So ran the saving hope; and not content with mere watchfulness, Blount
tried to get his finger upon the pulse of occasions whenever he could.
On his brief stop-overs in the capital he kept his eyes and ears open
for the earliest hint of any charge of chicanery, and though he was
unable to get hold of Gantry personally, he kept up a steady fire of
letters and telegrams, all pointing to the same end--absolute and utter
good faith, and the upholding of his hands in the public plea for a
square deal. To these the traffic manager always replied guardedly and
optimistically. Everybody was delighted with the good work done, and
doing, by the railroad company's field manager; public opinion was
slowly but surely changing; let the good work go on--and much more to
the same effect.
Blount did let the good work go on; but as the critical pre-election
weeks approached, he began to arm himself, reluctantly but resolutely. A
little quiet investigation, which was made to dovetail cleverly with his
speech-making journeys, revealed--as Gantry had confessed it
would--convincing evidence of past corruption and present law-breaking.
Hathaway had told the truth when he had asserted that his own
involvement was only one of many similar bargains. Blount called upon
the president of the Irrigation Alliance at Romero, in the heart of the
agricultural district, upon the managers of several of the
electric-power companies, and upon a number of influential mining
men--all shippers, and all large employers of labor.
Pages:
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198