ing of the
harbor thereby giving hundreds of jobs to the local men. He would do
this thing and that--all of which had for their object apparently just
that one goal. It was a direct personal appeal to every man toiler. In
addition to this, Rafferty let drop a hint or two that Sweeney had
jobs in his own business which he filled discreetly from the ranks of
the wavering. It wasn't more than a month later, by the way, that
Rafferty himself was appointed a foreman in the firm of Sweeney
Brothers.

But apart from the merits of the question, the thing that impressed me
was Rafferty's earnestness, the delight he took in the contest itself,
and his activity. He was very much disappointed when I told him I
wasn't even registered in the ward but he made me promise to look
after that as soon as the lists were again opened and made an
appointment for the next evening to take me round to a rally to meet
the boys.

I went and was escorted to the home of the Sweeney Club. It was a good
sized hall up a long flight of stairs. Through the heavy blue smoke
which filled the room I saw the walls decorated with American flags
and the framed crayon portraits of Sweeney and other local
politicians. Large duck banners proclaimed in black ink the current
catch lines of the campaign. At one end there was a raised platform,
the rest of the room was filled with wooden settees. My first
impression of it all was anything but favorable. It looked rather
tawdry and cheap. The men themselves who filled the room were pretty
tough-looking specimens. I noticed a few Italians of the fat class and
one or two sharp-faced Jews, but for the most part these men were the
cheaper element of the second and third generation. They were the
loafers--the ward heelers. I certainly felt out of place among them
and to me even Rafferty looked out of place. There was a freshness, a
bulk about him, that his fellows here didn't have.

As he shoved his big body through the crowd, they greeted him by his
first name with an oath or a joke and he beamed back at them all with
a broad wave of his hand. It was evident that he was a man of some
importance here. He worked a passage for me to the front of the hall
and didn't stop until he reached a group of about a dozen men who were
all puffing away at cigars. In the midst of them stood a man of about
Rafferty's size in frame but fully fifty pounds heavier. He had a
quiet, good-natured face. On the whole it was a strong face thou