The Honorable Peter Stirling and What People Thought of Him by Paul Leicester Ford

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"Gentlemen," he shouted, in a voice that rang through the hall above
even the tumult, "if this meeting does not come to order, I shall
declare it adjourned."

Instant quiet fell, for all had paused a moment to hear his words, and
they concluded that he was in earnest.

"Was the last motion seconded?" asked the chairman calmly.

"I seconded it," shouted Blackett and Milligan together.

"You have heard the nominations, gentlemen. Has any one any remarks to
make?"

A man next Justice Gallagher said, "Mr. Chairman," and being duly
recognized, proceeded to talk for ten minutes in a very useless way. But
during this time, Peter noticed first a good deal of whispering among
Blunkers's friends, and then an interview between Gallagher and Dennis.
The latter was apparently not reconcilable, and shook his head in a way
that meant war. Then there was more consultation between the opposition,
and another confab with Dennis, with more headshakes on his part.
Finally a compromise having been evidently made impossible, the orator
was "called down" and it was voted to proceed to an election. Peter
named one of the firemen, Dooley, and Blunkers, tellers, who, after a
ballot, announced that Dennis had carried his nominations, Peter heading
the list with two hundred and twelve votes, and the others getting one
hundred and seventy-two, and one hundred and fifty-eight respectively.
The "snake" got but fifty-seven votes.

"Shure," said Dennis, later, "maybe we don't vote for convictions here,
but we don't vote for the likes av him!"

"Then you are voting for convictions," said Peter.

"It's yezself is the convictions then," said Dennis.

Perhaps he was right.

CHAPTER XX.

A POLITICAL DEBUT.

Peter declared the meeting adjourned as soon as the results of the
election had been read, and slipped away in the turmoil that immediately
followed, without a word to any one. He was in truth not
bewildered--because he had too much natural poise and phlegm--but he was
surprised by the suddenness of it all, and wanted to think before
talking with others. So he took advantage of the mutual bickerings and
recriminations which seemed the order of the day, to get back to his
office, and there he sat, studying his wall for a time. Then he went to
bed, and slept as quickly and as calmly as if he had spent his evening
in reading the "Modern Cottage Architecture" or "Questions de
Sociologie," which were on his table instead of presiding at a red-hot
primary, and being elected a delegate.

The next morning Dennis came to see him as early as well could be.

"Misther Stirling," he said, his face expanding into the broadest of
grins, "let me salute the delegate to the State convention."

"Look here, Dennis," said Peter, "you know you had no business to spring
that on me."

"Ah, sir! Shure, when that dirty little spalpeen av a Caggs went back on
us so, what could Oi do? Oi know it's speak to yez Oi ought, but wid de
room yellin' like that it's divilish tryin' to do the right thing quick,
barrin' it's not hittin' some one's head, which always comes natural."

"Well," said Peter, "of course I'm very much pleased to have been
chosen, but I wish it could have been done with less hard feeling."

"Hard feelin,' is it?"

"Yes."

"Shure, the b'ys are as pleased and kindly this mornin' as can be. It's
a fight like that makes them yieldin' an' friendly. Nothin' but a little
head-punchin' could make them in a sweeter mood, an' we'd a given them
that if little Caggs had had any sense in him."

"You mean Gallagher and Blunkers and the rest of them?"

"Av course. That little time last night didn't mean much. No one feels
bad over that. Shure, it's Gallagher was in my place later last night,
an' we had a most friendly time, he treatin' the whole crowd twice.
We've got to fight in the primary to keep the b'ys interested, but it's
seldom that they're not just as friendly the next day."

Peter looked at his wall. He had not liked Gallagher at either time he
had met him. "Still," he thought to himself, "I have no right to prevent
him and Dennis being friends, from the little I've seen."

"Now, sir, about the convention?" said Dennis.

"I suppose Porter is the best man talked of for the nomination,"
remarked Peter.

"Begobs, sir, that he's not," said Dennis. "It's Justice Gallagher was
tellin' me himself that he was a poor kind av creature, wid a strong
objection to saloons."

Peter's eye lost its last suggestion of doubt. "Oh, Justice Gallagher
told you that?" he asked. "When?"

"Last night."

"After the primary?"

"Av course."

