THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 JOHN RANDOLPH HAYNES 
 
 AND DORA HAYNES FOUNDATION 
 
 COLLECTION
 
 The Liberators
 
 "There was wild tumult in the Capital City." 
 
 Page 203
 
 The Liberators 
 
 A Story of Future 
 American Politics 
 
 BY 
 ISAAC N. STEVENS 
 
 B 
 NCLLA 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 B. W. DODGE & COMPANY 
 1908
 
 Copyrighted, 1908, by 
 
 B. W. DODGE & COMPANY 
 
 Registered at Stationers' Hall, London 
 
 (All Rights Reserved) 
 
 Published February, 1908 
 
 Printed in the United States of America
 
 nPO the ambitious young men of 
 America and to their mothers, 
 wives and sweethearts who may wish 
 them to achieve honorable fame in 
 public life, this book is respectfully 
 dedicated 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 764989
 
 The Liberators 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 There were but two occupants of the large old- 
 fashioned room that gray afternoon, and it needed but 
 a glance to know that they were father and son. There 
 was the same clear-eyed, brave-souled countenance, 
 the same tall thin figure that meant youth in the one 
 case and the wasting of disease in the other. Colonel 
 Peyton Randolph was a handsome old man, of that 
 courtly Southern type that belongs to a vanishing 
 generation. Forty years in the West had not eradi 
 cated the slow, soft Virginia accent nor sufficed to 
 alter some of the traditions of his youth, of which the 
 room was an eloquent testimonial. Other Illinois 
 farmhouses might be heated with "base burners" and 
 air-tight stoves, but the Randolph place boasted half 
 a dozen fireplaces, and the smouldering log was re 
 flected dimly in the polished floor. The furniture 
 was high, time-worn mahogany, with glass knobs 
 and a hand-woven blue-and-white counterpane cov 
 ered the bed. The only modern thing in the room 
 was the invalid chair, drawn close to the double 
 
 7.
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 western window, where the old man sat looking out 
 at the wide expanse of sodden prairie away toward 
 the line of timber that bounded the Mississippi, the 
 stubble fields, the shocks of corn, and here and there 
 a long black strip which told that the fall plowing 
 had begun. The clouds were low in the skies and 
 shifting rapidly, and the wind that shook the windows, 
 weather-stripped as they were, crept into the room 
 with a piercing chill. There was perfect silence. The 
 old man looked out at the flying clouds, and the 
 young man, hardly more than a boy, went on polishing 
 the scabbard of the shining sword that rested across 
 his knees. The belt, with its brilliant brass buckle, 
 lay on the floor beside him. Over the mantel hung 
 the musket and canteen that had belonged to Private 
 Peyton Randolph, Company B Illinois Volunteer 
 Infantry, and the chevrons, shoulder straps and side 
 arms that told of the transformations that had made him 
 Colonel Randolph when he was mustered out. The 
 boy was intent upon his work, and holding the scab 
 bard up to view it more critically in the fast fading 
 light, before applying the emery paper to an imaginary 
 spot, he caught his father's eyes fixed upon him. 
 
 "Are you cold, Father?" he asked, rising instantly 
 and throwing a fresh log on the fire, as the old man 
 drew his faded dressing-gown about him. A few 
 
 8
 
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 minutes with the bellows, and the sparks were flying 
 up the chimney. The boy pulled the curtains partly 
 over the window, and drew the invalid chair toward 
 the fire. 
 
 "There!" he said, tucking an afghan about the 
 patient's knees, "isn't that more comfortable? The 
 fire feels right good to-day, doesn't it?"' 
 
 His father nodded. "Yes, it is cold for the 7th of 
 October, son. I don't know that I've ever seen it 
 
 colder, not even no, not even " He did not finish 
 
 his sentence, but looked away again where night was 
 darkening in the west. It was not until his glance 
 came back to the fire that his son looked up from his 
 emery paper and said : 
 
 "Is it an anniversary, Father? I don't seem to 
 remember it." 
 
 "Yes, George," he answered, "it is an anniversary 
 that I usually keep all by myself, of an event that 
 occurred several years before you were born. It 
 isn't often, my boy, that any man can put his finger 
 down on the day and the hour that changed his whole 
 existence, that swept away old beliefs and opinions 
 and left him with convictions for which he could die, 
 but without which he could not live. I imagine that 
 is not a common experience, George." 
 
 The boy had finished his work, and fastening the
 
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 belt about his slender young form, he brought his 
 heels together and raising the sword saluted and 
 dropped it into the scabbard with a martial clang. 
 
 "Was it in the war, Father?" he asked. "But 
 what a foolish question! Of course it was in the 
 war. Those were the times that tried men's souls 
 and showed what metal was in a man!" 
 
 Colonel Randolph shook his head and smiled a 
 little sadly. "Don't make that mistake, my lad," he 
 said. "Don't ever believe that a nation's fighters are 
 greater than its thinkers, or that a man who leads a 
 regiment to battle is greater than the man who has 
 given the men in that regiment an idea that they are 
 willing to die for. Some day this country will ap 
 preciate the man whose words you have just quoted, 
 and make room for Tom Paine in the gallery of its 
 immortals. He and Franklin did as much for the 
 Colonies as any soldier of them all. No general of 
 the Civil War ranks beside the commander-in-chief, 
 Abraham Lincoln. It was he of whom I have been 
 thinking all afternoon." 
 
 "And the 7th of October ?" said the boy respect 
 fully. 
 
 "Yes, the 7th of October, 1858. That was the 
 day I saw him first. I was a young man and rather 
 a newcomer in Illinois at the time, but not so new 
 
 10
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 that I did not know something of the two men whose 
 joint debates that fall and summer had become some 
 thing more than a matter of local interest. The slavery 
 question had divided our family, even in the days 
 of the beginning of the Republic. It was one of your 
 immediate ancestors, Edmund Randolph, who, in the 
 Constitutional Convention, moved that the word 
 'slavery' be stricken from the proposed constitution of 
 the United States. My father manumitted his 
 slaves, and I came West to begin life In a free State. 
 Nevertheless, I was a Democrat by tradition, and, like 
 many Southerners, I believed in culture and education 
 and the refinements that go to make what we called a 
 'gentleman.' The brilliance, the polish of Douglas 
 made him seem more like senatorial timber. 
 Lincoln had served in the House, but with 
 out distinction to himself or his State. At the be 
 ginning of those debates it was said by the followers 
 of the 'Little Giant,' and he had many, that he had 
 Lincoln outclassed ; but all the polish that can be given 
 to counterfeit gold will not make it ring true, and 
 suave plausibility cannot win against sincerity and 
 truth. As I rode into Galesburg the morning of Oc 
 tober 7th my mind was in a tumult. I wanted to be 
 lieve in Douglas, and I hoped that when he spoke for 
 himself I should find his swords more satisfactory
 
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 than the scant reports I had been able to gain from 
 the newspapers. 
 
 "It was much such a day as this has been. I re 
 member distinctly that I could not find a place for my 
 horse at any of the livery stables, and that I finally 
 rode half a mile or so out of town and prevailed upon 
 a farmer to let me hitch it in his barn. As I walked 
 back I was amazed at the concourse of people who 
 seemed to be coming from all quarters, in all kinds of 
 vehicles. There were special trains, and long be 
 fore time for the parades the streets were so packed 
 that it did not seem possible to hold them." 
 
 "Parades?" said the young man, interrogatively. 
 
 "Oh, yes. It was a joint debate," replied Colonel 
 Randolph; "but each champion had his own parade, 
 with banners and inscriptions, chariots and white 
 horses outriders, and all the pomp and state that 
 bunting and brass bands can bestow. I recall that 
 Lincoln had an escort of one hundred women on 
 horseback attended by one hundred horsemen. It 
 was the first campaign in which I had ever seen 
 women take part, and with my youthful conservatism 
 and Southern prejudice, it did not help the cause of 
 the uncouth, badly dressed backwoodsman who sat 
 in the carriage drawn by six white horses. His 
 homely awkwardness made him almost grotesque 
 
 12
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 when compared to his adversary, with his perfect poise, 
 his glossy broadcloth, and his air of conscious power." 
 
 The narrator paused a moment. "Oh, well," ho 
 said, with a sigh, "mankind has never yet recognized 
 its leaders among those that have not form nor come 
 liness, nor accepted at a glance the stone rejected by 
 the builders. I entered into the feelings of Douglas 
 when he detailed the petty persecutions of the Federal 
 administration and of his own party, because of his 
 refusal to vote to fasten a slave constitution upon the 
 people of Kansas without giving them a chance to 
 accept or reject it; and I did not know then that it 
 was his opponent who was to carry our sorrows 
 through the darkest days of our national life. My 
 sympathies were enlisted by Douglas, but Lincoln 
 appealed to something deeper than a man's sympathies 
 and higher than party pride. He spoke to the con 
 science, the soul of man; the harp of a thousand 
 strings vibrated at his touch, and the mind capitulated. 
 From that day I knew that the irrepressible conflict 
 was upon us, and I had enlisted for the war. I never 
 swerved in my allegiance to Abraham Lincoln, and 
 to-day I believe him to be the greatest man of his 
 century I know of none greater in any century." 
 
 "Father," said the boy, hanging the sword in its 
 
 13
 
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 place with a touch that was almost reverent, "Father, 
 we will keep this anniversary together from now on." 
 A look of pain clouded Colonel Randolph's face, 
 but he answered steadily. "I hope so, my son; but 
 life is always uncertain, only a soldier can realize how 
 uncertain, and in the days to come I should like to 
 have you keep the memory of Lincoln ever before you. 
 Study his life. Read his speeches and commit them 
 to memory. No generation is without its war, and 
 though it may not be accompanied by trump and drum 
 and the rattle of artillery, it is none the less warfare. 
 It is not the least of the horrors of war that it settles 
 nothing that could not have been better settled with 
 out it. The Civil War was waged against one form 
 of human oppression, but it is a hydra-headed mon 
 ster, and the fight against it is never won, and never 
 will be, so long as the extremity of the many offers 
 power and wealth to the oppressor. We freed our 
 black slaves at the cost of a horrible fratricidal war. 
 Alexander, of Russia, freed the serfs by an imperial 
 ukase, but the causes of slavery are ignorance and 
 superstition and lack of initiative, and from these 
 neither the blood of a nation nor the decree of a 
 Czar can emancipate a people at once. It is only the 
 truth that can make us free, and we are but blind 
 seekers after it, saying 'Lo here/ and 'Lo there.' Do not 
 
 14
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 think that oppression is blotted out because it changes 
 its name. Our forefathers believed that they were lay 
 ing the foundations of a government under which there 
 should be equal rights for all and special privileges for 
 none ; but already privileges granted by the government 
 are menacing our free institutions, and in your day a 
 mighty contest is certain to arise over the power of 
 the people to revoke these special licenses." 
 
 He stopped suddenly, as if in pain, and the boy 
 sprang to his side. "Father, you are ill," he cried, 
 "you have overdone." 
 
 The old soldier controlled himself, though his face 
 was gray and haggard. "It is only the old wound," 
 he said quietly. "I shall soon be better, much bet 
 ter; but I am glad to have said these things to you, 
 for I want you to take your place in the world. 
 When the conflict is on there is no place for non- 
 combatants. I want you to enter public life, but only 
 in such manner that you can be of real service to man 
 kind. We are not rich people, but you need not lack 
 equipment. There is plenty to put you through col 
 lege and give you such a start in life as we have 
 often discussed; but, after all, the only success worth 
 having is the success that grows with your growth 
 and strengthens with your character. It has never
 
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 been written that it profited a man anything to gain 
 the whole world and lose his own soul." 
 
 "Are you afraid that I shall falter, Father?" asked 
 the boy in a hurt tone. 
 
 The thin, frail old hand closed over the long boyish 
 fingers. "No," he said gently, "I am not afraid in 
 the least. We Randolphs sin and suffer and err. We 
 never temporize or take our hands from the plow; 
 but be sure, my lad, that the furrow is straight, and 
 look well to what you plow under." 
 
 He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, 
 while the boy sat looking long into the fire that threw 
 fitful shadows over the darkened room, while the 
 wind howled without, and the rain dashed against the 
 windows. The log burned in two and fell with a 
 shower of sparks, and the boy went and stood by his 
 father's chair. 
 
 "Are you sure you are as well, Father?" he asked 
 anxiously. "Shall I not call Mother?" 
 
 "I am sure I shall soon be better," he answered, 
 "much better than you have ever known me, and 
 very soon." 
 
 16
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Peyton Randolph was an unusual man, and his son 
 inherited his seriousness of purpose. Quick witted, 
 he was nevertheless slow of speech, and thoughtful. 
 Even if his father had remained to guide and counsel 
 him, he would never have forgotten what was des 
 tined to be the last conference he was to have with 
 that father. The old man's death less than a month 
 later served to stamp it indelibly upon the boy's 
 plastic mind and conscience. He became more of a 
 student than ever, and when he entered Harvard it 
 was with the determination to equip himself for the 
 struggle of the future which had become real. It 
 never occurred to him to doubt the prophetic vision of 
 that October afternoon, and for him, as for his father, 
 it became an anniversary the day upon which the die 
 had been cast for his whole future. 
 
 At the time George Randolph entered Harvard 
 the democratic college spirit was beginning to make 
 itself felt once more in that famous institution, and 
 while the mastery of pure science was still the chief 
 goal of ambitious students, yet the old ideal was no 
 longer quite descriptive of Harvard life, that, "a man 
 to be a scholar must have learnt to give up his interest 
 
 *z
 
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 i^ 
 
 in the common occurrences of life, in the political and 
 religious controversies of the country, and in every 
 thing not directly connected with his single aim." 
 ; j Without sacrificing the methods that inspired and 
 developed intense individualism, the faculty had re 
 cently encouraged systematic human culture and unity 
 of ambition and action, wherever the interests of the 
 
 r 
 
 \ university were general. 
 
 I The system of advisers was still maintained, and 
 the new spirit naturally led to a deeper personal inter 
 est in individual freshmen. 
 
 In the assignment of advisers Randolph was for 
 tunate in obtaining the services of Professor Weyman, 
 an eminent scholar in the science of political econ 
 omy, and one who taught principles instead of theories, 
 allowing no prejudice to cloud his mind or weaken the 
 force of his illustrations. With great care the pro 
 fessor made out a list of electives for Randolph, and 
 talked long and earnestly with him about his aims and 
 ambitions. 
 
 Something in the shy, reserved country boy ap 
 pealed to the old man. Perhaps he was reminded of 
 his own youth when he had come first to Harvard, 
 a Green Mountain boy in more senses than one, with 
 his head full of dreams, and his trunk packed so 
 tightly with books that there was scant room for his
 
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 small supply of raiment. He sought the lad out, won 
 his confidence, and there grew up between them a 
 friendship that brought out the best in both of them. 
 After a time the young man found himself going to 
 his favorite professor with his hopes, fears and per 
 plexities, almost as he had gone to his father. On the 
 date that seemed to have become as significant for 
 him as his birthday, October the seventh, of his sopho 
 more year, he told the old man the story of his father's 
 life, and his own inflexible purpose. As he repeated 
 his father's adjuration, not to place the man of action 
 necessarily before the thinker, the professor nodded 
 his head and answered, after a moment's hesitation: 
 
 "The world moves slowly. It will take a long time 
 for the pendulum to swing away from the soldier 
 magnet; but to-day the demand is more and more for 
 the man who combines the two, and acts because he 
 thinks. I believe the time has gone by when a man 
 can be content to philosophize and spin theories. He 
 wants to put them in practice. And except that I feel 
 my life renewed in the young lives with which I come 
 in contact, and know that some of you will certainly 
 carry out and make real those ideals which I must be 
 content to think and teach, there are times when I 
 should doubt whether I had chosen the better part." 
 
 The more democratic spirit of later years at Har- 
 
 19
 
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 vard had done much to smooth the pathway of lone 
 some freshmen, and it was seldom that a scene de 
 picted a few years previously was now enacted. Then, 
 "a well-known professor, walking through the yard, 
 met a young man who was so forlorn and troubled 
 that he felt prompted to ask: 'Are you looking for 
 anybody?' The young man answered: 'I don't know 
 anybody this side of the Rocky Mountains.' " 
 
 Besides possessing an attractive personality, Ran 
 dolph was skilled in athletics; and while he felt some 
 thrusts of the snobbishness that exists in all large 
 universities where the sons of the very rich go, still 
 he readily gained a solid footing with a sufficient num 
 ber of students to make his life agreeable. 
 
 In the same class with him, and, as it happened, in 
 the same division of the class that had Professor 
 Weyman as adviser, was a young man from New 
 York City, by the name of Frederic Ames. He was 
 three months older than Randolph, and Professor 
 Weyman had outlined for him the identical course 
 that had been given to Randolph. But Frederic Ames 
 was taking this course for an entirely different pur 
 pose than that of Randolph. His father was the head 
 of a family estate that owned, or controlled, all of the 
 principal railroad and steamship lines in New York 
 and New England, three of the great transconti- 
 
 20
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 nental railway lines, the rapid transit lines of New 
 York City, and street railways and lighting and water 
 plants in some fifty other American cities. He had 
 experienced more trouble with lawyers than with any 
 other class of employees, and he had determined to 
 fit his son to take supreme charge of the legal depart 
 ment of his diversified interests, reasoning that such 
 experience would better fit the youth to take control 
 of these properties at his death, and would not place 
 him at the mercy of grasping attorneys, as he had been 
 so placed a number of times. 
 
 Surely there never were young men more unlike, 
 or more widely separated by tradition and purposes 
 than these two; but from the time they first met in 
 Professor Weyman's room they seemed drawn to 
 gether. Ames was weary of toadies and the admira 
 tion and proffered friendship of those who were ready 
 to echo any sentiment he might choose to utter. His 
 very wealth cut him off from the natural intercourse 
 and simple pleasures of life. He was willing enough 
 to forget it, but his classmates did not, and he was 
 overwhelmed with social attentions which he regarded 
 not at all. 
 
 Randolph alone seemed wholly unconscious of his 
 superior position, and Randolph differed from him as 
 freely as he did from Whitcon, who was working his 
 
 21
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 way through college by tutoring in winter and waiting 
 on table in summer. It was refreshing. Randolph 
 did not seek him out, or overwhelm, him with grati 
 tude, when he was shown some slight courtesy. Once 
 or twice, when he called, Randolph had even asked 
 him to wait a few minutes while he finished some 
 work, or excused himself on the ground of unfinished 
 studies. At first his pride was a little piqued, then 
 his interest was aroused. This was the first time 
 in his life when he had not found whatever he wanted 
 without the pleasure of the pursuit. 
 
 One day he ran across Randolph in the famous old 
 book store just off Scollay Square. The Westerner 
 was poring over a thin little volume, and Ames was 
 at his elbow before he saw him. 
 
 Randolph laid down the book reluctantly. 
 
 "What is it?" asked his companion. 
 
 "A first edition of 'Drum-Taps,' with an autograph," 
 Randolph answered; "but I can't afford first editions, 
 especially when I know most of it by heart anyhow." 
 
 He said it as one might state any other fact in life. 
 That evening the book was delivered to him. An hour 
 later a messenger presented the package to Frederic 
 Ames with a note merely stating that there had evi 
 dently been an error and that it seemed probable the 
 book belonged to him. He colored angrily, then 
 
 22
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 flushed more deeply as he felt that his lack of taste 
 had merited the rebuke. "The rank is but the 
 guinea's stamp," he said. "He may be only an Illinois 
 farmer, but I think he is the first true aristocrat I 
 have ever met." 
 
 A few weeks later he called at Randolph's room 
 early one Saturday morning. "This is the needle's 
 eye," he said lightly. "Can the camel get in if he 
 goes down on his knees ?" 
 
 Randolph recognized the allusion and laughed. 
 "Don't be an idiot, Ames," he said, and the young 
 millionaire was as proud as if he had won a victory, 
 as indeed he had. 
 
 The friendship between the two lads never wavered 
 from that day. They loved the same books, but for 
 different reasons. They studied the same topics and 
 came to different conclusions. They heard the same 
 lectures and made different deductions. They wrote 
 on the same subject, and differed in their method of 
 treatment and final decision. These very differences 
 added zest to their companionship, and lent it an 
 infinite variety of interest that made them "each the 
 other's best company." They fulfilled Emerson's 
 ideal: "Friendship requires that rare mean betwixt 
 likeness and unlikeness that piques each with the pres 
 ence of power and consent in the other party." 
 
 23
 
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 Ames loved to poke fun at the independent bearing 
 of Randolph. "I believe in letting independence be 
 our boast, but one doesn't want to carry it too far. 
 I always wondered till I knew you why your sainted 
 ancestor of Roanoke went around croaking, 'Remorse, 
 remorse/ But I am convinced that he died of regret 
 for the pitiless snubs he had administered to wealthy 
 but otherwise respectable acquaintances," he said to 
 Randolph once, when that young man was hesitating 
 about accepting a slight favor from him. 
 
 In the classroom there was obvious pleasure on the 
 part of both professors and students when the two 
 young men could be drawn into open battle; but no 
 matter how hotly they might discuss a subject, they 
 never allowed the personal element to enter, and 
 would be seen afterward tramping off together, some 
 times continuing the argument and sometimes amic 
 ably discussing the last play they had seen or the 
 latest new book. 
 
 Professor Weyman delighted in these two pupils, 
 and publicly and privately pitted them against each 
 other, when, like skilful swordsmen, each parried the 
 other so completely that if blows were to be struck 
 they had to come from the good professor himself. 
 
 On one of these occasions, when Randolph, Ames 
 and the professor were alone, the young men were en- 
 
 24
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 gaged in a spirited discussion of class rule in the gov 
 ernments of the world, and Ames was denouncing 
 socialistic teachings as inimical to good government. 
 The professor interrupted them: 
 
 "You young men must not allow phrases or preju 
 dices to influence your conclusions on these important 
 subjects. One of the defects in the popular discussion 
 of them is a confusion of terms. 'All civilized govern 
 ments are more or less socialistic. The limitation of 
 a day's labor by law, the regulation of the speed of 
 vehicles and trains in cities, sanitary legislation, gov 
 ernmental inspection of buildings, government control 
 of the Post Office, and other similar arrangements, are 
 socialistic in their nature. The Mosaic laws were 
 strongly tinged with socialism, when they compelled 
 the return of land in the year of jubilee which had 
 been sold by reason of poverty, the setting free of 
 slaves at the same time, the forgiveness of debt and 
 the prohibition of interest.' " 
 
 "But I mean the advocacy of a complete govern 
 mental system of socialism," interposed Ames. 
 
 "Oh, that matter is largely speculative, as no govern 
 ment has ever tried the experiment in its entirety. 
 New Zealand has probably come nearer to it than has 
 any other country. In Germany and France many 
 socialists accept the system of Karl Marx, which un- 
 
 25
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 dertakes to cover the entire realm of government with 
 a scientific plan of socialism. In this country 
 there is much misapprehension concerning the doctrines 
 taught by the most enlightened socialists, only part of 
 whose teachings are at all applicable to our form of 
 government, and those form a small part only of the 
 system of any group of socialists. There is nothing 
 revolutionary about the teachings of most of the 
 great writers on socialism; but, on the contrary, they 
 understand that it must be a matter of evolution and 
 conscience which shall eventually give the lower 
 classes of society the opportunity and protection to 
 which they are entitled. Indeed, few socialists have 
 ever used such strong language as that of John Stuart 
 Mill, which you will recall: 'If the bulk of the 
 human race are always to remain as at present, slaves 
 to toil in which they have no interest and therefore 
 feel no interest drudging from early morning till 
 late at night for bare necessities and with all the in 
 tellectual and moral deficiencies which that implies 
 without resources either in mind or feeling untaught, 
 for they cannot be better taught than fed; selfish, for 
 all their thoughts are required for themselves; with 
 out interests or sentiments as citizens and members of 
 society, and with a sense of injustice rankling in their 
 minds, equally for what they have not and what 
 
 26
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 others have ; I know not what there is which should 
 make a person of any capacity of reason concern him 
 self about the destinies of the human race.' " 
 
 "Can that condition be overcome by the theories of 
 the socialists?" asked Ames. 
 
 "Not by the theory of the dreamers among them, 
 and perhaps no system has been offered by any person 
 by which such condition can be completely remedied. 
 The best we can do is to take efficient steps to meet 
 and overcome the evils of society, as they develop 
 from time to time. It is natural for the ruling classes 
 to become oppressive, whether those classes are 
 hedged about with the power of hereditary royalty, or 
 whether they rule by force of wealth and control gov 
 ernmental functions by corruption. What were you 
 going to say, George ?" 
 
 "I was thinking," the young man answered, "of 
 what Buckle says that 'there is no instance on record 
 of any class possessing power without abusing it,' and 
 wondering if it must always be so." 
 
 "But is it so?" asked Ames quickly. "Have not 
 the greatest benefactors of the race been men of 
 power to see and to do what others could not? Did 
 not Fulton and Watt and Morse and Edison and the 
 great railway builders possess power without abusing 
 it?" 
 
 27
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 The professor smiled. "The perfect form of gov 
 ernment is always the autocracy, given the perfect 
 autocrat, and Buckle does not refer to individuals, 
 but to classes. Surely I need not tell you that the 
 classes in control of the large industrial enterprises in 
 this country, at least, are not above the charge of 
 abusing their privileges." 
 
 "Then you don't think that these men, these corpora 
 tions, have the right to organize and control these in 
 dustries?" asked Ames, as if he were listening to a 
 new economic heresy. 
 
 "Most assuredly they have the right to do so under 
 our laws, and the only question to consider in that 
 connection is their relation to government and the 
 proper performance of the functions thereof. When 
 either of the main purposes of government protec 
 tion and freedom is interfered with, or seemingly 
 menaced by these industrial combinations, then or 
 ganized government should adopt such effective meas 
 ures as are necessary to preserve its objects undefiled 
 and with their full power of operation. What would be 
 the most efficient laws in that behalf form the really 
 vital issues of our politics to-day. One fault of 
 these combinations is that they are construing tem 
 porary privileges, granted to them by the public, as 
 permanent rights and personal property." 
 
 28
 
 "Doesn't Mill himself offer the only remedy there 
 is for the sad condition of society which he pictures?" 
 asked Randolph. "He says that possibly patriotism 
 will do the work, and that 'education, habit and the 
 cultivation of the sentiments will make a common man 
 dig or weave for his country as readily as fight for 
 his country.' " 
 
 "Of course patriotism is the hope of mankind in 
 all progressive political movements," replied the pro 
 fessor. "But the historic apathy of the people must 
 be reckoned with. These are questions that concern 
 the honesty of the nation, and Edward Carpenter, the 
 Tolstoi of England, splendidly epitomizes the subject: 
 'It were well to consider whether possibly the fate of 
 a great nation may not very profoundly center around 
 the question of honesty of its life. The difficulty is 
 that to many and to whole classes mere honesty 
 seems such a small matter. If it were only some 
 great benevolent institution to recommend. But this 
 is like Naaman's case in the Bible to merely bathe 
 in Jordan and make yourself clean is really too un 
 dignified.' " 
 
 29
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 In tales of this kind the era in which they are laid 
 is important. And as this story concerns both individ 
 ual and collective society, the course of events points 
 the hour with more significance than would the hands 
 of the clock. No intelligent reference can be made 
 to modern society without emphasizing those occur 
 rences which relate to politics and women, and no 
 outline of social progress can be honestly undertaken 
 which does not comprehend their influence. 
 
 Some more or less distinguished foreigner has said 
 that politics and women are the chief topics of dis 
 cussion in America. 
 
 In politics this was the era just succeeding the at 
 tempt to regulate private governmental functions by 
 .public governmental functionaries; when the strange 
 doctrine was proclaimed that the chartered right to do 
 the nation's transportation by private persons could 
 only be protected in all of its pristine privacy and free 
 dom by setting over the task minions of the govern 
 ment without special knowledge of or skill in the en 
 terprise. It was just after that well-remembered 
 and strenuous period when the laws of to-day regu 
 lated the regulation laws of yesterday, and others were 
 
 30
 
 proclaimed for the morrow to regulate those of to-day ; 
 when congressional enactments piled upon each other 
 like Alaskan snowdrifts, with such rapidity and to 
 such a height as to mystify, bewilder and electrify the 
 public mind with the conviction that something worth 
 while was continually doing, and that the wheels of 
 government, after all, were not the innocuous and 
 rusty cogs which the people had always imagined 
 them to be. 
 
 It was in this fruitful period of legislation that many 
 trusts were dissolved, and all former trust articles im 
 mediately bounded upward in price after each dis 
 solution. This was the period when, under the tre 
 mendous fire of five hundred associated newspaper 
 owners, the nefarious paper trust was dissolved. 
 And it was during the same period, and only 
 three months later, that the chosen five hun 
 dred, banded together with more power than 
 any sovereign of the realm ever possessed, met in 
 solemn conclave in New York City to devise ways 
 and means to circumvent an increase of thirty per 
 cent, in the cost of white paper made by the outcast 
 and "dissolved" elements of the former trust. 
 
 Public men will remember this as the era when at 
 torneys at law were expelled from the membership 
 of the United States Senate for daring to practice
 
 their profession in government departments, and when 
 attorneys in fact for interests daily dealing with the 
 government were placed at the head of important com 
 mittees in the same august assembly. 
 
 S^ddents of social progress will recall it as the abor 
 tive period of our national social history, when in- 
 
 I /aividualism was killed and nationalism was con- 
 y i ... " 
 
 temned; when private enterprise was strangled and 
 
 public operation was nullified; when government 
 afforded neither freedom nor protection to the di 
 verse elements of the American industrial system. 
 
 And in the midst of all these things an uncrowned 
 king of a great political party returned from Europe, 
 receiving the homage of a conquering hero of old, 
 and boldly avowing the destruction of modern feudal 
 ism ; but, before another summer's sun shed its lustre 
 over mountain and plain, the king had buried himself 
 and his sacred avowal in the uttermost darkness of the 
 cave of party expediency. 
 
 The exact time of which the next chapter of this 
 story treats was some five months after the pendulum 
 of ultra-conservatism had swung to the furthermost 
 cusp of the political arc, sweeping the cowardice and 
 vacillation of a great opposition party before it, and 
 setting the seal of approval upon unrestricted private 
 operation and exploitation of those manifold public
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 utility enterprises which had for years performed 
 quasi-public functions for the American people. 
 
 At first enchanted, then bewildered, and finally dis 
 gusted with futile though energetic efforts at regula 
 tion ; benighted and befogged and befuddled by the 
 apparent obstacles to the government coming into its 
 own in all of its operations, the voters had determined 
 to give individual enterprise one more trial, and had 
 elected a President and a Congress for that avowed 
 purpose. 
 
 It was just prior to this last event that social New 
 port was set agog by two events of tremendous im 
 portance to the high-tensioned life of that self-ordained 
 "Smart Set" of American society. One was the ad 
 vent of a Russian countess, who took certain of the 
 habitues of that elegant resort by storm, as much by 
 the splendor of her frocks and the picturesqueness of 
 her lingerie as by the magic of her title. The other was 
 the dethroning of a great and powerful "railway king," 
 for the all-sufficient reason that his wife, a recognized 
 social queen, had refused to introduce into her charmed 
 circle the daughters of another and more powerful 
 "railway king," whose progeny had ambitions of their 
 own. For, be it known, American feudalism had 
 carried the titles of commercial rank one grade higher 
 than did the mediaeval institution. 
 
 33
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 The date of these events having been definitely 
 fixed, it only remains to note their effect. 
 I It has happened many times in the affairs of man 
 kind that important questions of state are least settled 
 when they appear to be most settled, and this particu 
 lar reactionary political movement bore within its 
 wings the germs that were destined to develop into 
 the most powerful, as well as the most progressive, 
 political revolution ever witnessed on the Western 
 continent. 
 
 Several world-wide events of considerable moment 
 were happening, which aided in keeping alive the 
 spirit of patriotism in the breasts of the multitude. In 
 the souls of the few the embers never grew dim, 
 whatever tricks blind fortune or time-serving politi 
 cians might play. Woman's suffrage was being cham 
 pioned by leading statesmen in Great Britain, Norway, 
 Sweden and Denmark, and in the great Eastern States 
 of America a mighty effort was being made to give 
 women their natural and inalienable political rights 
 the rights which years before had been recognized by 
 the men of Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. 
 
 Standing solidly against the movement, as against 
 all other progressive legislation, were the great private 
 transportation and industrial combinations of the 
 United States that were thriving on the tributes of a 
 
 34
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 government which they had no difficulty in controlling 
 under existing conditions. The contest with these 
 elements in the presidential election had aroused more 
 general public interest than had been taken in Ameri 
 can political affairs since the Civil War. With great 
 deftness these interests appealed to "American Con 
 servatism" and to the maintenance of "Individualism" 
 in all business enterprises, while with unparalleled 
 skill thay tightened their grip upon all departments 
 and functions of government. 
 
 Scarcely had the new President been inaugurated, 
 when tracts and pamphlets began to appear, a few of 
 which bore resemblance to the brilliant essays of Paine 
 and Rousseau, a century and a quarter before, under 
 political conditions that were even more similar than 
 were the tracts. 
 
 Public questions became topics for fashionable dis 
 cussion, and American dinners became more and more 
 like English ones in this respect. Literature took on 
 the political hue, and for a time history supplanted 
 fiction. Madame de Maintenon was temporarily more 
 attractive to the American woman of fashion than was 
 the heroine of the latest novel or the favorite 
 one of the classics. The celebrated salons from 
 Aspasia to Madame de Stae'l had an engaging 
 interest. It was suddenly discovered that "The New 
 
 35
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Woman" began with Sappho, and that Zenobia, Hy- 
 patia, Cornelia, Marcella, Paula, Matilda, Mary Woll- 
 stonecraft, Harriet Taylor, Hannah Moore, George 
 Eliot, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Elizabeth Cady 
 Stanton were but the prototypes of aroused and spirit 
 ualized present-day women. 
 
 Among the youth of the nation the masterpieces of 
 Henry, Webster, Clay and Lincoln became popular, 
 and were declaimed with electric effect from the plat 
 forms of district schools. This spirit entered the col 
 leges and universities, and the predominant studies 
 were sociological and historical in their nature. The 
 undercurrent of feeling was so marked, although in 
 definite of purpose, that the letter of Dumas to Tolstoi, 
 written some sixteen years previously, might well have 
 described this progressive movement in the United 
 States : 
 
 "The spiritual movement one recognizes on all sides, 
 and which so many naive and ambitious men expect to 
 be able to direct, will be absolutely humanitarian. 
 Mankind, which does nothing moderately, is about to 
 be seized with a frenzy, a madness of love. This will 
 ot, of course, happen smoothly, or all at once; it will 
 r/olve misunderstandings even sanguinary ones 
 oerchance so trained and so accustomed have we 
 been to hatred, even by those, sometimes, whose mis- 
 
 36
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 sion it was to teach us to love one another. But it is 
 evident that this law of brotherhood must be accom 
 plished some day, and I am convinced that the time is 
 commencing when our desire for its accomplishment 
 will become irresistible." 
 
 37
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Although the friendship between Frederic Ames 
 and George Randolph grew steadily, it was not until 
 the Easter vacation of their junior year in the law 
 school that Frederic prevailed upon his chum to go 
 home with him for a visit. Randolph had persistently 
 refused all invitations, even this one, and they were 
 arguing it over when Professor Weyman entered the 
 room. Frederic appealed to him. 
 
 "It is his wretched Southern pride and his miserable 
 Western independence," Frederic explained to the pro 
 fessor. "I don't see why he should refuse to associate 
 with me. I have just as many ancestors as he has, 
 even if none of them were in the Constitutional Con 
 vention, and my mother is an F. F. V. Don't you 
 think it is unreasonable of him to let a mere prejudice 
 stand between us?" 
 
 George flushed at the turning of the tables, and the 
 professor, looking from one to the other of the young 
 men, said gravely: 
 
 "I think you should go by all means, George. Never 
 miss an opportunity like this. Go and see how the 
 other half lives." And in the general laughter the 
 invitation was accepted. 
 
 38
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 The house of Charles Henry Ames, located on Fifth 
 Avenue overlooking Central Park, was a triumph of 
 American art, as given expression in architecture. It 
 was the culminating feat of that brilliant young archi 
 tect, Spencer Harding, who united to his genius for 
 originality a mastery of the skill and science that had 
 given France such splendid architectural effects dur 
 ing the Renaissance, and the style of this building was 
 adapted from the first period of that Renaissance. 
 The interior was a perfect blending of design and fur 
 nishing, and there were no startling rooms or gauche 
 corners such as mar many pretentious New York 
 homes. 
 
 The two young collegians arrived late in the after 
 noon. 
 
 "We'll hardly have time to greet the family be 
 fore dressing for dinner," Frederic said, as they got out 
 of the carriage which had brought them from the sta 
 tion. "I suppose the girls are here already." 
 
 The cordial welcome which George received from 
 the father and mother of his friend put him at ease im 
 mediately, and in another moment he was being intro 
 duced to Frederic's two sisters, students at Smith Col 
 lege, tall, graceful girls whose names, Margaret and 
 Virginia, he already knew. As it was nearly seven 
 o'clock they remained only a short time in the large, 
 
 39
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 softly lighted drawing-room, and while George talked 
 with Mrs. Ames he heard Frederic say : 
 
 "Is Gertrude in New York now?" 
 
 "Yes, she's coming to dinner this evening," one of 
 the girls answered. 
 
 As George was dressing, he vaguely wondered who 
 "Gertrude" was. She could not be another sister, or 
 Frederic would have mentioned her before. He was 
 not quite ready when his friend appeared at the door. 
 
 "Don't wait for me," he said, struggling with a re 
 fractory collar button, "I'll be down in a minute." 
 
 When George re-entered the drawing-room he saw 
 a dark-haired, Junonian young woman in a pale yellow 
 gown standing near the fireplace and talking to Mr. 
 Ames, who seemed to be much interested in something 
 she was telling him. When the multimillionaire saw 
 the young man he invited him with a smile to join 
 them. 
 
 "Mrs. Strong, Mr. Randolph, a college friend of 
 Frederic's." 
 
 Then he left them together and went forward to 
 welcome a Titian-haired beauty in a very low-cut black 
 gown who had just entered the room and was speak 
 ing with Mrs. Ames and the young people. 
 
 "Frederic wrote me about you when I was in Cam 
 bridge," Mrs. Strong said to Randolph. 
 
 40
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "In Cambridge?" He was thinking of their Cam 
 bridge. 
 
 "Cambridge, England, I mean. I have been study 
 ing there . . . Why, how do you do, Esther?" And 
 she shook hands warmly with the red-haired woman 
 who had just come in. "I called on you this after 
 noon." 
 
 "Yes, I got back from Atlantic City only an hour 
 ago." 
 
 Frederic was at her elbow, and introduced Randolph 
 to Mrs. Lynn. Then the solemn-faced English butler 
 appeared. Mrs. Ames graciously laid her jeweled 
 hand on Randolph's arm, and the young Westerner 
 went in to dinner with the leader of New York's social 
 world. 
 
 It was an informal dinner that followed Randolph's 
 introduction into the Ames household, though the 
 table was banked with Easter flowers and the meal 
 was served with what seemed to the young man to be a! 
 **great deal of ceremony. Since her three children had 
 been in school and college, Mrs. Ames had kept 
 the Christmas and Easter holiday seasons sacred to 
 them. She sat this evening surrounded by the young 
 people, while the two women guests sat at the other end 
 of the table, Mrs. Strong on the right and Mrs. Lynn 
 on the left of their host. 
 
 41
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 The table talk began, lightly enough, with a spirited 
 discussion of the relative merits of the Yale and Har 
 vard football teams, for Yale had an ardent champion 
 even in this Harvard party in the person of Margaret 
 Ames, who delighted, for reasons unavowed, to wear 
 the Yale colors whenever a contest was on. 
 
 "How delightful it was to see the old-time life and 
 style at Atlantic City," came from the other end of the 
 table, in the rather high-pitched voice of Mrs. Lynn. 
 Though Randolph did not learn these facts until later, 
 this lady had recently been divorced from a Pittsburg 
 steel magnate, and what she referred to as her "allow 
 ance" was amply consonant with the financial position 
 of her one-time husband. "Last year," the high voice 
 went on, "it was like following a hearse to go down 
 the boardwalk, so dejected were the few people of our 
 world who were there; but this year everything is 
 changed. The hotels were never so full, and everyone 
 seems gay and happy. I do hope we shall never have 
 another strenuous President, to upset business and to 
 pauperize all the people who really own the country !" 
 
 "Have no fear of that," answered Mr. Ames, with 
 an earnestness that seemed to come from deep feeling. 
 "The American people are too sensible to permit any 
 man to throttle private enterprise, or to interfere with 
 the vast business operations of the country. Regula- 
 
 42
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 tion ! What has it all amounted to ? For four years 
 we have been bamboozled and terrified with all sorts of 
 wild threats to regulate our business, and law after 
 law was enacted for that purpose ; but what good ever 
 came to the people from these laws? They stopped 
 railway building in the United States, forced stocks 
 down to bankrupt prices, precipitated a financial crisis, 
 gave the American people the worst transportation 
 service in some sections of the country of any people 
 in the world, led into the wholesale slaughter of rail 
 way passengers because we could not afford to keep 
 up our equipment and roadbed under this constant 
 menace and still not a fraction of one per cent, has 
 been saved to the people in freight and passenger rates, 
 taking the country as a whole and the total business of 
 all the railways. We were compelled to retaliate, and, 
 of course, we furnished the money that assured the 
 result at the last election." And his fine gray eyes 
 flashed defiant sparks. 
 
 Randolph, watching and listening to him, realized 
 that he was sitting within a few feet of one of the most 
 powerful rulers of the world. Charles Henry Ames, 
 unlike some of his associates in the financial world, was 
 a man whose presence was dynamic. He was tall and 
 strong, with iron-gray hair and closely cropped mus 
 tache ; but the most striking feature of his face was the 
 
 43
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 heavy black eyebrows, untouched by the frosts of fifty- 
 three years, which almost met over his deep-set eyes. 
 
 "New York society has reason to jubilate," said Mrs. 
 Lynn, "for surely it has been in sackcloth and ashes for 
 the past two years. I have never seen so many closed 
 houses along Fifth Avenue as during that time. I sup 
 pose the owners have lived in Rome or Florence or 
 Paris, for there have been many advantages in a 
 foreign residence latterly, besides the money saved in 
 expenses ; and who that could would not have flown 
 away from all of this continuous agitation, in which 
 one's best friends have been denounced and hunted as 
 criminals !" 
 
 By this time every person was listening to the dis 
 cussion that was going on at the host's end of the 
 table. Mrs. Strong looked toward Randolph and 
 Frederic. 
 
 "I see by this morning's paper," she said, "that Mrs. 
 Marshall Glen, the rich Chicago widow, is planning to 
 educate her two sons for a public career. I sincerely 
 hope that she has well-defined and patriotic ideas as to 
 what a public career for a young man in the United 
 States should be." 
 
 "Well, Madame Aspasia," and Mr. Ames smiled in 
 dulgently at the young woman on his right, "what is 
 your idea of a public career for a young man ? What 
 
 44
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 new notions have you developed since your recent 
 course of lectures under the great professor at Cam 
 bridge ?" 
 
 Randolph was all attention. Who was this dis 
 tinguished-looking young woman in whom intellect 
 and will were so markedly the dominant qualities ? She 
 did not look more than twenty-eight years of age. 
 
 Frederic, noticing Randolph's interest and curiosity, 
 said sotto voce : "Listen, and you will hear doctrines 
 that will make Weyman seem like a cooing dove." 
 
 Mrs. Strong hesitated a moment, and a fleeting 
 shadow of sadness passed over her face. 
 
 "I wish I were an eloquent public speaker or a bril 
 liant writer, and I would answer your question in a 
 way that would do the world a vast amount of good. 
 I would gladly give ten years of my life for the ability 
 to write just one book as well as George Eliot wrote her 
 poorest, that I might portray the utter serfdom of 
 Americans in public life, and point the glorious road 
 out of bondage for future generations. But you know 
 my sentiments so well, Mr. Ames, that you can hardly 
 be in earnest in asking for my opinions on this subject." 
 Her large violet eyes shone with feeling. 
 
 "Indeed, I want to hear them. Although since the 
 heresies of '96 were preached by the silver-tongued 
 orator of the plains, we have trained both political 
 
 45
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 parties to adopt more rational views of public ques 
 tions," he chaffingly answered. 
 
 "That is just it. Your training of both political 
 parties to your so-called 'rational' viewpoint is the root 
 of most of our governmental evils. But if you really 
 want my opinions, I will give you my best assortment 
 and all quite honest, I assure you." Her manner 
 was half playful, but there was a tone of earnestness in 
 her voice. 
 
 "Don't be too serious, Aspasia; but I would really 
 like to know how your English environment affected 
 your views of American politics." 
 
 "It did not have the slightest effect except to in 
 tensify my convictions. I am glad our American 
 women are beginning to take an interest in political 
 subjects, and I hope the day is not far distant 
 when they will understand them as well and will 
 enter into political contests as actively as do the 
 high-class English women. Government will be im 
 measurably benefited and social functions will lose 
 much of their inanition. Even now one can see the im 
 proved health of American women of fashion, for the 
 brain after all is the sanitary storehouse of the body. 
 It is little wonder that indigestion became a national 
 disease, when one remembers the frivolous conversa 
 tions that used to characterize formal dinners. But 
 
 46
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 most of the men are still derelict in performing their 
 political duties. Vaudeville and trashy novels still 
 appeal to them much more than do political discussions, 
 however vital the pending issues. All of which serves 
 the purposes of the Captains of Industry." And she 
 smiled at Mr. Ames. "Perhaps that very indifferent 
 condition of the male mind is a result of systematic 
 popular training by the same all-powerful captains," 
 she added. 
 
 "There are two young men at this part of the table, 
 Gertrude, who do not belong to the vaudeville class, 
 and who would very much like to hear your views on 
 the public career question ; for you know we shall soon 
 be thrown on a cold and pitiless world to make a career 
 for ourselves," said Frederic, moved thereto by Ran 
 dolph's absorbed interest in the original theme. 
 
 "An honorable public career for a young man, under 
 existing conditions, in our beloved country ! There is 
 none possible, and no one knows this better than do the 
 real rulers of this country," looking at Mr. Ames. 
 "None has been possible since the Civil War. Follow 
 ing that conflict, the country went mad over money 
 getting. The barriers were down, and the gold-be- 
 crazed horde swept over valley and mountain and plain, 
 destroying what they could not carry away, and blight 
 ing the whole country worse than any swarm of lo- 
 
 47
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 custs ever did a field of grain. It was far more dis 
 astrous than any physical blight, for it depraved the 
 minds and corrupted the morals of generations of 
 Americans. Where are there any millionaire Americans 
 who have not made their wealth out of the 
 favors and protection of the government, and from the 
 necessities and at the expense of the multitude ? And 
 where is there one of them who will stand forth and 
 say: 'The system is wrong. My wealth my energy 
 my life shall be given to right it. I realize its turpi 
 tude. My wealth is a rebuke to its operations, and I 
 I, a freeman will help all others to be free !' " The 
 great violet eyes were deepest sapphire now, and their 
 gaze was fixed on the young men. 
 
 "Now who would think," piped the thin voice of Mrs. 
 Lynn, "that we were listening to one of the three or 
 four richest women in America attacking her own 
 class!" 
 
 Randolph had wondered, with deepest admiration 
 for the young woman, how she dared to say these 
 things here. He did not know even yet that she was 
 one of the largest owners in the Ames enterprises. 
 
 Mr. Ames started to speak, but Mrs. Strong put out 
 her little hand. 
 
