"
He told Speaker Smith what he intended to do and next day he began to
do it.
That afternoon, tired out, I was resting, during a recess of the House,
in a chair that stood in a shadowed corner, when the Speaker hurried by
heavily, evidently unaware of me, and rang a telephone. I heard him
mention the name of "Mr. Evans," in a low, husky voice. I heard,
sleepily, not consciously listening; and I did note at first connect
"Mr. Evans" with William G. Evans of the tramway company. But a little
later I heard the Speaker say: "Well, unless Gardener can be pulled
off, we'll have to let that 'three-fourths' bill out. He's raising
hell with a lot of our measures over in the Senate. . . What? . . .
Yes. . . . Well, get at it pretty quick."
Those hoarse, significant words wakened like the thrill of an electric
shock--wakened to an understanding of the strength of "special
interests" that were opposed to us--and wakened in me, too, the anger
of a determination to fight to a finish. The Powers that had "fixed"
our juries, were now fixing Legislature. They had laughed at us in the
courts; they were going to laugh at us in the Capitol!
Speaker Smith came lumbering out.
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