"Fine words, Mr. Milligan, fine words! But a dead Irishman would make a good speech if you'd touch his tongue. You're an orationer, you are. Set down, quick! Miss Cary is going to speak."
"Mr. President, gentlemen of the council." The clear, fresh voice carried to the far corners of the room and upon the latter fell vibrating silence. "Yorkburg's fiscal4 year ending in June in the next few weeks, the annual budget for the coming twelve months will be fixed5 by you. Before this budget is made up I am going to ask you to act upon three propositions. Last year the total revenue of the town was $16,907.23, and your expenditures6 something under one thousand dollars less than your income. Out of your sinking-fund you retired8 a large proportion of your outstanding bonds, with the result that your indebtedness is now sufficiently10 small to justify11 your increasing it. I am here to-night to ask you to issue, during the next three months, fifty thousand dollars' worth of city bonds, interest on which is to be 3 per cent., payable12 semi-annually. If you will agree to do this promptly13, Bartlett, Cramp14 & Company, of New York, will take the entire amount at once. At the expiration15 of twenty years these bonds are to be retired."
"In the name of glory!"
The words, half smothered16, sounded even to the platform, and Mary Cary, catching17 them, laughed and nodded toward the source from which they came.
"Is there anything you wish to say, Mr. Billisoly, before I go on?"
The latter rose to his feet, put his hand to his mouth, coughed, and looked at Mr. Chinn.
"Yes'm, there is. Fifty thousand dollars is a powerful lot of money to borrow at one clip, and—"
"Three per cent. interest is powerful little money to pay for its use," she answered, smiling. "But that isn't all I am here to say. If you don't mind and will let me get through it will save time, and then questions can be asked and answered. Last year the rate of interest on all taxable property was one dollar and twenty-five cents per one hundred dollars. This year, Mr. Councilmen, if you really love Yorkburg, you will raise it to one dollar and thirty-five cents.
"Oh, I know," She laughed and lifted her hand as if to stop the unspoken protest of certain stirrings. "I know the name of taxes isn't truly pleasant to any one. But I have with me a list of taxpayers20 who agree to the increase asked for, and if you would like to see it, there is no objection to your doing so."
She opened her bag and took from it a roll of paper, and as she unwound it she threw one end to Mr. Ash, the chairman of the finance committee.
"This," she said, "is a list of the people who love their town enough to put their hands in their pockets to prove it. A truly trying test!" She held up her end of the paper. "There," she said, "there is the list."
Instinctively21 many leaned forward to see the paper which for reasons of her own she had made in one long, narrow ribbon, and as they did so she laughed again and nodded to the men at the desks. "The will of your constituents22.
"And now"—she stepped back—"there is one thing more. Yorkburg has a friend who is greatly interested in its welfare. This friend believes the time has come when the town should take stock of itself, should look itself in the face and see just what sort of a town it is, and what it may be. As a friend of this friend of Yorkburg I am authorized23 to say that if this issue of fifty thousand dollars' worth of bonds be made promptly, the like amount of fifty thousand dollars will be at once deposited by Bartlett, Cramp & Company to the credit of your finance committee, said amount to be used for the relaying out of the town, the proper paving of streets, the planting of shade-trees, and the cleaning up of dirty places."
For a moment there was palpitating silence. No one moved. Eyes were fixed on her as if ears had not heard aright. The heads of some leaned forward, the bodies of others leaned back, then the clearing of throats and the shuffling24 of feet broke the pause that followed the statement which had just been heard, and back toward the door Mr. Benny Brickhouse arose.
"If he ain't the spittin' image of an orange with two peanuts underneath25 and one peanut on top, I never seen one," said Mrs. McDougal in a voice none too low, "and the top peanut ain't got a thing in it. Just listen at his cambric-needle squeak26!"