"Whom does he favor?"

"Catlin."

"Well, Dennis, you've made me a delegate, but I've got to vote my own
way."

"Shure, sir, Oi'd not have yez do any thin' else. It's yezself knows
better than me. Oi was only tellin' yez what the Justice--"

A knock at the door interrupted him. It proved to be Gallagher, who
greeted them both in a hearty, friendly way. Peter brought another chair
from his bedroom.

"Well, Mr. Stirling, that was a fine contest we had last night," said
his honor.

"It seemed to be earnest," said Peter.

"It's just as well our friend here sprang your nomination on us as a
surprise, for if we had known, we should not have put up an opposition
candidate. You are just the sort of a man we want to represent us in the
convention."

"I have never met my colleagues," said Peter. "What kind of men are
they?"

So he got Gallagher's opinion, and Dennis's opinion. Then he wanted to
know about the candidates, asking questions about them at considerable
length. The intentions of the other city delegates were next introduced.
Finally the probable planks of the platform were brought up. While they
were still under discussion Gallagher said the sitting of his court
compelled him to leave.

"I'll come in some time when I have more to spare."

Gallagher went to his court, and found a man waiting for him there.

"He's either very simple or very deep," said Gallagher. "He did nothing
but ask questions; and try my best I could not get him to show his hand,
nor commit himself. It will be bad if there's a split in a solid
delegation!"

"I hope it will be a lesson to you to have things better arranged."

"Blunkers would have it that way, and he's not the kind of man to
offend. We all thought he would win."

"Oh, let them have their fights," said the man crossly; "but it's your
business to see that the right men are put up, so that it doesn't make
any difference which side wins."

"Well," said Gallagher, "I've done all I could to put things straight.
I've made peace, and got Moriarty on our side, and I've talked to this
Stirling, and made out a strong case for Catlin, without seeming to care
which man gets the nomination."

"Is there any way of putting pressure on him?"

"Not that I can find out. He's a young lawyer, who has no business."

"Then he's a man we don't need to conciliate, if he won't behave?"

"No. I can't say that. He's made himself very popular round here by that
case and by being friendly to people. I don't think, if he's going into
politics, that it will do to fight him."

"He's such a green hand that we ought to be able to down him."

"He's new, but he's a pretty cool, knowing chap, I think. I had one
experience with him, which showed me that any man who picked him up for
a fool would drop him quick." Then he told how Dennis's fine had been
remitted.

In the next few weeks Peter met a good many men who wanted to talk
politics with him. Gallagher brought some; Dennis others; his
fellow-ward delegates, more. But Peter could not be induced to commit
himself. He would talk candidates and principles endlessly, but without
expressing his own mind. Twice he was asked point blank, "Who's your
man?" but he promptly answered that he had not yet decided. He had
always read a Democratic paper, but now he read two, and a Republican
organ as well. His other reading lessened markedly, and the time gained
was spent in talking with men in the "district." He even went into the
saloons and listened to the discussions.

"I don't drink," he had to explain several times, "because my mother
doesn't like it." For some reason this explanation seemed to be
perfectly satisfactory. One man alone sneered at him. "Does she feed yer
still on milk, sonny?" he asked. "No," said Peter, "but everything I
have comes from her, and that's the kind of a mother a fellow wants to
please; don't you think so?" The sneerer hesitated, and finally said he
"guessed it was." So Peter was made one of them, and smoked and
listened. He said very little, but that little was sound, good sense,
and, if he did not talk, he made others do so; and, after the men had
argued over something, they often looked at Peter, rather than at their
opponents, to see if he seemed to approve of their opinions.

"It's a fine way he has wid the b'ys," Dennis told his mother. "He makes
them feel that he's just the likes av them, an' that he wants their
minds an' opinions to help him. Shure, they'd rather smoke one pipe av
his tobaccy than drink ten times at Gallagher's expense."

After Peter had listened carefully and lengthily, he wrote to "The
Honorable Lemuel Porter, Hudson, N.Y.," asking him if he could give him
an hour's talk some day. The reply was prompt, and told Peter that
Porter would be glad to see him any time that should suit his
convenience. So Peter took a day off and ran up to Hudson.

