orked very hard, had been independent, had kept his
hands clean, and had worn no man's collar. Other people believed he owed
his advancement to his brother-in-law. He knew they believed that, and
it hurt him. When, at the annual dinner of the Amen Corner, they
burlesqued him as singing to "Ham" Cutler, "You made me what I am
to-day, I hope you're sat-isfied," he found that to laugh with the
others was something of an effort. His was a difficult position. He was
a party man; he had always worked inside the organization. The fact that
whenever he ran for an elective office the reformers indorsed him and
the best elements in the opposition parties voted for him did not shake
his loyalty to his own people. And to Hamilton Cutler, as one of his
party leaders, as one of the bosses of the "invisible government," he
was willing to defer. But while he could give allegiance to his party
leaders, and from them was willing to receive the rewards of office,
from a rich brother-in-law he was not at all willing to accept anything.
Still less was he willing that of the credit he deserved for years of
hard work for the party, of self-denial, and of efficient public service
the rich brother-in-law should rob him.

His pride was to be known as a self-made man, as the servant only of the
voters. And now that he had fought his way to one of the goals of his
ambition, now that he was district attorney of New York City, to have it
said that the office was the gift of his brother-in-law was bitter. But
he believed the injustice would soon end. In a month he was coming up
for re-election, and night and day was conducting a campaign that he
hoped would result in a personal victory so complete as to banish the
shadow of his brother-in-law. Were he re-elected by the majority on
which he counted, he would have the party leaders on their knees.
Hamilton Cutler would be forced to come to him. He would be in line for
promotion. He knew the leaders did not want to promote him, that they
considered him too inclined to kick over the traces; but were he now
re-elected, at the next election, either for mayor or governor, he
would be his party's obvious and legitimate candidate.

The re-election was not to be an easy victory. Outside his own party, to
prevent his succeeding himself as district attorney, Tammany Hall was
using every weapon in her armory. The commissioner of police was a
Tammany man, and in the public prints Wharton had repeatedly declared
t