 "I know what you would say," she went on. "It is the 
 same old question that is asked every American voter, 
 
 48
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 when attempts at reform are made: 'Where else are 
 the masses of the people so well off?' And the answer 
 is a ready one. We are a young nation, and we have 
 tremendous natural resources to draw upon; but they 
 are disappearing rapidly, and then, look out that we 
 are not the poorest people on earth unless government 
 conditions are greatly changed. Even now, leave out 
 of consideration the wealth of two thousand of the rich 
 est families in America, and apportion the balance 
 among the remaining eighty-five millions of people, and 
 see what per capita of wealth you get. You know bet 
 ter than any person, dear Mr. Ames, how you railroad 
 magnates are making and breaking whole communities 
 of farmers, how you are destroying cities and towns 
 that were considered permanent, how the process of 
 capitalization and recapitalization of corporations, and 
 the tributes of government protection, are each year 
 draining more and more the real per capita wealth of 
 the nation, and more and more centering all money in 
 the hands of the few. Let a crop failure or a gold 
 famine strike this country for but one year, and then 
 you will see what becomes of your boasted prosperity 
 of the masses, which it should be the duty of govern 
 ment to protect from all forms of disaster, the same 
 as it protects your property and your rights. 
 
 "But this is the material phase of the question," she 
 
 .- 
 
 49
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 concluded, "which has nothing to do with the right 
 and the wrong theory of government, and there is only 
 one such right and one such wrong theory." 
 
 Mr. Ames was smiling half cynically and half good 
 naturedly, but the others were listening with rapt at 
 tention. 
 
 "And pray, which theory is the United States work 
 ing under ?" asked Frederic. 
 
 "How can you ask?" replied Mrs. Strong. "It is a 
 good time for a new edition of Tom Paine's 'Common 
 Sense.' There is so much confusion of all terms re 
 lating to government, and such a misapprehension of 
 the spirit of our institutions, that the crystal clearness 
 of Paine would have a wholesome effect upon our peo 
 ple, I am sure. 
 
 "A career for a young man !" she went on. "Poor 
 Mrs. Marshall Glen ! I presume she imagines that if 
 her sons can enter the State Legislature, and then the 
 Lower House at Washington, and finally become Sena 
 tors, it will be a great honor to the family, and a most 
 precious heirloom for their children. But it will be 
 a lasting stigma to them and theirs to go into public 
 life the way young men are compelled to enter now, 
 and they will all too soon realize it when they feel the 
 galling yoke of the party boss around their necks ; when 
 they are told they must support every vile measure for
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 the enrichment of the special interests that a corrupt 
 coterie of party leaders present in the name of 'The 
 Party,' and which is privately branded with the pollut 
 ing iron of Bribery either direct and positive, or 
 through party campaign contributions. 
 
 "In what hamlet, or precinct, or State in America do 
 you capitalists" looking at Mr. Ames "permit a con 
 stable, or a legislator, or a judge, or a governor, to be 
 nominated or elected, without your approval, and where 
 is there a perfectly independent and fearless official?" 
 
 "But how about the reformers?" asked Mr. Ames 
 smilingly. "You know there are a few of them in 
 office." 
 
 "How long do reformers stay in office ?" she quickly 
 retorted. "And how long does one of these reform 
 waves last, with the relentless pack of subsidized party 
 hounds chasing the independent voter to quarry with 
 the threats of 'party ostracism,' and with the commer 
 cial menace which the great industrial combinations 
 can constantly hold over every business man's head? 
 The men of money in America have all political parties 
 under their control, and, directly and indirectly, they 
 are determined to use the government for their pur 
 poses, whether those purposes be for the honor of 
 official title or for their further enrichment." 
 
 "But the 'strenuous President ?' " suggested Mrs. 
 
 51
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Ames, from the other end of the table. "He was suc 
 cessful, as well as honest, in most of his efforts, was 
 he not?" 
 
 "Yes, aside from his misguided regulation policy, 
 his administration will go down in history as one of 
 the great eras of our country ; but with it all, who does 
 not feel a real pang of humiliation and sorrow that it 
 was deemed necessary, even to assure his election, for 
 his managers to arrange with a railway magnate 
 to finance New York State in a great presiden 
 tial election? This President was the bravest 
 of the brave, and if it had not been for the 
 miserable restraints and obligations of a political party, 
 which you Captains of Industry" smiling at Mr. 
 Ames "own and control, because you finance it (and 
 no political party with its paraphernalia of bosses and 
 sub-bosses can long exist without being financed), who 
 can say how differently he might have directed the 
 tremendous power of his administration? As it is, he 
 knows, as well as every other student of public affairs 
 knows, that he did not reach the root of governmental 
 evils by any means." 
 
 "Gad, I had no idea Cambridge could make anyone 
 so rabid in so short a time," interposed Mr. Ames, 
 with a light laugh. 
 
 52
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 She met his good-natured jeer with a smile, and 
 then added: 
 
 "But you are mistaken, Mr. Ames, if you think the 
 recent election means anything more than a breathing 
 spell for the people, before they shatter the degrading 
 bonds of modern feudalism, which institution is in 
 finitely worse than the old one ever was, and which 
 will make slaves not serfs, but slaves of the mil 
 lions, if allowed to exist. 
 
 "The people have been pursued by so many and such 
 untiring demagogic and partisian Furies that, Orestes- 
 like, they became crazed for an hour's repose. It may 
 be a dangerous, or even a fatal rest, but the signs of 
 the times indicate that when they awaken, the genuine 
 Furies will be pursuing the real wrongdoers." 
 
 Then she turned her glance, half-laughingly, half- 
 apologetically, toward Mrs. Ames. 
 
 "I am most grateful for your kindness in listening to 
 me, and I beg your pardon for imposing my views 
 upon you; but Mr. Ames knows my weakness when 
 started upon subjects that interest me. But pray," 
 turning again toward her host, "what has happened 
 that you are so tolerant ? You do not ordinarily listen 
 with patience to this sort of stuff." 
 
 "I suppose it is rather remarkable that I should get 
 wiser with age ; but the fact is, we industrial managers 
 
 53
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 have not kept well enough posted on what the people 
 are thinking about, and the past four years demon 
 strated that most clearly. I know of no one, my dear 
 Aspasia, who can state the fallacies in the public 
 mind half so clearly or strongly as you can, and I am 
 honored to have you take the pains to enlighten me. 
 But I want to impose a little further on your good 
 nature, and ask you to tell us how you and your dear 
 disciples or teachers, as the case may be, would remedy 
 these evils of government; if, indeed, they be evils," 
 and he bestowed his most winning smile upon her. 
 
 "Not now; but some time I will give you a parlor 
 lecture and tell you all about it," and she laughingly 
 waved his suggestion aside and began on the salad 
 course. 
 
 "The least you can do, my dear Aspasia, with your 
 views, is to consider all your dividends 'tainted money/ 
 and give them to some great church or educational in 
 stitution." He smiled at her with fatherly indulgence. 
 
 She shook her head. 
 
 "Never mind those 'tainted dividends.' I shall find 
 some art of the political alchemist to make them the 
 fairest, cleanest, best dollars you ever gazed upon."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 "If you like riding, Mr. Randolph, won't you join 
 Virginia and me to-morrow morning for a canter in 
 the park?" 
 
 "I'll be very happy to join you, Mrs. Strong. In fact, 
 I was hoping you would ask me when I heard you 
 make the appointment with Miss Virginia." His fresh 
 young face was alight with anticipation. 
 
 They were in the drawing-room after dinner, and 
 horses had been the topic of animated conversation 
 for some minutes. The learned young woman in the 
 pale yellow gown seemed to have forgotten entirely 
 the serious discussion of the dinner table. Her face 
 was bright with enthusiasm as she told them about a 
 new saddle horse she had recently added to her stable. 
 
 "Gertrude," called Frederic from a nearby table, 
 "come and see this lobster of jointed Japanese bronze 
 that Van Cise has sent Margaret for an Easter pres 
 ent." And Randolph was left with Virginia, who 
 already interested him much more than her sister. 
 
 Virginia Ames was slight in figure and somewhat 
 above medium height, very vivacious, and her eyes and 
 face seemed to reflect the dreamy sentiments of gen 
 erations of poets. Her whole person showed great 
 
 55
 
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 delicacy of constitution. She was not beautiful, 
 according to any orthodox standard, but her features 
 were regular, her forehead the artistic type that peeps 
 from the folds of the turban on Reni's "Beatrice 
 Cenci," her lips and teeth of perfect mold, and when 
 her great fathomless brown eyes lit up with enthusiasm 
 over a favorite book or a still more favorite horse, she 
 was more than beautiful she was fascinating. 
 
 She asked Randolph all sorts of questions about the 
 great West, and he, in turn, asked her about Rome, 
 and Southern Italy, where she had spent a part of two 
 seasons. 
 
 "Have you ever crossed the ocean, Mr. Randolph ?" 
 
 "Alas, no !" 
 
 "I, myself, have crossed only four times; that is, I 
 have been over and back twice ; but on the voyage home 
 the last time I saw a scene I shall never forget. It was 
 late in September, and we had had terrible storms for 
 the first three days; but finally the clouds all passed 
 away and the sun came out, though the wind still blew 
 a hurricane, so that no one would go outside. But I 
 wanted to see a real windstorm on the ocean when 
 the sun shone, and I went up, all alone, and clung to 
 the topmost rail, facing the prow. I stayed there on 
 my knees for half an hour, for the wind was so strong 
 I dared not stand up for fear of being blown over- 
 
 56
 
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 board. I had heard people talk about seas 'mountains 
 high,' and I saw them that morning, saw them with the 
 bright sunlight on them, dashing and breaking into 
 rainbow spray away above my head, though I was 
 myself perched so high. And then the great green 
 hollows between the waves, greener than any emerald 
 I ever saw! Oh, it was wonderful! I laughed and 
 cried, up there all alone, for I never realized before 
 what God could do in the way of splendor. I thought 
 of what it says in Job, how the Lord spake out of the 
 whirlwind." 
 
 Carried away by the enthusiasm of her narrative, 
 her cheeks had become a soft, deep pink, and her great 
 brown eyes shone upon him. He wondered how he 
 could have thought at the first meeting that she was 
 not beautiful ! 
 
 This tete a tete with Virginia was too delightful to 
 last, and they were soon joined by the others. The 
 drawing-room was so large that several groups of 
 persons might have carried on almost private conver 
 sations in it. Randolph now politely turned his atten 
 tion to the other sister. 
 
 Margaret was a beautiful girl of the typical New 
 York type. Though older than Virginia, she was not 
 so tall, but her carriage was more stately. Her hair 
 was of a luminous auburn hue, and the same tint col- 
 
 57
 
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 ored her eyebrows and eyelashes. She had blue eyes 
 that seldom changed their expression, and a clear 
 transparent complexion that always remained the 
 same. As a living picture she was unrivaled, but 
 socially she was rather indifferent and cold. 
 
 Frederic came into his friend's room for a ten- 
 minute chat before bedtime. 
 
 "Mother is charmed with you, George," he said. 
 "She confided to me that you reminded her of a favorite 
 Virginia cousin of hers, of whom she often speaks ; and 
 beyond that there is no compliment that Mother can 
 pay. But what do you think of Gertrude Strong?" 
 
 "She is certainly a most interesting and unusual 
 woman." 
 
 "The cleverest woman I ever met, and the most 
 charming. Fancy Father encouraging anyone else to 
 talk to him the way she does. You know her father 
 was an old business associate of his, and one of the 
 great pioneers in railway building between St. Paul 
 and the Pacific Ocean, and her husband, who died four 
 years ago, was the general manager of the Ames Rail 
 way lines in the Northwest. Her mother died when 
 she was a child, and Mother then offered to take charge 
 of her. During the last two years of her father's life 
 she lived with him in his New York home. Now, of 
 course, she has her own home, which you will see for
 
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 yourself to-morrow ; but much of her time she spends 
 abroad. 
 
 "Father, who is very fond of her, gave her the 
 pseudonym 'Aspasia' because of her views on the equal 
 rights of women in all public matters, and her belief in 
 the influence and power of women in governmental 
 affairs in all ages. Also, I believe, because of her oft- 
 expressed admiration of the brilliant salon of the days 
 of 'the glory that was Greece/ and of her conviction 
 that Aspasia was a good as well as a great woman." 
 
 "Perhaps I shall have the privilege of hearing her 
 talk again," said George. 
 
 "You certainly will. She has lately been taking a 
 course under the great Cambridge professor of soci 
 ology, and she will probably compare notes with you ; 
 though she never got those opinions of hers at Cam 
 bridge." 
 
 "She is rather terribly rich, is she not?" 
 
 "Next to Father, she is the largest stockholder in 
 our corporations." 
 
 "Strange!" said George, reflectively. He was not 
 thinking of her wealth as being strange, but of the 
 theories as held by the possessor of that wealth. 
 
 59
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Charles Henry Ames came of an old and distin 
 guished Knickerbocker family. For generations the 
 wealth of the family had been kept together, the eldest 
 son taking control of the estate upon the death of the 
 father. The Ames estate had grown richer with each 
 generation by a very exact geometrical progression. 
 
 Charles Henry Ames was fifty-three years of age, 
 and possessed great vitality and an inexhaustible 
 amount of energy. No such genius for comprehensive 
 and detail work had ever before been known in the 
 commercial life of America. He was Napoleonic in 
 his ability to command the services of able lieutenants, 
 and he held with a firm grasp every thread of the intri 
 cate and complicated skein of business interests that He 
 controlled. He was always on the lookout for ambi 
 tious young men, and whenever he found one endeav 
 ored to enlist him in the service of some of his many 
 enterprises. 
 
 It had been a principal tenet in the creed of business 
 action of each succeeding Ames who assumed manage 
 ment of the family affairs that the family fortune must 
 be doubled every fifteen years; and while the fortune 
 of the first Ames who was known to financial fame was 
 
 60
 
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 modest enough, the wealth of the present family was 
 estimated at eight hundred millions. 
 
 To double this vast sum was the task set for him 
 self by Charles Henry Ames, and no devout Crusader 
 ever entered battle for the Holy Sepulchre with more 
 religious zeal or fanatical enthusiasm than he entered 
 the commercial arena of New York City. As several 
 generations of knighthood caused valor to spring forth 
 from young men with splendid spontaneity, so several 
 generations devoted to the accretion of money had 
 transmitted a genius for the work which baffled all 
 competitors. It took possession of the brain. It got 
 into the bones. It controlled the circulation of the 
 blood. It furnished an all-absorbing fetish. To 
 accomplish his ambition was to him a divine task, and 
 he had room in his life for no other kind of worship. 
 Yet he was an exemplary husband, a kind and indul 
 gent father, and, in all private dealings and relations of 
 life, an honorable man. In business, he permitted noth 
 ing to stand in the way of success, and success to him 
 was the accomplishment of the purpose of the moment, 
 with the supreme object in view of doubling the family 
 inheritance. 
 
 This had been done before by other Ameses, largely 
 through government favor in authorizing increased 
 capitalization of those things that are necessary to the 
 
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 physical existence or ordinary comfort of thousands 
 of people, and by compelling such people to pay the 
 principal and interest of such capitalization; and 
 Charles Henry Ames was not the sort of man to fail 
 where others had succeeded. 
 
 The four years of the Roosevelt Regulation Era had 
 been most trying to the patience and skill of Mr. Ames. 
 He was a devoted believer in the government giving 
 free rein to all individual business enterprises, and he 
 was sincerely convinced that any other policy meant 
 stagnation and disaster to industrial America. He 
 could not understand on what theory any government, 
 least of all a republican form of government, should 
 grant unrestricted charters to corporations to carry on 
 particular lines of business, and years afterward, when 
 their stocks and bonds had acquired character and 
 standing in every financial market of the world, and 
 were the property of millions of people at home and 
 abroad, should attempt to fix arbitrary rates of charges 
 and otherwise to regulate the earnings of such cor 
 porations. 
 
 Particularly did this system of regulation appear 
 unfair when the government had not one dollar of 
 capital invested in such enterprises, and undertook to 
 set over men of such transcendent abilities as were 
 Mr. Ames and others specially trained and skilled in 
 
 62
 
 their work, inept political parasities, and other men, 
 who were able enough in some business fields, but 
 who knew nothing of the great transportation prob 
 lems of the country. An untrained pigmy teaching 
 Achilles how to fight would form a similar spectacle, 
 so thought Mr. Ames. 
 
 Restive and indignant as he was under such attempts 
 to throttle private enterprise, as he thought, Mr. Ames 
 kept a friendly attitude toward the President, and while 
 he made no toadying trips to Washington, "to pay his 
 respects," yet he treated the President, in public and in 
 private, with all the respect due to the high office which 
 he occupied. 
 
 He often remarked that "the President would make 
 a splendid railway manager on a railroad that runs 
 express trains three minutes apart, for he has a genius 
 for keeping things moving." 
 
 As soon as regulation appeared to be a fixed habit of 
 Congress, Mr. Ames was the first to see its vital weak 
 ness as a protection to the people, and he deliberately 
 set about, with other railway managers, to make the 
 whole business odious, by getting control, so far as pos 
 sible, of those directly in charge of the enforcement of 
 the regulating laws. Under party government of 
 public officials this was not a difficult task, and it soon 
 developed that the numerous and picturesque and elab- 
 
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 orate measures enacted by Congress and State Legisla 
 tures "to regulate transportation companies" were as 
 so much driftwood in the spring flood of a mountain 
 stream. 
 
 So thoroughly had these master spirits of the times 
 done their work, that the people had swept all obstacles 
 from their path at the last Presidential election. These 
 were some of the influences that contributed to the 
 present tolerant spirit of Mr. Ames ; but he was a man 
 of strong conviction and imperious will, and if he had 
 really believed there was any danger lurking in the 
 theories of Mrs. Strong, he would have been less 
 tolerant in his treatment of her. 
 
 The tremendous popularity of the regulation theory, 
 for a time, had convinced Mr. Ames, however, that 
 neither he nor his associate railway managers had kept 
 well enough informed regarding public sentiment ; and, 
 since their late triumph, he considered that no condi 
 tion could arise with which they could not successfully 
 cope, but it was best to know what people were think 
 ing and talking about. 
 
 Mrs. Charles Henry Ames was Barbara Lane of 
 Richmond. She belonged to that noble aristocracy of 
 the South which was founded on brains and bravery 
 in men, and beauty and graciousness in women. The 
 
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 foundation of her character was laid with the ances 
 tors who cherished splendid achievements, who ex 
 tended a hospitable greeting to every worthy person, 
 and who gave a royal cheer to every worthy effort. 
 
 Her marriage into the richest family in New York 
 City placed her in a commanding social position. 
 However, that result would probably have been at 
 tained just as readily had she been a much less cul 
 tured and refined woman than she was, for, at that 
 time, most American cities were afflicted with the 
 social reign of people who in some way (usually ac 
 cidentally from the mines, or by lucky gambling in 
 Wall Street, or from the great public utility com 
 panies) had acquired more money than their neigh 
 bors, and for that sole reason had set themselves up 
 to perform the functions of the social accolade for 
 the balance of the community. 
 
 With her charming manners, her superior accom 
 plishments, carrying her generous impulses into every 
 relation of life, Mrs. Ames easily assumed the leader 
 ship of New York society by the natural right of fit 
 ness, and she enlarged the scope of that society and 
 set the example of placing a premium upon intellect 
 and character in fixing the social status of others.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 "It seems odd, doesn't it, for the reputed brute in 
 his treatment of women to be among all of these 
 grand dames?" 
 
 Randolph was gazing at an excellent copy in oil of 
 Delaroche's famous "Napoleon," which hung on the 
 library wall of Mrs. Strong's house, surrounded by por 
 traits of Madame de Stae'l, Madame Recamier, Ma 
 dame LeBrun, and other famous women. 
 
 Mrs. Strong and Virginia Ames were standing be 
 side Randolph. It was the following morning, and 
 the three were dressed for the saddle. 
 
 "But they have vilely slandered Napoleon," Mrs. 
 Strong said. "No man in history ever was so good 
 to his female relatives as was Napoleon to his. Not 
 only was he always generous, but he was considerate 
 and courteous. No father could have done more than 
 he did for Josephine's daughter, Hortense; and to 
 Madame Permon and her daughter, the friends of 
 his youth, he was most loyal and devoted to the end. 
 He, no doubt, snubbed unmercifully the women who 
 belonged to the old aristocracy, and who treated him 
 as an adventurous upstart, whose career would be 
 fleeting. No person can read Napoleon's letters to 
 
 66
 
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 Josephine during that wonderful Italian campaign 
 without having increased respect for him, and 
 without bsing impressed anew with the conviction that 
 no man ever achieved greatness without the inspira 
 tion of some woman. However, as you may notice, 
 that copy is a new one, and I have hung it on my 
 library wall from a wholly different sentiment. Chance 
 alone placed it among these women, two of whom, at 
 least, would shock the spirit world with their ex 
 clamations if they knew their portraits were in such 
 proximity to that of Bonaparte." 
 
 "Do you mind telling us what that sentiment is?" 
 asked Randolph. 
 
 "Not in the least. Napoleon is the embodiment of 
 social and governmental progress. That he became 
 tyrannical and selfish and autocratic I grieve to ac 
 knowledge. But modern society, in every civilized 
 country on earth, is many laps farther along toward 
 the social millennium than if he had never lived. Had 
 he been killed, or overthrown, at any time between 
 Toulon and Wagram, it would have been the 
 euthanasia of modern liberalism, and the triumph of 
 feudalism in all of its worst features. Fortunately for 
 the world, he lived long enough and powerfully 
 enough to fasten the principles of the Code Napoleon 
 upon the greater part of continental Europe, and, 
 
 67
 
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 though the Allies overthrew his armies, they could not 
 destroy his laws. I look upon Moses, Lycurgus, Jus 
 tinian, Napoleon and Alexander Hamilton as the great 
 lawgivers of the world, and without their genius man 
 kind might yet be hunting each other in the wilderness. 
 
 "But, come," she added, with a sudden change of 
 manner, "we are to ride to Amesmount to-day and 
 lunch there. Amesmount, you know, Mr. Randolph, 
 is the summer home of the Ameses, near Dobbs Ferry ; 
 but of course Virginia has told you all about the glo 
 rious place. It is a summer home that is 
 kept open all winter, for the city is ever so much more 
 attractive the oftener you can get away from it." 
 
 They were soon in the saddle, and rapidly passed 
 from crowded Fifth Avenue to Riverside Drive. The 
 day was a glorious one, the air was charged with the 
 frosty electricity of departing winter, and there was 
 not a cloud to detain a single ray of the sun. 
 
 The road to Amesmount was one of the most beau 
 tiful around New York. Again and again the riders 
 stopped on some high point and gazed back at the 
 wonderful city, which, with all its incongruities of 
 architecture, was regal in its surroundings. 
 
 Amesmount had been located and created under the 
 watchful eye of Mrs. Ames. She had followed the 
 outlines of a romantic story, which she had read when 
 
 68
 
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 a girl, laid partly in the valley of the Rhone in France, 
 and partly along the Hudson. The architect, to whom 
 she carried the novel, undertook to get his plans from 
 its vivid description, and the result was a half-chateau, 
 half-cottage, that charmed every observer with its 
 lazy restfulness. The laying out of the grounds fol 
 lowed the same inspired authority: "Manifold vines 
 fasten to the low veranda and, striving upward, cling 
 with their delicate festoons and blossoms around the 
 ruddy neck of the turret. Bountiful trees shade the 
 lawn; fountains play with a dreamy lull amid their 
 shadows; quaint seats, arbors girdled with flowers, 
 calm-faced statues, rest under their far-spreading 
 boughs, perfect ideals of beauty and repose. At the 
 entrance of the green arcade leading to the house a 
 marble Ceres, garland crowned, her white arms over 
 flowing with pallid fruits, offers welcome to all who 
 enter these precincts." 
 
 Even thus early in the season Amesmount was redo 
 lent of spring, and Randolph thought it the most 
 perfect abode he had ever seen. He was proclaiming 
 his views at the luncheon, which the ladies had or 
 dered to be served in one of the arbors, so that they 
 might not miss any of the glories of the day. 
 
 '"How he would enjoy our dear old Amalfi, wouldn't 
 he, Gertrude? How beautiful it is there at this very 
 
 69
 
 season !" and Virginia's great brown eyes glowed with 
 feeling. 
 
 "It is the dreamiest country in the world, the one place 
 that always pulls at the heart strings until one returns. 
 I am not happy unless I go there once a year. I don't 
 wonder that the great novelist Crowder revels in his 
 beautiful villa at Sorrento. An old Italian used to 
 keep a shop on Broadway, near Sixteenth street, and 
 I remember when I returned from my first trip to 
 Europe, he said to me, 'Well, did you see Italy 
 thoroughly?' 'Indeed I did/ I replied. 'By the way, 
 where did you live over there?' I asked him. 'I will 
 leave that to you,' he answered. 'I lived in the most 
 beautiful part of Italy that you saw.' 'Oh,' I said, 
 'that is the Sorrento-Amalfi country.' 'I lived in Sor 
 rento,' and his face beamed. 
 
 "I don't wonder," she went on, "that Murat and his 
 wife, Napoleon's sister, were tempted to desert the 
 great Emperor and make terms with the Allies to re 
 tain their beautiful Kingdom of Naples." The violet 
 eyes of Mrs. Strong became earnest. "But what a mis 
 take Napoleon made in rejecting Murat's services in 
 the Waterloo campaign. How different the history of 
 the world might have been if the greatest cavalry com 
 mander of that day had been with Napoleon at Water 
 loo!" And a cloud of sadness passed over her ex-
 
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 pressive face. "But Amalfi! You know that Mr. 
 Ames is compelled to go to Europe on business next 
 summer, and he expects all of us to go with him. Do 
 join us, Mr. Randolph, and see glorious Amalfi for 
 yourself." 
 
 Randolph hesitated a moment, and his mind flew to 
 a dear old mother and a devoted sister in far-off Il 
 linois, whose chief joy in life was in his summer vaca 
 tions. 
 
 "I should love to go, but my summers are my 
 mother's," he replied, simply. 
 
 "We sail from Naples in September, just in time to 
 make New York for the beginning of the fall term. 
 Possibly you could leave home three weeks earlier 
 than usual, join us in Naples, and thus get a few days 
 for Southern Italy. The trip and the outing would do 
 you a world of good," persisted Mrs. Strong, who was 
 enjoying the companionship of this earnest, silent and 
 serious young man, who had revealed a part of his 
 life and ambition to her, and whose dignity of char 
 acter she understood and admired. 
 
 "That might be possible, and if so, I certainly shall 
 not miss such a treat," he replied. "But, returning to 
 Napoleon, do you know that I think decidedly the best 
 condensed history of that great man is the one written 
 recently by our own American author Watson. If 
 
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 you have not read it, you will find it interesting and 
 entertaining, and the viewpoint of the author will 
 please you, I am sure." 
 
 Mrs. Strong thanked him for the information, then 
 she added : 
 
 "There is one curious thing about great warriors, 
 and it is well worth your attention, if you are going 
 to be a great man. Most of them either started as 
 authors, or developed the art while fighting. When 
 Napoleon was a young man he dreamed that he might 
 be a great writer, so he wrote the 'Supper of Beau- 
 caire,' and tried it on every person who would listen 
 to him. It is just possible that it was the effect of this 
 effort upon his audience which drove him into risking 
 his life in the most reckless manner on every possible 
 occasion for a long time. One thing is certain, how 
 ever, his literary abilities and his graphic powers of 
 description served him well in making out his war bulle 
 tins, and in dictating his final views on mortal affairs 
 at St. Helena. Caesar perpetuated his military fame 
 by the deft use of the pen. And Joshua, phew! the 
 military feats that Joshua accomplished, according to 
 his own version of them, have been the marvel of the 
 world ever since ! They talk about which is mightier, 
 the pen or the sword. The sword has always been 
 mightiest in the hands of those who knew how to 
 
 72
 
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 wield a skilful pen. That is probably what Richelieu 
 meant in his famous exclamation over the power of the 
 pen. To trust outside and unknown biographers, when 
 you know you can do the job better yourself, is foolish, 
 anyhow." And her eyes twinkled. 
 
 "I will remember your sage advice, when the time 
 comes," Randolph answered, with mock gravity. Then 
 they all laughed, and discovered that it was time to 
 go back to the city. 
 
 During the ride down, Virginia, who had been 
 strangely silent during the early part of the day, 
 laughed and chatted gaily, smiling over her shoulder 
 at Randolph now and then in a way that would have 
 seemed coquettish in any girl who had not such 
 serious brown eyes. She was still only the schoolgirl 
 out for a holiday, and the young man wondered what 
 promise of future womanhood lay behind those eyes. 
 
 "What a creature of moods you are, Virginia !" ex 
 claimed Mrs. Strong. 
 
 "Why not ? You know I was born in the month of 
 April." 
 
 "And the children of April," said Randolph, "are 
 born to a heritage of laughter and tears. Let us hope 
 that you may inherit only the laughter." 
 
 "My mother says" and the girl's face grew pensive 
 
 73
 
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 again "my mother says that all women know sorrow 
 at some time or other." 
 
 Then she urged her horse ahead, and when they 
 came up to her she was laughing again.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Sometimes Frederic accompanied them, but gen 
 erally these three rode alone, and not one morning 
 was missed during Randolph's visit of a week, for 
 nature did her best this year to enhance the 
 glories of Eastertide, and the sun rose each morning 
 in the same fleckless sky. Mrs. Ames had given up 
 the joy of the mount, and Margaret did not care for 
 it. Frederic had many things to claim his attention 
 downtown, and seeing that George preferred this sort 
 of morning recreation to any other, he consigned him 
 to Mrs. Strong and Virginia. 
 
 "Be careful, George, of the influence of this new 
 Aspasia," he said one day, chaffingly, "or even Pro 
 fessor Weyman will disown your radical views." 
 
 On Thursday afternoon George accompanied Mrs. 
 Strong to her "Girls' Industrial School," where any 
 girl thrown upon her own resources, or belonging to 
 a family too poor to give her a practical education, 
 could enter free of charge and learn some useful art 
 or applied design. This school was the one great 
 hobby of Mrs. Strong's life. She had founded it the 
 year her husband died, and had maintained it entirely 
 at her own expense. Every day when she was in New;
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 York she had an hour with the principal at her own 
 house, and once a week she spent the entire afternoon 
 at the school. At this time the school was in an old 
 structure on Twenty-third Street, but a commodious 
 new building was being erected for it on the heights 
 above Harlem. 
 
 "I get more genuine pleasure out of these little 
 waifs than from anything else in the world," she said 
 to Randolph. "It would do your soul good to hear 
 some of the stories of these dear little creatures. One 
 girl of twelve, who was learning friezework, was in 
 the habit of carrying home with her every Saturday 
 the parchment model from which she copied, as well 
 as her own work. The teacher did not discover this 
 for some weeks. When she did, she said to the child : 
 
 *' 'Emily, dear, why do you take your work from the 
 school building on Saturday?' 
 
 " 'Well, it is this way, dear Miss Cousin: My father 
 keeps a saloon down near the ferry, and Saturday 
 nights the saloon is always filled with men, and I'm 
 teaching them art. Why, don't you know, they look 
 forward to Saturday night as the great night of the 
 week, and they already know a lot about Italian and 
 French art. Then, too, Miss Cousin, I've got my 
 father interested in art, and he closes the saloon up 
 tight, Sunday afternoons, and goes with me out to the 
 
 76
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Art Museum in the Park,' and the child's eyes danced 
 with joy at the thought of the good work she was 
 doing. 
 
 " 'All right, my dear, you continue to take your 
 work and models home with you every Saturday, and 
 if you see anything else you would like to take, tell me 
 about it,' and dear Miss Cousin turned away her head 
 to hide the tears. 
 
 "Last winter, when the weather was the coldest, an 
 other young girl, who lived on Staten Island, missed 
 school every Thursday for several weeks. Her teacher 
 finally asked her the cause. She hesitated quite a 
 little before telling her. She blushed, and the tears 
 came to her eyes. 
 
 " 'You see, dear teacher, my parents are dead, and 
 the lady I live with has only one wrap' pointing to 
 the one she had on 'and Thursday is her day to come 
 to the city to attend to business, and she needs the 
 wrap.' The teacher kissed the girl's tears away and 
 reassured her with a promise that as soon as I got 
 home all this would end. That beautiful Byzantine 
 cross on leather over there is her work. Just after my 
 return home an acquaintance of mine, engaged in 
 making artistic books, asked me if we had any new 
 models at the school. I brought him down here, and 
 he saw this cross. 'That is just what I want,' he ex- 
 
 77
 
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 claimed. 'Did any one in the school do this work?' 
 The girl was presented to him. He gave her some 
 work to do, and to-day she is drawing a regular sal 
 ary of thirty dollars a week." 
 
 "Do most of these girls get salaried positions ?" asked 
 Randolph, as he inspected exquisite China and India 
 silk patterns, cornices, wall-paper designs and splendid 
 drawings in architecture. 
 
 "Practically all of them," Mrs. Strong answered. 
 "With their own talents, supplemented by the influ 
 ence of Mr. Ames and myself, scarcely a girl goes out 
 of this school who does not earn from the beginning 
 at least twenty-five dollars, and some of them get as 
 high as one hundred dollars a week. Poor Mr. Ames ! 
 I impose upon him a lot in his work, but he really 
 loves the imposition, for, at heart, he is one of the 
 best men that ever lived. Of course the blood of 
 generations of pure money-makers will probably never 
 permit him to take the right view of the larger public 
 questions; but, in helping individual suffering human 
 ity, there is no better man on earth to appeal to. I 
 asked him to give me twenty-five thousand dollars 
 toward our new building. He said he would see about 
 it. The next Thursday afternoon, when he knew I 
 was at the school, he stopped here on his way uptown. 
 After looking over everything thoroughly, he asked 
 
 78
 
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 me what I expected the new building would cost ; and 
 I told him two hundred thousand dollars. 
 
 " 'Do you pay it all yourself ?' 
 
 " 'No,' I said, 'Mr. Johnson, the oil king, and Mr. 
 Stern, the philanthropist, have asked the privilege of 
 donating twenty-five thousand dollars each, and I have 
 accepted their offer.' 
 
 " 'Very well, Gertrude, you and I will divide the 
 other one hundred and fifty thousand dollars equally 
 between us,' and he would not listen to anything else. 
 
 "All of which shows that there are plenty of chari 
 tably disposed people in the world, if some one will 
 but direct their efforts along useful lines. I have a 
 woman friend in Chicago who is doing magnificent 
 work in her way. She is not wealthy, and her hus 
 band's income is not very large, but she uses her 
 allowance almost entirely in charitable work, and her 
 charity is so practical so sensible ! I wish I had her 
 skill and ability. She found a friendless boy in the 
 county jail, on one of her visits to that institution, 
 and learned from him that he had been there since 
 August this was November without a trial. Hav 
 ing no friends and no pull, he was entirely forgotten. 
 He was like the man who fell overboard in the China 
 Sea, where sharks abound, and the captain refused 
 to put out a boat for him. 'What's the use?' this 
 
 79
 
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 worthy official said. The sharks will get him before 
 any boat can reach him.' So this poor boy an or 
 phan sweltering the summer away in jail, untried, 
 was treated by the county authorities in the same way. 
 'What's the use ? He has no friends,' was undoubtedly 
 their soliloquy. 
 
 "This lad was charged with stealing a watermelon 
 from an express car in the railroad yard. My friend 
 went after the matter with a blunt cudgel, and the 
 boy's case was called the next morning in the Magis 
 trate's Court. The Judge listened patiently to the tes 
 timony. There was no doubt about the guilt of the 
 boy, and sentence accordingly was about to be passed, 
 when my friend arose and said : 
 
 " 'May it please the Court, I want to say a word in 
 behalf of this poor boy. It is apparent that he has no 
 friends. The charge against him is one that might 
 justly be preferred against every boy in the United 
 States, if he has red blood in his veins, and lives where 
 watermelons grow. I will venture to say that Your 
 Honor and the District Attorney might as youths have 
 been properly prosecuted for a similar offense. The 
 fact that you have succeeded in life is almost conclu 
 sive that you had energy and appetite enough to steal 
 a watermelon when you were young. It is a national 
 trait not a crime. Even were it larceny, this unfor- 
 
 80
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 tunate boy has paid the penalty by three months' im 
 prisonment in the county jail. What I wish to ask 
 of Your Honor is that, instead of sending this boy 
 back to jail, you turn him over to me, and I will 
 answer for his future conduct.' 
 
 "She took the boy, and now, three years afterward, 
 he is one of the most reliable and faithful clerks in a 
 large counting-house in Chicago, and devoted to his 
 'Dearest,' as he calls my friend. 
 
 "She has developed another idea which is working 
 splendidly under her inspiration. She got a young 
 married man off from punishment for some violation 
 of the postal laws, under the promise to be responsible 
 for him. Then she took one of the most refractory of 
 the girls from the State Institution for the reforma 
 tion of such girls, and settled the man and his wife 
 and this girl in a house near her own, which she had 
 fitted up for the purpose. After two years all three 
 had developed into useful citizens with good positions 
 obtained for them by their benefactress, and under 
 the sway of their 'Dearest' are carving out honorable 
 careers. The house is now occupied by another lot of 
 'refractory' people, who are developing into a better 
 manhood and womanhood. When she started this 
 work, of course, she was cried down by the so-called 
 orderly forces of society. 'What's the use? Let the 
 
 Bl
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 law take its course! Why endanger our safety by 
 getting these people out of jail?' 
 
 "It was the far-off cry of the nearby Pharisee. But 
 the still, small voice yet fills the world, and instead of 
 a cruel, desert place for barbarous man, the earth is 
 becoming more and more the abiding place of the just 
 who are righteous because they are just, and who 
 are beautiful because they are righteous. And the ad 
 monition from the Man of Galilee never had so much 
 force : 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the 
 least of these, ye have done it unto me.' " 
 
 Randolph had seen her in many moods, but this was 
 the first time he had ever seen her soul fully aroused. 
 She was almost transfigured before him, and the beau 
 tiful expression of Dolci's Magdalene floated before 
 his vision. 
 
 82
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Some ten days after his return to Harvard, Ran 
 dolph received this letter from Mrs. Strong: 
 "My DEAR MR. RANDOLPH : 
 
 "I take great pleasure in answering the question 
 which you put to me in your letter, received a few 
 days ago. It is needless to tell you that I am highly 
 complimented by your inquiry. It is identically the 
 question propounded to me by Mr. Ames the night we 
 had so much political discussion, and which neither 
 time nor courtesy to my host would then permit me 
 to answer. Perhaps my opinions, upon subjects as 
 weighty as this one certainly is, are not entitled to 
 much consideration under any circumstances, but I 
 most assuredly should not think of giving them to 
 you, a comparative stranger, without telling you the 
 basis of my conclusions. 
 
 "You probably know that my father, although a 
 railroad builder and owner, was a deep student of 
 American history and public affairs. I think he came 
 nearer being an enlightened statesman than any 
 man who was ever engaged in large American indus 
 trial enterprises. He fully realized the governmental 
 perils which these huge industrial combinations 
 
 83
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 engendered, and he despised, utterly, the methods by 
 which they controlled political parties and public offi 
 cials. Being an only child, and my mother having died 
 when I was an infant, I was the confidante of my 
 father's most secret thoughts. He took great pains 
 to inspire in me the love of study, and often empha 
 sized the aphorism of Pope : 'The proper study of man 
 kind is man.' I took frequent trips over his great 
 railways with him, and the Pacific coast is as familiar 
 to me as is the Atlantic. 
 
 "He took me to political conventions and to sessions 
 of State legislatures and to call upon State officials. I 
 went abroad with him twice, and his chief occupation 
 on these journeys was to inquire into all matters of 
 government as related to industries and the welfare 
 of the people. 
 
 "My father died the same year in which I was mar 
 ried, and when my husband died, two years afterward, 
 I silently, but none the less solemnly, dedicated my 
 life to the service of mankind. My investigations and 
 studies have been as thorough as I know how to make 
 them. However, with your ambitions and the sacred 
 charge of your father ringing in your ears, you must 
 investigate conditions in this country for yourself 
 for nothing can so fan the divine fire of eloquence as 
 injustice and misery in all their nakedness. 
 
 84
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "The remedy for governmental evils in this coun 
 try appears to me so simple ; but blatant political dema 
 gogues, acting for special interests that rule the gov 
 ernment, have taught the people that any change is 
 fraught with such dire peril that it is amusing to 
 watch the terror of the public mind when any reform 
 in government is suggested. 
 
 "All we need to do is to wipe out feudalism com 
 pletely uproot it and become a republic in fact as well 
 as in name. 
 
 "How can this be done ? Nationalize every industry 
 which in the least degree performs any of the func 
 tions of the general government, and municipalize 
 every industry which in the least degree performs any 
 of the functions of local government. We shall then 
 get back to popular rule, and other necessary legisla 
 tion will follow naturally and easily. After that, the 
 baronial possessions for the most part unfairly and 
 illegally acquired can be effectively dealt with by 
 readjusting the system of taxation and inheritance so 
 that the State shall gradually but surely come into 
 its own. 
 
 "In the process of readjusting taxes enters the large 
 questions of a protective tariff and the disposition of 
 our public lands in such manner that the American 
 people, as a whole, can get the greatest benefit. It 
 
 85
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 seems such an inexcusable crime that for years our 
 mines, taken from the public domain, should have 
 produced practically one-fourth of the metal from which 
 the money of the world is made, and our national 
 treasury not have profited materially therefrom. It 
 seems a much greater crime that the poor, struggling 
 masses of our people should be placed at the mercy 
 of robber coal barons, when all coal lands came orig 
 inally from the national possessions. 
 
 "No tariff law is properly 'protective' to the people, 
 which does not absolutely prohibit child labor in the 
 protected factories; which does not provide for an 
 eight-hour workday, and which does not assure a 
 reasonable price to the people of the protected articles. 
 
 "Important as these other measures are, they do not 
 essentially affect the form of our government, whereas, 
 the private performance of the public functions of 
 transportation and communication, in the nation and 
 locally, under conditions as they now exist in this 
 country, make us a feudal people and not a free 
 people. None of these latter measures, nor any whole 
 some, industrial or moral legislation, can be enacted, 
 or will have any force or effect, if enacted, until the 
 laws of the country are placed in the keeping of the 
 people of the country for their equal benefit and pro 
 tection. The ethical phase of this question enters so 
 
 86
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 largely into the social life of every hamlet, city, work 
 shop, mine and farm of the nation, that I am amazed 
 that ministers of the gospel and other public teachers 
 do not assail the system as the stumbling block to all 
 moral, as well as social, reforms everywhere. I 
 attended a State meeting of school teachers in the 
 Northwest recently, and, to my soul's delight, the 
 demoralizing effect of this system, and the frauds and 
 corruption it breeds, were thoroughly understood and 
 mercilessly assailed. 
 
 "Elaborate pains were taken in the American Con 
 stitution to guard against monarchal government and 
 its baneful influences, but so little was feudalism 
 thought of, or feared, that no effort was made to pre 
 clude the possibility of its destructive rule. It has 
 always been my sincere regret that Jefferson was not 
 in the Constitutional Convention. You will recall that 
 he set the example in the Virginia Legislature, for all 
 of the other American States to follow, of abolishing 
 every vestige of feudalism from the ownership and 
 inheritance of lands. Hamilton's mind was so full of 
 the pressing necessity of putting our badly discredited 
 finances on a sound basis, and of getting a strong 
 central government to replace the flimsy and easily 
 dissolved Confederacy, that his genius had no time 
 for the more speculative questions of the future. Your 
 
 8?
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 illustrious ancestor Edmund Randolph was, next to 
 Hamilton, the most brilliant man in that distinguished 
 assembly, and, if his eloquence could have been sup 
 plemented by the plodding but richly stored mind of 
 Jefferson on all phases of feudalism, we might not be 
 compelled to deal with these questions at the present 
 time. However, they are with us, and they are live 
 and burning issues. 
 
 "Europe has the titles of feudalism, but, outside of 
 Russia, the institution itself has no life. America has 
 not the titles, but the Middle Ages never maintained 
 a more completely organized feudal structure. 
 
 "Thus, while the Fathers successfully threw off one 
 form of old-world tyranny, another, more subtle, has 
 fastened its tentacles around the throat of our republic. 
 
 "On the threshold of your career I beg of you not 
 to temporize. Better by far never to hold any poli 
 tical office than to take one weighted with the odious 
 obligations now required to get it. No reform is 
 possible, none ever will be possible, through existing 
 political parties. Whatever the inspiration of their 
 birth, they both exist now through city, county, State 
 and national organizations, which are officered and 
 drilled and supplied with their commissariat by the 
 system which has supplanted popular government 
 through this very ownership.
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "As an illustration of this condition of affairs, you 
 will find that the men composing the National Demo 
 cratic Convention in 1904 were practically the same 
 men that constituted the National Democratic Con 
 vention of 1896; yet the Edict of Nantes and the 
 Magna Charta are not more widely different than are 
 those two declarations of party principles. It is not 
 surprising that hysterical questions are being asked in 
 the public press: 'What is a Democrat?' 'What is a 
 Republican?' For neither party advocates the same 
 things during two successive campaigns, and neither 
 one dares to strike at the real root of governmental evil. 
 
 "The party boss, who may have been convicted of 
 highway robbery in San Francisco, the saloonkeeper 
 party boss of Chicago, the prizefighter party boss of 
 Boston, the race track party boss of New York, the 
 professional party boss of Philadelphia, and so on 
 through every American city, each and all keeping 
 the party organization intact with the money of public 
 utility companies, are the foundations upon which 
 party government, which we are fond of calling 'free 
 government/ rests in this country. These bosses, acting 
 singly in local affairs, collectively in national affairs, 
 dictate party policies, party nominations, and, there 
 fore, the methods of government. 
 
 "Every person with eyes to see knows it is true. 
 
 89
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "Neither do so-called 'popular nomination methods' 
 have the slightest effect. They simply increase the 
 number of lieutenants and the expense, both trivial 
 matters to those interested, and the result remains the 
 same. How the spirits of Jefferson and Lincoln must 
 writhe in agony, if they are capable of witnessing 
 mundane affairs, to see the banners of the great politi 
 cal parties which they created borne aloft by such 
 hands, and to hear the orators and newspaper organs 
 of these creatures adjuring voters 'to remain loyal to 
 the great party' of Freedom or Democracy. 
 
 "And the opponents of the contention that the gov 
 ernment should perform all of its functions for itself 
 exclaim with uplifted hands: 'It would create such 
 powerful political machines !' 
 
 "As the Frenchman would say: 'It is to laugh.' 
 
 "Washington clearly foresaw the menace to free 
 government in party rule, and eight years after the 
 beginning of our government warned his countrymen 
 against such rule. The idea is so preposterous that it 
 would be most comical, if it were not so serious, that 
 a political party brought into existence to solve some 
 great problem of government by a union of forces of 
 the same manner of thinking fifty or one hundred 
 years ago, should now serve as banner, buckler, shield 
 and spear for hosts bent only upon government rapine 
 
 90
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 and plunder. A Theodoric may occasionally loom up, 
 but the controlling forces are essentially barbaric in 
 political instinct and barbarous in moral standards. 
 
 "How proud I should be to call either one or both 
 of these great political parties 'the party of Jefferson 
 and Lincoln/ if they would but win the title by their 
 deeds ! 
 
 "We might be willing to forgive the personal fail 
 ings of many of the captains, lieutenants and generals, 
 as the Christians did in the armies of the Crusaders, 
 for the cause was holy enough to sanctify every 
 warrior. 
 
