Philip Dru: Administrator
by
Edward Mandell House
Part 3 out of 4
My father was a man of small education and kept a tavern on the outer
edge of Philadelphia. I was his only child, my mother dying in my
infancy. There was a bar connected with the house, and it was a
rendezvous for the politicians of our ward. I became interested in
politics so early that I cannot remember the time when I was not. My
father was a temperate man, strong-willed and able, and I have often
wondered since that he was content to end his days without trying to get
beyond the environments of a small tavern.
He was sensitive, and perhaps his lack of education caused him to
hesitate to enter a larger and more conspicuous field.
However, he was resolved that I should not be hampered as he was, and I
was, therefore, given a good common school education first, and
afterwards sent to Girard College, where I graduated, the youngest of my
class.
Much to my father's delight, I expressed a desire to study law, for it
seemed to us both that this profession held the best opportunity open to
me. My real purpose in becoming a lawyer was to aid me in politics, for
it was clear to both my father and me that I had an unusual aptitude
therefor.
My study of law was rather cursory than real, and did not lead to a
profound knowledge of the subject, but it was sufficient for me to
obtain admittance to the bar, and it was not long, young as I was,
before my father's influence brought me a practice that was lucrative
and which required but little legal lore.
At that time the ward boss was a man by the name of Marx. While his
father was a German, he was almost wholly Irish, for his father died
when he was young, and he was reared by a masculine, masterful, though
ignorant Irish mother.
He was my father's best friend, and there were no secrets between them.
They seldom paid attention to me, and I was rarely dismissed even when
they had their most confidential talks. In this way, I early learned how
our great American cities are looted, not so much by those actually in
power, for they are of less consequence than the more powerful men
behind them.
If any contract of importance was to be let, be cronies gathered about
the hearth for their confidential talks.
And this was Selwyn's story:--
My father was a man of small education and kept a tavern on the outer
edge of Philadelphia. I was his only child, my mother dying in my
infancy.
There was a bar connected with the house, and it was a rendezvous for
the politicians of our ward. I became interested in politics so early
that I cannot remember the time when I was not. My father was a
temperate man, strong-willed and able, and I have often wondered since
that he was content to end his days without trying to get beyond the
environments of a small tavern.
He was sensitive, and perhaps his lack of education caused him to
hesitate to enter a larger and more conspicuous field.
However, he was resolved that I should not be hampered as he was, and I
was, therefore, given a good common school education first, and
afterwards sent to Girard College, where I graduated, the youngest of my
class.
Much to my father's delight, I expressed a desire to study law, for it
seemed to us both that this profession held the best opportunity open to
me. My real purpose in becoming a lawyer was to aid me in politics, for
it was clear to both my father and me that I had an unusual aptitude
therefor. My study of law was rather cursory than real, and did not lead
to a profound knowledge of the subject, but it was sufficient for me to
obtain admittance to the bar, and it was not long, young as I was,
before my father's influence brought me a practice that was lucrative
and which required but little legal lore.
At that time the ward boss was a man by the name of Marx. While his
father was a German, he was almost wholly Irish, for his father died
when he was young, and he was reared by a masculine, masterful, though
ignorant Irish mother.
He was my father's best friend, and there were no secrets between them.
They seldom paid attention to me, and I was rarely dismissed even when
they had their most confidential talks. In this way, I early learned how
our great American cities are looted, not so much by those actually in
power, for they are of less consequence than the more powerful men
behind them.
If any contract of importance was to be let, be it either public or
private, Marx and his satellites took their toll. He, in his turn, had
to account to the man above, the city boss.
If a large private undertaking was contemplated, the ward boss had to be
seen and consulted as to the best contractors, and it was understood
that at least five per cent, more than the work was worth had to be
paid, otherwise, there would be endless trouble and delay. The inspector
of buildings would make trouble; complaints would be made of obstructing
the streets and sidewalks, and injunctions would be issued. So it was
either to pay, or not construct. Marx provided work for the needy,
loaned money to the poor, sick and disabled, gave excursions and picnics
in the summer: for all of this others paid, but it enabled him to hold
the political control of the ward in the hollow of his hand. The boss
above him demanded that the councilmen from his ward should be men who
would do his bidding without question.
The city boss, in turn, trafficked with the larger public contracts, and
with the granting and extensions of franchises. It was a fruitful field,
for there was none above him with whom he was compelled to divide.
The State boss treated the city bosses with much consideration, for he
was more or less dependent upon them, his power consisting largely of
the sum of their power.
The State boss dealt in larger things, and became a national figure. He
was more circumspect in his methods, for he had a wider constituency and
a more intelligent opposition.
The local bosses were required to send to the legislature "loyal" party
men who did not question the leadership of the State boss.
The big interests preferred having only one man to deal with, which
simplified matters; consequently they were strong aids in helping him
retain his power. Any measure they desired passed by the legislature was
first submitted to him, and he would prune it until he felt he could put
it through without doing too great violence to public sentiment. The
citizens at large do not scrutinize measures closely; they are too busy
in their own vineyards to bother greatly about things which only
remotely or indirectly concern them.
This selfish attitude and indifference of our people has made the boss
and his methods possible. The "big interests" reciprocate in many and
devious ways, ways subtle enough to seem not dishonest even if exposed
to public view.
So that by early education I was taught to think that the despoliation
of the public, in certain ways, was a legitimate industry.
Later, I knew better, but I had already started my plow in the furrow,
and it was hard to turn back. I wanted money and I wanted power, and I
could see both in the career before me.
It was not long, of course, before I had discernment enough to see that
I was not being employed for my legal ability. My income was practically
made from retainers, and I was seldom called upon to do more than to use
my influence so that my client should remain undisturbed in the pursuit
of his business, be it legitimate or otherwise. Young as I was, Marx
soon offered me a seat in the Council. It was my first proffer of
office, but I declined it. I did not want to be identified with a body
for which I had such a supreme contempt. My aim was higher. Marx,
though, was sincere in his desire to further my fortunes, for he had no
son, and his affection for my father and me was genuine.
I frankly told him the direction in which my ambition lay, and he
promised me his cordial assistance. I wanted to get beyond ward
politics, and in touch with the city boss.
It was my idea that, if I could maintain myself with him, I would in
time ask him to place me within the influence of the State boss, where
my field of endeavor would be as wide as my abilities would justify.
I did not lose my identity with my ward, but now my work covered all
Philadelphia, and my retainers became larger and more numerous, for I
was within the local sphere of the "big interests."
At that time the boss was a man by the name of Hardy. He was born in the
western part of the State, but came to Philadelphia when a boy, his
mother having married the second time a man named Metz, who was then
City Treasurer and who afterwards became Mayor.
Hardy was a singular man for a boss; small of frame, with features
almost effeminate, and with anything but a robust constitution, he did
a prodigious amount of work.
He was not only taciturn to an unusual degree, but he seldom wrote, or
replied to letters. Yet he held an iron grip upon the organization.
His personal appearance and quiet manners inspired many ambitious
underlings to try to dislodge him, but their failure was signal and
complete.
He had what was, perhaps, the most perfectly organized machine against
which any municipality had ever had the misfortune to contend.
Hardy made few promises and none of them rash, but no man could
truthfully say that he ever broke one. I feel certain that he would have
made good his spoken word even at the expense of his fortune or
political power.
Then, too, he played fair, and his henchmen knew it. He had no favorites
whom he unduly rewarded at the expense of the more efficient. He had
likes and dislikes as other men, but his judgment was never warped by
that. Success meant advancement, failure meant retirement.
And he made his followers play fair. There were certain rules of the
game that had to be observed, and any infraction thereof meant
punishment.
The big, burly fellows he had under him felt pride in his physical
insignificance, and in the big brain that had never known defeat.
When I became close to him, I asked him why he had never expanded; that
he must have felt sure that he could have spread his jurisdiction
throughout the State, and that the labor in the broader position must be
less than in the one he occupied. His reply was characteristic of the
man. He said he was not where he was from choice, that environment and
opportunity had forced him into the position he occupied, but that once
there, he owed it to his followers to hold it against all comers. He
said that he would have given it up long ago, if it had not been for
this feeling of obligation to those who loved and trusted him. To desert
them, and to make new responsibilities, was unthinkable from his
viewpoint.
That which I most wondered at in Hardy was, his failure to comprehend
that the work he was engaged in was dishonest. I led cautiously up to
this one day, and this was his explanation:
"The average American citizen refuses to pay attention to civic affairs,
contenting himself with a general growl at the tax rate, and the
character and inefficiency of public officials. He seldom takes the
trouble necessary to form the Government to suit his views.
"The truth is, he has no cohesive or well-digested views, it being too
much trouble to form them. Therefore, some such organization as ours is
essential. Being essential, then it must have funds with which to
proceed, and the men devoting their lives to it must be recompensed, so
the system we use is the best that can be devised under the
circumstances.
"It is like the tariff and internal revenue taxes by which the National
Government is run, that is, indirect. The citizen pays, but he does not
know when he pays, nor how much he is paying.
"A better system could, perhaps, be devised in both instances, but this
cannot be done until the people take a keener interest in their public
affairs.
"Hardy was not a rich man, though he had every opportunity of being so.
He was not avaricious, and his tastes and habits were simple, and he had
no family to demand the extravagances that are undermining our national
life. He was a vegetarian, and he thought, and perhaps rightly, that in
a few centuries from now the killing of animals and the eating of their
corpses would be regarded in the same way as we now think of
cannibalism.
"He divided the money that came to him amongst his followers, and this
was one of the mainsprings of his power.
"All things considered, it is not certain but that he gave Philadelphia
as good government as her indifferent citizens deserved."
