Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1912-12-01

abruptly in the middle OF a sentence.
''As You say" be laughed uncomfort-
ably. "why should you vote for me?"
Does sound kind O foolish, don't 1T
Reckon 70 won't have nothin' to do
with the tariff or the single gold stand
ard ner prosperity neither. Tho hull
party won't make ye git after the law
breakers If ye're cheek by jowl with
Jim Sheehan an he don't want 1t.
What want to know is are ye honest
or will ye take orders?"
'.That sounds logical" John assented.
''It's common sense. Only most can.
didates think we're too simple to think
ont. An l don't know as they're far
wrong" he added thoughtfully.
When John left. however. Criswell
shook hands with him cordially. II
guess I'll vote for ye-this time. /
can't swaller the hull ticket, though.
stomach wouldn't stand it. Ye look
like ye'd be yer own man. Leastways.
I'll chance it."
And John replied. troubled. 1T won't
regard that as promise. I'm not
sure that you ought to vote for me-"
Another day he met one Sykes. a hill
farmer. little, wizened fellow who
looked as though he had worn himself
out in the struggle to wiring a living
out Of the steep slopes.
81 amt voting" he said
"Well.'' John laughed cheerfully. "if
can't get vote I'll be content with
Information. VIII you tell me why
you won't voter
"Well. If We will have II. Jim Sheehan
nominated ye. If ye'd been the right
kind O. man he wouldn't "a had nothin'
to do with We. Anybody he's fer. I'm
against. / rec'lect when he come to
Plumville. nothin' but drinkin bum.
An now he's got rich, buildin' bad
streets an roads an taxin' me heavy
to pay fer 1t while It keeps me scratch
In to get the intrust on my mortgage.
How do ! know he's crooked? l don't
know-I feel 1t. An l know that no
one gets the nomination less'n he says
30. Or Murchell-an' they're tarred
with the same stick"
Johns face was grave. "Then you
ought to vote the opposition ticket. I'd
rather you'd do that than not vote at
ALL"
The momentary flicker Of passion
died down. whats the user was the
reply. duly given. However l vote
some Teller like Sheehan gifts on top"
John sought counsel from his father.
But to the Judge Caesars wife-that is
to say, his party and all things thereto
appertaining-was above suspicion; not
so the motives Of him who raised
question. So he took his trouble to
Ri Cranshawe, the Office visitor to
whom Johns Difference had attracted
Sheehan's attention. big man. kindly.
shrewd. with wisdom in the raw. He
listened alphabetically as John
poured out his tale.
"It's like what Sykes says. 1t amt
what we know-it's what we feel.
When Jim Sheehan gifts a public con-
tract. we feel there's somethin' crook
ed about 1t. When a man gifts a nomi-
nation. we feel that he's made some
kind o. deal with Sheehan. When we
put up man on. our own hook. an
he's nominated-which amt often-we
find he's gone over to Sheehan. An
that amt feel. it's know. Jim Shee-
hans represented; we amt. 1t amt
rightv'
Then why don't you get together
and fght?"
We've got to i've" Cranshawe ans
wered simply. 1--WE don't lay by money
fast enough to keep us without work
in. We amt got the time ner the
trainin' to make a good fight against
him. We've got no leader" His eyes.
through the bushy brows. rested with
an almost wistful light on the trou-
bled countenance before him. "An'
it'd take a large sized man fer the
job"
John Just then felt very small.
He went to Plumville. an ugly.
grimy, bustling, growing hive of work
ers. with its drones too. He had the
key to interpret what he saw. He
was permitted to go through the mills
and meet the men: he came out with
hands blackened from much contact
with their hands and In the smut he
felt sort Of pride. What he had read
on the farmers brown faces he saw
on their red. scorched ones-the dull
eyed suspicion of those used to flattery
before election and neglect afterward.
Under the careful ciceronage of Shee-
hans lieutenants he was led into po-
litical club and saloon. where he shook
hands with many more men. who guz-
zled vast quantities of liquor and
sneered openly at his abstinence. He
was told that here he would meet
men who counted" he did meet such
men-brutish things. moral idiots.
chinless creatures bound together by
the cohesive force Of common interest
-plunder. This army never slept.
could always be relied upon.
What self centered beast have
been!" he cried within himself. "All
this rottenness under my nose. and
ha We never perceived it," A great fear