"Mr. President." The thin, piping tones caused many to look around. "Mr. President, never before in its history has the council of Yorkburg heard from its platform such astounding27 propositions as have been made before it to-night. The young lady who has made them is doubtless actuated by high and lofty motives28, but it is not to be expected that she should know what she is doing. It is out of her sphere, sir, the sphere in which God put woman and meant her to stay—"
"Please, sir, Mr. Chinn, may I ask Mr. Brickhouse if God Almighty29 told him He put woman in a sphere, or if a man told him?" and Mrs. McDougal, on her feet, held up her hand as a child in a classroom who asks to speak.
Mr. Chinn's gavel came down heavily and squelched31 the titter which threatened to be something more. "Mr. Brickhouse has the floor, Mrs. McDougal."
"And likely to keep it, sir. But go on, Mr. Brickhouse, go on! I thought maybe you'd just heard from the Lord. Beg your pardon, sir."
She sat down, waving her hand toward the round little man, speechless with amazement32, then turned in a half whisper to the girl at her side.
"Let him talk, Miss Cary. Nothing shows the kind of fool you are as quick as your tongue. Balaam's Brickhouse won't hurt you."
"Mr. President"—the interruption was ignored, and only the trembling of the fine, thin voice gave evidence of anger—Mr. President, Yorkburg is no pauper33, and does not need the gift which has been offered it to-night, provided it will acknowledge it needs to be cleaned up. Yorkburg is a very clean place. Its streets were good enough for our fathers, and I, for one, protest against the supplanting34 of the trees they planted by the planting of more! We don't want more! And who is the person who offers this gift? Why is his name withheld35? Is he ashamed of it, or is there a string tied to it which we don't see yet? What does the party want of us in return for this sum of money, gotten we know not how? It may be tarnished36, sir, it any be tarnished!" His pudgy little hands smote37 the air with something of vehemence38; then remembering that excitement was inelegant he wiped them carefully with his handkerchief, clasped them righteously together, and laid them on his stomach.
"And I would like to ask why this honorable body is called on to pass a measure which will plunge39 this old and distinguished40 town in such enormous indebtedness?" he began again, after a pause which he thought impressive. "Why should fifty thousand dollars' worth of bonds be issued? For what purpose will the money be used? Why should this great increase in taxes by made? What is to be done with the money drained from our people, who are not worshippers of Mammon and who set not their hearts on mere41 material things? I beg this honorable body not to be led astray. It will be a sad day for this city of a precious past—"
He stopped. Mary Cary's eyes, which in the beginning of his speech had been bent42 on a letter held in her hand lest the laughter in them be seen, were raised, and she was now looking at him with a steadiness which was disconcerting, and the words died upon his lips.
"Are you through, Mr. Brickhouse?"
He sat down, wiping his moist face limply. "Yes, I am through."
This time Mary Cary, who had been standing9 below the platform, stepped upon it, and the letter she had been holding was laid upon the table.
"I am very much obliged to Mr. Brickhouse for asking the questions he has asked," she began. "Except the name of the person giving this money to Yorkburg there is no one of them that will not be answered readily, as they should be rightly. Whether we are entitled to peculiarities43, or not, all of us possess them, and one of this friend of Yorkburg's is that the gift and the giver should not be associated together; therefore, the name of this friend will not be known. Another characteristic of this same person is that before a place can be properly beautiful it should be made sound and solid and healthy. The foundation must come first, and the foundation of any town which would have a future is to know Yorkburg is badly laid out. It isn't laid out at all, and many of its streets start and end as they please. An elemental need of Yorkburg is that it should be laid out anew, and by a competent civil engineer who knows what he is about. This engineer will be provided when you agree to use his services. Mr. Brickhouse says we have a precious past. That is true, but a precious past doesn't make good walking, and, not being dead, our feet have some rights. There is no string tied to this gift of fifty thousand dollars save the restriction44 that the money be expended45 for the purposes mentioned.
"You see"—she turned to the councilmen in front and nodded to them— "when the matters brought before you to-night were mentioned to Mr. Brickhouse he was not interested, and did not care to put his name to the list of taxpayers who are willing to increase their taxes in order that Yorkburg may get a new bonnet46 and gloves and good stout47 shoes for its feet. He thinks they are not needed, and instead of
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