re voters. These voters were divided into three
classes--upper class, with not more than three or four hundred votes,
and therefore politically of no importance AT THE POLLS, though
overwhelmingly the most influential in any other way; the middle class,
the big and little merchants, the lawyers and doctors, the agents and
firemen and so on, mustering in all about two thousand votes; finally,
the working class with no less than eight thousand votes out of a total
of ten thousand.

"By bribery and cajolery and browbeating and appeal to religious
prejudice and to fear of losing jobs--by all sorts of chicane," said
Davy, "about seven of these eight thousand votes are kept divided
between the Republican or Kelly party and the Democratic or House
party. The other ten or twelve hundred belong to Victor Dorn's League.
Now, the seven thousand workingmen voters who follow Kelly and House
like Victor Dorn, like his ideas, are with him at heart. But they are
afraid of him. They don't trust each other. Workingmen despise the
workingman as an ignorant fool."

"So he is," said Hastings.

"So he is," agreed Davy. "But Victor Dorn has about got the workingmen
in this town persuaded that they'd fare better with Dorn and the League
as their leaders than with Kelly and House as their leaders. And if
Kelly goes on to persecute Victor Dorn, the workingmen will be
frightened for their rights to free speech and free assembly. And
they'll unite. I appeal to you, Jane--isn't that common sense?"

"I don't know anything about politics," said Jane, looking bored. "You
must go in and lie down before dinner, father. You look tired."

Hastings got ready to rise.

"Just a minute, Mr. Hastings," pleaded Hull. "This must be settled
now--at once. I must be in a position not only to denounce this thing,
but also to stop it. Not to-morrow, but to-day ... so that the morning
papers will have the news."

Jane's thoughts were flying--but in circles. Everybody habitually
judges everybody else as both more and less acute than he really is.
Jane had great respect for Davy as a man of college education. But
because he had no sense of humor and because he abounded in lengthy
platitudes she had thought poorly indeed of his abilities. She had
been realizing her mistake in these last few minutes. The man who had
made that analysis of politics--an analysis which suddenly enlighted
her as to what political power meant and how it was wielded eve