“Well then but why didn’t he put the mayor in jail?”
“Well Miss Riggs I will tell you the Spokesman, that was the Governor He has always been a deeply religious man you have perhaps noticed in His speeches He tells the people that the solution of their problems must be found in spirituality.”
“Yes I have saw that,” I says, “and I think it is very beautiful of Him to say.”
“Well just so Miss Riggs and so when the mayor pastes Him one in the eye He turns the other eye to him and so through the rest of the strike He is shut up in His hotel room. But that don’t matter because the bankers and the business men take charge and they gets out the college-boys and smashes the strike with clubs and brick-bats and law and order is safe. And when the Governor sees that it is all over He gets out a rousing proclamation in which He says that He is determined to put down law-breakers and of course that tickles the newspapers they spread it all over the front page and the public that don’t know it is over they goes wild because you know how it was Miss Riggs a few years ago we was in the middle of smashing the Reds and shipping them back to the country where they come from seeing they don’t like this one. And of course the plain people was scared out of their wits to realize that the Bolshivikis had been so clever because if Irish Catholic policemen goes Red who would there be left to stay white?”
“I remember reading about it,” I says, “now that you tell me and I know I was scared myself.”
“Exactly and this Strong Silent Man He was the One that had put down the revolution so when the next party convention come off and the politicians was looking round for somebody for Vice-Spokesman why here He was and the convention goes wild and He is nominated in a whirlwind. And how is anybody going to know that the Old Spokesman is going to die and leave this scared little Office-boy the job of telling the American people what to think?”
“Well Mr. Edgerton,” I says, “I see how it is now of course and I am very much obliged to you for explaining and of course I will do the best I can,” I says, “because whatever happens we have got to hold them Reds down. Of course I have got no use for labor unions that is just a bunch of leaders looking for a chance to wear white collars and what do they care if they call a strike and the wives and children has got to go hungry at home?”
“That is it exactly,” he says, “your sound common sense as usual and it looks as if there was some more strikes coming and they will try to put them off on the Spokesman, and you will be the little girl that will know what to tell Him to say about it.”
Well we are walking home and I am nearly there and I tell him he had better not go no farther because we don’t know what his wife may be doing and we have got to be careful so we shakes hands and parts and I climb up to my hall-bedroom and I forgot to tell you Mom my landlady has give me an embroidered splasher that has got a red lily on it to hang on my wall and it is a lovely decoration she done that because we have got to be friends since she was there when Mrs. Edgerton come to see me and insulted me. Well it is a good thing to be friends with your landlady because some time when I get stuck for my rent for a few days she will be more polite with me.