"Sam, that's damned generous of you," said Bob Winston. "I
don't suppose you have someone in mind as an executive director, do you? We need someone who can organize people in a short period of time."
"Matter of fact, I do," said Sam. "How about Mitch Elliot? He handled Bill McKay's last reelection campaign. Do you think he'd be interested, Bill?"
"I'll call him tonight and make the offer," said Bill.
"Okay, then, now we need to make some assignments," continued Winston. "Hal, can you handle Oregon, Washington and Alaska? Tom, can you work Colorado and New Mexico? Bill, you should be able to work Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas. George, would you handle Texas and Oklahoma? That leaves Nevada, Utah and Idaho. Sam, you can handle Nevada and Utah and I'll concentrate on Idaho. I presume, Robert, that you will handle the Canadians?"
Each of the others nodded their agreement as the assignments were offered. They would all have to call in every political IOU that they held. What lay before them was a formidable task.
"What about California and Arizona?" asked Tom Adams. Arizona is western, but it's mostly retired easterners and Iowans. And California, well it's just California. I personally don't consider California a part of the west, but man, could they add some clout to this thing." Always the politician, Tom was thinking about the effect California would have on their efforts.
"Leave 'em out," said Bill McKay succinctly. "If we pull this off, we would isolate them and force them to join on our terms. What we don't need is a tail wagging the dog." Every member of the group nodded agreement. California was too big, and not 'western enough', but as politicians the members of the group knew that expediency might change the scene in the future.
"No one has mentioned Kansas and Nebraska. Are we going to leave them out, too?" asked Theresa cautiously. "I know they aren't considered western, but geographically they are as much a part as Oklahoma."
"Bob, but for Theresa, we might have let the great states of Kansas and Nebraska slip through our fingers," said George Brazleton, laughing. "Bob, you still have some good political friends out there. Why don't you work that area?" Bob agreed quickly.
For another three hours the group continued the discussion, ironing out details, suggesting methods of approaching the various state legislatures. Lists of names of friends and foes were drawn up. Sam Brouchet explained more fully the level of support he planned to give, even describing in detail the office building he had offered. Phone calls were made and returned. There was an air of excitement and electricity in that small cabin. As the discussion concluded, the men became very introspective, sensing the magnitude of the challenge before them, and the scope of embarrassment if they had misread their constituents. They were putting their collective political lives on the line. If they were wrong about this, they could kiss their public future goodbye.
"Gentlemen, I think our work is cut out for us. Now if you'll all join me in the restaurant, I'll spring for the biggest steak dinner you can eat," offered Bob Winston cordially. "Mister Jeffries, would you be kind enough to escort Theresa to the lodge? I need to make a couple phone calls before I join all of you."
Robert Jeffries quickly accepted that pleasant duty by offering his arm to the lady Theresa, bowing ever so slightly and saying, "Lady Theresa, would you join me for dinner?"
Theresa made a very subtle curtsy and put her arm through Premier Jeffries', saying "I would be delighted, Sir Robert." They walked out together, enjoying the break in tension by their harmless but delightful playacting.
The group enjoyed their evening meal, without a word of their discussions. They were tired and were looking forward to an hour or two of pleasant chatter and good company. The next day all of them except Tom Adams and Bob and Theresa Winston departed the lodge for their own destinations. Tom and Bob's work had just begun and they continued their discussions until well into the next afternoon. They had a thousand details to resolve if the convention were to become a reality.
Chapter IV
Preparations Made
Sam Brouchet returned to Denver and went directly to his office complex, the Brouchet Office Plaza. He picked up the phone in his office and called Mitch Elliot. "Mitch, how the hell are you? How soon can you fly down to Denver so we can set up shop?"
"Well, I've got a few things to clear up here, but I can be down there early next week. Lucky for me that I was between cases or I'd have had to say no to Bill."
