Adventure, November 1915 — page 148: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

TF4 7 f I { FUE ON OLR ees Ph iis Noos t he as) wire er) s CE ete? uly ete ih, “Ce Py) 437. SP, Op bal Has ANA Oh ti] ve Oey Ali 4ie tho ROTM ie s \ rs + aes le a al —. J x* rt ‘ed > at - 5 < ae eet Sen ie ATO » At wey “4 i? * y4 “ae “ N WP a) Se Ee, SeCWA NS FP OPS Te OT ee AANA AE ae Pa Mey MA pe ay we b.& Sve Ms Sy ian Cs a ipa SS ANE 0 ee OO eee ae A Ae ees that she loved him. Theirs had been one of those swift-kindled loves doomed ever to burn brightly. That he or she could ever forget was preposterous. He knew that she was suffering even as himself.” So he plead- ed. But she was adamant; she loved him, but—he must cease his attacks on her father and on the party. Stewart Morris knew men. Tom Minot had his price; it was a woman. When he left her that, night she still wore his ring, and he had pledged himself to cease attack- ing the personal integrity of the city ad- ministration, and to discontinue all articles that insinuated illicit agreement between Landers and the boss. MINOT did not sleep that night until almost dawn. For he had sold himself. Nor could he blame the - purchase—Janet. It was admirable of her to stand by her father. But for him supine- ly to yield to a woman his honor! Then he thought of the woman. And he went to sleep finally, thinking himself content; that self-respect was well lost for love. And he awoke a bit defiant, a bit contemptuous of all that was right and good. What did they count against a woman’s love? Frazee was in his private office that morn- ing when he reached the Sum. The business manager fairly hurled himself upon his chief. “By heck, Tom,” he cried, “‘we’ve got ’emontherun! We’ve got the last piece of meat for the voters to chew on! It’s the Citizens’ Ticket in a walk and then—my boy, victory! For you—for the Sun, for——” “What’s up?” snapped Minot. “Tt’s up to you to write the biggest edito- rial you ever pounded out! The Clinton acct School collapsed at five o’clock this morning. If it had been four hours later nine hundred kiddies would have gone down beneath it — to death! And the Morgan - town Construction Company built it! It proves what you’ve been shouting all along —that their work is rotten; for the school was only finished two months ago, and—— “But I’m keeping you. I only wanted to be the first to congratulate you, Tom, on your chance to make good; to} show the people of Morgantown that you’ve told the truth about the rottenness of the city. It’s your proof that the Construction Company cheats the city. It’s the proof that’ll make the voters turn against the boss, defeat Landers, and—go to it, Tom, go to it!” a oe 4s. CE, Oe fe ; Age gre en ade ee ae a ee — > ae Adventure A boy entered, bringing proofs of the first- page story which told of the collapse of the Clinton Avenue School, built by Morris’s company, and so poorly constructed that only the kindly fates were responsible for the fact that a thousand children. had not lost their lives. Minot read the story. Then he opened his pocketbook and looked long at a little picture of Janet Landers. He kissed the smiling countenance once. Then he put it away and reached for his n. “Dear Janet,” he wrote. “Something has happened. The Clinton Avenue School col- lapsed early this morning. Fortunately no one was inside the building, but you can ' imagine what it would have been like if the collapse had occurred half an hour from now —at nine o’clock. ““Morris’s company built it. Your father sanctioned the letting of the contracts to Morris’s company. Whether because of an agreement, in fulfilling a preélection prom- ise or not, doesn’t matter. What does mat- ter is this: your father and his administra- tion have let Morris have many contracts. If your father is reélected Morris will have many more. The city will be robbed and lives endangered. And—and—I can’t per- mit that to happen without a fight on my part. “Dear, I’ve counted the cost and—the rule of Morris must be broken. The only way to do that is to defeat your father. The only way to make that defeat cer- tain is to continue attacking the Morgan- town Construction Company. For your father’s administration granted the com- pany the contracts. Your father signed them and—— I’m sorry, dear, but—I must do what I think is right. 'Good-by. Tom.” He sealed the note and sent it on its way. Then, white of face and stern of mouth and eyes, he began writing an edito- rial, the most powerful he had ever written, referring to the collapsed school building, pointing out. that this was but a sample of what must occur to city buildings provided Morris’s company continued erecting them, and showing that the company would un- doubtedly continue to erect them if Landers were reélected. . He finished and rang for a copy-boy. His door opened and he looked up. “Boy, rush this up-stairs to the compos- ing-room and tell——” EOPMIE OOOKS (©) LALA ‘ee ee ee eR ae. a oe I=