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Show JJ Realjssuejj WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE j SllllJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlIllllllllllilllllllllllll'n'; Copjrrijht. 1922, bj he UicWiio C. IT WAS near the dose of a long session a session which had lasted last-ed a winter and a spring und a maimer, and threatened to push Itself Into the first days of autumn, when Wharton, the western member, who had been In the house Ave terms, concluded con-cluded to puck his valise and go home. The campaign was growing warm. Nearly all of the county conventions had been held, and a majority of the delegates elected were Instructed for him, which Insured his renominatlon If the three remaining counties In the district did not go solidly against him. lie hail laid his plan mechanically for a renominatlon, 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. Ho was tired, but he did not know why. He thought he needed rest, that be 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 a vacation, and It was at the secretary's own request that he stayed la Washington. But Wharton, the western member, was tired dead tired, and he pictured to himjself the pleasures of going back to LNs home In the little town of Baxter, Bax-ter, where people on the streets who had seen him grow up from a boy and called him "Tom," really were glad to iiee him. Just before he had left his rooms for the departing train his private pri-vate secretary had handed him the' day's clippings ; and after he had been riding for an hour or so, while he was fumbling In his pockets for a match, they tumbled out In a 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 Dally Horald; It bore a Washington date line, and was Introduced by the words, "Special to tho Herald." It read : They say here that Wharton of the Fourth district, Is beginning to feel uneasy. He has received several letters let-ters from his district that have convinced con-vinced hlra that the Populist cyclone has shaken down several lengths of fonce In Lee, Meade and Smith counties. coun-ties. Dill Heatley's strength Is said to be developing down there wonderfully. The Hon. Ike Russell, who was here last week looking for a job as receiver of the Baxter National bank, was In close consultation with Wharton three of the four nights he was here, and the "old man" Is wearing a hunted look and Is talking to himself. They say down in the Fourth district that It will take more than "Our Tom" Wharton's hug to explain away bis sliver vote. Wharton knew the co-respondent and only smiled as he flipped tho wadded clipping out of the car window. There was a short editorial clipping from the same paper. It read : i The dispatches say that "Our Tom" Wharton is wiggling 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 Russell's pie plate. If "Our Tom" doesn't fall down in his anxiety to keep one foot In the "bloody Fourth" Bd the other at the political bake shop, he must be either a Colossus of Rhodes or a "quadrille dancer." Wharton dropped that on the floor and read another from the Smith County Coun-ty Farmer's Friend. It was long and full of double leads and "break lines" and Italics and exclamation points. It was abusive In the extreme and closed with this tirade: Now, let us reason together. Tom Wharton has been In congress ten years; he had been Judge six years before be-fore entering congress, and county superintendent su-perintendent four years before he was Judge. Twenty years has this man been In ofiice; his total salary in that time ha been only $70,000. Yet he Is rated by the commercial agencies at one-half million dollars. He has banks gnd railroad stock ; he owns mortgages mort-gages and farms. Where did he get thorn T 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 a ganln-seed congressman ; be comes out here and haw-haws around, and then goes back to vote with Wall street. Wall street knows Its friends, nnd "Our Tom" 13 worth one-half million mil-lion dollars, lives In a mansion filled with hammered brass at Baxter, while the farmer foots the bills. Wharton knew that the editor of the Farmer's Friend had been a candidate for the post ofiice at Smith City; that lie himself had lent the editor money nnd hold his note for $500. He put the clipping In his pocketbook with a 6lgh, and looked through the other scraps ot paper. There were perhaps a dozen a few of them laudatory to no offensive degree, some clearly bids for money; and the rest a fair discussion discus-sion of his candidacy. Wharton's first week la the district was spent at Baxter. lie did practically practi-cally nothing to secure his renominatlon. renomina-tlon. although wlse-looklug men from each ot the three doubtful counties rame every day to Baxter and went directly from the train to Wharton's house. They all wanted :money or promises of "assistance" ; nnd each of them told hovr some precinct could be "wwig into line" by a little work on tha part f the certain third person always Sameiess who would need money fr clgan and livery hire. Wharton ut these statesmen off, and they went t way doubting whether they would support the "old man" or light him. The congressman's presence In the little town was an event, and he had callers all day long who seemed to need help In different ways. Soldiers Sol-diers desired pensions, mothers asked for positions in Washington for their sons; young women called to see about clerkships ; widows, whose husbands he had known, came to borrow money. He was honestly glad to see all these people and, when he could, he helped them ; he rarely made an enemy, even though he always was frank. It was Saturday evening, and Wharton Whar-ton was just entering on his second week at home, he and his friend, "Ike" Russell, were sitting on the southern porch of the congressman's home. Their wives and daughters were In the parlor around the piano, and the two men were at that preliminary stage of conversation In which Ideas are conveyed by grunts and monosyllables. "What did Hughey of Smith City want today?" asked Russell. "About two hundred, more or less," said the congressman. "Hughey's a thief; he'd spend about $25, and the rest would go Into his Jeans." "I suppose so," Wharfon answered. "Suy we lose Smith county?" "Well, you say," said his friend. "Did you see Higglns, from Lee valley? val-ley? He told me last month that he had five fellows who could swing Lee county for $100 apiece." "Ugh," grunted the