"I am trying to find out for whom I should vote," he explained to
Porter. "I'm a new man at this sort of thing, and, not having met any of
the men talked of, I preferred to see them before going to the
convention."

Porter found that Peter had taken the trouble to go over a back file of
papers, and read some of his speeches.

"Of course," Peter explained, "I want, as far as possible, to know what
you think of questions likely to be matters for legislation."

"The difficulty in doing that, Mr. Stirling," he was told, "is that
every nominee is bound to surrender his opinions in a certain degree to
the party platform, while other opinions have to be modified to new
conditions."

"I can see that," said Peter. "I do not for a moment expect that what
you say to-day is in any sense a pledge. If a man's honest, the poorest
thing we can do to him is to tie him fast to one course of action, when
the conditions are constantly changing. But, of course, you have
opinions for the present state of things?"

Something in Peter's explanation or face pleased Mr. Porter. He demurred
no more, and, for an hour before lunch, and during that meal, he talked
with the utmost freedom.

"I'm not easily fooled on men," he told his secretary afterwards, "and
you can say what you wish to that Stirling without danger of its being
used unfairly or to injure one. And he's the kind of man to be won by
square dealing."

Peter had spoken of his own district "I think," he said, "that some good
can be done in the way of non-partisan legislation. I've been studying
the food supplies of the city, and, if I can, I shall try to get a bill
introduced this winter to have official inspections systematized."

"That will receive my approval if it is properly drawn. But you'll
probably find the Health Board fighting you. It's a nest of
politicians."

"If they won't yield, I shall have to antagonize them, but I have had
some talks with the men there, in connection with the 'swill-milk'
investigations, and I think I can frame a bill that will do what I want,
yet which they will not oppose. I shall try to make them help me in the
drafting, for they can make it much better through their practical
experience."

"If you do that, the opposition ought not to be troublesome. What else
do you want?"

"I've been thinking of a general Tenement-house bill, but I don't think
I shall try for that this winter. It's a big subject, which needs very
careful study, in which a lot of harm may be done by ignorance. There's
no doubt that anything which hurts the landlord, hurts the tenant, and
if you make the former spend money, the tenant pays for it in the long
run. Yet health must be protected. I shall try to find out what can be
done."

"I wish you would get into the legislature yourself, Mr. Stirling."

"I shall not try for office. I want to go on with my profession. But I
shall hope to work in politics in the future."

Peter took another day off, and spent a few minutes of it with the other
most promising candidate. He did not see very much of him, for they were
interrupted by another caller, and Peter had to leave before he could
have a chance to continue the interview.

"I had a call to-day from that fellow Stirling, who's a delegate from
the sixth ward," the candidate told a "visiting statesman" later. "I'm
afraid he'll give us trouble. He asks too many questions. Fortunately
Dewilliger came to see me, and though I shouldn't have seen him
ordinarily, I found his call very opportune as a means of putting an end
to Stirling's cross-examination."

"He's the one doubtful man on the city's delegation," said the
statesman. "It happened through a mistake. It will be very unfortunate
if we can't cast a solid city vote."

Peter talked more in the next few days. He gave the "b'ys" his
impressions of the two candidates, in a way which made them trust his
conclusions. He saw his two fellow delegates, and argued long and
earnestly with them. He went to every saloon-keeper in the district, and
discussed the change in the liquor law which was likely to be a
prominent issue in the campaign, telling them what he had been able to
draw from both candidates about the subject.

"Catlin seems to promise you the most," he told them, "and I don't want
to say he isn't trying to help you. But if you get the law passed which
he promises to sign, you won't be much better off. In the first place,
it will cost you a lot of money, as you know, to pass it; and then it
will tempt people to go into the business, so that it will cut your
profits that way. Then, you may stir up a big public sentiment against
you in the next election, and so lay yourselves open to unfriendly
legislation. It is success, or trying to get too much, which has beaten
every party, sooner or later, in this country. Look at slavery. If the
Southerners had left things as they were under the Missouri Compromise,
they never would have stirred up the popular outbreak that destroyed
slavery. Now, Porter is said to be unfriendly to you, because he wants a
bill to limit the number of licenses, and to increase the fee to new
saloons. Don't you see that is all in your favor, though apparently
against you? In the first place, you are established, and the law will
be drawn so as to give the old dealer precedence over a new one in
granting fresh licenses. This limit will really give the established
saloon more trade in the future, by reducing competition. While the
increase in fee to new saloons will do the same."

"By ----, yer right," said Blunkers.

"That's too good a name to use that way," said Peter, but more as if he
were stating a fact than reproving.

Blunkers laughed good-naturedly. "Yer'll be gittin' usen to close up
yet, Mister Stirling. Yer too good for us."

Peter looked at him. "Blunkers," he said warmly, "no man is too good not
to tell the truth to any one whom he thinks it will help."

"Shake," said Blunkers. Then he turned to the men at the tables. "Step
up, boys," he called. "I sets it up dis time to drink der health of der
feller dat don't drink."

The boys drank

CHAPTER XXI.

A POLITICAL DINNER.

Peter had only a month for work after reaching his own conclusions,
before the meeting of the convention, but in that month he worked hard.
As the result, a rumor, carrying dismay to the party leaders, became
current.

"What's this I hear?" said Gallagher's former interviewer to that
gentleman. "They say Schlurger says he intends to vote for Porter, and
Kennedy's getting cold?"

"If you'll go through the sixth you'll hear more than that."

"What do you mean?"

"There was a torchlight last night, of nearly every voter in the ward,
and nothing but Stirling prevented them from making the three delegates
pledge themselves to vote for Porter. He said they must go unbound."

The interviewer's next remark is best represented by several "blank
its," no allusion however being intended to bed-coverings. Then he cited
the lower regions to know what it all meant.

"It means that that chap Stirling has got to be fixed, and fixed big. I
thought I knew how to wire pull, and manage men, but he's taken hold and
just runs it as he wants. It's he makes all the trouble."

The interviewer left the court, and five minutes later was in Stirling's
office.

"My name's Green," he said. "I'm a delegate to the convention, and one
of the committee who has the arranging of the special train and
accommodations at Saratoga."

"I'm glad you came in," said Peter. "I bought my ticket yesterday, and
the man at headquarters said he'd see that I was assigned a room at the
United States."

"There'll be no trouble about the arrangements. What I want to see you
for, is to ask if you won't dine with me this evening? There's to be
several of the delegates and some big men there, to talk over the
situation."

"I should like to," said Peter.

The man pulled out a card, and handed it to Peter. "Six o'clock sharp,"
he said. Then he went to headquarters, and told the result of his two
interviews. "Now who had better be there?" he asked. After consultation,
a dinner of six was arranged.

The meal proved to be an interesting one to Peter. First, he found that
all the guests were well-known party men, whose names and opinions were
matters of daily notice in the papers. What was more, they talked
convention affairs, and Peter learned in the two hours' general
conversation more of true "interests" and "influences" and "pulls" and
"advantages" than all his reading and talking had hitherto gained him.
He learned that in New York the great division of interest was between
the city and country members, and that this divided interest played a
part in nearly every measure. "Now," said one of the best known men at
the table, "the men who represent the city, must look out for the city.
Porter's a fine man, but he has no great backing, and no matter how well
he intends by us, he can't do more than agree to such bills as we can
get passed. But Catlin has the Monroe members of the legislature under
his thumb, and his brother-in-law runs Onandaga. He promises they shall
vote for all we want. With that aid, we can carry what New York City
needs, in spite of the country members."

"Would the country members refuse to vote for really good and needed
city legislation?" asked Peter.

"Every time, unless we agree to dicker with them on some country job.
The country members hold the interest of the biggest city in this
country in their hands, and threaten or throttle those interests every
time anything is wanted."

"And when it comes to taxation," added another, "the country members are
always giving the cities the big end to carry."

"I had a talk with Catlin," said Peter. "It seemed to me that he wasn't
the right kind of man."

"Catlin's a timid man, who never likes to commit himself. That's because
he always wants to do what his backers tell him. Of course when a man
does that, he hasn't decided views of his own, and naturally doesn't
wish to express what he may want to take back an hour later."

"I don't like straw men," said Peter.

"A man who takes other people's opinions is not a bad governor, Mr.
Stirling. It all depends on whose opinion he takes. If we could find a
man who was able to do what the majority wants every time, we could
re-elect him for the next fifty years. You must remember that in this
country we elect a man to do what we want--not to do what he wants
himself."

