in most cases, its death. Gentlemen, it would be polite and kind and
gracious of you to bow low here to-day and hand up the nomination to the
amiable Governor Harwood. But with the conditions as they are in this
state are you going to be polite, merely, while the hearses are rumbling
down your streets? I have no way of knowing how many of you into whose
eyes I am looking have seen death enter your own homes from the taps of
this much-promising, little-accomplishing water syndicate. But if you
have seen death touch your loved ones, or if you go home from here and
behold fever ravaging your community, it will be poor consolation to
your soul to remember that at least you were polite to an amiable man
who desired the honor of a renomination."

The faces of the convention showed that this blunt yet shrewd appeal to
the individual antagonism of men had produced profound effect.

"But that is only one feature of what this state demands and needs,
gentlemen," was Farr's ringing declaration. "This struggle for pure
water has opened a broad avenue. The towns and cities of this state must
take back into their own hands the properties and franchises which have
been mismanaged by the men to whose hands unwise gift by the people has
intrusted the people's own. We need a man in the Big Chair of State who
will stand with the people in this crusade!"

This amazing declaration in open convention produced as much
consternation on the platform as if Farr had dropped a bomb there.

He uttered something which was worse than mere political rebellion: he
was proposing to take for the people properties which constituted the
backbone of the oligarchy's power in state affairs.

Colonel Dodd had been growling behind the chairman, angrily endeavoring
to get the ear of that gentleman. But the chairman seemed to be as
wholly absorbed by this astonishing arraignment as were the delegates.

The head of the state machine, for the first time in his career, was
compelled to come into the open instead of through the mouth of a
lieutenant. He could not wait to give orders.

He rose and stamped to the front of the platform. His voice rang hoarse
and loud.

"There can be no more of this unparliamentary and irregular nonsense.
What has got into this convention? Don't you understand that no speaker
is allowed to break the rules and attack a man under guise of nominating
another? Mr. Chairman, I demand that this slanderer be removed from the
hall and t