Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work

  CHAPTER XV

  SIGNS OF THE TIMES

  "If she is really Lucy Rogers, she'll be missing tomorrow morning," saidBeth when she had told her cousins of the encounter in the corridor.

  But Eliza Parsons was still at Elmhurst the next day, calmly pursuingher duties, and evidently having forgotten or decided to ignore theyoung man who had so curiously mistaken her for another. Beth tookoccasion to watch her movements, so far as she could, and came to theconclusion that the girl was not acting a part. She laughed naturallyand was too light-hearted and gay to harbor a care of any sort in herfrivolous mind.

  But there was a mystery about her; that could not be denied. Even if shewere but a paid spy of Erastus Hopkins there was a story in this girl'slife, brief as it had been.

  Beth was full of curiosity to know this story.

  As for Tom Gates, he had been so horrified by his mistake that he triedto avoid meeting Eliza again. This was not difficult because the girlkept pretty closely to the linen room, and Tom was chiefly occupied inthe library.

  Kenneth had little chance to test his secretary's abilities just then,because the girls pounced upon the new recruit and used his services ina variety of ways. Tom Gates's anxiety to give satisfaction made himwilling to do anything, but they refrained from sending him often totown because he was sensitive to the averted looks and evident repulsionof those who knew he had recently been a "jail-bird." But there wasplenty for him to do at Elmhurst, where they were all as busy as bees;and whatever the young man undertook he accomplished in a satisfactorymanner.

  Saturday forenoon the three girls, with Kenneth, Mr. Watson and UncleJohn, rode over to Fairview to prepare for the debate that was to takeplace in the afternoon, leaving only Tom Gates at home. As Mr. Hopkinshad thrust upon his opponent the task of naming the place and time, theRepublican candidate was obliged to make all the arrangements, and payall the costs. But whatever the girl managers undertook they did well.So the Opera House had been in the hands of a special committee for twodays, the orchestra had been hired, and the news of the joint debate hadspread far and wide.

  The party from Elmhurst lunched at the Fairview Hotel, and then thegirls hurried to the Opera House while Kenneth remained to attend aconference of the Republican Committee. These gentlemen were muchworried over the discovery of a scheme to trade votes that had beensprung, and that Forbes and Reynolds were being sacrificed for Hopkinsand Cummings. Mr. Cummings was called into the meeting, and he deniedthat the trading was being done with his consent, but defiantly refusedto make a public announcement to that effect.

  The matter was really serious, because every vote lost in that waycounted as two for the other side, and Hopkins's rabid hand-bills hadinfluenced many of the more ignorant voters and created endless disputesthat were not of benefit to the Republican party.

  "As nearly as we can figure from our recent canvass," said Mr.Cunningham, the chairman, "we are fast losing ground, and our chances ofsuccess are smaller than if no interest in the election had beenaroused. Hopkins has cut our majority down to nothing, and it will be ahard struggle to carry our ticket through to success. This is the morediscouraging because Mr. Forbes has spent so much money, while Hopkins'sexpenses have been very little."

  "I do not mind that," said Kenneth, quietly. "It was my desire that thevoters should fully understand the issues of the campaign. Then, if theyvote against me, it is because they are not worthy of honestrepresentation in the Legislature, and I shall in the future leave themto their own devices."

  The committee adjourned a little before two o'clock with rather gravefaces, and prepared to attend the debate at the Opera House. Mr.Cunningham feared this debate would prove a mistake, as it would giveHopkins a chance to ridicule and brow-beat his opponent in public, andhis greatest talent as a speaker lay in that direction.

  As Kenneth and his supporters approached the Opera House they heard loudcheering, and from a band-wagon covered with bunting and banners, inwhich he had driven to the meeting, descended the Honorable Erastus. Hemet Kenneth face to face, and the latter said pleasantly:

  "Good afternoon, Mr. Hopkins."

  "Ah, it's Forbes, isn't it?" replied Hopkins, slightingly. "I've met youbefore, somewheres, haven't I?"

  "You have, sir."

  "Glad you're here, Forbes; glad you're here," continued theRepresentative, airily, as he made his way through the crowd thatblocked the entrance. "These meetings are educational to young men.Girls all well, I hope?"

  There was a boisterous laugh at this sally, and Mr. Hopkins smiled andentered the Opera House, while Kenneth followed with the feeling that hewould take great delight in punching the Honorable Erastus's nose at thefirst opportunity.