CHAPTER XXXV
SELWYN'S STORY, CONTINUED
By the time I was thirty-six I had accumulated what seemed to me then, a
considerable fortune, and I had furthermore become Hardy's right-hand
man.
He had his forces divided in several classes, of choice I was ranged
among those whose duties were general and not local. I therefore had a
survey of the city as a whole, and was not infrequently in touch with
the masters of the State at large. Hardy concerned himself about my
financial welfare to the extent of now and then inquiring whether my
income was satisfactory, and the nature of it. I assured him that it was
and that he need have no further thought of me in that connection. I
told him that I was more ambitious to advance politically than
financially, and, while expressing my gratitude for all he had done for
me and my keen regret at the thought of leaving him, I spoke again of my
desire to enter State politics.
Some six years before I had married the daughter of a State Senator, a
man who was then seeking the gubernatorial nomination.
On my account, Hardy gave him cordial support, but the State boss had
other plans, and my father-in-law was shelved "for the moment," as the
boss expressed it, for one who suited his purposes better.
Both Hardy, my father-in-law, and their friends resented this action,
because the man selected was not in line for the place and the boss was
not conforming to the rules of the game.
They wanted to break openly and immediately, but I advised delay until
we were strong enough to overthrow him.
The task of quietly organizing an effective opposition to the State
boss was left to me, and although I lost no time, it was a year before I
was ready to make the fight.
In the meanwhile, the boss had no intimation of the revolt. My father-
in-law and Hardy had, by my direction, complied with all the requests
that he made upon them, and he thought himself never more secure.
I went to the legislature that year in accordance with our plans, and
announced myself a candidate for speaker. I did this without consulting
the boss and purposely. He had already selected another man, and had
publicly committed himself to his candidacy, which was generally
considered equivalent to an election.
The candidate was a weak man, and if the boss had known the extent of
the opposition that had developed, he would have made a stronger
selection. As it was, he threw not only the weight of his own influence
for his man and again irrevocably committed himself, but he had his
creature, the Governor, do likewise.
My strength was still not apparent, for I had my forces well in hand,
and while I had a few declare themselves for me, the major part were
non-committal, and spoke in cautious terms of general approval of the
boss's candidate.
The result was a sensation. I was elected by a safe, though small,
majority, and, as a natural result, the boss was deposed and I was
proclaimed his successor.
I had found in organizing the revolt that there were many who had
grievances which, from fear, they had kept hidden but when they were
shown that they could safely be revenged, they eagerly took advantage of
the opportunity.
So, in one campaign, I burst upon the public as the party leader, and
the question was now, how would I use it and could I hold it.
CHAPTER XXXVI
SELWYN'S STORY, CONTINUED
Flushed though I was with victory, and with the flattery of friends,
time servers and sycophants in my ears, I felt a deep sympathy for the
boss. He was as a sinking ship and as such deserted. Yesterday a thing
for envy, to-day an object of pity.
I wondered how long it would be before I, too, would be stranded.
The interests, were, of course, among the first to congratulate me and
to assure me of their support. During that session of the legislature, I
did not change the character of the legislation, or do anything very
different from the usual. I wanted to feel my seat more firmly under me
before attempting the many things I had in mind.
I took over into my camp all those that I could reasonably trust, and
strengthened my forces everywhere as expeditiously as possible. I weeded
out the incompetents, of whom there were many, and replaced them by
big-hearted, loyal and energetic men, who had easy consciences when it
came to dealing with the public affairs of either municipalities,
counties or the State.
Of necessity, I had to use some who were vicious and dishonest, and who
would betray me in a moment if their interests led that way. But of
these there were few in my personal organization, though from
experience, I knew their kind permeated the municipal machines to a
large degree.
The lessons learned from Hardy were of value to me now. I was liberal to
my following at the expense of myself, and I played the game fair as
they knew it.
I declined re-election to the next legislature, because the office was
not commensurate with the dignity of the position I held as party
leader, and again, because the holding of state office was now a
perilous undertaking.
In taking over the machine from the late boss, and in molding it into an
almost personal following I found it not only loosely put together, but
inefficient for my more ambitious purposes.
After giving it four or five years of close attention, I was satisfied
with it, and I had no fear of dislodgment.
I had found that the interests were not paying anything like a
commensurate amount for the special privileges they were getting, and I
more than doubled the revenue obtained by the deposed boss.
This, of course, delighted my henchmen, and bound them more closely to
me.
I also demanded and received information in advance of any extensions
of railroads, standard or interurban, of contemplated improvements of
whatsoever character, and I doled out this information to those of my
followers in whose jurisdiction lay such territory.
My own fortune I augmented by advance information regarding the
appreciation of stocks. If an amalgamation of two important institutions
was to occur, or if they were to be put upon a dividend basis, or if the
dividend rate was to be increased, I was told, not only in advance of
the public, but in advance of the stockholders themselves.
All such information I held in confidence even from my own followers,
for it was given me with such understanding.
My next move was to get into national politics. I became something of a
factor at the national convention, by swinging Pennsylvania's vote at a
critical time; the result being the nomination of the now President,
consequently my relations with him were most cordial.
The term of the senior Senator from our State was about to expire, and,
although he was well advanced in years, he desired re-election.
I decided to take his seat for myself, so I asked the President to offer
him an ambassadorship. He did not wish to make the change, but when he
understood that it was that or nothing, he gracefully acquiesced in
order that he might be saved the humiliation of defeat.
When he resigned, the Governor offered me the appointment for the
unexpired term. It had only three months to run before the legislature
met to elect his successor.
I told him that I could not accept until I had conferred with my
friends. I had no intention of refusing, but I wanted to seem to defer
to the judgment of my lieutenants.
I called them to the capital singly, and explained that I could be of
vastly more service to the organization were I at Washington, and I
arranged with them to convert the rank and file to this view.
Each felt that the weight of my decision rested upon himself, and their
vanity was greatly pleased. I was begged not to renounce the leadership,
and after persuasion, this I promised not to do.
As a matter of fact, it was never my intention to release my hold upon
the State, thus placing myself in another's power.
So I accepted the tender of the Senatorship, and soon after, when the
legislature met, I was elected for the full term.
I was in as close touch with my State at Washington as I was before,
for I spent a large part of my time there.
I was not in Washington long before I found that the Government was run
by a few men; that outside of this little circle no one was of much
importance.
It was my intention to break into it if possible, and my ambition now
leaped so far as to want, not only to be of it, but later, to be IT.
I began my crusade by getting upon confidential terms with the
President.
One night, when we were alone in his private study, I told him of the
manner and completeness of my organization in Pennsylvania. I could see
he was deeply impressed. He had been elected by an uncomfortably small
vote, and he was, I knew, looking for someone to manage the next
campaign, provided he again received the nomination.
The man who had done this work in the last election was broken in
health, and had gone to Europe for an indefinite stay.
The President questioned me closely, and ended by asking me to undertake
the direction of his campaign for re-nomination, and later to manage the
campaign for his election in the event he was again the party's
candidate.
I was flattered by the proffer, and told him so, but I was guarded in
its acceptance. I wanted him to see more of me, hear more of my methods
and to become, as it were, the suppliant.
This condition was soon brought about, and I entered into my new
relations with him under the most favorable circumstances.
If I had readily acquiesced he would have assumed the air of favoring
me, as it was, the rule was reversed.
He was overwhelmingly nominated and re-elected, and for the result he
generously gave me full credit.
I was now well within the charmed circle, and within easy reach of my
further desire to have no rivals. This came about naturally and without
friction.
The interests, of course, were soon groveling at my feet, and, heavy as
my demands were, I sometimes wondered like Clive at my own moderation.
The rest of my story is known to you. I had tightened a nearly invisible
coil around the people, which held them fast, while the interests
despoiled them. We overdid it, and you came with the conscience of the
great majority of the American people back of you, and swung the Nation
again into the moorings intended by the Fathers of the Republic.
When Selwyn had finished, the fire had burned low, and it was only now
and then that his face was lighted by the flickering flames revealing a
sadness that few had ever seen there before.
Perhaps he saw in the dying embers something typical of his life as it
now was. Perhaps he longed to recall his youth and with it the strength,
the nervous force and the tireless thought that he had used to make
himself what he was.
When life is so nearly spilled as his, things are measured differently,
and what looms large in the beginning becomes but the merest shadow when
the race has been run.
As he contemplated the silent figure, Philip Dru felt something of
regret himself, for he now knew the groundwork of the man, and he was
sure that under other conditions, a career could have been wrought more
splendid than that of any of his fellows.
CHAPTER XXXVII
THE COTTON CORNER
In modeling the laws, Dru called to the attention of those boards that
were doing that work, the so-called "loan sharks," and told them to deal
with them with a heavy hand. By no sort of subterfuge were they to be
permitted to be usurious. By their nefarious methods of charging the
maximum legal rate of interest and then exacting a commission for
monthly renewals of loans, the poor and the dependent were oftentimes
made to pay several hundred per cent, interest per annum. The criminal
code was to be invoked and protracted terms in prison, in addition to
fines, were to be used against them.
He also called attention to a lesser, though serious, evil, of the
practice of farmers, mine-owners, lumbermen and other employers of
ignorant labor, of making advances of food, clothing and similar
necessities to their tenants or workmen, and charging them extortionate
prices therefor, thus securing the use of their labor at a cost entirely
incommensurate with its value.