"Mitch, you know you could never say no to Bill McKay. He's one of the few honest politicians left in the country. Mitch, I want you to start writing down your shopping list, even before you get down here. Can you call me tomorrow and give some idea what we'll need to set up an office, the furniture, equipment, phones and all that type of stuff? We need to hit the ground running. Time is not on our side."
"Yeah, Sam, I can do that. I'll start on it right now. Bill didn't give me much to go on, but I think I get the gist of what you guys are trying to put together. Sam, you know we're going to be walking on very thin ice, don't you?"
"Hell, Mitch, everything in life is a gamble. If I was afraid of a risk, I'd still be running that mining complex down in Nevada. We need you, Mitch. You've got the organizational skill we need right now. Things will work out all right."
"OK, Sam. I trust you and Bill. I'll call you tomorrow with my list."
"Hang in there, Mitch. I look forward to your call."
Sam sat back in his chair, lit a cigar and took several deep puffs. The thick smoke billowed throughout the room. He picked up the phone and called Kent Pritchard. "Kent, how would you like to take a temporary assignment for a couple of months?"
"What kind of assignment, Sam?"
"You'll be working for Mitch Elliot in setting up a convention of all the western states. It's scheduled to meet later this summer. Do you know Mitch?"
"I met him one time when I worked for the Attorney General. I don't know him that well. But I remember him as a very competent attorney and a hell of an organizer."
"Do you think you can work for him? The assignment may last a while or it could only last a couple of months."
"Oh, sure, I can work for Mitch. No problem. What's the nature of the convention? Is it political in nature, business? Who's attending?"
"Well, you might say it's political in nature. I'm really not at liberty to divulge the entire nature of it. I'll fill you in later after you've had a chance to talk to Mitch. He's coming down early next week to set up shop."
Sam would not have forced Kent to take the assignment. Kent knew that, but Sam had a way of asking his employees to do something that was so filled with respect that he rarely received a 'No' answer. Sam was blessed with great loyalty from his staff, but he had also earned the loyalty by treating them almost as peers instead of subordinates.
Mitch Elliot cleared his calendar and his desk and made arrangements to fly to Denver. Since running Governor McKay's last reelection campaign, he had been practicing law with a firm specializing in petroleum issues in Laramie. Mitch was a good lawyer, not a great one, and the one thing he did especially well was to gather disparate parts into a whole. This was the singular reason that McKay had chosen him to run his campaign and the same reason that the law firm had hired him after McKay's overwhelming victory. Mitch called Sam Brouchet Saturday morning.
"Sam, I think I've put together a pretty complete list of things we need. Are you ready to write some checks?"
"Sure, as long as we keep it under five million. That's the limit of my pledge." Sam laughed a deep, chesty laugh and got a pen and paper to take some notes.
"Sam, I'll fax the list down to you, but I thought I'd give you some idea of what I've come up with first. The main thing is we need some office space. I understand you pledged a couple of floors of your Office Plaza. Is that right?"
"Right, Mitch. It's closer to three floors. It's over twenty thousand square feet. If we need more, I'll find it."
"No, that should be more than adequate. Can you send me a
floor plan by fax?"
"You got it," said Sam as he wrote notes for himself to pass along to his secretary.
"We're going to need a data processing type to set up either a network of PC's or a midrange system to do heavy word processing and address lists. We'll need at least one good accountant and a couple of bookkeepers. We're going to need a bunch of typists and steno types, probably around ten or fifteen. Of course we'll need office furniture, fax machines, copiers, phone service and all the usual office equipment. It'll all be in my list that I'll fax down to you. The preliminary bill for the first round will run around a hundred to hundred and fifty thousand. We're going to need lawyers, probably three not including myself. So far so good?"
"Mitch, you've done your homework. Everything looks reasonable to me. Incidentally, your salary will be seventy thousand. Is that enough, or do we need to haggle?"
"That's a little less than I made last year, but I'll make do. I've made arrangements to land at Stapleton late Monday evening. The new airport is still not open, is it? Can you have someone pick me up around ten pm?"
