Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-06-10
CHAPTER XIII.
The Boss's Code of Ethics.


es:----.1 his host, who lounged at
| ease in his chair, watching the
! younger man with grim smile, as
j though reading his every thought.
Their relative positions were ludi-
/ crously akin to those of judge and
prisoner And the compelling force
that lay behind the amusement in Ca
leb's eyes strengthened the resem-
blance
"In the first place." said the Rail-
roader, 81 think you called me cur.
| Twice, / believe, you said that. You
/ most likely thought I'd get mad. A
i cur does get mad when he's called
bad names. But a grown mans too
busy to kick the puppy that yelps at
his heels. A man of sense keeps his
mouth shut, unless he's got something
| to say. If cur hasn't anything else
to yelp at he goes out and picks a scrap
with the moon, or at something else
that's too big or too high up to bother
| to hit back when he banks at it, Me,
for instance. So We'll let it go at
| that"
He lighted a gaudily-banded per-
fecto, puffed it minute, and went on:
81 don't know why I'm going to
waste time talking to you. I've never
took the trouble, before, to defend my
self or to try to make other folks see
my view of the case But you're a
well-meaning chap, for all you're such
an ass. And maybe something's due
you after the luck l put you up against
on that tour of yours. So Pm just
going to squander some words on you.
And after that I'll ask you to trot off
home, for I've some riding to do"
He shifted his cigar to an angle of
his mouth and resumed:
In the first place, you give me the
usual rank old talk about the way
treat the people of the Mountain
State Why do l boss this city and
the State? Because the people want
me to- Why do | run things to suit
myself in my railroads and my legisla-
ture? Because the people want me to-
Now you're getting ready to say that's
\.
food off some mans dinner table? Be-
cause he don't want me to. He'd yell
for the police or pull gun on me if
| tried it. Why do saddle that same
man with any taxes ! choose? why
do elect my own crowd to office and
work franchises and everything else
| lust as | like? Because he does want
IYo'f he
| me. He could stop me from stealing
! his dinner. And he would. He could
stop me from grabbing his State
| And he doesn't, Do you s'pose for
second that l. or Tom Platt, or Rich
ard Croker. or Charley Murphy, or
! Matt Quay or any other boss who ever
! lived. could have made ten people in
the whole world do what those people
didn't want to? You knew we'll enough
they couldn't Then, why did Platt and
QUAY and the rest boss the Machine?
WHY do | boss the Machine? Because
they'd rather be led than to lead
themselves. Can you find flaw In
that? Facts is facts, and history is
history. Bosses is bosses, and the
people are sheep. Is a shepherd in
the herding business for his health
and to amuse and el'vate the sheep?
Not he. He's in the game for the
money he can get out of shearing and
occasional butchering. SO am |. My
own pocket first, last and always. IL
it wasn't me it'd be another shepherd.
And maybe one that'd make the sheep
sweat worse'n | do"
Gives lips parted in protest, but
Caleb waved him TO silence.
"You were COINS o say some wise
thing about the peoples inyolate
rights. Ell? We've all got 'inviolate
rights But if we leave 'em laying
around loose and don't stand up for
em, we can't expect much pity when
someone else cops EN- away from US.
If try to turn you out of your house,
you've got right to prevent me. And
YOU would. If you sat by and let me
do it, you deserve what you got. II l
try to turn the people out of their
rights in the Legislature and they
stand for it, who's got a kick coming?
Once in a blue moon some man whose
brains have all run to lungs nothing
personal-gets up and shouts to the
people that they're being conned
Sometimes-not this time, mind you
they believe it, and they throw over
the Machine and elect a bunch OF
wall-eyed reformers that know as
much about practical politics as
/. corn-fed dodo bird knows about the
ology. What happens? The city apc
the State are run in way that'd make
). a schoolboy cry. At the end Of one
single administration there's record
of incompetence and messed-up oficia
affairs that takes century tt
straighten out. The police have beer
made so pure they won't let ice ant
milk be sold for sick babies ON Sun
days, but they haven't time to keel
folks from being sandbagged in opel
daylight. The Building Department
Commissioners are so incorruptibl'
they don't know brick from luml
of putty. And the contractors eat VI
chunks of overpay for rotten work