didn't open for a week and during that time I saw something
of Rafferty. He surprised me by coming around to the flat one
night--for what I couldn't imagine. I was glad to see him but I
suspected that he had some purpose in making such an effort. I
introduced him to Ruth and we all sat down in the kitchen and I told
him what I was planning to do this winter and asked him why he didn't
join me. I was rather surprised that the idea didn't appeal to him but
I soon found out that he had another interest which took all his spare
time. This interest was nothing else than politics. And Rafferty
hadn't been over here long enough yet to qualify as a voter. In spite
of this he was already on speaking terms with the state representative
from our district, the local alderman, and was an active lieutenant of
Sweeney's--the ward boss. At present he was interesting himself in
the candidacy of this same Sweeney who was the Democratic machine
candidate for Congress. Owing to some local row he was in danger of
being knifed. Dan had come round to make sure I was registered and to
swing me over if possible to the ranks of the faithful.

The names of which he spoke so familiarly meant nothing to me. I had
heard a few of them from reading the papers but I hadn't read a paper
for three months now and knew nothing at all about the present
campaign. As a matter of fact I never voted except for the regular
Republican candidate for governor and the regular Republican candidate
for president. And I did that much only from habit. My father had been
a Republican and I was a Republican after him and I felt that in a
general way this party stood for honesty as against Tammanyism. But
with councillors, and senators and aldermen, or even with congressmen
I never bothered my head. Their election seemed to be all prearranged
and I figured that one vote more or less wouldn't make much
difference. I don't know as I even thought that much about it; I
ignored the whole matter. What was true of me was true largely of the
other men in our old neighborhood. Politics, except perhaps for an
abstract discussion of the tariff, was not a vital issue with any of
us.

Now here I found an emigrant who couldn't as yet qualify as a citizen
knowing all the local politicians by their first names and spending
his nights working for a candidate for congress. Evidently my arrival
down here had been noted by those keen eyes which look after every
single vote as a miser does