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Tarkington, Booth, 1869-1946

"The Gentleman from Indiana"

Now,
Halloway is honest--everybody knows that--and I don't say but what he's
been the best available material Mr. Harkless had to send to Washington;
but he ain't any too bright----"
Mr. Martin interrupted the speaker. "I reckon, maybe, you never heard that
lecture of his on the Past, Present, and Future'?"
"Besides that," Keating continued, "Halloway has had it long enough, and
he's got enough glory out of it, and, except for getting beat by Rod
McCune, I believe he'd almost as soon give it up. Well, we discussed all
this and that, and couldn't come to any conclusion. We didn't want to keep
on with a losing fight if there was any way to put up a winner, though of
course we all recognized that Mr. Harkless would want us to support Kedge
to the death, and that's what he'd do if he was on the ground. But Miss
Sherwood mentioned that she'd had one note since his last illness began,
and he'd entrusted her and her associates on the paper with the entire
policy, and she would take the responsibility for anything we determined
on. Mr. Smith said the only thing to do was to give up Halloway and get a
man that could beat McCune; Kedge would recognize it himself, that that
was the only thing to do, and he could retire gracefully. Miss Sherwood
said she was still more or less a stranger, and asked what man we could
find who was strong enough to do it by popularity alone and who was also a
man we wanted; somebody that had worked a good deal, but had never had any
office.


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