McCann had chafed furiously under this tirade, and as Wentworth threw himself down in a low chair, lighting his Dimitrino cigarette at the flames of the brazier, he burst out violently: "You are all wrong, you don't know what you are talking about when you say we don't want a political reform! We do, a radical reform."
Wentworth's eyes gleamed amusedly through the rings of white smoke as he said quietly, "How?"
"I would destroy the whole system of party and ring rule."
Wentworth smiled disdainfully. "My dear Malcolm," he said, blowing an ash from his cigarette, "I spare you the humiliation of trying to tell me how. Do you not realise that party and ring rule are the necessary results of three of your dearest idols?—idols that you would defend, I believe, with your life. They are these: Manhood suffrage, rotation in office, and representative government. Until you are content to destroy these in your political revolution your attempts to abolish ring and partisan rule will fail."
"They will not fail, for we shall abolish those abuses through making the control of the people over their representatives more absolute and direct."
"The exact contrary of the result you hope for would follow from the course you suggest. I can't convince you of that now; grant the truth of your position for a moment, what would follow? You would simply substitute for the repulsive rule of the 'bosses' a dreary and fleeting government of emancipated slaves. We have seen the result of that in the South, where we made fatal error in giving the black slaves a measure of political power. You would do the same by giving the white slaves all political power. I say, emancipate them,—and govern them."
"By whom?"
"Their King and their peers."
"Where will you find them in this country?"
"Choose them."