 "I hope these feminine views of very masculine sub 
 jects may be of service to you. 
 
 "If my arraignment appears somewhat strenuous, 
 you will pardon it, for I am sure your own feelings will 
 be quite as strong when you have the opportunity 
 closely to observe existing political conditions for 
 yourself. Sincerely yours, 
 
 "GERTRUDE STRONG." 
 
 Randolph read the letter again and again. 
 
 Could it be possible, he asked himself, that the 
 boasted free government of the United States rested 
 upon such flimsy and corrupt foundations? 
 
 Coming from any other woman of his acquaintance, 
 he would have regarded the governmental arraignment 
 
 91
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 as the vagaries of a highly-strung person, who had 
 theorized so long on these questions from an altruistic 
 standpoint that quite naturally she had acquired an 
 exaggerated estimate of the evils which she had de 
 tailed. 
 
 But he had witnessed the clear, practical business 
 ability of Mrs. Strong in her management of her 
 Industrial School. She had displayed her thorough 
 knowledge of public questions in her discussion with 
 Mr. Ames. The depths of her convictions were some 
 what sounded when he recalled her efforts to get to 
 the roots of governmental evils by her years of study. 
 Her fortitude and devotion were manifest when she 
 combated, by example and precept, the theories held 
 by those who moved along the same paths of life with 
 her, and who were very near and dear to her. 
 
 He little dreamed, at this time, that his own experi 
 ences and observation were soon to make this letter 
 appear mild and inadequate in its arraignment of 
 party government. 
 
 92
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 "Don't be poring over those charts and compasses 
 any longer. Come out on the bridge, for we shall soon 
 be entering the most beautiful bay in the world," called 
 Captain Ruser, of the Dresden, to Randolph as they 
 approached the Bay of Naples. And as Randolph 
 stood by his side, he added: "Here, take my glasses. 
 Next to Constantinople, Naples has the most pic 
 turesque location of any city on earth." 
 
 Randolph had gone to the pilot house early that 
 morning on the invitation of the captain, and had be 
 come interested in the navigation of the boat, when the 
 captain called to him from the bridge. The sun was 
 just rising, and its rays illuminated the rugged out 
 line of Capri. Randolph strained his eyes to see all 
 he could of this famous island, where Sappho is said 
 to have lived for awhile, and where Tiberius spent 
 the last ten years of his life. Beyond Capri, Sorrento 
 was just coming into view, and Randolph longed to 
 know the location of Tasso's house that house to 
 which he returned from prison, "persecuted by the 
 envy of the little and the calumny of the great," to 
 seek his sister and to see if she still recognized and 
 loved him. Randolph recalled the affecting scene of 
 
 93
 
 i THE LIBERATORS 
 
 their meeting; how she recognized him at once, not 
 withstanding his disguise of a beggar ; how she threw 
 herself into his arms and with stifled sobs pressed him 
 to her heart ; how she prepared a feast for him which 
 neither one could eat, "so full of tears were their 
 hearts," and how they passed the day in weeping, 
 "looking out upon the sea and recalling the happy 
 hours of their childhood." 
 
 Randolph then had the captain point out to him 
 Mount Posilippo, at the foot of which Virgil was 
 buried, and on the beach of Margellina, which stretches 
 from the base of Posilippo, formerly stood the small 
 fisherman's house where Lamartine spent so many 
 happy days with Graziella. To the left was the Island 
 of Procida where they had met he, a lad of eighteen, 
 she, a girl of sixteen. 
 
 This hazy, dreamy atmosphere sent Randolph into a 
 deep reverie of Lamartine's sad and beautiful little 
 book. He could almost see the shore where the 
 wrecked fishermen landed ; the small house where they 
 went by moonlight; the beautiful but primitive girl 
 who defended the young men against her grand 
 mother; the "astrico" where they spent the long sum 
 mer evenings. 
 
 He was plunged in this meditation when Captain 
 Ruser aroused him : "We shall be compelled to anchor 
 
 94
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 about a mile out in the bay, so you had better get your 
 luggage ready to go ashore. Quarantine will not de 
 lay us long." 
 
 The boat had scarcely cast anchor when Randolph 
 heard his name lustily called from the water. Amidst 
 threescore boats and launches, of all sizes and ages, 
 and amidst the din of rival boatmen striving for first 
 place around the ship's ladders, Randolph recognized 
 Frederic Ames, and, the launch coming into full view, 
 he saw the whole family, including Mrs. Strong, wav 
 ing him a cordial welcome. He returned their salute, 
 and gave his steward an extra tip to get his luggage 
 off among the first. Soon he was in the midst of his 
 friends, who convinced him readily enough that he 
 was "the long lost brother" for whom they had been 
 waiting. There was no "Mr. Randolph" from any 
 person in this greeting, but it was "George," with a 
 heartiness that delighted his soul. 
 
 "What a glorious-looking new boat the Dresden is, 
 and what a grand time we shall have going home on 
 her !" exclaimed Virginia, and then added, "You know, 
 George, we have but five days until she sails, so we 
 have arranged a complete program for you. All you 
 have to do is to obey orders. Is that very difficult for 
 you?" and the brown eyes were beaming undisguised 
 joy upon him. 
 
 95
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "We met the Hardings in Paris, and they both sent 
 their love to you. They so much wanted to join us 
 here, but were compelled to sail for America two 
 weeks ago," said Mrs. Ames. George had met the 
 architect and his wife on his Easter visit to New 
 York. 
 
 It took the launch but a few minutes to reach the 
 wharf, where, amidst the din of cabbies, porters, little 
 Italian ragamuffins, who are a real joy when one be 
 comes accustomed to them, the party made its way to 
 two beautiful new French cars, which Mr. Ames had 
 purchased in Paris and in which they had motored to 
 Naples. As if by natural adjustment, Randolph found 
 himself with Mrs. Strong, Virginia and Frederic, 
 while the others led the way through the busy and 
 noisy streets and up the hill to Bertolini's. They were 
 joined at breakfast by Edwin Van Cise, son of the 
 famous New York banker. They had met Mr. Van 
 Cise at Bertolini's, and as he was to sail on the Dres 
 den and had no particular plans of his own while in 
 Naples, they had asked him to become one of their 
 party. 
 
 Edwin Van Cise was a young man of about Fred 
 eric's age, of dark complexion and athletic build, and 
 during his college term had been one of the best play 
 ers on Yale's football team. He and Margaret Ames 
 
 96
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 had been friends and chums since their childhood, and 
 the sentiment of Edwin, naively expressed when a lad 
 of eight, that he was "going to marry Margaret when 
 he got big," had shown no evidence of change as the 
 two grew older. 
 
 "You must see the Museum and the Aquarium this 
 forenoon, and then we shall climb to the heights for 
 the view this afternoon," said Virginia, as she and 
 Mrs. Strong and Frederic went with Randolph on the 
 elevator down the shaft in the solid rock upon which 
 the hotel was built. As they passed through the busi 
 ness streets, the hucksters, peddlers, cab drivers and 
 street hawkers of all kinds made such a din as Ran 
 dolph had never heard before. 
 
 "This is the quiet of a desert compared to some 
 years ago," said Mrs. Strong. "And really Naples is 
 becoming a clean city. You should have seen the filth 
 of this place the first time I visited it. There was not 
 much choice then between Naples and Constantinople, 
 so far as cleanliness was concerned. They both relied 
 upon the steep grades of their streets and the frequent 
 rains to do the work of street cleaning." 
 
 They were passing one of the famous restaurants of 
 the city when Frederic exclaimed : 
 
 "Mark well that place, George, and if you ever eat 
 fish there be sure to ascertain the price of it in ad- 
 
 97
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 vance. When I was here two years ago a friend of 
 mine, young Wilson, from Chicago you know him, 
 George was with me, and we went in there for 
 luncheon. We wanted fish, so I called the head waiter 
 and in the best Italian I could command I told him of 
 our gastronomic ambition. Yes, they had fish, the best 
 ever, just fresh from the sea; 'lupo marino, in French, 
 monsieur, loup de mer' he said. Both names have a 
 fascinating sound to me, even now, and a memory 
 clings about them, such as a Reuben must cherish for 
 the first gold-brick man of his acquaintance. The head 
 waiter brought the loup de mer on a large platter; it 
 looked fine and fresh, and we were quite certain that 
 no fish would appease our hunger as would this par 
 ticular lupo marino, alias loup de mer. We had to wait 
 quite a while; but what was the value of time com 
 pared to the pleasure we would have in devouring this 
 gorgeous loup de mer. I had plenty of leisure to 
 look over the menu, but nowhere could I find 
 loup de mer, although French names and values were 
 used, neither could I find the price thereof. But, pouf ! 
 what did that matter? Everybody knows that at 
 swell restaurants the choice specialties are not put on 
 the card. Then, too, no doubt, this splendid fish, this 
 wolf of the sea king or queen as it might be had 
 been kept especially for us. I discovered afterward 
 
 98
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 that this was undoubtedly the case, although I never 
 thought that either Wilson or myself quite looked the 
 part. 
 
 "Finally, our loup de mer came, in all its radiant 
 glory, and we fell upon it with appetites that had be 
 come still more strenuous by our long wait. We had 
 plenty of et ceteras, but they were all on the card and 
 the prices were given in plain figures, so of course they 
 were what any vulgar guest could get any day. But 
 loup de mer ? Well, I guess not ! It is only caught on 
 special occasions, and, of course, is only served to 
 special people. 
 
 "The fish was really very good, and we left nothing 
 of it but the bones. 
 
 "Then the bill came, and concurrently with that 
 event the head waiter had an urgent call to the farthest 
 end of the dining-hall. The et ceteras were all right, 
 and I never before realized just how honest, and up 
 right, and sincere, and loyal, et ceteras were. But the 
 loup de mer thirty-five francs seven dollars! I 
 passed the bill over to Wilson without saying a word. 
 He arose, went across the room to a large mirror and 
 gazed earnestly at himself. 
 
 " 'I can't understand it/ he said upon his return. 
 'You look all right, and I can't find any green leaves 
 
 99
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 or alfalfa in my hair. I think we'd better take the 
 first boat home.' 
 
 "We paid the bill, gave the waiter the usual tip, and 
 smiled blandly on the head waiter as we went out. The 
 next day we went back there for luncheon, and I called 
 the same head waiter. I asked him if they had some 
 loup de mer as good as that which we had yesterday. 
 
 " 'Si, si, Senor' he exclaimed, 'much finer.' 
 
 I told him to bring us one, and he brought a beauty 
 much larger and finer than the one of the day 
 before. Then I asked him in French, so as to make 
 sure he would not misunderstand me, or I him, how 
 much it would be ? 
 
 " 'Oh, I see ! Monsieur is living here for a while ? 
 Under these circumstances the price will be five francs/ 
 and he gave me his sweetest smile." 
 
 Frederic threw all of his dramatic talent, which was 
 considerable, into this recital, and his audience roared 
 with laughter. 
 
 "But it illustrates the business methods of these peo 
 ple," he added. "So many fool nouveau riche Ameri 
 cans go galloping through Europe, making a vulgar 
 display of their wealth, giving dollars for tips where 
 francs are the expected ones, that, of course, these peo 
 ple take advantage of them. Why shouldn't they? 
 
 "Some of the large restaurants in New York take 
 
 100
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 similar advantage of the splurging new mine owner 
 from the West, when it is apparent that he has his fam 
 ily in New York for the first time and wishes to make 
 an impression. The trouble about this thing in Europe 
 is that the innocent have to suffer for the guilty, and 
 students, and others who can least afford it, who travel 
 for the real education and culture derived from travel 
 ing, are compelled to fight the battles against these at 
 tempts at gouging. Father's interpretation of Italian 
 impositions is that the bands of brigands that years ago 
 infested Italy and Sicily have all gone into the hotel 
 and restaurant and guide business, finding the booty 
 much greater, and the risks much less than when they 
 took all the traveler had at the point of a gun." 
 
 "Well, the brigands had their charm, in any event," 
 said Mrs. Strong. "Somehow it seems tame to go to 
 the Coliseum in Rome at night, now, when one recalls 
 the thrilling tales of kidnapping by dark-masked brig 
 ands, only a few years ago." 
 
 "If you keep up your public work you'll have your 
 hands full enough of brigands, although they may not 
 wear masks," laughingly rejoined Frederic. 
 
 They had arrived at the Aquarium, and, alighting, 
 they showed Randolph what is probably the most inter 
 esting collection of fish in the world. Then they went 
 to the Museum, where the noon hour still found them. 
 
 101
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "Come," said Frederic, "we are to have loup de mer 
 for luncheon ; the hour and the man are here, and all 
 we lack is the famous loup." 
 
 They went down the street a few blocks to Gar- 
 rono's noted restaurant, where the head waiter smil 
 ingly recognized Frederic, and where they had most 
 delicious loup de mer at a total cost of eight francs. 
 Then they motored up the hill to the splendid road that 
 runs for miles back of Naples. 
 
 With the enchantment of the view, the glories of the 
 warm, but not hot, September day, and the pleasure of 
 being with these people, whom he liked better than any 
 others on earth, except his own mother and sister, Ran 
 dolph felt that his cup of joy was full to the brim. 
 
 102
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 "I can dance the tarantella, George ; do you want me 
 to teach you ?" said Virginia to Randolph as they were 
 all gathered, after dinner, in the large drawing-room 
 of the family suite at Bertolini's. 
 
 From the open windows could be seen Vesuvius, in 
 pacific mood, smoking her evening pipe; the lights 
 along the coast as far as Castellammare ; the small fish 
 ing boats, with their lanterns and torches, preparing 
 for their nightly trip. The air was filled with the 
 music of the guitar, the tambourine, the sweet voices 
 of the natives. On the tops of several houses people 
 were gathered on what they called the "astrico" for 
 the evening's recreation. Some were reading, some 
 reclining, while others were dancing, and still others 
 were singing, or playing on musical instruments. 
 
 "Yes, by all means, I should love to have you teach 
 me the tarantella," replied Randolph. "But let me 
 see you dance it first." 
 
 "Wait till I get my castanets, and you, Frederic, 
 must get the tambourine." 
 
 They were back in a moment, and with Frederic 
 playing the native accompaniment, she gathered her 
 skirts ever so daintily in one hand, and, with the casta- 
 
 103
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 nets held aloft and keeping time in the other hand, she 
 danced that wild, free and most graceful of all national 
 dances. The perfect lines of her body, the artistic 
 poise, the always graceful attitude, the laughing eyes, 
 the wealth of dark brown hair clustering carelessly 
 over her beautiful Beatrice-like forehead, the little ears 
 peeping through stray waves of hair, the magnetism of 
 her youth, formed a picture and wove a spell which 
 were never effaced from Randolph's mind. 
 
 They encored her, and again she danced it, with 
 never-tiring enthusiasm, and with the real abandon of 
 a native, smiling all the while, apparently intoxicated 
 with the spirit of the dance and the place and the 
 surroundings. 
 
 "Now, come," she said to Randolph, who was a 
 perfect dancer, and together they went through the 
 wild and fascinating figures. 
 
 This ended, she took the guitar, and, asking Fred 
 eric to accompany her with the tambourine, they 
 played those soft, beautiful airs of Southern Italy, 
 those airs which captivated the sensitive soul of 
 Lamartine: "Although the instruments were gay 
 ones, and the actions of the players those of joy, the 
 melodies themselves were sad. The tones, delicate 
 and rare, went to the heart and there touched the 
 sleeping chords. Such is music everywhere, when it 
 
 104
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 is not a senseless play upon the ears, but the har 
 monious wail of passions which come from the soul 
 through the voice. Every accent is a sigh, and every 
 note brings a tear with its sound. It is impossible to 
 strike hard upon the heart without bringing out tears, 
 so full of sadness is human nature at the core, and so 
 easily does that which affects it force the dregs to 
 our lips and the mist to our eyes." 
 
 Ten o'clock came before any of them realized it. 
 
 "So you won't change your mind and go in the 
 auto?" asked Mr. Ames of Virginia. 
 
 "Oh, no!" she exclaimed, "Half the beauty of 
 the trip consists in loitering along. We don't want 
 to go over the Amalfi road as we would skim along 
 Riverside Drive. No, Gertrude, George, Frederic and 
 I will take the train to Pompeii, and there get us a 
 landau, decorated in real Sicilian style. We will join 
 
 you at the Vittoria in Sorrento in the afternoon." 
 * * * * 
 
 "Isn't it gorgeous ! This is the way to travel in the 
 dreamy, sleepy country which we are about to enter," 
 and Virginia clapped her hands with joy, as the gaily 
 bedecked landau drove up to the Hotel Suisse, where 
 they had lunch after doing Pompeii. 
 
 Tufts of green foliage reached above the brilliant 
 and variegated flowers encircling the collars of the 
 
 105
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 three horses. Vines, with rosettes gracefully inter 
 twined every few inches, ran from the blinders on 
 the bridle to the crupper, and along the traces of each 
 horse. The driver had attired himself in blue trousers, 
 a brown coat and a light-colored soft hat, encircled 
 with a brilliant red ribbon. 
 
 They were soon on the road winding along the 
 shore of the Bay of Naples, now passing through the 
 streets of some village or town, now loitering close to 
 the placid blue of the waters. A spirit of reverie 
 took possession of the travelers, and the beauty of the 
 landscape seemed to occupy every silent thought. Very 
 little was said until Sorrento was reached, when Mrs. 
 Strong pointed out the places of most interest to 
 strangers. 
 
 They drove through the main streets of the town 
 until they came to the entrance to the Vittoria grounds, 
 and then through tropical foliage and resplendent 
 flower beds they wended their way to the hotel, where 
 the other party had preceded them by a couple of 
 hours. 
 
 Randolph had read many descriptions of the beauty 
 of Sorrento, but the ineffable charm of the place had 
 not been described. As the calm of an Italian evening 
 settled over the town, it seemed to him like a fairyland 
 conjured up from some dim memory of the past. 
 
 106
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 The whole party went down on the terrace by the 
 bay and watched the day gradually shade off into hazy 
 twilight. The lights of Naples began to shimmer in 
 the now dark blue of the sea. Capri sat silent and 
 stately, and an echo of distant music seemed to float 
 from its shores. The Apennines, covered to the top 
 with verdue, melted into the harmonious lines of the 
 picture. Even Vesuvius appeared to be subdued by the 
 scene, and its usually dark and grim-visaged outline 
 looked calm and reposeful. Edwin Van Cise and 
 Margaret strolled to the far end of the terrace ; Fred 
 eric and Mrs. Strong had gone in some other direction, 
 while Mr. and Mrs. Ames had returned to the hotel. 
 
 When Randolph came out of his reverie he dis 
 covered that he and Virginia were quite alone. 
 
 "Oh, I thought you never were coming back!" she 
 laughingly said to him. 
 
 "It was rude of me, wasn't it? I didn't realize 
 where I was." 
 
 "Didn't we tell you so at Amesmount? This place 
 gets into the blood, and they say it departs only with 
 life. But look at Capri! See the glorious rays of the 
 moon upon it!" 
 
 The moon had just come over the crest of the 
 mountain, and it shone through the haze of the right 
 
 107
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 with the soft effulgence of a vestry light around an 
 altar. 
 
 "I never see the moonlight upon the water that I do 
 not recall the 'Fire Worshippers/ " she said. 
 
 "How much of it do you recall on such occasions?" 
 he asked, smiling at her half playfully, though his 
 eyes were dreamy and serious. 
 
 "Oh, all of that part where Hafed scales the cliff 
 to Hinda's bower, where she makes her beautiful 
 wish and utters her sad lament." 
 
 "I think it is one of the most exquisite love wishes 
 ever penned in any language," he said, "but I always 
 imagined one had to be in love to appreciate it fully. 
 Is it not so?" 
 
 "Possibly I am not capable of appreciating its deep 
 est beauty, for I never in imagination filled Hafed's 
 part with any real person. But if the ideal man ever 
 comes into my life that is the way I want to love him." 
 
 "He will be very happy," Randolph replied simply, 
 but there was a tone in his voice she had never heard 
 before. 
 
 At this moment Mrs. Strong and Frederic returned 
 
 to warn them that the dinner hour had arrived. 
 * * * * 
 
 "Do buy some of their flowers, Frederic. They 
 have been running behind our carriage for a mile," 
 
 1 08
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 said Virginia, as two pretty-faced little girls called out 
 their posies to the travelers. 
 
 The carriage stopped, and Frederic bought all the 
 flowers the children had, rather indifferent little 
 bunches tied with old twine ; but the happy faces after 
 the purchase made amends for the sorry-looking 
 flowers. 
 
 "Do you see those children just ahead? We shall 
 have no peace until we buy their flowers also, and 
 thus it will be all along the road. They have a sort of 
 secret telegraph system by which the 'easy marks' ar< 
 pointed out miles in advance," said Frederic. 
 
 It was as he predicted until they had more bouquets 
 than they could carry, when they unloaded all of 
 them by the side of the road. 
 
 Soon after leaving Sorrento they passed over a spur 
 of the mountains, and the beautiful Gulf of Salerno 
 broke upon their vision. In some places the road was 
 on cliffs projecting over the sea at a height of two 
 thousand feet, but everywhere so solidly walled with 
 masonry that no accident was possible in that direc 
 tion. With the changing green of the Apennines on one 
 side and the changeable blue of the sea on the other, 
 with white sails here and there resting against the 
 variable blue, and red-topped castles or monasteries 
 appearing against the ever-shifting green of the moun- 
 
 109
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 tains, with the air laden with the fragrance and balm of 
 the trees and with the soft haze of the water, Randolph 
 felt every sense yielding to the spell and every wish 
 that it should never end. 
 
 "I don't wonder that you are enraptured with your 
 Amalfi country. I wish I could stay here forever," he 
 said. "How refreshing it must be to those who are 
 worn out with mental work and worry." 
 
 "Haven't you noticed how many men, young and old, 
 we have met walking, with their bundles thrown over 
 their shoulders?" asked Mrs. Strong. "Many of these 
 are students in European universities, others are pro 
 fessors, others are business men from the cities. They 
 tramp through here leisurely, stopping over night at 
 the fishing villages. You can imagine the rest they 
 get from such a trip." 
 
 They had descended now to the level of the sea, and 
 were in the midst of a fishing village. On the beach 
 fifty people old men and women, girls and boys, 
 maidens and youths were tugging away at the line 
 of a huge fishing net, which seemed to be anchored 
 quite a distance out. 
 
 "What sport it would be to help them !" cried Vir 
 ginia. "Do ask them if we may, Frederic?" 
 
 Frederic called to them in Italian, and asked if they 
 would like to have their help, and a chorus of "Si si, 
 
 no
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Senor," was the reply. So the whole party alighted, 
 and for a half hour they tugged away at the net with 
 the natives, much to the joy of those simple people. 
 When they left the Italians shouted their thanks with 
 profuseness: "Grazie, Senor el Grazie, Senori" 
 
 "I wonder if that isn't the first useful work I ever 
 did in my life," Virginia said. 
 
 At noon they drove through the tunnel in the moun 
 tain which leads into Amalfi, and soon they had 
 climbed the steep road to the Cappuccini-Convento, an 
 old Capuchin monastery, but now a very delightful 
 hostelry. 
 
 "You promised to recite Longfellow's 'Amalfi' tc 
 me. What better place and time than now ?" Randolph 
 said to Virginia, as they sat after dinner on a rustic 
 seat on the terrace not far from the hotel. Mrs. 
 Strong had been with them, but had returned to the 
 house for a wrap. The others had gone down into 
 the village to get souvenirs. 
 
 "Not the whole of it, for it's too long but only the 
 two stanzas I find myself often murmuring when 
 winter comes on in far-off America: 
 
 " 'Sweet the memory is to me 
 Of a land beyond the sea, 
 
 in
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Where the waves and mountains meet, 
 Where amid her mulberry trees 
 Sits Amalfi in the heat, 
 Bathing ever her white feet 
 In the tideless summer seas. 
 
 " 'This is an enchanted land ! 
 Round the headlands far away 
 Sweeps the blue Salernian bay 
 With its sickle of white sand; 
 Further still and furthermost 
 On the dim discovered coast 
 Paestum with its ruins lies, 
 And its roses all in bloom 
 Seem to tinge the fatal skies 
 Of that lonely land of doom/ " 
 
 The sweet cadences of her voice brought out the 
 full beauty of the lines. 
 
 "Did you not see the numerous marked places on the 
 cliffs and crags as we came along to-day, at each of 
 which it is said that some one has committed suicide? 
 Why any one should wish to commit suicide amid such 
 surroundings I cannot comprehend ; but I have often 
 thought that when I die I should like to be buried in 
 this mountain, just above the hotel. I can understand 
 
 112
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 / Helen Hunt Jackson's wish to be buried in Cheyenne 
 Mountain, and how I long to see that noble place, 
 which I feel I know as well as I do this one! I can 
 appreciate the sentiment which so infatuates some 
 natures with certain spots of this beautiful earth that 
 they never want to feel there will be a separation," and 
 the laughing eyes of the dancer of the tarantella had 
 become the fathomless ones of the dreamer. 
 
 Randolph had long ago discovered that there were 
 two distinct natures in this girl, both sweet, both fas 
 cinating ; but, like the music of this country, one strain 
 represented joy, the other sorrow. Mrs. Strong had 
 told him that often they would find her in tears, or 
 with a nervous chill, from reading some poem or story 
 that stirred the depths of her nature. 
 
 This night she was in one of her sorrowful moods. 
 Perhaps it was the atmosphere of the place which she 
 loved so well, and from which she was loath to be 
 separated. Perhaps it was the natural reaction from 
 the joyful tension of the past few days. Perhaps new 
 and strange feelings were coursing through her soul. 
 
 In any event, as the half-sad, half-joyful melodies 
 floated up from the village below, she turned her head 
 away to hide from him the now fast-falling tears. But 
 he soon detected them, and with great tenderness he 
 talked to her as he had often talked to his sister in 
 
 "3
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 her hours of sorrow. The sincere, direct, manly 
 nature of the youth never permitted him to indulge in 
 flippant talk to women, but when his sympathies were 
 aroused his nature was as deep as it was strong. 
 
 Whatever tactful and sympathetic words he may 
 have uttered, the effect was magical, for she soon 
 brushed away her tears and gave him the old smile, in 
 which joy had gained the ascendency. 
 
 When Mrs. Strong returned she divined the storm 
 that had so recently swept over the soul of the finely 
 constructed and delicately responsive girl, and she led 
 the conversation along the lightest possible lines during 
 the remainder of the evening. 
 
 114
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 "I pity the poor creatures from the bottom of my 
 heart !" 
 
 "You are foolish, for they are going to much better 
 conditions to a place where they will be free, and can 
 gain a fortune for themselves and their families." 
 
 The first speaker was Mrs. Strong, the second was 
 Mr. Ames, as they leaned over the railing on the 
 promenade deck to look at the emigrants who had 
 taken passage on the Dresden at Naples. There were 
 two thousand of them, a ship's officer had said. They 
 were poorly dressed, many of them in rags, and most 
 of the women and children looked as though a bath 
 tub was an unknown article in their civilization. 
 
 "I wish I could feel that you are right," she an 
 swered, "for it would make some difference in my 
 views; though we haven't progressed very much, at 
 the best, since the morning stars sang together, when 
 our civilization consists of millions of people in the 
 condition of these poor creatures, drudging their lives 
 away to support a few thousand millionaires, who pos 
 sess the bulk of the money of the world and whose 
 chief joy in living seems to be in the knowledge of the
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 fact that they possess more money than do their neigh 
 bors." 
 
 "Put aside your altruistic doctrine, Aspasia, and even 
 you must concede that their lives will be happier and 
 better than in their native land," he said. 
 
 "I am not so sure of that, either. Byron expresses my 
 sentiments on that subject: 
 
 " The commonwealth of kings, the men of Rome ! 
 'And even since, and now, fair Italy ! 
 Thou art the garden of the world, the home 
 Of all Art yields, and Nature can decree : 
 Even in thy desert, what is like to thee? 
 Thy very weeds are beautiful, thy waste 
 More rich than other climes' fertility ; 
 Thy wreck a glory, and thy ruin graced 
 With an immaculate charm which cannot be de 
 faced.' 
 
 "Their country has been shaken with almost every 
 social, political and military revolution known to 
 Europe," she went on, "until it is a wonder there is any 
 nation left. The greed of the strong has always made 
 Italy its prey. But Mother Nature has faithfully smiled 
 on the fair land through it all, and where on earth is 
 there such another spot? These people leave all that 
 
 116
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Byron describes for a freedom which they will find is 
 dead sea fruit, and a prosperity which the first breath 
 of approaching social revolution will sweep away, until 
 more just conditions are established. But the pity of 
 it all is that we, who had never had the curse of tribal 
 rule and tyranny, of direct monarchal rule and tyranny, 
 of feudal rule and tyranny, of religious rule and ty 
 ranny ; who were not handicapped with the customs 
 of an unjust and despotic past; who had no titled 
 aristocracy to support ; whose government was founded 
 with all the wisdom and follies of the ages before us 
 that we should have fastened a rule upon ourselves 
 that is worse and more oppressive, because more sub 
 tle, than ever blighted any of these nations. The cruel- 
 est part is that we cannot in reality offer what we say 
 we can, 'an asylum to the oppressed of all nations.' " 
 
 "Tut, tut, my dear Aspasia! Your theories would 
 kill all individual ambition and effort, and we would be 
 a nation of sluggards." 
 
 '"'Far from it," she said with emphasis. "That is a 
 sophistical argument which is being used in the 
 United States to mislead the people. I am greatly 
 surprised if you have not gone below the surface of 
 such stuff. My plan will appeal to the ambition and 
 individuality of every citizen as they have never been 
 appealed to before. You know that the spirit of the 
 
 117
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 age is consolidation, and, under the vast industrial 
 combinations of the United States, what opportunity, 
 what individualism, have the millions of employees? 
 For the few, yes, there are tremendous opportuni 
 ties ! But those few are generally favorites, without 
 particular merit, and whom fortune, not ambition, not 
 individualism, has thrown into position. The Indus 
 trial Captains of America have already crushed in 
 dividualism, and if you are searching for those who 
 have taken longer strides toward absolute socialism 
 than have any others in our beloved country, you do 
 not need to take your field glass from a few build 
 ings in and around Wall Street." 
 
 "But your system of nationalizing and municipaliz 
 ing all these great industries, which have to deal in a 
 large and constant way with the public, will not re 
 store the individualism which you say no longer exists ; 
 and all experience in our country demonstrates that it 
 will cost more to operate them, and that the service 
 will not be nearly so efficient," he said. 
 
 "Again, I think you are mistaken on both proposi 
 tions, Mr. Ames. You know that you Captains of In 
 dustry would not long have stood for the miserable 
 system of government espionage and blackmail, called 
 regulation. If you could not have overthrown it at 
 the polls, you would have been the most ardent cham- 
 
 118
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 pions of government ownership yourselves; for when 
 the government undertook, arbitrarily, to fix the limit 
 of your capitalization and earnings and expenses and 
 rates, that government was striking individualism 
 'higher up.' Eh?" And she gave him a side glance 
 which was more expressive than were her words. 
 
 He looked out across the water, but made no 
 answer. 
 
 "You captains," she continued, "struck down in 
 dividualism all along the line of your industries up to 
 the shoulder-strap brigade, and the government struck 
 down their pretensions. The moment you people can 
 not control the elasticity of your capitalization and 
 earnings, that moment your ambition ceases, and you, 
 then, would rather have the government purchase and 
 operate these properties through skilled men, with its 
 own capital, than through political pigmies on your 
 capital. And so it was that when regulation was in 
 vogue, you magnates just switched the field of your 
 operations from legislative halls to judicial tribunals, 
 for the judges had the last say on what constituted 
 'reasonable charges, reasonable rates,' etc. We had 
 a saturnalia of judicial misinterpretation of law such 
 as I hope our country will never see again. There 
 were notable and noble exceptions but they need no 
 defender." 
 
 119
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "Oh, come, Aspasia, you are talking wild-eyed non 
 sense," he impatiently said. 
 
 "The point I am attempting to make is this: you 
 railway people are performing what are really gov 
 ernment functions in the transportation of passengers. 
 Unless you are left unrestricted in the performance of 
 your duties, you claim that your civil rights are being 
 interfered with, and that your individualism is de 
 stroyed. Left unrestricted, and being quasi-public 
 officials, your ambition and your interest naturally lead 
 you into controlling all other branches of government, 
 because, in that way, you can obtain the biggest, most 
 valuable results, and that is always the goal of un 
 restricted individualism in modern society. When the 
 millennium of freedom preached by some schools of 
 scientific anarchists arrives it will be different. So 
 government becomes, not your master, but your crea 
 ture, and as your creature you use it with tyrannous 
 force to make all other classes of society pay you 
 tribute; and this is the foundation of feudalism, the 
 basis of class rule in our country a rule which will 
 eventually destroy all semblance of free government 
 if permitted to exist. To undertake to regulate your 
 freedom of action and to deal with your money as a 
 public fund constitutes what you financiers call a 
 governmental impertinence, and it does seem to be a 
 
 120
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 defect such as oculists term, in certain affections of 
 the eye, 'against the rule.' To offset this impertinence 
 you redoubled your efforts to control all branches of 
 government, and the government, dealing through 
 novices with skilled mental athletes, made little head 
 way. The fault of the whole matter is that the gov 
 ernment should perform all duties belonging to it, and 
 should assume such other functions, from time to 
 time, as the interests and welfare of society demand." 
 
 ^'Which would crush every ambitious man in Amer 
 ica," he declared, with emphasis. 
 
 "Let us see if it would," she replied. "Let me start 
 with the Brigadier Generals. What a splendid Min 
 ister of Railways you would make ! Under your skil 
 ful and autocratic hand, the combined railways of 
 America could be operated for two-thirds of the ex 
 pense now incurred, and you know it. And you would 
 be proud to serve the government in such a position 
 for ten thousand dollars a year, whereas now your 
 combined salaries must reach three hundred thousand 
 dollars, besides the millions which you get in interest 
 and dividends. 
 
 "But the same spirit that influenced Hamilton and 
 Jefferson and Webster and Clay and Seward, and 
 hundreds more in civil life, to sacrifice their ease and 
 comfort and income for the service of the State would 
 
 121
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 cause you to do the same. And every man under you 
 would be a government employee a soldier of and for 
 the people and he would respond to the call to dig 
 for his country just as loyally as to fight for his 
 country. You must have noticed the spirit of pride 
 about every person who works for 'Uncle Sam,' how 
 ever lowly the position. From the Secretary of State 
 down to the humblest porter at Washington, they 
 seem to be proud of the fact that they are serving 
 their country. I think I can see this army of em 
 ployees, under you, attempting to influence in any 
 way, except by their votes, the result of any election 
 in the United States, even if no regulations on that 
 question were adopted; and I can think of several 
 laws that would absolutely prevent abuse along this 
 line. With promotion dependent upon merit, with no 
 class getting rich and powerful and arrogant through 
 government favor and the performance of government 
 functions, with a just system of taxation, with the cost 
 of living regulated by the government's ownership of 
 the transportation lines, instead of by the whim or 
 greed of private operators, with all public utility plans 
 under government ownership and operated by those 
 especially educated and skilled in the work, I think 
 class dynamite bombs would disappear forever; and 
 while we might not reach the dream of Plato in his 
 
 122
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 'Republic,' or of More in his 'Utopia,' we still could 
 welcome every person to our shores as the real 'land 
 of the free and home of the brave.' " 
 
 "What a dreamer you are, Aspasia! You carry 
 your head in the clouds so much of the time that 
 you do not observe conditions as they really exist. 
 Do you want the miserable, government-owned rail 
 roads of Italy duplicated in America? Byron never 
 rode on an Italian railway train, or poetry wouldn't 
 have been the character of his compositions about 
 Italy. I want to assure you that the government has 
 no position from President down that would arouse 
 one-tenth the ambition in me that my own work does, 
 and that is true of every business man in the United 
 States who has succeeded in a large way. You see, 
 you are so very lame on your propositions that you 
 do not undertake to answer the second part of my 
 question." 
 
 "Oh, about the cost and efficiency of operation. 
 Yes, yes, that's easy. You see, my dear friend, in no 
 part of our glorious Union has the experiment ever 
 been tried of any community's owning and operating 
 all of the public utility plants in that community. Oc 
 casionally the promoters or owners of a water or 
 lighting plant take advantage of the sentiment in favor 
 of public ownership and unload an antiquated, water- 
 
 123
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 soaked, stock- jobbing 1 concern on the dearly beloved 
 public for eight or ten times what it is worth, and the 
 city officials, controlled by minions of the other local 
 utility companies, or by your patriotic railway com 
 panies, either deliberately make public ownership 
 odious through their extravagance and imbecility, or 
 else they are such natural grafters that they cannot let 
 this easy prey go by, when the semi-public institutions 
 that elected them pay them with extravagant liberality. 
 The people of any city are simon-pure idiots to own 
 one public utility plant and not own all. The great 
 thing to be gained by the change is not this or that 
 economy, but the death of class rule, the reform of 
 corrupt government, the overthrow of American 
 feudalism, the protection of every citizen in his free 
 dom. 
 
 "As in the nation so in the cities. When they own 
 all these industries, the best and most honest men will 
 esteem it an honor to serve the municipality, as they do 
 in Scotland and England. The grafters, corporation 
 tools and political bosses will sell their equipment at 
 auction, for their occupation will be gone. 
 
 "You talk about economy of operation. Take any 
 first-class railway train running between New York 
 and Chicago and see the extravagance of management, 
 all of which constitutes a tribute which the public 
 
 124
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 must pay. First, there is the railway train proper, 
 with is officers. Then there is the express car, with 
 its officers. Then the Pullman car, with its officers, all 
 charging high rates for their distinct service. Then 
 each of these principal companies has high-salaried 
 Brigadier Generals, and they pay large dividends on 
 stock through which a river of water has been turned 
 loose. Surely, the government, acting through you, or 
 a man of less skill, even, would effect great savings 
 here. 
 
 "You know that under present conditions of em 
 ployment, many an employee of these large industries 
 becomes petulant and irascible. He sees no chance for 
 promotion, and either degenerates into a common 
 grafter, influenced thereto by official examples on all 
 hands, or else he becomes surly over his lot and does 
 not help his employer with the general public. 
 
 "Every institution that is operated by the national 
 government, even under the present system of se 
 lecting public officials through the grace of you cor 
 poration people, is efficiently operated. The Post 
 Office, the Army, the Navy who would think of 
 letting them out to private contractors? Are not the 
 health and freedom of every inhabitant of our cities 
 as important as the protection against a public enemy ? 
 Washington is the only city in America operated by 
 
 125
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 the national government, and Washington is the most 
 artistic, the cleanest, the freest from public scandal of 
 any of our cities. Look at the magnificent manage 
 ment of our national parks by the general govern 
 ment. In Yellowstone there are no timber thieves, no 
 forest fires. It is the only place I know of where the 
 barbarous instincts of man to kill are not exercised 
 on that most beautiful of animals the deer. Land, 
 animals, people are protected, simply because every 
 body respects the mandates of the general government, 
 just as they respect the authority of the federal soldier. 
 Not even extortion is permitted in the Yellowstone 
 Park. 
 
 "I hope the day is not far distant when, over every 
 railroad station in the country, shall appear the in 
 scription which is now on the arch at the entrance to 
 Yellowstone National Park : TOR THE BENEFIT 
 AND ENJOYMENT OF THE PEOPLE.' 
 
 "So far as Italian railways are concerned," she went 
 on, "you must remember that Italian independence 
 is scarcely more than two generations old, and they 
 are yet a bankrupt people, but every year shows vast 
 strides all along the line of internal improvements and 
 a tremendous advance in national spirit. But why take 
 this pauperized monarchy, so recently a dependency, as 
 
 126
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 an illustration of what the greatest republic on earth 
 should do?" 
 
 At that moment they heard the cheery voice of Mrs. 
 Ames. 
 
 "I have been searching the boat for you, Gertrude. 
 The young people are making arrangements for the 
 costume party to-night, and they want your help." 
 
 "Well, Aspasia, this is all very interesting, and your 
 eloquence deserves a more sympathetic audience, for I 
 fear these heretical views are wholly lost on me. You 
 will see that man down there, the one with the red 
 shirt, wheeling a banana cart up Broadway in less than 
 a week, the happiest Italian you ever saw," and Mr. 
 Ames pointed to a fine-looking young man, with glow 
 ing coal-black eyes and flowing raven locks. 
 
 "Perhaps I shall, but that man has the mien of a 
 Roman senator of the old days, and it may be that 
 under our benign institutions he will be most lucky to 
 become a banana peddler." Then after a moment's 
 hesitation "Unless, indeed, you people should find 
 him subservient and useful enough to make one of 
 your ideal governors or members of Congress," and 
 she threw rather more sarcasm into her tone than was 
 her wont; but she followed her words with a good- 
 natured laugh, and disappeared with Mrs. A'mes. 
 
 127
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Twice during the next year Randolph accompanied 
 Frederic Ames to New York City for a few days' 
 visit, and on both of these occasions he found time and 
 opportunity for horseback riding with Mrs. Strong 
 and Virginia. With Mrs. Strong he kept up a corre 
 spondence on public questions, and he found in her a 
 veritable Harriet Taylor in research, learning and bril 
 liancy. At the Easter holiday visit, which he and 
 Frederic made, Mr. and Mrs. Ames invited him to 
 join them on a trip, which they had planned to take 
 by special train, through the Western States to the 
 Pacific. He promptly and gratefully accepted the 
 invitation, as it was a section of the country he had 
 long wished to visit. 
 
 So soon, therefore, as he and Frederic had com 
 pleted the social duties attendant upon their gradua 
 tion and final leavetaking of Harvard, they went to 
 New York to prepare for the journey. 
 
 The party, consisting of Mr and Mrs. Ames, Mrs. 
 Strong, Margaret, Virginia, Edwin Van Cise, Frederic 
 and Randolph, boarded Mr. Ames's special train at 
 the Grand Central Station on the morning of the 6th 
 of July, and soon they were hurrying along the wind- 
 
 128
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 ing banks of the Hudson toward that expansive and 
 ever-receding country called "The West." The route 
 lay through the most important cities of that region, 
 and the whole distance was traversed by railroads 
 that were either owned or controlled by the Ames 
 interests. Many stops were made at the smaller cities 
 also, either at the dictation of Mr. Ames, or at the 
 request of the officials or commercial bodies of those 
 cities. 
 
 The fact that Charles Henry Ames was to visit the 
 West had been heralded all over the land, and the offi 
 cials of every city included in the itinerary prepared 
 to entertain him. At the receptions tendered the 
 party Randolph noticed quite early in the trip that 
 there was an almost total absence of the plain people, 
 and he was struck by the uniform attendance of 
 United States Senators and members of Congress, as 
 well as city and State officials. It was also apparent 
 that the Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade 
 of most of the cities were controlled by the same influ 
 ences that elected the city officials, and that often such 
 bodies were cringing and sycophantic in their 
 demeanor. In one city, however, the Chamber of 
 Commerce happened to be temporarily an independent 
 body, and it sent a strong committee of intelligent 
 citizens to interview Mr. Ames. The chairman was 
 
 129
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 exceptionally well posted on freight discriminations 
 and rebates, and he knew only too well, from unsuc 
 cessful experience in the manufacturing business, how 
 unjust rates had killed the new manufacturing indus 
 tries of the West, and how dependent Western cities 
 were upon the favor of railroad presidents. 
 
 "While many unjust discriminations against our 
 State have been removed," he said to Mr. Ames, 
 "there are others from which we can get no relief, 
 and therefore we appeal directly to you. There are 
 many articles of freight shipped from Chicago to 
 Honolulu at a lesser tariff than is charged to our city, 
 and in passenger and freight rates, from one ocean 
 to the other, lower schedules than those given to us 
 are accorded to cities much farther away. If I may 
 trespass on your time, I should like to present a list 
 of these abuses to you. It would be utterly impossible 
 for the Interstate Commerce Commission to deal with 
 our grievances alone in five years, if they gave us their 
 undivided time, and that, of course, we cannot expect. 
 
 "One matter that appeals to our poor people espe 
 cially is the combination which your road and the 
 coal companies have entered into to advance the price 
 of coal. Why, sir, do you know that your local road 
 charges eighty cents a ton to haul coal a distance of 
 twenty miles downhill, and we are compelled to pay 
 
 130
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 for bituminous coal, which exists at our very gates 
 in unlimited quantities, the outrageous price of six 
 dollars a ton? Our legislature has foreborne to enact 
 a State railway regulation law, for our people do not 
 believe that is an effective way to correct these evils. 
 So we have made free to come to you directly with our 
 complaints." 
 
 Mr. Ames replied cordially, and asked the chairman 
 to meet him in the afternoon in the office of their local 
 General Manager. 
 
 At the afternoon meeting it developed that the rate 
 on coal was fixed to prevent a slaughter of rates by 
 a competing railroad running to coal mines a hundred 
 and fifty miles to the south, and that the interests of 
 the railroads were so interwoven with those of the 
 coal companies that no relief could be granted without 
 long and difficult negotiations with the other railroad 
 and with the two coal companies. Both Mr. Ames 
 and the General Manager promised that these negotia 
 tions should start immediately. So far as the trans 
 continental rates were concerned, that matter was 
 still more complicated, as the question of ocean com 
 petition, the long and short haul and other intricate 
 tariff questions governed the charge; but, "Mr. Ames 
 was glad to hear the complaints and would do his best 
 to adjust matters satisfactorily," said the General
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Manager, as a final adieu to the chairman of the com 
 mittee. 
 
 In another city the people had voted for public 
 ownership of the local light and water plants, owned 
 by the Ames interests, but the Supreme Court of the 
 State had decided that the vote of the people was un 
 constitutional. A committee of citizens waited upon 
 Mr. Ames to ascertain if he would waive all techni 
 calities and sell his plants to the city at a valuation 
 which the average net profits for the period of five 
 years last past would capitalize at six per cent. To this 
 committee he replied that he could not think of such a 
 thing, as capital was entitled to a larger return upon 
 such investments, and that within five years the value 
 of both plants would be more than doubled and would 
 be earning six per cent, on the doubled capitalization. 
 
 "But," the committee replied, "that doubled capitali 
 zation will have to come out of our people in increased 
 tolls, and do not make the mistake of thinking they will 
 stand such extortion. You may have the Supreme 
 Court of our State to-day to support your technicali 
 ties, but a day of reckoning will come when the peo 
 ple will rule through fearless judges and honest offi 
 cials." 
 
 In most of the cities which the party visited, how 
 ever, there was no friction, as the committees which 
 
 132
 
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 waited on Mr. Ames were composed chiefly of city 
 and State officials who owed their election, in part, to 
 the money contributed by his agents. 
 
 In one of the small cities of the great wheat belt of 
 the Northwest, Mr. Ames made a speech to several 
 hundred farmers, who came to town to see the much 
 advertised special train and party. 
 
 "Demagogues," he said, "denounce the recent rail 
 road consolidations. The fact is that great economy 
 characterizes their management and salaries and wages 
 have been reduced one-tenth from the scale which pre 
 vailed when there were numerous separate railway 
 lines. You men will get the benefit in lower freight 
 rates on your wheat, thus increasing the profits of 
 your farms. To the farmer particularly these railroad 
 consolidations are a great boon." 
 
 "But," said one old farmer to him after the speech, 
 "our freight rates have not been reduced and the con 
 solidation has been in effect five years. We are also 
 told that your road ships all wheat purchased by the 
 mill trust of our State one hundred miles to a trust 
 mill, and then back again as flour, at a price that per 
 mits the mill trust to undersell our local independent 
 mill. In another section of our State the farmers 
 were not able to market their crops last year because 
 
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 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 of the high freight tariff, and land values have gone 
 down enormously there." 
 
