The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1913-01-09


as though it were to be found written
on the faces of the men before him.
The speaking begins. After short
preliminary speech the chairman intro
duces Beck, candidate for treasurer, as
inconsiderable now as he will be when
in office. Then comes PARROT. a IA
nous corporation lawyer, whose fea-
lures somehow suggest that he is well
named. He is adept in the use of those
phrases which elicit enthusiasm, but dd
not convince. After him Mark Sherrod
state senator. tall. suave man with a
magnetic something about him. One
of his eyes has a slight cast and gives
his face a sinister expression which not
all his undoubted attraction can re-
move He is Il coming man. Already
a power in the big eastern city, it is
whispered that he is planning to sue
ceed Beck in the treasurership. And
after him the Hon. q. Washington Jen-
kins. congressman from the district.
Lincolnian in figure, shrill and nasal of
voice, but with the old campaigner'S S
fund of stories and rough and ready
eloquence that catches the crowd in
spite of his time worn arguments.
The front seats roar their approval.
From the fringe of farmers, Jim Shee-
han observes, comes only grim silence.
There is an uneasy sense that Jerry
Brent's suspicious have not been an
wered
Through it all John sat, hardly NOV
ing. But within him was tumult. He
was contrasting the grandiloQuent, vir-
tuous phrases with the machine as he
had seen it, And he knew that in the
devious devices of which he could not
help hearing hints in his campaigning
he had caught but a glimpse of the
thing-the machine. He did not believe
that good employs evil to its ends; by
its agencies cause was to be judged.
He sighted along the line of those who
profited by it-Sheehan, Beck, Parrott.
Sherrod. Murchell. The line was lost
in the mist of his incomplete knowl-
edge. This knowledge. his ranking
suspicious, Brents questionings, rose
up to confront him, demanding "rea-
SON" He could not find it. And the
people-the sturdy, patient, hard headed
men out there-were they such dolts as
to be fooled by the hollow mOckery be-
ing enacted before them? He could
not believe it. And yet he-he who
doubted-was expected to play part
in the mockery. to give the lie to his
inner consciousness, to befog the issue
in the minds of the listeners, to take
his place in the ranks Of the machine.
The speech in his pocket burned to the
skin
The tumult was still raging when the
Hon. Wash jenkins concluded his florid
peroration and the applause died down.
Vaguely, as from a distance. John
heard the chairman introduce New
Chelseas candidate" and the sudden
cheers that rose. He did not realize
Parrot and Sherrod did that
in the cheers was a quality not felt in
the other greetings that night. He rose
mechanically. He hardly knew when
Sheehan. grasping his arm, shouted
into his ear: Don't forget the state
ticket. Play it up hard"
He stood silent before them. The
well cOnned speech, with its smooth
periods. the dramatic climaxes, to
which his clear, flexible voice lent it
self so beautifully, refused to be ut
tered. He could not speak the lie he
had prepared; reason he had not.
At last words came. in a dry, sup
pressed voice, He did not mean to be
facetious, and no one laughed at his
grave, protesting irony.
''We have heard tonight of the past
glories of our party, and of glories
that are of the nation. shall not re
peat, lest repetition dull their point.
state ticket. in fact. to play it up hard.
l need hardly speak for the gentle
men who have so eloquently spoken
for themselves. presume they do not
wish to be saddled with responsibility
for any of my shortcomings. nor do
wish to be judged by theirs. | am a
candidate for Office. If you think me
the sort of man to administer that Of
fee honestly and well. without fear or
favor, and as my own man, shall he
happy. II you don't think that you
can't believe that any party's history
will make me an honest official. And
that's all can say"
He turned and walked toward the
rear of the platform. The silence con
tinued. Slack jaws fell Stacker. The
fringe Of farmers stood nnotionIess, be-
Vildered, slow to grasp the signifi-
cance of the short speech. Through
the silence the voice of Jim Sheehan,
first to recover presence of mind, car
ried over the crowd to Main street
'For Gods sake start a tune or
This to the band
Some one laughed. The band began
to play when Johnny Comes March
ing Home" of all tunes! People began
to rise from their seats. 1t was not
necessary for the chairman to an
nounce the end of the meeting.
On the stage John faced a wrathful
tableau-Parrott. Sherrod and Shee-
hon ssXVhat tho n ~, haoan Shaahan