up row.
dyism at your meetings"
Give Standish read and reread this
remarkable epistle. That 1t had come
from the Conover camp he could not
doubt. He had heard. before Caleb's
hint of the previous afternoon, that
there was certain discomfort and
vague rumor Of treachery. in more
than one of the multifarious branches
of the Boss's business and political In
terests. For the unexpected strength
developed by the Civic League and
the eloquence of its candidate had
shaken divers of the enemy's less res
olute followers, and more than one Of
these might readily seek to curry
favor with the winning side by cast
Ing Just such an anchor to windward.
In any case, there was the letter.
Its authors identity, for the moment,
was Of no great matter.
"Anonymous!" mused Standish. eye
ing with the missive with strong dis
taste. "Is 1t trick Of Conover's or
a bit of treachery on the part OF one
OF the men he trusts7 In either cass
there's only one course white mao
can take with a thing of this kind"
Picking up the letter. he crumpled
II into a ball and threw 1t into tho
fireplace.
Better not say anything about It
to Ansel," he decided as he watched
the paper twist open under the heat
and break into blaze. He'd only call
me a visionary crank again. And II
it's a trap, the precautions he'd take
would play straight into Conover's
hand"
Some blocks away, In his Pompton
Avenue Mausoleum, the Railroader
was giving final orders to the hench-
men to whom he had intrusted the de-
tails of watching Standish's forthcom-
ing tour. And some of these same de-
tails he had even intrusted to the un-
enthusiastic Gerald.