 "We are also told," said another farmer, "that you 
 expend more money in politics annually than all of the 
 railroads of the West combined spent five years ago." 
 
 Mr. Ames replied that he was certain the local Gen 
 eral Manager would adjust any and all unfair rates, 
 and that he knew nothing of any discrimination; so 
 far as politics were concerned, his road only gave rea 
 sonable contributions each year. 
 
 As Randolph sat in one of the offices of an Ames 
 railway one day during the trip, waiting for Mr. Ames 
 and Frederic to finish some business with the General 
 Manager, a pale, consumptive-looking young man 
 came in and asked for the Traffic Manager. That 
 official responded from a desk close to where Randolph 
 was seated. 
 
 "What is your business?" curtly asked the Traffic 
 Manager. 
 
 "I was forced to come out here from Connecticut 
 for my health," he replied. "I am growing peas down 
 the bay thirty miles from here, the first that have been 
 grown in this section, and I have had splendid luck 
 this year." His eyes glowed with enthusiasm and 
 
 134
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 pride. "What I want to ascertain from you is the 
 lowest freight rate which I can get to S ." 
 
 "Yes," replied the other, "how many peas have you 
 raised?" 
 
 "About three thousand bushels." 
 
 "And what can you get for them in S ?" asked 
 
 the Traffic Manager. 
 
 "Three dollars a bushel." 
 
 "How much did they cost you to raise?" 
 
 "Sixty cents a bushel," he replied, with another glow 
 of pride. 
 
 "Well, we have no published tariff on peas, in car- I 
 load lots, and we shall have to charge you two dollars / 
 and forty cents a bushel to carry them to S ." 
 
 The young man choked a sob, and with haggard 
 look dragged himself out of the room. 
 
 135:
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 There were three members of the party who soon 
 tired of this, and they agreed among themselves to 
 seek their own diversion. These three persons were 
 Mrs. Strong, Virginia and Randolph. At Minneapolis 
 they left the party in the ennobling company of city 
 officials, while they galloped out to the Falls of Minne- 
 haha, and soon after leaving Omaha they planned to 
 let the others go through the Northwest and attend 
 public functions, while they communed with Mother 
 Nature amid scenes that told the story of centuries of 
 alternate peace and war. 
 
 These three lovers of the wild left the comforts 
 of the private train at Livingston and started for the 
 Yellowstone National Park. They arranged for their 
 luggage to go by stage from station to station in the 
 park, while they secured saddle horses for their trip 
 and a trusty guide to direct them. They resolved 
 to see as much as possible in a fortnight of the secret 
 as well as the public beauty of the place, and did not 
 wish to have their meditations interrupted, or their 
 conclusions influenced by strangers. 
 
 No three spirits ever entered the portals of this 
 wonderland more in harmony with each other, or with 
 
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 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 the pulsations of the ages that beat in rythmic music 
 in a hundred weird forms in this laboratory of nature. 
 As they wandered over hidden mountain trails, as 
 they listened to the sweet songs of the ousel that 
 splashed in the shallows of the streams, as they 
 watched the variegated colors of the Prismatic Spring, 
 as they looked out upon the placid surface of Yellow 
 stone Lake, or gazed down the thousand rugged feet 
 of the Grand Canon, as they listened to the imprisoned 
 waters of the seething geysers warring their way to 
 freedom with the thunders of their own artillery, they 
 felt that the thoughts of each were reflected by the 
 others without the formality of words. 
 
 Thus the trip was unalloyed joy to each of them, 
 for they discovered anew that the most inspiring and 
 restful agency vouchsafed to mankind is congenial 
 companionship; that we recognize kindred souls by a 
 glance of the eye, by a clasp of the hand, by the mag 
 netic current of propinquity, and with them the world 
 is tranquil and beautiful and eternal. So their fort 
 night passed as a splendid dream of an hour. 
 
 On the last night of their stay at Old Faithful Inn, 
 Randolph and Virginia wandered out in the moonlight 
 to take a last look at Old Faithful Geyser. A black 
 cloud hung over the distant peaks of the Rocky Moun 
 tains, but otherwise the night was a glorious one. The 
 
 137
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 moon shed its lustre alike over the summit of majestic 
 heights and richly colored basins; and far away they 
 imagined they could see it kiss the waves of the lake 
 and bid God-speed to the waters that were collecting 
 in springs and rivulets to wend their way through 
 royal mountain gorges, amidst forests of pine and fir, 
 past fields of waving grain, by the side of cane-brakes 
 and magnolias, four thousand miles to their home in 
 the sea. 
 
 "How innocent the head waters of our great river 
 appeared, as we gazed on them a few days ago," said 
 Randolph, who this night was in a most sober frame 
 of mind, "yet what a tragic tale of human suffering, 
 of despair and death, they could tell at the end of their 
 journey! How like the battle of human life it all 
 seems. For several miles these waters flow through 
 tranquil meadows, between shores lined with drooping 
 willows, murmuring lullabies over the pebbles, then, 
 suddenly, they gather themselves for a mighty contest, 
 and bedecked with foam go thundering down into the 
 Grand Canon and thence on their way to the ocean." 
 
 "But you take these things too seriously," she re 
 plied. "Why this solemn discourse to-night? In your 
 sombre mood," she gaily added, "the sight of those 
 trees on Amethyst Mountain should teach you that 
 the elemental plan of nature triumphs over the oldest 
 
 138
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 and strongest objects of nature's creation even to 
 the impulses of the human soul." 
 
 Randolph's heart beat fast. Could she possibly 
 mean? . . . But he put the thought away as an 
 unwarrantable presumption. 
 
 "Why," Virginia went on, "some of these trees were 
 gigantic in height, and ten feet in diameter, and hun 
 dreds of years old ; but that did not prevent their un 
 doing when the greater forces of nature overwhelmed 
 them with fire and lava. Weren't you taught that 
 whatever of destruction may come, it is that some 
 greater good may triumph?" 
 
 "Yes, that is true; but we are combatants ourselves 
 in this struggle, and we must battle for the right 
 or at least for what we believe to be the right." 
 
 "There is little danger of your ever falling short in 
 that way; but are there not other things in the world 
 worth while besides this hard and impersonal duty?" 
 
 Just as he was about to answer her the air was rent 
 with a crash of thunder, and the threatening cloud 
 which had hung over the mountains when they started 
 on their stroll now overspread all the western sky 
 with its dark mantle. They had wandered nearly a 
 mile from their hotel and were not far distant from the 
 Giantess, whose rumblings began to shake the 
 whole earth. It was forty days since it had spurted 
 
 139
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 its boiling, seething water into space, and the effort 
 was always preceded by a terrific subterranean roar. 
 
 Flash after flash of lightning and peal after peal of 
 thunder came from the skies, and from the earth came 
 the reverberating answer of long pent-up fury that 
 recognized a comrade in the clouds. It was magnifi 
 cent. Old Faithful was sending forth its feathery 
 spray a hundred feet skyward, and the flashes of 
 lightning gave it a myriad of colors ; while its neighbor 
 was threatening to break down the walls of the valley 
 if its freedom were not speedily granted. 
 
 With every terrific bolt from above and every re 
 sponse from below the whole earth around Randolph 
 and Virginia shook, and beneath their feet there 
 seemed nothing but a thin layer of rock separating 
 them from the bottomless lake from which these gey 
 sers sprang. Finally the Giantess leaped a hundred 
 and fifty feet into the air scattering its spray for 
 yards around. 
 
 Virginia was not naturally timid, and she had often 
 reveled in the mountain storms of the Alps ; but Ran 
 dolph felt her hand tighten its hold upon his arm, and 
 he saw that her face was blanched. They hurriedly 
 retraced their steps, but before they had gone a quarter 
 of the distance to the hotel the rain began to fall in 
 torrents. Randolph hurriedly took off his coat and 
 
 140
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 literally forced her to put it on, she protesting that 
 he must not get drenched himself. 
 
 Mrs. Strong was on the piazza, to greet them, for 
 she had become thoroughly alarmed for their safety, 
 and it was with joyful acclaim that she hurried them 
 off to their rooms for dry clothing. 
 
 After putting on other garments Randolph sat down 
 by his window to watch the storm and the geyser. 
 But his mind was soon oblivious to the warrings of 
 earth and heaven, and it would have been difficult 
 afterward for him to have defined his thoughts. What 
 he experienced was more feeling than reflection, more 
 exultation than meditation. He had been thrown into 
 the companionship of these two women a great deal 
 during the past fifteen months, and he could scarcely 
 analyze their effect upon him. He had intense ad 
 miration for the brilliant mind and noble heart of Mrs. 
 'Strong. That she was a potent factor in shaping his 
 destiny, and that she had aroused an ardent ambition 
 in his breast, he was well aware. He prized her 
 friendship at the true value of that rarest gift when 
 bestowed by a good and intellectual woman upon an 
 aspiring young man. She aroused in him very deep 
 emotions, but these he thought he could adjust into a 
 tolerably well-defined relation with his life. 
 
 Not so with the feelings aroused by the very pres- 
 
 141
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 ence of the other one. When he first met Virginia 
 Ames he was allured by her sweetness, and treasured 
 her in his heart in an idealistic way, as one treasures 
 the remembrance of a beautiful wild flower on the 
 mountainside, growing far out of reach in supreme 
 sweetness and beauty. But he had never thought of 
 making love to her. In fact, he was inclined to be 
 reserved and taciturn with the Ameses for fear his 
 motive might be misunderstood. 
 
 Mrs. Strong had noticed this and guessed the rea 
 son, and she took infinite pains to place him at perfect 
 ease. No other young man of her acquaintance 
 would she have permitted to take moonlight walks 
 with a girl whom she was chaperoning. Randolph 
 had been too serious and too busy to give much 
 thought to the subject of love. Yet he had a sensitive 
 and poetic nature that readily responded to every 
 beautiful sentiment. From his earliest recollection 
 he had adored pure womanhood. His mother had 
 been an idol to him always, and he had a sister eigh 
 teen months older than himself whom he devoutly 
 loved. No week passed that Randolph did not write 
 this sister a letter telling her of his ambitions, his 
 triumphs or defeats, his hopes for the future, his re 
 grets for the present. They had read Tennyson's 
 "Princess" together, and he was fond of quoting to her : 
 
 142
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "Alone, I said, from earlier than I know, 
 Immersed in rich foreshadowing^ of the world, 
 I loved the woman; he, that doth not, lives 
 A drowning life, besotted in sweet self, 
 Or pines in sad experience worse than death, 
 Or keeps his wing'd affections dipt with crime." 
 
 He believed all women pure and noble, and placed 
 them on a pedestal. If deceived in the character of 
 any of them he was sorrowful for the one, but did not 
 alter his opinion of the sex. He had read the best 
 love stories of all countries, but a few he prized and 
 read over and over again whenever he felt that he 
 needed the inspiration of their fine depths to offset the 
 influence of some cynical companion. But Randolph 
 had never known the greatest love of the human heart. 
 
 During the trip through the Yellowstone he had 
 become better acquainted with his two companions, 
 and the constant association brought out new beauties 
 in the character of each of them. He, in turn, was so 
 thoughtful and gallant in every little detail of the trip, 
 so considerate of their comfort, so tender, so. defer 
 ential in his attentions, and yet so strong and com 
 manding when occasion demanded, that they would 
 not have been true to the instincts of refined femininity 
 if he had not won their highest regard.
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 As he sat by his window and watched the geyser 
 battling with the storm, strange feelings coursed 
 through his soul. He had discovered that the delicate 
 femininity and culture and grace of mind and soul 
 of Virginia Ames appealed more to his deeper nature, 
 and aroused more of the latent fires of affection, than 
 had any woman he had ever met. He felt certain 
 that she instinctively understood him better than any 
 person of his acquaintance, and he was equally confi 
 dent that he was at his best when she was near. But 
 was his relation with these women any more than that 
 of camaraderie? And whatever their influence over 
 him, should he not resist every other thought than that 
 of congenial companionship? It would be impossible 
 for him to approach either of them as a lover without 
 every one doubting his sincerity. The frail girl in the 
 storm that night had exercised a mystic power over 
 him. Had she meant more than idle persiflage when 
 she had asked him, "Are there not other things in 
 the world worth while besides this hard and imper 
 sonal duty?" He did not attach much significance to 
 the words, but the tone and the look from those great 
 fathomless brown eyes had caused his heart to leap. 
 Then how confidingly she had clung to his arm in the 
 storm. Her presence always thrilled his whole being 
 with indefinable joy. Did she not fulfil Max Miiller's 
 
 144
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 ideal sweetheart: "Here was a soul which longed for 
 another soul here was a greeting like that between 
 two friends who recognize each other by the glance 
 of the eye, nothwithstanding their disguises and dark 
 masks." And he recalled other words of the same 
 author : 
 
 "Life is not a sport. It does not force two souls 
 together like the grains of sand in the desert, which 
 the sirocco whirls together and then asunder. We 
 should hold fast the souls which friendly fate leads to 
 us, for they are destined for us, and no power can tear 
 them from us if we have the courage to live, to strug 
 gle, and to die for them." 
 
 But suppose she was fond of him, and that he might 
 feel free to win her love, where would it all end? 
 Would it not bring only unhappiness to both? He 
 had his career to make, and his views were so widely 
 different from her father's on all vital questions of 
 business and government, that Mr. Ames would never 
 consent to her marrying him. 
 
 No, the great passion of the human heart was not 
 for him. He had chosen the thorny path of high 
 duty, and he must not be turned aside by the first flutter 
 of the heart for a woman, however sweet and charm 
 ing she might be. It would be unpardonable cruelty 
 to lead this girl into unhappiness of any kind. He 
 
 145
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 would be her friend and comrade as long as circum 
 stances would permit but beyond that he must never 
 go. 
 
 Thus the wild chase of his thoughts ran their course 
 until, exhausted, he threw himself on the bed and 
 was soon oblivious to storms within and without. 
 
 146
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 "George, for several months I have had it in mind 
 to propose a business arrangement which I hope will 
 be sufficiently complimentary and congenial to cause 
 you to accept it. As you know, Judge Dalrymple has 
 been our chief counsel for a number of years, and he 
 has assistants in every city where we have business in 
 terests. I desire to have Frederic enter Judge Dal- 
 rymple's firm and it is more than agreeable to the Judge 
 and Frederic to have you the third member of the firm. 
 Your share in the income will be the same as Fred 
 eric's, for I have arranged with Judge Dalrymple 
 that he shall have half the net proceeds of the business, 
 and that you two young men shall have a quarter each. 
 This arrangement should give each of you from forty 
 to fifty thousand dollars a year at the beginning, and I 
 am certain you can easily make it a hundred thousand 
 within two years. I very much wish you to accept this 
 offer, as it is needless to tell you that I have great re 
 spect for your ability and confidence in your loyalty." 
 
 Randolph was clearly embarrassed by this proposi 
 tion, for, although Frederic Ames had often told him 
 that he wished to have him as a law partner, still no 
 formal proposal had been made, and, coming in this 
 
 147
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 sudden and complimentary manner from a man like 
 the elder Ames, it overwhelmed him. 
 
 The offer, from a monetary standpoint, was most 
 alluring. Randolph had decided some time before to 
 practice law in New York City, and such an oppor 
 tunity to enter a leading law firm was one that would 
 be eagerly grasped by any young and ambitious 
 lawyer. 
 
 Judge Dalrymple had been the general counsel for 
 all the Ames interests for twenty-five years. He was 
 a very able jurist, and a thorough believer in the 
 sacred rights of corporate franchises and corporate 
 property, and sincerely enough believed that all per 
 sons who assailed the encroachments of private cor 
 porations on individual liberty and personal rights 
 were enemies to the best interests of the government. 
 He had been Supreme Court Judge in one of the large 
 trans-Mississippi States, but the uniformity of his de 
 cisions against the rights of the individual and the State 
 had encompassed his defeat. The father of Charles 
 Henry Ames had rewarded him by bringing him to 
 New York City and making him general counsel for 
 the Ames interests. 
 
 During the years he had represented the Ameses 
 he had steadily refused to take any partners, although 
 he employed a score of able legal assistants at large 
 
 148
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 salaries. At the time Mr. Ames proposed that he take 
 Frederic Ames into his firm, Judge Dalrymple wel 
 comed the suggestion, for, he said, he was growing 
 old, and it was "time to break in new colts to do the 
 work," and, much to the surprise of the elder Ames, 
 Judge Dalrymple himself advanced the idea of making 
 a firm of three members instead of two. 
 
 Mr. Ames had found no opportunity of talking the 
 matter over with Randolph until the party arrived at 
 Colorado Springs, on its return trip. He broached 
 it as they sat in the sun-room of the Antlers Hotel 
 smoking their morning cigars. 
 
 Early in life Randolph had learned never to deceive 
 himself, and being true in this most difficult respect, 
 he found it easy to be true to others. In the conflict 
 ing emotions of ambition, duty to the dead, justice to 
 the living, and gratitude to this family which had done 
 so much for him, Randolph lost his poise for a moment 
 and made no reply; but it was only for a moment, 
 then his strong love of truth and frankness asserted 
 itself, and in the simplest manner possible he related to 
 Mr. Ames the injunction of his father and the circum 
 stances surrounding it. Then he added: 
 
 "You overwhelm me with generosity, and I want 
 you to know over and above everything else that I 
 am sincerely and deeply grateful. Already I am in- 
 
 149
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 debted to you and your family more than I can ever 
 repay, but if an appreciative heart and an unwavering 
 friendship are worth anything, they are yours. Still, 
 I don't see how I can accept this generous offer and 
 be true to my father's behest. I may be greatly in 
 error in judgment and in ethics, but if I accept your 
 proposal and become a member of this law firm I 
 must close forever every door that leads to a public 
 career. Other people may be able to serve two mas 
 ters, but I cannot. If you pay me for my services 
 they are yours exclusively, but I cannot pretend to 
 serve other people, and least of all the government of 
 the city, state or nation, while I am drawing my pay 
 from you." 
 
 "I fear you do not understand conditions," replied 
 Mr. Ames. "The offer I make to you opens up every 
 kind of a public career that you may seek. Nothing 
 would please me better than to see you governor or 
 United States senator. You cannot get either of these 
 offices without money, and I am giving you an oppor 
 tunity to make large sums of money, for, of course, 
 if you possess the legal secrets of our business it is 
 easy for you to make millions on Wall Street. Look 
 at Judge Dalrymple. When he came to us he was a 
 poor man, and to-day he is worth at least ten millions. 
 Nonsense, my boy ! If you wish a public career, I am 
 
 150
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 offering you the only channel there is open at the pres 
 ent time. You cannot get any high office without the 
 backing of our interests, or other similar large cor 
 porate enterprises, and any other theory is an idle 
 dream. Conditions have changed since your father 
 died. If he were alive now he would urge you to 
 accept this offer. Don't allow any impracticable and 
 altruistic doctrines to influence your good, sound judg 
 ment in this matter." 
 
 "You do not understand me," said Randolph. "I 
 am not altogether certain, under present conditions, 
 that I personally would not prefer to give my life 
 wholly to the practice of law ; and, if I should do so, 
 there is no reason why your business should be any 
 different to me than that of any other client, and no 
 reason why I should not represent you during the 
 whole of my legal career. But I am under a solemn 
 injunction to enter public life, along certain lines, and 
 to champion the cause of the people and to uphold the 
 tenets of the Republic. 
 
 "If I follow my father's injunction to enter public 
 life I cannot honorably do so while I am accepting my 
 pay from you, neither could I ever do so if I accepted 
 retainers from you for a number of years, for your 
 interests are in direct conflict with my ideas of public 
 duty and the public good. I can imagine no more dis- 
 
 '5*
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 honorable or detestable transactions than a lawyer hold 
 ing a legislative, judicial or executive office, and ac 
 cepting pay from the government on one hand and 
 pay from large private interests that thrive through 
 government favor on the other hand. I know that 
 a great many so-called honorable lawyers do it, but 
 the time is rapidly coming when such lawyers will be 
 disbarred and dishonored, just as they are now for 
 undertaking to sell out the interests of a private client 
 to the opposition. 
 
 "I know there are many lawyers serving in both 
 houses of Congress who are drawing from three to five 
 times as much from great railroad companies as they 
 get from the government, yet these lawyers, without 
 a blush of shame, arrange mail contracts between the 
 government and their private clients, and they pass 
 upon a hundred matters where the interests of the 
 government are diametrically opposed to the interests 
 of the corporations which they are paid to represent. 
 Neither can I understand the code of ethics of law 
 yers who take large retainers for a number of years 
 from private concerns that grow fat upon public favor, 
 and then accept public office, where every demand of 
 the public service requires them to be arrayed against 
 the clients that made them rich." 
 
 Randolph had grown eloquent in his earnestness, 
 
 152
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 and he was so completely absorbed that he did not see 
 the entrance of Virginia in her riding habit, but he 
 observed that his rather strenuous words were irri 
 tating Mr. Ames, and this he did not wish to do. So, 
 changing his tone, he added : 
 
 "I shall esteem it a great favor if you will let me 
 consider this matter for a few days in all its bearings. 
 Perhaps I am not just in my views. Let me think it 
 over." 
 
 This relieved the tension, and the request was 
 readily granted. 
 
 Throughout the conversation Frederic Ames had 
 been a silent listener. He knew Randolph's views bet 
 ter than his father did, and he was not surprised at 
 the outburst from the young man. 
 
 But none of them was given opportunity for private 
 meditation, for Virginia interrupted: 
 
 "Come, George, our horses have been waiting ever 
 so long, and Mrs. Strong has gone with Margaret and 
 Edwin to North Cheyenne Canon. We are to meet 
 them at Broadmoor for luncheon. It's a glorious 
 morning, and here you men are cooped up in this 
 smoky room, talking dreary business. We will lot 
 Frederic visit the sepulchre of the pyramids, with h.' 
 funereal-looking face, while we bathe ourselves : 
 sunshine and scenery. What is it, Frederic, dear, 
 
 153
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 what makes you look so unhappy?" And she threw 
 her arms around her brother's neck and gave him a 
 kiss of genuine affection. 
 
 "You little sylph, you would drive the blues away 
 from a bear! Go with her, George, for she is dying 
 for a gallop over the mountain roads. I pity you if 
 you attempt to give her a free rein to-day. Good-by, 
 and good luck to you." 
 
 She passed over to her father's chair, and with 
 more deference and dignity than she had shown to 
 her brother, kissed him affectionately, saying, sotto 
 voce: "Of course he will join Frederic. You must 
 give him all the time he wants." 
 
 154
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 "Where do you take me to-day?" asked Randolph, 
 after they were mounted. 
 
 "To-day we go to Cheyenne Mountain, and if you 
 are very good I will tell you the legend of the seven 
 falls. It is an Aztec tale which greatly influenced 
 all subsequent love affairs of that race." 
 
 "I am quite sure I shall make a huge effort to at 
 tain your standard of goodness," he smiled back at 
 her. 
 
 "Oh, George, do look! Isn't that magnificent!" 
 
 They were on the brow of the hill that overlooks 
 Ivy Wild, with its artistic cottages and gorgeous 
 flower beds and perfectly kept lawns. Before them 
 lay a landscape of mountain grandeur and inspiration 
 that cannot be equaled the wide world over. At one 
 end of the view arose in majestic splendor, against 
 a fleckless blue background, the "Grand Peak" of 
 the Rockies, its summit covered with a vast field of 
 snow that glistened and gleamed in the bright sunlight. 
 To the extreme left was noble Cheyenne Mountain, 
 which rises from the plains in stately splendor without 
 any foothills to mar its dignity or to suggest that sev 
 eral efforts had been required ere it succeeded in plac- 
 
 155
 
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 ing its placid brow in the skies. Between the two 
 could be seen only the peaks of the smaller mountains 
 that made a setting for the main picture. 
 
 As they gazed upon the rugged, overpowering, 
 nerve-straining and self-assertive outlines of Pike's 
 Peak, and then turned to the chaste and graceful con 
 tour of Cheyenne Mountain, with its quiet dignity, its 
 restful summit, its soothing and dreamy influence, 
 they realized how the one inspired the ambition of a 
 soldier and the other suggested a burial place to a poet. 
 
 They passed rapidly through Ivy Wild and then 
 went to the higher road by Broadmoor, to get a bet 
 ter view of the city and plain. Just as they turned 
 into the main road leading to the picturesque sum 
 mer houses a woman began to sing. 
 
 "Oh, how sad she must be !" exclaimed Virginia. 
 "No person sings that who has not known real sor 
 row." 
 
 "That? Why it seems filled with joy and sunshine. 
 However could you think the woman is sad?" replied 
 Randolph. 
 
 "Listen! Walk your horse. Oh, how sad, how 
 sad!" 
 
 By this time the woman had begun the second part 
 of the song, and her deep, rich, melodious voice was 
 now like the wail of a lost soul. The light had gone 
 
 156
 
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 out of the world. There was nothing but the bleak 
 winter of despair, and no hope of sunshine again. 
 Devastation, ruin, death had taken possession of the 
 earth. 
 
 Randolph had never heard such a human wail be 
 fore, nor imagined that so much sorrow could be ex 
 pressed by the human voice. When he looked at his 
 companion her great eyes were suffused with tears, 
 and her sensitive face expressed deep pain. 
 
 "Come, let us gallop," she said, and soon they were 
 skirting Stratton Park and had reached the foot of 
 Cheyenne Mountain. Randolph was curious to know 
 what the song was which they had just heard, but 
 nature once more claimed the attention of his compan 
 ion, and he did not want to recall her look of sadness. 
 
 They were going through mazes of wild flowers 
 stately pentstemons of various hues, yellow and purple 
 columbines, interspersed with belated wide-eyed ane 
 mones. 
 
 They soon entered the mouth of South Cheyenne 
 Canon, along a foaming stream of crystal water and 
 between granite walls rising hundreds of feet on either 
 side in strength and grandeur, and to which such ap 
 propriate names as "Eagle Cliff" and "Pillars of Her 
 cules" had been given. 
 
 The stream was bordered with small trees and was 
 
 157
 
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 mossy and bosky along both sides. They rode with 
 out speaking, charmed with the scenery and enjoying 
 the cool, bracing mountain air. In a few moments 
 they were at the first of the seven falls, where the 
 canon ended in a colossal amphitheatre, down one 
 side of which plunged the foaming torrent in seven dis 
 tinct leaps from a perpendicular height of over two 
 hundred feet, forming a large pool at the foot of the 
 last fall. 
 
 They dismounted, gave their horses water from the 
 brook, tied them in the shade of the trees, climbed 
 the steps to the top of the falls, and went on to the 
 fields o-f blue, white and yellow columbines, tiger lilies, 
 buttercups and daisies. Here they rested for awhile, 
 and then retraced their steps. At the foot of the stair 
 way Virginia led him to a seat on a large pine log. 
 
 "You know I came out here yesterday morning with 
 Gertrude, while you were busy with Frederic. Then 
 I spent the afternoon in the public library reading 
 an old book, a copy of which I once saw in New York. 
 So few Americans know the beauty of this spot, and 
 I think it the most charming on the continent. I am 
 sure that few persons know the legend connected with 
 it, or many would make pilgrimages here, as well as 
 to see the place nearby which Helen Hunt Jackson 
 
 158
 
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 chose for her grave. Gertrude and I went there yes 
 terday also. 
 
 "But the legend: 
 
 "Many, many years ago, before the feet of 
 white men ever trod this region, and long be 
 fore the North American Indians haunted these moun 
 tains, these dells and glens were inhabited by a 
 swarthy race of people of high intelligence and poetic 
 nature. They had dwelt here for hundreds of years. 
 Among them were poets and artists and orators, and 
 surely they found inspiration enough in the surround 
 ings. They were not warlike, and had no quarrels 
 with each other. 
 
 "As time, with its merciless march of events, and 
 civilization, with its cruel conquests and bloody wars, 
 drove the wild men of the plains back to the mountains, 
 these kindly people were compelled to defend them 
 selves; but not until that time had human blood ever 
 stained their hands. 
 
 "Just before the first incursion of savages into this 
 region, a young poet of great distinction in his tribe 
 sought in marriage the hand of a beautiful girl of the 
 same tribe. He was tall, dignified, strong, handsome, 
 and, withal, as tender as a child. She was beautiful 
 of form, gracious of manner and loyal of heart. They 
 had been children together, and together they had 
 
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 wandered over every foot of these mountains for miles 
 around, he gathering inspiration for his compositions, 
 she sketching every beautiful flower. Their love had 
 begun at the dawn of life, and it had the freshness 
 and fragrance and devotion that belong to that period. 
 Like Paul and Virginia, their lives were united from 
 the beginning, and it would not have been life for 
 either without the other. The poet's best work was 
 inspired by her and dedicated to her. 
 
 "These people believed in the sacredness of love 
 and the institution of marriage. The father of the girl 
 had hoped that she would accept the offer of the 
 chief's son of a neighboring tribe; but she firmly in 
 sisted that she could not give her heart to him, and it 
 would be sacrilege to marry him. 
 
 "The patience and courage and devotion of the poet 
 triumphed, as patience and courage and devotion gen 
 erally do in affairs of the heart. The marriage cere 
 mony of the poet and his bride was celebrated with 
 great pomp in this amphitheatre, at the foot of yonder 
 fall. At that time there was but one great fall here, 
 instead of seven, and it came from a much greater 
 height than the top one now does. This fall was con 
 sidered sacred by the natives. If any one had sinned, 
 these waters would cleanse him; if any were ill, these 
 waters would cure him; if any were weak, these 
 
 1 60
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 waters would make him strong. They were the bap 
 tismal waters of the tribe, the holy waters of the race, 
 and a marriage celebrated under their influence could 
 not fail to be happy. 
 
 "As the priest led the poet and the maiden under the 
 waters of the fall, the sun, which had been hiding 
 under a cloud, suddenly burst forth in gorgeous splen 
 dor and cast a radiant glory over the whole assemblage, 
 From a crevice in the rock just behind the spray of 
 the fall, you can see it now, a beautiful white bird with 
 a red tuft on its head came forth from an unknown 
 nest, and, lighting on the shoulder of the bride, 
 carolled a song of spring. 
 
 "That night the wild men of the plains attacked 
 this peaceable tribe. Though little accustomed to 
 warfare, the men of the tribe were not lacking in 
 valor, and they made such a gallant defense that their 
 foe was repulsed and driven from the mountains. In 
 the front ranks of the defenders was the poet, and 
 when morning came he was found wounded and 
 bleeding. 
 
 "It was necessary to get the women, children, sick 
 and wounded to a place of safety, as it appeared cer 
 tain that the attack would be renewed; so they were 
 taken to the very top of the fall much higher than 
 the meadows where we were to-day. There they 
 
 161
 
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 were considered safe from harm, as the path to their 
 retreat was well-nigh inaccessible even to those that 
 knew the way. 
 
 "The next night the enemy returned to the charge, 
 and being reinforced overwhelmed the gallant band of 
 natives, then with a yell of delight they began to as 
 cend the mountain. They had put to death the de 
 fenders below and their thirst for blood had been 
 fully aroused, when they discovered the trail which 
 led to the retreat of the women, children and sick. 
 As the savage yells of the victorious horde rent the 
 air, the poet painfully arose to his feet, weak though he 
 was, and clasped his bride in his arms. 
 
 " 'I cannot have you murdered,' he said. 'What 
 shall we do?' 
 
 " The fall/ she cried, 'the fall ! It has blessed our 
 life for twenty summers, its sacred waters blessed our 
 marriage. Let us die there quick, let us die there!' 
 
 "Clasped in each other's arms, they threw them 
 selves into the seething torrent, which carried them 
 within its gurgling folds as though they were nymphs 
 of the stream. 
 
 "But, marvelous to relate, and striking awe to the 
 spectators of this weird scene as they looked on by 
 the light of the full moon, after the poet and his bride 
 had gone a short distance, the rushing torrent had na 
 
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 control of them, and, with beaming countenances, they 
 rested on the top of the water. To the amazement of 
 these two, instead of pain and death, visions of early 
 childhood filled their souls, and the waters seemed 
 to pause in their mad rush to let them contemplate 
 those fantasies. Then on again, and another stop filled 
 their minds with pictures of the scenes when they roved 
 these mountains as boy and girl. The torrent carried 
 them on, then resting once more on the billows they 
 saw themselves when love first filled their hearts. The 
 waters beat them on again, and at the next resting place 
 was re-enacted their wedding ceremony. On again in 
 the flood, and the vision was of years of married bliss. 
 The next pause presented their declining years ; and, as 
 they gently glided into the basin at the bottom of the 
 fall, they saw themselves old and decrepit, but walking 
 hand in hand, the love of one another still strong in 
 their souls. 
 
 "When they reached the pool the poet sprang to 
 the bank, cured of his wounds and as strong as ever, 
 and lifting his bride he carried her to a secret cavern 
 which none could discover. 
 
 "The savages beheld this sight with awe and fear. 
 They thought they had violated the sanctity of some 
 primeval god and goddess; and after falling on their 
 faces, they arose and beat a hasty retreat. 
 
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 "Never again was this region visited by the wild 
 men of the plains, so long as the tribe of the poet 
 inhabited the place. It was told far and wide, among 
 all tribes of wild men, that sacred beings inhabited this 
 canon and that destruction awaited those who might 
 enter. It was many years after the great migration to 
 the South of the tribe of the poet that a red man dared 
 to set foot within these mountain gorges, and then it 
 was always with reverence. 
 
 "From one great fall, forever after this voyage of 
 the poet and his bride, there have been seven falls; 
 and at each place where they paused in their wild de 
 scent, the rocks so formed themselves that the water 
 was checked and held a while before it was allowed 
 to go on its rushing course. 
 
 "In honor of this voyage, and to commemorate the 
 story of the visions vouchsafed to them, the poet 
 named the seven falls: The highest fall was called 
 'Infancy;' the second, 'Childhood;' the third, 'Youth;' 
 the fourth, 'Romance;' the fifth, 'Bridal Veil;' the 
 sixth, 'Love Fulfilled ;' the seventh, 'Old Age/ " 
 
 During the recital Virginia's wonderful eyes re- 
 
 ected every passing shade of feeling. When the 
 
 story was ended they were both silent for a little time, 
 
 gazing meditatively at the falling water that sparkled 
 
 164
 
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 in the sunlight. Then Randolph turned his eyes to 
 the girl's face. 
 
 "Is it true, I wonder, that the stars in their courses 
 fight for the final happiness of those who truly love 
 one another?" 
 
 Under his reverent gaze the soft color deepened in 
 her cheeks; she looked at him, then quickly turned 
 her eyes away again to the sunlit water. 
 
 "All the old stories say so." Her voice was low, 
 and trembled ever so little. 
 
 Then, as if afraid of the emotion that shook her 
 sensitive soul, she suddenly sprang to her feet. 
 
 "Let us go over to the pool, George, and see if the 
 bird's nest is still there. It is related that those beau 
 tiful white birds were in this region up to the time 
 of Pike's expedition, and that he captured two of 
 them; but since that time they have entirely disap 
 peared. However, a bird's nest has always remained 
 in the crevice of the rock from whence the white bird 
 flew on that ancient wedding day." 
 
 As they stood on the edge of the pool a small gray 
 and speckled bird flew from the crevice of the rock, 
 just beyond the spray of the last fall, and dived into 
 the water of the basin. Again and again he plunged 
 into the crystal stream, and then, perching himself on a 
 
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 ledge of rock, he sang a few tender notes and dis 
 appeared in the crevice again. 
 
 "Where did you find this interesting story?" asked 
 Randolph. 
 
 "That is my secret. If you were not so practical 
 you would occasionally read the romances of the 
 Aborigines and discover that there are many beautiful 
 things in the old Aztec manuscripts; but you prefer 
 to sacrifice ideals to the real, even if it makes you look 
 as if you were following the hearse of your last friend, 
 as you and Father and Frederic looked this morning." 
 
 She hesitated a moment, then, looking him full in the 
 eyes, she said: 
 
 "You will accept my father's offer, will you not?" 
 
 Her voice and eyes were full of earnestness. The 
 unexpectedness of the question disconcerted Randolph. 
 He colored deeply and hesitated for words to make 
 reply. He wondered how much of their conversation 
 she had heard and how much she had guessed. 
 
 Seeing that he was embarrassed, and thinking that 
 she might have been indelicate in mentioning the sub 
 ject, she hastened to add: 
 
 "I do not wish to be intrusive, or to influence your 
 affairs ; but my father has a very high opinion of you, 
 and I hope you will ally yourself with him, for you 
 can do so much for one another." 
 
 166
 
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 "What would you have me do?" he asked. "Live 
 up to my highest ideals, or subordinate them to mere 
 money getting? Give my life to the service of mer 
 cenary greed to the defense of aggressions and 
 oppressions that should be denounced or carve out 
 a career for myself, along lines that my own heart 
 and conscience approve and that appeal to every 
 impulse of my being?" 
 
 The answer came promptly and from the depths of 
 her soul. 
 
 "You will always be true to your highest impulses. 
 Nobody can swerve you from them, and surely I 
 would not attempt to do so. But are you not mis 
 taken as to the field in which you can be most useful ? 
 Both my father and Frederic think so. Of course I 
 know nothing of such things, but please do not get too 
 far away from us." 
 
 The words of the girl made Randolph realize what 
 a vast gulf really lay between the Ames family and 
 himself, if he persisted in living his life according to 
 the standards he had set up. 
 
 "I hope I shall never get very far away from any 
 of you, but I am at a loss to decide. Let me tell you 
 the strange combat between conflicting ambitions and 
 inharmonious viewpoints of duty." 
 
 He led her back to their former seat upon the log, 
 
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 and in the briefest possible manner and without reser 
 vation told her of his ambitions, his hopes, and his 
 past life. He had the feeling that every thought and 
 sentiment was understood and appreciated. 
 
 "What am I to do ?" he asked, when he had finished. 
 
 "You must follow your father's behest," she replied. 
 "But that should not lead you away from us. Whether 
 it does or not, your course is plain. You must follow 
 his directions to you as they appeal to your own high 
 sense of duty. Anything else would be sacrilege. But 
 haven't times so changed that you can do as my father 
 wishes? Do so, if you can. Don't get too far away 
 from us." 
 
 They waited in silence for awhile, listening to the 
 music of the falls, and feeling for the first time in 
 their hearts the strong pulsations of that reality of 
 life which was so deeply to influence their future. Then, 
 with a little sigh, she broke the spell: 
 
 "Come," she said, "we must go. It is very late, and 
 they will be waiting for us." 
 
 168
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 That night the entire Ames party and five strangers 
 were gathered in the large drawing-room of the 
 Antlers. Three of these strangers were from Ceylon, 
 one from Egypt and the other one from Canada. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Ames had met them severally during the 
 course of the day, and finding them interesting, had 
 invited them to join their party in the drawing-room 
 after dinner. 
 
 The Cingalese were Mr. and Mrs. Pieras and the 
 brother of Mrs. Pieras, Mr. Obesequia. They be 
 longed to one of the oldest and most aristocratic 
 families of the Island, and the young men were both 
 graduates of Cambridge, while Mrs. Pieras had been 
 carefully educated by private tutors and was highly 
 accomplished in music and art. They were the most 
 perfect bronze in color, with classic features, and 
 dignified and distinguished in carriage. Mrs. Pieras 
 would have formed an excellent model for a painter, 
 with her clear bronze complexion, her regular features 
 and jet-black hair, parted in the middle of her fore 
 head. She was gowned in the purest white. 
 
 Mr. Obesequia had fitted himself for a public career 
 in his native land, and, what was more to the purpose, 
 
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 he had the certainty of a distinguished one, if he had 
 the ability for it, without being compelled to overcome 
 the numerous obstacles which at that time obstructed 
 the path of ambitious and honorable young men 
 in the Great Republic. 
 
 Abdel Hamid Abaza, the Egyptian, was a man of 
 about twenty-eight years of age, the son of one of the 
 native nobility, a Bey on his own account, whose father 
 owned large tracts of land, and who had come to the 
 United States to study its system of irrigating the soil. 
 He had been well educated in native schools and in 
 Paris, and he spoke half a dozen languages with great 
 fluency. 
 
 The fifth stranger was Mr. Austen Woodburn, a 
 noted Canadian mining engineer. 
 
 After the formality of introductions, the entire party 
 fell into a discussion of the Rocky Mountain region, 
 and each told of experiences that threw interesting 
 side-lights upon it. 
 
 The Cingalese had had a ludicrous experience that 
 day, and one which they told with considerable zest. 
 They had gone to a gold camp nearby with Mr. Wood- 
 burn to inspect the practical working of the mines, and 
 at the noon hour went to a restaurant for refreshments. 
 They were refused service, and when the proprietor 
 was asked the reason, he said, "Negroes are not served 
 
 170
 
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 here." They encountered the same treatment in two or 
 three other restaurants, and finally concluded to go 
 without luncheon, as Obesequia said, "Rather than of 
 fer explanations in a country that twoscore years before 
 had sacrificed a million men and three billions of dollars 
 to have the negroes declared free and equal citizens." 
 
 "It was rather humiliating," Obesequia added, after 
 a moment's thoughtfulness. "I remember having 
 heard my grandmother tell how she had refused to sit 
 at dinner with the Princess, afterward Queen Victoria, 
 on her visit to Ceylon, because my grandmother's aris 
 tocracy was so much older and better than was that of 
 the Princess. A ludicrous thing happened to us in 
 another section of the United States . We were attend 
 ing a reception at the house of a leading citizen, when 
 a guest, having finished his refreshments, turned with 
 his empty plate to me, and commandingly said : 'Here 
 take this !' I was just on the point of doing so, to see 
 what would come of the incident, when a lady who 
 knew me rushed up and whispered in the man's ear. 
 He tried to be most profuse in his apologies, but I 
 walked away with the thought that even a servant was 
 entitled to a little more civility than this gentleman 
 had shown." 
 
 It formed a strange and interesting sight to Ran 
 dolph to see these people from vastlv different parts 
 
 171
 
 of the world, of widely different race, religion and 
 political conviction, each independent in his personal 
 and civil powers, yet, practically, all subjects of the 
 same monarchal government. He reflected that per 
 haps the American Revolution, after all, did more to 
 free Englishmen and English subjects than it did to 
 free Americans; for while the Americans had gone 
 gradually from one form of thraldom into another, 
 England's experience with us taught her the value of 
 giving the colonists the widest possible latitude in self- 
 government, with the result that the most democratic 
 and socialistic governments of the world are to be 
 found in some of the colonies of Great Britain. 
 
 Randolph talked at length with Obesequia about the 
 latter's plans and ambitions, and discovered that the Cin 
 galese was diligently studying and observing to ascer 
 tain what public measures he should advocate for his 
 home government. Randolph found him well versed in 
 political economy and familiar with many of the 
 obstacles to a pure democracy in the United States. 
 Obesequia pointed out to Randolph how much more 
 freedom of advocacy and of action were allowed in his 
 country, and to what extent they had gone in the 
 direction of popular government. 
 
 "Egypt has been so full of romance ever since the 
 world began that I am sure you must have a hundred 
 
 172
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 romantic stories, Abaza Bey," said Mrs. Strong to the 
 Egyptian. His countenance lighted up at the compli 
 ment to his country, but his diffidence was apparent. 
 
 "Yes," he said thoughtfully, "there is much romance 
 even now in Egypt. Though we are under the rule of 
 a foreign military occupation, still our people preserve 
 their simple natures and their warmth of feeling. A 
 friend of mine went through a most interesting ro 
 mance, but I fear I am not capable of relating it to 
 you." 
 
 "Oh, yes, your are!" came from every feminine 
 throat, accompanied by the bewitching American smile, 
 which Abaza Bey often declared would melt the 
 Sphinx and cause it to prattle like a sixteen-year-old 
 girl just home from school. 
 
 In mock resignation to his fate, he began: 
 
 "This is the tale. You know that in my country en 
 gagements are made through the male parents. The 
 father of a marriageable young man selects a family of 
 equal or better standing, into which he wishes his son 
 to marry. Then he goes to the father of the young 
 lady and asks for her hand for his son, and if accept 
 able an agreement with due forfeiture is entered into. 
 Following that the ceremony of engagement takes 
 place, when the young people pledge their troth and 
 another solemn compact is made. Then follows the 
 
 173
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 wedding ceremony, all according to the Mohammedan 
 religion. Of course the mother of the young man is 
 entitled to visit the girl to see if she has physical 
 charms and comeliness; but not so the son, until the 
 wedding ceremony is completed. 
 
 "Well, my friend, who belongs to an old and wealthy 
 Egyptian family, had, since early childhood, been in 
 fatuated with a girl who came from a distinguished 
 and titled family and the mother of whom we always 
 called 'The Princess.' You know the females do not 
 begin to wear the veil until they are about fourteen 
 years of age. My friend and the girl had played to 
 gether and always had been such good friends that it 
 was taken for granted they would some time be 
 married. Even the Princess thought this. 
 
 "One day, when my friend was about twenty-one, 
 and was just completing his education, the Princess 
 sent for him. He had on his football regalia, as we 
 had two excellent teams in Cairo then, and was just 
 going to the game. The messenger said he had orders 
 to bring him to the Princess immediately. My friend 
 protested that his clothing was not suitable for such an 
 audience; but the messenger persisted, and he went. 
 Arrived in the presence of the Princess, he found her 
 in tears. 
 
 " 'And so you are to marry Zelida ?' she began. 
 
 174
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 " 'Indeed, I am not !' my friend sternly interrupted. 
 'I shall marry no one but your daughter.' 
 
 " 'Don't you know that your father has engaged you 
 to Zelida?' 
 
 "My friend reeled and nearly fell. 'No, I did not,' 
 he said solemnly. 'In any event, I shall never marry 
 her. I will die first.' 
 
 " 'Tut, tut,' the Princess replied. 'You must not talk 
 in that way, for you are a good Mohammedan, and, of 
 course, you will do what your father says. But it will 
 break my poor daughter's heart,' and she gave way to 
 another flood of tears. 
 
 "My friend left her, almost insensible with grief, and 
 went to the football field; but so far away was his 
 mind that we lost the game through his errors. Arriv 
 ing at home, he asked his father if the story was true. 
 Being assured that it was, he exclaimed in wildest 
 grief : 
 
 " 'Didn't you know that I expected to marry the 
 Princess's daughter? That I love her? That I shall 
 never marry any one else?' 
 
 "In vain his father tried to console him, appealing to 
 his filial duty, his religious obligations, the pride of a 
 family contract. He remained obdurate, and would 
 not ratify the agreement. 
 
 "The mother visited the girl, found her fair, in-
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 telligent, refined. But my friend was inexorable. His 
 grief finally led into a low form of fever common in 
 the Nile country, and in his weakened condition he 
 agreed to complete the engagement ; but when all the 
 guests were gathered his will triumphed, and he re 
 fused to go on. As a last resort, his father took hint 
 to one side and promised him that he might also marry 
 the daughter of the Princess, that he would immedi 
 ately ask for her hand as soon as this wedding should 
 be completed, and the son could make her his chief 
 wife, but that the family honor must now be vindi 
 cated. All of which might be done under Moham 
 medan laws and religious customs. 
 
 "On the strength of these promises the engagement 
 was completed and the wedding ceremony set for an 
 early day. So enraptured was my friend with this new 
 promise that he flew to the Princess with the informa 
 tion. Determined that he would be entirely loyal to 
 the one he loved, he begged his father to send him to 
 Europe to regain his health as soon as the wedding 
 ceremony should be over. This his father agreed to 
 do, for by this time my friend was really quite ill. 
 The rites were scarcely solemnized and the bride 
 properly greeted, when my friend, with his attendants, 
 hurried to a boat which was sailing that day from 
 Alexandria for Naples. 
 
