Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1911-05-12

L. Sanlys. who was looking i'm
through opera-glasses.
| borrowed them and saw that his
gaze was fixed on box on the othe,
side of the huge auditorium. on
woman in that box-l had only to look
at her to see which woman. She was
beautiful of that type of charm which
the French sum up in the phrase "the
woman Of 30" | have heard crowds
below too often to be moved by if
though the 10000 or 10000 gathered
under that roof were outdoing the
cannonade of any thunderstorm But
that woman's look in response to Scar.
borough s-there was sympathy and
understanding it it, and more. inf.
nitetly more. He had been crushed for
the moment-and ! understand enough
of his situation to understand what
blow to all his plans this untimelv
apparent triumph was She was
showing that she, too, felt the blow
but she was also sending a message
of courage to him-one Of those mes
Hages that transcend words, like music
like the perfumes OF flowers and
fields, like that which fills us as we
look straight up into IA clear night
sky. | lowered the glasses and looked
away could not bear It, For the
moment | hated hm-hated myself
for it,
| heard Carlotta asking a woman in
the box next ours the name of the
woman with the white plume in the
big black hat in the seventh box on
the other SIDE"
Mrs. Sea borough" was the an
swer
"Oh, is that she?" exclaimed Ms
Sandys. almost snatching her glass *
from me in her eagerness. You
| know who she was-John Dumonfe
Widow-you remember him? She
must have been an uncommon persoo
to have attracted two such men"
But Scarborough was nominated
now. He waved aside those W
tried to take him up and bear him t,
the platform He walked down the
aisle alone and assembled amid a tense
silence; he stood looking calmly oute
His face had lost its Wilderness of
few minutes before. AS he stood
there, big and still, sort of embodi
ment of fearlessness, | wondered
and ! fancy many others were won.
dering-whether he was about to re
| fuse the nomination. But an in
stant's thought drove the wild notion
from my mind. He could not st..:e
that deadly blow at his party.
Fellow delegates" said he-a clear
er, more musical voice than his
have never heard-"I thank ycu for
this honor. AS you know, | opposed
the platform you saw fit to adopt |
have nothing to retract do not like
it. But after all, candidate must be
his own platform And l bring my
public record as proof of my pledge
that" he paused and the silence
was tremendous. He went on, each
"ord distinct and by itself-"if I am
elected--a long pause-'I shall obey
the constitution" pause-"I
| shall enforce the laws!"
He was descending the aisle be
fore the silence was broken--a feeble.
ripping applause, significant of disap-
pointment at what seemed an anti.
climax, He had merely repeated in
condensed form the oath of office
which a president takes at his in.
auguration. But somehow-no doubt
it was the magic of his voice and his
manner and superb presence-those
simple words kept on ringing; and all
at once-full half minute must have
elapsed, long time in such circum-
stances-all at once the enormous
meaning of the two phrases doomed
into the brains of those thousands: If
this man is elected, there will be a
president without fear or favor, and
he will really obey the constitution,
will really enforce the laws, That
little speech, though only a repetition
of an oath embodied in our century.
old supreme law, was a firebrand to
light the torch of revolution, of revolu-
tion back toward what the republic
used to be before differences of wealth
} divided its people into upper middle
= and lower classes before enthroned
corporate combinations made equality
? before the law mockery, before the
development of our vast material re-
sources restored to the intelligent and
energetic few their power over the
careless and purposeless many.
AS the multitude realized his mean.
ing-l doubt if many times in all his.
= tory such a sight and sound has burst
< upon mortal ears and eyes. For the
/ moment | was daunted; 1t was i'm
possible not to think that here was
the whole people, not to feel that
Scarborough had been chosen presi.
dent and was about to fulfill his
pledge. Daunted yet thrilled, too.
For, at bottom, are we not all pas.
:, sionate dreamers of abstract right and
Justice?
!. Then l remembered; and | said to
myself: HE has defied the interests
David has gone out against Goliath
| hut h FAa,r L., IL.