congressman. "That makes $2,300 so far, If I come down." "Well, that's cheaper than you got off before by several hundrea." Wharton yawned, and the silence that followed was broken only by the tinkle of the cow bells in the valley below the town, and the splash of water wa-ter over the dam across the river that runs around the village. Occasionally the sound of voices singing on the water wa-ter or the notes of a guitar would come up on the gusts of wind. The piano In the parlor was silent, and Che moon was barely visible under the eastern corner of the porch. The men had "They Were Tall, Thin, Spare Men in Swallow-tall Coata and Chokers, and Hair That Looked Fierce and S'tatei manlike." smoked in silence a few moments when Wharton said : "Ike, what is the real issue in this campaign?" "I dunno, old man ; sometimes I think it's the tariff; sometimes I think It's silver; and then at other times I just give It all up. What's your Idea, Tom?" The congressman did not reply at once; he seemed to be pulling his ideas together for a longer speech than usual. usu-al. He twisted his gray mustache nervously ; he looked askance at his friend, who was apparently listening to the music that had just started up again In the parlor. Wharton went over to the garden hose which was turned upon a shrub, changed its course, came back, relighting his cigar, and said : "B'Godfrey, I don't know, Ike, I don't know. Do you remember when we used to cut corn at six cents a shock, and go to school down the valley val-ley where those cow bells were tinkling a little while ago? We used to sit on the fence of nights like this and talk 'way into the night about what we were going to do?" "Yes?" said the politician, expectantly. expect-antly. "Yes, and I used to hope to go to congress some day ; we nsed to talk of the old-time statesmen and read their speeches in the school readers Clay and Calhoun nnd the great men whose names we knew as boys. They were tall, spare men la swallow-tailed coats and chokers, and hair that looked fierce and statesmanlike. Do you remember re-member the congressman from this district dis-trict forty years ago; how dignified he was, what a really great man he must have been? He lived greatness every hour of his life. The men who went to the territorial legislature how superior they seemed, with their tall hats and close-buttoned coats ! Ike, do you remember when I went to the legislature In the winter of '70, nnd came back discouraged and disappointed disap-pointed with the sham of It all the row and the rings and the schemes?" Russell would have Interjected some reminiscent Joke on the youne states man, but Wli.. .ton went on u If ta keep the thread of the conversation In his teeth. "Yes, yes, Ike, I know about my ping hat and all that; and then do you remember re-member how I ran for Judge and wai nominated for congress back in 'S4 as a dark horse on the three hundredth ballot, and how I was elected and told the people from the box down by the bonfire in the public square that I was going to be worthy of the honor? Ike, the tears I shed there was honest tears, for God knows how proud I was. All these ten years were before me, and what a great ten years I hoped tl.cy would be. I thought of my plans as a boy you and me on the fence down in the valley, Ike and I looked over all the names in congress then ten years ago I mean and they seemed great names to me. I could hardly wait to get to Washington to see the men nnd to be one of them. I was such a boy, Ike ten years ago." Each man puffed his cigar in a moment's mo-ment's pause. Wharton lighted a fresh one. Russell thought in so many words: "It's on of Tom's talkative nights." Wharton took up the thread where it had dropped. "Here I am, Ike, a flesh-and-blood otatesman. I've been In it and through It- I've held os high a place in the organization of the house as any of the great men we used to rend about. I've passed a pension bill and the old soldiers, for whom I worked night and day during six months, hnve passed resolutions against me. I hnve had my name on a silver bill for which the flat money fellows have abused me. I've led my party through two successful fights. And what is theie In it? You know, as well as I do, that It is hollow all a hollow show. What's the use of It? Why should a man wear his life out up there In that city Just to keep his name In print? There was a man named Keifer an Ohio man, who was speaker of the house once. Who that reads the papers pa-pers knows anything of him today? Yet he worked his life nearly out to be a statesman. Where are the seconds sec-onds in the Blaine-Conkling fight? Ike, there's nothing in It but ashes. The politician said nothing; he did not know how the talk was turning. "Ike," resumed the congressman, taking a firmer hold on his cigar, nnd tightly grasping the arms of the chair, "Ike, what's the use? Here comes a lot of Bills and Dicks and Toms and Harrys, who want me to put up $2,300 and promises that I'll be two years working to keep, Just to go back there. I go back there and work and fret and stew for this, that and for the other thing that I don't care a cent for. I have no heart In It ; I feel like a sneak ; I have to swallow my pride; I've no Ideals; there Is no reward ; nothing but higgling with a lot of mercenary, Impecunious Im-pecunious thieves here at home, and log-rolling with a lot of shrewder shysters shy-sters of the same sort in congress at Washington. If I go on, I must buy my way In ; buy my own slavery, Ike, slavery to the fellows I despise. I know I've done it three or four times, but I kept thinking the end would some day justify the means. But it doesn't; it never will; it's a fraud, Ike, nnd I'm done. I am going to be honest just for once in my life. I don't hav to go to congress ; I can be lots hnp pier here here with friends and my family and now don't laugh, old man and and my honor. That's a little lit-tle stagey, Ike, but that's the real Issue Is-sue In this campaign and I'm out ol this fight. Let's go In and hear tin music, Ike. That's the end of it, I'v thought It all over and I've decided.' Probably most mtn at least mos( moralizing men would have called tin "old man" weak had they seen him th following Monday making out a checi payable to Isaac Russell for $2,300 I But most men do not know what It ll ! to worship an idol for a lifetime, an , they cannot understand how a max oan love his Idol even when he knowi to his bitter sorrow that It Is only clay. |