"Ten pm Monday," repeated Sam, thinking to himself that he should have brought Ruth in to work this morning. He was afraid he might take the wrong notes and screw something up. "I'll have a driver there. Don't worry about that. I'll get you a room in one of the downtown hotels. You can stay there until you decide where you want to stay. I own a couple of apartment complexes. You can stay there rent free if you like."
"Sam, you're gonna spoil me. I may learn to like this assignment."
"You know you have a standing offer to work for me. Any time you're ready."
"I know, Sam, but I like the small town atmosphere. Denver is too big for me. I'm just a country boy at heart."
"Aren't we all. You think I like living in the city? You figure out a way for me to run this business from Laramie and we'll both move up there."
"I may just take you up on that, Sam. We'll talk about that after this convention is wrapped up."
"That's a deal. Anything else on your mind?"
"Well, the obvious. I talked to Bill McKay last night. He gave me a good briefing on what you fellas discussed at the Lodge. It sounds exciting as hell, Sam, but do you think we can pull it off? It's a hell of an undertaking."
"If I didn't think so, I wouldn't be putting up five million. Much as I like to spend money, I still like to see some kind of return on investment. Yes, I think it can be done. We just have to find the right formula, that's all."
"Sam, you make this sound like a business proposition. You aren't really in this for the money, are you?"
Sam paused on the other end of the line before he answered. Finally, after a fifteen second hiatus he said, "Mitch, I'm not gonna lie to you. I really am not sure what my motive is. I don't think it's money. Hell, I got more money than I can spend in a lifetime. I think it has to do with rotten politicians in Washington and how they've treated me and other western businessmen for the past thirty years. I think we can do it better than those bastards out there. I think a country made up of westerners and Canadians can make life a little better for the people out West. That's the best answer I can give you, Mitch."
"That's good enough for me, Sam. You're one of the few people I know that would be honest enough to answer that way. I'll see you Monday or Tuesday."
"See you, Mitch."
Sam hung the phone up long after Mitch had signed off. He was still thinking about Mitch's question. "Why in God's name did I get involved in this undertaking? What do I stand to gain from it? A better tax situation? Probably. Better prospects for mineral recovery? Most likely. Easier land acquisition? Probably. Maybe I'm in over my head on this one. I don't really understand politicians or how they think. Damn, Sam, don't fuck this up. Keep it between the white lines and make sure everyone keeps their sense of humor." Sam made a few last minute notes and left the office.
Mitch Elliot arrived at Stapleton and was in the terminal at exactly ten o'clock. Sam's driver met him, helped him with his four suitcases and the two men sped off for the hotel. He called Sam to let him know he arrived and informed him that he would meet him in the Office Plaza at nine the next morning.
Mitch stepped out of the cab the next morning and was surprised to see Sam waiting for him outside the Office Plaza.
"Mitch, have you had breakfast yet?"
"Yes, I have. But I'll drink a cup of coffee with you."
"Sounds good. There's someone I want you to meet. He's waiting for us in the coffee shop. His name is Kent Pritchard and I've assigned him to you from my Legal Department. He was the Assistant Attorney General in Montana until I hired him last year. I think you know him."
"Yeah, the name rings a bell. I met him a year or two ago up in Wyoming."
The three men sat down at the table where Kent Pritchard was seated. Kent and Mitch renewed their slim acquaintance through small talk about mutual friends. "Is Brad still with the AG's office, Kent?" asked Mitch.
"He sure is. He likes the political environment. He and Linda were married last year. I flew up for the wedding."
"They made a nice couple. She was a bright gal as I remember." "Gentlemen, I think we need to get down to business," Sam interjected. "Why don't we go up to the office area and see what I can do to get this thing rolling. Mitch, I already moved two secretaries and some furniture up there. We have phone service for you and Kent. From this point, all you need to do is start buying what you need. I should be able to fill the personnel list you faxed me by the end of the week. Shall we move on up there?" It was not so much a question as a way of ending the conversation which had occupied Kent and Mitch.
