Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1913-12-27

its own reward, and l guess it just
naturally has to be. 1t never gets
any other. In half an hour from now
Caleb Conover will DE nominated for
Governor, and we will be bowling our
necks for his collar, and pledging
ourselves to support him and his
dirty gang, just as we always have in
the past and just as we always will
i'm the future, / presume. We put up
a good fight and an honest one, but
YOU see where it's landed us. So far
as we are concerned, it's all over but
the shouting"
And the grim old New Highlander
dropped his hand upon the shoulder
of the defeated candidate with an
awkward gesture that was half car
ess.
you're mistaken" retorted Give,
"the shouting has just begun. Ansel,
l have made up my mind. A man
owes more to his State than he owes
to his party. Political regularity is
one thing, and common decency is
another. / marched into this conven-
ton a free man, with nobody's collar
on my neck, and Pm going to march
out in the same way
"What 2" almost shouted Ansel.
"Y cure not going to bolt"
Eyes, | am" answered Standish.
"And Pm going to bolt right now be-
fore the nomination is made"
"But man." protested Ansel, think
of 1.-THE irregularity of it! You'll
be branded as bolter and renegade,
and traitor and lot of other things.
Why, man alive, it'll never do"
at will do" responded Standish.
81 have it all planned. If we walk out
of this convention now, we are going
to take some of the delegates with us.
believe that the Independents will
indorse us, and | believe that the Re-
publicans will indorse US; if we take
this stand. | believe that there are
thousands of Democrats who think
more of the State than they do of any
one man or any one party. They
have followed CoOver because there
was no one else to follow. Yes, Pm
going to bolt, and Pm going out there
now and tell these people why | do it."
"But look here, Standish," remon-
strated Ansel, "that's mighty near as
irregular as the boiling itself, going
out there and making a speech. No
candidates ever supposed to show his
face to the convention until after the
nomination is made You know that,
don't you? Then, after the nomina-
ton he comes out either to accept it
or to promise his support to the win
ner. You'll bust the party traditions
all to flinders"
every WE'LL" assented Give, eff |
can smash the Machine, too, it's all |
ask / tell you my mind is made up.
This convention has been a mockery,
farce. You know how many voters
were with us, and you know the deal
our delegates got. The times come
in this state to draw up a new Declar-
alton of independence. And right
now Pm going to be the man to start
the ball rolling"
"But, hold onw began Ansel. Give
did not hear. Brushing past the lank
manager, he walked out of the room
and made his way to the front of the
platform. Karl, muttering perpleX-
eddy, followed him.
AS the young candidates tall figure
emerged from the wings buzz of
wonder went up from the delegates on
the floor below, for as Ansel had
said, such an advent at such a time
was without precedent. But there
was neither Kisses from the Conover
crowd nor cheers from the corner
where the survivors of the Standish
hope sat. The delegates were too as
tonished to make any demonstration.
Straight across the stage Standish
strobe. Shevlin, hurrying out from
Conover's room, made as though to
bar his way, but gave place before the
others greater bulk, and fled to tell
the Railroader what was afoot
With Ansel still behind him, Stan
dish kept on until he reached the table
beside which the chairman sat. At
his coming Bourke jumped nervously
to his feet.
"Hey! This amt regular" he began,
unconsciously copying AnsePs words.
"The nominations just goin' to begin,
and We"
But he could get no further. Stan
dish pushed him aside, ignoring the
chairman as completely as if he were
one of the battered stage properties.
Dropping one hand upon the table,
ne faced the crowd, his whole being
alert with tense nervous force. A low
murmur, like a ground swell, ran from
row TO row of seats and found its echo
in the galleries, where hundreds Of
the townspeople had packed them
selves to hear the nominating
speeches and to witness, with varying
emotions, the browning victory of
Caleb Conover.
In the midst of a silence in which
the fall of the proverbial pin would
have sounded like the early morning
milk wagon. Give Standish began
the most unusual speech that Noun
tain State convention had ever heard
"My friends"
From Shevlin's rooters came a vol
ley of Kisses and cat-cails, but the dis
turbance and the disturbers were
speedily squelched.
'My friends" repeated Standish, his
powerful voice echoing from floor to
roof, abraham Lincoln freed the
black men forty odd years ago. It's
time that somebody freed the white
brother. For years this State has
groaned under the tribute of a re-
lentless Machine, under the rule of
a railroad that was all stomach and
no conscience, all bowels and no
heart, all greed and no generosity.