  The house was packed full of eager spectators who had come to see "thefun." Although the girls had taken charge of all the arrangements theyhad devoted the left side of the ample stage to the use of the Hopkinsparty, where a speaker's table and chairs for important guests had beenplaced. The right side was similarly arranged for the Forbes party, andbetween the two the entire center of the stage was occupied by a groupof fifty young girls. Above this group a great banner was suspended,reading: "The Signs of the Times," a catchword Mr. Hopkins had employedthroughout the campaign. But the most astonishing thing was theappearance of the group of girls. They all wore plain white slips, uponwhich a variety of signs had been painted in prominent letters. Somecostumes advertised baking-powders, others patent medicines, otherssoaps, chewing tobacco, breakfast foods, etc. From where they wereseated in full view of the vast audience the girls appeared as a mass ofadvertising signs, and the banner above them indicated quite plainlythat these were the "Signs of the Times."

  Mr. Hopkins, as he observed this scene, smiled with satisfaction. Hebelieved some of his friends had prepared this display to assist him andto disconcert the opposition, for nothing could have clinched hisarguments better than the pretty young girls covered with advertisementsof well known products. Even the Eagle Eye Breakfast Food was wellrepresented.

  After the orchestra had finished a selection, Mr. Hopkins rose to makethe first argument and was greeted with cheers.

  "We are having a jolly campaign, my dear friends," he began; "but youmusn't take it altogether as a joke; because, while Mr. Forbes's erraticviews and actions have done little real harm, we have been educated toan appreciation of certain benefits we enjoy which otherwise might haveescaped our attention.

  "This is a progressive, strenuous age, and no section of the country hasprogressed more rapidly than this, the Eighth District of our great andglorious State. I may say without danger of contradiction that thepeople I have the honor to represent in the State Legislature, andexpect to have the honor of representing the next term, are the mostintelligent, the most thoughtful and the most prosperous to be found inany like district in the United States. (Cheers.) Who, then, dares todenounce them as fools? Who dares interfere with these liberties, whodares intrude uninvited into their premises and paint out the signs theyhave permitted to occupy their fences and barns and sheds? Who would dothese things but an impertinent meddler who is so inexperienced in lifethat he sets his own flimsy judgment against that of the people?"

  The orator paused impressively to wait for more cheers, but the audiencewas silent. In the outskirts of the crowd a faint hissing began to beheard. It reached the speaker's ear and he hurriedly resumed theoration.

  "I do not say Mr. Forbes is not a good citizen," said he, "but that heis misguided and unreasonable. A certain degree of deference is due theyoung man because he inherited considerable wealth from his uncle,and--"

  Again the hisses began, and Mr. Hopkins knew he must abandon personalattacks or he would himself be discredited before his hearers. Kennethand his supporters sat silent in their places, the three girls, who werenow well known in the district, forming part of the Republican group;and none of them displayed the least annoyance at the vituperation Mr.Hopkins had employed.

  "I have already called your attention in my circulars,"
resumed thespeaker, "to the fact that advertising signs are the source of largeincome to the farmers of this district. I find that three thousand,seven hundred and eighty-three dollars have been paid the farmers in thelast five years, without the least trouble or expense on their part; andthis handsome sum of money belongs to them and should not be taken away.Stop and think for a moment. Advertising is the life of every business,and to fight successfully the great army of advertisers whose businessis the life-blood of our institutions is as impossible as it is absurd.Suppose every farmer in this district refused to permit signs upon hisproperty; what would be the result? Why, the farmers of other sectionswould get that much more money for letting privileges, and you would bethat much out of pocket without suppressing the evil--if evil can attachto an industry that pays you good money without requiring eitherinvestment or labor in return."

  After continuing in this strain for some time, Mr. Hopkins announcedthat "he would now give way to his youthful and inexperienced opponent,"and asked the audience to be patient with Mr. Forbes and considerate of"his extraordinary prejudices."

  Hopkins's policy of discrediting his opponent in advance was not veryeffective, for when Kenneth arose he was more enthusiastically cheeredthan Hopkins had been. The meeting was disposed to be fair-minded andquite willing to give Mr. Forbes a chance to explain his position.

