With so many minds amongst a city's population, just that many calls
for this or that swung back and forth until that most important of all
days,--voting day, was at hand. What crowds, mobs and jams did assail
all polling booths, casting ballots to land a party-man in City Hall!
If a voting booth was in a school building, as is a common custom
pupils had that day off; and, as Gadsby was Youth's champion, groups of
kids hung around, watching and hoping with that avidity so common with
youth, that Gadsby would win by a majority unknown in Branton Hills.
And Gadsby did!
As soon as it was shown by official count, Branton Hills was a riot,
from City Hall to City limits; throngs tramping around, tossing hats
aloft; for a hard-working man had won what many thousands thought was
fair and just.
IV
As soon as Gadsby's inauguration had put him in a position to do things
with authority, his first act was to start things moving on that big
auditorium plan, for which many capitalists had bought bonds. Again
public opinion had a lot to say as to how such a building should look,
what it should contain; how long, how high, how costly; with a long
string of ifs and buts.
Family upon family put forth claims for rooms for public forums in
which various thoughts upon world affairs could find opportunity for
discussion; Salvation Army officials thought that a big hall for a
public Sunday School class would do a lot of good; and that, lastly,
what I must, from this odd yarn's strict orthography, call a "film
show," should, without doubt occupy a part of such a building. Anyway,
talk or no talk, Gadsby said that it should stand as a building for
man, woman and child; rich or poor; and, barring its "film show,"
without cost to anybody. Branton Hills' folks could thus swim, do
gymnastics, talk on public affairs, or "just sit and gossip", at will.
So it was finally built in a charming park amidst shrubs and blossoms;
an additional honor for Gadsby.
But such buildings as Branton Hills now had could not fulfill all
functions of so rapidly growing a city; for you find, occasionally, a
class of folks who cannot afford a doctor, if ill. This was brought up
by a girl of our Organization, Doris Johnson, who, on Christmas Day, in
taking gifts to a poor family, had found a woman critically ill, and
with no funds for aid or comforts; and instantly, in Doris' quick young
mind a vision of a big city hospital took form; and, on a following day
Gadsby had his Organization at City Hall, to "just talk," (and you know
how that bunch _can_ talk!) to a Councilman or two.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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