Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1922-11-16
The
Real Issue
WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE
Scs"."."."s". .'."."s"s-.-."."s-s-.-."
Copyright. 1922, by the Macmillan Co.


SesSion-a session which had last
Il ed a winter and a spring and
summer, and threatened to push itself
into the first days of autumn, when
Wharton, the western member, who
had been in the house five terms con-
cluded to pack his valse and go home.
The campaign was growing warm.
Nearly all of the, county conventions
had been held, and majority of the
delegates elected were instructed for
him, which insured his denomination
il the three remaining counties in the
district did not so solidly against him.
He had laid his plan mechanically for
denomination, and if he had stopped
to ask himself whether or not he really
wanted to come back to congress, he
would probably have said no. He was
tired but lie did not know why. He
thought he needed rest, that he had
been overwOrked, that he was played
OUT yet his private secretary, who
kept the run of the pension business
and did his routine work, did not seem
tired-the private secretary even had
refused vacation, and it was at the
secretary's own request that he stayed
in Washington.
But Wharton, the western member,
was tired-dead tired, and he pictured
to himself the pleasures of going back
to his home in the little town of Bax-
ter, where people on the streets who
had seen him grow up from boy and
called him "TOm," really were glad to
see him. Just before he had left his
rooms for the departing train his pri-
vate secretary had handed him the
days clippings; and after he had been
riding for an hour or So while he was
fumbling in his pockets for match,
they tumbled out in tight little roll.
He idly read them. He was used to
unjust abuse and sick of uncalled-for
praise. The first clipping was taken
from the Queen City Daily Herald; it
bore a Washington date line, and was
introduced by the words, Especial to
the Herald" 1t read:
They say here that Wharton Of the
Fourth district, is beginning to feel
uneasy. He has received several let
ters from his district tnat have con-
vinced him that the Populist scyclone
has shaken down several lengths Of
fence in Lee Meade and Smith cOun-
ties. Bill Heatley's strength is said to
be developing down there wonderfully.
The Hon. Ike Russell, who was here
last week looking for job as receiver
of the Baxter National bank, was in
close consultation with Wharton three
of the four nights he was here and the
sold man" is wearing a hunted look
down i'll the Fourth district that it will
take more than "Our Tom WhartOn's
hug to explain away his silver vote.
Wharton knew the correspondent and
only smiled as he Tipped the wadded
clipping out of the car window. There
was short editorial clipping from the
same paper. 1t read:
The dispatches say that "Our Tom"
Wharton is v'iggling in his seat and
trying to project his astral body in the
Fourth district to see how his fences
are, and at the same time to keep his
cOrporeal body in Washington to look
after Ike RuSSeIl's pie plate. If "Our
Tom" doesn't fan down in his anxiety
to keep one foot in the "bloOdy Fourth"
and the orher at the political bake
shop, he must be either ii Colossus Of
Rhodes or "quadrille dancer"
Wharton dropped that on the floor
and read another from the Smith COun-
ty Farmers Friend 1t was long and
full of double leads and "break lines"
and italics and exclamation points. 1t
was abusive in the extreme and closed
with this TRADE:
Now, let us reaCon together. Tom
Wharton has been in congress ten
years he had been judge six years be-
fore entering congress, and county SUI
perintendent four years before he was
judge. Twenty years has this man
been in office; his total salary in that
time has been only $4,000. Yet he Is
rated by the commercial agencies at
one-half million dollars. He has banks
and railroad stock; he owns mort.
cages and farms. Where did he get
them? His time has been sold to the
people; he has been false to every
trust he has voted with the East on
the money question; he has neglected
the farmers at every turn. He Is q
garden-seed congressman; he comes
out here and haw-haws around, and
then goes back to vote with Wal
street. Wall street knows its friends
and "our Tom" is worth one-half mil
lion dollars, lives in mansion filled
with hammered brass at Baxter, while
the farmer foots the bills.
Wharton knew that the editor of the
Farmers Friend had been a candidate
for the post Office at Smith City; that
he himself had lent the editor money
and held his note for $500. He put
the clipping in his pocketbCok witt
SIGH and looked through the Other
scraps of paper. There were perhaps
q doZen-a few Of them laudatory t.
an offensive degree, some clearly bids