 176
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "For three months he lay in the delirium of fever, 
 knowing nothing of events at home. It took another 
 month for him to recuperate, and then he sailed for 
 Egypt. His first inquiry was for the daughter of the 
 Princess. He was informed that she was married to 
 a rich Shiek. He sought and obtained a secret inter 
 view with her, and learned from her own lips that he 
 had been betrayed during his illness. His uncle had 
 convinced the young lady and the Princess that my 
 friend was quite content with his present wife, and 
 that everything was settled. Under his uncle's advice 
 the girl had married the Shiek, whose offer had before 
 been rejected. The lover's messages, sent through his 
 own family, had never been delivered. When I saw my 
 friend that night he had aged ten years, and despera 
 tion was set in every feature of his face. I never left 
 him for a moment, for I knew not what his intense na 
 ture might lead him to do. I took him to my apartment 
 in Cairo, and through every vigil of the night I listened 
 to his sobs and moans, but I never closed my eyes. 
 
 "The morning post brought a note for him, sent in 
 my care, written in Arabic. He broke the seal, and as 
 soon as his eyes rested on its page he gave a shriek 
 of intense pain and fell back upon the bed in what I 
 feared was a death swoon. I summoned medical aid, 
 and through heroic remedies the blood was sent once 
 
 177
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 more through his veins, and powerful opiates put him 
 to sleep. I had taken the note from the floor, where 
 it had fallen, and discovered that his sweetheart had 
 committed suicide the night before, but had previously 
 mailed him this secret farewell message. That no 
 harm might come from the note, I reduced it to ashes 
 and placed them in a small urn for him. 
 
 "Eight years have passed since then. My friend is 
 a good husband to the wife his father selected for him, 
 and they have two beautiful children. But around his 
 neck, resting against his bare flesh, he always wears a 
 quaint old Egyptian charm which was given to him 
 by the daughter of the Princess when they were both 
 children. 
 
 "Often he will wander out on the desert alone to 
 offer a prayer to Allah at sunset for her whom he has 
 never ceased to love." 
 
 The simple tale touched every heart. Its theme was 
 the immolation of young love on the altar of family 
 pride and expediency in the deserts of Egypt this 
 time. Randolph looked up, and his eyes met those of 
 Virginia. Each knew what was in the other's 
 thoughts. 
 
 The sadness and pathos of it all had burned into 
 the soul of Abaza, whose eyes were covered with a 
 mist ; and there was a suggestion of tears in his voice 
 
 178
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 as he asked Mrs. Ames to play again that beautiful 
 sonata of Beethoven which he had heard in the after 
 noon. 
 
 She promptly responded, and with so much ardor 
 and feeling that she received a hearty and unanimous 
 encore; but she modestly declined, offering her 
 daughter Virginia as a substitute. 
 
 As the girl took her place at the piano every one ob 
 served her grave, far-away expression. Randolph had 
 been conscious of her silence and preoccupation during 
 the whole evening. Just as she was seating herself, 
 her brother called to her. 
 
 "A song, Virginia, please, a song." 
 
 She hesitated for a moment, and then playing her 
 own accompaniment, sang the song that she and 
 Randolph had heard the woman sing in the morning: 
 
 "The merry, merry lark was up and singing, 
 The hare was out and feeding on the lea ; 
 
 The merry, merry bells below were ringing, 
 As my child's laugh rang thro' me. 
 
 "Now the hare is snared and dead beside the snow- 
 yard, 
 
 And the lark beside the dreary winter sea, 
 And my baby in his cradle in the church-yard, 
 
 Waiteth there until the bells bring me." 
 
 179
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 The tale of Egyptian love, the ever half-sad, half- 
 joyous nature of the girl, the occurrences of the morn 
 ing, all combined to force this song, which she loved 
 and feared, from her. 
 
 The oneness of human sentiment, whatever the race, 
 or the religion, or the language, was demonstrated by 
 the effect upon the little assemblage. When she had 
 finished there was not a dry eye in the room, and it was 
 several minutes before any one spoke. She had thrown 
 the pathos of her whole soul into the last four lines, 
 and a stranger would have thought that she was a 
 young mother bereft of her only child. The whole 
 story of the joy and sorrow of human life is so em 
 bodied in this wonderful song of eight lines that its 
 sentiment carried all of the auditors into a reverie of 
 their own experiences. 
 
 When she had finished she sat with her head averted 
 for a few minutes; then, noticing the silence and the 
 strain on the emotions, she played Mendelssohn's 
 Spring Song with all the spirit she could command. 
 This restored the equilibrium of feeling, and soon 
 afterward the party separated for the night. 
 
 But Randolph did not seek sleep. He strolled out 
 to Pike's Peak Avenue and soon was crossing the hills 
 east of the city, not thinking or caring how far he 
 wandered from the hotel. On he went to the outskirts 
 
 1 80
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 of the city, and then to the open land beyond. After 
 walking a good five miles he was out on the boundless 
 plains of Colorado. From early childhood the plains 
 had always had a soothing effect upon him. Whenever 
 troubled with the petty cares of a young man, or when 
 preparing a school oration or debate, he had found 
 inspiration and comfort on the Illinois prairies at night. 
 The vastness of it all, the regular pulse-beats of nature 
 in restraint, the myriad of uplifting thoughts that came 
 from the stillness of the night, the guardian vigils 
 of the stars, all powerfully appealed to his poetic 
 nature. The mountains never affected Randolph as 
 did the plains. They were too impressive, too em 
 phatic, too overwhelming; awe inspiring, indeed, but 
 never soothing. He always found his mental poise, his 
 spiritual equilibrium, his soulful inspiration on the 
 plains ; and this night he sought them with the earnest 
 ness and zeal with which a distressed religious devotee 
 seeks comfort and aid from an honored churchman. 
 
 He strode silently along, the lone living creature on 
 this vast expanse of barren soil. Suddenly he stopped, 
 turned his face toward the mountains, and throwing 
 back his head exclaimed half aloud: 
 
 "Changed conditions cannot relieve me from the 
 sacredness of my pledge, and my duty is clear, what 
 ever the conditions may be. I will be just with the 
 
 181
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 views of Mr. Ames and ascertain for myself how his 
 operations affect government, but my ultimate purpose 
 must not be shaken." 
 
 When he arrived at the hotel the first glow of the 
 summer dawn was on the eastern horizon. 
 
 At an early hour he sought Mr. Ames and told him 
 that he would be much pleased if the law firm of 
 Dalrymple & Ames would employ him for a year at a 
 reasonable salary, and give him an opportunity to de 
 termine what business course he should pursue for the 
 future. This proposition was acceded to by Mr. Ames 
 with the remark: 
 
 "You are losing a year's income as a member of the 
 firm ; but I suppose if you want to be foolish enough 
 to do that, I have no cause to complain." 
 
 182
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 The first few months of Randolph's employment oy 
 the law firm of Dalrymple & Ames passed pleasantly 
 and rapidly, and he began to feel that possibly he had 
 judged conditions too harshly. 
 
 The work assigned to him in the office was that of 
 making briefs on divers questions of law that came 
 up from every section of the country in which the 
 Ameses operated. This he found congenial, and he 
 readily learned to discriminate in the value of the court 
 decisions of the several States. The clear, apt, logical 
 expositions of the master-spirits of the bench had a 
 fascinating charm for him ; but when he was compelled 
 to wade through the murky and muddy reasoning of 
 the mediocre judges in some of the Middle and 
 Western States he was filled with disgust for a people 
 that would sustain such a judiciary. 
 
 He was early impressed with the recent tendency of 
 all the State courts the brilliant and opaque alike 
 to favor the utility corporations; but, desiring prece 
 dents along that line, it delighted his spirit of 
 advocacy to find the decisions so uniform and so unani- 
 mous. He noticed that there was far more independ 
 ence and difference of opinion among the Federal 
 
 183
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 judges, and that the reasons for their conclusions were 
 generally more fully and clearly stated than were those 
 of the State judges. 
 
 He came in contact with but few of the attorneys 
 employed by the firm, as he acted directly under the in 
 structions of Judge Dalrymple, but several times when 
 he was in Judge Dalrymple's office he met a young 
 man named James Henderson, who had been with the 
 Judge five years and in whom he seemed to have great 
 confidence. Randolph had also met Henderson at the 
 Ames's house, and easily discovered that he was a 
 favorite with Mr. Ames. 
 
 iXJames Henderson was a young man about thirty- 
 five years of age, tall, handsome, with polished 
 manners, rather loud of voice and self-conscious in 
 bearing, but suave, insinuating, tactful and forceful. 
 He had been trained to the law in the office of the 
 attorneys for the Ames interests in Chicago, and 
 during his career in the big Western city had been par 
 ticularly successful in handling matters before city 
 councils and in state legislatures. His talent along 
 these lines was so great that he had been transferred to 
 the New York office five years previously, and had 
 been given general supervision of this sort of work 
 all over the United States. He was one of the best- 
 paid men in the employ of Judge Dalrymple, receiving 
 
 184
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 a salary of thirty thousand dollars a year and a con 
 tingent fund of elastic proportions for his operations. 
 
 In a social way Randolph had reason to congratulate 
 himself upon his good fortune, for Mrs. Ames took 
 considerable pains to have him meet desirable people, 
 and those that would appeal to his intellectual nature. 
 
 He had become fast friends with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Spencer Harding, and often spent Sunday evenings 
 during the winter of the year at their house, where 
 he was always certain to meet some of the brightest 
 and most famous writers, musicians and artists of New 
 York. 
 
 Randolph found the Sunday night suppers of the 
 Hardings notable for the wit, humor, good stories and 
 brilliant conversation that characterized them. He 
 discovered that Spencer Harding, besides being an 
 architect of high rank, was also a man of letters and a 
 broad and practical humanitarian. He was fond of the 
 genuine hospitality of Mrs. Harding, a Kentuckian by 
 birth and a highly cultured woman, whose greatest 
 ambition was to assist her husband in reaching the 
 heights of his profession, and to make life agreeable 
 and pleasant for their friends. 
 
 He found time to do much riding with Virginia and 
 Mrs. Strong, and altogether his life moved along 
 pleasant lines. Mrs. Strong was still his valuable ad- 
 
 185
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 viser, and her confidence in his final outcome grew 
 stronger every day. 
 
 At the beginning of the year he was sent to the 
 West on matters of legislation in one of the trans- 
 Mississippi States and to look after the obtaining of 
 a new lighting franchise in one of the smaller cities of 
 a State further east. This work would have fallen to 
 Henderson, but he was busily engaged in the North 
 west and wrote that it was impossible for him to leave ; 
 so Judge Dalrymple outlined to Randolph what was 
 needed, and, skilled as he was, did not succeed in 
 entirely concealing the doubts he entertained as to the 
 young man's fitness for the mission. 
 
 "You understand," he said to Randolph, "we wish 
 to enact a law that will permit us to consolidate our 
 interests and to acquire competing lines of road there. 
 Our local attorney has already had the bill introduced 
 in the Legislature and there should be no difficulty in 
 passing it, as in the recent election we contributed 
 large sums of money, and our friends assure us they 
 will organize the Legislature and seat their State of 
 ficers. You are to look over the field thoroughly and 
 advise me of the situation. We must get the law en 
 acted, as it is vital to our affairs in arranging a basis 
 for a new capitalization, for this bill wipes out all possi 
 bility of future competition." 
 
 186
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Randolph frankly expressed his doubts of his ability 
 to do this work successfully, but Judge Dalrymple 
 waved his objections aside. 
 
 "It is true you are inexperienced; but our local 
 attorney there will take the lead, and he is skilled in 
 this sort of business. Follow his methods closely and 
 you will soon get the idea." 
 
 With many misgivings Randolph started on his trip. 
 
 Arrived at his destination, he found matters political 
 and governmental in interminable chaos. For some 
 years the Republican party had been the dominant party, 
 and at the recent election the public service corpora 
 tions had dictated the nomination of the entire Repub 
 lican State and Legislative ticket, and had placed a 
 campaign fund of a million dollars, or three dollars 
 apiece for every voter in the State, in the hands of the 
 Republican committee to elect the ticket. *... 
 
 Henry Fowler, a retired millionaire, was making 
 race for the United States Senate, backed by the solid 
 support of the corporations. The franchises of the 
 principal city utility corporations of the capital city 
 were about to expire. The burdens imposed by the 
 other utility companies were becoming so onerous that 
 the people had arisen in their might, and, abandoning 
 all party ties, had nominated a Citizens' ticket that had 
 carried the State by fifteen thousand majority for the
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 State ticket, and had carried the lower house of the 
 Legislature by ten, and the Senate by five, majority. 
 
 The corporations and their candidate for the Senate 
 had pledged a fund of two million dollars to undo the 
 work of the people at the polls, and were determined 
 to unseat enough members of the Legislature to give 
 them a clear majority in both Houses, and then have 
 the Legislature seat their State candidates. 
 
 Randolph took quarters at the leading hotel and 
 awaited developments. He was astonished at the 
 articles and editorials in the Echo, the corporation 
 daily paper of the capital city. It boldly advised the 
 State Canvassing Board vested by law with power 
 only to tabulate the returns for members of the Legis 
 lature to change the result in a score of counties, thus 
 giving! the corporations control of the Legislature. One 
 of the first of these editorials dumbfounded Randolph. 
 It ran thus: 
 
 "What did the people know about the issues of the 
 campaign? There is too much involved to turn the 
 State over to a lot of nondescript candidates, such as 
 composed the Citizens' ticket. The only reason they 
 did not use money in the campaign was because they 
 could not get it. Good, safe government must be pre-f 
 served at all hazards, and the State Canvassing Boardf 
 and the Legislature must do their duty to see that thef 
 
 188 
 
 I
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 men who own the State continue to control it. Popu 
 lar majorities count for nothing as against safe gov 
 ernment. Pay no attention to the ravings of irrespon 
 sible people. The men with money are practically 
 all on the Republican side, and they demand the throw 
 ing out of the majority obtained by demagogic appeals, 
 and the seating of those who were elected by a majority 
 of the votes of responsible citizens. Neither must the 
 Legislature weaken in its duty. No Citizens' candidate 
 whose place is contested should be seated under any 
 circumstances, and every member of the Legislature 
 elected on the Republican ticket should understand this 
 and be prepared to do his duty. 
 
 "The Supreme Court of the State can be relied upon 
 to uphold the people that own the State, so members of 
 the Legislature have nothing to fear from any source, 
 except from the railings of those who will be defeated 
 by the operation, and all they can do is to hold meetings 
 and pass resolutions and make speeches, as they will / 
 have no voice in any of the affairs of government." 
 
 Day after day this sort of doctrine was preached 
 to the people of the State, and Randolph wondered at 
 the apathy of those who had elected the Citizens' 
 ticket. The Mayor and other officers of the capital *^ 
 city were Democrats, who had been elected by the /\Q 
 corporation influences that now were backing the Re- 
 
 189
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 
 publicans in gaining control of the State, and every day 
 these Democratic officials could be seen coming out of 
 Republican headquarters in Randolph's hotel. 
 
 The Governor of the State a pliant tool of 
 the corporations, and a candidate for re-election had 
 called out a company of the State militia to guard the 
 State House and the State Canvassing Board, and the 
 Mayor of the city had volunteered to detail a police 
 man to every member of the Legislature who might 
 request one. 
 
 Randolph found Amos Howard, the local attorney of 
 the Ames interests, acting with the corporations in 
 seating the Republican candidates. Howard was a 
 tall, portly man with closely cropped black hair, slow of 
 movement, but quick of thought and rather thrasonical 
 in speech. He looked the part of a typical party boss. 
 For years his lash of authority had controlled city 
 councils, and he was the sort of man who would have 
 undertaken to buy all of the Twelve Disciples, instead 
 of only one, to betray the Saviour. 
 
 His law practice consisted more in what he could do 
 as a lobbyist than in what he could accomplish through 
 legal learning, and he had around his office a retinue 
 of skilful political strikers who kept him posted on all 
 the large and small gossip of the day. He told Ran 
 dolph that more money was needed for the pool, as 
 
 
 190
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 he had pledged the Ames interests for two hundred 
 thousand dollars, and only one hundred thousand had 
 been paid, and the other hundred thousand was due in 
 a few days. He suggested that Randolph had better 
 notify the home office, as it would not do to be late with 
 the contribution. 
 
 "I am informed that a total of two million dollars 
 has been pledged for this contest," said Randolph. 
 "What possible use can be made of so much money ?" 
 
 '"Use! Use!" repeated the other. "Why, my dear 
 fellow, don't you know that our candidates for the 
 legislature realize the immense value of the city fran 
 chises that are expiring and that cannot be renewed 
 except at a large tribute to the treasury of the city 
 unless we seat our candidates? You must remember 
 there are four Supreme Court judges involved in this 
 election, and if we seat them we feel sure of getting 
 decisions making these city franchises^_p^erpetual. If 
 the Citizens' judges are seated the decisions will be 
 the other way, and that would mean a loss of twenty- 
 five millions to the city corporations alone. What is a 
 bagatelle of two millions of dollars under the circum 
 stances? Why, Fowler should be willing to pay that 
 to go to the Senate." 
 
 "But what do you mean? How can you expend so 
 
 191
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 large a sum? What expense can possibly reach that 
 enormous amount?" Randolph insisted. 
 
 Howard gazed at him for several minutes without 
 saying a word, then inhaling the smoke of his cigar, 
 he let it pass through his nostrils while he turned 
 his attention to the ceiling. This operation he repeated 
 several times in absolute silence. Then looking at 
 Randolph curiously, he said : 
 
 "Have you ever had any dealings with state legis 
 latures or city councils?" 
 
 "No, I have not," replied Randolph. 
 
 "Then, for God's sake, go home ! This is no place 
 for you. And yet, how do you happen to be in the 
 employ of Charles Henry Ames, if you know nothing 
 about such things ?" 
 
 "I am only temporarily employed." 
 
 "Don't you know that every vote that is cast for the 
 corporations in this fight must be paid for at so much 
 per? This relates to the State Canvassing Board as 
 well as to members of the Legislature. We also retain 
 lawyer friends of the judges of the Supreme Court to 
 assist us in the legal contests, and pay them large fees. 
 Then we must subsidize the newspapers. You don't 
 think that all the stuff that appears in the Echo is 
 free ? Why, we have agreed to pay them one thousand 
 dollars a day during the entire contest. Then we have 
 
 192
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 an army of lobbyists. Every member of the Legisla 
 ture every person we expect to seat has half a 
 dozen paid men with him from his home county con 
 tinually. Then we have the most complete reports of 
 the doings of every one of our officials during every 
 hour of the twenty-four. There are ways enough to 
 spend the money, I assure you." 
 
 Just as Howard finished, Jack Jameson, one of his 
 most valued political workers, came in. He had met 
 Randolph before in Howard's office and had formed 
 a strong liking for him. He had also seen him around 
 the lobby of the hotel and had pointed out the local 
 celebrities to him, and in other ways had shown him 
 some attention. 
 
 "Mornm', gentlemen. Hope I'm not intrudin'," said 
 Jameson. 
 
 "No, no, come right in," answered Howard. "Ran 
 dolph was asking me what could possibly be done with 
 so much money in this fight, and I was trying to tell 
 him. Suppose you try your hand at it." 
 
 Jameson pulled his black derby hat down partly 
 over his eyes, assumed a serious look, and said: 
 
 "Well, I'll tell you, pardner. The churches have 
 had a hard time this last year; the Salvation Army is 
 dead broke ; the Tabernacle down in the slums is about 
 to close its doors from lack of funds ; and we have de- 
 
 193
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 termined to take this money to-morrow and divide it 
 equally among all of them. What do you think of it ?" 
 And he laughed in Randolph's face a hearty, good- 
 natured, infectious laugh, so much so that Randolph 
 could not keep from joining in it. 
 
 Then turning to Howard, Jameson went on: 
 
 "I don't think we ought to discuss these matters be- 
 iore this gentleman. He isn't used to this dirty busi 
 ness, and why should we offend him by discussing it 
 in his presence?" 
 
 "Oh, I assure you, I asked the questions," Ran 
 dolph hastened to say. 
 
 "Well, all right," said Jameson. "You don't need to 
 know the details of the work. I'll post you from day 
 to day on the result, but don't you soil your hands with 
 this business." 
 
 Randolph looked his gratitude, and thanking Jame 
 son, left for his hotel. 
 
 That night Randolph wrote Judge Dalrymple a per 
 sonal letter, giving him a resume of the entire situa 
 tion. After detailing to him the plans for obtaining 
 control of the legislative, the judicial and the execu 
 tive branches of the government, he said: 
 
 "The whole thing is infamous. It strikes at the 
 foundation of honest government and is a crime of 
 such magnitude that no person who countenances it / 
 
 104-
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 can possibly prosper. I urge you by all that you hold 
 sacred to withdraw your support from the scoundrels 
 that are trying to steal _the government of this State. 
 Your ticket wasMiairly defeated at the polls. Abide 
 by the result. Your interests are perfectly safe with 
 honest men; they surely will be jeopardized with 
 thieves and boodlers in control of the State govern 
 ment. So far as I am concerned, you must not expect 
 me to turn a hand to help the consummation of this 
 damnable conspiracy. I am only sorry I am not in a 
 position to resist it. Appeal to Mr. Ames to use his 
 influence to stop it. If he will take a firm stand 
 against stealing these offices the whole conspiracy will 
 fail, as Fowler dare not go against him; and if those 
 two are out of it the others will quit. I fell so cer 
 tain that a consummation of this crime means a great 
 disaster, eventually, to Mr. Ames's interests in this 
 State that you may say to him that I will risk my 
 reputation upon that prediction." 
 
 In a few days Randolph received a reply from Judge 
 Dalrymple. It was most formal in tone, and simply 
 said: 
 
 '''We have forwarded the one hundred thousand dol 
 lars to Howard. Henderson will join you in a few 
 days. Mr. Ames thinks you are not as devoted to our 
 interests as you should be and that you are allowing 
 
 195
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 outside considerations to influence you. However, you 
 will probably understand these matters better when 
 Henderson arrives." 
 
 196
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 "What in the world have you done to disturb 
 Father ? He incidentally remarked last night that they 
 had sent Mr. Henderson to assist you and that he 
 feared you were not devoted enough to his interests. 
 I don't understand it at all. He has always been so 
 enthusiastic about your work, and this is the first time 
 he has ever found fault. What has gone wrong with 
 you? Please write me all about it." 
 
 And he did. No sooner had Randolph received this 
 letter from Virginia than he wrote her the full story 
 of the shame and disgrace that were being forced upon 
 a free people. 
 
 "If in any way consistent with your dignity and 
 your duty as a daughter you can bring these matters 
 to the attention of your father, I wish you would do 
 so. Beg him in the name of justice to desist. If he 
 will take a stalwart stand for the rule of the people he 
 can force the others to quit; for his representatives 
 here are all-powerful in handling affairs of this kind, 
 and his railroad system controls the destinies of so 
 many sections of the State that the legislature will not 
 go against him. I did not intend to tell you about these 
 
 197
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 affairs, but a request from you is a command, so I 
 have obeyed and told you all." 
 
 Mrs. Strong had gone to Europe for a stay of sev 
 eral months, so he was deprived of her valuable in 
 fluence, which just now he thought might have stopped 
 Mr. Ames from permitting the conspiracy to go 
 further. 
 
 A few days after this Henderson arrived. He and 
 Randolph went to Howard's office for a conference. 
 The whole matter was gone over thoroughly by How 
 ard to Henderson, and Henderson expressed himself 
 as being satisfied with the plan and its purposes. 
 
 "Then you will take supreme control of affairs here 
 for Mr. Ames, will you not ?" asked Randolph. 
 
 "My instructions are to cooperate with you," replied 
 Henderson. 
 
 "Yes, I know, that was out of deference to me be 
 cause I was here first. But I waive that, and unless 
 you object, I much prefer that you should take su 
 preme control." 
 
 "Certainly, if you wish it," and it was apparent that 
 Randolph had tickled the vanity of his colleague. 
 / "Well, gentlemen, patriotism has triumphed at last," 
 said Jameson, as he came into the room with his hat 
 cocked on one side of his head, and with a semi- 
 comical smile on his face. "The Supreme Court has 
 
 
 198
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 told the State Canvassing Board that it can do as it 
 pleases about unseating members of the legislature, and 
 it didn't take the board twenty minutes to throw out 
 twenty members of the opposition and to seat twenty 
 of our men in their places. The certificates were all 
 made out and signed in advance ; for, don't you know, 
 they somehow guessed two days ago what the decision 
 of the Supreme Court was goin' to be. How do you 
 s'pose they knew?" And he gave Henderson a know 
 ing look, then added : 
 
 "I tell you, our fellers are a wise lot, and you bet 
 they allus go down the line." Then he laughed that 
 deep, infectious laugh in which the others, except Ran 
 dolph, joined him. 
 
 Noticing this, he said: "What's the matter, pard? 
 Ain't you feelin' well to-day? Come with me, we will 
 get out in the air." 
 
 When they reached the street he said : "Purty tough, 
 ain't it, pard? But really we had to do it. Look at 
 the boys that would be thrown out of a job if the other 
 fellers got in. Then this is a mighty cold winter, and 
 we 'uns must get some money somewhere for the folks 
 at home. What makes you so serious, pard ? I know 
 it's beastly work to spend so much money, but the other 
 fellers would throw us out if they had the chance. 
 Why, the Democrats did it a few years ago. Fact is, 
 
 199
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 that decision of the Supreme Court to-day is their de 
 cision. They got it when it helped them, and we used 
 their decision to help us against this reform outfit. 
 Ain't that fair?" 
 
 "Don't let us talk about it," said Randolph. "Tell 
 me about your family. How many children have you ?" 
 
 "Two," said Jameson, and his face beamed. "Two 
 of the purtiest girls you ever saw. Smart, too. One of 
 them is taking all sorts of prizes in school, and gradu 
 ates next year. T'other one has just started to high 
 school. Their mother's a fine woman, I tell you, 
 mighty fine." 
 
 For half an hour Randolph encouraged him to go 
 on about his family, and Jameson readily enough com 
 plied, for it was evident that he was proud of them. 
 
 They were going through one of the residence 
 streets in which electric street cars were run. They 
 saw a woman with a child in her arms start across the 
 street, and an instant afterward they heard the clang, 
 clang of the trolley-car bell but the motorman made 
 no effort to slacken the speed of his car. When the 
 car stopped, about half a block beyond where it struck 
 the woman, it still carried portions of the clothing of 
 both child and mother. The sight was sickening. Ran 
 dolph took the motorman severely to task for the speed 
 
 200
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 of his car and his carelessness; but the fellow only 
 leered at him, and said: 
 
 "You act as though you owned these streets your 
 self. People haven't got any business crossing street 
 car tracks with kids that way. We know our business, 
 and don't need your advice." 
 
 "Well, just the same, we will see that your company 
 pays dearly for this, won't we, Jameson ?" But Jame 
 son made no deply. After the ambulance had taken 
 the remains of mother and child away, and the crowd 
 had disappeared, Randolph said: 
 
 "Jameson, we must write an account of this immedi 
 ately, so we shall have it clearly in our minds when the 
 case is tried, for of course her family will bring an 
 action ; and I am willing to cross the continent to tes 
 tify against a corporation that has no more regard for 
 human life than this street-railway company has." 
 
 But Jameson shook his head. 
 
 "No use," he said, "no use. They own the courts. 
 No one gets on the jury unless they say so. The 
 sheriff is theirs. So is the coroner. You will see to 
 morrow the coroner's jury will find the woman was 
 careless, not the railroad. No use. I'd like to salivate 
 them for a million, but what can I do? Howard's 
 their lawyer, and of course I can't chirp. If I'm 
 called, I don't know anything. What else can I do? 
 
 201
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 You see how their diggin' down that hill has left all 
 those beautiful residences in the air, and killed their 
 value. Well, that shows the grip of these fellers 
 that was done to give the tramway an easy grade 
 nothin' else. Them chumps of property owners don't 
 count in elections. The darned fools don't even vote. 
 See?" 
 
 "Let's go home," said Randolph. 
 
 In silence they went back to the hotel. Randolph 
 bade Jameson good-day and went to his room. A let 
 ter had arrived from Virginia, and Randolph hastened 
 to read it. The part relating to his request he read 
 several times. 
 
 "I sought an opportunity when I could talk with 
 Father alone about what you wrote me. I took pains 
 not to compromise you, and of course I had to ask many 
 questions to get information from him. 'My child,' he 
 said, 'those are questions too deep and complicated for 
 your understanding. Why are you concerned about 
 them ?' I told him that he should not have sent you on 
 such a mission, and he said laughingly, 'Poor Randolph 
 made a sorry figure attending to our business before 
 Henderson got there, but it is all right now. Hender 
 son wires me to-day that everything is in good shape 
 and that all of our officers will be seated within ten 
 days.' When I protested against this procedure he 
 
 202
 
 simply smiled and told me I did not understand such 
 matters ; that their business required them to do what 
 they were doing, and that everything would come out 
 all right. So I fear I am not a good ambassador, as I 
 utterly failed in getting any results for you. How 
 ever, I don't think Father is vexed with you any longer, 
 and that is gratifying to me. Please hurry through 
 out there, as we all want to see you very much." 
 
 The next day saw a wild tumult in the capital city. 
 I ( Determined and armed men came from every section 
 \ of the State and threatened to blow the State House 
 .** into a million pieces if the members of the legislature 
 were different from those elected at the polls. 
 
 ^fc 
 
 A monster mass meeting was advertised for that 
 night on the grounds of the State Capitol. The Daily 
 Truth was the only paper published at the capital city 
 that was free from corporation control, and it preached 
 the doctrines of popular rights and justice with mighty 
 vigor in fact, with so much vigor that the editor was . 
 ^. cited before the Supreme Court on account of his de- \ 
 nunciation of the court's decision in the State Can 
 vassing Board matter. He was given five days to show 
 \cause why he should not be punished for contempt of 
 court. 
 
 The governor mobilized the militia from all parts of 
 the State, and when night came there were five thou- 
 
 203
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 sand soldiers under arms ; the mayor had sworn in two 
 thousand special policemen and the sheriff one thou 
 sand deputies; all citizens found with weapons in their 
 possession were disarmed, and the militia stretched a 
 cordon completely around the capitol grounds to see 
 that no harmful action was taken at the public meeting 1 . 
 The Echo was continually guarded by a hundred 
 soldiers. 
 
 / The legislature met under the protection of the 
 militia and started to canvass the returns on State offi 
 cials. To overthrow the majority for the Citizens' 
 ticket required the annulling of the votes of fifteen 
 counties out of fifty-five. 
 
 For these counties contests were filed challenging 
 the poll of each and a demand was made that the en 
 tire vote be thrown out. The Legislature took four 
 days to canvass the uncontested counties. On the 
 fourth day the Supreme Court sent the editor of the 
 Daily Truth to jail for thirty days for contempt, and 
 the jailor made the imprisonment as onerous as pos 
 sible, by denying the prisoner an opportunity of con 
 ferring with any person but his attorney, and by 
 harassing him in a hundred petty ways. 
 
 On the fifth day the Legislature in joint session, 
 without any hearing except a perfunctory one, and 
 with a debate limited to five minutes to each speaker, 
 
 204
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 and to two hours in the total, threw out all of the 
 fifteen contested counties and declared the entire Re 
 publican ticket elected. All attempts at expressing 
 public indignation were stifled by force, and with a 
 sullenness that boded no good to the corporations the 
 people looked on while these revolutionary proceedings 
 were being enacted. 
 
 Randolph boiled with indignation and burned with 
 a desire to help the citizens whose birthright was being: 
 destroyed so ruthlessly. Twice he wrote a telegram 
 resigning his position, but each time he concluded that 
 honor required him to stay his year out, and that he 
 would do so whatever came. 
 
 As soon as the new judges took their seats on the 
 Supreme bench, the rapid-transit company, the light 
 ing company, the water company, and the telephone 
 company applied to the Supreme Court for an injunc 
 tion to restrain the city or any individual from inter 
 fering with their operation under franchises which 
 they claimed were perpetual. The allegations of cause 
 for the Supreme Court to take original jurisdiction 
 were quite complete, and that august tribunal lost no 
 time in issuing a temporary injunction, and set the 
 matter for a final hearing twenty days ahead. 
 
 Fowler was elected to the United States Senate and 
 left immediately for the East, to prepare for his in- 
 
 205
 
 itiation into the sacred precincts of the American 
 House of Lords. With the election contest out of the 
 way, Randolph and Henderson turned their attention 
 to the railway bill. A conference was arranged with 
 Howard at his office, at which Jameson was to report 
 as to the standing of the legislature on the matter. 
 
 "Well, gents," said Jameson, "I think fifty thousand 
 plunks will land it all right." 
 
 "What do you mean ?" asked Randolph. 
 
 "Now, here, pardner, I'd rather talk Sunday school 
 to you than this sort of business. Your friend, Hen 
 derson, understands these things, but you never will. 
 I really don't think you ought to listen to this talk. 
 It's too practical." 
 
 "Do you mean that the members of the legislature 
 have to be paid to pass this bill, after Mr. Ames con 
 tributed first to elect them, and then afterward most 
 liberally to seat them ?" 
 
 "That's it, pard, you guessed right the first time. 
 You see they ain't got any memories at all, and there's 
 a lot of children at home crying for bread. Then they 
 reason purty well, too. Says one of them to me to 
 day : 'Why should we give Ames several millions by 
 our votes, unless we get part of it ourselves ? No, sir- 
 ree! Let him dig up we're entitled to our share.' 
 Ain't that good logic, pard? Your boss is making a 
 
 206
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 barrel of money out of something he oughtn't to have, 
 and he is getting this something out of votes they 
 oughtn't to cast now, why shouldn't they get some 
 of this money as well as Ames ? You see, they're onto 
 their jobs and must be paid, or the thing don't go. It's 
 like robbing a stage coach ; unless there's a fair division 
 among the robbers, everybody gets into trouble. They 
 say that these campaign contributions are a tribute to 
 their personality. If they were not the approachable 
 gentlemen they are you wouldn't want them in the 
 legislature, therefore you pay a premium for their 
 'particular breed to run for office. Do you see ?" And 
 Jameson laughed a long, hearty laugh. 
 
 Randolph did see, and he pressed his questions no 
 further. Henderson said he would take care of the 
 finances. Under the skilful guidance of Henderson and 
 Howard the bill easily went through both houses of the 
 Legislature, and was signed by the governor. 
 
 The day before Randolph was to leave, the Supreme 
 Court handed down a decision declaring the franchises 
 of all the city utility companies perpetual, and per 
 manently restraining all officials and other persons 
 from interfering with them in their legal operation of 
 the same. 
 
 Jameson came to the hotel to bid Randolph good- 
 by: "Mighty sorry you're goin' so soon, pard. Wish 
 
 207
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 you'd stay here and be one of us. If you hadn't so 
 many finicky notions, what a team you and Howard 
 would make. Why, Howard just rolls in fees. You 
 know he's the head of the lobby in the city and State. 
 Then he's attorney for the gambling trust and the 
 saloonkeepers' organization, and they pay him well to 
 keep them open when they ought to be closed." 
 
 "How does it happen that gambling is conducted 
 openly here?" asked Randolph. 
 
 "It's this way, pard. There's a trust. Ten gam 
 blers entered into an agreement with the mayor that 
 their places should be the only ones to remain open, 
 and in return they agreed to pay fifteen thousand dol 
 lars a month to Howard, to be divided as Howard and 
 the mayor dictate. I know where it goes, and I'll tell 
 you, as you're goin' away anyhow, and you won't 
 peach on me. Howard gets one thousand dollars a 
 month for his services. The Echo gets one thousand 
 a month ; five thousand a month goes into the corpora 
 tion political fund that is handled by a committee of 
 one from each city corporation, and the other eight 
 thousand is handled by Howard and the mayor for a 
 'contingent fund/ as they call it. Out of the contin 
 gent fund all approachable officials are cared for. 
 
 "You see Howard and Irwin, of the rapid-transit 
 company, run the whole machine. They nominate the 
 
 208
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 tickets for both political parties and control all guys 
 that are elected. Some preachers and women tried to 
 close gamblin' a few weeks ago. The district at 
 torney wouldn't have nothin' to do with them, neither 
 would the chief of police or the sheriff, so they filed 
 a petition in the courts. Six out of the seven judges 
 were for letting them go to but t'other judge said 
 he'd grant an order to close gamblin', and he did, and 
 the preachers and women were very glad. But what 
 happened? The sheriff and chief of police reported 
 that it was all 'shut up ;' but it wasn't, and Mr. Judge 
 was fooled for his smartness. I tell you, we got a 
 cinch on things here better stay with us. 
 
 "I don't s'pose," he went on, "that Howard knows 
 himself how much he makes. The railroads and local 
 corporations all act together in politics, and Howard 
 handles the money for both parties. Besides those 
 fellers I told you about, the women downtown have to 
 give up two thousand dollars a month, and every dive 
 has to give up, and there's fifty dives running under 
 respectable names like "Massage" and "Manicure." 
 Why, you know Howard is so powerful that no 
 Federal feller can get a job without him. He keeps 
 timber thieves lumber barons, some of them, at that 
 out of the pen. Just last fall he got a big fee for 
 savin' some of these fellers from indictment. I went 
 
 209
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 down East to collect the fee for him, soon as the grand 
 jury adjourned. Don't know how he works it, but he 
 allus gets there. Of course he's got an army of fellers 
 in his employ. And they get on grand juries and petit 
 juries, and he knows what's doin' all the time. But 
 Howard tells me what he gets is nothin' compared to 
 what the bosses get in the big cities down East. Sorry 
 you have to go." 
 
 "I want to thank you for your personal courtesies 
 to me," said Randolph. "Remember your wife and 
 children, and don't do anything that would cause them 
 to be ashamed of you." 
 
 The tears stood in Jameson's eyes. 
 
 "That I won't, pard not for the world." 
 
 Randolph parted from him with sincere regret, for, 
 personally, he had found in Jameson a warm-hearted, 
 generous man, who undoubtedly was an ideal husband 
 and father. Randolph reflected that in political action 
 and viewpoint Jameson accepted government conditions 
 just as Mr. Ames accepted them, and neither of them 
 had any appreciation of their disastrous effect. 
 
 When Randolph and Henderson arrived at the city 
 where their gas franchise was pending, they found 
 the citizens wrought up over the proposition, and two 
 indignation meetings had already been held to protest 
 against the granting of the franchise. The citizens 
 
 210
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 contended that $1.25 per thousand cubic feet was an 
 exorbitant charge, and they opposed granting a fran 
 chise for twenty-five years, the term sought by the 
 Ames company. Henderson was an adept at this sort 
 of work, and soon discovered the weak spot in the 
 armor of those carrying on the agitation against the 
 gas company, and proceeded to assail it. 
 
 He made the proposition that the gas company 
 would furnish gas for lighting purposes for the school 
 houses and the library free of charge during the life 
 of the franchise, and would light all city buildings and 
 churches at one dollar per thousand cubic feet. He al 
 ready had a majority of the council as well as the 
 mayor committed to the franchise, but they wished 
 him to lighten the pressure on them as much as possi 
 ble. By taking liberal advertising space in the leading 
 paper he got it to laud the generosity of the gas com 
 pany in making such tremendous concessions. 
 
 Randolph was an interested spectator of these pro 
 ceedings, for he discovered that bribery was quite as 
 effective in accomplishing the overthrow of the in 
 terests of the masses of the people in high outside 
 circles as in the realms of city councils and state leg 
 islatures, and he was somewhat startled at the ease 
 with which the public educators and the ministers of 
 
 211
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 the city were bribed into line to sell the birthright of 
 the city for a generation to come. 
 
 Henderson explained to him that neither the school 
 houses nor churches, nor city buildings, used much 
 gas for lighting purposes, and therefore the contribu 
 tion was a mere bagatelle. "But," he added, "the do 
 nation will appeal to the overpowering passion of peo 
 ple to take infinite pains and to make many sacrifices 
 to get something (however little the value) for 
 nothing. 
 
 "This plant," said Henderson, "is now bonded for 
 one million dollars and capitalized for one million dol 
 lars. With a new twenty-five-year franchise, at the 
 $1.25 rate, we can easily bond it for six millions and 
 stock it for five millions, and these poor dupes don't 
 see what a debt they are thrusting on the city for the 
 little concession to them which tickles their vanity." 
 
 Randolph was glad to return to New York, and de 
 voutly hoped he might be allowed to do brief- work in 
 the office during the balance of his year's stay. He 
 was profoundly agitated over the occurrences of his 
 trip, and seriously concerned about the existence of 
 any government where bribery ran so rampant and 
 class rule was so complete. 
 
 He had heard much at college and had read much in 
 the newspapers and periodicals about municipal and 
 
 2T2
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 legislative corruption, but he had always supposed the 
 tales were exaggerated. Now he realized that it was 
 impossible to tell a quarter of the damnable and damn 
 ing influence of the utility corporations upon all ele 
 ments of society in their effort to use all governments 
 for their own profit and benefit. 
 
 He saw clearly enough now that the men who 
 would accept public office as the tools of these corpora 
 tions could easily enough be bribed or improperly in 
 fluenced on all questions of government, however sac 
 red or important ; and if they would sell the rights and 
 franchises of cities, states and nation to domestic 
 enemies, why might the time not come when the same 
 creatures would sell the rights and franchises aye, 
 the country's honor to foreign foes? 
 
 He thought he saw clearly how this system of uni 
 versal bribery was undermining and destroying all 
 honest work and all honest effort. Honest wages were 
 \ not sufficient when graft was running rampant on 
 \ every hand. He recalled what Harding had told him 
 \ about the difficulty in getting upright contractors on 
 \buildings ; how a prominent builder had come to Hard 
 ing because, as the lowest bidder, he had been awarded 
 a contract to do stone and brick work on a building 
 that Harding was architect for, and had laid down two 
 thousand dollars and asked if that was about right. 
 
 213
 
 TUB LIBERATORS 
 
 "What do you mean?" inquired Harding in sur 
 prise. 
 
 "I mean your commission for giving me this job," 
 replied the contractor. "I have always been in the 
 habit of paying architects for giving me contracts, and 
 I want to know if this is satisfactory to you." 
 
 "Look here," said Harding, with fire in his eye, "if 
 I had known your character before this contract was 
 awarded, you never would have received the work. As 
 it is, I will tell the owners of the property that you 
 will do the work for two thousand dollars less than 
 your bid." 
 
 "No, I won't," he replied. "My bid stands. These 
 fees we have always paid, for the city officials set the 
 pace of requiring it when we bid on city work, and 
 why should private persons refuse it?" 
 
 Randolph recalled what Professor Weyman had 
 quoted to him so many times from John Stuart Mill : 
 "Education, habit and the cultivation of the sentiments 
 will make a common man dig or weave for his country 
 as readily as fight for his country." And he was con 
 vinced that the only permanent moral cure for these 
 vast public ills, which were destroying the honesty and 
 virtue of the nation, was government ownership, with 
 the spirit of patriotism thus engendered. 
 
 He knew that the civil revolution which he had wit-
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 nessed in the West was only an example of what would 
 happen in every state, if the exigencies of the times 
 ever required utility corporations to take similar action. 
 He asked himself time and again if there was any way 
 by which government regulation could stop these 
 abuses ; but he invariably ended his reasoning with the 
 conviction that attempted government regulation would 
 lead into more extended bribery and corruption, with 
 out accomplishing any good. That the managers of these 
 institutions regarded regulation only as a periodical 
 craze of the people that soon subsided, and thought that 
 all they needed to do was to bow their heads to the storm 
 until it ceased. That was their policy in the state reg 
 ulation craze of the 7o's, in the national effort of the 
 8o's and in the Roosevelt era and after each attempt 
 the people were made to pay dearly for the govern 
 ment's temerity. There was no remedy, he thought, 
 but unqualified government ownership, and if it did not 
 come at an early day he could see the spectre of red- 
 handed anarchy and naked moral depravity stalking 
 through the land. 
 
 As these thoughts surged through his mind his 
 memory went back to that remarkable letter which 
 Mrs. Strong had written him when he was still at 
 Harvard. Many times during his Western trip the 
 closing paragraph had rung in his ears: "If my ar- 
 
 215
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 raignment appears somewhat strenuous you will par 
 don it, for I am sure your own feelings will be quite as 
 strong when you have the opportunity closely to ob 
 serve existing political conditions for yourself." 
 
 Were his feelings as strong? She had been capable 
 of expressing her disgust ; but he well, mental nausea 
 was so complete that he could find neither vocabulary 
 nor grimace to represent it. 
 
 "Wipe out feudalism completely uproot it and 
 become a republic in fact, as well as in name." Yes, 
 her remedy was the correct one. But where were the 
 people prepared for the titanic struggle necessary to 
 destroy the all-powerful, far-reaching system of Amer 
 ican feudalism, which controlled not only all of the 
 functions of government, but also every commercial 
 artery of the nation? 
 
 The people of the West were not ready for such a 
 contest. That was clearly demonstrated by their 
 supineness in the civil revolution which he had just 
 witnessed. 
 
 Preposterous to think that gold-besotted New York 
 would lead in destroying the temple of Mammon! 
 
 And yet . . the French Revolution was started 
 in Paris by Parisians many of them rich and influen 
 tial. Once or twice in the past six years New York 
 
 216
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 had reached a sublime plane of civic independence by 
 repudiating both of the old political parties. 
 
 The greatest prophet of the world had come out of 
 contemned Nazareth. 
 
 Sodom and Gomorrah had demonstrated the crystal 
 lizing power of wickedness ; and since the days of Lot's 
 wife it had been scientifically established that salt was 
 not altogether a destructive agent ; in fact, that human 
 life could be prolonged by injecting it into the veins. 
 Who could tell ? Perhaps the saving grace of the Re 
 public might be concrete, condensed, crystallized wick 
 edness forced into the blood of the nation, and thus 
 arousing fighting corpuscles enough to cause the peo 
 ple to shatter every pillar of the fane of feudalism and 
 to lay the whole structure in the dust. 
 
 Otherwise whatever outrages might be committed 
 he could read in the meticulous faces of the masses 
 the sentiment : "Don't disturb our civic sleep. 'To 
 merely bathe in Jordan and make yourself clean is 
 really too undignified.' We haven't long to live, any 
 how, and if our children want to be clean, let them do 
 their own bathing." 
 
 217
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Henderson's successes in the West had given him 
 great prestige with Mr. Ames and Judge Dal- 
 rymple, while Randolph's scruples had done him much 
 harm in the estimation of both. 
 
 Mr. Ames was quite pronounced in his partiality for 
 Henderson, while Randolph felt a corresponding chill 
 in Mr. Ames's treatment of him. He was still a great 
 favorite with Mrs. Ames and with Virginia ; but he felt 
 ill at ease in the Ames household when Mr. Ames was 
 present, and a pall of pending disaster seemed to over 
 hang him when there. He derived greater comfort than 
 ever from the Hardings, and sought them continually 
 when discouraged or troubled. He and Spencer Hard 
 ing became fast friends and confidants, and agreed in 
 their ultimate conclusions on popular government. 
 
 The movement for the overthrow of feudalism in 
 America had been making great headway in New York 
 City for two years, and a powerful organization called 
 the People's Alliance had grown up and had enrolled 
 a membership of over fifty thousand. Randolph and 
 Harding attended many of the public meetings of the 
 Alliance, and Randolph obtained from the secretary 
 copies of their leading tracts and books. 
 
