e old
council were to be reckoned as part of the cohort of darkness. That at
least was clear. "We want no more men in control of the stamp of
Alderman Gorfinkel and Alderman Schwefeldampf," so said practically
every paper in the city. "The public sense revolts at these men. They
are vultures who have feasted too long on the prostrate corpses of our
citizens." And so on. The only trouble was to discover who or what had
ever supported Alderman Gorfinkel and Alderman Schwefeldampf. The very
organizations that might have seemed to be behind them were evidently
more eager for clean government than the league itself.

"The Thomas Jefferson Club Out for Clean Government," so ran the
newspaper headings of one day; and of the next, "Will help to clean up
City Government. Eureka Club (Coloured) endorses the League; Is done
with Darkness"; and the day after that, "Sons of Hungary Share in Good
Work: Kossuth Club will vote with the League."

So strong, indeed, was the feeling against the iniquitous aldermen that
the public demand arose to be done with a council of aldermen
altogether and to substitute government by a Board. The newspapers
contained editorials on the topic each day and it was understood that
one of the first efforts of the league would be directed towards
getting the necessary sanction of the legislature in this direction. To
help to enlighten the public on what such government meant Professor
Proaser of the university (he was one of the three already referred to)
gave a public lecture on the growth of Council Government. He traced it
from the Amphictionic Council of Greece as far down as the Oligarchical
Council of Venice; it was thought that had the evening been longer he
would have traced it clean down to modern times.

But most amazing of all was the announcement that was presently made,
and endorsed by Mr. Lucullus Fyshe in an interview, that Mayor McGrath
himself would favour clean government, and would become the official
nominee of the league itself. This certainly was strange. But it would
perhaps have been less mystifying to the public at large, had they been
able to listen to certain of the intimate conversations of Mr. Fyshe
and Mr. Boulder.

"You say then," said Mr. Boulder, "to let McGrath's name stand."

"We can't do without him," said Mr. Fyshe, "he has seven of the wards
in the hollow of his hand. If we take his offer he absolutely pledges
us every one of them."

"Can you rely on his word?" s