Stock, cotton and produce exchanges as then conducted came under the ban
of the Administrator's displeasure, and he indicated his intention of
reforming them to the extent of prohibiting, under penalty of fine and
imprisonment, the selling either short or long, stocks, bonds,
commodities of whatsoever character, or anything of value. Banks,
corporations or individuals lending money to any corporation or
individual whose purpose it was known to be to violate this law, should
be deemed as guilty as the actual offender and should be as heavily
punished.
An immediate enforcement of this law was made because, just before the
Revolution, there was carried to a successful conclusion a gigantic but
iniquitous cotton corner. Some twenty or more adventurous millionaires,
led by one of the boldest speculators of those times, named Hawkins,
planned and succeeded in cornering cotton.
It seemed that the world needed a crop of 16,000,000 bales, and while
the yield for the year was uncertain it appeared that the crop would run
to that figure and perhaps over. Therefore, prices were low and spot-
cotton was selling around eight cents, and futures for the distant
months were not much higher.
By using all the markets and exchanges and by exercising much skill and
secrecy, Hawkins succeeded in buying two million bales of actual
cotton, and ten million bales of futures at an approximate average of
nine and a half cents. He had the actual cotton stored in relatively
small quantities throughout the South, much of it being on the farms and
at the gins where it was bought. Then, in order to hide his identity, he
had incorporated a company called "The Farmers' Protective Association."
Through one of his agents he succeeded in officering it with well-known
Southerners, who knew only that part of the plan which contemplated an
increase in prices, and were in sympathy with it. He transferred his
spot-cotton to this company, the stock of which he himself held through
his dummies, and then had his agents burn the entire two million
bales. The burning was done quickly and with spectacular effect, and
the entire commercial world, both in America and abroad, were astounded
by the act.
Once before in isolated instances the cotton planter had done this, and
once the farmers of the West, discouraged by low prices, had used corn
for fuel. That, however, was done on a small scale. But to deliberately
burn one hundred million dollars worth of property was almost beyond
the scope of the imagination.
The result was a cotton panic, and Hawkins succeeded in closing out his
futures at an average price of fifteen cents, thereby netting twenty-
five dollars a bale, and making for himself and fellow buccaneers one
hundred and fifty million dollars.
After amazement came indignation at such frightful abuse of
concentrated wealth. Those of Wall Street that were not caught, were
open in their expressions of admiration for Hawkins, for of such
material are their heroes made.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE
At the end of the first quarter of the present century, twenty of the
forty-eight States had Woman Suffrage, and Administrator Dru decided to
give it to the Nation. In those twenty States, as far as he had
observed, there had been no change for the better in the general laws,
nor did the officials seem to have higher standards of efficiency than
in those States that still denied to women the right to vote, but he
noticed that there were more special laws bearing on the moral and
social side of life, and that police regulation was better. Upon the
whole, Dru thought the result warranted universal franchise without
distinction of race, color or sex.
He believed that, up to the present time, a general franchise had been
a mistake and that there should have been restrictions and
qualifications, but education had become so general, and the condition
of the people had advanced to such an extent, that it was now warranted.
It had long seemed to Dru absurd that the ignorant, and, as a rule,
more immoral male, should have such an advantage over the educated,
refined and intelligent female. Where laws discriminated at all, it was
almost always against rather than in favor of women; and this was true
to a much greater extent in Europe and elsewhere than in the United
States. Dru had a profound sympathy for the effort women were making to
get upon an equality with men in the race for life: and he believed that
with the franchise would come equal opportunity and equal pay for the
same work.
America, he hoped, might again lead in the uplift of the sex, and the
example would be a distinct gain to women in those less forward
countries where they were still largely considered as inferior to and
somewhat as chattels to man.
Then, too, Dru had an infinite pity for the dependent and submerged
life of the generality of women. Man could ask woman to mate, but women
were denied this privilege, and, even when mated, oftentimes a life of
never ending drudgery followed.
Dru believed that if women could ever become economically independent of
man, it would, to a large degree, mitigate the social evil.
They would then no longer be compelled to marry, or be a charge upon
unwilling relatives or, as in desperation they sometimes did, lead
abandoned lives.
CHAPTER XXXIX
A NEGATIVE GOVERNMENT
Upon assuming charge of the affairs of the Republic, the Administrator
had largely retained the judiciary as it was then constituted, and he
also made but few changes in the personnel of State and Federal
officials, therefore there had, as yet, been no confusion in the
public's business. Everything seemed about as usual, further than there
were no legislative bodies sitting, and the function of law making was
confined to one individual, the Administrator himself.
Before putting the proposed laws into force, he wished them thoroughly
worked out and digested. In the meantime, however, he was constantly
placing before his Cabinet and Commissioners suggestions looking to the
betterment of conditions, and he directed that these suggestions should
be molded into law. In order that the people might know what further
measures he had in mind for their welfare, other than those already
announced, he issued the following address:
"It is my purpose," said he, "not to give to you any radical or ill-
digested laws. I wish rather to cull that which is best from the other
nations of the earth, and let you have the benefit of their thought and
experience. One of the most enlightened foreign students of our
Government has rightly said that 'America is the most undemocratic of
democratic countries.' We have been living under a Government of
negation, a Government with an executive with more power than any
monarch, a Government having a Supreme Court, clothed with greater
authority than any similar body on earth; therefore, we have lagged
behind other nations in democracy. Our Government is, perhaps, less
responsive to the will of the people than that of almost any of the
civilized nations. Our Constitution and our laws served us well for the
first hundred years of our existence, but under the conditions of to-day
they are not only obsolete, but even grotesque. It is nearly
impossible for the desires of our people to find expression into law.
In the latter part of the last century many will remember that an
income tax was wanted. After many vicissitudes, a measure embodying
that idea was passed by both Houses of Congress and was signed by the
Executive. But that did not give to us an income tax. The Supreme Court
found the law unconstitutional, and we have been vainly struggling since
to obtain relief.
"If a well-defined majority of the people of England, of France, of
Italy or of Germany had wanted such a law they could have gotten it with
reasonable celerity. Our House of Representatives is supposed to be our
popular law-making body, and yet its members do not convene until a year
and one month from the time they are elected. No matter how pressing the
issue upon which a majority of them are chosen, more than a year must
elapse before they may begin their endeavors to carry out the will of
the people. When a bill covering the question at issue is finally
introduced in the House, it is referred to a committee, and that body
may hold it at its pleasure.
"If, in the end, the House should pass the bill, that probably becomes
the end of it, for the Senate may kill it.
"If the measure passes the Senate it is only after it has again been
referred to a committee and then back to a conference committee of both
Senate and House, and returned to each for final passage.
"When all this is accomplished at a single session, it is unusually
expeditious, for measures, no matter how important, are often carried
over for another year.
"If it should at last pass both House and Senate there is the Executive
veto to be considered. If, however, the President signs the bill and it
becomes a law, it is perhaps but short-lived, for the Supreme Court is
ever present with its Damoclean sword.
"These barriers and interminable delays have caused the demand for the
initiative, referendum and recall. That clumsy weapon was devised in
some States largely because the people were becoming restless and
wanted a more responsive Government.
"I am sure that I shall be able to meet your wishes in a much simpler
way, and yet throw sufficient safeguards around the new system to keep
it from proving hurtful, should an attack of political hysteria overtake
you.
"However, there has never been a time in our history when a majority of
our people have not thought right on the public questions that came
before them, and there is no reason to believe that they will think
wrong now.
"The interests want a Government hedged with restrictions, such as we
have been living under, and it is easy to know why, with the example of
the last administration fresh in the minds of all.
"A very distinguished lawyer, once Ambassador to Great Britain, is
reported as saying on Lincoln's birthday: 'The Constitution is an
instrument designedly drawn by the founders of this Government
providing safeguards to prevent any inroads by popular excitement or
frenzy of the moment.' And later in the speech he says: 'But I have
faith in the sober judgment of the American people, that they will
reject these radical changes, etc.'
"If he had faith in the sober judgment of the American people, why not
trust them to a measurable extent with the conduct of their own
affairs?
"The English people, for a century or more, have had such direction as I
now propose that you shall have, and for more than half a century the
French people have had like power. They have in no way abused it, and
yet the English and French Electorate surely are not more intelligent,
or have better self-control, or more sober judgment than the American
citizenship.
"Another thing to which I desire your attention called is the dangerous
power possessed by the President in the past, but of which the new
Constitution will rob him.
"The framers of the old Constitution lived in an atmosphere of autocracy
and they could not know, as we do now, the danger of placing in one
man's hands such enormous power, and have him so far from the reach of
the people, that before they could dispossess him he might, if
conditions were favorable, establish a dynasty.
"It is astounding that we have allowed a century and a half go by
without limiting both his term and his power.
"In addition to giving you a new Constitution and laws that will meet
existing needs, there are many other things to be done, some of which I
shall briefly outline. I have arranged to have a survey made of the
swamp lands throughout the United States. From reliable data which I
have gathered, I am confident that an area as large as the State of
Ohio can be reclaimed, and at a cost that will enable the Government to
sell it to home-seekers for less than one-fourth what they would have to
pay elsewhere for similar land.
"Under my personal direction, I am having prepared an old-age pension
law and also a laborers' insurance law, covering loss in cases of
illness, incapacity and death.
"I have a commission working on an efficient cooperative system of
marketing the products of small farms and factories. The small producers
throughout America are not getting a sufficient return for their
products, largely because they lack the facilities for marketing them
properly. By cooperation they will be placed upon an equal footing with
the large producers and small investments that heretofore have given
but a meager return will become profitable.
"I am also planning to inaugurate cooperative loan societies in every
part of the Union, and I have appointed a commissioner to instruct the
people as to their formation and conduct and to explain their beneficent
results.
"In many parts of Europe such societies have reached very high
proficiency, and have been the means of bringing prosperity to
communities that before their establishment had gone into decay.
"Many hundred millions of dollars have been loaned through these
societies and, while only a fractional part of their members would be
considered good for even the smallest amount at a bank, the losses to
the societies on loans to their members have been almost negligible;
less indeed than regular bankers could show on loans to their clients.
And yet it enables those that are almost totally without capital to make
a fair living for themselves and families.
"It is my purpose to establish bureaus through the congested portions of
the United States where men and women in search of employment can
register and be supplied with information as to where and what kind of
work is obtainable. And if no work is to be had, I shall arrange that
every indigent person that is honest and industrious shall be given
employment by the Federal, State, County or Municipal Government as the
case may be. Furthermore, it shall in the future be unlawful for
any employer of labor to require more than eight hours work a day, and
then only for six days a week. Conditions as are now found in the great
manufacturing centers where employés are worked twelve hours a day,
seven days in the week, and receive wages inadequate for even an eight
hour day shall be no longer possible.
"If an attempt is made to reduce wages because of shorter hours or for
any other cause, the employé shall have the right to go before a
magistrate and demand that the amount of wage be adjusted there, either
by the magistrate himself or by a jury if demanded by either party.
"Where there are a large number of employés affected, they can act
through their unions or societies, if needs be, and each party at issue
may select an arbitrator and the two so chosen may agree upon a third,
or they may use the courts and juries, as may be preferred.
"This law shall be applicable to women as well as to men, and to every
kind of labor. I desire to make it clear that the policy of this
Government is that every man or woman who desires work shall have it,
even if the Government has to give it, and I wish it also understood
that an adequate wage must be paid for labor.
"Labor is no longer to be classed as an inert commodity to be bought and
sold by the law of supply and demand, but the human equation shall
hereafter be the commanding force in all agreements between man and
capital.
"There is another matter to which I shall give my earnest attention and
that is the reformation of the study and practice of medicine. It is
well known that we are far behind England, Germany and France in the
protection of our people from incompetent physicians and quackery.
There is no more competent, no more intelligent or advanced men in the
world than our American physicians and surgeons of the first class.
"But the incompetent men measurably drag down the high standing of the
profession. A large part of our medical schools and colleges are
entirely unfit for the purposes intended, and each year they grant
diplomas to hundreds of ignorant young men and women and license them to
prey upon a more or less helpless people.
"The number of physicians per inhabitant is already ridiculously large,
many times more than is needful, or than other countries where the
average of the professions ranks higher, deem necessary.
"I feel sure that the death list in the United States from the mistakes
of these incompetents is simply appalling.
"I shall create a board of five eminent men, two of whom shall be
physicians, one shall be a surgeon, one a scientist and the other shall
be a great educator, and to this board I shall give the task of
formulating a plan by which the spurious medical colleges and medical
men can be eradicated from our midst.
"I shall call the board's attention to the fact that it is of as much
importance to have men of fine natural ability as it is to give them
good training, and, if it is practicable, I shall ask them to require
some sort of adequate mental examination that will measurably determine
this.
"I have a profound admiration for the courage, the nobility and
philanthropy of the profession as a whole, and I do not want its honor
tarnished by those who are mercenary and unworthy.
"In conclusion I want to announce that pensions will be given to those
who fought on either side in the late war without distinction or
reservation. However, it is henceforth to be the policy of this
Government, so far as I may be able to shape it, that only those in
actual need of financial aid shall receive pensions and to them it shall
be given, whether they have or have not been disabled in consequence of
their services to the nation. But to offer financial aid to the rich and
well to do, is to offer an insult, for it questions their patriotism.
Although the first civil war was ended over sixty years ago, yet that
pension roll still draws heavily upon the revenue of the Nation. Its
history has been a rank injustice to the noble armies of Grant and his
lieutenants, the glory of whose achievements is now the common heritage
of a United Country."
CHAPTER XL
A DEPARTURE IN BATTLESHIPS
Dru invited the Strawns to accompany him to Newport News to witness the
launching of a new type of battleship. It was said to be, and probably
was, impenetrable. Experts who had tested a model built on a large scale
had declared that this invention would render obsolete every battleship
in existence. The principle was this: Running back from the bow for a
distance of 60 feet only about 4 feet of the hull showed above the water
line, and this part of the deck was concaved and of the smoothest,
hardest steel. Then came several turreted sections upon which guns were
mounted. Around these turrets ran rims of polished steel, two feet in
width and six inches thick. These rims began four feet from the water
line and ran four feet above the level of the turret decks. The rims
were so nicely adjusted with ball bearings that the smallest blow would
send them spinning around, therefore a shell could not penetrate because
it would glance off.
Although the trip to the Newport News Dock yards was made in a Navy
hydroaeroplane it took several hours, and Gloria used the occasion to
urge upon Dru the rectification of some abuses of which she had special
knowledge.
"Philip," she said, "when I was proselytizing among the rich, it came to
me to include the employer of women labor. I found but few who dissented
from my statement of facts, but the answer was that trade conditions,
the demand of customers for cheaper garments and articles, made relief
impracticable. Perhaps their profits are on a narrow basis, Philip; but
the volume of their business is the touchstone of their success, for how
otherwise could so many become millionaires? Just what the remedy is I
do not know, but I want to give you the facts so that in recasting the
laws you may plan something to alleviate a grievous wrong."
"It is strange, Gloria, how often your mind and mine are caught by the
same current, and how they drift in the same direction. It was only a
few days ago that I picked up one of O. Henry's books. In his
'Unfinished Story' he tells of a man who dreamed that he died and was
standing with a crowd of prosperous looking angels before Saint Peter,
when a policeman came up and taking him by the wing asked: 'Are you with
that bunch?'
"'Who are they?' asked the man.
"'Why,' said the policeman, 'they are the men who hired working girls
and paid 'em five or six dollars a week to live on. Are you one of the
bunch?'
"'Not on your immortality,' answered the man. 'I'm only the fellow who
set fire to an orphan asylum, and murdered a blind man for his pennies.'
"Some years ago when I first read that story, I thought it was humor,
now I know it to be pathos. Nothing, Gloria, will give me greater
pleasure than to try to think out a solution to this problem, and
undertake its application."
Gloria then gave more fully the conditions governing female labor. The
unsanitary surroundings, the long hours and the inadequate wage, the
statistics of refuge societies showed, drove an appalling number of
women and girls to the streets.--No matter how hard they worked they
could not earn sufficient to clothe and feed themselves properly. After
a deadly day's work, many of them found stimulants of various kinds the
cheapest means of bringing comfort to their weary bodies and hope-lost
souls, and then the next step was the beginning of the end.
By now they had come to Newport News and the launching of the battleship
was made as Gloria christened her Columbia. After the ceremonies
were over it became necessary at once to return to Washington, for at
noon of the next day there was to be dedicated the Colossal Arch of
Peace. Ten years before, the Government had undertaken this work and had
slowly executed it, carrying out the joint conception of the foremost
architect in America and the greatest sculptor in the world. Strangely
enough, the architect was a son of New England, and the Sculptor was
from and of the South.
Upon one face of the arch were three heroic figures. Lee on the one
side, Grant on the other, with Fame in the center, holding out a laurel
wreath with either hand to both Grant and Lee. Among the figures
clustered around and below that of Grant, were those of Sherman,
Sheridan, Thomas and Hancock, and among those around and below that of
Lee, were Stonewall Jackson, the two Johnstons, Forrest, Pickett and
Beauregard. Upon the other face of the arch there was in the center a
heroic figure of Lincoln and gathered around him on either side were
those Statesmen of the North and South who took part in that titanic
civil conflict that came so near to dividing our Republic.
Below Lincoln's figure was written: "With malice towards none, with
charity for all." Below Grant, was his dying injunction to his fellow
countrymen: "Let us have peace." But the silent and courtly Lee left no
message that would fit his gigantic mold.
CHAPTER XLI
THE NEW NATIONAL CONSTITUTION
Besides the laws and reforms already enumerated, the following is in
brief the plan for the General Government that Philip Dru outlined and
carried through as Administrator of the Republic, and which, in effect,
was made a part of the new constitution.
I.
1. Every adult citizen of the United States, male or female, shall have
the right to vote, and no state, county or municipality shall pass a law
or laws infringing upon this right.
2. Any alien, male or female, who can read, write and speak English, and
who has resided in the United States for ten years, may take out
naturalization papers and become a citizen. [Footnote: The former
qualification was five years' residence in the United States and
in many States there were no restrictions placed upon education, nor
was an understanding of the English language necessary.]
3. No one shall be eligible for election as Executive, President,
Senator, Representative or Judge of any court under the age of twenty-five
years, and who is not a citizen of the United States. [Footnote: Dru saw
no good reason for limiting the time when an exceptionally endowed man
could begin to serve the public.]
4. No one shall be eligible for any other office, National or State, who
is at the time, or who has been within a period of five years preceding,
a member of any Senate or Court. [Footnote: The Senate under Dru's plan of
Government becomes a quasi-judicial body, and it was his purpose to
prevent any member of it or of the regular judiciary from making decisions
with a view of furthering their political fortunes. Dru believed that it
would be of enormous advantage to the Nation if Judges and Senators were
placed in a position where their motives could not be questioned and where
their only incentive was the general welfare.]
II.
1. The several states shall be divided into districts of three hundred
thousand inhabitants each, and each district so divided shall have one
representative, and in order to give the widest latitude as to choice,
there shall be no restrictions as to residence. [Footnote: Why deprive
the Republic of the services of a useful man because his particular
district has more good congressional timber than can be used and another
district has none? Or again, why relegate to private life a man of
National importance merely because his residence happens to be in a
district not entirely in harmony with his views?]
2. The members of the House of Representatives shall be elected on the
first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, and shall serve for a
term of six years, subject to a recall at the end of each two years by a
signed petition embracing one-third of the electorate of the district
from which they were chosen. [Footnote: The recall is here used for the
reason that the term has been extended to six years, though the electorate
retains the privilege of dismissing an undesirable member at the end of
every two years.]
3. The House shall convene on the first Tuesday after the first Monday
in January and shall never have more than five hundred members.
[Footnote: The purpose here was to convene the House within two months
instead of thirteen months after its election, and to limit its size in
order to promote efficiency.]
4. The House of Representatives shall elect a Speaker whose term of
office may be continuous at the pleasure of the majority. He shall
preside over the House, but otherwise his functions shall be purely
formal.
5. The House shall also choose an Executive, whose duties it shall be,
under the direction of the House, to administer the Government. He may
or may not be at the time of his election a member of the House, but he
becomes an ex-officio member by virtue thereof.
6.(a) The Executive shall have authority to select his Cabinet Officers
from members of the House or elsewhere, other than from the Courts or
Senates, and such Cabinet Officers shall by reason thereof, be ex-officio
members of the House.
(b) Such officials are to hold their positions at the pleasure of the
Executive and the Executive is to hold his at the pleasure of the
majority of the House.
(c) In an address to the House, the Executive shall, within a reasonable
time after his selection, outline his policy of Government, both
domestic and foreign.
(d) He and his Cabinet may frame bills covering the suggestions made in
his address, or any subsequent address that he may think proper to make,
and introduce and defend them in the House. Measures introduced by the
Executive or members of his Cabinet are not to be referred to
committees, but are to be considered by the House as a whole, and their
consideration shall have preference over measures introduced by other
members.
7. All legislation shall originate in the House.
III.
1. The Senate shall consist of one member from each State, and shall be
elected for life, by direct vote of the people, and shall be subject to
recall by a majority vote of the electors of his State at the end of any
five-year period of his term. [Footnote: The reason for using the recall
here is that the term is lengthened to life and it seemed best to give
the people a right to pass upon their Senators at stated periods.]
2. (a) Every measure passed by the House, other than those relating
solely to the raising of revenue for the current needs of the
Government and the expenditure thereof, shall go to the Senate for
approval.
(b) The Senate may approve a measure by a majority vote and it then
becomes a law, or they may make such suggestions regarding the amendment
as may seem to them pertinent, and return it to the House to accept or
reject as they may see fit.
(c) The Senate may reject a measure by a majority vote. If the Senate
reject a measure, the House shall have the right to dissolve and go
before the people for their decision.
(d) If the country approves the measure by returning a House favorable
to it, then, upon its passage by the House in the same form as when
rejected by the Senate, it shall become a law.
3. (a) A Senator may be impeached by a majority vote of the Supreme
Court, upon an action approved by the House and brought by the
Executive or any member of his Cabinet,
(b) A Senator must retire at the age of seventy years, and he shall be
suitably pensioned.
IV.
1. The President shall be chosen by a majority vote of all the electors.
His term shall be for ten years and he shall be ineligible for
re-election, but after retirement he shall receive a pension.
2. His duties shall be almost entirely formal and ceremonial.
3. In the event of a hiatus in the Government from any source
whatsoever, it shall be his duty immediately to call an election, and
in the meantime act as Executive until the regularly elected
authorities can again assume charge of the Government.
CHAPTER XLII
NEW STATE CONSTITUTIONS
To the States, Administrator Dru gave governments in all essentials like
that of the nation. In brief the State instruments held the following
provisions:
1. The House of Representatives shall consist of one member for every
fifty thousand inhabitants, and never shall exceed a membership of two
hundred in any State.
2. Representatives shall be elected for a term of two years, but not
more than one session shall be held during their tenure of office unless
called in special session by the Speaker of the House with the approval
of the Governor.
3. Representatives shall be elected in November, and the House shall
convene on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January to sit
during its own pleasure.
4. Representatives shall make rules for their self-government and shall
be the general state law making body.
II.
1. The Senate shall be composed of one member from each congressional
district, but there shall never be less than five nor more than fifty in
any State Senate.
2. Senators shall be elected for a term of ten years subject to recall
at the end of each two years, by petition signed by a majority of the
electorate of their district.
3. (a) No legislation shall originate in the Senate. Its function is to
advise as to measures sent there by the House, to make suggestions and
such amendments as might seem pertinent, and return the measure to the
House, for its final action.
(b) When a bill is sent to the Senate by the House, if approved, it
shall become a law, if disapproved, it shall be returned to the House
with the objections stated.
(c) If the House considers a measure of sufficient importance, it may
dissolve immediately and let the people pass upon it, or they may wait
until a regular election for popular action.
(d) If the people approve the measure, the House must enact it in the
same form as when disapproved by the Senate, and it shall then
become a law.
III.
1. (a) The Governor shall be elected by a direct vote of all the people.
(b) His term of office shall be six years, and he shall be ineligible
for re-election. He shall be subject to recall at the end of every two
years by a majority vote of the State. [Footnote: The recall is used here,
as in other instances, because of the lengthened term and the desirability
of permitting the people to pass upon a Governor's usefulness at shorter
periods.]
2. (a) He shall have no veto power or other control over legislation,
and shall not make any suggestions or recommendations in regard thereto.
(b) His function shall be purely executive. He may select his own
council or fellow commissioners for the different governmental
departments, and they shall hold their positions at his pleasure.
(c) All the Governor's appointees shall be confirmed by the Senate
before they may assume office.
(d) The Governor may be held strictly accountable by the people for the
honest, efficient and economical conduct of the government, due
allowance being made for the fact that he is in no way responsible for
the laws under which he must work.
(e) It shall be his duty also to report to the legislature at each
session, giving an account of his stewardship regarding the enforcement
of the laws, the conduct of the different departments, etc., etc., and
making an estimate for the financial budget required for the two years
following.
3.(a) There shall be a Pardon Board of three members who shall pass upon
all matters relating to the Penal Service.
(b) This Board shall be nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the
Senate. After their confirmation, the Governor shall have no further
jurisdiction over them.
(c) They shall hold office for six years and shall be ineligible for
reappointment.
CHAPTER XLIII
THE RULE OF THE BOSSES
General Dru was ever fond of talking to Senator Selwyn. He found his
virile mind a never-failing source of information. Busy as they both
were they often met and exchanged opinions. In answer to a question
from Dru, Selwyn said that while Pennsylvania and a few other States had
been more completely under the domination of bosses than others, still
the system permeated everywhere.
In some States a railroad held the power, but exercised it through an
individual or individuals.
In another State, a single corporation held it, and yet again, it was
often held by a corporate group acting together. In many States one
individual dominated public affairs and more often for good than for
evil.
The people simply would not take enough interest in their Government to
exercise the right of control.
Those who took an active interest were used as a part of the boss'
tools, be he a benevolent one or otherwise.
"The delegates go to the conventions," said Selwyn, "and think they
have something to do with the naming of the nominees, and the making of
the platforms. But the astute boss has planned all that far in advance,
the candidates are selected and the platform written and both are 'forced'
upon the unsuspecting delegate, much as the card shark forced his cards
upon his victim. It is all seemingly in the open and above the boards, but
as a matter of fact quite the reverse is true.
"At conventions it is usual to select some man who has always been
honored and respected, and elect him chairman of the platform committee.
He is pleased with the honor and is ready to do the bidding of the man
to whom he owes it.
"The platform has been read to him and he has been committed to it
before his appointment as chairman. Then a careful selection is made of
delegates from the different senatorial districts and a good working
majority of trusted followers is obtained for places on the committee.
Someone nominates for chairman the 'honored and respected' and he is
promptly elected.
"Another member suggests that the committee, as it stands, is too
unwieldy to draft a platform, and makes a motion that the chairman be
empowered to appoint a sub-committee of five to outline one and submit
it to the committee as a whole.
"The motion is carried and the chairman appoints five of the 'tried and
true.' There is then an adjournment until the sub-committee is ready to
report.
"The five betake themselves to a room in some hotel and smoke, drink and
swap stories until enough time has elapsed for a proper platform to be
written.
"They then report to the committee as a whole and, after some wrangling
by the uninitiated, the platform is passed as the boss has written it
without the addition of a single word.
"Sometimes it is necessary to place upon the sub-committee a
recalcitrant or two. Then the method is somewhat different. The boss'
platform is cut into separate planks and first one and then another of
the faithful offers a plank, and after some discussion a majority of the
committee adopt it. So when the sub-committee reports back there stands
the boss' handiwork just as he has constructed it.
"Oftentimes there is no subterfuge, but the convention, as a whole,
recognizes the pre-eminent ability of one man amongst them, and by
common consent he is assigned the task."
Selwyn also told Dru that it was often the practice among corporations
not to bother themselves about state politics further than to control
the Senate.
This smaller body was seldom more than one-fourth as large as the
House, and usually contained not more than twenty-five or thirty
members.
Their method was to control a majority of the Senate and let the House
pass such measures as it pleased, and the Governor recommend such laws
as he thought proper. Then the Senate would promptly kill all
legislation that in any way touched corporate interests.
Still another method which was used to advantage by the interests where
they had not been vigilant in the protection of their "rights," and when
they had no sure majority either in the House or Senate and no influence
with the Governor, was to throw what strength they had to the stronger
side in the factional fights that were always going on in every State
and in every legislature.
Actual money, Selwyn said, was now seldom given in the relentless
warfare which the selfish interests were ever waging against the people,
but it was intrigue, the promise of place and power, and the ever
effectual appeal to human vanity.
That part of the press which was under corporate control was often able
to make or destroy a man's legislative and political career, and the
weak and the vain and the men with shifty consciences, that the people
in their fatuous indifference elect to make their laws, seldom fail to
succumb to this subtle influence.
CHAPTER XLIV
ONE CAUSE OF THE HIGH COST OF LIVING
In one of their fireside talks, Selwyn told Dru that a potential weapon
in the hands of those who had selfish purposes to subserve, was the long
and confusing ballot.
"Whenever a change is suggested by which it can be shortened, and the
candidates brought within easy review of the electorate, the objection
is always raised," said Selwyn, "that the rights of the people are being
invaded.
"'Let the people rule,' is the cry," he said, "and the unthinking many
believing that democratic government is being threatened, demand that
they be permitted to vote for every petty officer.
"Of course quite the reverse is true," continued Selwyn, "for when the
ballot is filled with names of candidates running for general and local
offices, there is, besides the confusion, the usual trading. As a rule,
interest centers on the local man, and there is less scrutiny of those
candidates seeking the more important offices."
"While I had already made up my mind," said Dru, "as to the short ballot
and a direct accountability to the people, I am glad to have you
confirm the correctness of my views."
"You may take my word for it, General Dru, that the interests also
desire large bodies of law makers instead of few. You may perhaps recall
how vigorously they opposed the commission form of government for
cities.
"Under the old system when there was a large council, no one was
responsible. If a citizen had a grievance, and complained to his
councilman, he was perhaps truthfully told that he was not to blame. He
was sent from one member of the city government to the other, and unable
to obtain relief, in sheer desperation, he gave up hope and abandoned
his effort for justice. But under the commission form of government,
none of the officials can shirk responsibility. Each is in charge of a
department, and if there is inefficiency, it is easy to place the blame
where it properly belongs.
"Under such a system the administration of public affairs becomes at
once, simple, direct and business-like. If any outside corrupt
influences seek to creep in, they are easy of detection and the
punishment can be made swift and certain."
"I want to thank you again, Senator Selwyn, for the help you have been
to me in giving me the benefit of your ripe experience in public
affairs," said Dru, "and there is another phase of the subject that I
would like to discuss with you. I have thought long and seriously how to
overcome the fixing of prices by individuals and corporations, and how
the people may be protected from that form of robbery.
"When there is a monopoly or trust, it is easy to locate the offense,
but it is a different proposition when one must needs deal with a large
number of corporations and individuals, who, under the guise of
competition, have an understanding, both as to prices and territory to
be served.
"For instance, the coal dealers, at the beginning of winter, announce a
fixed price for coal. If there are fifty of them and all are approached,
not one of them will vary his quotation from the other forty-nine. If
he should do so, the coal operators would be informed and the offending
dealer would find, by some pretext or another, his supply cut off.
"We see the same condition regarding large supply and manufacturing
concerns which cover the country with their very essential products. A
keen rivalry is apparent, and competitive bids in sealed envelopes are
made when requested, but as a matter of fact, we know that there is no
competition. Can you give me any information upon this matter?"
"There are many and devious ways by which the law can be evaded and by
which the despoliation of the public may be accomplished," said Selwyn.
"The representatives of those large business concerns meet and a map of
the United States is spread out before them. This map is regarded by
them very much as if it were a huge pie that is to be divided according
to the capacity of each to absorb and digest his share. The territory is
not squared off, that is, taking in whole sections of contiguous
country, but in a much more subtle way, so that the delusion of
competition may be undisturbed. When several of these concerns are
requested to make prices, they readily comply and seem eager for the
order. The delusion extends even to their agents, who are as innocent as
the would-be purchaser of the real conditions, and are doing their
utmost to obtain the business. The concern in whose assigned territory
the business originates, makes the price and informs its supposed rivals
of its bid, so that they may each make one slightly higher."
"Which goes to show," said Dru, "how easy it is to exploit the public
when there is harmony among the exploiters. There seems to me to be two
evils involved in this problem, Senator Selwyn, one is the undue cost to
the people, and the other, but lesser, evil, is the protection of
incompetency.
"It is not the survival of the fittest, but an excess of profits, that
enables the incompetent to live and thrive."
After a long and exhaustive study of this problem, the Administrator
directed his legal advisers to incorporate his views into law.
No individual as such, was to be permitted to deal in what might be
termed products of the natural resources of the country, unless he
subjected himself to all the publicity and penalties that would accrue
to a corporation, under the new corporate regulations.
Corporations, argued Dru, could be dealt with under the new laws in a
way that, while fair to them, would protect the public. In the future,
he reminded his commission, there would be upon the directorates a
representative of either the National, State, or Municipal governments,
and the books, and every transaction, would be open to the public. This
would apply to both the owner of the raw material, be it mine, forest,
or what not, as well as to the corporation or individual who distributed
the marketable product.
It was Dru's idea that public opinion was to be invoked to aid in the
task, and district attorneys and grand juries, throughout the country,
were to be admonished to do their duty. If there was a fixity of prices
in any commodity or product, or even approximately so, he declared, it
would be prima facie evidence of a combination.
In this way, the Administrator thought the evil of pools and trust
agreements could be eradicated, and a healthful competition, content
with reasonable profits, established. If a single corporation, by its
extreme efficiency, or from unusual conditions, should constitute a
monopoly so that there was practically no competition, then it would be
necessary, he thought, for the Government to fix a price reasonable to
all interests involved.
Therefore it was not intended to put a limit on the size or the
comprehensiveness of any corporation, further than that it should not
stifle competition, except by greater efficiency in production and
distribution. If this should happen, then the people and the Government
would be protected by publicity, by their representative on the board
of directors and by the fixing of prices, if necessary.
It had been shown by the career of one of the greatest industrial
combinations that the world has yet known, that there was a limit where
size and inefficiency met. The only way that this corporation could
maintain its lead was through the devious paths of relentless monopoly.
Dru wanted America to contend for its share of the world's trade, and to
enable it to accomplish this, he favored giving business the widest
latitude consistent with protection of the people.
When he assumed control of the Government, one of the many absurdities
of the American economic system was the practical inhibition of a
merchant marine. While the country was second to none in the value and
quantity of production, yet its laws were so framed that it was
dependent upon other nations for its transportation by sea; and its
carrying trade was in no way commensurate with the diginity of the coast
line and with the power and wealth of the Nation.
CHAPTER XLV
BURIAL REFORM
At about this time the wife of one of the Cabinet officers died, and
Administrator Dru attended the funeral. There was an unusually large
gathering, but it was plain that most of those who came did so from
morbid curiosity. The poignant grief of the bereaved husband and
children wrung the heartstrings of their many sympathetic friends. The
lowering of the coffin, the fall of the dirt upon its cover, and the
sobs of those around the grave, was typical of such occasions.
Dru was deeply impressed and shocked, and he thought to use his
influence towards a reformation of such a cruel and unnecessary form of
burial. When the opportunity presented itself, he directed attention to
the objections to this method of disposing of the dead, and he suggested
the formation in every community of societies whose purpose should be to
use their influence towards making interments private, and towards the
substitution of cremation for the unsanitary custom of burial in
cemeteries. These societies were urged to point out the almost
prohibitive expense the present method entailed upon the poor and those
of moderate means. The buying of the lot and casket, the cost of the
funeral itself, and the discarding of useful clothing in order to robe
in black, were alike unnecessary. Some less dismal insignia of grief
should be adopted, he said, that need not include the entire garb.
Grief, he pointed out, and respect for the dead, were in no way better
evidenced by such barbarous customs.
Rumor had it that scandal's cruel tongue was responsible for this good
woman's death. She was one of the many victims that go to unhappy graves
in order that the monstrous appetite for gossip may be appeased. If
there be punishment after death, surely, the creator and disseminator of
scandal will come to know the anger and contempt of a righteous God. The
good and the bad are all of a kind to them. Their putrid minds see
something vile in every action, and they leave the drippings of their
evil tongues wherever they go. Some scandalmongers are merely stupid and
vulgar, while others have a biting wit that cause them to be feared and
hated. Rumors they repeat as facts, and to speculations they add what
corroborative evidence is needed. The dropping of the eyelids, the smirk
that is so full of insinuation is used to advantage where it is more
effective than the downright lie. The burglar and the highwayman go
frankly abroad to gather in the substance of others, and they stand
ready to forfeit both life and liberty while in pursuit of nefarious
gain. Yet it is a noble profession compared with that of the
scandalmonger, and the murderer himself is hardly a more objectionable
member of society than the character assassin.
CHAPTER XLVI
THE WISE DISPOSITION OF A FORTUNE
In one of their confidential talks, Selwyn told Dru that he had a
fortune in excess of two hundred million dollars, and that while it was
his intention to amply provide for his immediate family, and for those
of his friends who were in need, he desired to use the balance of his
money in the best way he could devise to help his fellowmen.
He could give for this purpose, he said, two hundred million dollars or
more, for he did not want to provide for his children further than to
ensure their entire comfort, and to permit them to live on a scale not
measurably different from what they had been accustomed.
He had never lived in the extravagant manner that was usual in men of
his wealth, and his children had been taught to expect only a moderate
fortune at his death. He was too wise a man not to know that one of the
greatest burdens that wealth imposed, was the saving of one's children
from its contaminations. He taught his sons that they were seriously
handicapped by their expectations of even moderate wealth, and that
unless they were alert and vigilant and of good habits, the boy who was
working his own way upward would soon outstrip them. They were taught
that they themselves, were the natural objects of pity and parental
concern, and not their seemingly less fortunate brothers.