 218
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 At one of those meetings he was surprised to see 
 Henderson, and wondered what he could be doing 
 there. The next morning Judge Dalrymple called him 
 into his private office and said : 
 
 "I understand you are attending the meetings of the 
 People's Alliance. We would prefer that you should 
 not do so. Understand me, I do not wish to suggest 
 a line of conduct for you while you are off duty, but 
 the Alliance is making such headway with the people 
 and it is so antagonistic to our interests that others 
 might be influenced to join by your attending the meet 
 ings. Then you know their newspapers are very 
 enthusiastic, and they might make a point that we are 
 weakening if they saw you there too often. I sent 
 Henderson around last night to see what progress 
 they were making, but he only stayed a few minutes." 
 
 "Very well, sir," answered Randolph. 
 
 About this time Randolph was sent to Washington 
 to look up several important matters and to overhaul 
 some old land documents in the archives of the Inte 
 rior Department and in the Supreme Court files. His 
 mission kept him there several weeks, but the employ 
 ment was congenial and he enjoyed his stay. 
 
 He had gone into the visitors' gallery of the House 
 to listen to the debate on two or three matters, which 
 he thought might be interesting ; but he heard nothing 
 
 219
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 but the dreary nasal driveling- of a few mediocre 
 peakers, who were evidently talking under orders. He 
 left in disgust that the halls which had once harbored 
 Clay, Webster, Lincoln, Douglas, Elaine, Conkling and 
 Garfield should be filled with such a drooling lot of 
 political nonentities that one had to consult a Con 
 gressional directory to find out who most of them were. 
 He already knew by reputation the few distinguished 
 exceptions, and he soon discovered how the rules of 
 the house were used to prevent those members from 
 being heard on important occasions. 
 
 In the Senate he found more ability, and some real 
 oratory ; but with these men also there was the evident 
 spirit of acting under the orders of some unseen 
 power. 
 
 A bill was offered in the House to restrict immigra 
 tion. It provided that the health regulations should 
 be more stringent, that the men must certify to addi 
 tional facts showing them fit for some useful employ 
 ment, and that their previous record as peaceable, law- 
 abiding, temperate and industrious citizens should be 
 competently vouched for. 
 
 Randolph knew that for years all efforts effec 
 tively to restrict immigration had been futile, and he 
 thought the debate upon the pending bill might be 
 useful ; so on the day set for discussion he betook him- 
 
 220
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 self to the gallery of the House of Representatives. 
 When he entered the east door of the Capitol he saw 
 that the rotundas and hallways were alive with lobby 
 ists. He was told that most of them represented the 
 steamship lines, and he was informed that one of the 
 most powerful lobbies in Washington was the steam 
 ship lobby, and that no bill which that lobby opposed 
 had ever passed Congress. But he soon saw the 
 familiar faces of the railroad lobby also, and presently 
 he came unexpectedly upon Henderson. 
 
 "What are you doing here?" asked Randolph. 
 
 "Oh, I came over on the immigration bill." 
 
 "But how can Mr. Ames possibly be interested in 
 that measure?" 
 
 "Why, Randolph, one would think you knew noth 
 ing about the raMway business ! Don't you suppose it 
 matters to us whether the immigration from Europe is 
 a few hundred thousand more, or a few hundred thou 
 sand less each year? Most assuredly we are inter 
 ested in carrying all of these people we can to the 
 West, and we cannot afford to have the pending bill 
 become a law. And it will not, either," added Hen 
 derson, with a knowing look. 
 
 Randolph proceeded to the gallery and obtained a 
 good seat, to see and hear everything that might take 
 place. 
 
 221
 
 THE LIBER'ATORS 
 
 As soon as the routine business was completed, the 
 Speaker recognized Mr. Browling, from a Western 
 district, the author of the immigration bill. 
 
 He was a little, stoop-shouldered man, with a sallow 
 complexion, dull blue eyes, a goatee of a singed bay 
 color, with hair to match. He was a lawyer by profes 
 sion, and quite early in his career had sought a position 
 with the Ames road in his State. Henderson had un 
 doubtedly seen him recently, for he stated to the House 
 that for many personal and public reasons he would like 
 the bill referred to the Judiciary Committee to examine 
 into the legality of its provisions before it was pre 
 sented for discussion. 
 
 The House was in an accommodating mood and the 
 bill was promptly so referred, and Randolph once more 
 left in disgust. The bill was never heard of again in 
 the deliberations of that Congress. 
 
 A real clap of diplomatic thunder came out of the 
 clear sky a few days after this. 
 
 The State Department of the United States Govern 
 ment came into possession of some secret correspond 
 ence of the German government with the government 
 of Venezuela, which developed the fact that Germany 
 had arranged for a coaling station and naval base on 
 the coast of Venezuela, and had purchased from Vene 
 zuela a large tract of land and a splendid harbor for 
 
 222
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 commercial purposes, over which Germany proposed 
 to exercise exclusive sovereignty. One of the letters 
 contained the assurance of the German government 
 that Venezuela need have no fear of violating the 
 Monroe Doctrine, as Germany would take care of the 
 United States in that direction. 
 
 The facts had got into the public press, and the 
 whole country was aroused. A joint resolution was 
 introduced in the House, reciting the allegiance of the 
 American people to the Monroe Doctrine, and serving 
 notice upon the world that any attempt to violate that 
 doctrine in letter or spirit would be met with armed 
 resistance. 
 
 It transpired that for several months previous to 
 this time Wall Street brokers had been selling large 
 quantities of American stocks in Germany at very 
 heavy valuations. For two years the kings of Wall 
 Street finance had been carrying that market on their 
 own shoulders, and with grim determination they had 
 forced up the value of all stocks, and had put on the 
 sturdy and opulent face of prosperity so long that they 
 had finally convinced the world that their stocks 
 were really worth their quoted value. The day of 
 relief from the tremendous strain that would have 
 sent every Wall Street financier into bankruptcy in 
 another three months came when the German people 
 
 223
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 began to buy Wall Street stocks in large blocks. If 
 this buying were to cease appalling disaster awaited 
 Wall Street. It was not strange, therefore, that the 
 biggest railroad lobby seen in years appeared at the 
 Capitol the next day. Their powerful appeal had also 
 enlisted the service of the steamship lobby, and 
 together they laid their plans to prevent the adoption 
 of the pending resolution. Through parliamentary 
 manoeuvering they forced its consideration over two 
 days. When the day came for its final consideration 
 the galleries and floor of the House of Representa 
 tives were packed, as were also the corridors of the 
 Capitol out to the steps of the east front. Public 
 feeling was intense. The air around the Capitol, ex 
 cept among the members of the House, was surcharged 
 with patriotism. The author of the resolution took the 
 floor to make a speech. He was told by the Speaker 
 that the Committee on Rules had reported that all 
 speeches should be limited to five minutes, and that no 
 member should yield his time to any other member. 
 The mover of the resolution, a member from New 
 York City, said that when he offered his resolution he 
 thought the country was confronted by a serious 
 crisis; that it had been subjected to a humiliating 
 insult; that its ancient policies and tradition had been 
 spat upon by a foreign potentate, and that we had 
 
 224
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 left only the duty of rebuking such presumption and 
 declaring for our time-honored policies. But during 
 the past few days he had given the matter serious con 
 sideration, and he had concluded that none of our 
 rights were openly jeopardized; that perhaps we were 
 making mountains out of mole hills, and until we had 
 further light upon the subject he was not in favor 
 of pressing his resolution, and asked to have it indefi 
 nitely postponed. 
 
 Several similar speeches were made by leading mem 
 bers of the House. Only two speeches were made in 
 favor of the resolution, and its further consideration 
 was indefinitely postponed. 
 
 That portion of the press of the country which was 
 owned or controlled by the utility corporations, and 
 such newspapers had multiplied very rapidly during 
 the past two years, approved of the action in the inter 
 ests of peace and good will. The independent press 
 denounced it as base and ignoble cowardice, taken at 
 the dictation of Wall Street, and called upon the 
 people of the country to overthrow government by 
 barons of the trusts and to assume the reins them 
 selves. 
 
 One fearless New York paper said : 
 
 "No such allegiance was ever exacted by the most 
 powerful Feudal lords or dukes as the railway and 
 
 225
 
 THE. LIBERATORS 
 
 trust barons exacted from their vassals, the members of 
 Congress, when they compelled them to vote the United 
 States a cowardly and cringing nation, and our people 
 serfs who have not spirit enough to resent a foreign 
 insult. Under the old Feudal system the forms, at 
 least, of respect were maintained for the monarch, but 
 under our modern Feudal system the barons boldly 
 say, 'We are the monarch and the government, our will 
 is the law of the land, our interests must gauge the 
 standard of patriotism and our wishes must in all mat 
 ters be obeyed.' 
 
 "How long will the people stand this sort of rule, 
 and how long will they permit a lot of weak and cor 
 rupt political menials to dishonor the halls of Congress ? 
 There will soon be a great awakening, and perhaps this 
 occurrence, while now a source of humiliation to every 
 honest citizen, may be the trumpet call to action by the 
 people who have allowed even the forms of popular 
 government to be extinguished." 
 
 The prophecy was to come true, and this occur 
 rence did mark the beginning of the final titanic strug 
 gle for mastery between the people and the barons. 
 
 That evening Randolph sent his written resignation 
 to the firm of Dalrymple & Ames. A dozen times he 
 tried to write to the elder Ames, but he felt the futility 
 of any appeal in that direction. He could not even 
 
 226
 
 THE LI B ERATO R S 
 
 assume that Mr. Ames was not thoroughly conver 
 sant with every infamous detail. Finally he wrote him 
 a few lines of regret that the parting of the ways had 
 come, and expressed his appreciation of the many kind 
 nesses which he had received from him and his 
 family. 
 
 To Frederic he wrote freely, for in spite of wide 
 differences of viewpoint and temperament, there was 
 a very warm friendship between the two young men. 
 At times Randolph had fancied that Frederic was a 
 little restive, and not in perfect accord with the pro 
 gram laid down by his father. 
 
 "I would be unfit to hold my head aloft on the 
 street if I did not take this action," he wrote Frederic. 
 "Perhaps I could have stood somewhat more of domes 
 tic wrong and internal treachery, though I had almost 
 reached the limit of that; but when our beloved coun 
 try, with its splendid record of achievement and 
 sacrifice, of devotion and bravery, is humiliated before 
 the entire world (for barbarous as well as civilized 
 races cannot but despise our cowardice and weak 
 ness) at the dictation of those who are temporarily 
 vested with power through long years of favoritism on 
 the part of that very government which they would 
 now so cravenly destroy, neither I nor any other 
 patriotic man can rest until this great humiliation is 
 
 227
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 erased from the history of our country. Every de 
 partment of every township, city, county, state and 
 national government must be wrested from the with 
 ering and corrupting rule of those who to-day have 
 shown themselves to be not only the despoilers of 
 public honor, but absolute public enemies. The differ 
 ences between your father's convictions and mine are 
 fundamental and not to be compromised. 
 
 "Perhaps I am foolish, wrong-headed, obstinate; 
 yet I cannot do otherwise than cling to Lincoln's 
 words, and pray for courage to 'do the right as God 
 gives me to see the right.' 
 
 "You, Frederic, are a young man. I cannot believe 
 that this infernal system has entirely taken possession 
 of you, or that you are deaf and blind to the results 
 upon our common country. I entreat you to think 
 long and seriously of the duties which your almost 
 unlimited power entails upon you. The power pos 
 sessed by your father, and which will come to you, is 
 almost enough to avail for the saving of the nation, 
 just as one or two decades more like the last will 
 bring it to the verge of ruin and anarchy. 
 
 "It is probable that your father will wish that I 
 c hould have no further communication with his 
 family. In that case he may be assured that I 
 shall not intrude myself upon them at your own home 
 
 228
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 or elsewhere. Will you lay all this before your sister 
 Virginia? I cannot write her without strictures upon 
 this system, which, under the circumstances, would be, 
 or so it seems to me, lacking in respect to her father. 
 I think she understands my unswerving devotion, but 
 surely this is not the time to avow it. I can only 
 seek to be worthy of her, and if at any time in the 
 future " 
 
 Randolph's eyes were blinded for a moment. He 
 had relinquished success and wealth without a pang, 
 but his heart was heavy. All the rest was a mere 
 bagatelle, but "The light of a whole life dies when 
 love is done." 
 
 He signed the unfinished letter, thrust it into an 
 envelope and mailed it with the other two on his way 
 to the midnight train for Boston. 
 
 229
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Randolph went straight to Professor Weyman's 
 house and laid the whole situation before him. He 
 spared none of the details, and as he lived over again 
 the scenes he had recently witnessed in Congress he 
 walked the floor in uncontrollable wrath and indigna 
 tion. 
 
 "You know about it from the papers," he said hotly, 
 "only no paper has dared print all the infamy of it. 
 They attack the members of the Senate and House, 
 but they are nothing but tools blunt ones at that, half 
 of them. The real knaves and villains are their mas 
 ters whose bidding they do, while they are sworn to 
 protect the rights of the people and the honor of the 
 nation. I tell you there are men held in honor in this 
 country beside whom Judas Iscariot is a saint, and 
 Benedict Arnold a patriot. And what do they do it 
 for ? Ambition for glory ? No. Not one of them has 
 personal ambitions; not one of them sighs to become 
 a Napoleon of anything save finance. Not one of them 
 would care to be autocrat or emperor. The only power 
 they recognize or desire is the power of money. On 
 that one subject they are mad." 
 
 230
 
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 "Well," said the professor, "what are you going to 
 do about it ?" 
 
 "Do?'' answered Randolph. "I don't know what I 
 am going to do about the system ; but so far as I am 
 personally concerned, I am not going to try to serve 
 God and Mammon any longer. My resignation is in 
 the hands of my superiors now, and it will be ac 
 cepted." 
 
 "Then the first question, after all," said the profes 
 sor, "is what you are going to do about yourself." 
 
 The young man sat down by the long littered table, 
 and ran his hands through his hair, just as he had 
 done many a time in the perplexities of his college 
 career. The excitement of the long battle was dying 
 away, and he was facing the future with clear eyes 
 and a tolerable comprehension of the difficulties be 
 fore him. 
 
 "Well, my boy," said the old man, after a long 
 silence, "what have you decided upon?" 
 
 "Nothing," he answered. "The question in my mind 
 is whether I am strong enough to stand alone and win 
 against the obstacles that will arise in my path." 
 
 "Do you think Ames will try to crush you?" 
 
 "I don't know I hardly think so. I'm scarcely 
 worth his while, but the fact that I am no longer as 
 sociated with his interests will naturally count against 
 
 231
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 me. Few men will believe that I have voluntarily re 
 linquished what meant a fortune. They are much more 
 likely to think I was incompetent. The kindest thing 
 that Mr. Ames can say of me, from his standpoint, is 
 that I am a dreamer, an unpractical theorist, and that 
 would damn me in a business way a hundred times 
 more quickly than if he said I was an unprincipled 
 schemer. If he said that, a dozen openings would be 
 offered me, because it would be taken for granted that 
 I had been shrewd enough to outwit and get the better 
 of him at some point." 
 
 "You are not straitened for means?" asked the 
 professor, kindly. "This last year you have been liv 
 ing in an expensive set, but I hope you are not in 
 debt." 
 
 "No," answered Randolph, "I have lived well within 
 my means ; and while, compared to the Ames contin 
 gent, I am only two removes from the poorhouse, I 
 have enough to live on for a year without going in 
 debt, or making a dollar. I can take a decent office 
 and fit it up and wait for business, but I cannot go out 
 and seek it. Do you think it will come to me?" 
 
 He asked the question almost wistfully, with the 
 boyish, upward glance which had always appealed so 
 strongly to his instructor. The professor took off his 
 
 232
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 glasses and wiped them deliberately, then readjusting 
 them, looked across the table at the strong, earnest 
 face before him, lined and aged just now with the 
 conflict of emotions and sleepless nights. 
 
 "Yes," he answered, "I think so. I rather imagine 
 that you will not starve to death. But I warn you 
 that you will find in Ames an implacable enemy, quite 
 willing to take the time necessary to crush even such 
 an insignificant young man as you are. You will find 
 that some who have been your friends, apparently, 
 will be so no longer; but you must be on your guard, 
 especially in those places where you have the least 
 reason to suspect hostility. Have you ever thought 
 of going into some other firm where your position 
 would be somewhat more assured than if you face the 
 fight alone?" 
 
 "Yes, I have thought of it," Randolph answered. 
 "Some time ago Spencer Harding, the architect, 
 who is a good friend of mine, suggested that if I 
 should grow dissatisfied where I was, he knew of at 
 least one place where there would be no trouble in my 
 finding congenial work, and possibly there are others ; 
 but this last year has made me impatient of entangling 
 alliances. It seems to me I'd rather try it alone for a 
 while, but this may be presumptuous. There has been 
 nothing in this past year to make me feel that I can 
 
 233
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 count upon success. I have failed signally enough in 
 most of the work that has been cut out for me. It 
 was mainly about this that I wanted to consult you." 
 
 The professor's lip curled in a smile. "I should 
 think you might feel a little pardonable vanity in 
 your prowess during the past year," he said, with 
 gentle sarcasm. "Your failures, as you call them, were 
 moral successes. In spite of every possible inducement 
 that could be thrown in your way, you have steadfastly 
 refused to become a scoundrel. With both precept and 
 example before you, among those you have been bred 
 to respect, you have refused the primrose path and re 
 mained a simple, straightforward, honest man. I think 
 there may be room for a few such in New York City." 
 
 The professor walked to the study window and stood 
 looking out intently. "Come here, George," he said, 
 presently. "Tell me, what do you see ?" 
 
 "The Washington elm," answered the young man, 
 "and, of course, Washington's old headquarters." 
 
 "Yes," said the professor, "Washington's headquar 
 ters when he was fighting for a chance for this country 
 of ours to exist, a free and independent nation. Don't 
 you think it's worth our while, if it was worth his? 
 Washington had never seen the Mississippi, or the 
 Rocky Mountains, or a redwood. But, strange as it may 
 seem to vou, I wasn't thinking of Washington, as I 
 
 234
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 looked over at the elm and the house, but of a very 
 dear old friend of mine who lived and died there. He 
 isn't the fashion now, except for school children; yet 
 I hardly know a poet who has said so many brave, true, 
 helpful things. I was recalling this stanza of his : 
 
 " 'Nor deem the irrevocable Past 
 Wholly wasted, wholly vain, 
 If, rising on its wrecks, at last 
 To something nobler we attain/ " 
 
 235
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Youth is heroic. Even "the cold gray dawn of the 
 morning after" cannot dampen its ardor. Randolph took 
 the boat to New York, and slept contentedly, lulled by 
 the waves and the calm of the quiet and beautiful 
 night. Possibly he might have been more uneasy if 
 he had ever known the anxieties of a long, hard, up 
 hill road, hampered for means, and handicapped by 
 secret and malign influences. He had this yet to learn. 
 For the immediate present he had enough. He had 
 thought of giving up his modest apartment and seek 
 ing some less expensive manner of living, but decided 
 against this. He had never been extravagant, and, as 
 he had reflected wisely, it was altogether likely that 
 he would be thrown far more upon his own inner 
 resources than ever before. The Ames set would drop 
 him of this he felt certain ; but with the cutting off 
 of his salary went a good many expenses that he 
 would no longer be called upon to meet. He had a 
 small income from his father's estate, and could 
 weather the storm for a time at least. 
 
 For the first few days Randolph was very busy. He 
 rented a suite of rooms in the Broadway Chambers and 
 
 236
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 fitted them up. They were directly across the street 
 from the Ames offices, which were in the new building 
 erected the year before. He knew at least a dozen 
 lawyers in the Chambers, and was on very friendly 
 terms with several of them. It so happened that on 
 the morning when he superintended the removal of 
 his effects from the office of Dalrymple & Ames only 
 the clerks and stenographers were present. He had 
 hoped that Frederic might be there, or that he might 
 seek him ; but at the end of his first week alone he had 
 heard nothing from his old college mate. 
 
 The young man felt indescribably lonely as he sat 
 down that Saturday night in his study and tried to 
 while away the time with a book. The Hardings were 
 out of town, or he would have gone to see them. 
 Mrs. Strong was still in Europe. There was a warm 
 rain falling, and the air was heavy. The loneliness of 
 the vast city oppressed him, the blank future threatened 
 him, the silence of those he most loved weighed upon 
 his heart, and a deadly nostalgia overcame him for the 
 scent of the harvest fields and the sight of the blue sky 
 above a peaceful horizon of trees and plain. He arose, 
 and throwing off his coat, walked up and down in the 
 dimly lighted room. It was nearly nine o'clock when 
 he heard a quick, light step in the hall, and his bell 
 rang. He opened the door himself, and Frederic Ames 
 
 237
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 walked in, shaking the drops from his raincoat, and 
 exclaiming cheerfully : 
 
 "I have just received your letter and I come at once. 
 In the morning I shall return with one or two brain 
 specialists, but just as an evidence of good faith I 
 thought I would look in on you first myself. Seriously, 
 old man," he went on, "we, the mater, the girls and I, 
 went down to Newport last week, and the Channings 
 have had us out on their yacht nearly all this week. 
 The girls are still at the beach, but Mother and I came 
 up this afternoon. I found your letter with the rest 
 of the mail, and here I am. You might at least ask 
 me to sit down, or is that one of the amenities of life 
 that is left out of the socialist program?" 
 
 For a moment George had been so surprised and 
 overjoyed that he stood dumbly looking at his friend. 
 Now he shook his hand, removed his overcoat, and 
 pushing Frederic's favorite chair toward the light, got 
 down pipes and tobacco and the decanter. 
 
 "Help yourself," he said, "and be as comfortable as 
 you can. I hope you have come to stay a long time, 
 for I am horribly lonesome. It seems to me six 
 months since I've seen you." 
 
 "It seems more than that," said Frederic sadly, "it 
 must be at least a year from all that has happened. 
 You couldn't get so far wrong in less than that time. 
 
 238
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 George, George, how often have I told you where you 
 were going to land with all your fine-spun theories, by 
 which the entire nation is to eat turnips on Tuesdays 
 and cabbage on Fridays! And now you've done it 
 kicked clear over the traces, thrown away such an 
 opportunity as rarely comes to the most fortunate. 
 Man alive, I don't wonder Father is raging around 
 not so much on account of this last action of yours as 
 to think that for a year past he has been in the house 
 over and over again with a dangerous lunatic. Do you 
 find the attacks increase in frequency, or only in 
 severity ?" 
 
 Frederic reached over as if to feel his pulse, but took 
 his hand instead. George returned the grip, but with 
 out speaking. For the moment the strong, hearty 
 handclasp aroused emotions in him past the power of 
 words. 
 
 Frederic went on, half lightly, half seriously. "I've 
 seen it coming for a long time, George. I used to 
 watch you in the class sometimes and fancy that I 
 could imagine you leading the last charge of a lost 
 cause." 
 
 "Just hold on for a few years," Randolph answered 
 "it will be very few and you may see me head the 
 first charge of a new cause. It's bound to come." 
 
 "What's bound to come? Government ownership, 
 
 239
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 war with Germany, or 'perfect virtue dealt out with 
 the soup at six ?' " Frederic asked. "Or perhaps it is 
 the class struggle that you are talking about." 
 
 "No," replied Randolph, "that came long since, and 
 if the people of this country ever wake to class con 
 sciousness, may the Lord have mercy upon " 
 
 "Some of your best friends," interposed Frederic. 
 "I'm sure I hope He will. And if you are leading the 
 red-shirted, scarlet-bannered host, I'll appreciate it if 
 you'll lead 'em around the other way. But can't you 
 see the folly of it? The very idea of giving more 
 rights and greater powers to these people than they 
 have, when you yourself hint darkly that the first thing 
 they will do will be to set the guillotine a-going to 
 inaugurate a reign of terror! My dear chap, these 
 people get all they are fit for. That's where you 
 socialists are so completely wrong; only the extremely 
 intelligent and the purest of patriots are ready for 
 your program, and you want to force it on the great 
 unwashed, who don't know whether Lassalle was a 
 man or a vegetable." 
 
 "Your badinage is all right, but you know I am 
 no more of a revolutionary socialist than you are. I do 
 believe in honest government, though, and this cannot 
 be had with many of the principal functions of govern 
 ment farmed out for speculative purposes to private 
 
 240
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 individuals and private corporations," answered Ran 
 dolph hotly. 
 
 "It doesn't follow," he went on, "that I want to 
 inaugurate a Marxian democracy, because I wish to 
 get back the rights given to the people by our consti 
 tutional convention. But I will tell you one thing, the 
 only way to prevent the spread of revolutionary social 
 ism is to get back to our original principles. As to the 
 power of the people, you know that is buncombe. 
 These people have the ballot; but of whatavail is it, 
 when they have nothing to say as to their nominees; 
 and even when they elect men whom they have every 
 reason to believe honest, such officials are besieged 
 night and day by the forces of corruption. Do you 
 think Congress does the will of the people ? Of which 
 people? Surely not of those that elect them. You do 
 not maintain a lobby at Washington on purpose to se 
 cure the passage of the laws that the people of this 
 country are clamoring for ; even you will hardly go so 
 far as to claim that." 
 
 Frederic colored. "No," he admitted. "But then, 
 on the other hand, you must acknowledge that the 
 general public is not much posted on broad business 
 principles. The people do not understand the laws of 
 supply and demand. Nobody is really competent to 
 understand say, the railroad business without long 
 
 241
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 special training. What would this country be without 
 its railways?" 
 
 "Oh, well, that works both ways," Randolph 
 answered. "The railways were not built from purely 
 philanthropic motives. They have opened up this 
 country, and enormously increased its resources. They 
 and the steamship lines have combined also to bring 
 into this country the metaphorically lame, halt and 
 blind of the world. That isn't because of their sym 
 pathy for the oppressed elsewhere, either. No one can 
 overestimate the good they have done ; but they are not 
 conducted as associated charities for the relief of the 
 people, and they have enriched their owners far more 
 than they have enriched the country, when you con 
 sider the face value of the investment; for, in addition 
 to fortunes that make King Midas look like a poor 
 relation, they have given their owners the power to 
 make and unmake not only individuals, but whole 
 communities." 
 
 Frederic shook his head. "I don't think you have 
 any right to question our motives that way," he said 
 mildly. "Where one's treasure is there will his heart 
 be also. Don't you think it shows some patriotism for 
 a man to invest millions of dollars in his own coun 
 try?" 
 
 Randolph laughed. "Frederic," he said, "history has 
 
 242
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 yet to show a patriotic dollar. The nature of money is 
 to go where it will be safest. I understand that the 
 Czar of Russia formerly had six millions of dollars in 
 vested in this country of ours, the King of England 
 nearly as much, and King Leopold more than half as 
 much. The Duke of York, the King of Italy, the King 
 of Belgium, the King of Greece, the King of Denmark, 
 the Sultan of Turkey and the Shah of Persia had eight 
 millions invested here. You don't call them patriots, do 
 you ? The Spanish royal family is a heavy stockholder in 
 two of our leading railways. Surely it is not be 
 cause they love the 'American pigs,' is it? Don't let 
 us discuss it, Frederic. We can never agree." 
 
 "I suppose not," Frederic assented. "The whole 
 socialist program seems so chimerical, so impossible, 
 that I can't see how any tenet of it can appeal to a 
 reasonable man. But I came to tell you that so far as 
 I am concerned all this will make no change. Yes, I 
 know what you are going to say. Father is used to 
 being monarch of all he surveys. Margaret is just like 
 him, and Virginia is too accustomed to submission to 
 break away. Indeed, George, we are all rather anxious 
 about her, and Mother has come to town to make 
 arrangements to take her abroad. It will be better to 
 avoid any scene. I presume my father will forbid 
 correspondence between you. It's hard, I know, old 
 
 243
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 fellow ; but when she comes back in the spring she will 
 be stronger, and perhaps by that time you may have 
 seen the error of your way, and be ready to perch on 
 an olive branch if you should see one. It's best for 
 her just to accept Father's ultimatum for the present, 
 and you'll do it for her sake. As for me" a sud 
 den steel-like fire burned in his kindly blue eyes for an 
 instant "well, I don't think Father will try conclusions 
 with me. I respect and love my father, but then I 
 love and respect you, too you, not your opinions, you 
 understand. I think you are as mad as a March hare, 
 but I haven't the horror of insanity that some people 
 have. We'll go along just the same as usual. I under 
 stand you have offices over in the Chambers? Well, 
 I'll be over in a day or so. There are one or two 
 points in the Hartwell case that I want to consult you 
 about. I am not quite clear in my mind as to my line 
 of defense. Brace up, old man! It's for only a few 
 months, and Mother is your friend. She thinks you're 
 a Christian martyr." With a cordial good-night and 
 a warm handclasp he was gone. 
 
 Randolph listened to the monotonous sound of the 
 heavily falling rain, and slowly drew from the drawer 
 of the table a photograph and looked at it long and 
 earnestly. 
 
 "Not to see her, not to hear from her, for a year !" 
 he said brokenly, and buried his face on his arms. 
 
 244
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Randolph gazed long at the large bunch of violets, 
 and again and again he brushed the mist from his 
 eyes. 
 
 How he longed this day for the soothing influence 
 of the Illinois prairies and for the comforting com 
 panionship of the sister in the far-off farmhouse! 
 Were the sacrifices he was making worth while, after 
 all? Was not Frederic right in saying that the 
 battle for others was a futile and thankless task? 
 
 To all appearances the German incident had al 
 ready ceased to interest the country. Why should he 
 give up position, prospective wealth, the love of a 
 woman who was very dear to him, for a duty which 
 might be chimerical and for people who appeared to 
 be perfectly satisfied with existing conditions? 
 
 He caressed the violets again, and placing them in 
 a vase of fresh water on his desk, he went to the win 
 dow facing Broadway. He looked long at the jostling, 
 hurrying crowd, but he got no comfort from the scene. 
 If it were only the undulating waves of the plains, 
 with the rippling moonlight throwing weird figures 
 over their surface, there might be rest at least in the 
 view. He went back and caressed the violets once 
 
 245
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 more. They seemed human to him, and in every blos 
 som was enshrined a living sweetness. Frederic had 
 told him how Virginia had plucked them from her 
 bosom on the boat and while kissing him good-by 
 had whispered, "Take these to George." He would 
 preserve them as sacredly as a bride does her wedding 
 ring, and from them he could draw his daily inspira 
 tion of love and duty. 
 
 With a brave effort he went to his task and took 
 up the routine of business. 
 
 Notwithstanding all his past opportunities for ob 
 servation, Randolph had only just begun to realize 
 from bitter experience how completely a few large in 
 terests controlled the revenue producing law business 
 of New York City, and with what merciless will they 
 directed the channels through which it should go. Had 
 he been a wholly unknown young lawyer he might 
 have had the opportunity to gather a few crumbs as 
 they dropped from the overburdened tables of cor 
 poration attorneys, but being under the ban of Charles 
 Henry Ames, the mystic signal had gone the rounds 
 that not even the remnants were to be his. 
 
 The gigantic octopus which had firmly grasped the 
 privilege of performing government duties through 
 private public-service corporations, and had consoli 
 dated its widely scattered powers into a harmonious 
 
 246
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "community of interest" whole, had gathered within 
 its innumerable arms the savings banks where the 
 people placed their pennies and dimes; the trust com 
 panies with their control of vast estates; the life in 
 surance companies with their millions gathered from 
 the confiding people of the entire nation ; the national 
 banks with their deposits from the wealthy; and 
 through these channels dictated not only all policies of 
 government for the people, but also controlled the 
 business and social destinies of the individual. What 
 chance had a briefless lawyer in a contest with this 
 Juggernaut of modern commerce, under whose car mil 
 lions of devotees stood ready daily to immolate them 
 selves ? 
 
 Randolph had sent cards announcing his new ar 
 rangements to all his friends and acquaintances in 
 New York City, but aside from Harding, who came 
 to him with the little law business he had from time to 
 time, none of them crossed his threshold. 
 
 In a social way he fared no better. He was dropped 
 from the invitation list of the Ames set, and when he 
 met any of them accidentally he was made to feel the 
 chill of their disfavor. Except an occasional evening 
 at dinner at the Harding's he made no social visits of 
 any kind. As yet he had few acquaintances among 
 the plain people ; but the business and social proscrip- 
 
 247
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 tion which he encountered soon convinced him that the 
 sole avenue for success for himself and for others sim 
 ilarly situated was to arouse the public conscience. 
 
 But how could that be done? It would require the 
 joint action of seven million voters to overthrow feudal 
 ism nationally, and four hundred thousand to accom 
 plish the same result locally. Notwithstanding the 
 soiled and bedraggled banners, with the skull and 
 cross-bones of governmental dishonesty emblazoned 
 upon them as the sign manual of both old political 
 parties, yet the millions of voters still rallied beneath 
 them with wild hurrahs for Jefferson and Lincoln. 
 
 Was the People's Alliance but another of those 
 sporadic reform organizations which had thrived so 
 numerously during the past dozen years in America, 
 until the purposes of some demagogue or ambitious 
 politician had been served, and then flickered out of 
 existence without accomplishing any beneficial result? 
 The members that Randolph knew personally were 
 high-class citizens and honorable men but he had met 
 only two score of them. The purposes of the organ 
 ization were of the loftiest kind, but so had been the 
 purposes of many other reform organizations which 
 had either lacked character or judgment enough to get 
 any of their purposes enacted into laws. 
 
 'At this time Randolph was no visionary. What- 
 
 248
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 ever illusions he may have had about the practical 
 operations of American politics, they were all dis 
 pelled now, and with clear vision he faced his future 
 career. With the holy ambition of youth warm in his 
 heart, with the sacred charge of his dying father call 
 ing to him in trumpet tones, with his recent observa 
 tion of the treasonable betrayal of the people by both 
 the old political parties still chilling his soul, he asked 
 himself what course he should pursue. 
 
 Answer the question for your own sons similarly 
 situated, ye men of brain and heart and soul, who 
 know the inside workings of American politics. Ye 
 matrons of America, than whom no more devoted 
 mothers ever lived, answer the question for your sons, 
 whom you have seen in fond imagination climbing to 
 the very pinnacle of civic fame. Ye wives and sweet 
 hearts, answer the question for your own loved ones, 
 who are standing on the threshold of their careers. 
 
 Ignorance of conditions is not a worthy plea in a 
 republic. That has been the cause of freedom's doom 
 ever since the dawn of time, and it has been two score 
 years since the American people took an inventory of 
 the assets of the Goddess of Liberty. 
 
 But this young patriot, with the inspiration begot of 
 the plains and the strength of purpose produced by 
 the city, did not waste his hours of usefulness, await- 
 
 249
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 ing the awakening of the American people. Like the 
 President who was a Virginia farmer, and that other 
 President who split rails, and the one who followed a 
 mule on the towpath, George Randolph courageously 
 avowed his political opinions, let the consequences be 
 what they might and let the people dream as long as 
 they would. 
 
 Supreme courage has laughed at obstacles ever since 
 the world began. But why should the human race 
 eternally choose the penalty of either abject slavery, 
 or a social revolution which shakes the very founda 
 tion of government through giants of courage and 
 honesty, rather than banish ignorance from their lives ? 
 
 And ye fathers, mothers, wives and sweethearts, 
 perhaps your loved ones may not have the courage or 
 devotion that characterized the rail splitter, or the 
 farmer, or the mule driver. In any event, social revo 
 lutions are not required to give honest ambition an 
 inning, when knowledge, instead of ignorance, rules 
 the nation. 
 
 As he had already calculated, with what he had 
 saved from his salary, and with his modest income 
 from his father's estate, Randolph could live comfort 
 ably for a couple of years ; and with the grim resolu 
 tion of his revolutionary ancestors, he determined to 
 give his time to public work, and to defy the lightning 
 
 250
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 of the war gods of greed. He joined the People's Al 
 liance, and devoted much of his time to the study of 
 municipal and general governmental problems. 
 
 In college Randolph had been classed as an effective 
 speaker, clear, logical and intensely earnest, without 
 flamboyancy or spread-eagleism. He had a command 
 ing presence, being six feet one in height, and a coun 
 tenance that shone with intellect and conviction. His 
 observation and experience gave him a special knowl 
 edge of the oppression of those who were making vast 
 fortunes through licenses to discharge governmental 
 duties, and he soon became a most forceful advocate 
 of a revocation of these licenses. At the end of three 
 months he had attracted the attention of the corpora 
 tion press to the extent that they always referred to 
 him as "George Randolph, the Socialist," and one in 
 spired journal said that he was laying the foundation 
 for his own banishment or imprisonment by preach 
 ing such anarchistic doctrine as exercising the right of 
 eminent domain in acquiring government possession of 
 public utility properties. 
 
 A municipal campaign for the election of aldermen 
 was approaching, and so influential had the Alliance 
 become, with its hundred thousand enrolled members, 
 that both of the old political parties were compelled to 
 adopt qualified municipal ownership platforms and to 
 
 251
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 advocate other reforms championed by the Alliance. 
 At the last moment for filing tickets the Alliance deter 
 mined to place a complete ticket of its own in the field. 
 In vain he insisted that this fight should be made for 
 members of the State Legislature, as municipal owner 
 ship was impossible under the existing condition of the 
 laws of the State of New York ; but the leaders of the 
 movement thought a more effective educational cam 
 paign could be conducted for city aldermen who had to 
 deal directly with the utility corporations, and his views 
 were overruled. He refused to go on the ticket him 
 self, but gave his undivided time to the campaign. 
 Within a few days after it opened it was apparent 
 that the people were interested, and immense crowds 
 attended the Alliance meetings, with the result that the 
 Republican and Democratic managers became alarmed 
 and combined their forces and influence for the elec 
 tion of the Tammany Hall ticket, which had been dic 
 tated throughout by the managers of the local cor 
 porations. 
 
 The election is well remembered as one of the most 
 disgraceful ever held in New York. Repeaters went 
 boldly from one polling place to another, and one 
 man boasted that he had voted ten times in Manhat 
 tan and twice in Brooklyn. Inspectors appointed by 
 the Alliance were thrown out of the polling places; 
 
 252
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 money was used openly to purchase votes; judges of 
 election in several precincts threw their ballot boxes 
 into the North River, after having certified to large 
 majorities for the Tammany candidates; the entire 
 election machinery of the city was corrupted, and 
 when the result was announced Tammany had car 
 ried every election district in Greater New York, 
 except three in the Borough of Brooklyn. 
 
 But it was a dearly bought victory. So brazen and 
 flagrant were the frauds that even the conscience of 
 morally apathetic New York was aroused, and a uni 
 versal demand was made by the honest people of the 
 city for the prosecution of those who had violated 
 the sanctity of the ballot. Within two months thirty- 
 four men were on their way to Sing Sing prison, and 
 the public anger was yet unappeased. This attempt 
 to overthrow popular government was only exceeded 
 in the scope of its criminality by the Western State 
 which Randolph had visited early that year, and he 
 predicted the same result in New York that he had 
 predicted in the West, when the opportunity to pass 
 upon such questions was again given to the people. 
 
 He said in a speech to the Alliance the night after 
 election: "The result of the excesses to which the 
 utility corporations have gone to maintain their power 
 is worth a dozen partial victories for our cause, for 
 
 253
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 it demonstrates instantly to the most prejudiced or ob 
 tuse person, depths of depravity which we would be 
 powerless to demonstrate by words in many years. Our 
 enemies have planted the seed of revolution which will 
 sweep them from power at the next election." 
 
 And, although the octopus of greed could direct 
 clients from his doorway and could ostracize him 
 socially, yet the eyes of George Randolph that night 
 reflected back the courageous confidence of the eyes 
 that gazed steadfastly at him from the portrait of his 
 father on the wall of his sitting room. 
 
 254
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 About the middle of October Randolph received 
 this letter from Rome, Italy: 
 
 "My DEAR GEORGE To tell you that I am proud of 
 you but mildly expresses my sentiments concerning the 
 manly, courageous and patriotic course you have pur 
 sued. 
 
 "I well knew you could not long continue in the em 
 ployment of Dalrymple & Ames, but the knowledge of 
 public evils which you obtained from actual experience 
 will be invaluable to you in the pending contest. I have 
 been entirely out of touch with American affairs for 
 over three months having joined some friends in a 
 long cruise where we were away from the post. On 
 my arrival here yesterday I found a bushel of letters 
 from home. 
 
 "I did not expect any change in political affairs in 
 the United States for a year or so yet, but the Ger 
 man incident has undoubtedly precipitated a crisis, of 
 which you have been prompt to take advantage. I had 
 hoped that Mr. Ames's views of public questions might 
 accord with the progressive spirit of the people when 
 revolution finally came, but the call of the blood has 
 been too strong for such a beneficent result. 
 
 255
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "Now th;.t the battle has begun, make all proposi 
 tions so clear to the people that they cannot again be 
 fooled or misled. 
 
 "The object of society is the promotion of happiness ; 
 of government, the protection of that happiness from 
 injury by the evil-minded and wicked members of so 
 ciety. As Paine so tritely expresses it : 'Society is pro 
 duced by our wants, and government by our wicked 
 ness.' 
 
 "In the brief career which we are permitted to have 
 on this earth the acme of wickedness and the dregs of 
 cruelty are a government which does not protect the 
 masses in the enjoyment of happiness, of which free 
 dom is a most vital element. Whatever the name or 
 the veneer, that government is barbarous which ren 
 ders the social condition of the masses one of wretched 
 ness or unhappiness; and wretchedness and unhappi- 
 ness do not come to mankind so much from poverty 
 of money as from unjust discrimination and unequal 
 opportunity. 
 
 "The bulwark of all those who oppose a just system 
 of government is that it is against custom. 'You can 
 not make mankind over,' they say, 'and these distinc 
 tions of class have always existed.' So they have, but 
 once it was the custom to take pleasure jaunts in ox 
 carts, land journeys in stage coaches, sea voyages in 
 
 256
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 sailing vessels, to read by a tallow dip and to send 
 messages by the pony express. We boast that we are 
 a Christian nation, yet we want to cling to govern- 
 mer.ttal customs handed down to us by pagan barbarians 
 and opposed to every tenet of the Christian religion. 
 
 "They say that such a change will be fraught with a 
 huge social shock. Not at all. Those who own the 
 special privileges will get dollar for dollar of every 
 cent invested in those enterprises, even unto the last 
 share of the fraudulent capitalization which character 
 izes nearly all of them. They can expend the money so 
 received in any wise or foolish fashion they may see 
 fit, even to having actresses and monkeys breaking 
 out of huge dinner pies, as some of them do at the 
 present day. Time will easily enough adjust this class 
 to the new conditions. It is the other class that needs 
 the leading-strings of government for a while, and 
 these will be furnished by putting into effect the simple 
 doctrine which we have preached ever since our gov 
 ernment began: 'Equal opportunity to all; special 
 privileges to none.' 
 
 "If, after a while, it should happen that overdone 
 monkeys and underdone actresses must be dispensed 
 with at meal time; that justice has so far triumphed 
 that no social class needs the public charity of any other 
 class ; that public libraries grow spontaneously from 
 
 257
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 public demand rather than from philanthropic endow 
 ment; that the talent and genius which have made 
 America such a marvelous industrial country through 
 private enterprise, when enlisted in the service of the 
 government, shall make it the greatest and most pow 
 erful for good of any nation on earth; that interna 
 tional conferences shall be held, not to determine the 
 most civilized manner of waging barbarous war, but 
 to fix a universal wage scale, a world-wide prohibition 
 of child labor, the uniform recognition of women's 
 civil, political and moral rights, the fixing of a staple 
 price for the products of the farm, and the establish 
 ment of a common language for all mankind will any 
 citizen have a just grievance or wish to turn the hands 
 of the clock back to present customs ? 
 
 "One evening, last winter, I stood on the bank of the 
 Nile, where Thebes' once mighty temple now rears its 
 gloomy ruins, and watched the sun go down behind the 
 Libyan mountains. As the last rays touched the rocks 
 above the gilded, decorated and gorgeous tombs of the 
 kings in those mountains, and glinted through the tem 
 ple columns, amidst which the greatest warriors of 
 earth had trod, I asked myself what had wrought the 
 change in this even yet most fertile valley of the world ? 
 
 "The pages of history opened before me, emblazoned 
 with oppression, tyranny and selfish ambition. But 
 
 258
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 everywhere, in letters of blood, stood forth the fact 
 that the splendid civilization of ancient Egypt was de 
 stroyed by the class-hatred and factional wars of its 
 own people. And it has been true in every nation. 
 France, single-handed, fought and defeated all Europe 
 when the patriotic principles of the Revolution made 
 every soldier a national hero. From Montenotte to the 
 Russian Invasion victory perched on Napoleon's stand 
 ards in Europe, because he was carrying the princi 
 ples of the Revolution to every part of that continent. 
 When his wars degenerated into those of mere con 
 quest, defeat overwhelmed him, for the French soldier 
 of Borodino, bent on conquest and plunder, was not the 
 French soldier of Austerlitz, fighting to preserve the 
 fruits of the Revolution and to keep the yoke of feudal 
 ism from being again forced on his neck. 
 
 "The ideals of our country have so long been those 
 of sordid greed that not only has graft made almost 
 every business transaction odious at home, but no one 
 can tell the extent of its injury to the national spirit. 
 
 "What we advocate will give us higher national 
 ideals an aroused patriotism that will make every 
 citizen a hero on all occasions. Hatred will give way 
 to love; the assassin's bomb to the message of good 
 will; class consciousness to national brotherhood. 
 
 259
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "I will be in New York in a few weeks, and as you 
 know, this contest will claim my best efforts. 
 "Sincerely yours, 
 
 "GERTRUDE STRONG." 
 
 Although Randolph had crossed the Rubicon of his 
 career, this letter redoubled his determination and 
 courage, and he silently blessed the noble and patriotic 
 woman, who was so soon to become his invaluable 
 ally. 
 
 260
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 One morning in October two women were engaged 
 in earnest conversation on the forward part of the 
 promenade deck of an incoming ocean liner as it 
 steamed up New York Bay. One was young, but very 
 frail, and her sad, white face gave her the appearance 
 of great unhappiness as well as of ill-health. 
 
 "I wish you would take me there to-night, Mother," 
 she said to her companion, as she passed a folded 
 New York paper to her. "I want very much to hear 
 him." 
 
 The elder woman read the announcement marked 
 by the folds of the paper and, looking at her daughter 
 affectionately, replied: "I fear you are not strong 
 enough, my child ; and then your father will not want 
 you to go." 
 
 "But I must go. I can stand this miserable life no 
 longer. I know that a great mistake has been made 
 somewhere, and it must be rectified. Surely my father 
 does not wish to kill me." 
 
 "We shall see, my dear, and if it is possible you 
 shall go." 
 
 The newspaper announcement read as follows: 
 
 "George Randolph and other able speakers will 
 
 261
 
 address the people of New York City at Madison 
 Square Garden Tuesday evening, October 7th, at 8 
 o'clock, under the auspices of the People's Alliance." 
 
 Early in the summer the Alliance had determined to 
 form itself into an independent political organization 
 and to enter the lists at the fall election for the New 
 York City delegation to the State Legislature. The 
 organization had grown enormously during the past 
 year. Its officers began to believe that at last the 
 voters were thinking, and were getting courage enough 
 to battle in the open for their rights and their liber 
 ties. 
 
 For nine successive months a cashier's check for 
 ten thousand dollars, payable to the Alliance, had been 
 sent to its treasurer, always with the same written 
 message attached: "Please accept this money from 
 a friend of your cause." On the first of October the 
 amount was twenty thousand dollars, with this addi 
 tion to the usual note: "You must organize thor 
 oughly. Leave nothing undone to win the election. 
 The enemy has almost unlimited money, but the peo 
 ple are with you. I will send you a check for one 
 hundred thousand dollars on the twentieth of October 
 to be expended in perfecting your plans for election 
 day in every voting precinct." 
 
