The Conflict [79]
whether what he said about you was true or false. They'd think only of how ungenerous and ungrateful he was. He wouldn't be either. But he'd seem to be--and that comes to the same thing.'' She glanced mockingly at Hull. ``Isn't that your calculation?''
``You are too cynical for a woman, Jane,'' said Davy. ``It's not attractive.''
``To your vanity?'' retorted Jane. ``I should think not.''
``Well--good-by,'' said Davy, taking his hat from the rail. ``I've got a hard evening's work before me. No time for dinner.''
``Another terrible sacrifice for public duty,'' mocked Jane.
``You must be frightfully out of humor with yourself, to be girding at me so savagely,'' said Davy.
``Good-by, Mr. Mayor.''
``I shall be--in six weeks.''
Jane's face grew sombre. ``Yes--I suppose so,'' said she. ``The people would rather have one of us than one of their own kind. They do look up to us, don't they? It's ridiculous of them, but they do. The idea of choosing you, when they might have Victor Dorn.''
``He isn't running for Mayor,'' objected Hull. ``The League's candidate is Harbinger, the builder.''
``No, it's Victor Dorn,'' said Jane. ``The best man in a party--the strongest man--is always the candidate for all the offices. I don't know much about politics, but I've learned that much. . . . It's Victor Dorn against--Dick Kelly--or Kelly and father.''
Hull reddened. She had cut into quick. ``You will see who is Mayor when I'm elected,'' said he with all his dignity.
Jane laughed in the disagreeably mocking way that was the climax of her ability to be nasty when she was thoroughly out of humor. ``That's right, Davy. Deceive yourself. It's far more comfortable. So long!''
And she went into the house.
Davy's conduct of the affair was masterly. He showed those rare qualities of judgment and diplomacy that all but insure a man a distinguished career. His statement for the press was a model of dignity, of restrained indignation, of good common sense. The most difficult part of his task was getting Hugo Galland into condition for a creditable appearance in court. In so far as Hugo's meagre intellect, atrophied by education and by luxury, permitted him to be a lawyer at all, he was of that now common type called the corporation lawyer. That is, for him human beings had ceased to exist, and of course human rights, also; the world as viewed from the standpoint of law contained only corporations, only interests. Thus, a man like Victor Dorn was in his view the modern form of the devil--was a combination of knave and lunatic who had no right to live except in the restraint of an asylum or a jail.
Fortunately, while Hugo despised the ``hoi polloi'' as only a stupid, miseducated snob can despise, he appreciated that they had votes and so must be conciliated; and he yearned with the snob's famished yearning for the title and dignity of judge. Davy found it impossible to convince him that the injunctions and indictments ought to be attacked until he had convinced him that in no other way could he become Judge Galland. As Hugo was fiercely prejudiced and densely stupid and reverent of the powers of his own intellect, to convince him was not easy. In fact, Davy did not begin to succeed until he began to suggest that whoever appeared before Judge Lansing the next morning in defense of free speech would be the Alliance and Democratic and Republican candidate for judge, and that if Hugo couldn't see his way clear to appearing he might as well give up for the present his political ambitions.
Hugo came round. Davy left him at one o'clock in the morning and went gloomily home. He had known what a prejudiced ass Galland was, how unfit he was for the office of judge; but he had up to that time hidden the full truth from himself. Now, to hide it was impossible. Hugo had fully exposed himself in all his unfitness of the man of narrow upper class prejudices, the man of no instinct or enthusiasm for right, justice and liberty. ``Really, it's a crime to nominate such a chap as that,'' he
``You are too cynical for a woman, Jane,'' said Davy. ``It's not attractive.''
``To your vanity?'' retorted Jane. ``I should think not.''
``Well--good-by,'' said Davy, taking his hat from the rail. ``I've got a hard evening's work before me. No time for dinner.''
``Another terrible sacrifice for public duty,'' mocked Jane.
``You must be frightfully out of humor with yourself, to be girding at me so savagely,'' said Davy.
``Good-by, Mr. Mayor.''
``I shall be--in six weeks.''
Jane's face grew sombre. ``Yes--I suppose so,'' said she. ``The people would rather have one of us than one of their own kind. They do look up to us, don't they? It's ridiculous of them, but they do. The idea of choosing you, when they might have Victor Dorn.''
``He isn't running for Mayor,'' objected Hull. ``The League's candidate is Harbinger, the builder.''
``No, it's Victor Dorn,'' said Jane. ``The best man in a party--the strongest man--is always the candidate for all the offices. I don't know much about politics, but I've learned that much. . . . It's Victor Dorn against--Dick Kelly--or Kelly and father.''
Hull reddened. She had cut into quick. ``You will see who is Mayor when I'm elected,'' said he with all his dignity.
Jane laughed in the disagreeably mocking way that was the climax of her ability to be nasty when she was thoroughly out of humor. ``That's right, Davy. Deceive yourself. It's far more comfortable. So long!''
And she went into the house.
Davy's conduct of the affair was masterly. He showed those rare qualities of judgment and diplomacy that all but insure a man a distinguished career. His statement for the press was a model of dignity, of restrained indignation, of good common sense. The most difficult part of his task was getting Hugo Galland into condition for a creditable appearance in court. In so far as Hugo's meagre intellect, atrophied by education and by luxury, permitted him to be a lawyer at all, he was of that now common type called the corporation lawyer. That is, for him human beings had ceased to exist, and of course human rights, also; the world as viewed from the standpoint of law contained only corporations, only interests. Thus, a man like Victor Dorn was in his view the modern form of the devil--was a combination of knave and lunatic who had no right to live except in the restraint of an asylum or a jail.
Fortunately, while Hugo despised the ``hoi polloi'' as only a stupid, miseducated snob can despise, he appreciated that they had votes and so must be conciliated; and he yearned with the snob's famished yearning for the title and dignity of judge. Davy found it impossible to convince him that the injunctions and indictments ought to be attacked until he had convinced him that in no other way could he become Judge Galland. As Hugo was fiercely prejudiced and densely stupid and reverent of the powers of his own intellect, to convince him was not easy. In fact, Davy did not begin to succeed until he began to suggest that whoever appeared before Judge Lansing the next morning in defense of free speech would be the Alliance and Democratic and Republican candidate for judge, and that if Hugo couldn't see his way clear to appearing he might as well give up for the present his political ambitions.
Hugo came round. Davy left him at one o'clock in the morning and went gloomily home. He had known what a prejudiced ass Galland was, how unfit he was for the office of judge; but he had up to that time hidden the full truth from himself. Now, to hide it was impossible. Hugo had fully exposed himself in all his unfitness of the man of narrow upper class prejudices, the man of no instinct or enthusiasm for right, justice and liberty. ``Really, it's a crime to nominate such a chap as that,'' he