"Look among those whose parents have wealth and have given of it
lavishly to their children," he said, "and count how few are valuable
members of society or hold the respect of their fellows.
"On the other hand, look at the successful in every vocation of life,
and note how many have literally dug their way to success."
The more Dru saw of Selwyn, the better he liked him, and knowing the
inner man, as he then did, the more did he marvel at his career. He and
Selwyn talked long and earnestly over the proper disposition of his
fortune. They both knew that it was hard to give wisely and without
doing more harm than good. Even in providing for his friends, Selwyn was
none too sure that he was conferring benefits upon them. Most of them
were useful though struggling members of society, but should competency
come to them, he wondered how many would continue as such. There was
one, the learned head of a comparatively new educational institution,
with great resources ultimately behind it. This man was building it on a
sure and splendid foundation, in the hope that countless generations of
youth would have cause to be grateful for the sagacious energy he was
expending in their behalf.
He had, Selwyn knew, the wanderlust to a large degree, and the
millionaire wondered whether, when this useful educator's slender income
was augmented by the generous annuity he had planned to give him, he
would continue his beneficent work or become a dweller in arabs' tents.
In the plenitude of his wealth and generosity, he had another in mind to
share his largess. He was the orphaned son of an old and valued friend.
He had helped the lad over some rough places, but had been careful not
to do enough to slacken the boy's own endeavor. The young man had
graduated from one of the best universities, and afterwards at a medical
school that was worthy the name. He was, at the time Selwyn was planning
the disposition of his wealth, about thirty years old, and was doing
valuable laboratory work in one of the great research institutions.
Gifted with superb health, and a keen analytical mind, he seemed to have
it in him to go far in his profession, and perhaps be of untold benefit
to mankind.
But Selwyn had noticed an indolent streak in the young scientist, and he
wondered whether here again he was doing the fair and right thing by
placing it within his power to lead a life of comparative ease and
uselessness. Consequently, Selwyn moved cautiously in the matter of the
distribution of his great wealth, and invoked Dru's aid. It was Dru's
supernormal intellect, tireless energy, and splendid constructive
ability that appealed to him, and he not only admired the Administrator
above all men, but he had come to love him as a son. Dru was the only
person with whom Selwyn had ever been in touch whose advice he valued
above his own judgment. Therefore when the young Administrator suggested
a definite plan of scientific giving, Selwyn gave it respectful
attention at first, and afterwards his enthusiastic approval.
CHAPTER XLVII
THE WISE DISPOSITION OF A FORTUNE, CONTINUED
"If your fortune were mine, Senator Selwyn," said Philip Dru, "I would
devote it to the uplift of women. Their full rights will be accorded
them in time, but their cause could be accelerated by you, and
meanwhile untold misery and unhappiness averted. Man, who is so
dependent upon woman, has largely failed in his duty to her, not alone
as an individual but as a sex. Laws are enacted, unions formed, and what
not done for man's protection, but the working woman is generally
ignored. With your money, and even more with your ability, you could
change for the better the condition of girlhood and womanhood in every
city and in every factory throughout the land. Largely because they are
unorganized, women are overworked and underpaid to such an extent that
other evils, which we deplore, follow as a natural sequence. By proper
organization, by exciting public interest and enlisting the sympathy
and active support of the humane element, which is to be found in every
community you will be able to bring about better conditions.
"If I were you, I would start my crusade in New York and work out a
model organization there, so that you could educate your coadjutors as
to the best methods, and then send them elsewhere to inaugurate the
movement. Moreover, I would not confine my energies entirely to
America, but Europe and other parts of the world should share its
benefits, for human misery knows no sheltering land.
"In conjunction with this plan, I would carry along still another.
Workingmen have their clubs, their societies and many places for social
gathering, but the women in most cities have none. As you know, the
great majority of working girls live in tenements, crowded with their
families in a room or two, or they live in cheap and lonely boarding
houses. They have no chance for recreation after working hours or on
holidays, unless they go to places it would be better to keep away from.
If men wish to visit them, it must needs be in their bedrooms, on the
street, or in some questionable resort."
"How am I to change this condition?" said Selwyn.
"In many ways," said Dru. "Have clubs for them, where they may sing,
dance, read, exercise and have their friends visit them. Have good women
in charge so that the influence will be of the best. Have occasional
plays and entertainments for them, to which they may each invite a
friend, and make such places pleasanter than others where they might go.
And all the time protect them, and preferably in a way they are not
conscious of. By careful attention to the reading matter, interesting
stories should be selected each of which would bear its own moral. Quiet
and informal talks by the matron and others at opportune times, would
give them an insight into the pitfalls around them, and make it more
difficult for the human vultures to accomplish their undoing. There is
no greater stain upon our vaunted civilization," continued Dru, "than
our failure to protect the weak, the unhappy and the abjectly poor of
womankind.
"Philosophers still treat of it in the abstract, moralists speak of it
now and then in an academic way, but it is a subject generally shunned and
thought hopelessly impossible.
"It is only here and there that a big noble-hearted woman can be found
to approach it, and then a Hull House is started, and under its
sheltering roof unreckoned numbers of innocent hearted girls are saved
to bless, at a later day, its patron saint.
"Start Hull Houses, Senator Selwyn, along with your other plan, for it
is all of a kind, and works to the betterment of woman. The vicious, the
evil minded and the mature sensualist, we will always have with us, but
stretch out your mighty arm, buttressed as it is by fabulous wealth, and
save from the lair of the libertines, the innocent, whose only crime is
poverty and a hopeless despair.
"In your propaganda for good," continued Dru, "do not overlook the
education of mothers to the importance of sex hygiene, so that they may
impart to their daughters the truth, and not let them gather their
knowledge from the streets.
"You may go into this great work, Senator Selwyn, with the consciousness
that you are reaching a condition fraught with more consequence to
society than any other that confronts it, for its ramifications for evil
are beyond belief of any but the sociologist who has gone to its
foundations."
CHAPTER XLVIII
AN INTERNATIONAL COALITION
Busy as General Dru had been rehabilitating domestic affairs, he never
for a moment neglected the foreign situation. He felt that it was
almost providential that he was in a position to handle it unhampered,
for at no time in our history were we in such peril of powerful foreign
coalition. Immediately after receiving from Selwyn the information
concerning the British-German alliance, he had begun to build, as it
were, a fire behind the British Ministry, and the result was its
overthrow. When the English nation began to realize that a tentative
agreement was being arrived at between their country on the one hand,
and Germany and Japan on the other, with America as its object of
attack, there was a storm of indignation; and when the new Ministry was
installed the diplomatic machinery was set to work to undo, as nearly as
could be, what their predecessors had accomplished.
In the meantime, Dru negotiated with them to the end that England and
America were to join hands in a world wide policy of peace and
commercial freedom. According to Dru's plan, disarmaments were to be
made to an appreciable degree, custom barriers were to be torn down,
zones of influence clearly defined, and an era of friendly commercial
rivalry established.
It was agreed that America should approach Germany and Japan in
furtherance of this plan, and when their consent was obtained, the rest
would follow.
Dru worked along these lines with both nations, using consummate tact
and skill. Both Germany and Japan were offended at the English change of
front, and were ready to listen to other proposals. To them, he opened
up a wide vista of commercial and territorial expansion, or at least its
equivalent. Germany was to have the freest commercial access to South
America, and she was invited to develop those countries both with German
colonists and German capital.
There was to be no coercion of the governments, or political control in
that territory, but on the other hand, the United States undertook that
there should be no laws enacted by them to restrain trade, and that the
rights of foreigners should have the fullest protection. Dru also
undertook the responsibility of promising that there should be no
favoritism shown by the South and Central American governments, but that
native and alien should stand alike before the law so far as property
rights were concerned.
Germany was to have a freer hand in the countries lying southeast of her
and in Asia Minor. It was not intended that she should absorb them or
infringe upon the rights as nations, but her sphere of influence was to
be extended over them much the same as ours was over South America.
While England was not to be restricted in her trade relations with those
countries, still she was neither to encourage emigration there nor
induce capital to exploit their resources.
Africa and her own colonies were to be her special fields of endeavor.
In consideration of the United States lifting practically all custom
barriers, and agreeing to keep out of the Eastern Hemisphere, upholding
with her the peace and commercial freedom of the world, and of the
United States recognizing the necessity of her supremacy on the seas,
England, after having obtained the consent of Canada, agreed to
relinquish her own sphere of political influence over the Dominion, and
let her come under that of the United States. Canada was willing that
this situation should be brought about, for her trade conditions had
become interwoven with those of the United States, and the people of the
two countries freely intermingled. Besides, since Dru had reconstructed
the laws and constitution of the big republic, they were more in harmony
with the Canadian institutions than before.
Except that the United States were not to appoint a Governor General,
the republic's relations with Canada were to be much the same as those
between herself and the Mother Country. The American flag, the American
destiny and hers were to be interwoven through the coming ages.
In relinquishing this most perfect jewel in her Imperial crown, England
suffered no financial loss, for Canada had long ceased to be a source of
revenue, and under the new order of things, the trade relations between
the two would be increased rather than diminished. The only wrench was
the parting with so splendid a province, throughout which, that noble
insignia of British supremacy, the cross of St. George, would be forever
furled.
Administrator Dru's negotiations with Japan were no less successful than
those with England. He first established cordial relations with her by
announcing the intention of the United States to give the Philippines
their independence under the protection of Japan, reserving for America
and the rest of the world the freest of trade relations with the
Islands.
