The Washington herald., 1913-02-09
REFORM IN THE FIRST ============ ===$==== :=$E==
=, Copyright by the Bobb.Merrm Company .

street walkers, all the denizens oi
darkness were shifting along the side
walks, till the policemen had been
changed on their beats, and Pinkerton
night watchmen were trying the doors
of stores, till Cinnamon shuffied forth
and Jewesses and Italian women
emerged for their evening breath oi
air, bringing swart and grin1y children
to play upon the heated flags. The
hall was lighted, just as II some !tal-
ian festival were to be held there. The
reporters places at the table were
taken by the men who did politics for
the morning papers, themselves re
duced at last to the necessity of tax
ing notes. They brought reports oi
the results in other Senatorial conven-
tions bcld about town, that day-rt
seemed TO be assured that John Skelley
had carried the country towns. Le-
mont, Riverside, Evanston, and so on
In certain west side districts this man
had won, in certain north side dis
tricts that man had been successful
1t looked as if the old gang was going
to break back again into the Leglsla-
ture
And so the interest in this one re-
manning convention deepened, the strain
frightened, the crowd thickened. The
delegates, tired and sullen. shed their
waistcoatS, tore off their moist and
dirty Collars and settled down to an
angry fight The amphitheatrical ar
rangcment of the chairs had long been
broken. The ward delegations now
formed circles about their leaders. The
damp arabesqucs wrought by the jan
itor's superficial sprinkling can had
long since been superseded BY ara
besqucs OF tobacco juice The floor
was Uttered with scraps of paper, the
spent ballots with which the stubborn
contest had been waged. The First
Ward delegation was in a solid ring
and in the center of it sat Malachi No
Ian. his elbows on his knees. tearing
old ballots into tiny specks of paper
and strewing them on the floor, but
keeping all the while a surveying eye
on the Fifth Ward delegation, now
divided into two groups, one of which
surrounded Howe, the other budding
about Grogan, the lawyer, who, with
disheveled hair, a handkerchief about
his neck, stood glaring angrily at No
Ian. his eyes shadowed by heavy cir
eles telling of WEAKNESS and the
strain.
Now and then the leaders made des-
perate attempts to trade, harrying Sim
mons, offering him everything for his
seven votes. Simmons himself in his
turn, tried to induce each faction to
swing its strength to him.
But the situation remained un-
changed.
Once Nolan sent for Underwood and
whispered TO him. He thought he
knew one or two Conway men who
could be got very cheaply, but the boy
shook his hcad-the reformer within
his demurrcd-and yet he smiled sar-
donically IT the rcformcr thinking OF
the primaries and the convention IL
self.
Then Malachi Nolan caught the
charmans shiftv eye and moved an
adjournment until morning. But even
as he spoke, Grogan scowlcd at Mui-
doom. shook his head at his followers,
and the room rang with their hoarse
shouts:
No, no. no."
Heartencd by the confession oi
weakness on Nolan's part, they KEEP,
on yelling Justify:
mo no! MOI
They even laughed. and AEuldoor
smote the table, to declare the mo-
ton lost.
On the forty-seventh ballot, one OF
the Simmons votes went to Conway,
and there was a faint cheer On the
forty-cighth. one OF the Simmons votes
went TO Underwood. and parity was re-
stored On the forty-ninth, Under
wood gained another OF Simmons
votcs-Nolan. it seemed. had promised
TO get him on the janitors pay roll i'll
the Statchouse-and the vote was tied
This ballot stood: