The Honorable Peter Stirling and What People Thought of Him

by Paul Leicester Ford

  CHAPTER XXIII

  THE CONVENTION.

  Though Peter had not gone to bed so early as he hoped, he was up thenext morning, and had tramped his eight miles through and aroundSaratoga, before the place gave many evidences of life. He ended histramp at the Congress spring, and tasted the famous water, withexceeding disgust at the result. As he set down his half-finishedtumbler, and turned to leave, he found Miss De Voe at his elbow, aboutto take her morning glass.

  "This is a very pleasant surprise," she said, holding out her hand."When did you arrive?"

  "I only came last night."

  "And how long shall you be here?"

  "I cannot say. I am attending the convention, and my stay will depend onthat."

  "Surely you are not a Democrat?" said Miss De Voe, a shade of horrorshowing itself in her face, in spite of her good breeding. In those daysit was not, to put it mildly, a guarantee of respectability to belong tothat party, and Miss De Voe had the strong prejudices of her socialstation, all the more because she was absolutely ignorant of politicalevents.

  Peter said he was.

  "How can you be? When a man can ally himself with the best, why shouldhe choose the worst?"

  "I think," said Peter quietly, "that a Pharisee said the same thing, indifferent words, many hundred years ago."

  Miss De Voe caught her breath and flushed. She also became suddenlyconscious of the two girls who had come to the spring with her. They hadbeen forgotten in the surprise over Peter, but now Miss De Voe wonderedif they had heard his reply, and if they had enough Bible lore to enablethem to understand the reproof.

  "I am sure you don't mean that," she said, in the sting of the moment.

  "I am very sorry," said Peter, "if I made an unkind speech. What Imeant was that no one has a right to pick out the best for himself. I amsure, from your letter to me, that you think a man should help those notas well off as himself."

  "Oh, but that is very different. Of course we should be charitable tothose who need our help, but we need not mix in their low politics."

  "If good laws, and good administration can give the poor good food, andgood lodgings, don't you think the best charity is to 'mix' in politics,and try to obtain such results?"

  "I want you to know my two cousins," Miss De Voe replied. "Dorothy, Iwish to present Mr. Stirling. My cousin, Miss Ogden, and Miss MinnaOgden."

  Peter saw two very pretty girls, and made a bow to them.

  "Which way are you walking?" asked Miss De Voe.

  "I have been tramping merely for exercise," said Peter, "and stoppedhere to try the spring, on my way to the United States."

  "It is hardly worth while, but if you will get into our carriage, wewill drop you there. Or if you can spare the time, we will drive to ourcottage, and then send you back to the hotel."

  "Thank you," said Peter, "but I shall only crowd you, I fear."

  "No. There is plenty of room."

  "Will the convention be interesting to watch, Mr. Stirling?" asked oneof the girls, as soon as they were seated.

  "I don't know," Peter told her. "It is my first experience at it. Thereis pretty strong feeling, and that of course makes it interesting to thedelegates, but I am not sure that it would be so to others."

  "Will there be speeches, and cheers, and all that sort of thing?"

  "Yes."

  "Cousin Anneke, won't you take us? It will be such fun!"

  "Are spectators admitted, Mr. Stirling?"

  "I believe so. I heard something about tickets last night. If you careto go, I'll see if I can get you some?"

  "Oh, please," cried both girls.

  "If you can do so, Mr. Stirling, we should like to see the interestingpart," said Miss De Voe.

  "I'll try."

  "Send word back by Oliver." The carriage had drawn up at the cottage,and farewells were made.

  As soon as Peter reached the hotel, he went to the New York Citydelegation room, and saw Costell. He easily secured admissions, andpencilling on a card, "At headquarters they tell me that the nominationswill begin at the afternoon session, about two o'clock," he sent themback by the carriage. Then bearding the terrors of the colored "monarchof all he surveys," who guards the dining-room of every well-orderedSaratoga hotel, he satisfied as large an appetite as he remembered in along time.

  The morning proceedings in the convention were purely formal. Theelection of the chairman, the roll-call, the naming of the committees,and other routine matter was gotten through with, but the real interestcentred in the undertone of political talk, going on with little regardto the business in hand. After the committees were named, an unknown mancame up to Peter, and introduced himself by a name which Peter at oncerecognized as that of one of the committee on the platform.

  "Mr. Costell thinks you might like to see this, and can perhaps suggesta change," explained Mr. Talcott, laying several sheets of manuscript onPeter's desk and indicating with his finger a certain paragraph.

  Peter read it twice before saying anything. "I think I can better it,"he said. "If you can give me time I'm very slow about such things."

  "All right. Get it in shape as quickly as possible, and send it to thecommittee-room."

  Left alone Peter looked round for a blank wall. Failing in his search,he put his head into his hands, and tried to shut out the seething,excited mass of men about him. After a time he took a sheet of paper andwrote a paragraph for the platform. It pledged the party to investigatethe food and tenement questions, and to pass such remedial legislationas should seem best. It pledged the party to do this, with as littledisturbance and interference with present conditions as possible, "butfully recognizing the danger of State interference, we place human lifeabove money profits, and human health above annual incomes, and shalluse the law to its utmost to protect both." When it appeared in theplatform, there was an addition that charged the failure to obtainlegislation "which should have rendered impossible the recent terriblelesson in New York City" to "the obstruction in the last legislature inthe interest of the moneyed classes and landlords, by the Republicanparty." That had not been in Peter's draft and he was sorry to see it.Still, the paragraph had a real ring of honesty and feeling in it. Thatwas what others thought too. "Gad, that Stirling knows how to slingEnglish," said one of the committee, when the paragraph was read aloud."He makes it take right hold." Many an orator in that fall's campaignread the nineteenth section of the Democratic platform aloud, feelingthat it was ammunition of the right kind. It is in all the New Yorkpapers of September 24th, of that year.

  Immediately after the morning adjournment, Green came up to Peter.

  "We've had a count, and can't carry Catlin. So we shan't even put himup. What do you think of Milton?"

  "I don't know him personally, but he has a very good record, I believe."

  "He isn't what we want, but that's not the question. We must take whatwe can get."

  "I suppose you think Porter has a chance."

  "Not if we take Milton."

  "Between the two I have no choice."

  An hour later, the convention was called to order by the chairman. A fewmoments sufficed to complete the unfinished business, and then thechairman's gavel fell, and every one knew without his announcement thatthe crucial moment had been reached.

  Much to Peter's surprise, Kennedy was one of the members who wasinstantly on his feet, and was the one selected for recognition by thechairman. He was still more surprised when Kennedy launched at once intoa glowing eulogium of Porter. Peter was sitting next Kennedy, and thoughhe sat quietly, a sad look came into the face usually so expressionless.He felt wronged. He felt that he had been an instrument in the deceivingof others. Most of all he grieved to think that a delegate of his ward,largely through his own interference, was acting discreditably. Peterwanted others to do right, and he felt that that was not what Kennedywas doing.

  The moment Kennedy finished, Peter rose, as did Maguire. The conventionwas cheering for Porter, and it took some time to quiet it to acondition when
it was worth while recognizing any one. During this timethe chairman leaned forward and talked with Green, who sat right belowhim, for a moment. Green in turn spoke to Costell, and a little slip ofpaper was presently handed up to the chairman, who from that momentbecame absolutely oblivious of the fact that Maguire was on his feet.When silence finally came, in spite of Maguire's, "Mr. Chairman," thatindividual said, "Mr. Stirling."

  Peter began in a low voice, "In rising, Mr. Chairman, to second thenomination of Mr. Porter, I feel that it would be idle in me to praiseone so well known to all of us, even if he had not just been the subjectof so appreciative a speech from my colleague--"

  Here cries of "louder" interrupted Peter, during which interruptionGreen said to Costell, "We've been tricked."

  "I'm not so sure," replied Costell, "Maguire's on his feet yet, anddoesn't look happy. Something's happening which has not been slated."

  When Peter resumed, there were no more cries of "louder." Hisintroduction had been a matter of trouble and doubt to him, for he likedPorter, and feared he might not show it. But now he merely had somethingto tell his audience, and that was easy work. So, his voice ringing veryclear and distinct, he told them of the original election of thedelegates; of the feeling of his ward; of the attempts to obtain a citynomination of Porter; of Maguire's promise. "Gad, he hits from theshoulder," said Green. As soon as the trend of his remarks was realized,Porter's supporters began to hiss and hoot. Peter at once stopped, butthe moment silence came he began again, and after a repetition of this afew times, they saw they could neither embarrass nor anger him, so theylet him have his say. He brought his speech to an end by saying:

  "I have already expressed my admiration of Mr. Porter, and as soon as Ihad made up my mind to vote for him, I made no secret of thatintention. But he should not have been nominated by a city delegate, forhe is not the choice of New York City, and any attempt to show that heis, or that he has any true backing there, is only an attempt todeceive. In seconding his nomination therefore, I wish it to bedistinctly understood that both his nomination and seconding arepersonal acts, and in no sense the act of the delegates of the city ofNew York."

  There was a mingling of hoots and cheers as Peter sat down, thoughneither was very strong. In truth, the larger part of the delegates werevery much in the dark as to the tendency of Peter's speech. "Was itfriendly or unfriendly to Porter?" they wondered.

  "Mr. Maguire," said the chairman.

  "Mr. Chairman, the gentleman who has just sat down is to be complimentedon his speech. In my whole life I have never heard so deceptive andblinding a narration. We know of Brutus stabbing his friend. But whatshall we say of a pretended Brutus who caresses while he stabs?"

  Here the Porter adherents became absolutely sure of the character ofPeter's speech, and hissed.

  "Nor is it Imperial Caesar alone," continued Maguire, "against whom heturns his poniard. Not content with one foul murder, he turns againstCaesar's friends. By devilish innuendo, he charges the honorable Mr.Kennedy and myself with bargaining to deceive the American people. Icall on him for proof or retraction."

  The convention laughed. Peter rose and said: "Mr. Chairman, I gave atruthful account of what actually took place last evening in the UnitedStates hotel. I made no charges."

  "But you left the impression that Mr. Kennedy and I had made a deal,"shrieked Maguire.

  "If the gentleman draws that conclusion from what passed, it is not myfault."

  The convention laughed. "Do you mean to charge such a bargain?" angrilyshouted Maguire.

  "Will you deny it?" asked Peter calmly.

  "Then you do charge it?"

  Here the convention laughed for the third time. Green shouted "deny it,"and the cry was taken up by many of the delegates.

  "Yes," screamed Maguire. "I do deny it"

  Peter turned to Kennedy. "Do you too, deny it?"

  "Yes," shouted Kennedy, loudly.

  Again the convention laughed.

  "Then," said Peter, "if I had charged you with a bargain, I should nowfind it necessary to apologize."

  The convention roared. Maguire screamed something, but it could not beheard. The tenor of his remarks was indicated by his red face andclinched fist.

  Costell smiled his deep smile. "I'm very glad," he said to the man nexthim, "that we didn't pick Stirling up."

  Then Milton was nominated and seconded, as were also Catlin, and fourminor stars. That done, a ballot was taken and the vote stood:

  Porter 206 Milton 197 Catlin 52 Scattering 29

  A second ballot showed:

  Porter 206 Milton 202 Catlin 54 Scattering 22

  A third ballot gave:

  Porter 206 Milton 210 Catlin 52 Scattering 16

  "Porter's done for on the next," was whispered round the hall, thoughwhere it started, no one knew. Evidently his adherents thought so, forone made a motion to adjourn. It was voted down, and once more the rollcall started.

  "I shall vote for Milton," Peter told Schlurger, and the changes in thedelegations as the call proceeded, proved that many changes were beingmade the same way. Yet the fourth ballot showed:

  Porter 125 Milton 128 Catlin 208 Scattering 14

  The wildest excitement broke out in the Porter delegates. "They'vebeaten us," screamed Kennedy, as much to himself as to those about."They've used Milton to break our ranks, meaning Catlin all the time."So in truth, it was. Milton had been put up to draw off Porter'sdelegates, but the moment they had begun to turn to Milton, enough NewYork City delegates had been transferred to Catlin to prevent Miltonbeing chosen. Amid protests and angry words on all sides another ballotwas taken:

  Catlin 256 Porter 118 Milton 110

  Before the result was announced. Green was at Peter's elbow.

  "Will you move to make it unanimous?" he asked.

  "Yes." And Peter made the formal motion, which was carried byacclamation. Half an hour served to choose the Lieutenant-Governor andthe rest of the ticket, for the bulk of it had already been slated. Theplatform was adopted, and the convention dissolved.

  "Well," said Kennedy angrily to Peter, "I guess you've messed it thistime. A man can't please both sides, but he needn't get cussed by both."

  Peter went out and walked to his hotel. "I'm afraid I did mess it," hethought, "yet I don't see what else I could have done."