"Yes," said Peter. "But who is to say what the majority wants?"

"Aren't we--the party leaders--who are meeting daily the ward leaders,
and the big men in the different districts, better able to know what the
people want than the man who sits in the governor's room, with a
doorkeeper to prevent the people from seeing him?"

"You may not choose to do what the people want."

"Of course. I've helped push things that I knew were unpopular. But this
is very unusual, because it's risky. Remember, we can only do things
when our party is in power, so it is our interest to do what will please
the people, if we are to command majorities and remain in office.
Individually we have got to do what the majority of our party wants
done, or we are thrown out, and new men take our places. And it's just
the same way with the parties."

"Well," said Peter, "I understand the condition better, and can see what
I could not fathom before, why the city delegates want Catlin. But my
own ward has come out strong for Porter. We've come to the conclusion
that his views on the license question are those which are best for us,
and besides, he's said that he will stand by us in some food and
tenement legislation we want."

"I know about that change, and want to say, Mr. Stirling, that few men
of your years and experience, were ever able to do as much so quickly.
But there are other sides, even to these questions, which you may not
have yet considered. Any proposed restriction on the license will not
merely scare a lot of saloon-keepers, who will only understand that it
sounds unfriendly, but it will alienate every brewer and distiller, for
their interest is to see saloons multiplied. Then food and tenement
legislation always stirs up bad feeling in the dealers and owners. If
the opposite party would play fair, we could afford to laugh at it, but
you see the party out of power can oppose about anything, knowing that a
minority is never held responsible, and so by winning over the
malcontents which every piece of legislation is sure to make, before
long it goes to the polls with a majority, though it has really been
opposing the best interests of the whole state. We can't sit still, and
do nothing, yet everything we do will alienate some interest."

"It's as bad as the doctrine of fore-ordination," laughed another of the
party:

"You can't if you will,
You can if you won't,
You'll be damned if you do,
You'll be damned if you don't."

"You just said," stated Peter, "that the man who could do what the
majority wants done every time, would be re-elected. Doesn't it hold
true as to a party?"

"No. A party is seldom retained in power for such reasons. If it has a
long tenure of office it is generally due to popular distrust of the
other party. The natural tendency otherwise is to make office-holding a
sort of see-saw. Let alone change of opinion in older men, there are
enough new voters every four years to reverse majorities in almost every
state. Of course these young men care little for what either party has
done in the past, and being young and ardent, they want to change
things. The minority's ready to please them, naturally. Reform they
call it, but it's quite as often 'Deform' when they've done it."

Peter smiled and said, "Then you think my views on license, and
food-inspection, and tenement-house regulation are 'Deformities'?"

"We won't say that, but a good many older and shrewder heads have worked
over those questions, and while I don't know what you hope to do, you'll
not be the first to want to try a change, Mr. Stirling."

"I hope to do good. I may fail, but it's not right as it is, and I must
try to better it." Peter spoke seriously, and his voice was very clear.
"I'm glad to have had this talk, before the convention meets. You are
all experienced men, and I value your opinions."

"But don't intend to act on them," said his host good-naturedly.

"No. I'm not ready to say that. I've got to think them over."

"If you do that, Mr. Stirling, you'll find we are right. We have not
been twenty and thirty years in this business for nothing."

"I think you know how to run a party--but poisoned milk was peddled in
my ward. I went to law to punish the men who sold it. Now I'm going into
politics to try and get laws and administration which will prevent such
evils. I've told my district what I want. I think it will support me. I
know you can help me, and I hope you will. We may disagree on methods,
but if we both wish the good of New York, we can't disagree on results."
Peter stopped, rather amazed himself at the length of his speech.

"What do you want us to do?"

"You say that you want to remain in control. You say you can only do so
by majorities. I want you to give this city such a government that
you'll poll every honest vote on our side," said Peter warmly.

"That's only the generalization of a very young man," said the leader.

Peter liked him all the better for the snub. "I generalized, because it
would make clear the object of my particular endeavors. I want to have
the Health Board help me to draft a food-inspection bill, and I want the
legislature to pass it, without letting it be torn to pieces for the
benefit of special interests. I don't mind fair amendments, but they
must be honest ones."

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