of those hopeless individuals without a
spark of party loyalty; he merely continued to smile, and to suggest
that the district attorney prosecute. Mr. Gregory temporized, and
presently left the city on a vacation. A day or two after his second
visit to the district attorney's office Mr. Greenhalge had a call
from the city auditor and the purchasing agent, who talked about
their families,--which was very painful. It was also intimated to Mr.
Greenhalge by others who accosted him that he was just the man for
mayor. He smiled, and modestly belittled his qualifications....

Suddenly, one fine morning, a part of the evidence Krebs had gathered
appeared in the columns of the Mail and State, a new and enterprising
newspaper for which the growth and prosperity of our city were
responsible; the sort of "revelations" that stirred to amazement and
wrath innocent citizens of nearly every city in our country: politics
and "graft" infesting our entire educational system, teachers and
janitors levied upon, prices that took the breath away paid to favoured
firms for supplies, specifications so worded that reasonable bids were
barred. The respectable firm of Ellery and Knowles was involved.
In spite of our horror, we were Americans and saw the humour of
the situation, and laughed at the caricature in the Mail and State
representing a scholar holding up a pencil and a legend under it, "No,
it's not gold, but it ought to be."

Here I must enter into a little secret history. Any affair that
threatened the integrity of Mr. Jason's organization was of serious
moment to the gentlemen of the financial world who found that
organization invaluable and who were also concerned about the fair name
of their community; a conference in the Boyne Club decided that the city
officials were being persecuted, and entitled therefore to "the very
best of counsel,"--in this instance, Mr. Hugh Paret. It was also thought
wise by Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Gorse, and Mr. Grierson, and by Mr. Paret
himself that he should not appear in the matter; an aspiring young
attorney, Mr. Arbuthnot, was retained to conduct the case in public.
Thus capital came to the assistance of Mr. Jason, a fund was raised,
and I was given carte blanche to defend the miserable city auditor and
purchasing agent, both of whom elicited my sympathy; for they were stout
men, and rapidly losing weight. Our first care was to create a delay in
the trial of the case in order to give the public exciteme