The boy was irritated at his companion's attitude. The glamor of the situation, with his father as the recognized champion of labor, fitted smoothly into his own rebellious dreams. With this support, he could achieve his rosiest plannings. Paul rose to speak, alert, dignified, commanding. He paid tribute to the audience, and to the hosts of labor they represented. They were particularly fortunate, he said, in their leadership; under the sane, conservative guidance of such men they were sure to reflect credit on the city, the state, the entire South. "I believe in you. I believe in the work you are doing. You are the brawn and the backbone of our free white Anglo-Saxon democracy, the flower of the world's peoples. And the backbone"--he smiled embracingly--"is as necessary as the head; the brawn is as essential as the brain. "There are some--socialists, anarchists, or whatever you choose to call them--who are working for a body without a head, brawn without a brain. You can find such bodies in the morgue. The decapitated socialist state is a corpse." There was a burst of applause at this. Pelham went chill all over, as he realized how unpopular socialism would be made to appear. And--his father speaking! "We have passed, as a people, out of the black gloom, our heritage from a red war of brother against brother, into the golden sunshine of a new day, a day of prosperity and plenty, an hour of progress and enlightenment. While the rest of the world is torn with war, peace is upon us; our products, sold to the warring world, assure an unprecedented prosperity to us. Beware lest the evil counselor, the plausible deceiver, the wily plotter creep in, and our ears lend attention to his seductive tones! This is no time for the disorganizer. We, as well as you, are fighting for the best things of life--peace, freedom, and the welfare of every one, capitalist and laborer alike, and a whole-souled, complete understanding and brotherhood between all of us!" The applause was noisily demonstrative. One delegate, who had attended too many sub-conventions in various bars, started down the aisle to shake the hand of "brother Judson." The vigorous pilotage of two ushers steered him into the safer harbor of the street. After the interruption, Paul turned to his topic. "I favor state mining regulation--and the stricter the better, always conserving the full liberty of the individual to make his free contract. That present joke at Jackson--that so-called mining law, which would bankrupt every mine owner, and drive into unemployment and starvation every mine employee in the state--I know that none of you can be so blind to your own interest as to favor it. "I hope that you will go on record as favoring a sane, reasonable law--one protecting your employer's profit, so that your wages will be safe."