 Checks for five hundred dollars and one thousand 
 
 262
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 dollars came occasionally to the treasurer from weal 
 thy members of the organization, and checks for 
 smaller sums came more frequently. But these large 
 subscriptions had aroused the surprise, interest and 
 astonishment of every officer. Neither could they get 
 the slightest clue to the donor. The notes were type 
 written, as also was the address on the envelope. The 
 stamp showed that they were mailed at the main pos 
 tal station. 
 
 When Randolph heard of these mysterious checks 
 he smiled with satisfaction, but he ventured no sur 
 mises to any person as to their source. From charity 
 associations all over the city the Alliance was over 
 whelmed with offers of voluntary help, and from 
 every quarter where the poorest people lived came 
 evidences of effective missionary work for their cause. 
 Neither could the Alliance get any of these people to 
 take money from its agents to do work for them. 
 They said that the cause was their cause, and they 
 had friends working for the Alliance who were dearer 
 to them than any sums of money possibly could be. 
 Randolph had seen Mrs. Strong several times since 
 her return, and when she desired to get new informa 
 tion about the work of the Alliance she would tele 
 phone him to dine with her, but she gave no intima 
 tion that she was doing any particular work and never 
 
 263
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 once mentioned the possibility of her contributing 
 money. 
 
 She had suggested to him, directly after her return 
 from Europe, that he take charge of a portion of her 
 legal business, but when he told her that he could not 
 think of taking any client from Frederic she appre 
 ciated his honorable feeling and dropped the matter. 
 But often new clients, with good retainers in hand, 
 would walk into Randolph's office. He was convinced 
 that they had been sent by Mrs. Strong; but once 
 when he had attempted to question her about it she 
 skilfully changed the subject. 
 
 Except for her regular visits to the Ameses and 
 an occasional evening at the Hardings or an informal 
 dinner at her own house, Mrs. Strong had entirely 
 withdrawn from society. She told Mrs. Harding that 
 she had no time for it, as her charity work claimed her 
 entire attention. 
 
 The members of the Alliance had become alive to 
 the fact that all over the United States the corpora 
 tions, operating public utility plants, had taken great 
 pains to enact constitutional and legislative provisions 
 limiting the amount of municipal indebtedness, so as 
 to render it impossible for cities to purchase or con 
 struct such plants even after the people had voted for 
 their ownership. 
 
 264
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 The People's Alliance determined to start its cam 
 paign for municipal ownership at the source of the 
 stream, and to get such legislation at Albany that 
 there could be no delay in purchasing or condemning 
 the utility plants when the people of the city should 
 vote to take possession of them. In previous move* 
 ments for municipal ownership in several American 
 cities these legal obstacles had prevented effective 
 action, and whatever victories were won had been 
 barren of results in correcting any of the evils of cor 
 rupt class rule. 
 
 Accordingly, the strongest men whom the Alliance 
 could get to stand for the positions were nominated 
 for both houses of the Legislature. Randolph pre 
 ferred to go to the Assembly instead of to the Senate ; 
 but the leading men in the Alliance decided that he 
 had better stand for the Senate, for, if elected, he 
 would be entitled to sit in two sessions of the Legis 
 lature, and they realized that their battle for civic 
 freedom would be powerfully contested at every stage. 
 
 Under the constitution of New York State con 
 stitutional amendments had to pass two succeeding 
 Legislatures before they could be submitted to the 
 people, and at the very best it would require two years 
 after the next Legislature convened before the consti 
 tutional amendment lifting the debt limit from the 
 
 265
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 city could be referred to a popular vote ; for while the 
 Legislature met every year, constitutional amend 
 ments were required to go to the succeeding Legisla 
 ture when Senators were elected for ratification by 
 that Legislature. 
 
 New York had never witnessed such an earnest 
 campaign as that conducted by the People's Alliance. 
 Its candidates were all able and fearless men; men 
 who were no more afraid to battle for a civic cause 
 than they would have been afraid to battle for their 
 country's flag on the field of carnage ; men who were 
 intellectually honest, and refused to stifle their convic 
 tions; men who were determined to restore popular 
 rule in place of the domination of greed and corrup 
 tion, which too long had held full sway ; men who were 
 resolved to blaze anew a wide and safe trail for the 
 honorable ambition of the young and to destroy for 
 ever the yoke of bribery, which was enslaving the 
 nation. They preached the crusade for civic honor and 
 righteousness in the market places and in the temples, 
 and wherever they went they talked straight to the 
 hearts and the consciences of the people. 
 
 The.air of the metropolis was surcharged with more 
 patriotism than it had known since the days of the 
 Civil War. The description by a daily paper of the 
 meeting of the Alliance in one of the upper western 
 
 266
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 parts of Manhattan, in the strongest Tammany district 
 of Greater New York, will convey an idea of the 
 enthusiasm and earnestness that swept over the city: 
 
 "Long before eight o'clock five thousand people were 
 packed into a hall the normal capacity of which is 
 thirty-five hundred, and when the speakers arrived, at 
 eight-fifteen o'clock, four thousand people in the streets 
 demanded brief addresses before they would permit 
 them to enter the hall. 
 
 "George Randolph, candidate for the State Senate, 
 was the first speaker to enter, and as soon as the crowd 
 saw his towering form pandemonium reigned for ten 
 minutes. The moment he passed through the door 
 those nearest formed a voluntary bodyguard to clear 
 a way for him; but before he had gone twenty feet 
 four stalwart men lifted him to their shoulders and 
 amid tempestuous cheering of men and women carried 
 him to the stage. During these proceedings men stood 
 on chairs and waved their hats; women stood up and 
 saluted with their handkerchiefs; a young man of 
 lusty lungs shouted, 'They'll not steal this election!' 
 and from a thousand determined men came the spon 
 taneous chorus: 'There'll be dead election judges in 
 New York if they try it.' " 
 
 The utility corporations were not idle, by any means. 
 On the contrary, they raised a larger campaign fund 
 
 267
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 than ever before in their history. Their newspapers 
 were more insinuating, more suave, more effective; 
 their speakers declared that they all favored ultimate 
 municipal ownership, but conditions were not ripe for 
 it yet ; that it would lead into governmental chaos ; all- 
 powerful political machines would result from it; the 
 service would not be so good as the private corpora 
 tions gave. Tammany Hall and the Republican party 
 united on legislative candidates and everything that 
 political machinery, political skill and political corrup 
 tion could do to elect their ticket was being done. 
 
 The campaign was at its height when the People's 
 Alliance determined to hold a monster meeting; at 
 Madison Square Garden, with Randolph as the prin 
 cipal speaker. It was this meeting that Virginia Ames 
 saw advertised in the newspaper as she entered the 
 bay on her return from Europe. 
 
 For fifteen months she and her mother had been 
 abroad. In vain she had begged for her father's per 
 mission to write to Randolph, but he remained obdu 
 rate, and curtly wrote her that he would never for 
 give her if she gave Randolph the slightest recogni 
 tion. Under the stress of feeling her health broke 
 down, and her mother could not induce her to indulge 
 in her old-time outdoor sports or exercise. In Paris, 
 on the Riviera, at her dearly beloved Amalfi, wherever 
 
 268
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 they went, she would sit for hours by the window with 
 out saying a word, and her mother often found her in 
 tears. She heard nothing about Randolph except in 
 an occasional letter from Frederic. Finally, she 
 besought her mother to take her back to America, 
 where her grief could be no less acute and where she 
 hoped conditions might become more propitious for a 
 reconciliation between her father and Randolph. 
 
 269
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Old-time New Yorkers had seen many notable meet 
 ings at Madison Square Garden. They had seen every 
 seat in the vast auditorium filled and thousands turned 
 away at the doors, but never before had any New 
 Yorker seen such an assemblage of people as this one. 
 
 The meeting was announced for eight o'clock, but at 
 six, five thousand people were awaiting admission and, 
 as the crowd grew every minute, by seven o'clock thirty 
 thousand were gathered outside the building. They 
 filled Madison Avenue for two blocks. They overran 
 Madison Square Park. At seven-thirty the doors were 
 opened and, after every seat was taken, thousands of 
 people crowded into the open spaces in the rear of the 
 hall. 
 
 They were so thickly packed that it was impossible 
 for those in the front ranks to move a foot backward 
 or those in the rear ranks to move a foot forward. 
 Among those nearest the doors when they opened were 
 Mrs. Strong, Virginia and Frederic. He had acceded 
 to her importunities and had taken them early, and 
 through the offices of friendly policemen they were 
 enabled to enter among the first. Outside the building 
 twenty thousand people demanded a speaker, and John 
 
 270
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Moore, of Brooklyn, next to Randolph the ablest 
 speaker in the Alliance and a candidate for the State 
 Assembly, spoke to them. 
 
 The auditorium was profusely decorated with Amer 
 ican flags. Over the stage hung lifesize portraits of 
 Lincoln and Jefferson, and, in immense letters, fes 
 tooned in flags, was the most famous declaration of 
 each : "Government of the people, by the people and 
 for the people shall not perish from the earth." "Equal 
 rights to all : special privileges to none." 
 
 When the band played the "Star Spangled Banner" 
 twenty-five thousand men and women stood and waved 
 flags and cheered. 
 
 Women took an active part in this campaign, and 
 while they were denied the right to vote, on account of 
 the yet benighted legislation of the East, still they 
 entered the lists as champions of honest government, 
 impartial enforcement of law and the protection of 
 the young against the dens of vice and shame that were 
 maintained by blackmail, levied by the official tools of 
 the utility corporations upon outlawed men and fallen 
 women. 
 
 Herman Roof, New York's greatest philanthropist, 
 was chairman. 
 
 Randolph watched this seething sea of humanity 
 and noted the earnestness of every movement. Then 
 
 271
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 his mind went back to that scene of his boyhood the 
 bleak seventh of October in the old Illinois farmhouse, 
 when his father had given him his dying charge. He 
 saw the wasted form, the courageous look, and he heard 
 again the tribute of undying devotion to Lincoln. How 
 remarkable it was that this great meeting should fall 
 on the anniversary of the Galesburg debate the event 
 that had controlled his father's destiny, and the anni 
 versary of his father's memorable conversation with 
 him, which had dictated his own career. The meeting 
 had been arranged without his knowledge, the date 
 fixed upon was a mere coincidence; but to Randolph 
 it brought with it the inspiration of a solemn charge 
 that seemed like a breath from another world. 
 
 While these thoughts were coursing through his 
 brain the chairman had opened the meeting and was 
 turning to introduce him. For one brief moment he 
 closed his eyes and breathed a silent prayer for 
 strength, and then stepped to the front of the stage. 
 
 The audience began a demonstration in his honor 
 similar to those of former meetings, but he lifted his 
 hand for silence, and ere they could resume his splen 
 did voice was filling every part of the great hall. 
 
 He sacrificed nothing of clearness or strength to 
 mere elocutionary effect, but in simple language, easily 
 comprehended by all, he detailed the country's wrongs 
 
 272
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 and the remedies which the People's Alliance proposed. 
 For two hours he presented the unanswerable govern 
 mental doctrines of the new organization, and by atten 
 tion and applause the vast audience demonstrated that 
 it was with him throughout. 
 
 "Less than half a century ago," he began, "our 
 fathers were engaged in a mighty struggle to free the 
 black slaves of the nation. Scarcely a generation had 
 passed when new elements of greed and oppression set 
 to work to enslave millions of our people and to annul 
 the doctrine that, under American institutions, every 
 citizen has equal opportunities and equal rights. You 
 will search the pages of history in vain to find where 
 a once free people were ever so completely deprived 
 of liberty of political action, or the power to control 
 public affairs, as are the American people at the present 
 time. 
 
 "This new form of bondage has been of slow and 
 insidious growth, but none the less certain and con 
 stant and progressive, until to-day that citizen is not a 
 patriot who will not assist in overthrowing it. It had 
 its origin in the liberal, though misguided, laws which 
 permitted the performance of government functions 
 by individuals and corporations in their private capaci 
 ties. It fastened its poisoned fangs deep into the 
 national body when these individuals and corporations 
 
 273
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 waxed rich and powerful through the favor and pro 
 tection and license of public officials engaged in per 
 forming the other duties of government. It became 
 oppressive when those to whom the people had granted 
 authority to perform specific functions of government 
 undertook to control the operations of all govern 
 ment for their own enrichment. It became unbearable 
 when those private concerns, engaged in specific gov 
 ernmental work, adopted the business policy of using 
 each year a portion of their wealth to control every 
 department of the government not already granted to 
 them by license, through corrupting the agents of the 
 people in such departments. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 "What do you think about a judiciary, which passes 
 upon property rights and personal liberty and 
 which has power to take human life, being brought into 
 existence through such influences and owing its official 
 
 life to such control? 
 
 * * * * 
 
 "These great private enterprises, which control our 
 various governments, undertake to direct the thought 
 and action of the nation through their press and their 
 creatures in office. They uphold mediocre individuals 
 and destroy strong and worthy characters. They fix 
 the quality and the quantity of the money which the 
 
 274
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 people may use. They maintain that great gambling 
 institution known as Wall Street, which is a menace 
 to every honest young man in the land, and which 
 government and municipal ownership of public utilities 
 would destroy in a day. They set up a false standard of 
 living and take the means of comfort from the mil 
 lions to riot in luxury themselves. They corrupt the 
 public service, prostitute the judiciary and defy the 
 popular will. With a withering hand they blight the 
 noblest aspirations of the young and place a premium 
 upon boodling, graft and dishonor. 
 
 "How can you expect the parasites that take public 
 office under such a system to be honest in any of their 
 relations with the people? They are essentially cor 
 rupt, necessarily craven, as a matter of course venal ; 
 and you will never have honest or competent officials 
 until you destroy this mighty agency of avarice and 
 
 selfishness. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 "The attempt to regulate these institutions is a 
 makeshift which delays the final triumph of the people, 
 which plays into the hands of the corruptionists and 
 which only succeeds in increasing the avenues of 
 bribery. What do these powerful agencies care for the 
 regulation of their service by a government, all 
 
 275
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 branches of which they control and under which they 
 can defy the people with impunity ? 
 
 "Our own recent State regulation laws are probably 
 as complete as can be devised, but their application 
 and enforcement are dependent entirely upon the ebb 
 and flow of the political tide and upon the character 
 of the men who get into office. What may be reason 
 able rates and fair capitalization in the opinion of one 
 set of administrative officers may be considered most 
 unreasonable by another set. The two-cent rate laws 
 are illustrations of the uncertainties of regulation. In 
 thickly populated New York State our former gover 
 nor considered a two-cent rate law unfair to the rail 
 roads for the reason that the rate was too low, while 
 in sparsely settled Nebraska the officials consider two 
 cents a mile an amply adequate rate. Thus, you see, 
 regulation eternally depends upon the point of view 
 or interest of the person doing the regulating, and how 
 ever honest such person may be, it is not the sort of 
 power that should be vested in individuals, for it is 
 manifestly unfair to the people and not in consonance 
 with any tenet of popular government. 
 * * * * 
 
 "You may, now and then, win a popular victory over 
 them and get a few honest men in office, but you leave 
 these institutions with all their gigantic strength unim- 
 
 276
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 paired for future raids upon the people, unless you take 
 their unfair, undemocratic, unjust privileges from them 
 forever. 
 
 "There can be no peace until this is done. 
 
 "Fifty years ago the great Lincoln declared that the 
 nation could not exist half slave and half free. Neither 
 can it exist with half of its functions farmed out for 
 criminal uses and the other half retained for govern 
 mental purposes. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 "Our opponents boast about the economy of opera 
 tion under private ownership. 
 
 "In twenty years the capitalization of the public util 
 ity companies in Greater New York has increased over 
 one billion of dollars, with less than twenty per cent, of 
 that sum expended for improvements and extensions, 
 and all of such properties capable of being reproduced 
 at the par value of their stocks and bonds twenty years 
 ago. 
 
 "This billion of dollars is a direct and constant tax 
 upon every inhabitant of the city, in addition to the 
 daily tribute paid upon the legitimate capitalization. 
 Who can say how much that tax will be increased dur 
 ing the next twenty years if private ownership con 
 tinues? 
 
 * * # * 
 
 277
 
 "They shout 'confiscation' at us, but we do not intend 
 to confiscate one dollar's worth of property, nor to de 
 stroy or injure one dollar's worth of invested capital. 
 We shall obtain a constitutional amendment permitting 
 the people to vote whatever debt they choose to acquire 
 these utility properties, and then we shall take them 
 over by purchase if we can, by condemnation if we 
 must, on the basis of a valuation which the average net 
 income for the five years last past will capitalize at six 
 per cent. Surely nothing can be fairer to every person 
 who has a dollar invested in either stocks or bonds of 
 any of such corporations. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 "I am glad to be a candidate for office upon the plat 
 form of this new organization, for it is the only declara 
 tion of principles, in my opinion, under which any hon 
 orable man can possibly accept a position of public trust 
 at the present time. As I look around upon the noble 
 men and women who have espoused this cause for 
 years many of them pioneers in the movement and 
 when I think of their devoted courage and sacrifices, I 
 feel that the burning words of Lowell find an echo in 
 every breast : 
 
 " 'They are slaves who fear to speak 
 For the fallen and the weak ; 
 They are slaves who will not choose 
 
 278
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Hatred, scoffiing and abuse 
 
 Rather than in silence shrink 
 
 From the truth they needs must think. 
 
 They are slaves who dare not be 
 
 In the right with two or three.' 
 "These men and women are the pioneer patriots in 
 this crisis of our nation's affairs, as the men who threw 
 the tea into Boston Harbor and the gallant farmers at 
 Lexington and Bunker Hill were the pioneer patriots 
 of the Revolution, and as Lovejoy, Garrison and Phil 
 lips were the pioneer patriots of the anti-slavery cause. 
 All honor to these new patriots. Their courage, their 
 sacrifices, their patriotism have been the beacon lights 
 of hope that have shone in every night of despair, and 
 when freedom's final battle shall have been fought and 
 won, to them should be accorded the honor and the 
 glory." 
 
 Many times during the delivery of the speech the 
 vast audience rose as one man and cheered. When 
 Randolph appealed to the people of New York to set 
 a splendid example for the balance of the country they 
 shook the rafters with their mighty yell. But when 
 he completed his address every person arose and, after 
 giving him three tremendous hurrahs, with one accord 
 sang "America." Then followed one patriotic air after 
 another with twenty-five thousand persons singing. 
 
 279
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 The large crowd outside took up the refrain and for 
 half an hour no religious revival meeting ever equaled 
 in earnestness or zeal this revival meeting of American 
 patriotism, where the people felt that they were com 
 ing into their own. 
 
 280
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 As Randolph sat in his office the next morning read 
 ing his mail a messenger entered and gave him a small 
 package, stating that he had been directed to deliver it 
 in person. 
 
 Randolph thanked him and opened the wrapper. In 
 it he found a copy of "The Battle Hymn of the Repub 
 lic," bound in Japan vellum and beautifully illustrated. 
 A dark crimson ribbon was folded between the pages, 
 and Randolph observed that certain lines in two stanzas 
 were underscored. He read them through carefully 
 and wondered who could have sent him the book. Then 
 he read aloud : 
 
 "I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows 
 
 of steel: 
 As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my 
 
 grace shall deal; 
 
 Let the hero, born of woman, crush the serpent 
 with his heel, 
 
 Since God is marching on." 
 
 "In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across 
 the sea, 
 
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 With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you 
 
 and me; 
 As he died to make men holy, let us die to make 
 
 men free, 
 
 While God is marching on." 
 
 As he reread the marked stanzas the vision of Vir 
 ginia Ames stood before him. He saw her as she 
 looked that day at Seven Falls when she told him that 
 he must follow his father's behest, anything else 
 would be sacrilege. Then he recalled what she had 
 added : "Don't get too far away from us." 
 
 No one realized as fully as he did how very far he 
 had got away from the Ameses. What a vast gulf sep 
 arated them ! Yet, with psychic intuition, he felt certain 
 that Virginia had sent him the little book. But was 
 she not in Europe ? He had not heard of her return or 
 of her contemplated return; though he had been too 
 busy with his campaign for three weeks to call at the 
 Hardings or on Mrs. Strong. 
 
 At the moment Randolph was opening the little 
 package in his office, a far different scene was being 
 enacted across the street, in the sanctum of Charles 
 Henry Ames. Henderson had reported to him that 
 Frederic had taken Virginia to Randolph's meet 
 ing the night before, and he sent for Frederic to come 
 
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 to his office. When the younger Ames arrived he 
 found his father white with rage, and he did not have 
 long to wait to ascertain the cause. 
 
 "By what authority did you take Virginia to that 
 socialist meeting last night?" Mr. Ames asked. "Don't 
 you know that I have forbidden her to see that fellow 
 Randolph or to have anything to do with him?" he 
 added, without giving the other a chance to reply. 
 
 "I knew you did not wish her to associate with Ran 
 dolph, but I could not see any harm in taking her to 
 the meeting. She pleaded with me to take her and I 
 consented. I am very sorry, sir, if I have done any 
 thing to displease you." 
 
 "It is thoroughly displeasing to me and I want you 
 to remember in the future that I wish none of my 
 family to have anything to do with Randolph or his 
 meetings or his writings." And with a gesture of 
 impatience he dismissed his son. 
 
 The next day Virginia was sent to Amesmount, 
 ostensibly to recuperate her health. 
 
 Election day came and went and with it scenes to 
 which political New York was little accustomed. Tam 
 many Hall had often been obliged to face popular up 
 risings against its rule, and several times it had been 
 defeated when the opposition was united against it; 
 
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 but this year, with a complete fusion with the Repub 
 lican organization, with an unlimited amount of money, 
 with the 'most superb organization for election day 
 that famous body ever had possessed, the Tammany 
 leaders laughed at the idea of defeat. 
 
 But when they saw hundreds of people at every 
 polling place waiting to cast an early ballot; when 
 their district workers could get no information as to 
 how the laboring people were voting;; when they saw 
 the great middle class of New Yorkers turn out to 
 vote as they had never done before, then Tammany 
 Hall became alarmed, and by noon of election day there 
 was a general panic among the district leaders. In 
 vain they attempted to stem the tide of defeat by the 
 free use of money. They employed for the day sev 
 eral of those venal and disloyal labor leaders who dis 
 honor the noble cause of labor, at wages that would 
 have been considered munificent for six months in reg 
 ular employment but it was of no avail. The labor 
 ing classes and the small property owners, together 
 with the loyal citizens in other classes, united solidly 
 for free government, and when nightfall came the 
 election returns showed an overwhelming victory for 
 patriotism over greed. Tammany succeeded in hold 
 ing only two assembly districts in line ; all the others 
 gave large majorities to the People's Alliance, which 
 
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 elected every candidate for the Senate and all but two 
 for the Assembly. 
 
 Randolph ran far ahead of any other candidate on 
 his ticket, and was showered with congratulations 
 from every section of the country where patriots were 
 enlisted in the cause of liberty. 
 
 Proud though he was of his splendid victory, he was 
 heartsick over his prolonged separation from Vir 
 ginia. The next night, disregarding the demands of 
 overtaxed nature for rest, he went to Mrs. Strong's 
 house to learn what he could concerning her. All 
 that could be told him was that she had returned from 
 Europe and had been sent to the Ames country home 
 on account of her health; but that she could not be 
 seriously ill, as the other members of the family were 
 in the city, and Mrs. Ames was preparing for the 
 opening of the social season. 
 
 That night the god of sleep never crossed the thres 
 hold of George Randolph's bedchamber, and the next 
 day found him at the gates of Amesmount. 
 
 285
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 The servants at Amesmount all knew Randolph, 
 and he found no difficulty in having his card conveyed 
 to Virginia. He was promptly shown into the library 
 on the first floor, where, in a negligee gown of deli 
 cate blue China silk, half veiled in creamy lace, she 
 was reclining among the pillows of a large sofa with a 
 copy of Max Miiller's "Memories" in her hand. It 
 was the book which he had given her soon after their 
 return from Italy. 
 
 Randolph greeted her with suppressed emotion, 
 insisting that she must not get up or disturb herself, 
 and they awaited the departure of her attendant before 
 continuing the conversation. 
 
 Then she gravely shook her head and with a look 
 of inexpressible sadness said to him: 
 
 "You should not have come here. Don't you know 
 that I am forbidden to see you ? This visit may cause 
 both of us much unhappiness." 
 
 The same sweetness as of old radiated from her 
 being. Her eyes had the same fathomless depths, but 
 they were unnaturally bright. Her cheeks were thin 
 and pale and her whole appearance was so fragile as 
 to cause Randolph the most acute alarm. 
 
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 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Drawing his chair to the side of her couch he looked 
 at her tenderly and exclaimed : 
 
 "This separation from you is intolerable !" 
 
 "Yes, dear George, but there is nothing that we 
 can do." Her tone of gentle resignation was far sad 
 der than tears. 
 
 "I love you, Virginia," he said simply, "and I feel 
 I feel that you care for me." 
 
 "You know " She did not finish the sentence, 
 
 but her soft eyes were raised to his in a look of inex 
 pressible tenderness and trust. 
 
 "I refrained from making a formal request for your 
 hand before you went abroad, hoping all the while that 
 in a short time my position would be such as to warrant 
 me in approaching both you and your father. But have 
 we not made sacrifices enough on the altar of filial 
 duty ? I came to you to-day to ask you to be mine now 
 mine forever, to end this heartbreaking separation. 
 You know that I love you with a high and holy love 
 a love that will protect and exalt you as long as we 
 live. Why should we let anyone or anything stand 
 longer between us and the happiness that should be 
 ours? Let us minister to our own souls now, and no 
 more sacrifice our love to feed the ambitions and the 
 selfishness of others. Come with me to the peaceful 
 prairies of Illinois; to the gorgeous flower beds of 
 
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 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 California; any spot you please where I can love you 
 and take care of you and bring you back to health." 
 
 She looked at him long in silence, her face alight 
 with love and trust and pride in him. Then her eyes 
 slowly filled with tears and she buried her face in the 
 pillows and sobbed. He took her in his arms, sooth 
 ing her with gentle and endearing words until the 
 storm of pent-up feeling had spent its force. 
 
 With tear-stained cheek and quivering voice she said 
 to him: 
 
 "Don't you know, George, how impossible it would 
 be for me to marry without my father's consent? I 
 would gladly go with you to the ends of the earth and 
 make 'thy people my people and thy God my God' ; 
 but it must be with my father's blessing 4 . He has 
 broken sadly during the last year, and if any act of 
 mine were to injure his health or hasten his death I 
 should be miserable for the rest of my life. Get his 
 consent, dear George, and no wedding day will be 
 too soon for me." 
 
 "But that is impossible, my darling. I doubt if he 
 would even grant me an interview. When he has 
 prohibited your seeing me or communicating with me, 
 I have small hope of getting his consent to marry you. 
 However, if you bid me to do so, I will make every 
 possible effort to win his assent, though I am con- 
 
 288
 
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 vinced that it requires the strength that moves moun 
 tains. Suppose I fail, what then ?" 
 
 "Oh, let us wait on that," she sighed. "You are 
 so strong and noble that you will not fail. But come, 
 George, you must go now. The assent which we 
 desire would never be given if your visit here to-day 
 should become known to my father. I would love to 
 have a long talk with you, for oh, I have missed you 
 so! But it is best that you should go." 
 
 He knelt by her couch and his lips sealed the beau 
 tiful lips which had so lovingly dismissed him. Time 
 stood still, the world was forgotten and the heart of 
 each beat rhythmically with that of the other. 
 
 At three o'clock that afternoon the messenger in 
 the waiting roomi of Charles Henry Ames took the 
 card of George Randolph to that magnate. Much to 
 the surprise of Randolph he was immediately escorted 
 into Mr. Ames's private office, and still more surpris 
 ing was the cordial reception which he received. It 
 was evident that Mr. Ames was desirous of pleasing 
 him, and he never had seen that gentleman in a more 
 amiable or gracious mood. 
 
 Randolph was, as yet, too unsophisticated in public 
 affairs to know that George Randolph, State Senator 
 in the New York Senate for two years, and the leader 
 
 289
 
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 of a practically solid delegation from the city of Greater 
 New York, was a vastly more important man to the 
 private owners of public utility corporations than was 
 George Randolph, "the briefless lawyer and socialistic 
 agitator," as some of the corporation owners had been 
 pleased to call him a few days before. To-day they 
 referred respectfully to him as "Senator Randolph." 
 The owners of these corporations had never yet 
 found a public official who could not be secured to 
 support their cause, and they had already laid their 
 plans to capture Randolph and his colleagues. 
 
 Randolph was so sincere and direct himself in every 
 relation of life that he neither knew nor understood the 
 machinations of the Captains of Industry to obtain 
 and keep control of all legislative bodies in the United 
 States. He was unaware of the little memorandum 
 book which each captain kept, in which were inscribed 
 the names of the members of Congress and State Leg 
 islatures and oftentimes judges of the higher courts, 
 whom such captain and his allied interests could con 
 trol, and of other legislators and judges who were 
 controlled by other Captains of Industry in the com- 
 munity-of-interest scheme for operating all govern 
 ments and each branch of every government, for the 
 sole benefit of all allied Captains of Industry. 
 
 He did not know that on the very forenoon of that 
 
 290
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 same day a dozen of these gentlemen had held an 
 extended conference to devise ways and means of list 
 ing the recently elected members of the Legislature 
 from New York City in the little memorandum book 
 of some one or more of them, and that in the division 
 of labor he had been assigned to Charles Henry Ames 
 to land and to list. Neither did he know that his high 
 and holy love for Virginia Ames was counted upon 
 to do much in facilitating the landing and the listing 
 operation. 
 
 "Good afternoon, George," said Mr. Ames, as he 
 arose and extended his hand to greet his visitor. "I 
 was intending to call on you in a day or so to extend 
 my congratulations. I am very glad to see you and I 
 wish you a successful career in the State Senate." He 
 addressed Randolph cordially, but there was a note 
 of insincerity in his manner which the quick intuition 
 of Randolph caught instantly. 
 
 "I thank you for your good wishes," replied Ran 
 dolph, as he took the proffered hand. "I hope your 
 family are all well." 
 
 "Yes, except Virginia. She has been ailing so much 
 recently that I sent her into the country where I am 
 sure she will soon recover her health." 
 
 "It is about her that I came to you to-day, sir. I 
 have just returned from Amesmount, where I asked 
 
 291
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 her to become my wife, and with your consent she is 
 willing to do so. I came here to ask you for her hand 
 and to tell you that I love her devotedly." 
 
 Mr. Ames flushed to the roots of his hair. He gave 
 a little nervous cough to assist him in regaining his 
 equilibrium. It was part of his plan and greatly to 
 his interest to have Randolph's friendship. He had no 
 scruples about driving a bargain with Randolph for 
 his support in the Legislature, even though the consid 
 eration of such a bargain was the hand of Virginia. 
 Not that Charles Henry Ames would have forced his 
 daughter to marry any man against her will, much less 
 an unworthy man; but he was willing to turn the 
 mutual love of this young couple to his own monetary 
 advantage in the pending crisis of threatened munici 
 pal ownership of his New York utility properties. 
 
 "You are quite worthy of my daughter, George, in 
 every way except in your peculiar and socialistic views 
 upon government. I presume you have about run 
 your course in that direction and that the fad for 
 the recent movement can be nothing more has almost 
 spent its force. If you have decided to uphold the 
 rational views of the business community on these 
 questions, instead of the wild doctrines of theorists 
 and dreamers, I shall be pleased to give my consent 
 to your marriage with Virginia." 
 
 292
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Randolph's cheeks burned with anger and his eyes 
 shot forth ominous flashes of wrath. 
 
 "And suppose I tell you that I will not, cannot, give 
 up my peculiar and socialistic views upon these ques 
 tions; and cannot, will not, adopt the views that you 
 call rational and that are entertained by you and 
 your associates what then?" 
 
 "I could never consent to a daughter of mine marry 
 ing a socialist. Were I to do so I should feel culpable 
 for assisting in the overthrow of orderly government 
 and for helping to bring children into the world who 
 would be governmental heretics." 
 
 Randolph set his jaw firmly and looked straight 
 into the eyes of Mr. Ames. 
 
 "My views upon these governmental questions are 
 well known to you. I am no Galileo to change the 
 preachment of my solemn convictions to avoid suffer 
 ing or pain. If need be, I would burn at the stake 
 like a Bruno rather than retract one jot or tittle of my 
 mental and moral beliefs. But what right have you to 
 light the fagots of persecution around the altar of 
 love, consecrated by the pure heart and noble charac- 
 ter of your daughter? By what authority do you 
 break her heart and shorten her life? You are a 
 man of culture, refinement and elevated domestic 
 tastes. Is it possible that the ambition of vulgar 
 
 293
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 money-getting has so warped your natural impulses 
 that you have no concern for the affections of your 
 own flesh and blood ? Is it possible that the most beau 
 tiful sentiments of the human soul are to be bartered 
 away and traded upon to protect property and to 
 increase dividends on stocks? Have you no remem 
 brance of your own first love, of the high aspirations 
 and noble purposes with which it inspired you? I 
 love your daughter and I know that my love is recipro 
 cated. I implore you to grant your consent to our 
 marriage." 
 
 Mr. Ames listened to this impassioned appeal with 
 stolid indifference, until Randolph referred to his own 
 first love. Then a shade of sadness passed over his 
 face. When Randolph had finished, he said: 
 
 "I am sorry that you cannot see your way clear to 
 adopt the business view of these public questions. Per 
 haps you can later. I am compelled to ask you to 
 excuse me from further conversation to-day, as I 
 have several gentlemen waiting to see me on important 
 business matters. I hope you will call on me again 
 soon." 
 
 Randolph shook the extended hand and departed. 
 He was greatly impressed with the changed appear 
 ance of Mr. Ames, as it was evident that the enor 
 mous strain and worry of business were making seri- 
 
 294
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 ous inroads on his former iron constitution. Ran 
 dolph knew that the result of the recent election was 
 a severe blow to him, and he felt a pang of genuine 
 sorrow that fate should have compelled him to be the 
 instrument to deal one wound to this man who had 
 been his friend. He appreciated Mr. Ames's viewpoint 
 on these public questions and he knew his convictions 
 were sincere, however erroneous, narrow and unsym 
 pathetic they might appear. To Mr. Ames the belief 
 in government ownership of public utilities was the 
 rankest heresy imaginable, and Randolph readily un 
 derstood how obnoxious such a heretic as he was on 
 these questions must be to Mr. Ames as a possible son- 
 in-law. 
 
 He knew that Mr. Ames did not intend that he 
 should even infer that his daughter's hand was a mat 
 ter for trade or barter, for he was aware from many 
 past evidences of good will that Mr. Ames was fond 
 of him, and that his views on these public questions 
 constituted his sole offense in the eyes of Virginia's 
 father. And he felt certain that, notwithstanding his 
 lack of wealth, no young man's suit for the hand of a 
 sweetheart would be blessed with a more prompt or 
 more cordial consent than would his, if he could but 
 adopt the so-called "business view" of these ques 
 tions. 
 
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 But he could not, and he must fight this battle as 
 well as many others in his own way. Sir Galahad's 
 words: "My strength is as the strength of ten, be 
 cause my heart is pure," ran through his mind as he 
 viewed his difficult and complicated position. 
 
 One thing in the interview with Mr. Ames gave 
 him great comfort. He was convinced that his posi 
 tion and strength had broken down the battlements 
 of persecution, and that whatever pains might be taken 
 to prevent meetings between Virginia and himself, 
 there would be no more peremptory orders to her not 
 to communicate or associate with him. So in this tour 
 ney for the heart and hand of the woman he loved, 
 Randolph had outjousted the business Colossus of 
 New York, however much more skilful or powerful 
 the latter might be in some other field of human 
 endeavor. 
 
 As soon as he reached the street he went directly 
 to a florist's shop and sent Virginia a box of violets. 
 Then he proceeded to his office, intending to visit her 
 at Amesmount the next day. 
 
 Another noon found him again in the gracefully 
 winding paths of the Ames country place. When he 
 handed his card to the attendant at the door he was told 
 that Virginia was too ill to see any person, but that 
 Mrs. Ames was there. He was shown into the library, 
 
 296
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 with all its tender memories of yesterday, and in 
 a few moments Mrs. Ames joined him. She was 
 careworn, and her anxious appearance caused Ran 
 dolph grave apprehension. 
 
 "Is she really very ill?" he asked. 
 
 "Yes, very ill. She had two fainting spells last 
 night, and we were hurriedly summoned. Poor child ! 
 Her constitution is shattered, and Doctor Smythe, our 
 family physician, tells me that we must take her to 
 Colorado as soon as she is able to travel, as she needs 
 the bracing air of the mountains. I shall leave with 
 her in a few days." 
 
 "May I call every day that she remains here," he 
 asked. "It would give me great comfort to do so." 
 
 "Certainly," Mrs. Ames replied. "She will be glad 
 to know that you have called this morning." Then 
 she added, "Virginia has told me everything that 
 passed between you yesterday." 
 
 Mrs. Ames was summoned to the sick room, and 
 Randolph went out into the grounds of Amesmount. 
 Everywhere he strolled were familiar nooks and by 
 paths and rustic seats, from all of which arose the 
 image of the girl of two years ago, whose sweetness 
 and grace of soul and mind had won his undying love. 
 He could not bear to think of her being racked with 
 illness, and he longed to caress away her every physi- 
 
 297
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 cal pain. He passed through the open and beautiful 
 grounds surrounding the house, set off with statues 
 against the dark foliage and embowered in summer 
 with flowers of brilliant hue, into the background of 
 the silex, the maple, the larch, the willow and the pine. 
 He caught glimpses of the Hudson, and recalled that 
 Virginia had told him there was nothing in Europe 
 to compare with its. classic beauty. He remembered 
 how enthusiastically she had read to him the descrip* 
 tion of the Hudson by Mary Clemmer Ames, in "Vic- 
 torie," and the words now rang in his ears : "Far be 
 hind were left the wooded shore of Hoboken, the green 
 heights of Weehawken, as we rode slowly along the 
 castellated banks of the Hudson, America's classic 
 river. Her regal river, beside whose delicious waters 
 genius loves to abide and art to rear its palaces. The 
 river of all times, along whose shore will wander the 
 pilgrim of the future to worship beside the crumbling 1 
 shrines forever, holy as the mortal home of the im 
 mortal dead." 
 
 He went to the edge of the wooded grounds where 
 he got a glimpse of the busy world beyond, of the 
 boats on the river passing to and from the distant 
 metropolis; then he turned back into this modern 
 Arcadia where the living memory of her whom he 
 loved was in every shruB and tree and vine. 
 
 298
 
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 The loving care of a devoted mother, the tender at 
 tention of a devoted lover, and the wish to bless the 
 lives of both had their tonic effect on the invalid, 
 and within a week she was able to leave her bed. Ran 
 dolph's first interview with her, brief though it seemed 
 to him, was curtailed by Mrs. Ames, who laughingly 
 told him that he had no more idea of time than he had 
 of conformity to existing political conditions. 
 
 The next week Virginia and her mother left for 
 Colorado. Randolph made so many farewell visits to 
 Amesmount that Mrs. Ames declared to him that he 
 held the record over the farewell tours of the most 
 popular foreign prima donna. 
 
 Mr. Ames was not altogether a philosophical ob 
 server of this courtship of Randolph's, but chafing 
 and annoying as it was to him, he could not jeopardize 
 his daughter's life by prohibiting it. So he let events 
 take their course, feeling certain that she would never 
 marry without his consent, and not wishing to break 
 with Randolph at this time, believing that the young 
 man would come around to his way of thinking on 
 public questions when he had had more experience 
 with the business world. 
 
 299
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 The struggle of George Randolph and his colleagues 
 from New York City to secure the necessary legis 
 lation for acquiring municipal ownership of public 
 utilities forms a most valuable and interesting chapter 
 in the political history of New York State. 
 
 It is not the purpose of this tale to go into the de 
 tails of that struggle, for, thrilling though these legis 
 lators' experiences were, and strenuous as their lives, 
 yet the narrator might as well undertake to chronicle 
 the history of the separate sands of the sea as to try 
 to tell of the limitless schemes of corruption, of cun 
 ning, of deviltry, of criminality, set afoot to capture 
 the New York City delegation for the corporations. 
 
 The proportions of the bribery fund were enormous. 
 Every railroad, every steamship line, every utility 
 corporation in every leading city of the United States, 
 every trust company that promoted utility companies, 
 every bank that held their securities, every insurance 
 company that was operated for its promoters instead 
 of for its policy-holders, contributed to the "slush 
 fund" at Albany. 
 
 The most skilful lobbyists from every part of the 
 country were employed to go to Albany and remain 
 
 300
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 during the session. The bosses of Tammany Hall 
 and of the Republican State organization were given 
 supreme control of the lobby and of the funds. The 
 campaign was to be so directed that no legislation of 
 any kind that might aid municipal ownership should be 
 enacted. Albany's population was greatly increased 
 during the session of the Legislature and the local 
 bank deposits showed heavy gains. 
 
 Soon after the session began Randolph introduced 
 two bills providing for amendments to the Constitution 
 of the State. The first one made the same provision for 
 other public utility plants as theretofore existed for 
 water plants, namely, that the people of any city or 
 town might vote any indebtedness they pleased for the 
 constructing or acquiring by purchase or condem 
 nation of any light, telephone, telegraph, street railway, 
 railway, rapid-transit, fuel, gas or other plant neces 
 sary to provide the public with means of quick com 
 munication, rapid-transit, cheap light and fuel, and 
 to promote and to protect the sanitary condition of 
 such city or town. 
 
 The other bill expressly gave cities and towns the 
 right to acquire by condemnation proceedings any such 
 existing plants and to operate the same. This measure 
 was out of an abundance of precaution, to forestall any 
 
 301
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 possible hostile action of the courts along that line in 
 the future. 
 
 Randolph then introduced a legislative measure pro 
 viding that where such plants were purchased by 
 agreement of parties, or were secured by condemna 
 tion, the maximum of value should be the amount 
 which the net earnings of such plants, for the average 
 of the five years immediately preceding such purchase 
 or condemnation, would capitalize at six per cent. 
 
 'All that the ingenuity of minds versed in every art 
 of corruption and cunning could do to defeat these 
 measures was done. Randolph met the forces of 
 tremendous wealth with tremendous energy and cour 
 age. He opposed the blandishments of their pollut 
 ing promises to his associates with his splendid exam 
 ple of self-sacrifice and devotion to his convictions. 
 He caucused his associates every day, and every day 
 showed twenty senators and fifty-eight assemblymen 
 from New York City in a solid phalanx for the people. 
 At the beginning of the session he had ten senators and 
 thirty assemblymen pledged to his measures from 
 outside New York City; but before the session was 
 two months old, that number had dwindled to eight 
 senators and twenty-four assemblymen, which left him 
 only a margin of three in the Senate and of seven in 
 the Assembly. 
 
 302
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 The lobbyists now turned their heavy artillery on 
 the Senate, for it mattered not to them where they 
 drove the hole into the enemy's ship, provided it was 
 below the water line, and they chose the place where 
 they supposed the armor plate was weakest. But 
 early in the session Randolph realized that he must 
 meet money with wits, and with his twenty solid votes 
 from New York City he lacked only six of enough to 
 organize and control the Senate. The eight members 
 who stood firm at the end of two months had gone in 
 with him at the beginning of the session, and he had 
 secured for them the chairmanships of choice com 
 mittees, while he and his colleagues stood back and 
 asked for nothing except pledges to carry their munic 
 ipal ownership measures. The same tactics had been 
 pursued in the Assembly, and he felt as secure as he 
 could feel with every large moneyed interest in the 
 United States arrayed against him. 
 
 His opponents had resorted to every parliamentary 
 ruse known to the most astute of their leaders to de 
 lay action on his bills, but at the beginning of the 
 fourth month he succeeded in bringing them before 
 the Senate for discussion. He opened the debate in a 
 three-hours' speech, which the press said was the 
 greatest political oration ever delivered in the legis 
 lative halls of New York State. So effective was his 
 
 303
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 powerful plea for civic liberty that one of the two 
 Tammany Assemblymen, who listened to him through 
 out, came to him and pledged his support to the meas 
 ures, and, notwithstanding the browbeating and bull 
 dozing of the boss of Tammany Hall, he kept his 
 pledge. 
 
 The opponents of the measures undertook to talk 
 them to death, and during the three weeks of debate 
 the Republican boss so far succeeded in shaking Ran 
 dolph's support outside New York City, that six of 
 the eight outside senators notified him that the con 
 stitutional amendments must be made to apply to New 
 York City only, or they would be compelled to vote 
 against his measures. Randolph tried to argue them 
 out of their position, and endeavored to convince them 
 that municipal ownership was just as vital to their 
 cities as to New York City. They agreed with him 
 perfectly on the principles involved. "But," they said, 
 "we have been notified by the machine in our counties 
 that if we let these measures take effect to include our 
 counties, we shall be driven out of political life. Now 
 this municipal ownership question was not an issue in 
 our election, and our people have not voted on it. 
 We will stay with you to the end for New York City, 
 but you must exclude all other parts of the State." 
 
 Once again Randolph was made to feel the concrete 
 
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 power of the utility corporations, acting through the 
 political machines which they maintained ; and with 
 grief at the result, he changed his amendment to apply 
 only to cities having a population of one million or 
 more. 
 
 At the end of the fifth month all of his measures 
 passed the Senate by a margin of three and went over 
 to the Assembly. After four weeks of constant fighting 
 they passed the Assembly by a margin of four. 
 
 The constitutional amendments had yet to pass the 
 Legislature to be elected the second year afterward, as 
 well as to be ratified by the people before they could 
 become operative, and Randolph began to realize the 
 titanic character of the struggle before him. The 
 Legislature to be elected in the fall must be controlled 
 to keep it from repealing the bills enacted by this 
 Legislature, and the Legislature to be elected the next 
 year when senators were to be chosen must be con 
 trolled again to enact the amendments before the peo 
 ple could vote upon them. He saw clearly enough 
 that the contest must be carried into the State and that 
 every city must be aroused, and this he resolved should 
 be his work for the next four months. 
 
 Randolph's recent letters from Colorado were most 
 disquieting. Virginia had suffered a relapse, and her 
 vitality was at a low ebb. The next day after the As- 
 
 305
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 sembly passed his bills, he started for the West, and as 
 rapidly as steam and steel could carry him he hastened 
 to the side of the girl whom he loved. 
 
 306
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 "Around 'this visible diurnal sphere,' 
 
 There floats a World that girds us like the space ; 
 On wandering clouds and gliding beams career 
 
 Its ever-moving murmurous populace. 
 There, all the lovelier thoughts conceived below 
 
 Ascending live, and in celestial shapes. 
 To that bright World, O Mortal, wouldst thou go? 
 
 Bind but thy senses, and thy soul escapes : 
 To care, to sin, to passion close thine eyes: 
 
 Sleep in the flesh, and see the Dreamland rise !" 
 Randolph read this youthful tribute of Bulwer to 
 the "Ideal World," and closed the book. 
 
 "I do not need to sleep in the flesh, for this is in 
 deed dreamland to me. To be with you, to nurse you 
 back to health, to look into those dear eyes, the memory 
 of which has always stirred my deepest feeling and 
 inspired my highest thoughts, to love you and be loved 
 in return what poet's fancy could paint a fairer Eden 
 of bliss?" 
 
 She stretched out her hands, half transparent with 
 illness, and he knelt by her couch and embraced her. 
 
 "How good of you to come to me, dear," she said, 
 "and when you were so busy, too! I shall soon be 
 
 307
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 well now, for how can I be ill when you are with me? 
 I am very much better to-day, and to-morrow I hope I 
 can go driving with you." 
 