Japan and China were to have all Eastern Asia as their sphere of
influence, and if it pleased them to drive Russia back into Europe, no
one would interfere.
That great giant had not yet discarded the ways and habits of
medievalism. Her people were not being educated, and she indicated no
intention of preparing them for the responsibilities of self
government, to which they were entitled. Sometimes in his day dreams,
Dru thought of Russia in its vastness, of the ignorance and hopeless
outlook of the people, and wondered when her deliverance would come.
There was, he knew, great work for someone to do in that despotic land.
Thus Dru had formulated and put in motion an international policy,
which, if adhered to in good faith, would bring about the comity of
nations, a lasting and beneficent peace, and the acceptance of the
principle of the brotherhood of man.
CHAPTER XLIX
UNEVEN ODDS
Gloria and Janet Selwyn saw much of one another in Washington, and Dru
was with them both during those hours he felt necessary for recreation.
Janet was ever bubbling over with fun and unrestrained humor, and was a
constant delight to both Gloria and Dru. Somewhere deep in her soul
there was a serious stratum, but it never came to the surface. Neither
Gloria nor Dru knew what was passing in those turbulent depths, and
neither knew the silent heartaches when she was alone and began to take
an inventory of her innermost self. She had loved Dru from the moment
she first saw him at her home in Philadelphia, but with that her
prescience in such matters as only women have, she knew that nothing
more than his friendship would ever be hers. She sometimes felt the
bitterness of woman's position in such situations. If Dru had loved her,
he would have been free to pay her court, and to do those things which
oftentimes awaken a kindred feeling in another. But she was helpless. An
advancement from her would but lessen his regard, and make impossible
that which she most desired. She often wondered what there was between
Gloria and Dru. Was there an attachment, an understanding, or was it one
of those platonic friendships created by common interests and a common
purpose? She wished she knew. She was reasonably sure of Gloria. That
she loved Dru seemed to admit of little doubt. But what of him? Did he
love Gloria, or did his love encompass the earth, and was mankind ever
to be his wife and mistress? She wished she knew. How imperturbable he
was! Was he to live and die a fathomless mystery? If he could not be
hers, her generous heart plead for Gloria. She and Gloria often talked
of Dru. There was no fencing between these two. Open and enthusiastic
admiration of Philip each expressed, but there were no confidences which
revealed their hearts. Realizing that her love would never be
reciprocated, Janet misled Philip as to her real feelings. One day when
the three were together, she said, "Mr. Administrator, why don't you
marry? It would add enormously to your popularity and it would keep a
lot of us girls from being old maids." "How would it prevent your being
an old maid, Janet?" said Dru. "Please explain." "Why, there are a lot
of us that hope to have you call some afternoon, and ask us to be Mrs.
Dru, and it begins to look to me as if some of us would be disappointed."
Dru laughed and told her not to give up hope. And then he said more
seriously--"Some day when my work here is done, I shall take your advice
if I can find someone who will marry me." "If you wait too long, Philip,
you will be so old, no one will want you," said Janet. "I have a feeling,
Janet, that somewhere there is a woman who knows and will wait. If I am
wrong, then the future holds for me many bitter and unhappy hours." Dru
said this with such deep feeling that both Gloria and Janet were
surprised. And Janet wondered whether this was a message to some unknown
woman, or was it meant for Gloria? She wished she knew.
CHAPTER L
THE BROADENING OF THE MONROE DOCTRINE
In spite of repeated warnings from the United States, Mexico and the
Central American Republics had obstinately continued their old time
habit of revolutions without just cause, with the result that they
neither had stable governments within themselves, nor any hope of peace
with each other. One revolution followed another in quick succession,
until neither life nor property was safe. England, Germany and other
nations who had citizens and investments there had long protested to the
American Government, and Dru knew that one of the purposes of the
proposed coalition against the United States had been the assumption of
control themselves. Consequently, he took active and drastic steps to
bring order out of chaos. He had threatened many times to police these
countries, and he finally prepared to do so.
Other affairs of the Dru administration were running smoothly. The Army
was at a high standard of efficiency, and the country was fully ready
for the step when Dru sent one hundred thousand men to the Rio Grande,
and demanded that the American troops be permitted to cross over and
subdue the revolutionists and marauding bandits.
The answer was a coalition of all the opposing factions and the massing
of a large army of defense. The Central American Republics also joined
Mexico, and hurriedly sent troops north.
General Dru took personal command of the American forces, crossed the
Rio Grande at Laredo, and war was declared. There were a large number of
Mexican soldiers at Monterey, but they fell back in order to get in
touch with the main army below Saltillo.
General Dru marched steadily on, but before he came to Saltillo,
President Benevides, who commanded his own army, moved southward, in
order to give the Central American troops time to reach him. This was
accomplished about fifty miles north of the City of Mexico. The allies
had one hundred thousand men, and the American force numbered sixty
thousand, Dru having left forty thousand at Laredo, Monterey and
Saltillo.
The two armies confronted one another for five days, General Benevides
waiting for the Americans to attack, while General Dru was merely
resting his troops and preparing them for battle. In the meantime, he
requested a conference with the Mexican Commander, and the two met with
their staffs midway between the opposing armies.
General Dru urged an immediate surrender, and fully explained his plans
for occupation, so that it might be known that there was to be no
oppression. He pointed out that it had become no longer possible for
the United States to ignore the disorder that prevailed in Mexico and
those countries south of it, for if the United States had not taken
action, Europe would have done so. He expressed regret that a country
so favored by God should be so abused by man, for with peace, order and
a just administration of the government, Mexico and her sister
republics, he felt sure, would take a high place in the esteem of the
world. He also said that he had carefully investigated conditions, knew
where the trouble lay, and felt sure that the mass of people would
welcome a change from the unbearable existing conditions. The country
was then, and had been for centuries, wrongfully governed by a
bureaucracy, and he declared his belief that the Mexican people as a
whole believed that the Americans would give them a greater measure of
freedom and protection than they had ever known before.
Dru further told General Benevides that his army represented about all
there was of opposition to America's offer of order and liberty, and he
asked him to accept the inevitable, and not sacrifice the lives of the
brave men in both commands.
Benevides heard him with cold but polite silence.
"You do not understand us, Senor Dru, nor that which we represent. We
would rather die or be driven into exile than permit you to arrange our
internal affairs as you suggest. There are a few families who have
ruled Mexico since the first Spanish occupation, and we will not
relinquish our hold until compelled to do so. At times a Juarez or a
Diaz has attained to the Presidency, but we, the great families, have
been the power behind each administration. The peons and canaille that
you would educate and make our political equals, are now where they
rightfully belong, and your endeavors in their behalf are misplaced and
can have no result except disaster to them. Your great Lincoln
emancipated many millions of blacks, and they were afterwards given the
franchise and equal rights. But can they exercise that franchise, and
have they equal rights? You know they have not. You have placed them in
a worse position than they were before. You have opened a door of hope
that the laws of nature forbid them to enter. So it would be here. Your
theories and your high flown sentiment do you great credit, but,
illustrious Senor, read the pages of your own history, and do not try to
make the same mistake again. Many centuries ago the all knowing Christ
advised the plucking of the mote from thine own eye before attempting to
remove it from that of thy brother."
To this Dru replied: "Your criticism of us is only partly just. We
lifted the yoke from the black man's neck, but we went too fast in our
zeal for his welfare. However, we have taken him out of a boundless
swamp where under the old conditions he must have wandered for all time
without hope, and we have placed his feet upon firm ground, and are
leading him with helping hands along the road of opportunity.
"That, though, Mr. President, is only a part of our mission to you. Our
citizens and those of other countries have placed in your Republic vast
sums for its development, trusting to your treaty guarantees, and they
feel much concern over their inability to operate their properties, not
only to the advantage of your people, but to those to whom they belong.
We of Western Europe and the United States have our own theories as to
the functions of government, theories that perhaps you fail to
appreciate, but we feel we must not only observe them ourselves, but try
and persuade others to do likewise.
"One of these ideas is the maintenance of order, so that when our
hospitable neighbors visit us, they may feel as to their persons and
property, as safe as if they were at home.
"I am afraid our views are wide apart," concluded Dru, "and I say it
with deep regret, for I wish we might arrive at an understanding without
a clash at arms. I assure you that my visit to you is not selfish; it is
not to acquire territory or for the aggrandizement of either myself or
my country, but it is to do the work that we feel must be done, and
which you refuse to do."
"Senor Dru," answered Benevides, "it has been a pleasure to meet you and
discuss the ethics of government, but even were I willing to listen to
your proposals, my army and adherents would not, so there is nothing we
can do except to finish our argument upon the field of battle."
The interview was therefore fruitless, but Dru felt that he had done his
duty, and he prepared for the morrow's conflict with a less heavy heart.
CHAPTER LI
THE BATTLE OF LA TUNA
In the numbers engaged, in the duration and in the loss of life, the
battle of La Tuna was not important, but its effect upon Mexico and the
Central American Republics was epoch making.
The manner of attack was characteristic of Dru's methods. His interview
with General Benevides had ended at noon, and word soon ran through the
camp that peace negotiations had failed with the result that the army
was immediately on the alert and eager for action. Dru did not attempt
to stop the rumor that the engagement would occur at dawn the next day.
By dusk every man was in readiness, but they did not have to wait until
morning, for as soon as supper was eaten, to the surprise of everyone,
word came to make ready for action and march upon the enemy. Of Dru's
sixty thousand men, twenty thousand were cavalry, and these he sent to
attack the Mexican rear. They were ordered to move quietly so as to get
as near to the enemy as possible before being discovered.
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