Show THE DECIDING VOTE by D J LAYTON coper by joseph bowles the green presented an unwonted ap bearance pe arance of activity the bar at the ancient hotel near the state house was rapidly reducing the mortgage on the property it was the last day of the legislate e session for four years the state had been in the united states banate the factional quarrel in tha republican party unimportant at first had become a national question the whole country was divided into allason and anti allason adherents allison had begun the present session with a solid array of 25 votes he crawled slowly up to 29 and there he stopped arguments threats persua glon availed nothing every scheme known to political science had ben tried dickers and aeils had been mt with counter deals the democrats and the anti allison men could not combine and allison could not land another sin gle supporter another deadlock seemed imminent each day tor over a week the clerk had announced for john allason 29 for randolph keener 26 for aenry thomas 4 necessary to a choice 30 and the speaker a bitter anti had drawled out with his nasal twang and with an increasing satisfaction as the prospect tor an elec alon lessened and no one having a ma bority of the votes of those present and toting I 1 declare no election it was 11 clock the final ballot would be taken at allison was sitting in the governor s private room talking with the governo and the secretary of state allason was a tall heavy man who dressed well but quietly in his lapel he wore a plain grand army button his was a strong kindly face though careworn if I 1 thought that crowd were sin cere in their principles said he t their methods were cleaner than mine I 1 would respect them at least and I 1 would have stepped aside long ago but it s not reform they re after they want to lick thomas ran up against me in a financial deal some years ago and he s been after me ever since four men oppose our 29 speaker henry owned body and soul by thomas snyder and hall two gated rascals if there ever were any and old wood the only member they have from the country and the only honest one they have why he really thinks thomas never spent a dollar in this fight I 1 had some hopes that he might be with us but he s as stubborn stub boin as a mule I 1 had a talk with him last night we re stronger now that we ever were but it seems that thomas holdi the winning card he has powerful ts ji jid ack of him he seems certain to de eat me now but there s a reckoning the auditor s office was the head of the antis it was unoccupied pave for two men they were talking together in low tones ne was tall and thin with a peculiar cast in his eye his eyes never met you squarely Equa rely they were over you beyond you but never at you he was snyder a member of the house and a eader of the thomas forces he was nervously chewing the end of a cigar jerking his sentences out rapidly I 1 tell you hall he said to his compan ion a dark heavy man with a cold am passive countenance I 1 tell you it had to be done I 1 saw allison have him in tow yesterday and you know what that means I 1 knew something was up I 1 thought of those mortgages the first thing woods all right but hes cranky and he s a shark for money he s got a couple of mortgages on that place of his and he d turn a corner quick as greased lightning to save that precious farm you bet allason had something to say about them I 1 tell you it was what saved us this time we ve got em sure now and with allason safe at home and not up things down at washington we 11 see who gets the offices snyder said hall rousing him belt you ve made a mistake approach ing wood about those mortgages 1 know wood used to court one of his daughters and he s as straight as a string hes one man that 11 stand without hitching he d kick the traces pretty quick it he knew some of the tricks we ve been working he may have changed though he went on musingly people do I 1 did there was a time when I 1 would have knocked a man down if he had tried to influx ence my vote and now these lobbyists come to me the first one m inclined to take your judgment for you ve got a long head and a sharp eye when there s rascality going on lets get up the rasping voice of the speaker called the assembly to order some one moved in a perfunctory manner that the joint assembly do proceed to ballot tor the election of a united states senator the hum in the galleries increased slowly the roll call proceeded down the list the clerk went and no change the end was not to be exciting after all here and there a member was keeping tally as the roll call went on jeremiah wood sang out the clerk there was an instants pause and wood rose slowly from his seat bis hand half raised as it in protest he was an old man with a flowing white beard stained yellow around the mouth from the constant use of to bacco from behind his heavy steel spectacles shrewd kindly eyes looked out his hands trembling with age and excitement showed wrinkled and blue veined as he stood gripping his desk mr speaker said he before I 1 cast my vote id like to say a so methin if I 1 have permission and he peered around over his spectacles I 1 won t take long coulden couldn t speak very log if I 1 tried I 1 cut out fer a gis laterman my de estrict as you all know Is pretty much agin allason some of us thought he gasn wasn t this lit tie political game right and we fit him pretty strong senca I 1 v ben hey I 1 ve tried to vote an ct an none of them lobby fellers baa got a hold of me alt I 1 thought mi princ plea was too well known ter an one ter try ter bribe me cause I 1 v allus tried to fight agin bribery and but it seems that a man princ pies don t make no diff runie his priced that s all mr al allson came to see me yesterday an audible titter ran around the ball this was allason methods with a ven geande an he ast me ter my vote I 1 told him he coulden couldn t have it h ways of doin bieness gasn wasn t quite way I 1 was posed to bribery and it that s all n the ways says he ou kin vote for me with a clear conscience our princ pies ain t so diff runt well he argyel long fer quite a spell an finally scein I 1 was still posed to him he says well mr wood I 1 won t argy any further you seem to be up to your princ pies even it you are mistaken in your party and he left me no it wan t allison that tried to bribe me said he looking around I 1 s posed you all thought so I 1 was lookha out ter that myself dian didn t no better out en him but I 1 did think my own party d know better n to try that on me I 1 don t know as I 1 ve done any thing to be insulted like that he went on I 1 ve been a thomas man right long but seems as if some ot our crowd thought as I 1 was old that I 1 was an that I 1 d have to be spliced up ho HIS HAND HALF RAISED AS IF IN PROTEST was a cute teller too slicked me all up with my val able services an that it d be a pleasure to help me out en my t nandlal troubles it id stand straight thru to day he never tooled me a mite you kin gene ally tell a skunk it you git dost enough with alne scorn but I 1 was just what allason told me that our princ pies gasn wasn t so diff runt after all an I 1 was kinder my eyes I 1 says would you mind that in whitin and he kinder hes bated at fust cain t you trust me says he yes I 1 says I 1 kin but I 1 m not goin to cause promises dont worry some people much after got what they want an he wrote it out an signed his name I 1 ve got on my place went on the old man put em there to send my two boys way to school an I 1 m not ashamed of it they re alne boys too an both ot em a doln well an they II 11 take care of any I 1 got now likely as not upset some body s cal clatious clat ions by th way I 1 vote an I 1 tended to vote this way till this mornin but I 1 ve kinder had my eyes opened an I 1 ve cum to th that it they s any diff tween our crowd an allison s its just bout th same an that bein so we might jest as well let rule agin now I 1 dont want nobody chargin me with out an I 1 don t want no newspapers sech as you an I 1 knows of to be a jumpie on me neither I 1 got most my alon from them papers an it seems they lied I 1 dian didn t want to come to this legislator but two year from now it I 1 m alive want to be a candy date agin and I 1 m to think be lecter too mr speaker my vote Is ter john allason he may be rotten but there s others that s amid the pandemonium broken loose hall sat with a sarcastic smile on his face |