 She smiled bravely, but he could see that she was 
 still very weak. 
 
 "I shall stay by your side until you are well again," 
 he said tenderly. "You must sleep now, and to-mor 
 row if it is warm and pleasant we will take a short 
 drive." 
 
 This was his second visit to her since his arrival 
 at Colorado Springs the day before. 
 
 The early days of July in the Colorado Mountains 
 and foothills are a delight to all lovers of nature. 
 Wild flowers of brilliant hue cover dell and glen and 
 mountainside, and their variegated colors, in contrast 
 with the deep blue of the skies, form a picture gor 
 geous and appealing to every beholder. Then the clear, 
 cool, stimulating air causes every fibre of one's being 
 to tingle with new life. 
 
 Every day these lovers drove to some new spot; 
 through the Garden of the Gods, with its weird figures, 
 both fantastic and sublime ; to Prospect Lake ; through 
 Palmer Park, a vast trail of Nature's handiwork; or 
 out upon the rimless plains, all depending upon the 
 strength of Virginia. One day she besought Ran 
 dolph to take her over the high drive to the top of 
 
 308
 
 Seven Falls, to the meadow where they had climbed 
 three years before, where flowed the stream that had 
 carried the hero and heroine of her legend to safety. 
 
 "You cannot endure such a hard trip, my dear," he 
 said to her. 
 
 "Oh, yes I can! I am quite strong to-day. You 
 always drive so carefully that I never get tired. Do 
 take me there! That is the spot I love best of any 
 around here." 
 
 With many misgivings, he acceded. They drove 
 through the sublime gorge of North Cheyenne Canon 
 and on up the mountainside until they reached the 
 road that branches off to the top of the falls, thence 
 over this road a short distance to the placid stream 
 which afterward goes plunging down the mountain 
 in tempestuous torrents. 
 
 The day was clear and warm. 
 
 "Please, George dear, let me get out and sit by the 
 stream while you gather some of those beautiful 
 columbines for me." 
 
 He took the carriage robes and made a comfortable 
 seat for her, then taking her in his arms carried her to 
 it. He arranged the robes so that she could recline 
 against a tree and, after tying his horses, he gathered 
 for her a large bunch of blue and white columbines. 
 
 Her eyes shone with joy as he gave them to her; 
 
 309
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 but the next moment his heart stood still for, without 
 a sound, she fell over limp and apparently lifeless on 
 the ground. Half frenzied with fear, he leaned over 
 her and felt for her pulse. It was several seconds be 
 fore he could catch even a faint quiver. He called to 
 her: "Virginia, Virginia, Virginia!" But no re 
 sponse came. Her eyes were closed. He rushed to 
 the carriage to get the drinking cup which they always 
 carried, and filling it from the brook, he dashed water 
 in her face, bathed her temples and tried to force 
 some of the water between her lips, for he had no 
 stimulants of any kind. He called aloud, but it was 
 late in the afternoon and in that secluded spot there 
 was no one to respond. 
 
 In this hour of trouble and need he instinctively 
 cried to God whom he had been taught to pray to 
 when he was a little child, imploring His supermortal 
 aid in restoring Virginia to consciousness. He bathed 
 her forehead again and again, and chafed her limp 
 hands. Presently he detected a distinct throb of the 
 pulse, then another and another, and she slowly 
 opened her eyes. 
 
 "Thank God!" he breathed, then called to her with 
 endearing words across the gulf of semi-consciousness 
 that still divided them. 
 
 As returning reason regained its dominion, she 
 
 310
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 realized where she was and gave him a look of infinite 
 love and sweetness. 
 
 "I felt myself falling over a high precipice," she 
 whispered, "and you were standing alone, crying and 
 wringing your hands. How terrible it was! I 
 seemed to be dead and in another world. Oh, it is 
 good to be with you again in the sunshine!" She 
 seemed pathetically childlike as she clung to him. 
 
 He held her a long time in his arms, while the day 
 sank into twilight, waiting for nature to give her 
 strength enough so that he might take her home. The 
 evening star become palely visible in the west. 
 
 "Look," she said, pointing toward it. "I never see 
 the constant vigil of the stars that I do not think of 
 you and your eternal, constant love and courage. 
 Do you know," she went on in weak tones, but with 
 more of her old-time vital smile than he had seen on 
 her face for two years, "this is the first moment since I 
 have been ill that I have really felt that I should get 
 well. Now I am sure of it. Isn't it strange ? I must 
 have absorbed some of your splendid strength." 
 
 Darkness was fast gathering in the mountains when 
 Randolph lifted her into the carriage. How carefully 
 he drove over those ten miles of road to Colorado 
 Springs! Supported by his arm, she rested her head 
 against his shoulder like a tired child. Soon she
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 was fast asleep, and did not awaken until they reached 
 the city. 
 
 Randolph lived over again the dreadful ordeal of her 
 swoon. Suppose she had died what would have be 
 come of him and his ambition? But he went no fur 
 ther with his questioning. It was enough that she was 
 alive and with him. 
 
 The next morning she was in better spirits than at 
 any time during her illness, and day by day she gained 
 in health and strength. 
 
 A week after the day at Seven Falls, on his return 
 from a drive with Virginia, Randolph found a mes 
 sage from Mrs. Ames to come to her apartments im 
 mediately. He found her in deep grief and much 
 agitated. She handed him a telegram stating that 
 Mr. Ames had that day been stricken with paralysis, 
 but that the attending physicians had hopes of his re 
 covery. 
 
 "Of course I must go to him at once, but what am 
 I to do with Virginia? She is not strong enough to 
 take the trip." 
 
 "If you will ask your friend, Mrs. Elder, who lives 
 in the hotel, to chaperon her during your absence, with 
 your permission I shall remain and look after her." 
 
 The serious illness of Mr. Ames was kept from Vir- 
 
 312
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 ginia's knowledge, and her mother's hurried visit to 
 New York was assigned to other causes. 
 
 Five days later, on a Monday morning, another tele 
 gram came, this time to Randolph, stating that a sec 
 ond stroke had resulted in Mr. Ames's death. 
 
 He went immediately to Virginia's apartments and 
 told her the whole story, with all the gentleness of his 
 nature. Randolph had learned long before that the 
 great shocks of life are more easily sustained by 
 knowing the whole truth at the time of the occurrence 
 of calamity, rather than by having it veiled or hidden. 
 He also knew the superb courage and fortitude of 
 women when treated as strong human beings and not 
 as hothouse plants, to be eternally shielded from the 
 storms of life. 
 
 The shock was indeed great to her, and she was 
 overcome with profound grief, for her father had been 
 very dear to her. 
 
 When she had recovered composure enough to 
 speak, she said: 
 
 "I must go home immediately." 
 
 Randolph made no reply, but sent at once for 
 her physician to advise her on that point. After 
 mature reflection, the doctor, who understood the hu 
 man heart as well as he did the human anatomy, and 
 who was a master in both fields of knowledge, bluntly
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 told Randolph that she could go to New York if he 
 would take her there and bring her back himself. 
 
 Randolph sent a telegram to Frederic Ames that 
 they would leave on the limited train at noon, arriv 
 ing in New York Wednesday evening.
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 The State of New York was more aroused over the 
 ending election for members of the Assembly than 
 it liad been by any election in its history. The Peo 
 ple's Alliance extended its organization into every city 
 having a population of over twenty thousand, and 
 many of the smaller cities and towns voluntarily 
 adopted the principles of the Alliance and entered bat 
 tle for them. 
 
 September found Randolph in the midst of the con 
 test in the State. He was booked for two speeches a 
 day for four weeks, when he was to return and de 
 vote the remaining time to New York City. 
 
 The utility corporations appreciated his towering 
 strength, and they felt that if he could be broken down 
 the Alliance would be destroyed. They long had 
 tracked him with detectives, but nothing damaging 
 to his character could be obtained. His mail brought 
 him many threatening letters, but he laughed at dan 
 ger from cowardly anonymous sources. His theories 
 were assailed by hired writers in every newspaper and 
 magazine that would print such stuff, but he contented 
 himself with answering them from the rostrum, and 
 only smiled at their personal abuse.
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 As the campaign grew warm the Alliance was at 
 tacked for its platform providing for an intelligent and 
 sanitary restriction of immigration, and every possible 
 effort was made to array the foreign vote against it. 
 But Randolph's appeal to intelligent foreigners of all 
 kinds to throw off the feudel yoke, the effects of which 
 had been so oppressive in their native land, more than 
 offset the clamor of his enemies. 
 
 Then the opposition denounced Randolph for allying 
 himself with the Ames family, and one impassioned 
 orator said that as soon as the People's Alliance be 
 came supreme in the State, Randolph was to marry 
 Virginia Ames and become the head of the Ames 
 corporations. The speaker flamboyantly asked the 
 voters of the Alliance how they liked being betrayed in 
 this fashion. 
 
 When the charges had been repeated often enough 
 to warrant attention, Randolph replied to them at a 
 huge meeting in Carnegie Hall. He reviewed his own 
 record; told how he had refused the offered partner 
 ship in the firm of Dalrymple & Ames and had finally 
 left their employ, on account of his convictions upon 
 these public questions; then he reviewed the fight 
 which he had made through the recent session of the 
 Legislature.
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "This," he said, "should be enough to silence the 
 tongue of slander." 
 
 The other matter he ignored, confident that it would 
 be properly resented by the chivalrous American 
 voters. 
 
 The election results gave the People's Alliance a 
 total vote of one hundred and five in the Assembly, 
 or a majority of sixty over all opponents. The Alli 
 ance carried every Assembly district in New York 
 City, and the fifty-eight members, whose loyalty had 
 been tested, were re-elected. In the State the Alli 
 ance elected forty-five assemblymen, and the indirect 
 result was to give Randolph six additional senators, 
 who now saw that the people were the bosses of their 
 own affairs, and that corruption had ceased to rule. 
 
 Two powerful, but wholly antagonistic, forces con 
 tributed to bring about this result. 
 
 Early in the year, when it became apparent that 
 the contest must be carried into the State, Mrs. Strongj 
 had induced the chief officers of the moribund State 
 Organization of Associated Charities to call a conven 
 tion to meet in New York City in April. The call 
 provided for liberal representation from each local 
 association, so that a convention of a thousand dele 
 gates was provided. Immediately upon the issuing 
 of the call for the convention she set to work, through 
 
 317
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 correspondence and by personal visits, to make sure 
 of a full attendance of delegates. To those who could 
 not afford to pay railroad fares she sent tickets, and 
 to make the convention socially attractive she issued 
 invitations to every delegate to attend an evening re 
 ception at the Waldorf-Astoria. 
 
 When the convention met the attendance was up to 
 her most sanguine expectations. She easily enough 
 obtained the privilege of arranging the program, and 
 every speaker was an ardent champion of the belief 
 that the effectual cure for the necessity of asking alms 
 on the part of any class of people was by social read 
 justment. Several powerful addresses were delivered 
 by eminent ministers of the Gospel, who declared that 
 the advancement of morality required the active parti 
 cipation of every good citizen in pending political 
 affairs ; and, as a result of the convention, every dele 
 gate went home an ardent champion of the principles 
 of the People's Alliance. Having thus aroused their 
 interest, Mrs. Strong sent representatives of the State 
 Association to every county through the state to or 
 ganize carefully all moral forces for effective action at 
 the fall election. 
 
 She still sent monthly checks to the People's Al 
 liance, but now they were her personal checks; for 
 she had concluded that the time was ripe for her to
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 step out into the open and wage war for her convic 
 tions. She kept in close touch with the Alliance lead 
 ers, and when they began to organize the state she 
 doubled her monthly subscription. In January of this 
 year she had said to Randolph : 
 
 "I cannot enact the role of a Joan of Arc, or a 
 Deborah, in this campaign; but I can be a humble 
 sister of charity to bind the wounds of the bleeding 
 and to cheer on the faint-hearted." 
 
 The trend of public sentiment was so powerful and 
 so evident that the astute leaders of the old political 
 parties decided "to let the craze run its course," and 
 made only a perfunctory campaign, thinking that their 
 skill, as of old, would enable them to get up such a 
 reaction of public sentiment that the constitutional 
 amendments could easily be beaten at the polls the 
 next year, when they would be submitted. Time had 
 always been their most effective weapon; and when 
 years before, they had put these complicated pro 
 visions in the Constitution of the State they had fore 
 seen just such a contingency as the one they were 
 now facing. What wonders they had effected in one 
 brief year during the last Presidential campaign in 
 bringing the people around to their way of think 
 ing, and how easy it would be to repeat that opera 
 tion whenever they were ready! And pouf! The 
 
 319
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 State of New York had never allowed reformers to 
 rule it for more than one term, and had they not more 
 avenues to the public mind now than they had ever 
 possessed before? Let the storm rage. It was but 
 a summer's squall. 
 
 So they kept their money, did these wise captains 
 of industry, for a more opportune season. And they 
 kept their lobby away from Albany. To the old habit 
 ues it seemed more like the gathering of a church con 
 ference than like an annual session of the State Legis 
 lature. 
 
 A Tammany man, who was in Albany on business, 
 wrote this description of the scene to a friend: 
 
 "It's the deadest place you ever saw. Not an old- 
 time fellow in or out of the place to be seen. Why, 
 these chumps tear the air against our fellows like 
 fright, call us all kinds of names, and how they do 
 baste the corporations ! I pity 'em when we throw 'em 
 out next year. The bloody fools ain't making a cent, 
 and they've got all the big fellows in the State down 
 on 'em, and when they get through here they won't 
 have money enough to flag a bread wagon. This may 
 be reform but I don't want any of it in mine. It's 
 too darned lonesome. Then, too, I want the boys 
 around and something doing. I'll bet there ain't been 
 a hand-out this whole session of enough to buy a 
 
 320
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 pumpkin pie. How the devil such a pack as this ever 
 carried the city I can't tell. Why, we used to have a 
 hundred thousand majority, and a lot of sorghum heads 
 beat us out of our boots but they can't last, and 
 'twill be a picnic to beat 'em all hollow next time. The 
 saloons here look like mission houses in the slums 
 only the mission houses have crowds at noon, and 
 these places are empty all the time. Maybe you don't 
 think the saloonkeepers are hollering 1 . You never 
 heard such a wail. It's worse then Billy Doonan's 
 kick when we beat him for district leader. 
 
 "This fellow Randolph tore the air here in great 
 shape for three hours yesterday. What a bully official 
 orator he'd make for Tammany Hall! I don't see 
 why our fellows didn't get him. Seems to me we've 
 been losing lots of tricks lately. But next year we'll 
 beat this crowd all right, anyhow. The people will 
 never stand for any such dead business as this again." 
 
 Randolph found little difficulty in passing new con 
 stitutional amendments applying to all parts of the 
 State, to supplant those of the last session. His work 
 was so agreeable and easy that he wrote to Virginia : 
 "I am compelled to pinch myself to see if this indolent 
 and passive person is really the one who led such a 
 strenuous life here last session." 
 
 321
 
 Virginia's ill-health was the only dark cloud on the 
 horizon of his perfect happiness. Since he had taken 
 her back to Colorado Springs she had gained slowly; 
 but her physician had written him to be patient, as she 
 would need a year longer to be completely restored to 
 health. "But," the wise doctor added, "the process 
 of recuperation will be greatly expedited by your pres 
 ence here, as soon as your Legislature adjourns." 
 
 Randolph found time to spend two weeks with her 
 in the early summer, at the end of which he was sum 
 moned back to New York to assist his associates in 
 preparing for the National Convention of the Peo 
 ple's Alliance to be held in Madison Square Garden 
 on the Fourth of July. 
 
 The success of the Alliance in New York Sta'.c had 
 aroused and encouraged patriots all over the United 
 States to take up the cause of popular government, 
 and every State in the Union had effected some sort 
 of an organization. Some of them had very compact 
 and complete societies, while others had less effec 
 tive ones; but all were animated with a patriotic 
 spirit, which counts for much more than does any 
 mere combination. 
 
 Not expecting to accomplish any other result this year 
 in the nation than to get their doctrines thoroughly be 
 fore the people, the New York leaders had determined 
 
 322
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 to send a strong delegation to the lower House of 
 Congress from New York City, so as to assist the na 
 tional cause in the future. They accordingly insisted 
 that Randolph should head the Congressional dele 
 gation. He protested that his work was yet incom 
 plete in the Legislature that he should go back to 
 the Senate and get his amendments through the next 
 Legislature, and provide for their submission to the 
 people at an early day. But they overrode his ob 
 jections, saying that New York was safe enough, and 
 that the next thing was to capture Congress for federal 
 ownership of transportation and communication lines. 
 
 "In any event," said one wise leader, "if we start 
 a movement in Congress for government ownership 
 of the railways, we will keep their money and their 
 lobby away from Albany; so the best service you can 
 render the cause now, Randolph, is to go to Washing 
 ton and make things as hot there for the railroad com 
 panies as you did in Albany for the local utility com 
 panies." 
 
 There was much to commend this argument, and 
 as Randolph was ambitious to get into national poli 
 tics, he acquiesced in their plans and stood for the 
 House of Representatives. 
 
 The tide of government ownership was running so 
 strongly in New York that the People's Alliance 
 
 323
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 elected its entire congressional and legislative ticket 
 in New York City, carried a majority of the counties 
 of the State, and elected its candidate for Governor. 
 From every part of the Union came reports of govern 
 ment ownership victories, and the champions of that 
 cause claimed the Lower House of Congress by a ma 
 jority of twenty. 
 
 The Democratic party in the South had been forced, 
 by popular sentiment and the growing power of the 
 Alliance, to advocate government ownership, and sev 
 eral of the far Western States had either given vic 
 tories to the Alliance outright, or had elected candi 
 dates for Congress who were individually pledged to 
 Alliance doctrines. 
 
 The Alliance was too new in the nation to hope to 
 elect its candidate for President; but under the splen 
 did leadership of Judge Fontius, who had resigned a 
 life position on the federal bench to make the race, they 
 had carried four States and had received a popular 
 vote of nearly three millions. 
 
 By such a narrow margin had the Republican can 
 didate won, that the change of the electoral vote in 
 either of the States of Ohio, Indiana or Illinois would 
 have given the victory to the Democrat, had he carried 
 such State, or would have thrown the election into the 
 
 324
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 House of Representatives had the Alliance candidate 
 received such vote. 
 
 The Senate was still an impregnable citadel of 
 strength for the railroads, for, nothwithstanding the 
 political revolution that was shaking the country, fifty- 
 two railroad attorneys still held seats in that august 
 legislative assembly. 
 
 325
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 "Do you know, George, that the whole Ames family 
 will be at the Capitol to-morrow to hear your speech ? 
 Fred and Margaret and Edwin Van Cise, who, as you 
 know, is now Margaret's fiance, come on the Con 
 gressional Limited to-night," said Virginia, as she gave 
 him a radiant smile of happiness. 
 
 She and her mother had arrived in Washington 
 from Colorado the day before. The mountain air, 
 vastly assisted no doubt by other influences quite as 
 exhilarating, had done its work, and there was no 
 trace in her glorious eyes or glowing cheeks of the 
 illness that had visited her. 
 
 She had asked Randolph to take her to the Capitol 
 with him, and they were passing through Pennsylvania 
 Avenue. Her old love for outdoor exercise had re 
 turned, and she insisted on walking. In a tailored 
 gown of light blue broadcloth and a light blue velvet 
 hat, fastened to her hair by a hatpin ornamented 
 with deepest sapphires, with her cheeks aglow from the 
 crisp February air and the excitement of the occasion, 
 she looked more beautiful than ever to Randolph. 
 
 She was in a happy mood and enjoyed chaffing him. 
 
 "Now please, George, you must remember that 
 
 326
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Frederic is at the head of the Ames interests and is 
 one of your detested 'Captains of Industry/ so you must 
 not abuse him in your speech," and she gaily laughed. 
 
 He joined in her laugh and encouraged her to con 
 tinue her bantering. He was so delighted to have her 
 with him and to see her restored to health, that his 
 whole being thrilled with joy when he looked at her. 
 
 When they arrived at the Capitol he took her into 
 the members' gallery and sat with her until the debate 
 began ; then he resumed his seat on the floor, so as to 
 be ready to cross swords with any antagonist who 
 might seek combat, or who might be too strong in 
 argument or too quick in repartee for some other 
 champion of their cause. 
 
 This was the fifty-ninth day of the debate, which 
 was to be closed the next day and the vote taken the 
 following day. 
 
 The first act of the People's Alliance, after reorgan 
 izing the House, had been to restore its functions as 
 a popular parliamentary body by giving members 
 ample opportunity to discuss all pending measures. 
 It was agreed at the beginning of the debate that it 
 should close on the sixtieth day, thus giving each mem 
 ber of the House an opportunity for almost an hour's 
 speech by holding sessions of six hours each day, and 
 no night sessions. The time of any speaker could be 
 
 327
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 extended by arrangement with such of his colleagues 
 as were willing to give him all or portions of their 
 time. It had been arranged that Randolph should 
 close the debate and should have the full session of 
 the last day. 
 
 This Congress was the first one in twenty years in 
 which members of the House were allowed full free 
 dom of expression. The defiance of boss rule and the 
 reasserting of their governmental prerogatives by the 
 people at the polls had sent threescore able, learned, 
 eloquent, ambitious and patriotic young men into the 
 congressional arena, and the Federal House of Repre 
 sentatives once more appealed to the imagination and 
 interest of the people. 
 
 The bill which the People's Alliance offered was for 
 the government ownership of every railway line doing 
 an interstate business, and for the purchase or condem 
 nation of the same by the government, on the basis of 
 a valuation which the average net income for the five 
 years last past would capitalize at six per cent. 
 
 Every nook and corner of space reserved for the 
 public was crowded during every hour of this great 
 debate. The scene was also remarkable for the total 
 absence of the lobby. Those in command of that here 
 tofore invincible congressional machine had not felt 
 the shock of the high voltage current of popular 
 
 328
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 wrath at the late election, without appreciating its sig 
 nificance, and they, forsooth, would quiet the public 
 mind by hiding the lobby away in secret places. Was 
 not the Senate theirs, in any event? What booted it 
 how many government ownership measures were 
 passed by the House so long as they had their citadel 
 of Gibraltar in the Senate ? The Senate would be able 
 to pigeon-hole this measure, as it had so many hun 
 dreds of anti-corporation measures in the past, and 
 the clouds of the new craze would soon be dissipated. 
 
 So reasoned the Captains of Industry, and so 
 feared the young patriots of the House ; but they were 
 educating the people by this debate, for their speakers 
 were equipped with facts and figures and the eloquence 
 born of enthusiasm, while the others recited their 
 pieces as tales that had been told them, careful not to 
 antagonize the voters, but exhausting the ingenuity of 
 their syndicated speakers' bureau to arouse prejudice 
 against the opposition. 
 
 And thus the greatest congressional debate in 
 American history proceeded. Thus the Captains of 
 Industry were tranquil; as tranquil as Dickens de 
 scribes the King with a large jaw and the Queen with 
 a plain face on the throne of England, and the King 
 with a large jaw and the Queen with ? fair face on 
 the throne of France, while the embers of revolution 
 
 3 2 9
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 were being fanned into ominous flames and these into 
 a holocaust which was to sweep them and their divine 
 rights and their ancient prerogatives out of existence. 
 Had not these Captains of Industry reigned with 
 more power than any hereditary monarch ever dreamed 
 of? Surely their princely prerogatives could not be 
 swept away in a day. 
 
 The people of the United States are long suffering 
 a'nd slow to wrath but when their conscience or their 
 patriotism is once aroused, woe betide those who are 
 caught in the path of the storm. 
 
 The recent election had emphasized these American 
 qualities as they had never been emphasized before. 
 The most enthusiastic advocates of government owner 
 ship had not dreamed it possible to carry the Lower 
 House of Congress. They had not planned to do so. 
 They were as much surprised at the result as were 
 their opponents. But they had underestimated the 
 effect of their splendid efforts in New York City. 
 
 Randolph's speeches had appealed to the conscience 
 as well as the judgment of the American voters, and 
 his unswerving loyalty to principle, his sacrifices and 
 his character had appealed to their imagination. In 
 the great West, especially, were his efforts inspiring; 
 and as his attitude during the revolution in the Western 
 State, a few years before, became public through the 
 
 330
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 press, they accepted him as a true prophet of the cause 
 and a worthy leader to follow. The Westerners felt 
 that if boss-ridden New York New York which haa 
 so recently wallowed in all the lowest filth of corrup 
 tion and graft, in both public and private affairs, the 
 city which was the Sodom and Gomorrah of Ameri 
 can politics if New York could throw off the im 
 moral yoke of the modern Feudal Barons, how easily 
 the result could be accomplished in the cleaner and 
 more wholesome West. 
 
 The State to which Randolph had journeyed on his 
 railroad mission, when in the employ of Dalrymple 
 & Ames, had rebelled two years before with a 
 majority of seventy thousand out of three hundred 
 thousand votes against the theft of the government 
 of the State; and this year the people had increased 
 that majority to eighty thousand and had made such 
 a clean sweep that the conspirators, who stole the elec 
 tion four years before, had only three members of 
 the Legislature, out of one hundred. 
 
 Thus the American voters, with one united pur 
 pose, impelled by that affinity of honest minds which 
 instinctively grasp the truth at one time, and controlled 
 by that patriotism which has always triumphed in 
 every public emergency, had sounded the death-knell 
 of divided functions of government and had deter- 
 
 33*
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 mined to operate all government themselves, for them 
 selves. 
 
 And still the King with the large jaw sat tranquilly 
 in his chair of state, with his sacred wand and mace 
 of power in the keeping of the liege lords of America's 
 government, within the impregnable buttresses of the 
 United States Senate, and smiled at his security from 
 the howling storm without. 
 
 332
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 There may have been larger crowds at the Capitol 
 in the stirring days just preceding the secession of 
 the South and the tension of the public mind may have 
 been greater, but those scenes are so much in the 
 perspective that they somewhat lose the emphasis of 
 their coloring. Certain it is that never since that time 
 had Washington witnessed such a scene as was pre 
 sented on this momentous day. Ten thousand per 
 sons, unable to obtain admission, waited for hours in 
 the halls, the rotundas, and on the lawns, hoping per 
 haps to catch some word of the speech, but in any 
 event happy to be near where these great events were 
 happening. These men and women were from all parts 
 of the Union. Large delegations had come from 
 New York and Philadelphia on special trains. Ran 
 dolph and his colleagues had done everything possible 
 to admit their immediate constituents, but the galleries 
 of the House were too small to accommodate many of 
 them. 
 
 The crowd outside good-naturedly submitted to the 
 decrees of fate and to the plans of architects who con 
 structed the national legislative halls more for pri 
 vate conferences of members than for public attend- 
 
 333
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 ance upon their deliberations. It was enough, though, 
 for them to believe that private conferences in Con 
 gress would soon end, and then, perhaps, the ideas of 
 government architects might change. 
 
 Within the doors of the Chamber the scene was 
 animated and the settings were gay. Every member 
 had brought ladies, and the bright colors of their 
 gowns and hats gave a gala appearance to the galleries. 
 In the front row in the members' gallery were Mrs. 
 Ames, Mrs. Strong, Virginia, Margaret, Frederic and 
 Edwin Van Cise. 
 
 Randolph had not seen Mrs. Strong since this de 
 bate began, and wondered at her strange absence. 
 She had arrived with Frederic the night belore, and 
 her whole being now seemed to radiate joy. 
 
 The galleries were packed to the doors, and on the 
 floor there was not a foot of vacant space. The Sen 
 ate had come over in a body, and ex-members of both 
 Houses had arrived from every part of the country. 
 
 At exactly fifteen minutes after twelve o'clock, meri 
 dian, on the sixteenth day of the debate, Randolph 
 arose to address the House. He gave Virginia a smile 
 of recognition, and began his speech. 
 
 "Since the dawn of history the great thoroughfares 
 have belonged to the people, have been known as the 
 king's highways, or the public highways, and have 
 
 334
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 been open to the free use of all, on payment of a small 
 uniform tax or toll, to keep them in repair. But now 
 the most perfect, and by far the most important roads 
 known to mankind, are owned and managed as private 
 property by a comparatively small number of private 
 citizens. 
 
 "In all its uses the railroad is the most public of all 
 our roads ; and in all the objects to which its work re 
 lates the railroad corporation is as public as any cor 
 poration can be. But in the start it was labeled a 
 private corporation, and so far as its legal status is 
 concerned, it is now grouped with eleemosynary insti 
 tutions and private charities, and enjoys similar im 
 munities and exemptions. It remains to be seen how 
 long the community will suffer itself to be a victim of 
 an abstract definition. 
 
 "It is painfully evident, from the experience of the 
 last few years, that the efforts of the States to regulate 
 their railroads have amounted to little more than 
 feeble annoyance. In many cases the corporations 
 have treated such efforts as impertinent meddling, and 
 have brushed away legislative restrictions as easily as 
 Gulliver broke the cords with which the Lilliputians 
 attempted to bind him. In these contests the corpora 
 tions have become conscious of their strength and 
 have entered upon the work of controlling the States. 
 
 335
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 Already they have captured some of the oldest and 
 strongest of them ; and these discrowned Sovereigns 
 now follow in chains the triumphal chariot of their 
 conquerors. And this does not imply that merely the 
 officers and representatives of States have been sub 
 jected to the railways, but that the corporations have 
 grasped the sources and fountains of power and control 
 the choice of both officers and representatives. 
 
 "The consolidation of our great commercial com 
 panies, the power they wield and the relations they 
 sustain to the State and to the industry of the people, 
 do not fall far short of Fourier's definition of com 
 mercial and industrial feudalism. The modern barons, 
 more powerful than their military prototypes, own our 
 greatest highways and levy tribute at will on all our 
 vast industries. And as the old feudalism was finally 
 controlled and subordinated only by the combined 
 efforts of the kings and the people of the free cities 
 and towns, so our modern feudalism can be subordi 
 nated to the public good only by the great body of 
 the people acting through their government by wise 
 and just laws." 
 
 Randolph paused a moment and a great wave of 
 applause swept the hall and galleries. 
 
 "Does not that sound like a speech of to-day?" he 
 asked. "I have thus far quoted from a speech of 
 
 336
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 James A. Garfield, delivered in this hall on June 22, 
 1874." 
 
 Another round of applause, more extended than the 
 former, greeted this statement. 
 
 "Every evil which Garfield called attention to then 
 has since been increased tenfold. Not only that, but 
 since his time the government has tried federal regu 
 lation of the railways, with the same result depicted 
 by him in the attempts of the States to regulate them." 
 
 He then gave a history of the Interstate Commerce 
 Commission and the utter futility and failure of its 
 efforts to regulate railway rates or to prevent dis 
 crimination and rebates. He showed how few deci 
 sions of the Commission had been upheld by the courts 
 scarcely a fourth of them. He called attention to 
 the weakness of the bill recently enacted to regulate 
 the rates of railways, and its failure to accomplish 
 any beneficial results. Then he scathingly arraigned 
 the elaborate system of corruption which the railroad 
 companies had inaugurated in every State in the 
 Union, and the effect of such system upon popular 
 government. 
 
 He showed how the railways had built some cities 
 and destroyed others in the great West ; how they had 
 ruined manufacturers, closed their shops and con 
 fiscated their capital through unjust discriminations; 
 
 337
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 how they had laid waste acres of fertile soil to develop 
 other sections of the country in which their managers 
 were more interested; how they each year killed an 
 army of people through defiance of State regulations 
 and through the recklessness of local managers; how 
 they controlled legislation to fix a small maximum 
 value upon human life taken through their careless 
 ness ; how they controlled courts, legislative bodies, city 
 councils and executive officials, to save them from 
 penalties of any kind; how they had developed the 
 American boss and the political machine, and through 
 them controlled both of the old political parties; how 
 mail contracts were let through the influence of railroad 
 attorneys in Congress at rates that were double those 
 paid for similar services anywhere else in the world. 
 He gave statistics to show how few people pro 
 portionately were killed or injured on the govern 
 ment-owned railroads of Germany and Austria-Hun 
 gary, as compared with the vast number killed or 
 injured every year in this country. He demon 
 strated how the active management of railways was 
 being taken from experienced and competent railway 
 men and vested in favorites of the great banking 
 houses which held their stocks and bonds, and cared 
 more for dividends and an opportunity to increase 
 their capitalization than for the safety of the public 
 
 338
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 or the lives of employees; how powerless for years 
 the Interstate Commerce Commission had been to en 
 force a simple regulation like the universal use of air 
 brakes and improved couplers, and some of the disas 
 ters that had followed such defiance of the Commis 
 sion; how railway stocks constituted the chief gam 
 bling asset of Wall Street, and how destructive that 
 institution was to the morals of every citizen; how 
 trusts had been nurtured and upbuilded by secret re 
 bates ; how the stream of public virtue was being pol 
 luted at its source by the example of graft, corrup 
 tion and bribery, which the political operation of rail 
 ways, under private ownership, developed. 
 
 He denounced the false standards of morality and 
 good citizenship set up in every community by promi 
 nent men who constituted themselves leaders of society, 
 and who undertook to fix the social status of every 
 other citizen, yet who owed their wealth, which was 
 their only basis of a claim to leadership, to open and 
 notorious gambling in the stocks that represented 
 these public highways. He demonstrated the impor 
 tant fact that it required more ability in government 
 officials to regulate the railways, while such properties 
 are owned and controlled by the skilled and really 
 great captains of modern commercial life, whose 
 every interest is antagonistic to government interfer- 
 
 339
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 ence, than it would require to operate those properties 
 under absolute government ownership; he made clear 
 the business immorality of the government's fixing 
 arbitrary rates of charge and the maximum of capitali 
 zation for a business enterprise in which the govern 
 ment had not one dollar of invested capital, but which 
 was owned and operated solely on private funds, and 
 the utter helplessness of the people under private own 
 ership, without such arbitrary regulations. 
 
 "On the other hand," he said, "the benefits of gov 
 ernment ownership are so great and so apparent that 
 they scarcely need to be detailed. The first great 
 blessing will be the return of this government of the 
 people to the people, for their sole and undivided con 
 trol. From that result alone will flow benefits enough 
 to compensate for every dollar expended in acquiring 
 these properties, and that purpose is an all-sufficient 
 one for every patriot engaged in this contest. But 
 there are many other reasons why this action should 
 be taken, and a few of those reasons may appeal more 
 strongly than patriotism does to the judgment of some 
 of our business citizens." 
 
 Randolph then elaborately summarized the amount 
 of annual saving in the cost of operation which could 
 be effected under government ownership, and which 
 he placed at one hundred and twenty million dollars; 
 
 340
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 and he showed that by reducing passenger fares to 
 one-half cent per mile, estimating twice as many pas 
 sengers as now use the railroads at a rate of slightly 
 over two cents per mile, the net annual saving under 
 government ownership would still be over seventy mil 
 lion dollars. 
 
 "This reduction in passenger fares," he said, "would 
 bring the journey across the entire continent under the 
 command of a laborer's weekly pay; and surely these 
 highways should be opened to the use of all citizens, 
 and not restricted to the favored few, as they have 
 been in the past." 
 
 He then pointed out the great profit to the govern 
 ment and benefit to the people of a government postal 
 express ; the saving to the government in the carrying 
 of the mails ; the better protection afforded to railroad 
 employees and to the traveling public. He showed 
 how rebates and discriminations would be impossible; 
 how every city and every industry would have equal 
 opportunities ; how unfair trusts could be destroyed by 
 punitive freight rates ; how the great American public 
 would no longer be at the mercy of strikes or lockouts. 
 
 He then took up the three objections urged against 
 government ownership: Unconstitutionality ; lack of 
 power to finance such a large deal; and danger of 
 a political machine. He cited numerous decisions of 
 
 34i
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 the United States Supreme Court to show that Con 
 gress had the power to acquire interstate railways. 
 
 On the question of financing the deal, he cited the 
 example of France, with a debt of one hundred and 
 sixty dollars per capita and her bonds above par at 
 three per cent.; whereas, with the United States, the 
 total per capita debt, after adding the debt of acquiring 
 these roads to the existing debt, would be only a frac 
 tion over one hundred dollars per capita; and with a 
 population of more than double that of France and an 
 infinitely more resourceful country, our bonds for 
 this purpose should be readily placed at from two to 
 two and one-half per cent. 
 
 "No person," he explained, "who owns stocks or 
 bonds, as an investment, in any of the separate railways 
 included in the purchase, would refuse to take stable 
 government bonds, as proposed in the pending measure, 
 in lieu thereof; therefore the whole financial transac 
 tion would be almost entirely one of an exchange of 
 securities." 
 
 The political machine idea he termed a figment of 
 the imagination of political bashaws who did not wish 
 to give up their present rule, and he demonstrated that 
 the patriotism which government ownership would 
 inspire, together with wise civil service rules, would 
 prevent any evil along those lines. 
 
 342
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 'The system which we are attacking," he continued, 
 "has in the past developed Charlemagnes and Napo 
 leons in the realm of our domestic commerce. I had 
 hoped that long ere this some one of those great cap 
 tains would come forth as the Lincoln of this gen 
 eration the great emancipator of eighty-five millions 
 of people from the thraldom of intolerable serfdom, 
 This contest could be greatly shortened and genera 
 tions of unborn Americans would greet his name with 
 uncovered heads if some great patriot would step 
 from the ranks of those distinguished commanders of 
 finance and avow his purpose to conform to the 
 sentiment of the American people upon these questions. 
 But there is no giround for hope in that direction, or 
 such action would have been taken long ago aye, 
 wholesale corruption and political degradation would 
 not long have existed if one of these powerful cap 
 tains had commanded otherwise years ago." 
 
 With a glowing tribute to the unfailing patriotism 
 and unconquerable courage of the American people, 
 Randolph closed his speech. 
 
 The scene which followed was an extraordinary 
 one. Not only did his audience cheer until their voices 
 refused to respond to their will; but, as soon as the 
 Speaker's gavel declared the session adjourned, they 
 insisted on shaking his hand. They formed a double 
 
 343
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 line in the rotunda, with those already there, and Ran 
 dolph was compelled to pass between these rows of 
 admirers from the main entrance of the House to the 
 east door of the Capitol. He accepted the situation 
 like a veteran, and shook the hand of every person in 
 the columns, using both of his own hands in the 
 operation. Then he went to his friends in the gallery. 
 Virginia looked her pride and satisfaction. 
 
 "That was a great speech, George, horribly social 
 istic, but not very revolutionary," said Frederic Ames, 
 as he warmly grasped the hand of his friend. 
 
 Mrs. Strong waited until the others had finished, 
 then directing him to one side, said : 
 
 "You preach the doctrine splendidly ! No person 
 with a drop of patriotism can stand against you. 
 How proud of you we all are, and how much credit 
 you deserve for your years of strife and dauntless 
 courage ! That speech to-day, I am certain, was more 
 effective than you realize, and I am confident that our 
 cause will triumph sooner than you anticipate." 
 
 They went to their carriages at the east doors, and 
 as they passed down Pennsylvania Avenue the last 
 rays of the sun kissed the dome of the Capitol. 
 
 And the King closed his huge jaws with satisfaction, 
 for he had fifty-two votes in the Senate with which 
 to defeat the will of the American people. 
 
 344
 
 CHAPTER XX3XIV. 
 
 The House had just convened. Every member was 
 in his seat. The attendance had not abated in the 
 least from that of previous days, for the people wanted 
 to hear the eloquent "aye" of their representatives 
 upon this the people's measure. A page ran down the 
 aisle and delivered a package to Randolph. He broke 
 the seal, rapidly read the communication enclosed, and 
 flushed with excitement and trembling in every limb, 
 he arose in his seat. Every eye was on him, and every 
 ear was strained to catch his words. 
 
 "Mr. Speaker," he said. 
 
 "The gentleman from New York," responded the 
 Speaker. 
 
 "Mr. Speaker: I have just this moment received 
 a communication intended for all the members of Con 
 gress, but sent to me personally to present. It is of 
 the greatest importance to the pending measure, and 
 under our rules I ask to have it read by the clerk." 
 
 Some of his words were scarcely audible, so choked 
 with emotion was he. 
 
 During the few seconds it required for a page to 
 convey the communication to the clerk's desk the very 
 air of the chamber vibrated with suppressed excite- 
 
 345
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 merit. The clerk was moved by the same feeling, and 
 it was several more seconds before he could control his 
 voice enough to read the document. Then, in clear 
 tones, that rang louder and louder as the full import 
 of the message dawned upon him, he read: 
 "To the Congress of the 
 
 United States. 
 
 "Gentlemen: I am only a plain citizen of the Re 
 public, and my highest ambition is to be considered a 
 good and loyal citizen. I have none of the elements of 
 which martyrs are made, neither have I more than the 
 average patriotism of my countrymen. There are 
 millions of loyal Americans who would willingly do 
 what I have determined to do, were they in my posi 
 tion. I wish you to understand that my action is based 
 upon a sense of duty and conscience and is entitled to 
 no especial credit. Whatever praise you have to bestow 
 should be given to those splendid champions of the 
 cause of this new liberty, who, with patience and forti 
 tude and ability and forbearance, have so clearly and 
 powerfully presented this matter as to capture the rea 
 son and the conscience of every thoughtful citizen. 
 They are the liberators of this generation of Ameri 
 cans from conditions that are as indefensible, when un 
 derstood, as human slavery was, when its destructive 
 moral and physical influences were made manifest. 
 
 346
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "I have studied the question now pending 1 before 
 Congress with great care and thoroughness, and I have 
 satisfied myself that the contentions of the supporters 
 of the pending measure are right and just and patri 
 otic, and that the provisions for compensating the 
 present owners of the interstate railroads are emi 
 nently fair and even liberal. 
 
 "So far as the Ames interests are concerned I 
 speak on behalf of a unanimous family, and for Mrs. 
 Gertrude Strong, who owns a third interest in all the 
 Ames properties we will accept the provisions of this 
 bill, and henceforth we shall do all within our power 
 to have it enacted into a law by the United States 
 Senate. 
 
 "I beg to remain, 
 
 "Your obedient servant, 
 
 "FREDERIC AMES." 
 
 The hearers of this strange message were stunned 
 at first, and sat mute in their seats. Then, as its full 
 import dawned upon them, they arose and wildly 
 shouted. Men stood on chairs and threw their hats 
 into the air; women opened their parasols and waved 
 them. All that was lacking was the music to make the 
 scene a repetition of famous ones in national political 
 conventions. In vain the Speaker rapped for order. 
 
 347
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 He was compelled to give up the attempt, and for 
 twenty minutes pandemonium reigned in this assembly 
 chamber where decorum and insipid speeches of five 
 minutes' duration had so recently held full sway. The 
 assemblage called loudly for "Ames," but he was not 
 to be found. The crowd in the gallery surrounded the 
 Ames party and cheered them. Randolph was em 
 braced by his colleagues with such strenuousness that 
 his clothes and hair were badly disheveled. 
 
 When a degree of order was restored the clerk be 
 gan the roll-call. At every response of "aye," there 
 was a tremendous hurrah. The Speaker made no ef 
 fort now to keep the crowd still. Only a dozen mem 
 bers voted "no," and their votes were roundly hissed. 
 
 Word had gone over to the Senate of the momen 
 tous message, and railroad lawyers, with blanched 
 faces, came to the House to see if the report was true. 
 When they had satisfied themselves of the full extent 
 of the communication, nearly all of them hastened to 
 avow their allegiance to the people's cause, and by 
 nightfall there was not a score of Senators who had 
 not pledged their support to the bill. 
 
 At the close of the roll-call Randolph received a 
 message to come to his committee room, where he 
 found Ames, alarmed lest the crowd should find his 
 hiding place and embarrass him with a scene. 
 
 348
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 "Nonsense ! Show yourself to the people. You are 
 the emancipator of this generation, and they want to 
 do you homage. What a splendid old fellow you are ! 
 Who would have dreamed that you would be the one 
 to make my socialistic theories effective?" and Ran 
 dolph embraced Frederic. But he could not induce 
 him to go out into the crowd. 
 
 "You and Gertrude deserve all the credit," Frederic 
 declared, "and it was solely through you two, old 
 man, that I took interest enough in these matters to in 
 vestigate for myself. Frederic Ames is simply a pass 
 ing incident in this great struggle, and not for a 
 moment would I take a cheer that belongs to you. 
 Send for the rest of the party, George. It is better 
 for us to remain here for awhile." 
 
 Randolph could not induce him to change his pur 
 pose, so he sent his secretary to bring the others to 
 them. 
 
 As soon as Mrs. Strong stepped into the room, Fred 
 eric went over to her, and taking her arm escorted hep 
 to Randolph. 
 
 "This champion," he said, "has been more valuable 
 to you than have all your colleagues in the House 
 combined, for you men had only the simple task of 
 converting the country to your views. This fair lady 
 undertook the Herculean feat of converting me. Why, 
 
 349
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 George, do you know if it had been leap year I 
 should have feared it was my heart that she was after, 
 for with such infinite tact and grace, such alluring 
 charm, such intense devotion, has she cultivated me 
 during the past sixty days that I would have been an 
 Egyptian mummy had I not surrendered. You never 
 saw such a combination of astute politician, elegantly 
 cultured literary lady and drawing-room fashion-plate. 
 It was a complete amalgamation of the most attrac 
 tive qualities of her grande dames, De Maintenon, De 
 Stae'l and Recamier, possible to imagine. The salon 
 of this queen, however, was not used for the multitude 
 only for one hard-headed, stubborn-minded political 
 infidel, who was probably too mentally opaque or 
 callous-hearted to see the light. 
 
 "Before I took the train to come to Washington," 
 Frederic went on,"I promised her to act here and now, 
 if you convinced me that this was the proper time. 
 Your speech did that so there you have it. And I 
 take great pleasure in presenting to you your ablest 
 colleague." While his words were those of lightness 
 and badinage, his face reflected the stirring of his 
 emotions to the very depths. 
 
 Mist covered her eyes, and her voice shook with 
 emotion as she responded: 
 
 "We should thank God that fate has permitted us 
 
 350
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 to render this service to mankind. Bless you, George, 
 and bless you, Frederic ! Dear old New York has vin 
 dicated her right to be called the Empire State, for this 
 time she has been first, not among the last, in the pro 
 gressive march of the Republic. How proud Hamilton 
 would be of the grand State if he could be here to 
 day! It has taken courage, resolution and patriotism 
 of an imperial kind to do what you young men have 
 done." 
 
 "None of which courage, or resolution, or patriot 
 ism would we have possessed without your inspira 
 tion," replied George. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 This little party had heart-to-heart talks in the small 
 committee room of the huge building, and day had 
 dimmed into twilight before they left. The others 
 sought their carriages at the east side of the building, 
 but Randolph and Virginia went out upon the west ter 
 race and lingered long, enchanted with the view, their 
 senses lulled by the calm that had succeeded the storm. 
 
 "Frederic and Gertrude have accepted our invitation 
 to go with us to Amalfi right after our wedding," she 
 said. 
 
 He bent over and kissed her tenderly. 
 
 "And it is only two weeks till then !" he whispered. 
 
 Through the vista could be seen the faint outline of 
 
 351
 
 THE LIBERATORS 
 
 the chaste and noble shaft to the immortal Washing 
 ton. The lights of the White House grounds gleamed 
 among the distant trees. The spirits of great men and 
 of great deeds were around them. 
 
 But transcending every other influence was the spirit 
 of a great love the feeling that, whatever might come, 
 they were all-sufficient for one another and would for 
 ever walk hand in hand through sunlight and dark 
 ness. 
 
 They passed down the steps, trod by the nation's 
 mightiest men, and out into the shadows of the night. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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