After an hour and a half walkthrough of the office area, Sam left the office complex and returned to his own. Mitch and Kent walked to Mitch's office and sat in the chairs provided by Sam.
"Kent, what do you know about the purpose of this convention, that is, why it was called?"
"Only what Sam told me. All the western states are sending delegates to discuss issues vital to the west, political, economic, that kind of thing."
"Did Sam tell you about a meeting that took place in Idaho last week?"
"No, he said you'd fill me in on the whole story. What took place at the meeting?"
"They discussed the possibility of the west pulling out of the United States and bringing the western Canadian provinces with them."
"My God. You've got to be kidding. I wonder why Sam didn't say something to me about it?"
"Probably because we're trying to keep this as low key as possible. Right now I have to ask for your pledge not to leak this anywhere. Do I have that promise?"
"Of course you do. I owe Sam my career. He helped me get the job in Montana and then hired me to join his legal staff here in Denver."
"Kent, we've got a hell of a job in front of us. We don't have a lot of time and an awful lot to do. Are you interested in titles?"
"Why, are you about to bestow one on me? No, I'm not, to answer your question." Kent sensed the serious tone in Mitch's voice.
Through his smile Mitch said, "Well, I think Sam thought enough of you to name you the first person out of his office to come over here. I'd like to think of you as my Deputy Director, my second in command. Is that OK with you?"
"Sure, you never know when that might pay off on my resume. I appreciate that gesture, Mitch."
"Well, let's get to work. I'll flip you for the offices and the secretaries. The rooms are the same size and the girls are cute as hell." Kent smiled and nodded his head to indicate his appreciation for Mitch's casual style of management.
Mitch Elliot immediately set about to hire two assistants to whom he could delegate the myriad tasks to be accomplished in what seemed like an inordinately short space of time. A quick call to Sam and Tom Adams supplied him with four names of persons to interview. True to his word, Sam Brouchet did staff the organization with fifty secretaries, clerks, office managers, accountants and data processing personnel. A small midrange computer was pulled
from his Denver operation and set up in the office complex, to be used for the mountain of paperwork which would be generated in the first month alone. Also true to his word, Sam put the word out to his anonymous business associates, who immediately established an operating fund of two million dollars. In addition Sam transferred three of his top lawyers to the organization to work full time on the legalities of the undertaking. Mitch called Tom Adams late in the afternoon. "Tom, not surprisingly, the first state to agree to send delegates was Wyoming. Bill McKay apparently wasted no time after leaving the Lodge in lobbying in the legislature for support. He was pleasantly surprised to find tremendous support for the idea of the convention. He was especially happy that his sense of the mood of the people was accurate."
"The next state to agree will be Colorado, Mitch. I should have little trouble in convincing this legislature to send delegates. With the convention in Denver, there is little else the state can do without losing the respect of its neighbors."
"I talked to some people down in Oklahoma before I came to Denver. They tell me there'll be a heated debate on the floor but we expect them to send their five. The governor decided not to attend, but will send a trusted friend and advisor as his sit in.
"I imagine George Brazleton will twist a few arms to bring them around."
Texas, however, was another matter. If George Brazleton had influence in Oklahoma, it seemed that he had somewhat less in his own state. Texas was very uncomfortable with the idea of sending anyone to the convention. Texas, though western in every measurable way, was by far the biggest western state in population, money and influence. It was the most eastern of the West, and many of the people in Texas considered the convention a mere novelty, without purpose or content. It was only after a concerted newspaper and television drive and the published reports of polls showing widespread support that the Texas legislature caved in and consented to support the convention. Within a week after Oklahoma voted in favor of attendance, Washington, Idaho, Oregon and the two Dakotas indicated their willingness to participate. There was never much doubt about Idaho.
The Second Declaration Page 5