that was laid at a time when we
needed enormous revenue. See the surplus piling up in the public vault.
You say it's better to have a surplus than a deficit. Yes, but I'd
rather have the surplus in the pockets of the people. This taxing the
people to death, in order to have a surplus to expend in senseless
appropriations, is poor policy."

In this strain his whole speech ran, and it had an electrical effect.
They cheered him tremendously, and the meeting broke up, and discussion
burst out all over the hall with appalling fury, and continued each day
thereafter. The railroad question and the tariff question began right
there to divide the county into two camps. The young leader carried the
same disturbing influence into every township in which he spoke, and
the whole county became a debating school. It took a position far ahead
of the other counties of the State in the questions.

Men stopped each other, and talked from plow to plow across the line
fence. They met in the road upon dusty loads of wheat, and sat hours at
a time under the burning August sun to discuss the matter of railroad
commissions, and the fixing of rates, and the question of reducing the
surplus in the treasury.

The old greenbackers came out of their temporary retirement, and helped
Bradley's cause simply because he was young and a dissenter. They were
a power, for most of them were deeply read on the tariff and on the
railroad problem; in fact, were all round radicals and fluent speakers.

Judge Brown kept out of it. "I don't want to seem too prominent in this
campaign," he said to Colonel Peavey. "We old Mohawks are a damage to
any man's campaign just now. The time is coming, Colonel, when we'll
help, but not now. We've set the mischief afoot; now let the young
fellows and the farmers do the rest of it. Besides, my young man here
is quite able to look out for himself. All that scares me is he'll get
too radical, even for the Democracy, one of these days. If he does, all
is we'll have to build a party up to his principle, for he'll be right,
Colonel; there's no two ways about that."

XVII.

ELECTION.

The interest of the election was very great; and as the vote of Rock
River practically settled the contest, the centre of interest was the
Court House, which was crowded to suffocation on election night. There
was a continual jam and a continual change. Crowds stood around the
doorway, or moved up and down the sidewalk. Crowds were con