He
had started in to punish Bohlmann, and had compromised. He had
disapproved of Dennis breaking the law, and had compromised his
disapproval. He had said he should not go into saloons, and had ended by
going. Now he was confronted with the problem whether the interests of
his ward would be better served by the nomination of a man of good
record, whom Peter personally liked, or by that of a colorless man, who
would be ruled by the city's leaders. In the one case Peter feared no
support for his measures from his own party. In the other case he saw
aid that was tantamount to success. Finally he shook himself.
"I believe Dennis is right," he said aloud. "There are more 'real'
things than 'convictions' in New York politics, and a 'real' thing is
much harder to decide about in voting than a 'conviction.'"
He went to his bedroom, packed his bag, and took his way to the station.
There he found a dense crowd of delegates and "well-wishers," both
surrounding and filling the special train which was to carry New York's
contribution to the collected party wisdom, about to concentrate at
Saratoga.
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