  "The arguments of our distinguished Representative are well worthy ofyour consideration," he began, quietly. "It is only by understandingfully both sides of an argument that you can hope to arrive at a justand impartial decision. Mr. Hopkins has advocated advertising signs onthe ground that your financial gain warrants permitting them to beplaced upon your premises. I will not deny his statement that threethousand, seven hundred and eighty-three dollars have been paid thefarmers of this district by advertisers in the last five years. It isquite likely to be true. I have here the report of the Department ofAgriculture showing that the total amount paid to farmers of the eighthdistrict in the last five years, for produce of all kinds, is elevenmillions, five-hundred thousand dollars."

  A murmur of amazement rose from the audience. Kenneth waited until ithad subsided.

  "This seems surprising, at first," he said, "and proves how startlingaggregate figures are. You must remember I have covered five years inthis estimate, as did Mr. Hopkins in his, and if you will figure it outyou will see that the yearly average of earnings is about six hundreddollars to each farmer. That is a good showing, for we have a wealthydistrict; but it is not surprising when reduced to that basis. Mr.Hopkins slates that the farmers of this district received threethousand, seven hundred and eighty-three dollars during the last fiveyears for advertising signs. Let us examine these figures. One-fifth ofthat sum is seven hundred and fifty-six dollars and sixty cents as theincome to you per year. We have, in this district, twenty-five hundredfarmers according to the latest reports of the Bureau of Statistics, anddividing seven hundred and fifty-six dollars and sixty cents bytwenty-five hundred, we find that each farmer receives an average ofthirty and one-quarter cents per year for allowing his fences andbuildings to be smothered in lurid advertising signs. So we find thatthe money received by the farmers from the advertising amounts to aboutone-quarter of one per cent of their income, a matter so insignificantthat it cannot affect them materially, one way or another.

  "But, Mr. Hopkins states that you give nothing in return for thisone-quarter of one per cent, while I claim you pay tremendously for it.For you sacrifice the privacy of your homes and lands, and lendyourselves to the selfish desire of advertisers to use your property topromote their sales. You have been given an example of clean barns andfences, and I cannot tell you how proud I am of this district when Iride through it and see neatly painted barns and fences replacing theflaring and obtrusive advertising signs that formerly disfigured thehighways. Why should you paint advertising signs upon your barns anymore than upon your houses? Carry the thing a step farther, and you mayas well paint signs upon your children's dresses, in the manner you seeillustrated before you."

  At this, Louise made a signal and the fifty children so grotesquelycovered with signs rose and stepped forward upon the stage. Theorchestra struck up an air and the little girls sang the followingditty:

  "Teas and soaps, Pills and dopes,We all must advertise. Copper cents, Not common sense.Are the things we prize. We confess Such a dressIsn't quite becoming, But we suppose Hopkins knowsThis keeps business humming."

  As the girls ceased singing, Kenneth said:

  "To the encroaching advertiser these signs ofthe times are considered legitimate. There is norespect for personal privacy on the advertiser'spart. Once they used only the newspapers, thelegitimate channels for advertising. Then theybegan painting their advertising on your fences.When the farmers protested against this the advertisersgave them a few pennies as a sop toquiet them. After this they gave you small sumsto paint the broad sides of your barns, yourboard fences, and to place signs in your field. Ifyou allowed them to do so they would paint signson the dresses of your children and wives, socallous are they to all decency and so regardlessof private rights. Look on this picture, myfriends, and tell me, would you prefer to see this--or this?"

  At the word each child pulled away the sign-paintedslip and stood arrayed in a pretty gownof spotless white.

  The surprise was so complete that the audiencecheered, shouted and laughed for several minutesbefore silence was restored. Then the childrensang another verse, as follows:

  "Now it is clear That we appearJust as we should be; We are seen Sweet and cleanFrom corruption free: We're the signs Of the times--Fair as heaven's orbs. If we look good, Then all men shouldVote for Kenneth Forbes!"

  The cheering was renewed at this, and Mr. Hopkins became angry. He triedto make himself heard, but the popular fancy had been caught by theobject lesson so cleverly placed before them, and they shouted: "Forbes!Forbes! Forbes!" until the Honorable Erastus became so furious that heleft the meeting in disgust.

  This was the most impolite thing he could have done, but he vowed thatthe meeting had been "packed" with Forbes partisans and that he waswasting his time in addressing them.

  After he was gone Kenneth resumed his speech and created moreenthusiasm. The victory was certainly with the Republican candidate, andthe Elmhurst people returned home thoroughly satisfied with the resultof the "joint debate."