“What’s your idea of hurry exactly?  The war has been over forty years—­”

“And look how splendid we’ve got along these forty years without the reformatory!  Will you care to say, Mr. West, that we couldn’t make it forty-two without bringing great danger to the State?”

“No, certainly not.  But the point is—­”

“The point is that if we spend all this money now, the people will kick the party out at the next election.  I wouldn’t admit this to many, ’cause I’m ashamed of it, but it’s gospel truth.  Mr. West,” said Plonny, earnestly, “I know you want the Post to stand for the welfare of the party—­”

“Certainly.  And it has been my idea that evidence of sane interest in public morals was a pretty good card for—­”

“So it would be at any ordinary time.  But it’s mighty different when the people from one end of the State to the other are howling economy and saying that all expenses must go to bed-rock or they’ll know the reason why.  There’s the practical side of it—­look at it f’r a minute.  The legislature was elected by these people on a platform promising strictest economy.  They’re tryin’ to carry out their promise faithfully.  They turn down and postpone some mighty good plans to advance the progress of the State.  They rejuice salaries in various departments”—­(one was the exact number)—­“heelers come up lookin’ f’r jobs, and they send ’em away empty-handed and sore.  Old-established institutions, that have been doin’ grand work upbuildin’ the State f’r years, are told that they must do with a half or three quarters of their appropriations f’r the next two years.  You’ve seen all this happen, Mr. West?”

West admitted that he had.

“Well, now when everything is goin’ smooth and promisin’, you come along and tell ’em they got to shell out a hundred thousand dollars right away f’r a brand-new institution, with an annual appropriation to keep it up.  Now s’pose they do what you tell ’em.  What happens?  You think there’s no poltix at all in this reformatory business, but I can tell you the Republicans won’t take such a view as that.  They’ll say that the party spent a hundred thousand dollars of the people’s money in a hard times year, just to make a few more jobs f’r favorites.  They’ll throw that up at us from every stump in the State.  And when our leaders explain that it was done for the maw’l good of the State, they’ll give us the laugh—­same as they did when we established the Foundling Hospital in ’98.  Now I tell you the party can’t stand any talk of that kind this year.  We’re on shaky ground right now f’r the same reason that we’re all so proud of—­spendin’ money f’r the maw’l uplift of the State.  We either got to slow up f’r awhile or take a licking.  That’s what all the talk comes down to—­one simple question:  Will we hold off this big expense f’r just two years, or will we send the old party down to defeat?”

West laughed, not quite comfortably.